Movies & Books Into Movies

[Frybabe]

What has everyone been watching lately?

So far I've watched two of the Crown and Country episodes, produced and hosted by Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, on You Tube that BBC originally aired between 1998-2001.

[BarbStAubrey]

been watching Seaside Hotel - a Danish series that the local PBS channel started to show starting midway of the 7 year series and so I went ahead and added the monthly fee that I really do not understand since I am a member of Prime but anyhow I wanted to see the series from the beginning to find out why certain people were doing things that finally added up. I should have been more patient but I'm ahead of the shows that the PBS channel is showing - but the whole thing about the WWII occupation and how the various characters handled life is riveting - I've never seen any of the actors but they are all top notch - not sure if they are all Danish or Swedish - those playing the part of German's don't seem to have a pronounced German accent but then it would be according to from what part of Germany they live.

I'm going to have to revamp my watching - all summer till last weekend I was watching the Astroes that played just about every day - since I do not watch TV during the day except if there was a game the only other I had time for was a bit of news and maybe one light movie - for some reason not in the mood for holiday movies - still putting up books and linens etc etc. this unpacking is taking so much longer than I expected but then I'm doing most of it on my own and my body gives out so that I'm finally not being annoyed with my progress. annoyed was putting it lightly... ah so such is life... 

[ginny]

 I'm watching/ taping  Escape to the Country, on our PBS stations, it's an OLD (2012-2017) British series where a couple wanting to relocate and buy a new house is shown about by a realtor, to three houses.

In the process we get the local history and customs and meet some of the locals. It's escapism to the max. I would probably go nuts  if I personally  had to move, but this one is all positivity new lifestyle hopes and enjoying seeing some wonderfully characteristic houses, it's all pure fun. I watch it after the news just for the happiness of it.

Two things in it are amazing. One is the truly astronomical prices of the houses, and the other is what you get for that money. A third might be that almost all the couples are interesed in hosting a  "holiday let," to raise money, so they need a different building on the property or "annex" as they call it. Also I have picked up the term "kitchen diner," which I never heard before.

Whether or not they buy is immaterial. Very seldom does it end with their buying, but it's just harmless and very pleasant sightseeing fun.

[BarbStAubrey]

Ginny there is an even older series of couples who thought living in the country was their dream and then it showed the work to maintain either the extensive garden or the animals or farm life - some are overwhelmed and sell out but some take the challenge that changes their life and the concept of their dream. Seems to me the series was on Amazon - I'll see if I can find it...

I notice our local PBS is showing old episodes of Midsummer Murder which like the Escape to the Country, which here is on DaBL, is as you say harmless and very pleasant sightseeing as are so many of these British Cozy Mysteries.

There is another series that I'm enjoying on PBS that they have extended to another season --- Astred, the main character in this crime show has Asperger's syndrome - interesting watching the exactness for detail that usually of course solves the case. I was never good at details and admire anyone who is...

Well tomorrow I've an Astro game to watch - prefer baseball to nearly all other team sports - no one is crashing and banging into each other that they even do now in Basketball - I like the calculations the players use to play - do not understand Cricket but it too appears to be a game about skill and not body aggression.   

[ginny]

I know what you mean. I'm getting to the point where SOME newscasts feature people stridently talking and interrupting others, which sounds eo me like screaming in harsh voices and I don't even want to hear THAT, much less see violence.

Couldn't sleep last night so discovered to my shock a world of  Escape to the Country on Youtube, some of it only a week old, all the latest ones, how I enjoyed that. They aren't quite the same, there are ads for properties in the very areas they are talking about (the price certainly has increased over the last  6 years, we're talking upwards of 500,000 British Pounds, last night one was 788 British Pounds, which is $964,000 this morning), and what that gets you in the UK,  and there's also a nice commercial now that they have explained how gorgeous (and they all are) the little towns are, where you can rent a room for 200 BP Sterling a night, which is different than the old series, as well, but it's still positive and  cheerful and escapism.

And I can see I can have one a night for a LONG time.

_

[BarbStAubrey]

Not my day - second post I got to the end and pinky hit a wrong key and I lost everything - not going to try for a third time - back later...

[ginny]

That is happening more and more to me and it's very annoying, isn't it?

I mentioned this in the Library but I really AM enjoying Escape to the Country, especially the new 2022 ones on Youtube. The show tells you what date it is when they talk about the cost of properties, about 1/10th into the show, the people describing it, however, say they are all new. Some of the best ones are old, however.

It's gentle, kind, and hopeful. I think the "presenter" I like best is Jules Hudson. He's an archaeologist and a lot of other things, and could sell me anything, he's really personable. I also like Nicki Chapman, (the blonde lady), she's very sweet. I can't believe, however, some of the prospective buyers who well on in age, would not blink at 3 flights of stairs  to get to a bedroom. Perhaps they are thinking they will put in an elevator.

Such terminology I'm picking up. A "detached" cottage. Everybody wants "detached." I had no idea what that meant. Imagine buying a house attached to another, like a row house. Some of them are extremely nice. However if you ask for a "detached" house and they show you one not it seems odd, to me. Perhaps the attached one is a perfect match, EXCEPT for of course the presence of others attached to your house for Pete's sake.

A "kitchen diner." A "log burner." And the ASTRONOMICAL prices! A "character" or "characterful"  house. A "homely" house which does not mean what we think it does. A "garden" can be a lawn here.

It's an education.

Anybody watching the new Crown? I think, from what I am reading about it, I am going to skip it.

[ginny]

OH forgot to say I'm also watching the new Great British Bake Off on Netflix, and it's somewhat astounding what they are doing. It's nice to get the shows as they air for a change instead of so old, this is Netflix.

[BarbStAubrey]

My TV connection - I have no idea what to call these many connections but anyhow they show a menu of about 50+ stations and one of the stations is carrying a series with Mary Berry that I enjoy far more than the newer versions of the Bake Off that takes place in a barn - the newer show just does not have the excitement that was built into the show when Mary was among the judges. Forgot the guy's name that was also a judge - don't see him anywhere any longer just like the Garden show I don't see the brothers anywhere - I saw a come on that the brothers were going to have their own show but that come on was last summer and I've seen nothing.

I did see a documentary last night that was well over an hour about the European Gypsies - very interesting - today they travel in a motor home and no longer dress as flashy as years back and many now live in a community of mostly apartments - you know how after watching any I guess you would call them videos anyhow after this documentary on Gypsies they had one on the awful experience Gypsies went through during WWII as the Jews did - I heard about it but not in the frame of mind to see all that horror so I skipped it. 

[ginny]

It's amazing what's out there now, isn't it? Still loving the Escape to the Country, it's everywhere now, and I hit on  a new episode of not only Doc Martin , which I really  enjoyed, there must be a whole season I did not see, AND a new one of...surely not....Father Brown which I also enjoyed. I had stopped both programs when I thought I had seen them all, didn't like the new cast on Father Brown but this was the old cast. I seem to have missed a lot of shows. And there also appears to be a new season of Seaside Hotel, I'll have to look that one up. I wouldn't mind seeing it from the beginning again, Danish or not. 

[BarbStAubrey]

I too like Seaside and paying $5 a month just so I could see the entire series from the beginning - would you believe PBS is now showing the entire series from the beginning - and I did see but do not remember where an episode of Seaside that takes place after the war that I do not remember seeing when I went through the series having paid to see it on my time and schedule --- Love the characters and the actors that depict the characters on that show and love the colors chosen for the interior of the hotel and the clothing they wear.

Been watching Father Brown with the new sidekicks and the old police captain is back - I'm thinking the one before the short guy - this one is tall and nice looking. A little older now... and Doc Martin is going to broaden - he resigned as a Doctor just as they learn Louisa is pregnant again - now Doc has to figure out how to get his job back.  Before he quit all these doctors came to evaluate while watching him work as a result of the complaint against him - it was hilarious as they all knew less then he did and each in one way or another botched up the inspection

These Brit coms are about the only thing I'm watching any longer on TV - you'd think it was 1951 or 52 when although the TV was there the pattern was on for most of the time with a few shows in the evening. I have been watching old movies - in fact some not so old and those are usually from France or Belgium or Italy - I've also been watching cooking shows mostly from Britain.

Found a series with James Martin 2014 - love his home kitchen - evidently televised after he lost a ton of weight and he no longer was doing a weekly Saturday show in a studio. After watching his show found the shows with Mary Berry a bit more lights and glamor as if she was performing - this series with James Martin he seems like an old friend that you are visiting in his kitchen while he cooks and he is willing to explain what he is doing.

Then of all things found a Christmas concert done in London with the Dutch violin player Andrea Rieu and his orchestra --- Actually the orchestra tackles some serious music however, they are mostly a cheerful lot - women wearing long full colorful ballroom like dresses and some fun and crazy moments between the orchestra and the audience including a banter if they are tired and want to go home since the concert is coming to an end - there are 3 tenors that one of the pieces is Bizet's the Pearl Fishers and the 3 sopranos do a magnificent OH Holy Night - I've enjoyed the music so much that I have watched or actually just listened to it every night for a week now before I slip off to bed.

[Tomereader1]

Hello there!  Barb, if it was you who mentioned the movie "Arrival", thank you.  I checked it out from the library, and watched it today.  I had watched it before, but think I lost a lot with commercials popping in all the time.  With DVD, no commercials, yay!

I also requested "Interstellar", which came today from the library, and I will be watching later this evening.

[Tomereader1]

I watched "Interstellar" but much preferred "Arrival".  Interstellar seemed overly long to me. But, both very much worth watching.

[ginny]

I can definitely recommend The Holdovers. which was up for several Oscars and worth it. I actually would like to see a sequel. It's like anything else, some people don't like it at all,  and some really liked it.

They said the reason that Paul Giamiatti did not get the Best Actor award at the Oscars, was that he had "played himself," but even so he was 2nd in the voting, and he did win a Golden Globe for the role. And I think another award, too.  He sure was good.

It cost me $5.98 on DISH for 48 hours. Oppenheimer is available, too. I doubt I will be going to any theater in the near future, and it's been quite a long time since I did go.

I enjoyed it, a lot.

[ginny]

Am I the only one watching the Elspeth (or however it's spelled) program on CBS?  I absolutely love it, quirky fun new detective. Love it.

[BarbStAubrey]

Hadn't heard of it... now that baseball season started I've been watching the Astros and after watching all the episodes available of a British detective series of 4 retired age police offices I fond Murder She Wrote and been watching that every night for over 2 months and still more shows I never saw to watch.

Have enjoyed Poirot on PBS Thursday night even as repeats  - in fact nearly all the Thursday and Saturday night PBS shows are repeats - they certainly have been having many and successful fund raisers so what is going on...

I'm finding most of the shows on TV boring however, I'm finding interesting documentaries of old movies to watch. In order to watch the Astros had to pay for Fubi which gives me automatic access to a bunch of other websites or apps or whatever they are called that only show movies plus it taps into Amazon so I'm less likely to watch the old tired and true like CBS or NBC or any of them...

[Tomereader1]

Ginny, ah there you are!  You are NOT the only one watching Elsbeth!  I find it so funny, even though she worries me to death...much like "Columbo" used to do.  I just love her wild, yet beautiful outfits.  Like viewing a modernistic painting sometimes. 

Are you reading anything...lately?  I have several books going, and made the "mistake of the month" by going to the New Fiction shelf, when I was there picking up a volume of Mary Oliver poems.  Don't know if you have read any of the "Slow Horses" books by Mick Herron, or seen the TV show.  I don't get that "pay" channel, so the books sufficed nicely.  Anyway, he has a new book out, titled "The Secret Hours" and is, once again, about the Intelligence Div. in the U.K.  Mr Herron is rather always funny, but this new book is a riot, per page (sometimes per paragraph).  If you don't care for spy-type stories, you mayn't like it.  But I am laughing so hard, I can barely keep turning pages to follow the story.  I keep wanting to write down some of his more delightful sentences, but I would have to hand-write the entire book, LOL.  Think I will just buy a copy of the book so I can underline or highlight the ones that tickle my funny bone. I will quote this one(which is terribly true in real life) "That's the real art of politics, Ms.Fleet.  Knowing when the next F-up's due, and arranging for a human sandbag to be standing in the way".  "Afterwards she recognized this as the key moment in their conversation, the point at which he revealed his outlook. Always decide who's to blame before anything goes wrong.  It makes the subsequent investigation much simpler". That's just one of the conversations that reminded me of time spent in an organization where the boss might possibly have spoken his words, and subordinate probably was thinking her words. 

I am taking time out to have a bit of lunch and let my stomach muscles relax from all the laughter.   The "veddy British way" of attacking subject matter just brings these characters to absolute life as I read along.  I wish I was better at relating all this to you, but otherwise, just take my word for it!  Side-splitting comes to mind!

So glad you have posted something (I was worrying about your absence).  Happy "Elsbeth" viewing!

[ginny]

Tome!! Good to see you!

I'm not reading anything other than pertains to Latin and it's really difficult to get all that background read at the moment, but when I REALLY want to indulge myself, a stolen hour, I'm reading AGAIN Agatha Christie  in front of the huge  "fake fire" on DISH, with my heated throw, calm and peace, and I have to say it's a stolen hour of magic, it really is. I just finished the one most people know as And Then There Were None, and enjoyed it immensely , although surely I have read it or seen it 100 times.  I love the way she writes. She does not flesh out the characters physically, just a hint here or there and that immediately makes the reader part of the story, as the reader does all that work and emotionally engages. Love it.

Your book sounds absolutely wonderful, I have already ordered it and am looking forward to laughs. I also love the British quirky sense of humor, watch as many episodes of Escape to the  Country as I can, to escape actually, on YouTube or Prime (where the end is not full of strange music and people stuck on).

Another ElsBeth, is it, fan!!!!!!!!!!!  Do you know it's already been renewed for next year after 4 episodes?

How could anybody describe it? I will say the character is a genuinely nice person who is always overlooked (like Miss Marple) and not considered anything but ditzy. Just think, a genuinely NICE person...how long has it been since that appeared on TV? But a detective story.

A genuinely nice, enthusiastic, happy person.   But she notices things, like Mr. Monk. I don't see the Columbo tie in appearance wise, but clever wise, I can see it, and lots of the reviews mention it. She's a female Mr. Monk to me, but without the extreme quirks and she's always neatly but somewhat brightly dressed.   I love the character.

11 million watchers so far. I've seen them all.

Nice to turn on the TV and see something new which does not consist of people screaming at each other. Nice to see you here, too and I have heard about Slow Horses but never seen it, I will see if I can find it , as we do have far too many of those paid channels.

Barbara, for some strange reason I was never a fan of Murder She Wrote but I know a lot of people are. I didn't realize it was still on. I will look for it and see if old age has changed my mind.

[Tomereader1]

Now let me warn you, the book is set up in a way that not all readers like; not straightforward in "time", but shifts from the excitement of the opening 25 pages with the "spy" doing what we expect, running from the bad guys.  Then it shifts to the politics/back room doings of the intelligence service (a lot of the hilarity is here). Another shift when the Committee, set up by the P.M. gets underway, to investigate "anything" that might indicate that any operative (s) might have done something illegal.  The backgrounds of the members of the Committee are touched upon, and gradually we see a couple of them fleshed out. "oh what a tangled web we weave..." etc.  Less humor, more spy stuff.  But all in all, it is an enjoyable book.  I hope I haven't gotten your hopes up too high, but if nothing else, seeing the tangled web of government is enlightening, if not totally frustrating.  God save us from politicians. 

I always watched Murder She Wrote, but now I might catch one or two episodes.  I had a hard time getting used to Mr. Monk, but he grows on you.  The Columbo reference was how he always said "just one more thing/question".  I feel like Elsbeth kind of does that.  "And Then There Were None" (in it's original B&W version) is an all-time favorite of mine.  I've watched that more times than I could count.

I think I've about covered everything we've touched on.  Enjoy the fake fire and Dame Agatha!

[Frybabe]

I have a little over nine hours (out of about 62 hours) left of listening to The Far Pavilions The book is a bit too long if you ask me, but I do want to finish it. And now I discover that the Brits made a mini-TV series of it back in 1984 and HBO ran it in 1985. It is available on Amazon Prime for rent. Well, I guess I will have to miss out for now; I no longer have Amazon Prime. Anyway, there are some big names associated with it, like: Amy Irving, Christopher Lee, Omar Sharif, John Gielgud, Rossano Brassi. The lead was played by Ben Cross. Does anyone remember seeing this?

As I suspected from listening to this book, I was not surprised to learn that M.M.Kaye was born in India. At ten she was sent to England for schooling, returning only briefly to India afterward. She wrote and illustrated many children's books, wrote a murder mystery series, each based in a different international city, and wrote, edited or introduced other books. Paul Scott (author of The Raj Quartet) was her literary agent, and it was he that encouraged her to write The Far Pavilions.

[BarbStAubrey]

Looks like the 1984 movie with Ben Cross and Amy Irving can be watched free on Freebee

Has anyone subscribed to BritBox - from the ad it looks like you run out of movies to watch within a couple of months - Am I missing something - I ask because my favorite the older Inspector Morse series is only available on BritBox. 

[Frybabe]

Thanks Barb, I will look into it later today. This not a fun morning I have a tooth extraction to deal with.

[BarbStAubrey]

Ouch - hope your able to keep the pain at a minimum...

[Tomereader1]

I subscribe to BritBox and there is "plenty" to watch, in fact I watch it more than my Prime or Netflix.  You will not run out of things to watch.  If you subscribe, I recommend you do it direct thru BritBox and not through Amazon Prime.  I tried that in the beginning, and was not happy with them (billing and programming).

[BarbStAubrey]

Thanks Joanne and thanks for the tip on direct subscription

[ginny]

Elsbeth tonight, free, on CBS, give it whirl.

On Britbox, I get it through Prime, and they and or Prime  have the new Escape to the Country 2023 episodes  as well as all the oldies and quite a few things I've never heard of.  It seems to be catching on in the US.

Sorry to hear about your tooth extraction, Frybabe, I hope you are feeling OK. Not a fun thing.

I feel sure I have seen  The Far Pavilions, but am not sure I have read the book. It's quite odd, I may have it entangled with the Scott series in my mind.

[ginny]

Elsbeth tonight, free, on CBS, give it whirl.

On Britbox, I get it through Prime, and it has every old British film one could want including all the  Joan Hickson Miss Marples and many of the Escape to the Country ones, too, and a lot of other things I never heard of.

Sorry to hear about your tooth extraction, Frybabe, I hope you are feeling OK. Not a fun thing.

I feel sure I have seen  The Far Pavilions, but am not sure I have read the book. It's quite odd, I may have it entangled with the Scott series in my mind.

[Frybabe]

Ginny, of the two, I like The Raj Quartet better, but The Far Pavilions is quite interesting as it is from the perspective of a "half-caste" who is trying to fit in to a society that both Indian and English distain, neither group fully embracing or trusting those of mixed race. The quartet shows similar, but as I recall focuses much more on the English perspective. I think the extended book discussion we did for the entire Raj Quartet was one of the best, if not the best, discussion we held here. What a giant undertaking both books are/were. Set earlier in time than the Raj Quartet, The Far Pavilions begins to set the stage for what comes next in India and Pakistan as well as showing the Afghani peoples' fierce independence which is still present today.