2023 TV

[Ivanhoe]

On that note, I got a lot of laughs watching Spy;

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2086606/?ref_=fn_al_tt_13

Robert Lindsey was hilarious. Stole the show.

Also an amusing show was Alex Rider. Simplistic, and uses the exhausted "angsty teenager" motif, but excellent production values.

[Stuart Galbraith]

It is amazing how absolutely consistent Robert Lindsey has been. I can remember watching him over 40 years ago in 'Citizen Smith', founder member of the Tooting Popular Front and Urban Revolutionary. Hilarious serious if you can ever find it, and helps you understand how Britain Pre Thatcher worked. Or mainly didnt.

 

[NickM]

On 5/24/2024 at 8:12 AM, Soren Ras said:

Well produced pop/rock music, catchy melody and completely outlandish costumes. The difference between Kiss and ABBA are in retrospect remarkably small...

Of course ABBA had the advantage (or disadvantage, depending on your viewpoint) of the slightly off-kilter use of English seen in a lot of Euro-pop, which will either be endearing or very irritating.

 

I like well crafted lyrics of the Lorenz Hart, Cole Porte variety, so since I am not getting that anymore, it might as well have some novelty value, beyond the either completely anodyne (most of it) or faux edgy trash (I am looking at you, W.A.P.), so I I have a somewhat weak spot for the bad English ABBA lyrics.

--

Soren

 

Now decades later, we see that Sweden is the home of some of the hardest rockin' metal bands to ever rupture an eardrum.

[Stuart Galbraith]

So I take back what Ive said about Netflix. Ive just been watching Black Doves, and its excellent. Ok, so logically its sort of absurd the kind of private enterprise spy company they envisage, but its well done, doesnt veer into mawkishness or comedy too deeply, and good performances all round with a plot thats kept me engaged so far. The dialogue between the female assassins in it is genuinely hilarious.

 

[Ivanhoe]

I was going to post a query about that series. It popped up in my FB feed, the trailer/ad looked interesting.

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Ok, lets the negative out the way. It has Ben Whishaw in it, who is truly a great actor lets be fair, but has to put his gay identity out there as often as he can in the parts he plays. Which basically means men kissing. Not nearly as much as you might worry about, but probably more than you will like.

OTOH there is just as much Keira Knightly in it, and she does quite a lot of kissing as well, which is just fine in my book.

Other than that, its pithy, brutal (if you have seen Gangs of London from the same creators, you can probably figure out how brutal), fight scenes are well figured out, and at least halfway through so far, an engaging plot. Probably somewhere between Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and House of cards, if you can imagine such a thing.

So up to you really. Im enjoying it, I just hope they dont screw it up at the end.

Edited December 9, 2024 by Stuart Galbraith