Category: TV and Film
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The Magic Faraway Tree
Took my boys to see The Magic Faraway Tree. 📺
I always remembered my favourite primary school teacher reading The Enchanted Wood and The Magic Faraway Tree just before home time every day. I loved the idea of climbing up through the clouds into a new magical land. I’ve had my head in the clouds ever since!
My boys both enjoyed me and their mum reading the books to them, too. That’s so long ago for big kid now that he didn’t want to go to the cinema and miss out on his “device time”. So he was very pleasantly surprised and amused to find himself laughing out loud all the way through. He particularly enjoyed the school/prison scene which he said was “just like” his high school, haha!
Little kid got very excited/frightened when little Fran(nie) got stuck in the Land of Goodies and he thought she might not make it back to the ladder the the Magic Faraway Tree in time. He was shaking and jumping up and down in his deluxe reclining viewing chair. Later, he leaned over to me, clawing at me. I put my arm around him and tried to comfort him.
“Are you all right?”
I asked.
“I want to eat.”
He said.
“You want to leave?”
I asked, doing my best Saucepan Man impression.
" I want to eat, silly."
“You want your feet up?”
“DAD! I’M HUNGRY!!!
I magicked a bag of his favourite cheese and onion crisps from the darkness.
I found the whole thing very charming, funny, and really quite emotional.
I wished I’d brought more tissues with me, but it turned out that I had just enough in the end.
Pluribus creator Vince Gilligan:
“Pluribus is my twist on a post-apocalyptic zombie tale.”
Saw a few people mentioning Pluribus so I gave it a try. Had to switch off about half way through episode one. As my wife pointed out, “You don’t like zombie movies”.
Finished watching: 24 Hour Party People 📺
23 years after it was made, in two sittings (watching it all in one go would have meant staying up too late).
I have a memory of a 80’s or 90’s British TV comedy sketch character visiting a Poundshop with his friend Alan. Alan would always ask, “How much is it?” To which the reply was always an exasperated “It’s a pound, Alan!”
Poundland sold for £1 with shops set to close: bbc.com
Person of Interest 101
The voicemail asked me to call 101 and quote my call reference number.
It took three attempts to get through to a human being. I guess they really are all busy dealing with emergencies.
“‘Ello, ‘ello, ‘ello. What is the nature of your call today?” (Why do police officers always talk like this?)
“I reported a crime online yesterday. I got a text and voicemail asking me to quote my call reference number…”
“Is that Mr Marsden?”
“Why, yes it is!” (Impressive detective work!)
“I’m afraid the online reporting form isn’t very helpful. It sends the information to us in a way that makes it difficult to understand what actually happened. Just give me a minute while I go through it.”
[A full five minutes on hold later…]
“Hello sir. You want to report the theft of your son’s scooter?”
“Yes, that’s correct.” (By now I wanted to report the theft of what little hope I’d had left when I started dialling the call.)
“Does the school have any cctv footage?”
“Yes, they do, but they haven’t reviewed it yet, as far as I know.”
[Another five-minute intermission.]
“We’ll need to take a statement from you and your son. The earliest I can visit you is next Friday between 8 and 9 a.m., or 12 and 1 p.m.?”
“My son will be either going to school or already at school during those times.”
“What about next Saturday?”
“Yes, that would be better. My only concern is that, by then, we will have lost not only his scooter, but what little chance there was of ever getting it back or finding out what happened to it. When I was growing up, the police would have just visited the school…”
“Yes, same here. Unfortunately, we can’t just go into schools these days. But don’t worry - this case won’t just be sitting on my desk.”
Somewhere out there, Finch and Reese are watching every camera feed in New York, saving lives in real time with the help of an all-seeing AI.
Meanwhile, in my corner of the UK, a ten-year-old’s scooter vanishes in broad daylight, and the only Machine involved is caller id at the local police station.
“OK. Thank you, officer.”
Rewatched Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story. Two episodes brilliantly produced. Halfway through I was still thinking he couldn’t possibly have done it. By the end I was watching clips of (among others) Huw Edwards and Philip Schofield telling me what we all already knew.
📺 Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story (2022) - ★★★★☆
🍿 A Complete Unknown (2024) - ★★★★☆
I really enjoyed this take on Bob Dylan’s electrifying personal highway to rock ‘n’ roll superstardom hell amidst the increasingly furious shaking heads and would-be axe-wielding cable choppers of the folk establishment and elder guitar heroes.
Probably helps if you’re a Dylan fan. If you’re not, or you’re easily bothered by historical/factual inaccuracies in a “it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen” style movie then you should probably give it a miss.
Superb cast with highlights being Timothée Chalamet’s perfect portrayal of the obsessively creative introverted asshole Dylan and Monica Barbaro’s sensitive counterpoint as the already-a-superstar, slightly uptight but all-too-forgiving and exploited Joan Baez.
📺 Secret State (2012) - ★★★★☆
Inspired by the book, this is a very different take on A Very British Coup. I enjoyed the gritty reality of 80s' Harry Perkins, but the New Labour version with “Tom Dawkins” was so well done it made me want to throw up (in the scene-setting first episode, at any rate). Second and third episodes were much better and looking forward to the finale tonight. Featuring Gina McKee from Our Friends Up North in a strong cast.
