March 2018
The Lost City of Z (Film, DVD), 29th March 2019, Well reviewed at the time, but turned out to be a disappointingly dull and lazy film.
Goodbye Christopher Robin (Film, DVD), 24th March 2018. Dramatisation of the fictional childhood of a real boy whose childhood was famously fictionalised
Rembrandt – The 1974 Kenneth Clarke Lectures (DVD), March 2018. The visual quality, especially the colour is of its time – an important factor when looking at paintings. Nevertheless, Clarke, a Rembrandt expert, gives a effortlessly masterly overview of the life and work of one of the greatest painters of all time.
Call the Midwife (TV), <<Sob>>
Minions, March 2018. A rewatching of this glorious romp through the potted history of the incompetently evil little yellow people, culminating in their adventures in Swinging London in which they steal the Crown Jewels and accidentally overthrow the British monarchy due to a misunderstanding over a sword in a stone. Priceless.
January 2018
Gravity, 21st January 2018, Hmmmm
The Little Norse Prince, 20th January 2018. Hmmmm
Howl’s Moving Castle, 19th January 2018 Astonishing.
November 2017
Private Life of a Masterpiece (DVD) Dutch version of BBC box set on the grounds that it’s ten quid cheaper than the English version and all you have to do is switch the subtitles off. Main series – totally brilliant. Bonus material with Simon Sharma, not so good – too much Simon and too much unnecessary dramatization.
April 2017
Dear Brutus review
Lincoln
Of Gods and Men
12 Years a Slave
Selma
March 2017
Film
Macbeth (2015) Starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, directed by Justin Kurzel. the “Hubble, bubble” scene at the beginning is missing. How can you do Macbeth without the “hubble bubble” scene? Tedious – gave up after 42 minutes.
February 2017
Film
Henry V (Kenneth Brannagh)
TV
Art of France (TV) – documentary series – Excellent overview by Andrew Graham-Dixon (previous offerings have included Art of Scandinavia and Art of Italy) packed into 3 expertly honed episodes, but it would be great to have a slightly longer series that goes into greater depth. It’s a shame that the BBC doesn’t have the vision to undertake a major in-depth project than just producing quick tasters – however exquisitely made.
Further Back in Time for Dinner (TV) Sort of documentary series focusing mainly on food about a well-to-do middle class family, the Robshaws, living through the early decades of the 20th century. It starts in 1900 then proceeds at a rate of a year a day. See full comment
The Lost Libraries of Timbuktu (TV) – Fascinating documentary about the rich written heritage of a notoriously remote West African city that was once a an important trading crossroads and centre of learning.
The Moorside (TV) – drama – superb drama based on the true story of the fake kidnapping of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews by her mother in 2008
Timewatch: The British Empire: Heroes and Villains (Episode 4) (TV) – documentary
Treasure of the Indus (Episode 3) (TV) – documentary
TV – Regularly watching
24 Hours in A&E
The Bill )
Casualty – gloriously bad – guilty pleasure – the episode where Charlie Fairhead and Duffy got married (4th Feb 2017) was disappointingly below par – not a major disaster involving all three emergency services in sight.
Click – Tech news from the BBC
Dragon’s Den
GPs: Behind Close Doors
Taggart – “Gritty drama” in spades – it doesn’t get much grittier
University Challenge (TV)
January 2017
Film
The Sapphires (film, TV)
Monsters University (film, TV) – not bad prequel , but not up to the standard of the original
Seven Years in Tibet , film, (TV) – well-intentioned, unfocused, tedious
TV
Ceramics: How They Work (Episode 3) (TV) – documentary
Treasure of the Indus (Episode 2) (TV) – documentary
The Mayfower Pilgrims: Behind the Myth (TV) – documentary
Master’s Snooker (TV) – discovered snooker last year and am now completely addicted – not sure it’s really a sport, though
Horizon: How Big is the Universe? (TV) – quite big
Inspector Gently (TV)
School Swap: Korea (documentary,TV)
Sherlock (TV) – abandoned after first hour due to risk of dying of boredom – past its sell-by date
To Walk Invisible – a dramatization of the lives of the Bronte sisters (TV) – even better the second time around – review
TV – Regularly watching
24 Hours in A&E (TV)
The Bill (TV)
Casualty (TV) – gloriously bad – guilty pleasure
Dragon’s Den (TV)
Endeavour (TV) – never a Morse fan, but quite like this. Why does nobody have an Oxford accent?
GPs: Behind Close Doors (TV)
University Challenge (TV)
2016 – Regularly watching
The Bill (TV)
24 Hours in A&E (TV)
Rebus (TV)
Waking the Dead (TV)
December 2016
Digging for Britain (TV) – archeology documentary
Cranford, with Judy Dench (TV) – suprisingly strong drama from lightweight original
Kung Fu Panda film (DVD) still awesome after all these years
Planet Earth II (TV)
To Walk Invisible – a dramatization of the lives of the Bronte sisters (TV) – excellent – review
November 2016
The Human Story – documentary series about human evolution (TV)
October 2016
Kubo and the Two Strings film (cinema) review
Surviving Aberfan – documentary, BBC4 (TV) reflection
September 2016
A Tale of Two Cities, play, Oxford Playhouse review
June 2016
The Wars of the Roses (The Hollow Crown Part II), Shakespeare’s History Cycle, BBC, 2016 (TV)
May 2016
An Age of Kings, Shakespeare’s History Cycle, BBC, 1960 (DVD)
Minions, film (DVD) – brilliant
The Silk Road – documentary series (TV)
April 2016
The Herbal Bed, play, Oxford Playhouse review
King Lear, play, Oxford Playhouse review
Brand New Testament (Le Tout Nouveau Testament), film, Phoenix Cinema – good, if a little weird – actually quite weird
The Hollow Crown, Shakespeare’s History Cycle, BBC, 2012 (TV)
After Work 