Friday Five: More TV

I haven't done this for a while, which means there is a whole lot to catch up on. So without further ado...

Five TV Shows I've Watched Since the Last Time I Did This, in Alphabetical Order:

1. Death in Paradise (ABC iView, BINGE, Foxtel) - I love this utterly preposterous series. It is total comfort TV, of the 'cosy murders' trope, and I, along with many others I'm sure, binge-watched it through COVID lockdowns. There are limited characters on a small Caribbean island and a murder an episode (there are twelve seasons, with another two in the works) doesn't stop the visitors piling in. Mind you, as an actor, it would be hard to say no to a two-week stint in a tropical paradise. In a Calypso-Christie homage the half dozen or so suspects are rounded up at the end of each episode where the seemingly impossible crime is explained and the perpetrator is led away with a shake of the head and a sorrowful expression. And it all begins again next week. The detectives change every few seasons - we started with Ben Miller in 2011, through Kris Marshall (2014-2017), Ardal O'Hanlon (2017-2020) and latest incumbent Ralph Little (2020-current) - as do their sergeants and other officers. The two characters who have remained throughout are the bar/ restaurant owner Catherine Bordey, played by Elizabeth Bourgine, and the highlight of the show, Police Commissioner Selwyn Patterson played by the inimitable Don Warrington. There's also a CGI lizard called Harry, who has his own fan-following. Yes, it's that kind of show.
2. Fisk, Season Two (ABC iView, Netflix) - This has more of the same gloriously understated humour that was so enjoyable in the first season. Kitty Flanagan continues to write, direct and star as the not-quite-so-flash lawyer, dealing with obnoxious workmates and an overbearing father, This time round guest cameos come from Denise Scott, Harley Breen, Stephen Curry, Geraldine Hickey, Glenn Robins, Anne Edmonds, Rob Sitch, and Colin Lane, amongst others. Entertaining half-hour-long episodes make for perfect mid-evening viewing.
3. The Good Fight, Season 6 (SBS VICELAND, SBS On Demand, Stan, Paramount +) - If you want proof that the U.S. can do sharp, surreal, political, satire, look no further than The Good Fight. The final season sees the lawyers of Reddick & Associates trying and failing to ignore the collapse of their society, where white supremacists gather around the building, bombs are intermittently exploded, and Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) undergoes therapy with the bloke from Madman (John Slattery). She is prescribed a mild hallucinogen which helps her to see the funny side of barely futuristic news headlines in an only slightly altered reality. There are in-house leadership struggles, snappy suits and even-snappier spectacles, power plays and explorations of moral values which border on Boston Legal territory but without the obvious schmaltz. Charmaine Bingwa as Carmen Moyo is a great replacement for the much-missed Cush Jumbo as the up-and-coming focus character, while Marissa (Sarah Steele) and Jay (Nyambi Nyambi) continue their eye-on-the-ball down-with-the-kids schtick.

4. Mare of Easttown (HBO; Foxtel) - Kate Winslet won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Leading Actress as Mare Sheehan in a fine example of the 'going over there and taking their jobs' phenomenon as she plays a detective investigating a murder in a small town outside Philadelphia. She vapes, fights with her 'mom' and struggles to raise her daughter while doing her job with as much integrity as she can muster. The series won critical acclaim for its honest portrayal of women desperately trying to balance work and care duties. While failing to live up to societal standards of a good wife, mother, daughter and employee, she actually excels at all of the above to all who matter, and winds up exhausted and under-recognised. Despite multiple awards (Hollywood Critics Association; Primetime Emmy; Golden Globes: Critics Choice; Screen Actors' Guild; Writers' Guild) and box-office smashes (highest viewership for a linear series and one of only two series to see consecutive growth week-to-week for HBO), it still hasn't been commissioned for a second series. Maybe the predominantly male executive producers are still not ready to see women be real women. 
5. This is Going to Hurt (BBC & AMC) - In this stellar adaptation of Adam Kay's best-selling breakthrough memoir, Ben Wishaw and Ambika Mod epitomise the highs and lows of the medical profession, presenting their stories with comedic and dramatic tones. As junior doctors on an obstetrics and gynaecology ward in a National Health Service hospital, they work through the ranks of hospital hierarchy, breaking the fourth wall and addressing viewers directly with dialogue. Apparently you can save people's lives, have babies named after you, provide an exceptionally high level of care in agonisingly difficult circumstances, and be reviled, underpaid, underappreciated and criminalised at the same time. And sleep-deprived. Don't ever forget sleep-deprived. While I don't understand why anyone would undertake the ludicrously difficult position of Junior Doctor, I am forever grateful that there are people who do. And Nigel Lockhart, the Chief Consultant (played with scene-stealing panache by Alex Jennings) is an absolute c*nt.

Friday Five (Six): Favourite Films of 2015

Kate Winslet in The Dressmaker

Obviously I have not seen everything that was released in 2015, but I totted up the number of this year's films I have seen and there are twenty on the list. So I have whittled it down to my favourites (in alphabetical order). And, yes, there are six, but as I've said before: my blog; my rules.

6 Favourite Films of 2015

1. The Dressmaker – A glorious multi-genre Australian film directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, with roots in fantasy, Western, black comedy and revenge drama, with the most outstanding costumes you’ll see this year. Kate Winslet is fabulous as the woman who returns to the town that spurned her as a child in a blend of Mary Poppins and Chocolat but without the songs or the saccharine.
2. Mr Holmes – Ian McKellen is wonderful as the curmudgeonly retired detective with a passion for bee-keeping and a need to tell the truth about his last case, even if it doesn’t paint him in the most flattering light. His interactions with young Roger (Milo Parker) are heart-warming, and his oblivion to the feelings of Roger’s mother (Laura Linney) is equally affecting. Director Bill Condon has a great cast, and he makes the most of them in a reflective work.
3. Selma – David Oyewolo portrays Dr Martin Luther King as flawed and conflicted despite his firm belief in civil rights. If you put your family in danger for your convictions, does that make you a hero or a martyr? Director Ava DuVernay poses this question as the film focuses on the specific 1965 incident of the Selma/Montgomery marches in Alabama. This cohesive narration avoids the potential of a rambling biopic, while the superb acting and direction make it a confident and assured work of cinema.



Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin and Emily Blunt in Sicario

4. Sicario – Emily Blunt is the viewer’s Everywoman as she gets mired in an FBI operation to bring down the leader of a powerful and brutal Mexican drug cartel. She is unsure of who is in charge and the ethics of their actions, as is the viewer. Denis Villeneuve directs terrifically tight action sequences full of anxiety and tension. Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin are also excellent in the frustrating thought-provoking drama.
5. Testament of Youth – This is highly recommended quality film-making; one of the best adaptations of a book I’ve seen, and I loved the book! Alicia Vikander is excellent as Vera Brittain, who remains stoic at the heart of the dramatic narrative. Huge plaudits must be awarded to director to James Kent for handling this iconic memoir of WWI from a woman’s perspective with such subtle charm.
6. Youth – Deliciously studied performances from Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Rachel Weisz at a luxury lodge in Switzerland also populated by Maradona, Miss Universe, an actor studying for a role (Paul Dano), and a couple that never speak, make this a marvel of cinema. Paolo Sorrentino directs with a masterful touch; the sound and the scenery, and the superb supporting cast all combine to make this simply sublime.

Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel in Youth