Available on Netflix

There is more than one film with this title .

This is based on the tragic true story of Gypsy Rose and her Mother DeeDee Blanchard. In this film called Esme and Camille

The Film starts with a body, covered in blood, found at their house .

It transpires that things were nothing like it had seemed to the outside world.

The Mother a Carer for her sick wheelchair bound daughter. The daughter seemingly dependent on her.

We enjoyed this film and researched the real story afterwards .

Gripping, at times traumatic, sad and haunting

Has anyone seen it? Any thoughts?

I saw it on Sunday, having read some good reviews, but I got fooled again.
I don't want to offend anyone as I understand James Bond is next to the queen in terms of national gems ;)

But, it's not a good movie, I'm sorry. I mean, of course some nice visual effects, in theory some intriguing story - but that's about that.

The same potato salad only this time a little bit extra fat, or less salt - effectively it's just the same potato salad we ate like 100 times already.

I wish for once they changed the format a bit more... Maybe not another creepy villain this time? Maybe more dynamic characters? Maybe a bit more complex story? Maybe more humour? FFS, think a little bit outside of the box, producers!

The only Bond movie I liked was Casino Royale (with Craig), as it actually differed a lot from this same old used format.

Watched this last night. True story about the aftermath of 911 and how compensation was worked out on a formula based on what each life was worth and families fighting to get people to realise that a cleaner dying in the trade centre was worth as much as a top exec etc. Very moving film

Starring Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd and Kevin Kline

A woman coming to terms with the loss of a child contends with a threatening bird in her garden. Whilst her husband struggles with his mental health.

Doesn’t sound much fun - some reviews say it’s awful
But we liked it
More drama than comedy
We found it intriguing 🤨 with some unexpected outcomes . Yes it was far fetched , a bit off the wall, classic McCarthy , but touchingly different, well acted and the ‘bird’ doesn’t become a best friend like in a Disney movie. Poignant
Has anyone else seen it?

As mentioned in the music group

https://youtu.be/G4QKfAq93lc

On Netflix

A good version 👍

Documentary that spans over a decade following the case of novelist Michael Peterson whose wife died on their staircase. Very interesting following the trial and evidence - I still can't make up my mind what the truth is!

Available on BBC IPlayer

When two odd brothers lose the Grandmother that cared for them after their parents death, they go searching for the older ones ‘real’ father.

Easy to watch, silly, far fetched but fun and feel good too. Johnny Vegas plays a small role.

A film to relax to on a Sunday afternoon

https://youtu.be/aD_0i_fByBI

I am a huge lover of films with the lovely Greer Garson. Have just obtained a DVD of "Blossoms in the Dust". The true story of Edna Gladney who started a home for children needing to be adopted and fought the Courts to have the word "Foundling" to be removed from their birth certificates.
Also love "Random Harvest" with Greer and Ronald Coleman.

Does anyone buy "The Retro" magazine, I love it, so informative of passed Stars?

After seeing other versions but now not remembering much about them I had been putting this off, even through all the hype at the time of its release.

The plot involves a famous country singer, played by Bradley Cooper, with a alcohol problem, meeting and falling for a younger less successful female singer , played by Lady Gaga. It follows their love story, her rise to fame , and his fall from grace.

As beautiful and touching as promised, Lady Gaga’s acting is amazing and the chemistry between her and Bradley
Cooper is absolutely sensational.

If you haven’t seen it , it’s on Netflix now. Well worth investing the time on 😁

Nice, warm, gentle film set in Dublin. Lots of music.

Netflix

An Italian dubbed movie

It’s silly and far fetched but has the appeal of Amelie

Quirky , sweet, ironic and poignant .

Give it a try 😃

Film4 tonight at 9pm

If you can watch it without shouting ‘get out’ I’d be amazed

😁

On BBC Iplayer

A tough Italian American bouncer is hired by Dr Don Shirley, a world class classical pianist, to be his chauffeur and protector, on a concert tour of the Deep South in the early
Sixties . Dr Shirley is an African American.

The film is based on a true story and confronts racism and segregation of the era. It also shows the growing relationship between two very different people.

A superb film, the banter and the chemistry between the actors is as touching as the story itself . Poignant, striking, informative, a must watch.

A Gold Star ⭐️ from me

Netflix - mainly in Hindi with subtitles

Easy to watch - incredibly touching at times.

A beautiful, heartwarming film about a young girl learning to skateboard in a small village in India. It challenges old fashioned values. Portrays cultures and possibilities. Shows the pressures a poor teenage girl is under from her strict father and the caste system.

An English woman visits the village and brings ideas that are not wanted by the older generation.

A lovely family film and at the end it shows the ‘real’ change it made.

I’ll be honest I’m more into the classic films, maybe having worked at the British Film Institute in the 1970s and working for two film lecturers who were only interested in certain directors. We also got free National Film Theatre tickets so got to see all the best, and also see interviews with some of the greatest film stars of the day. And if you even breathed whilst watching films being shown you would get a Tut!! Forget all the munching, slurping, phones on, that goes on today, especially in those bijou cinemas.
Anyway I just watched on BBC iplayer, “I remember Mama” 1948 for the first time. A beautiful very moving film of a Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco. Irene Dunne should have got the Oscar. Can’t believe I hadn’t seen it before. Maybe more a woman’s film, if I’m allowed to say that today.

With the help of my Granddaughter I managed to see a film on Netflix this afternoon! lol

I can highly recommend this film, had me on the edge of my settee! Starring Sandra Bullock, PREMONITION.

Wish Dragon is a Chinese-American Computer animated fantasy comedy film

Like a Genie, the Wish Dragon comes out of a lamp (or in this case a Tea Pot)
He is Huge, Bright Pink and his name is Long

Inspired by the same Chinese fable as Aladdin its a beautiful, moving, inspiring and heart warming film. Full of colour, fun, magic and love,

With a terrific ending . This really is a must watch. I absolutely loved it
Suitable for even the smallest child and the most mature of adults.

Enjoy 😀

Seen on Netflix, this 2019 film is about Katherine a late night chat show host who has got complacent about her role. She does not know the names of the writers for her show and has become quite arrogant, until she finds out that her job may be on the line.
She is accused of being a woman who hates other women so decides to take on a female writer called Molly (Mindy Kaling) who is determined to help her turn the show around. A Comedy drama with some lovely characters, its worth a watch. We enjoyed it. Also stars John Lithgow as Katherine's husband.

Have anyone watched Bridgerton? It started off looking like the complete opposite to what I’d usually be interested in 😉 but I enjoyed the show so much! (even so it reminded me a bit of 50 shades of grey 🤪 )
I really like Daphne’s character and think she was cast very well, a really great fit for this show in my opinion. However I was the most intrigued by Eloise & Penelope’s storyline. As I was by the music – modern songs simply played on classical instruments! Brilliant idea.

I like binge-watching same old sitcoms over and over again. I particularly love Friends, The Office, IT Crowds, HIMYM, Flight of the Conchords (even been to a gig at O2 once) and they all have brilliant episodes at times. The winner for me though is 4.17 episode of New Girl: Spider Hunt.

Just watched it yesterday again and it left me in tears as per usual. The chat between Nick and Jess is a pure masterpiece of comedy. If you don't know "New Girl" but have access to it, you can easily watch that one episode straight-on. The only background you need to have is that Jess and Nick used to go out and Cici is Jess's best friend - that should suffice.

Has anyone been to see the new Cruella film? Taking the little ones over the weekend.
I am not usually into the remakes, I just don't find they ever compare to the originals, but I have seen some good reviews on this one.

At 2 hrs 17 mins I was expecting this Russian drama to be somewhat tedious, based on a book and set on the frozen rivers and canals of St Petersburg.

I was pleasantly surprised at its gradual build up into a romantic fantasy adventure .

A young petty thief wins the heart of an aristocrats daughter but they are kept apart.

The first part may seem slow but the tension builds and the second half is full of surprises.
And most of this is on skates

Series one , eight parts

Is anyone watching this surreal but haunting series?

Babies born as part animal and a deadly virus spreading across the world !

(Netflix) Super animation about the Mitchell family (not the ones in Eastenders) who find out they are the last people on earth, not captured or destroyed by the machines.
It doesn’t matter what your age you will enjoy it. Clever, funny, even sad at times.
Don’t miss it, the music is great too

I think I mentioned that one in a comment somewhere already. Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie, if anyone is after a light and funny movie for a Sunday afternoon, "Yesterday" is your answer. I've watched it like 3 times already ;)

The story goes:
A failed songwriter/singer is hit by a bus. When he recovers the world he knew is bit different now - an alternative history seems to have happened (i'm guessing the Mandela Effect was the inspiration?). People are not familiar with many things (i.e. Coca-cola) or bands for that matter, like The Beatles. And he knows all their songs.

IMDB rating is bit low - probably not enough car chases? But for me it was fun to watch each time. Really liked Himesh Patel performance BTW, they should cast him left and right - laid-back yet intriguing . Lily James as his first manager is super charming IMO.

Needless to say, you will hear plenty of the Beatles songs on the way.

Sweet and heartfelt , funny and ironic , this film is about a 12 year old Jewish lad whose Bar Mitzvah is planned for the day of the 1966 cup final. We laughed out loud as he prays and tries to jinx or curse the England team hoping they won’t be in the final. But of course we know they will be. With Helena Bonham Carter as his Mum, Eddie Marsan as his Father, and Catherine Tate as his Aunt, it couldn’t go far wrong. Clever and witty, give it a watch on one of these awful rainy afternoons . It brightened our day!

Most of us have heard of Jackie Weaver but did we know how well known she is in the film world and how she can still sing even now in her 70’s

No not that Jackie Weaver of course

This film is a must watch - a gospel singing Mother estranged from her gay son is left his drag club after he overdoses and dies.
Enlightening, funny and very touching .

Love the song at the end

https://youtu.be/5u2I2khC6-c

Not expecting much from that show but still it's a must-watch for me.
Side note - is it me, or Matt LeBlanc is the only one who doesn't look as if he/she has had 38 plastic surgeries?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRXVQ77ehRQ

Last days on Netflix
Being removed on 31st May

Fantastic spoof sci fi adventure

Real ‘aliens’ approach the actors from Galaxy Quest believing them to be true space travellers.

Ideal watch on a rainy day

‘Never give up, Never surrender’

A courtroom drama, I only watched this due to Sacha Baron Cohen being in the cast, and found the first few minutes difficult due to background music, then , all of sudden it came to life. I would highly recommend it.

Based on a true story
‘ In 1969, seven people were charged by the federal government with conspiracy and more, arising from the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago’

On Netflix . Don’t miss it.

Great film from 2012 about a filmmaker and his friends who came up with the idea to kidnap the dog of a local gangster boss, which turns out to be a really bad idea.All-star cast with Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken and Tom Waits.
Pretty bloody and un-nerving, not for the faint hearted, but great to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsHR77oQKEY

Anyone watched it on Netflix? I'm 1/3 way there and I find myself snoring to it.

Sir Anthony Hopkins posted a video from Wales the morning after winning this year’s best actor Oscar for his performance in the film The Father. At 83 years of age, Hopkins has become the oldest recipient of the award. In his video message, he paid tribute to actor and fellow nominee Chadwick Boseman 'who was taken from us far too early'.

Has anyone watched that movie yet? There seems to be a huge hype around it, any opinions?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sxCFZ8_d84

Last one for today :)
I've read the book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett years ago and absolutely loved it. If you haven't read it: Do it!

The TV-Miniseries is, well, difficult to say. I guess it's more fun if you haven't read the book. It kind of covers most of the book story, but somehow (understandably) a lot of the irony (especially the thoughts of the characters) are missing. Still, watch it if you are into weird stuff.

I recently watched the complete mini-series "Wolf Hall" (about Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII). I am the first to admit that it is really well done, great actors and settings. And as far as I could find out later, it is mostly historically accurate.
However while forced exposition is normally considered bad in movies, I wish they would sometimes give me a hint who characters are actually talking to and what historic character just passed by on the screen. While very relaxing to watch, I got totally lost who is who (especially the supporting actors) and what they were talking about.
Is this just me (because I did not go to a British school)? Do people who grew up in Britain know all this stuff about Henry VIII, Cromwell, France, Anna Boleyn in detail?
Anyway, I highly recommend watching it, but be warned: It might lead you down the wikipedia rabbit hole.

In know, I know .. it's supposed to be a children's film. But the other day I decided to watch it again (I wasn't totally sober). It's from 1968 and actually a very weird movie, especially Obelix eating something weird and going on some kind of drug trip.

The colours and aesthetics a very 60s. Not sure what I thought about it as a kid. Anyone remembering this movie from their childhood?

There are four TV shows that keep rewatching years after years. These are:

1. Friends - I'm not gonna lie this is the number one for me. The reason is that all episodes are almost equally good, so no matter which one you pick it will be fun to watch. All the actors are brilliant, almost no favourites. Maybe except Ross, my alter ego ;)

2. The Office (US) - there are plenty of episodes that are by far much better than any Friends ones, but the show is uneven at times. You will love the real feel of mockumentary with no background laughs, though!

3. The IT Crowd - that would be my number one in terms of actors, the humour and the fact it's about IT guys in London. But it's only 24 episodes I think so not enough to binge-watch. Every episode is a masterpiece though, every little details matters and everything always nicely wraps up at the end.

4. How I met your mother - resemblance to Friends is obvious. Most the episodes are funny or very funny, but can be pretentious.

A strange, sometimes hilarious, at other times hideous, Danish comedy drama.

Two brothers travel to a remote island in an attempt to find their Father. They discover a horrible and bizarre truth.

This is a truly weird movie about a mathematician who thinks he is on track to explain everything in the world by numbers and to discover some universal principle. At some point it's not clear any more if he is slowly going mad and what is real or just in his brain as he becomes increasingly paranoid.

Also totally taking the piss out of conspiracy theories.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ1sZSCz47w

Sweet film about the growing respect between two Indian men as one (a former Doctor) diagnosed with dementia, hires the other (a tuk tuk driver) to take him across the country to places he lived, studied and worked during his life.
The Doctor is a Hindu and the driver a Muslim. They learn about each other’s past and each other’s cultures .
Sad at times but heartwarming in places. Worth watching 🎥

IMHO one of the best movies about the financial crisis, a bit set up like a thriller, but super realistic. Not really any action, but a great character study and top cast.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margin_Call

Have you watched anything from this list? Can you recommend something?
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210128-ten-films-to-watch-in-february

Now on Netflix this Spanish film with subtitles is a romantic comedy , sweet with a great message.

Grandma is her 70’s announces she is going to get married which sparks bewilderment and chaos amongst her family .

Recommended by my eldest daughter as she still recovers at home from her operation in 2020!

Unique and beguiling 🙂

Natalie, played by Rebel Wilson, is knocked unconscious during a mugging. She wakes up to find herself in an alternative ‘Rom Com Universe’. Her worst nightmare.
She is now the leading lady in a romantic, real life comedy. A parody of Romantic comedies.
The ideal film to brighten up a dreary stuck at home day.
It’s far fetched, ridiculous, over the top and corny and at times hilarious.
It appealed to my silly sense of humour and we laughed out loud. Look out for the karaoke scene . Give it a try. 10 out of 10 for fun.
On Netflix now

After long months I finally tired out "The Crown" (Season 3 and 4) on Netflix. Has anyone seen it? I bet many users did as it's after all a history about our/your beloved Queen.

It all got me thinking how this whole monarchy structure even works. As an outsider (to UK) I always thought of the queen as some kind of mascot to England (if I offended anyone here I can call her Latin Fidei Defensor). I read that weakening of British monarchy started with queen Victoria (yet, 18th most popular English person apparently to some poll I forgot).

She would show up on TV on some special occasion, like Ascot, sometimes dressed in a funny attire. That was pretty it. And yes, of course unhappy Diana with unhappy Charles - every little kid, even in far depths of Poland knew of this great, great tragedy... Somehow, no-one ever wondered why we even gave a hoot to all this joke.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not some revolutionary freak that wants to kill all the aristocracy back in 18th century. It's just that to me the woman does literally nothing, except for owning some land and showing up here and there. I admit, this is a very valuable brand for UK (Elisabethness, Diananess, etc) and I wouldn't get rid of the goose that lays the golden egg. But at least it's given this is all a well-planned theatrical show, isn't?

And now back to Netflix - the show on the other hand seems to say that Queen's role in the political landscape really matters. And that's what's struck me the most when watching it. Even as a "consultant" of sorts to the PM she is after all British sovereign - I know - but what does it even mean? It's just a word, because it is OBVIOUS the real sovereign are British people - they can cancel this show in a referendum, any time. So my main question is: is the whole story just super exaggerated or is that 1:1 real? Based on your memories and knowledge.

Netflix 2020
Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Gabriel Basso. Directed by Ron Howard.
A touching American drama based on the memoirs of the same name.

Thought provoking, poignant, at times tough and violent, with scenes of drug abuse. Full of flashbacks and at times even difficult to watch .
Glenn Close as you have never seen before. There’s no glamour involved. She is the star that makes the film and saves the day.

What I loved was the end where they showed the real people and updated what happened next .

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSvgQmuk/

Then watch Death to 2020 on Netflix, ironic, witty, often true.

A mockumentary

Based on the Enola Holmes mysteries by Nancy Springer, Enola, younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft uses her own sleuthing skills to help the young Viscount Tewsbury when setting out to look for her missing mother (played by Helena Bonham Carter).

Enola played by Millie Bobby Brown, outsmarts her brothers in a tale of intrigue and mystery. Beautiful settings, lovely cinematography, filled with fun, foolishness but with some violence. We really enjoyed it. Quite charming.

One of my favourite movie's on channel five tonight