It’s amazing I haven’t listened to this before, it’s an iconic album. I was a bit worried, because I obviously know Perfect Day from the BBC collective version and have that so firmly in my mind that I wasn’t sure the original was going to be as good. Of course it was, and combine that with Walk on the Wild Side and Satellite of Love, and what a stellar album you’ve got on your hands.

I went into this with mixed feelings - I’ve liked a few of The Weeknd’s songs but the last album wasn’t as good as I was hoping. And then I knew that there were ‘talky bits’ in this and I tend to struggle with that on albums. However… I actually really liked it! The whole vibe has some kind of fever dream feel towards it.

I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this one. The trailers didn’t make it look that interesting, and it seems quite removed from the rest of the universe, and although it was a stellar cast, it felt like too many people to get invested in. Unfortunately, my expectations were bang on - this was so boring and it felt like it dragged the rest of the universe down a couple of notches with it.

Halfway through the first month of the year, and that means halfway through my first 30 day challenge. It was a deliberately easy one - not having to go too far out of my way to make it happen, and something I have done before and know I can do. But even with that, resuming my Duolingo streak has meant remembering to do it each day for the fifteen days so far.

The film became more and more compelling. By 20 minutes we wanted to see where it was going, by the hour mark, I was totally invested and wanted to know who was behind it all. In some ways the film tried to be a bit too clever, I like dipping back and forth in time but the transitions weren’t that great. But there were no plot holes, and although Statham did his precision shooting in style, it wasn’t just about muscle, there was more to it. Despite the frustrating start, I really came to enjoy it!

The new year is always a good time for new dramas to start appearing on TV, and the big bang for 2022 was Around the World in 80 Days, a big budget drama starring David Tennant as the hero in this Jules Vergne adaptation. The eight episode series followed Tennant’s Phileas Fogg as he attempts that circumnavigation of the globe all for a simple bet with the others at his gentleman’s club.

I’m surprised this album hasn’t popped up on my list before because Ashes and Gravity are two songs I totally loved when they were out and about at the time. As a full album, the rest doesn’t necessarily live up to the heights of those two openers, but it’s a good pop-rock joy to listen to. Apparently this album features the band’s first songwriting attempts as a band, which seems odd given it’s their fourth studio album!

Pretty good album, this one. I became aware of Maisie from her work on the soundtrack for the TV show Trying and was keen to hear what a full album of her own would be like. She’s supported both in terms of record label and song writing by Ed Sheeran, and you can hear the influences occasionally. But it’s a nice album with songs that speak to certain times in your life - John Hughes Movie and Psycho stick in my mind.

This was a great movie, kick-ass in all the right ways. The visuals were amazing - those colours during the fight scene in the bowling alley, delicious. Karen Gillan was great as the sullen but talented assassin, you can tell she has a fun side deep down. And Chloe Coleman continues to amaze as a super talented child actress. There were unique things in there - the fight with paralysed arms, the men taking each other out before Sam even got there. But there were also plenty of moments that reminded of other things. It was very John Wick, in a lot of ways.

I read this because of the upcoming film so as not to go through a repeat of the Orient Express situation - was a bit disappointed by the end and the resolution of the mystery. This time I wanted to be forewarned and thankfully it wasn’t a disappointment. It’s an interesting book because the set up takes a significantly long time to complete, and then suddenly there’s more than one dead body to deal with. I think I sort of guessed who did it but I had no idea how or how it all actually unravelled. Good story and now can’t wait to see the movie.