Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: The Extraordinary Exploits of the British and European Aristocracy
Book
The alarming history of the British, and European, aristocracy - from Argyll to Wellington and from...
12 Crass Songs by Jeffrey Lewis
Album
One of the premier exponents of 'antifolk' an urban folk subgenre popular in the cafes, clubs and...
ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Talk of Pram Town in Books
Jun 10, 2021
Sadie and Connie live in Leeds, and don’t appear to have any other family. Connie wants to hit the big time as a singer, but instead sings at local working men’s clubs, and works at the local supermarket. Sadie certainly lives the first 11 years of her life in a much different way to many other people. This house in Leeds seems to be the most stable and ‘normal’ way of life that she has had so far.
So when Sadie is forced to go and live with the grandparents she has never met, her introduction to Essex suburbia is quite a shock to her system!
I loved this book. It has a real sense of time and place, making me feel so nostalgic for my childhood. I really enjoyed Sadie's grandparents: Jean, her grandmother, especially. It’s clear from the beginning that she has her own secrets, secrets that have embittered her over the years. I felt that the slow reveal of her younger life, and how she deals with Sadie as well as her feelings for Connie and Bernard, were fascinating.
But Sadie really is the most wonderful part of this novel. The way that she approaches her new life with such stoicism, her intelligence and curiosity of the new world that she has to grow to at least like, really made me want to read more.
I can’t wait to see what Joanna Nadin writes next - I’ve loved both this and her last novel (The Queen of Bloody Everything), both of which look at mother-daughter relationships.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this - it’s a joy to read.
Shadows Across the Moon: Outlaws, Freaks, Shamans and the Making of Ibiza Clubland
Helen Donlon and Richie Hawtin
Book
Once a fabled pirate garrison, the Balearic island of Ibiza has been colonised and continually...
H&E naturist
Lifestyle and Magazines & Newspapers
App
H&E naturist is the leading monthly magazine aimed at all those who enjoy a clothes-free lifestyle....
Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk
John Doe and Tom DeSavia
Book
Under the Big Black Sun explores the nascent Los Angeles punk rock movement and its evolution to...
Over Fields of Fire: Flying the Sturmovik in Action on the Eastern Front 1942-45
Book
During the 1930s the Soviet Union launched a major effort to create a modern Air Force. That process...
WebCricket
Sports and Entertainment
10.0
Rate It
App
WebCricket is a free cricket scoring application which also has the fantastic feature of live online...
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Courier (2020) in Movies
Aug 16, 2021
Positives:
- Benedict Cumberbatch is outstandingly good in this. He could have been born to play the slightly bemused English gentlemen of the time. All golf, tweed suits and gentlemen's clubs. No spoilers, but there is a physical transformation as well that's impressive to observe. The film would have been decidedly so-so I think without that core central performance.
- The film is based on a true story. As someone who was born in 1961, it's a good reminder to count our blessings that you, me and everyone else are still around to live our lives at all. The world was on the brink of a precipice and learning the story of Wynne's part in this was insightful history.
- There's a nice catchy Russian-themed score by Abel Korzeniowski.
Negatives:
- I'm a big fan of Jessie Buckley. Really, I am. And to be fair to her, her performance is really good. I particularly liked a scene where she dismissed on the doorstep a local busybody. But I just didn't see her as Wynne's pearl-neckless-wearing wife in this part. Perhaps the problem is that although there's a 13 year age gap between the leads, I always imagine Buckley as being much younger that her 31 years. For whatever reason, the casting didn't work for me.
Summary Thoughts on "The Courier": As a true-life spy story, the movie is interesting and Cumberbatch's performance is brilliant. But I can't say that I was 100% grabbed by it. While having a few moments of high drama and tension - particularly one on a plane - I never felt that to be maintained for enough of the movie. Director Dominic Cooke has a limited filmography (with the Saoirse Ronan movie "On Chesil Beach" being his only other feature) and writer Tom O'Connor is the guy behind the more flippant "Hitman's Bodyguard" films. Perhaps a more experienced writer/director team would have elevated this to a higher level.
So it's eminently watchable but not memorable. Just a marginal hit in my book.
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