Amazon Prime’s new ‘Lord of the Rings’ has failed to become a Stranger Things-style pop cultural phenomenon for the streaming platform.
Promising Young Woman – my review
FilmCarey Mulligan is a modern Woman in Black
I was intrigued by Promising Young Woman. It won a BAFTA for Outstanding British Film. The writer-director is London-born, Oxford-educated actress Emerald Fennell (Camilla from The Crown), while fellow Brit Carey Mulligan stars.
Cuties – flawed, feminist, French
TV & NetflixIt’s the infamous tween twerking movie that sparked visceral online hatred and a rash of Netflix cancellations.
A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell review – a stormy suspense
BooksA man spends a romantic evening with a beautiful woman, and thinks: “I’ll grab my binoculars and go into protective mode.” She thinks he’s Cape Fear and gets a restraining order.
Or does she?!
Enola “Sherlock never had a sister” Holmes review – it’s for kids
TV & NetflixEveryone loves a famous fictional bloodline. When author Nancy Springer used the beloved Sherlock Holmes canon as a springboard for her young adult novel series, the revered detective gained a baby sister.
The Crown season four doesn’t do subtle…
TV & NetflixIt’s hard to blog about Netflix shows like Stranger Things or The Crown. They’re period pieces, with sky-high production values. They’re well-acted and entertaining. What else is there to say about soothing nostalgia?
Queen Bee by Jane Fallon – another relatable heroine
BooksSingle mum Laura is recently divorced. Faced with the reality of London house-hunting, she’s renting a granny flat as a stop gap. Her new, temporary digs happen to be in The Close, an exclusive development of McMansions.
Sadie by Courtney Summers review
BooksFollowing the murder of her 13-year-old sister Mattie, Sadie Hunter, 19, vanishes from their Colorado trailer park. Although radio star West McCray questions whether there’s a story in yet another runaway, he’s persuaded to follow the missing girl’s trail by her surrogate grandmother, May Beth.
When to abandon a book?! Top Ten Tuesday
BooksWhaddya mean it’s Wednesday?!
I rarely give up on a book, so it’s been a challenge to come up with a post for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday. I’ve included books I ducked out of before committing, plus those I should have ditched! Just in case you don’t already know, TTT was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010, then moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018.
Lady in Waiting by Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner review
BooksThe stiff upper lip is as much a part of the British stereotype as our tendency to drink tea and talk about the weather. With the 87-year-old Lady Glenconner’s ‘keep calm and carry on’ attitude, her hit memoir is not such a bad book pick during a pandemic.
The latest cinema releases I watched this Christmas
FilmAs it’s a new year, Slow to the Party would like to swiftly wish everyone a Happy 2020!
The weather is depressing, but I’ve bravely left the safety of my bed to catch up with the sorta-latest flicks! Here are my smallish reviews. I’m not calling ’em mini reviews anymore.
Catherine the Great’s open relationship
TV & NetflixIn Catherine the Great – HBO and Sky’s new four-parter – the cast talk like they’re in The Crown (Jason Clarke does his own thing – more on him later). Luckily the big fur hats let you know you’re in RUSSIA.
Halloween book & movie mash
BooksAt Halloween, a lot of bloggers do horror-themed posts. I’ve always avoided the genre, but something has changed lately, after I binge-watched three seasons of American Horror Story without flinching!
Now that I’m living my best, devil-may-care life, here are the scariest books and films I’ve…encountered recently.
Here are the films I saw from the 2018-19 awards circuit
FilmI’ve hated most movies lately. Where I used to watch any old thing, I withstood two minutes of the latest Guardians of the Galaxy before switching off. I decided to ease myself back into film-watching with some of the latest, more highly-acclaimed movies – after all, Oscars are a sure indicator of quality, right?!
Hollywood vs history: Mary Queen of Scots review
FilmThe CW’s Mary Queen of Scots soap opera Reign took an axe to historical accuracy. Yet beneath the fashion and fantasy, the vital beats were there; Adelaide Kane’s Mary married the Dauphin of France, before returning to a turbulent Scotland as a teen widow.
The top ten books that shaped my childhood
BooksIt’s Top Ten Tuesday again – it happens every week! Today, it’s Childhood Favourites. Here are mine:
Book reviews Sally Rooney – NORMAL PEOPLE are overrated
BooksYou’re in so much pain you pass out. Before you collapse, you’re pondering your unearned cultural privilege and reductive iteration of gender theory. Meet Frances: communist, poet, and narrator of Sally Rooney’s coming-of-age debut set in post-crash Dublin.
Adapt this – top ten books that should be filmed
BooksThis is my first ever Top Ten Tuesday, a book blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010, moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. “Page to Screen” is this week’s topic. This is a list of books I’ve read, off the top of my head, that I’d like to see adapted/re-adapted, or are being adapted, etc…
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald review
FilmYou’d imagine J.K. Rowling had earned enough goodwill that people might give her the benefit of the doubt. Yet even before the Fantastic Beasts sequel started filming, there was controversy over her support for tabloid-stricken star Johnny Depp, prompting director David Yates to release a statement via his agents Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs…
The Aftermath – book vs Hollywood film review
Books, FilmIt’s “Stunde Null” – zero hour – for a defeated Germany following WWII. Sadly for audiences of The Aftermath, time stands still.
Photography 