Hi hi hi,
Happy December and happy end of lockdown 2! Hope you all had a lush one. I’ve seen the Coke ad, which means Christmas has officially started!
I did a lot of watching stuff in the last month, ranging from some amazing stuff to some truly awful things. Part of my anxiety is struggling to watch something new, I find it really difficult and stressful. So, the fact that I have watched some new stuff is a really big thing for me!
Mum’s been busy, working away and bossing through Joe Wicks workouts. I have not gone running (it is too cold), but I have been attempting to get fit whilst watching the telly... Anyhow, here are my thoughts on this last months tv and film offerings. They are in no particular order, a good blogger might order them for you, maybe even link to them, but I am not a good blogger, so please enjoy my ramblings. Ok bye. Enjoy!
Right let’s start with what I'm watching whilst I write this, one of Netflix’s best sh*tty Christmas original movies – Christmas Inheritance. Truly brain mush in the best way. The snow is clearly shaving cream, the love story is forced, and there’s a lot of chat about cookies and letters.
Strictly Come Dancing is such a joy to watch right now! When the world is falling apart it’s so nice to have something familiar (same with I’m A Celeb and Bake Off, more on them later). They started off with some audience members in the studio but once the lockdown hit they just kept it as cast and crew, and it was really cute to watch them just having fun, it felt like the pressure was taken off the celebs! First thing, WHY aren’t people voting for Maisie! Admittedly I don’t vote for anything ever so maybe I'm a hypocrite, but, why does she keep ending up in the bottom two, you guys know she’s fantastic right?! Bill Bailey (probably booked as the joke act) is absolutely killing it and I love him, JJ Chalmers has my heart, I can’t stop thinking that Jamie is Judge Rinder and I miss Caroline Quentin, she was an absolute ray of sunshine!
I watched Clouds on Disney Plus. It’s a film based on the life of Zach Sobiech, a 17 year old kid with cancer who, when he finds out his cancer has spread and he’s terminal, decides to make an album with his friend, and one of their songs (Clouds) turned into a viral sensation. I remember the song, pretty sure I even bought it on iTunes. I also remember all the news coverage about him. Kieran watched it and sobbed like a baby so I was fully intending to cry from start to end (I did with Justin Baldoni’s other film Five Feet Apart), but I didn’t really. Maybe 2020 has rotted me and made me dead inside. The bit that really got me was then they showed footage of the real Zach during the credits. Justin Baldoni had met and worked with Zach Sobiech during the last few months of his life in 2013 and watching footage of the real guy, his family and all that just really hit me. It’s a long film, but moving and considerate. I enjoyed it.
I watched Hamilton for the 400th time. Fun fact, didn’t love the music first time I heard it. Don’t get me wrong I love Lin Manuel Miranda, I adore In The Heights and Moana. I know nothing about American politics or history and I just didn’t get it first time round. But watching it?! It’s incredible! Leslie Odom Jr. and Christopher Jacksons voices are gorgeous. And Phillipa Soo makes singing seem effortless! I am now a bit of a Hamilton fanatic.
I started watching the Star Wars films in chronological order with a pal. Which obviously means the prequels first. And well the prequels are the prequels so yeah. They’re cheeky though, especially Obi-Wan Kenobi, love a bit of Ewan McGregor cheekiness. It had been a while since I watched them which meant I was remembering bits of the film by the Lego PS2 game which honestly made the whole experience much better. I have so many questions about those first 3 films, like how the hell didn’t they know Anikin was a psycho?!
On Star Wars, The Mandalorian series 2!! IT IS SO GOOD. I am fully obsessed with it and fully in love with Baby Yoda. Those creepy spider thingys in episode 2 are not the one though. I have theories about how it’s going to end, and I don’t want them to come true because they’re sad theories. Anyway, watch it! WATCH IT!
As I mentioned before, having some of those regular series back was really comforting in this year. Bake Off was lush. Peter was such a deserving winner, though Sura and Hermine were my favourites. I am such an I’m A Celeb girl! I wasn’t sure how Wales was going to work but I’m actually loving it. They’re a good group! I think I’ve fallen a bit in love with Jordan North. I said during episode 1 that I thought Vernon Kay would be a bit of a snake and after his and Shane Richies whispered chat I consider myself correct and the god of all knowledge. My favourites to win are Jordan, Giovanna or Mo.
Speaking of series, I binged every episode of Friday Night Dinner and Taskmaster, they are exactly my brand of humour! Daisy May Cooper in this series of Taskmaster is actually hysterical!
I watched Steel Magnolias for the first time, and it broke my heart. Sally Field at the end, I’m getting tearful thinking about it now. She is a POWERHOUSE. And of course, Juila Roberts was in it being brilliant and beautiful as well. I also watched Erin Brockovich, never seen it before either, and its amazing! How haven’t I watched these films before?!
Okay so back to sh*tty Netflix. I subjected myself to all 3 of the A Christmas Prince films, because I want to torture myself. Also, Princess Switch 1 and 2, which w o w, so bad! Vanessa Hudgens accent really is awful. Holiday in the Wild isn’t the worst film but the irony of the film ending in 2020 and everything being fine and dandy and Kristin Davis being able to get a flight that easily is just… a lot. There were others, but I can’t remember what they were now, but rest assured, they were bad.
Not a film but still Netflix Christmas original. Dash and Lily. I binged the whole thing in a day so I can’t have hated it. It was kind of cute actually, but I have a lot of mixed emotions about love stories now, I liked that they sort of got to know each other. Also, the soundtrack was great!
Another Netflix Christmas original but not horrendous, was Jingle Jangle! I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s not going to win an Oscar, but it was really fun! There are some proper magical and heart-warming bits, there are these animated puppetry bits to tell moments in the story which I loved. Some of the songs have real Greatest Showman vibes, good songs throughout though no real ear worm numbers.
I watched Crazy Rich Asians. SO pretty! The script was awful. Constance Wu was brilliant, everyone else was pretty meh. Loved Awkwafina! I didn’t not enjoy it, but I didn’t love it, you know. Also, the ending, as much as I wanted her to walk away from that stuck up family, I am glad that Henry Goldings mum got over herself and let everyone be happy.
Of course, I have been watching series 4 of The Crown! I love The Crown. I was crying for Diana within moments of seeing her on screen for the first time. Gillian Anderson is fantastic! Olivia Coleman was a bit better in this series, though I’m not sure if I'm just used to her now maybe? She still pales in comparison to everyone else who you can tell has really put in the work though. As we all know, the hair, make up and costume in this programme are fantastic! I can’t not mention the recent statement from Oliver Dowden regarding the addition of a ‘fiction warning’. I mean I get it, he said ‘I fear a generation of viewers who did not live through these events may mistake fiction for fact’, and yeah, I was only about for the very end of Diana’s life (I actually threw a fit the day she died as the Teletubbies wasn’t on) and therefore perhaps I am taking more of the show for real, but I am also aware that this show is a work of fiction. The royals have always been super hush hush about what really goes on behind closed doors, so Peter Morgan (creator of The Crown) has of course had to embellish off news reports and historical events etc. Personally, I don’t care whether or not Netflix add a ‘fiction warning’ at the start of their dramatized documentaries. My concerns come where certain dramatizations cause anguish for those who are pivotal to the true story (eg. Sarah Horsley).
Netflix released if anything happens I love you, a short film about parents grief in the wake of a school shooting. And it’s beautiful and very powerful. The shadows were so clever, telling the story that the parents couldn’t. I was really moved by it.
Somebody Feed Phil is honestly the happiest and most joyous programme in the world! Phil Rosenthal (creator of Everybody Loves Raymond), travels around the world meeting people, eating food, and spreading love. He is the sweetest man and it is one of the best food and travel shows I've ever seen. It’s just so fun! All 4 series are on Netflix, give it a watch!
I watched Freddie Flintoff: Living with Bulimia. It was very moving. A really brave thing for him to do.
Finally, I watched some old favourites too of course, Miss Congeniality (the first 12 rating I ever watched), Home Alone 1 and 2 (I have never seen 3, maybe I should watch 3?), Legally Blonde, Love Actually, The Santa Clause 1, 2 and 3, and I restarted Jane the Virgin too.
So, I watched a lot… And I plan to watch more! I’m not sure if I’ll do another post like this, as it sort of did take the fun out of watching sometimes. We’ll see though as this was also a lot of fun to write!
Mum and I plan to watch some stuff together (through the internet of course) and maybe work our way through the National Theatres streaming service, so before long you’ll be hearing from both of us together again.
Thanks for reading gang,
Ellie x