Bloodlines
8.0
Rate It
Book
They have been here for centuries. Their planet was destroyed by war, and they now hide among us....
Paranormal Romance Suspense
When in Rome: An Alternative Guide for Travellers
Michael Haskins and Willie Ryan
Book
When In Rome is a riotous, hilarious, gift book that highlights the varying differences between...
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: Volume 9
C. Bb, Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Humphrey Lyttelton
Book
Inspired nonsense and pointless revelry - it's time for another helping of the antidote to panel...
Mock the Week: 1001 Scenes We'd Like to See
Book
Scenes We'd Like to See is the very first Mock the Week book, published to coincide with the sixth...
The Carry on Films: 2017
10.0
Rate It
Book
Saucy, rude and vulgar-the 31 Carry On films remain an important part of the history of British...
The Art of Being Ill
Book
Have you ever worried that you're doing a poor job of feeling poorly? Have you despaired that you're...
The Secret Bridesmaid
8.5
Rate It
Book
Sophie Breeze is a brilliant bridesmaid. So brilliant, in fact, that she’s made it her full-time...
Ross (3284 KP) rated After Life in TV
Apr 11, 2019
Gervais plays Tony, a journalist on a local free paper who has recently lost his wife to cancer. Tony has simply given up on life and, while he cannot bring himself to end it, he seems to have decided to just do whatever he wants, no matter the consequences. He is rude to people in the street, makes his colleagues' working days miserable, and while he visits his dad in a care home regularly he clearly hates it and is just doing it out of duty.
Most of the comedy comes through in Gervais doing what he does best - being rude and nasty and way over the top in insulting people. The humour here is more for the shock value (calling a 6 year old a tubby little c**t for example) rather than a more considered layer of humour. As Tony has decided he can just do whatever he wants and hang the consequences, he takes a stand against stupid rules (the scene where he takes his nephew for tea in a café was brilliant).
I preferred the drama side of the series - him trying drugs, meeting new people and gradually softening over the series were some very touching moments and very well written. However when weighed against the comedy it just seems incongruous. I think Gervais needs to think about whether he wants to write a drama (and tone down the comedy a little more) or a comedy (and try less to push the boundaries).
Tony's epiphany was a little rushed/hard to spot. It seems that after 5 episodes of not caring about anything, the 6th starts off with him suddenly being a changed man out of nowhere. There were small moments where he seemed to soften but there was no sudden realisation big enough to justify the change of heart in the last episode.
This was a pretty hard hitting, emotional series, but I think it lost a little of the impact by having Gervais in it and trying to shoe-horn his sense of humour into it.
Western Europe - Culture Smart!: Getting to Know the People, Their Culture and Customs
Book
The historic countries of Western Europe Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,...
Destiny (8 KP) rated George's Marvellous Medicine in Books
Jan 5, 2018
How it’s written: From George’s perspective, you get to see how awful his grandmother is and his hilarious remedy for it. Then read as the madness continues when it’s time to give grandma more medicine.
What I like about this book: For me, it was one of the funniest things I had read up to that point. My own grandma would say rude things to me and my sisters, which I guess is why I was drawn to this book. A combination of the hilarious writing and the wonderful plot had me absorbed by this book when I was young.
Final Thoughts: There is always something so ridiculous and curious about Roald Dahl’s work. He really knew how to make reading fun.
If you'd like to read more of my reviews, check out ificouldgo.com