Category: Based on a book or true story
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Movie Review – Belfast
Sometimes things things just fall into place in a nicely convenient way. I was part way through writing one of my short biography pieces, this time about Judi Dench. I’d seen quite a few of her films and a number of interviews with her on TV, usually thanks to Graham Norton! However, I hadn’t seen…
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Rewatch Review – Calendar Girls
During this autumn I’ve had the pleasure of hosting RunPee Jilly. She had had enough of sunny San Diego and came to stay in wet and windy Wallasey for a bit. This time of year, we’re only allowed forty two minutes of sunshine a day so, as you might guess, we’ve spent a lot of…
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Indie Movie Review – Dear Elizabeth (2022)
Who amongst us hasn’t had a crush on someone? It might be someone who is actually a part of your daily life or, as in Dear Elizabeth, it could be someone who you can only worship from afar. I have to admit that I have an enormous soft spot for Victoria Coren Mitchell for a…
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‘The Three-Body Problem’ Netflix Series: Everything You Need To Know
What is the story about? The Three-Body Problem is the title of the first book in a trilogy, followed by The Dark Forest, and Death’s End. The trilogy is titled Remembrance of Earth’s Past but is commonly referred to as Three-Body Problem trilogy. The most simplistic synopsis of the story is that it’s an alien invasion saga…
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Dune: Part 2 – What You Need To Know About the Dune Sequel
When Dune came out in 2021 it was to favourable reviews. It earned $401.8m against a spend of $165m despite being released during the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those two factors were enough to guarantee a sequel. What is Dune: Part 2? Fairly obviously, it is a direct sequel to Dune. This time…
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Contact – Silver Anniversary Movie Rewatch
What links French philosopher Voltaire, The Return Of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, an ancient king of Assyria, and Captain Picard’s tea? The link is one of my favourite films. That film hits its 25th anniversary this summer; that film is Contact. One other thing before I get going, there may well be spoilers. All…
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Best of British Biographies – Gary Oldman
Throughout this series of Best of Brit articles, there has been a relatively common theme; a lot of the people I’ve spoken about have spent some of their earlier years in one of the renowned theatrical training grounds such as the RSC, the National, or RADA. This chap is a bit different in that he…
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JB, Or Not JB, That Is The Question
Imagine if Ian Fleming had been a US Marine rather than British Naval Intelligence. Furthermore, imagine if he’d written about a secret agent operating in the dying embers of the Cold War rather than during the whitest of white hot parts. Let’s just say, imagine if he was Robert Ludlum rather than Ian Fleming. So…
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Movie Review – Peace River
Peace River caught me off guard. I knew nothing about the movie going in. Lucky for me, prior to the showing there were interviews with the writer/actor, Benjamin M. Jones. He truly wrote this from his heart. I felt it throughout the entire film. The story was endearing, heartbreaking, and full of real-life situations and…
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Jack Reacher History – The Short And The Tall Of It
1997 saw the publication of The Killing Floor by Lee Child. It did quite well; it was nominated for five awards and won three. It started a series of twenty-six novels, so far, and around twenty novellas and short stories. To date, Lee Child has sold over a hundred million copies of his Jack…
