I didn’t watch Snowpiercer (TV series).
But finally got around to the 2013 post-apocalyptic science fiction film.
Weird.
Why and how did a billionaire build a train that could run around the world?
I can see why some consider it a cult classic. It is philosophical.
It does have a terrific cast.
Rotten Tomatoes reports that 94% of critics gave the film a positive rating.
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The Gentlemen is a big hit on Netflix.
Guy Ritchie a super skillful creator.
I wish he’d do something without having to rely on the shock value of ultra violence.
Casting is excellent.
Theo James carries the show and almost makes the absurd story believable.
Michael Vu as James “Jimmy” Chang, Susie’s chief weed grower is my favourite.
Edward Horniman has unexpectedly inherited an estate of 15,000 acres (6000 hectares) and the title of Duke of Halstead at the reading of the last will and testament of his deceased father.
He learns that the land has become part of a weed-growing empire run by Susie Glass.
He must navigate a world of eclectic and dangerous characters with nefarious agendas, whilst also trying to protect his home and stay alive.
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It’s a pleasure to watch this sitcom set in Newfoundland in the late 1980s.
It’s based on the school days of comedian Mark Critch — one of Canada’s top funny men today.
Malcolm McDowell is great as Patrick “Pop” Critch, Mark’s grandfather. Who shares a room with the teenager.
The whole cast is very good.
It’s FREE to watch on CBC Gem online, with a FREE subscription.
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You don’t need to like nor know anything about Chess to enjoy this TV series.
It’s 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
On October 28, 2020, it was the most watched series of the day on Netflix.
The Queen’s Gambit is an American drama television miniseries based on Walter Tevis‘s 1983 novel of the same name.
I read the book, as well. Excellent.
Though written long ago, it still feels contemporary.
Themes of adoption, feminism, chess, drug addiction and alcoholism.
Bruce Pandolfini, a US chess master, consulted on the chess positions prior to the book’s publication.
… a fictional story that follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy named Beth Harmon from the age of eight to twenty-two during her quest to become the world’s greatest chess player while struggling with emotional issues, with drug and alcohol dependency. The story begins in the mid-1950s and proceeds into the 1960s.
The Queen’s Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years—for the pure pleasure and skill of it.
— Michael Ondaatje (cover of Vintage paperback edition, 2003)
All the acting is good in the TV show.
I probably enjoyed Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Benny Watts best.
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I recommend this 4 episode drama — though it’s only 67% on Rotten Tomatoes.
VERY intense, at times.
I’d call it a black comedy. Very funny at other times.
A twisty thriller.
Inside Man is a thriller drama television serial developed by Steven Moffat. (Sherlock, Doctor Who 2010–2017).
Stanley Tucci as Jefferson Grieff, a former criminology professor on death row in an Arizona prison. Always excellent on screen.
David Tennant as Harry Watling, a British vicar forced into a difficult situation
A prisoner on death row in the US and a woman trapped in a cellar under an English vicarage, cross paths in the most unexpected way.
Atkins Estimond as Dillon Kempton, a serial killer on death row in Jefferson’s prison who acts as Grieff’s assistant, is excellent, too. Very memorable.
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The Dead Zone by Stephen King was published 1979.
He was already an excellent story teller.
The story follows Johnny Smith, who awakens from a coma of nearly five years and, apparently as a result of brain damage, now experiences clairvoyant and precognitive visions triggered by touch. …
The novel also follows a serial killer in Castle Rock, and the life of rising politician Greg Stillson, both of whom are evils Johnny must eventually face. …
… the first of his novels to rank among the ten best-selling novels of the year in the United States.
Christopher Walken played Johnny Smith in Cronenberg’s film adaptation.
In the book there is a new politician who acts like a clown. Says outlandish things. An evil guy.
King was already predicting Trump in 1979.
As we did in my High School in the 1970s, they debate whether they’d be willing to go back in a Time Machine to kill Hitler in the crib.
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Anthony Michael Hall played Johnny Smith in the TV adaptation. It had 6 seasons starting 2002.
Rotten Tomatoes 83% — but I’d rate it higher.
For an American show, it’s surprisingly surprising. Non cliche. And the plot almost makes sense. 😀
Debora Cahn is an award-winning writer/producer known for The West Wing (1999) and Homeland (2020).
The Diplomat is an American political thriller television series …
The series centers on Kate Wyler, the new United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, as she helps to defuse an international crisis, forges strategic alliances and adjusts to her new place in the spotlight. She also manages her deteriorating marriage to fellow career diplomat Hal Wyler. …
Ato Essandoh as Stuart Hayford, deputy chief of mission of the US embassy in London, is very good. You really feel sorry for the poor guy.
Actually, the entire cast is excellent.
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I’d complain it drags some in the final episodes.
A cliff-hanger ending.
Hopefully season 2 will be a little faster paced.
Less emphasis on the romances.
From Season 17, Episode 15. “Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife”
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It’s very close.
Click PLAY or watch Original V.S. Real Life Comparison on YouTube.
Very. Funny.
On Rotten Tomatoes, 100%.
Cunk on Earth is British mockumentary TV, brilliantly skewering everything and everybody historical.
… stars Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, an ill-informed investigative reporter …
The series introduces subjects such as the development of agriculture and early civilization, the rise of Christianity and Islam, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, the First and Second World Wars, the Cold War and the Space Race.
With an eye to the future, Cunk concludes the series with a speculative comment on the possibility of AI takeover. …
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Normally I would not be much interested in another reboot of the Addams Family (1964).
BUT got intrigued when I first saw the dance scene.
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It’s a tribute to the original Wednesday dance.
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This is a Tim Burton project. Therefore skillfully done.
Sounds like Burton is a long time Addams Family fan.
A coming-of-age supernatural comedy horror. There are parallels with Harry Potter and some of the superhero schools.
Students are “outcasts“. The rest of the town’s citizens “normies“,
All good — but I’d say the casting is the highlight for me.
Of course, Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams, carries this show. I can’t see how anyone else could do it better.
The creative team met with her first via Zoom, concluding “nobody else on this planet” was better suited to the role.
The entire cast is good.
A good call ➙ Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill / Laurel Gates. Ricci played played Wednesday Addams in the film The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values (1993).
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Rick McCharles 