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Feel Good (2020–2021)
9/10
Funny, intense, wonderful
25 June 2021
I caught this series almost by accident. Started to watch for something to do and I am now on series 2 and I just love it.

It genuinely makes me laugh out loud. The humour is deadpan and ridiculous - perfect for me. It's intense, full of heart, heartbreaking at times and the cast are all so imperfectly human and loveable (apart from George's friends, maybe!). Phil is an absolute gem of a character.

Even better, the legend that is Lisa Kudrow is in it and her small bits of dialogue here and there are just perfection.

Also, big up to the much needed representation of LGBTQIA2S+ in mainstream TV and I want to see more of it (not just in comedies). My kids, the next generation, need to grow up with this as a the norm in every day society so that they, or their friends, or anyone else who is feeling unable to be who they are, don't feel they have to "come out" or find acceptance.
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8/10
Beautiful
6 June 2021
I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed this. By that I mean I expected to like it given the actors in it, but was pleasantly surprised by how captivating it was. Arguably, not much happens other than the incredible sexual tension and blossoming love between Elio and Oliver but it's so beautifully paced and delivered that I was really moved by it.

I found myself totally drawn in to Elio's pain and desperate longing, the character arc of Oliver, the monologue by Elio's father, and the perfect way the laziness of a hot Italian summer was captured. So much so that I'm still thinking about it days later which is always a good sign.
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Minari (2020)
8/10
A good story!
17 April 2021
So, don't watch the film with the intention of it being a typical Hollywood style film with tonnes of over the top drama that hardly ever applies to real life.

It's just a good, largely wholesome story about an immigrant family making a life and living in the USA. There are some really great characters in it, making it joyful to watch. The problems the family face are realistic and slower paced, much life real life.

It's hard to say much more than that, I think you just have to see the film to see it's subtle beauty.
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8/10
A very cleverly written roller coaster of a ride
17 April 2021
This was cleverly written and I loved that it had some questionable moments of morality with the protagonist despite having so much empathy for her pain. Carey Mulligan is a fantastic actress so I knew I would not be disappointed with her portrayal. One minute I was totally on her side, the next I'm feeling she's gone too far with it, then I'm back on her side again knowing that nothing will change otherwise.

I very much appreciated the writer's choice not to glorify the crime itself or make it solely about the victim's undoubtedly tragic story of trauma. She allows you to fill in those gaps yourself (or not if you'd rather not think about it!)

Given that the protagonists are all good looking, seemingly kind, educated, white men (yes, white privilege absolutely applies here) who, "were just having drunk fun.. It was years ago..blah blah", the film so importantly captures the societal assumptions about the majority of cases of sexual assault thus forcing the viewer to feel internal conflict about whether it was a mistake that could be forgiven or not. The answer is "not", by the way.

I feel like you'll either get the message the film is trying to send, or you won't. If you don't, arguably you're part of the problem but perhaps that's too divisive.

It's a rollercoaster ride of a film that manages to bring humour despite a very unfunny subject matter, a true shocker of an ending, with an excellent cast and a chance to really question where your own morality line is. What more could you need from a couple of hours' entertainment?
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Fleabag (2016–2019)
10/10
Absolute perfection
24 October 2020
Series 1 is brilliantly funny, but series 2 is pure perfection. There is not a moment in the entire show that isn't brilliantly written, timed and acted. It's so good I've watched it numerous times.
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7/10
Brilliant sequel
10 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Sequels are so often a poorer version of the first film but I really don't think this is. It's a better plot than the first film (which is still brilliantly delivered) but Joan Cusack and Christina Ricci are absolutely fantastic in this.

There's room for several strong characters in the original film that you'd assume another strong character couldn't fit but I think Joan Cusack steals every scene she's in and arguably the majority of the movie. She's so wonderfully psychopathic! Although that doesn't detract from the expected utter brilliance of Raul Julia and Angelica Houston who remain perfect for their roles.

Christina Ricci was excellent in the first film, but I suggest she is even better in this. Her emerging from the log cabin and cracking a smile at having been forced to watch endless 'feel-good' movies is delivered perfectly. She chills you to the core!

Christine Baranski and Peter MacNichol have some laugh out loud one liners that make this very quotable.

For me, the most clever thing about this plot is the camp leaders and camp go-ers are supposed to portray the 'normal' folk of society and The Addams Family are supposed to be the freaks to be avoided and yet, you only root for the Addamses and their arguably more acceptable behaviour and values.

I'd not hesitate to watch this every few years for guaranteed laughs.
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7/10
Still a classic
10 October 2020
I was 8 when this film came out, and I remember it being a firm favourite. I've watched it again recently with my own children expecting to find it a bit frivolous and silly. Well, it is silly but in a brilliantly and cleverly delivered way. It's probably underrated to be honest. The sinister and deadpan acting is superb. The comic timing is on point. Despite their inexplicably weird and creepy antics, the cast portray such an endearing tight-knit family that they manage to make you want to be a part of it!

I'm glad to say I still thoroughly enjoyed it nearly 30 years on and I spotted a lot more adult humour that I wouldn't have done as a child. As we know, that's often the key to a successful family movie.
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Titanic (1997)
9/10
A beautiful, horrifying masterpiece
23 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I have watched Titanic a number of times. The first being in the cinema in 1997, and the most recent last night (2020).

It just never fails to move me in many ways. The disgust you feel at the egotistim and treatment of lower classes as well as the deeply engaging stories of those who were destined to be a part of history (in more ways than they ever bargained for), and the final abject terror watching the boat's demise makes this film a true rollercoaster of emotion.

While the love story between Jack and Rose is fictional, and does take some 'Hollywood' artistic license, it adds a depth a richness to the story to allow you to empathise with many of the passengers on board. Watching it now, as a mother of young children, the Irish mother telling a fairytale to her two children as the ship is going down is infinitely heartbreaking in a way I didn't fully relate to the first time (I was 14). I think that is what makes this a timeless classic.

The absolutely stunning cinematography of the ship's pride and beauty, intertwined with a great storyline full of interesting characters and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack culminating in the ship's final dramatic and horrific hours still stands up 23 years later and always leaves me emotional and breathless. If you didn't know Titanic's true story, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a far-fetched, over-egged Hollywood action film! For me, knowing it's a pretty close re-enactment of how the ship actually sank makes it all the more horrific to watch.

I feel it would be easy for the next generations (particularly since the last survivor has passed on) to view the Titanic disaster as just another event in history, but I will encourage my children to watch this film not only because it's an enjoyable story, but to give them a true sense of empathy and compassion for the fellow humans that were part of the real version.
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