Moemg
Gone but not forgotten
I am seriously hooked on " Orange is the new black ".
I've raved about Vera, the itv British series starring Brenda Blethyn, here before. Just watched the DVD from Netflix of Season 3, Episode 1.
Still crazy about it. It's my favorite type of mystery/police procedural, because it deals with the psychology and the relationships among the characters so incredibly well. I'm not crazy about all the high-tech police procedurals out there--whether American or British or other European series. I love the ones that challenge you to wonder "who really wants to have these people out of their lives and why?". Vera is all that and more. Blethyn has the most wonderful way about her; reminds me of Colombo.
I may have to buy the whole series on DVD.
Can't wait for Netflix to offer Series 3 on streaming. I can watch these British mystery series over and over. I often forget whodunit.
I watched one episode of this before giving up. Something about thick Irish accents I absolutely cannot understand. I've watched Irish movies and the Irish characters on Sons Of Anarchy, and had the same response.
I'm sure it's an excelent show. Just my personal quirk. Anyone else experience this?
I love Vera but admit we used closed captioning when we could. I love the character and the actress. Pretty sure it's not an Irish setting
We blew through Orange Is the New Black--loved it.
Thanks for suggesting this. We watch "The Lunchbox" last night and enjoyed it.Highly recommend "The Lunchbox", a 2013 movie from India. Only available on DVD from Netflix at this time, not on streaming yet.
Very sweet, funny, and an interesting look into everyday middle-class life in Mumbai. About two lonely people connecting with each other in a most unusual way. I don't want to give away any more details about the plot so that you can just let it wash over you.
It doesn't have a nice fairy tale tie-it-up-in-a-pretty-bow ending, but that's what is so realistic about it. It's ambiguous, we don't know what will happen--just like life!
When his mistress is found dead, Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) tries desperately to protect his name and career. As journalists Cal (Russell Crowe) and Della (Rachel McAdams) investigate further, they uncover an intricate web of lies that stretches to the highest levels of power.
Not Netflix, but available on Roku, free, on the PBS channel ... on-line, until October 21, and maybe on PBS itself. In any case "The Act of Killing" is a fictionalized/true story of the 1960's purge of more than one million Indonesians...
The repercussions from this 2014 Oscar Nominated, and winner of other Documentary Film awards, is a source for ongoing political discussion throughout the world.
Not for the faint of heart or for children.
I would suggest reading some of the news articles and reviews of the movie, before watching, since the presentation could be confusing.
Not for entertainment, so be forewarned.
I took away some ambiguous thoughts about politics, violence, and the kind of mass executions that have pervaded all of recorded history. Perhaps some understanding of the atrocities that have occurred in our lifetime... that we put in the back of our rational minds because this kind of death doesn't compute.
In any case, a story that can't be put into the category of "similar to...."
the Jewish Cardinal (2013) is a a French made for TV movie about Aaron (Jean-Marie) Lustiger, who was born to a Jewish family in 1926, escaped the Holocaust, converted to Catholicism as a teenager, became a priest, and rose rapidly in the ranks of the church. He always considered himself a Jew, but was clearly conflicted. He died in 2007. There is a lot of smoking in this movie, which is in French with subtitles. This is a most interesting story about faith and identity. The actor who plays then-Pope John-Paul II is outstanding.
Fleming (2014) is a four part BBC miniseries on the life of Ian Fleming, who wrote the James Bond novels. He came from a wealthy family and was a playboy and ne'er do well until his influential mother persuaded Churchill to find him a job in the British Intelligence during WW2. He went on to have some interesting spying adventures, which he developed into a lucrative writing career. He was also an obnoxious bastard and into BDSM with his upper class lover, who was cheating on her husband, who was killed in the war, and her fiancé, who seemed a jolly old chap. Fleming and his lover (who married in 1952) were heavy smokers and Fleming died at 56 of a heart attack. This series takes us up to the end of WW2, when he was discharged from the service and began his writing career.
I gave this 4 stars, because it was a good yarn with believable acting, but I disliked the Fleming character. Anna Chancellor, whom you might remember from Four Weddings and a Funeral, plays Lt. Monday (on whom Moneypenny is based).