What I'm Watching Now: April 18, 2017

I'm in between a lot of shows and I have a small stack of DVDs waiting to be watched.
Live on TV, Call the Midwife and Home Fires started two weeks ago and they're replaying Forsyth Saga and Wolf Hall for any Damien Lewis fanatics.
On Netflix, I'm stuck in season 3 of Peaky Blinders. The beginning of 3 felt very rushed, and it felt like the quality was slacking so I stepped away for a few weeks, but I'm going to try and finish at least season 3 soon.
A friend of mine discovered they loaded the complete series up tho this point of The Doctor Blake Mysteries, which is so awesome! I watched season 1 and part of season 2 on DVDs from the library, but now I'm continuing on Netflix.
I went for a weekend in Portland recently and the hotel had basic cable so I was able to watch some House Hunters and Fixer Upper (I love Chip and Joanna Gaines!)

I'm trying to stay abreast of the news, but the impending war makes me avoid it. Its almost unconscious.
That's it for now.

Dogtooth (2009)***

I saw The Lobster, which was different and I liked it,  so I looked up what other films that director Yorgos Lanthimos has done and I found Dogtooth available at the library, so I checked it out!

Dogtooth is a strange little subtitled Greek movie about a strange little very controlled family. I didn’t think I was going to be able to get past the first 20 minutes, but I soon became intrigued: What were these strange kids going to do and how can their strange parents maintain this lifestyle?

I don’t think I’ve experienced this before, but this was the first time I watched a movie’s deleted scenes and it made me appreciate the film even more. It was apparent why those scenes should have been cut and the value their cuts added to the movie.

Lanthimos' movies have strange stories and he uses unusual techniques to tell them. I find his style refreshing, especially after watching a lot of BBC produced stuff and the syndicated procedurals I lean on for entertainment during the week.  His style is a little avant garde or artsy, so if you can’t take that, then this film is so not for you. But if you’re ready to try something different, subtitled, disturbing at times with some small spurts of violence then this give this one a go.  

I liked Dogtooth. I’m giving it three stars*** because I liked it, but its not something I see myself watching again and again, although there are certain scenes I might try to find and re-watch on YouTube. 

I checked out Dogtooth on DVD from the library. 

What I'm Watching Now: March 20, 2017

Peaky Blinders: I'm already on season 2 of this Netflix series. I love it. I love Cilian Murphy. Tom Hardy's character is abhorrent. I'm trying to watch it slower so that it can be in my life longer.

The Doctor Blake Mysteries: I just received season 2 of this series from the library. It is an Australian series about a sad doctor who solves crimes.

Six Feet Under: I needed to revisit another show from HBO's golden days, so I started Six Feet Under and immediately fell in, again (Get it?!). There aren't many timely references that remind you of the aughts, so, so far it stands the test of time, but I'm only in the middle of the first season.

I watched Birth of a Nation last week and will write a review sooner or later.

There's also the usual marathons on Ion: Criminal Minds and Blue Bloods, mostly. And whatever Masterpiece crumbs PBS throws out: Wuthering Heights (Tom Hardy version), Call the Midwife and Home Fires.

TV: Victoria (2016)****

Let me just start with the fact that I thought the last episode of this season was fantastic. It felt like a totally different director than the rest of the episodes, but it turns out the same director handled episodes 6, 7 and 8.

So, honestly, I'm a sucker for good love stories and the story of Victoria and Albert is pretty darn good. There was a movie, Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend and the chemistry between Blunt and Friend can't hold a candle to Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes, who are real-life lovers.

Not only did they have great on-screen chemistry, but I enjoyed their portrayals of the characters. But don't you go to the bathroom during the other characters' screen time! I also enjoyed the side stories of Mr. Francatelli and Ms. Skerret; The push and pull between the butler Mr. Penge and Baroness Lehzen and British Government as a character.

Victoria opens on the princess, confined to Kensington Palace, discovering that she is now the Queen of England. A teenage girl now has to learn how to be queen, decide who she can trust, and most importantly, marry and produce an heir to the throne. That's a lot of pressure when all you want to do is enjoy your new freedom. She is pressured to give her cousin Albert a try and it turns out he's the one. They get married and together they navigate the political and social sharks.

Awesome acting moment: In the last episode, during Victoria's confinement aka labor,Victoria (Jenna Coleman) looks to her left and right, trying to gather strength from the eyes of the people who are closest to her, and in her face you can see the fear of childbirth, but the resolve that there is nothing else to do, but to push.

I'm giving Victoria four stars ****. I can very easily watch this over and over, it is another beautiful Masterpiece production, the acting befits the amount they spent on the production and I want an opportunity to group hug with Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes. Waiting patiently for my chance.

This series aired on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre in 2017.

Movie: Manchester By the Sea (2016)****

I went to New York City and spent the majority of the time on a couch in a timeshare. I finally got up one night, a Monday, you know, when the majority of a the theaters are dark, and the only show I was able to catch was Blackbird, a single-set drama starting Michelle Williams and Jeff Bridges. At the time I disliked it, but seeing Manchester By the Sea, gave me a different point of view, and I wish I would have seen the movie before the play. After seeing the film, I look back at the play and can appreciate the intensity of the situation, the set, and most definitely the acting. I see it all in a different light, so to speak: From the harsh tungsten of the office break room to the natural, partly cloudy skies of Massachusetts.

That being said, I enjoyed more than Michelle Williams' acting in Manchester By the Seas. It was a movie with an authentic feel that was well acted and with dialogue that one might confuse with being unscripted.

In it, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), a sad case who banished himself to Boston after his own tragedy, learns of his brother's sudden death and returns to his hometown. Not long after. Lee discovers that his brother had willed him to be the legal guardian of his nephew and property, a responsibility he doesn't feel strong enough to take on.

Manchester by the Sea hardly has any music in it. Most of the scenes survived on silence, dialogue and the play between the actors.

Best scene: When Patrick, the nephew, Patrick, finally breaks down and Lee does his best to help him.

This won the 2017 Chocket Award for Best Talkie and I'm giving it Four Stars**** because it is really good and I do want to watch it more than once, but I'm not sure if this is one I'll want to watch over and over again. We'll see how I feel in a year.