I really liked this, it was very faithful to the text and had a great spooky vibe all the way through, without going too far with it. The acting was great and some of the more emotional moments were really very moving. The actors playing the ghosts were great and as noted above Nicholas Farrell really captured the essence of Scrooge and portrayed him perfectly. The only detraction for me was that, whilst I’m used to actors playing multiple parts no problem, the ghosts were so iconic that seeing them in other roles was unsettling and distracting. But otherwise, a great performance.

Dipping into the land of classic albums for my final choice of the year and this is full on 70s rock. More Than a Feeling is obviously a fantastic way to start things off and really gets you in the right mindset and sets the vibe to come. The songs that follow are great, when they are actually being songs. Unfortunately they are sometimes beset by that self-indulgent noodly nonsense where guitars get five minute solos. Blah. But it was the 70s and they didn’t know any better. Definitely worth a listen and a great way to finish off the year.

Had high hopes going into this debut solo album from Lauren off CHVRCHES. It was good, it did live up to my expectations. Interesting production, great sound, a variety of genres, and all with Lauren’s great vocals over the top. I guess my only complaint is it started out brilliantly but seemed to fizzle a little bit. The song for her mum sort of grinds things to a halt and then it struggles to get going again. Why does everyone have to write a song for their mum? But definitely worth a listen and a worthy first record.

Yes for Sarah Morgan and her Christmas releases, now an absolute staple of December reading. This was from a couple of year’s ago and follows the exploits of a family split between the adventure of a lifetime in Lapland and figuring things out at home. I loved it, great characters with lots of history to try and work through and lots of family drama… the only complaint is it felt like the big reunion was underplayed slightly, was it worth all the fuss? But everything else, all the threads unravelling and wrapping up nicely was great.

Honestly, this was such a terrible film but I quite enjoyed it. The premise is astounding and unbelievable, I’m not the most social of sorts but it seems completely bonkers how willing she was to open up to a wrong number. Any other movie that started like this would have ended up in the horror category. I did like the way the story was told over three Christmases though, and it was watchable if complete nonsense.

This film came recommended to me as absolute nonsense but a bit of fun, and that’s exactly what it was. The whole concept is obviously ridiculous, but even within that, the way it happens makes no sense and there’s no internal logic to the story. The main love story is, you know, it is what it is. But, I have to say, Craig Robinson and Joe Lo Truglio are brilliant and are probably the only reason to keep watching. Hilarious.

Semi-final time and wow, what a spectacle this was. Right from the start it felt like a final, the standard was so high, the drama was enormous and the emotions were real. This was the first time the couples had to learn two full routines in a week (if we’re not counting the sambathon madness), and you could tell that the extra pressure was starting to take it’s toll.

This was a bit of a weird book to my mind. I don’t mind reading a not-so-festive thriller set at Christmas, but this one didn’t quite work - it was a Christmas secret santa party for a company but it didn’t feel very seasonal at all. The characters weren’t particularly nice and although the plot had twists and turns it was quite anti-climactic and unrealistic. A quick read and worth logging, but not really one I’ll rave about.

There’s been a lot of furore around recently over the new version of Do They Know It’s Christmas, featuring a megamix of all the previous artists combined together. It seemed an odd idea, and it’s not really gone over very well, and barely made an impact on the music charts. So why not go back to the original and best version of the song and revisit how it all came together?

One of those cheap and cheerful Hallmark-style Christmas movies, I actually didn’t mind this one. The story is age-old - guy comes back from the big city and stirs up trouble with the locals, but ultimately falls in love with the area and with someone in particular and they all live happily ever after. It’s predictable but also done quite well. There’s at least some chemistry between the leads, and I did sort of care about the business so happy that it all worked out okay.

I love this. LOVE IT. After watching the new Steps musical recently, I had to dive into one of their albums and headed right back to the beginning for the debut record. It’s cheesy pop, there’s no denying it, but oh such classic pop tunes. Absolute singalong bangers. The non-singles were a bit of a surprise, H getting really stuck in with an older, more experienced person, but it was all brilliant.

I find Gwen Stefani to be a bit hit and miss but this new album was definitely more hit than miss for me. She’s picked a theme - flowers - and massively run with it, to the point that it could almost be a concept album, but each song is delicately handled and well done. It’s soft and easy to listen to and overall I enjoyed it. I do wonder if she didn’t want to go full on country, thanks to the influence of Mr Stefani, but just held back a little. Maybe next time.

A great, short read. I never realised this was a Stephen King story, but found the audiobook and quite quickly whipped through it. Considering there’s not a lot of time to get to know the protagonists, there’s great characterisation and of course you have to love the escape and how it ends up happening. The way it sort of winds around toward a conclusion is brilliant.

Stumbled across this during a late night YouTube music trawl and love, love, love it. I’m not sure what it’s for or why it’s happening but I’ll take more collaborations like this please!

This was a super quick read, considering there was quite a lot going on with the giving tree and the morals around that, as well as kids having their own emotional traumas and meltdowns, plus the Christmas play, and then all the normal rom-com elements thrown on top of that. No time to get bored, whizzed through it and enjoyed the ride!

I like that Lindsay Lohan is becoming the new queen of Christmas on Netflix, and I think this year’s film was just a bit better than the last one. It’s one of those contrived setups but there’s some good chemistry between the leads and Kristin Chenowith is brilliant as the dragon potential in-laws. It’s not the kind of film I’m going to seek out again or want to rewatch over and over at Christmas, but for our first festive movie for 2024, I’m happy with it.

This was another book in the Ryan series that has all the good stuff we’ve come to know from them - great characterisation, people that you care about, and a murder mystery to be solved. I do wonder if the idea of pinning each of these books to an iconic northern location was more of a hindrance here, as it’s clear the action all happened in Italy. And I loved that part of it, seeing more of Ryan’s past and the wealth, and how the down to earth characters deal with it. Still, we had a lovely ending with a surprise wedding.

There’s quite a good idea at the heart of this book, 24 hours in the lives of a handful of different characters whose lives are about to intertwine for surprising and emotional reasons. I quite enjoyed the journey but have to admit almost all the characters were pretty unlikeable. I think the best friend Todd was the only one who came out of it okay. But still, could be worth a look, it was a quick read and an interesting concept.

Apple Music has been doing annual reviews for a while now, looking at the songs you’ve listened to in the year and highlighting your most listened to albums and artists for a good summary of twelve months of music. I’m always disappointed in my Music reviews though, because I don’t listen to enough variety or repetition (outside of musicals) to make it worthwhile. A lot of my listening happens via someone else’s device and a HomePod, so they get all the credit.

I’ve been very intrigued by the news that came out recently of Iga Swiatek’s one-month tennis ban for failing anti-doping tests, the way this has been handled versus others. As a long-time Simona Halep fan it was frustrating to see her sitting in the sidelines for multiple years whilst the case was investigated, and it’s not been a barrel of laughs since she returned to the courts - what with such a lengthy spell without playing competitively and the almost immediate injuries.

Reacher is a compelling character so it’s always interesting to start a book in this series. There were two fascinating sides to this story - first watching Reacher grapple with the idea of owning a house and settling down and not wandering the world with no ties anymore. And then the bigger story around veterans that are missing in action and the ongoing search for answers for the families left behind. I loved both sides of this and found it a really interesting read, so that I’m looking forward to the next book in the series already.

Whilst Strictly Come Dancing is drawing towards its conclusion for 2024, the latest series of Dancing With the Stars in the US has crowned its champion. For the last couple of years, after the big move to Disney, we’ve been able to watch all the dances regularly each week on YouTube, and all I can say is I agree with the people that think the result wasn’t the right one.

This show got off to an incredible start for me, because we have only just watched Little Shop of Horrors and lo and behold, they open the main show with a fantastic group dance based on that very musical. Best timing ever. Follow that up with the appearance of Miranda, who promised to be in the audience in November and just managed to squeeze it in before December hits. Well, how can the dancing live up to this great opening? Let’s find out!

I really loved this book. It was so detailed, but never dull. Great characters and dialogue and you really got swept up and carried away with the plot. There’s quite a lot of set up with Laurie, quite a lot of hearbreak, before the real story and rom-com fun begins, but once it does, it’s just brilliant. I don’t want to spoil it by saying too much more, but the trope of ‘fake-romance-becomes-true-love’ is done really well here. Recommended.

Just in time for Musicals week on Strictly, I managed to squeeze in an actual musical viewing. Here & Now - The Steps Musical made its debut in Birmingham, and I rocked up to take in one of the shows. It was brilliant! I love Steps, their kind of wonderful guilty pleasure of music that you know isn’t exactly great art but is one heck of a crowdpleaser.

I started reading Phil Collins’ autobiography and it’s taking me quite a long time to get through it, but always worth dipping into the back catalogue of the iconic drummer. At first glance, I thought this album only had one song I knew on it, but there were a few where I just didn’t recognise the name. Why is Something Happened… called that when the chorus is something completely different? Nevertheless, it’s classic Phil Collins, relatively easy listening and some great tracks along the way.

LINKIN PARK carrying on after the sad death of Chester was a bit of a surprise to me, as he seemed so intrinsic to the band, but they’ve found a pretty good vocalist in Emily Armstrong. She’s got some pipes on her, she really does. The album starts out well but then there’s a specific point where there’s a clip of someone saying ‘get your screaming pants on’ and that’s exactly what happens. The rest of it gave me a headache. It’s the first time a 30ish minute album has felt long. So mixed reviews from me!

Richard Osman himself says he doesn’t necessarily remember plots or mysteries much later after reading books, but you do tend to remember how the story made you feel and if you connect to the characters. And that’s where this series really shines. Elizabeth and Stephen’s story in this is heartbreaking but wonderful and the expanding cast of characters, moving in and out of each other’s lives, is a real joy to have grown with. Yes there was some kind of mystery and lots of murders to unravel but it’s the people that are the heart of this Thursday Murder Club.

More facts dropped by Claudia at the top of the show - every couple left in the competition has scored at least one 10. But at this point we hadn’t seen a 40, despite the sheer quality across the board. No gimmicks this week, just seven couples trying to get through to the quarter finals, and musicals week. As they descended to the floor, I realised how empty it is now and that prompted me to come up with predictions for the final: Tasha, Sarah, Chris and Jamie. I want Sarah to win it but really do think Chris is in with a chance.

This was a cleverly written book, and a great story. I loved the three different threads that initially seem like they have nothing to do with each other and then gradually come together by the end. I did guess that they were different timelines along the same story, and half guessed one of the twists but still, it was a fabulous read with a somehow sad but hopeful ending.

I loved this film. I loved it more than I did the first one, which I wasn’t at all expecting. This was just like seeing my brain on screen - from when I was a teenager, yes, but also lingering now. The potential for an orange fuzzball of anxiety is real. This film has such an incredible way of unpacking your emotions and making the way they link together and affect each other completely relatable.

We all know that Bake Off viewers have mixed feelings about the show - it’s still a comfortable entertaining watch, and the bakes look absolutely delicious, but it just continues to get more and more complicated and drift further from what made it special in the first place. I wrote about this in October 2022, and everything said then still stands. However, one positive change to the show is the addition of Alison Hammond, who took over from Matt Lucas last year. She’s a breath of fresh air, hilarious with that brilliant laugh, and she works well with Noel Fielding whilst retaining her own sunny personality. She occasionally falls off the benches and generally brings a little bit of adorable chaos with her.

I loved this. It came as a bit of a surprise, and a disappointing one at that, when we realised I haven’t done any Suede so far in this album adventure… especially as we keep talking about them during our 90s TOTP rewatch. Finally have remedied that situation and what an album. Some stand out tracks, obviously, in Trash and Beautiful Ones, but I loved some of the others as well, The Chemistry Between Us got stuck in my head for a little while. Just overall great 90s work.

I’ve listened to one The Cure album before but not for a while, and this, an unexpected brand new album, was a surprise. It’s great! Unlike the Bastille album of a couple of weeks ago, in which I said you’d do well to sit down and listen to it intently, this one feels very much designed not for hardcore listening but for pleasant background music - in the best possible way. There’s plenty of instrumental in there, and drawn out songs without being noodly and self-indulgent. I really liked it.

Starting another Baldacci series and I quite enjoyed this one. It started out well, with the two main characters having similar experiences and ultimately pooling their knowledge to start figuring out the big conspiracy. I did get a bit confused by all the different characters and how they fitted together by the end. But I loved King and Maxwell and am definitely interested in what they get up to next.

What a brilliant movie. David Leitch said he made it as a love letter to stunt people and it absolutely is that - I learned so much and was so impressed by what we saw. The story is fun, and cleverly worked so that you don’t necessarily see the twists and turns coming, and the romance layered on top of the action works really well. I enjoyed the meta way the making of the film directly related to what was happening (split screen, and how the third act worked, etc). The best thing about this film (aside from Ryan Gosling being about as handsome as it’s possible to be) was that there was nothing wasted. Nothing was in there just to be in there, every little detail and plot point had a purpose and was referenced later. It was fantastically done and a lot of fun to watch.

I loved this book. It’s one of those where the initial actions are mysterious but relatively small and then gradually we start to unravel what’s going on, and the stakes get higher and higher until it’s a really serious potential threat to the safety of humankind. At the heart of this is Reacher, who gets swept up in a kidnapping completely by accident, and how he deals with that at every step of the way is fascinating. I also enjoyed the outside efforts of law enforcement to try and figure out what’s going on, and completely get the wrong end of the stick. Just a really good adventure.

Oh Blackpool you say? Well why not. Did anyone actually count the number of times it was mentioned during the weekend? Still, the lights looked good, the floor was sprung, and the Pet Shop Boys were there! Seriously, I loved this dance so much, it’s some of my favourite group dance work in a while! Anyway, on with the competition!

I loved this! Been following Chad Radwell’s career since he was Chad Radwell and he’s getting better and more adorable by the minute. And this is a great movie, good acting, solid story, impressive action sequences and the special effects were breathtaking. I don’t understand this life where you want to head towards the terrifying weather, but I was so invested in the whole thing. I really enjoyed the original movie too, and I suppose there’s an argument about whether this film was needed, as it tells pretty much the same story, but I loved it, so it can stay!

Bad Monkey is not a hugely enticing name for a TV show to me, and even now I’m not 100% sure how it ties in to the story. There is a monkey in it, but most of the time it seemed to be a pretty good one. The star of the show is not, as it turns out, the monkey, but actually Vince Vaughn who puts in a really star turn as Andrew Yancy, an on-again off-again police detective who does NOT stop talking but has a heart of gold and goes with his gut to somehow get to the right result. He draws people in around him, they trust him even though he annoys them, and sometimes he even gets the girl.

Lovely Louise has popped up a few times on our rewatch of Top of the Pops, which is currently in 1996. I’m always a bit surprised by how many songs of Louise’s I know and remember fondly, and this album is a good collection of them. It’s also got a full album of good songs, with very little filler, although you obviously have to enjoy 90s pop to really dig it. I have one tiny complaint and that is the weird epic key change at the end of Goodbye to Love, which is only there about ten seconds before the end of the song. What’s the point?? But overall a great listen.

Nothing to complain about with this album, really, it was like going back in time a bit and listening to that good early 00s guitar music. There were no bangers on here, not like we know Razorlight are capable of but I really enjoyed the album overall. I do think the song with TayTay in the title is a bit weird though, it’s got nothing to do with her so why try and cash in on her name like that?

Hmm, this was an okay film, watchable and entertaining enough as it went by, but not a patch on the original and completely forgettable. Do we really need to keep making these Despicable movies? I can’t remember the plot even now, something about a school? Genuinely, the minion in the vending machine was the best thing about it.

I’m not sure what drew me to this book, but it seemed to be a clear and concise telling of what happened to those poor kids in the cave and the lengthy, ultimately successful rescue attempt. Written by a journalist, it feels well explained with good sources and a pretty unbiased feeling about what happened. Where there were dodgy decisions being made, there was still usually a reason behind them, which is highlighted well by Gutman throughout. Ultimately, it’s a great book about a difficult situation that could have been a tragedy but ended up working out okay. It makes you feel so glad that people have these skills and are prepared to help out no matter what.

This was so good. Obviously! You’ve got everything brilliant about Deadpool, the meta moments, breaking the fourth wall, the endless stream of jokes and ripping on the people that pay the bills (spends the whole time slagging off the multiverse whilst also being a solid multiverse movie!)… and then adds in the great buddy comedy with an even grumpier variant of Wolverine.

There’s no theme this week so the dancers are just doing their own separate things, but with one thing on their mind (apparently) - getting to Blackpool. The B word is so over-used at this point in the competition that you really just want this week over so we can get there and get it done with. But apart from that, another great week of dancing gets underway!

I used to listen to the podcast that this book was born out of, and enjoyed it. I don’t listen to podcasts much anymore, but when I started reading this book, I realised I was going to have to listen to the audiobook version - partly because the formatting didn’t distinguish between Chris and Rosie’s paragraphs, but also because you just have to hear their excellent voices and the way they bounce off each other. I really liked the book, except the final section - I’m with Rosie that it’s a chapter that just wasn’t needed in the book really. But outside of that, it’s just the great, honest, open chat that you’d come to expect from this pair.

Oooh, I loved this. Obviously, you’ve got a dream team duo helming the movie - both have incredible star power individually, then put them together and you’ve got something special. Of course this had one of the things I like most, people that do extraordinary things but just bumbling along together, grumping at each other. It’s like Avengers scenes where they’re just hanging out, the best part!

There’s nothing subtle about these movies, they’re not particularly smart and they’re not particularly clever, they may as well just shout ‘we’re talking about racism, here, okay?’ But for some reason, I still quite like it. There are interesting things to be explored within - how a fragile peace deal can break down when another threat emerges, how desperate you can be to find out how you fit in, etc. It’s bright and colourful, with fun Disney songs, and a good (if not subtle) message.