I finally got around to reading some of the Father Brown short stories.
53 were published between 1910 and 1936 by English novelist G. K. Chesterton.
Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and keen understanding of human nature. …
In the most popular adaptation, Mark Williams plays Father Brown. That’s Arthur Weasley, to you. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I went back to Wheel of Time — planning to follow the story this time. It’s the kind of television I should like.
Sadly — It’s no Game of Thrones.
Mixed reviews.
The main character that appealed to me is Daniel Henney as al’Lan Mandragoran, Moiraine’s Warder and companion. A nuanced prerformance.
Casting seems a bit uninspired. Interactions between characters not convincing.
Actually, Abdul Salis as Eamon Valda is a very believable bad guy.
And Loial portrayed by Hammed Animashaun is charming.
BUT … production values are surprisingly poor at times. The wolf attack in episode 5 was like bad TV from the 1970s.
This was one of the most expensive TV series of all time. Yet many of the special effects look fake.
The battle / birthing scene at the beginning of episode 7 is EPIC, however. Worthy of the film 300.
I’ll probably watch season 2. I hear it gets better.
The scenery is fantastic. Czech Republic, Slovenia, and South Africa are locations.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I really liked season 1.
And season 2 is even BETTER.
Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas stand-up comedy diva, needs to re-invent her aging act to avoid losing her residency at the Palmetto Casino.
Ava is a young comedy writer who is unable to find work due to an insensitive tweet and her reputation for being self-centered and arrogant.
When Ava’s manager sends her to work as Deborah’s new head writer, the two slowly bond as Ava pushes her new boss to take more risks and Deborah, in turn, helps Ava start to work through her personal problems.
Fantastic comic dialogue.
Interesting video editing.
Great cast.
I’m now a big fan of Canadian comedian Mae Martin.
Of course Hannah Einbinder is great. She’s so natural in this show.
Stealing many scenes is Megan Stalter as Kayla.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. The lesbian cruise episode is funny.
I was also looking forward to The Flight Attendant – season 2. But quit when Cassie Bowden started drinking again. Too depressing.
Unless you are a Star Trek nut, I can’t recommend the book Redshirts.
It did win the 2013 Hugo Award, so SciFi fans do like it.
As usual with Scalzi, the plot is ingenious.
In a TV series like Star Trek — called the Intrepid — the fictional universe is actually real. Characters from the TV show travel back in time (like Star Trek) and try to get the show cancelled.
Once there, they meet their actor doubles and realize that they are exact doppelgängers.
It’s complicated.
This book didn’t win me over in any way.
Of course a “redshirt” is a stock character in fiction who dies soon after being introduced. The term originates from the original Star Trek (NBC, 1966–69) in which the red-shirted security personnel frequently die during episodes.
A big fan of the Joe Pickett novels by C.J. Box, I ASSuMEd I’d enjoy another of his series based on a rogue, a brilliant cop named Cody Hoyt, an alcoholic.
But for me they are too blood thirsty and violent.
I didn’t like either Hoyt or his protege, Cassie Dewell.
Back of Beyond is the first book. It’s set in Yellowstone National Park.
#2 is The Highway, somehow astonishingly connected to the bloodbath in Yellowstone.
Serial killers are picking up prostitutes at long haul trucking service stations.
Somebody liked the book. ABC turned it into a big budget TV show. It’s already had 3 seasons as I post. Mixed reviews.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
In the U.K. I was able to watch Derry Girls for free on Channel 4.
Fantastic. Especially the soundtrack.
One of my favourite comedies, sadly season 3 is the final 7 episodes.
Brilliant finale. The vote on the Good Friday Agreement.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I love the retro vibe of Stranger Things. Dustin is my favourite character.
But I couldn’t care less about the monsters. And monsters get a lot more screen time in season 4.
I made it through the first 7 episodes. But it’s a hard pass on the final 3 episodes.
I’m out.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I’d never heard of Keigo Higashino before randomly trying this novel.
Devotion of Suspect X is fantastic.
Turns out almost twenty of his books have been turned into films and TV series. But not all have been translated to English.
The pacing is slower than a typical American or British whodunnit.
But mathematician Tetsuya Ishigami and Manabu Yukawa, a physicist who often consults with the police, are two of the best fictional characters I’ve read in a long time.
I highly recommend it.
Click PLAY or watch the trailer of the Chinese TV adaptation on YouTube.
Bosch Legacy pretty much picks up right where the original Bosch series ended.
And it’s equally good. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Harry” Bosch has retired from the LAPD, and works as a private investigator.
Defense attorney Honey “Money” Chandler, has him work on some cases for her.
His daughter Maddie navigates her first days as a patrol officer with the LAPD, working from Hollywood Station, where her father used to be assigned. Bosch investigates businessman Carl Rogers, who previously hired a hitman to kill Chandler. Billionaire businessman Whitney Vance asks Bosch to discreetly investigate a private matter.
wikipedia
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The Lincoln Lawyer is attorney Mickey Haller, half-brother of Michael Connelly’s mainstay character Detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch.
I like the Mickey Haller character, but not as much as Bosch himself.
They appear together in some novels.
Matthew McConaughey played Haller in the excellent 2011 movie adaptation.
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is Mickey in the 2022 TV adaptation. MUCH different than McConaughey.
My favourite in the TV show is Becki Newton as Lorna Crain, Haller’s 2nd wife and office manager.
I also like Krista Warner as Hayley, Mickey’s teenage daughter. She’s very natural and believable.
Though reviews have been mixed, I quite enjoyed the acting and the plot lines.
The ending is strong. I’m confident season 2 will get the green light.
I’ve never been much of a fan of courtroom procedurals. BUT both this series and the book I was reading — Full Disclosure by Beverley McLachlin — both have cases with tunnel vision. The police assumed from the beginning that husband killed wife.
Rick McCharles 