It has been a somewhat unusual summer with many rainy days, a few very hot days, and now very cool mornings and evenings that are more usual in the Fall. We had a great week that included a bit of golf, a bit of moviegoing, a friend’s concert and some weekend company. I had a chance to catch up on some Netflix shows and watched a few broadcast shows that I had recorded and never watched. Here are some recommendations for the week to come:
On the Big Screen
Dunkirk is a human sized epic about one of WWII’s darkest and most inspiring episodes. The rescue of 400,000 Allied troops stranded on a Normandy beach after a strategic retreat is both inspiring and agonizing. By focusing on a few central characters played by some familiar British faces (Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, James D’Arcy) and several fresh faced unknowns (OK, the kid from One Direction, Harry Styles isn’t exactly unknown and he’s completely convincing as a young soldier), The story helps the audience to identify on a human level with the central characters and we come to care about their survival. There’s a refreshing lack of CGI (computer generated imagery) and a real emphasis on character that completely engages the audience and even though we know how this story is going to end, there is tremendous suspense. I loved it.
Esquire ran a great column on the 10 Best Comedy films of the year so far (and goodness knows, we need comedy right now):
Netflix
I have been watching a British series called White Gold. Very funny social satire based in the 1980’s about the travails of a group of Double Glazing windows salesmen. Kind of a British take on Tin Men (the 1987 movie about aluminum siding salesmen starring Danny DeVito and Richard Dreyfuss).
Glitch is an Australian series that has been renewed for a second season. The plot is about the return of several dead people to life in a small Australian town. A major pharmaceutical company seems to be involved and there is a mysterious doctor who has been carrying out experiments for the big pharma company. Fascinating characters and an intriguing plot line. I bingewatched this one. Can’t wait for the second season.
Streaming
Animal Kingdom is racing towards the conclusion of its second season. This series will air on Bravo in the Fall, but you can catch the first season on Netflix if you haven’t caught up with it yet.
Younger is still fabulously funny as our heroine is caught between confessing to her dream man (and boss) that she is in her 40’s and not her 20’s, while she edits a tell all book written by her boss’s ex-wife. A true delight.
HBO
Game of Thrones has its 7th season finale tonight. There will be dragons!
Superchannel
Line of Duty is a British cop show about an Internal Affairs department now in its 4th season. I have been binging on the 6 episode season and it’s terrific!
Bravo
Suits is in its 7th season. The repetition and circularity of its plot lines is starting to drive me mad, but Entertainment Weekly gives this week’s episode (the 100th for the series) a rave review as Harvey and Mike join forces to defeat a foe.
AMC
Preacher The madness continues as the current face of God appears to be a developmentally delayed adult who looks a lot like Jesus. This series defies description, but I am hooked anyway. It stars Dominic Cooper and Ruth Negga (two Brits who are convincingly playing Southerners).
PBS
Endeavour, about the young Inspector Morse, is a delightfully nostalgic series as the young police officer tries to climb through the ranks. Oxford provides a beautiful background for murder and mayhem. Why do small British towns feature so much crime?
Father Brown (portly cleric solving crimes in a small British town) has had several lame episodes this season, but for those needing a bit of comfort in these troubling times, I highly recommend it as napping background.
In Print
I am totally enjoying my Toronto Book Group’s September choice, The Marriage Bureau: The True Story of How Two Matchmakers Arranged Love in Wartime London, by Penrose Halson. It combines my love of all things British, with a nostalgic time period. Fabulous!
Audible.com
We are currently listening to Not My Father’s Son: A Memoir narrated by the very Scottish actor Alan Cumming. Cumming is currently the host of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. He was a regular on The Good Wife, playing Eli, a conniving lawyer and he was a huge success on Broadway as the MC in a Cabaret revival. His elfin presence is often as a very publicly out gay man and his autobiography is touching and engaging as he tries to come to terms with his upbringing.
Here are some of the other books we have been listening to:
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate (please run for President, Al). He is a wonderful narrator of his own memoir. His self-deprecating humour is a great counter-balance to his journey from comic writer and performer to US Senator.
Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder and One Man’s Fight for Justice by Bill Browder (Message: Don’t ever trust the Russians!) This is a thrilling book that reads just as suspensefully as the finest espionage fiction.)
The Swans of Fifth Avenue: A Novel by Melanie Benjamin (for Truman Capote fans and those interested in the beautiful women married to successful men who were his patrons in the 1960’s. So Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (first of a trilogy of comic novels and soon to be a major motion picture) about Asian Americans and Singaporeans.
A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel by Amor Towles (fascinating fiction chronicling 50 years in Moscow beginning in 1921)
A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston ably narrated by Bryan Cranston. Fascinatingly well told autobiography of this very talented actor.
Nevertheless: A Memoir by Alec Baldwin. Baldwin narrates this autobiography and it painted an angry portrait of a wildly outsized ego for me.
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah. A charming autobiography about a talented young man who overcomes a harrowing childhood to achieve incredible success.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi an Abraham Verghese. This incredibly touching memoir will make you weep as a talented young doctor describes his own journey with cancer. Stunning.
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson. I am a Larson fan (Isaac’s Storm, The Devil in the White City, The Garden of Beasts, etc.), but I confess this one was a bit tedious for me.
Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life by Steve Martin. Steve Martin is an incredibly talented comic, art expert, artist, musician, etc. Did I mention he’s a talented writer as well?
We’ve also listened to CD’s of Martin Short’s memoir I must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend and Billy Crystal’s memoir: Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell are my keys. Both memoirs are a total joy to listen to.
Comic Relief
I am still clinging to late night comedy as a way to deal with the insanity of the Trumpocalypse, so Colbert, Noah, Samantha Bee, Bill Maher and John Oliver have been mainstays. Honourable mention to Aussie newcomer Jim Jeffreys (Comedy Channel Tues at 10:30) and The President Show (Thursdays at 11:30 on Comedy). For those of you who caught last week’s Weekend Update Summer Edition (Thursdays at 9 on NBC), Alec Baldwin hosted as Trump. His performance, I believe, is incredibly superficial compared to Anthony Atamaniuk on The President Show. Atamaniuk’s Trump is nuanced and layered. His 1/2 hour timeslot enables him to show Trump as alternatively childlike, bullying, bipolar, vain, and tone deaf. He is hilarious and the writers have great fun assembling an entourage that has included the Mooch, Steve Bannon, the long suffering Mike Pence, et al. The most mind boggling part of the show is usually Trump’s interview of an actual person, whether it be Deepak Chopra, or a host of political activists and journalists. I have found this show to be a delightful surprise, so give it a look, if you have a PVR and can record it and watch it at your leisure, as I know 11:30 is a bit late for many of my friends.
Zen
CBS Sunday Morning continues to sooth, and I have found PBS’s Nova series to be fabulous viewing, especially this past week’s show featuring the solar eclipse. Frontline (also PBS) is incredibly informative on a weekly basis. I have been thoroughly enjoying the new CBC National News with its lineup of anchors. Any time I want to see world news stories, Vice News (on HBO) and BBC News (on PBS) offer a different perspective on many stories that are not covered by US TV news.
Climate Change Worries
Hurricane Harvey has been a huge story this past weekend. For those of us who spend time in US coastal areas, the idea of rising sea levels and catastrophic weather systems is terribly troubling. Hopefully, the Trumpian lack of support for the Paris Accords and the systematic dismantling of the Environmental Protection Agency, will not hasten the oncoming weather apocalypse. There seems to be a war on science in this administration that should be sounding alarm bells at every level.
Closing Thoughts
Despite all the troubling trends above, I fully intend to enjoy the week ahead. The Toronto International Film Festival is fast approaching and we get to select our films this week. My last week of organized team golf is happening this week in Toronto, and the Meaford International Film Festival begins this Thursday!! We will be seeing 3 films in 3 days, so it is very manageable. It is a gloriously sunny day today in Thornbury and our bikes are tuned up and ready for action. Enjoy your week, whatever you have planned.
What's Lorraine watching? 