The Hard Way
Published April 18, 2020
Published April 18, 2020
Published April 18, 2020
So, yea, I've been doing this album thing for five years now and I've only just got around to listening to a Beatles record. If I'm honest, I've been avoiding them because the Beatles aren't my favourite. They've got a lot of good, classic songs, obviously, and we know they're super important to the music world, but mostly, they're just not my thing.
Published April 18, 2020
Published April 17, 2020
Based on nothing but my faith in Roland Emmerich, I purchased this film and was quite looking forward to it. What a let down! It made no sense, bombing sequence after bombing sequence, flitting here and there, and not really making any progress with the plot. They were explaining things but I couldn't follow it.
Published April 16, 2020
Published April 15, 2020
This was good, funny, and Rose and Tiffany were both great. I'm not sure the story totally held up - it was super short so it felt like they sort of ran out of ideas. I've got nothing against a short film, it's a breath of fresh air in the current Hollywood climate, but I think Salma's character should have messed with them more for it to really have the effect that it did.
Published April 14, 2020
Quick and easy read, this one, and I wasn’t sure it was going to compel me for long as I started, but somehow it kept drawing me further and further in. There’s not a lot of action, really, with most of the story taking two forms – Paige is a widow who channels some of her grief into digging a vegetable garden in her back yard, to the disgust of her neighbours. And at the same time, her new boss is instigating competitions to try and get the best from the team and it’s not sitting well with everyone.
Published April 13, 2020
It was good! I've been trying to avoid most things Star Wars in anticipation of the film so I hadn't realised there was such a negative reaction to this movie, I can't really see what's wrong with it? Good story, great characters, huge respect to Carrie Fisher, fun new creatures, interesting twist to the Rey story, and a big battle scene at the end. Sounds pretty Star Wars to me.
Published April 12, 2020
Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. The story basically makes sense, there were a couple of moments where I laughed, and Sonic at least didn't look horrific anymore. But it really wasn't a good movie, Jim Carrey's star-power couldn't cover the fact that he didn't really have any good lines, and I just felt sorry for Marsden having to act against nothing for most of the time.
Published April 12, 2020
Going into this lockdown, I wasn't particularly worried about staying entertained as there's enough content out there to last a lifetime. I am super impressed with some of the things people are coming up with though, to help bring a bit of joy into everyone's life, and if we're honest, also to keep themselves busy as well. I wanted to give a shout out to Jimmy Carr's Little Tiny Quiz …
Published April 12, 2020
I was perusing through some older audiobook purchases and discovered Stephen Fry reading through the second Paddington book. What could be more perfect in the current crazed situation than going on some adventures with a beloved bear? It's simple, it's fun, it has great characters and it's well-read by Mr Fry. Perfect.
Published April 11, 2020
I love this movie. It's not a good film, I grant you, but it's a cult classic and one of my favourites. Good ol' Kevin Costner wielding the bow and arrow, against Alan Rickman's incredibly camp Sheriff. Actually, the film stood up better than I thought it would, although the first half really does seem low budget - the sets are so obviously put together, it's wild.
Published April 11, 2020
Published April 11, 2020
Published April 10, 2020
The only highlight of the movie was seeing the familiar faces. It was good to get a glimpse of Starfleet and how that part of things works, but that was overshadowed by literally everything else. Very little characterisation, against a neat mystery to unravel but that could have been told in half the time.
Published April 10, 2020
Published April 10, 2020
Published April 10, 2020
I don't quite know how I've got this far in my lifetime without reading this - considered the original time travel story! It's a good one, I thought, showing great imagination but along with that grounding in science. Don't just expect people to go along with something, at least try to make it something possible.
Published April 9, 2020
It was okay as a sequel but it didn't quite live up to the first one. Tommy Lee Jones was excellent, really stole quite a lot of the scenes and it was disappointing he didn't have anyone as good as Harrison Ford to play off. The story wasn't as good, too complicated, and by the end, when the adorable one got shot, I just checked out, really.
Published April 7, 2020
It wasn't that great, really. It introduces all the characters we need to know for the movie, and of course opens up a lot of questions in terms of timelines, but it's fine. I thought there was too much fighting and not enough story, but I did like the relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka. There were a good couple of twists at the end too, I suppose.
Published April 6, 2020
Actually, the story made more sense than the trailer made it seem. It was still loud and bright and glittery but I didn't end up with a headache. I felt like the songs weren't as strong, but I did enjoy country trolls and there was quite a lot of fun in guessing who all the famous people behind the voices were. So that's something.
Published April 5, 2020
One of the things keeping everyone going during lockdown is bonus quizzing from a variety of sources, and that has reminded me that I have been meaning to do a Mastermind update. I rarely pay attention to the quiz show, as good as it is, but just occasionally they pop up with a subject I love and then I can't help but share the questions. Previously celebrities have taken on …
Published April 5, 2020
I don't know why I wasn't expecting to like this one that much, as I already thought Irish Son was a great song and I've loved Almost Here with Delta Goodrem since I first heard it. The rest of the album totally stacks up - although I have to admit to not being surprised Guy Chambers had his hands all over it.
Published April 5, 2020
Great album! I'm loving how the current state of pop music is firmly rooted in the 80s, and Dua is a perfect example of that. She's embracing the vibe and running through it from start to finish. You can tell that she's grown up a little for this album and has some things to say. Boys Will Be Boys is a great song that a lot of girls are going to relate to.
Published April 4, 2020
It was very similar to the first in terms of crazy action sequences within the game, lots of over-acting, great fun seeing the characters inhabiting different bodies at different times (although a bit confusing) and underneath it all, an actually heart-warming story about friends and growing up (either to adulthood, or coming to terms with growing older).
Published April 3, 2020
Published April 2, 2020
We've had a sort of love/hate relationship with these 'Has Fallen' movies, because they've not been very good but they are completely entertaining so it's not the end of the world. I'm not sure we would have gotten around to this one if we weren't looking for something particularly action-heavy and thinking-light.
Published April 2, 2020
Published March 29, 2020
Published March 29, 2020
When it was announced that we should all lock ourselves away and keep ourselves entertained within the four walls of our house, I didn't get too carried away thinking of all the things I could achieve. It's not like that. But I did think I might be able to blog a bit more than I have so far (read: no blogging at all). Unfortunately, marshalling the mind towards cohesive paragraphs …
Published March 29, 2020
Published March 29, 2020
Published March 27, 2020
Published March 27, 2020
I had an interesting journey through this one. At first, I wasn't convinced at all - the first half hour was boring, predictable, derivative, Vin Diesel doing what he does. I was rolling my eyes. But then, when the twist happened and things started unravelling, it became far more interesting! By the end, I was really enjoying the whole thing!
Published March 26, 2020
Published March 25, 2020
Published March 24, 2020
I’ve tried to read this a few times, I know the first few pages almost off by heart. Naturally, as a fan of Ioan Gruffudd, I loved the TV show but it’s taken a while for the books to grab me as well. This time, I listened to the audiobook as read by Christian Rodska, and it was really good. I like that it doesn’t shy away from the nautical terminology but equally is easy enough to follow.
Published March 23, 2020
From the moment I saw the trailer for this, I was looking forward to it so I was superbly excited when the pre-order finally downloaded. Thankfully, it lived up to every expectation. A fantastic mystery at the heart of it all, with plenty of moments you're completely led up the garden path, suspicious of people who have nothing to do with it, and tying yourself up in knots trying to figure out what happened.
Published March 23, 2020
As a companion to the Apple TV show of the same name, this book features the stories of a huge variety of people who made their way to America by a variety of different means. Some are hugely successful, some are just scraping by, some are happy and some are still searching, but all of them have a fascinating story to tell.
Published March 22, 2020
The enforced hibernation that the world is undergoing right now means I've managed to whip through the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series is super quick time. After highlighting five of my favourite episodes from the first series, it seems only right to do the same for the second. I enjoyed this season more, mostly because the characters seemed more settled in themselves. The trio of Kirk, Spock …
Published March 21, 2020
I used to be a big fan of horror movies but more recently have gone off them somewhat - I don't think this is out and out horror but it's certainly not something I would have chosen to watch if it wasn't for wanting to support the early release dates. I'm glad I did end up watching it though, because it was interesting.
Published March 21, 2020
Published March 21, 2020
Published March 20, 2020
A few things about the background to watching this movie: Its release was brought forward to digital rather than going to cinemas due to the global lockdown currently underway. That meant we were keen to watch it regardless of what it was all about because we've been waiting for this moment! Films available at the same time as the cinema (or as they should be in the cinema if the cinemas were open). Heaven.
Published March 20, 2020
I’ve listened to this before but realised I hadn’t reviewed it which was an oversight. And in the current tense climate of confusion and general overwhelming-ness, I figured listening to some guy telling stories of him being a bit silly during his life is exactly the right thing. This book is based on a feature in Josh Widdicombe’s radio show, which I’ve never heard, but has James recounting moments from his past where he’s gotten into a scrape.
Published March 19, 2020
Published March 18, 2020
This was so good! I've never heard of the TV show or the film but I obviously know Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones and they were both excellent. I loved that everyone in this was good at their jobs and doing some great work but still managing to just miss each other. There weren't any rubbish cops or anything like that.
Published March 18, 2020
I’d previously read half of this, which is annoying, because I’d never quite got to the bit where the mother and son duo escape from the room they are being held in. This book staggers me, partly because it’s such a well told story based on such an horrific crime, but also because it’s completely engaging despite being the scatty and unformed mind of a sheltered five-year-old.
Published March 17, 2020
I remembered watching this a long time ago and liking it, so I thought we could give it another go (although my other attempts at watching films I liked from my youth has not gone well so far). This one didn't let me down too much, although it was frustrating to see the obviously pretty Garofalo doubting herself quite so much.
Published March 17, 2020
This was so much better than I thought it was going to be. We only really knew of this because Boseman had appeared on the Graham Norton sofa to sell it, and it sounded interesting. With everything going on in the world at the moment, and our brains pretty consistently fried, we wanted some action adventure goodness to keep us going.