I had an interesting journey through this one. At first, I wasn’t convinced at all - the first half hour was boring, predictable, derivative, Vin Diesel doing what he does. I was rolling my eyes. But then, when the twist happened and things started unravelling, it became far more interesting! By the end, I was really enjoying the whole thing!

This was a really good film, great cast, with Samuel L Jackson stealing the show at every opportunity. He’s the backbone of a movie that does a great job at explaining the maths behind it whilst also being entertaining and moving - the inequality on display is just the worst.

Right, so we watched this because the first one was okay, it has Demi Moore added to the fun, and we wanted to check it off the list before watching the reboot with Elizabeth Banks. We’re completionists like that. Oof, I really wish we hadn’t bothered. It was so bad.

I’ve tried to read this a few times, I know the first few pages almost off by heart. Naturally, as a fan of Ioan Gruffudd, I loved the TV show but it’s taken a while for the books to grab me as well. This time, I listened to the audiobook as read by Christian Rodska, and it was really good. I like that it doesn’t shy away from the nautical terminology but equally is easy enough to follow.

From the moment I saw the trailer for this, I was looking forward to it so I was superbly excited when the pre-order finally downloaded. Thankfully, it lived up to every expectation. A fantastic mystery at the heart of it all, with plenty of moments you’re completely led up the garden path, suspicious of people who have nothing to do with it, and tying yourself up in knots trying to figure out what happened.

As a companion to the Apple TV show of the same name, this book features the stories of a huge variety of people who made their way to America by a variety of different means. Some are hugely successful, some are just scraping by, some are happy and some are still searching, but all of them have a fascinating story to tell.

The enforced hibernation that the world is undergoing right now means I’ve managed to whip through the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series is super quick time. After highlighting five of my favourite episodes from the first series, it seems only right to do the same for the second. I enjoyed this season more, mostly because the characters seemed more settled in themselves. The trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy had more meaningful conversations alongside some fun banter and what appeared to be real, genuine friendships. There were some episodes that didn’t quite live up to my high expectations but mostly, I thought it was a great season, and here are five reasons why:

I used to be a big fan of horror movies but more recently have gone off them somewhat - I don’t think this is out and out horror but it’s certainly not something I would have chosen to watch if it wasn’t for wanting to support the early release dates. I’m glad I did end up watching it though, because it was interesting.

I love some Depeche Mode, I really do, but it always surprises me when the albums kicks off and I’m bobbing my head along with it. Unfortunately, the first time I listened to this I had it on shuffle so I got a bit confused but second time through was better.

I hate to jump on the bandwagon but this is a really great album and I can see why it thrust Lizzo into the spotlight. Obviously Good as Hell is the tune that broke her, and isn’t on here, but there are some real bangers.

A few things about the background to watching this movie: Its release was brought forward to digital rather than going to cinemas due to the global lockdown currently underway. That meant we were keen to watch it regardless of what it was all about because we’ve been waiting for this moment! Films available at the same time as the cinema (or as they should be in the cinema if the cinemas were open). Heaven.

I’ve listened to this before but realised I hadn’t reviewed it which was an oversight. And in the current tense climate of confusion and general overwhelming-ness, I figured listening to some guy telling stories of him being a bit silly during his life is exactly the right thing. This book is based on a feature in Josh Widdicombe’s radio show, which I’ve never heard, but has James recounting moments from his past where he’s gotten into a scrape.

Not sure how we stumbled upon this film, but a good comedy is always what’s needed in times like this. And it was a really good comedy - an interesting idea, well executed, with great work from Billy Crystal. Lisa Kudrow was pretty much being Phoebe but she had her moments too.

This was so good! I’ve never heard of the TV show or the film but I obviously know Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones and they were both excellent. I loved that everyone in this was good at their jobs and doing some great work but still managing to just miss each other. There weren’t any rubbish cops or anything like that.

I’d previously read half of this, which is annoying, because I’d never quite got to the bit where the mother and son duo escape from the room they are being held in. This book staggers me, partly because it’s such a well told story based on such an horrific crime, but also because it’s completely engaging despite being the scatty and unformed mind of a sheltered five-year-old.

I remembered watching this a long time ago and liking it, so I thought we could give it another go (although my other attempts at watching films I liked from my youth has not gone well so far). This one didn’t let me down too much, although it was frustrating to see the obviously pretty Garofalo doubting herself quite so much.

This was so much better than I thought it was going to be. We only really knew of this because Boseman had appeared on the Graham Norton sofa to sell it, and it sounded interesting. With everything going on in the world at the moment, and our brains pretty consistently fried, we wanted some action adventure goodness to keep us going.

I’ve read a handful of mountaineer and adventurer books and I think I want to read more, but I had to re-start with one of the stalwarts of British climbing, Chris Bonington. This book charts his entire life so each of the main expeditions isn’t written about in too much detail, I think I would have liked more, but it’s a good way to get an overview of what an interesting and sometimes exciting life Bonington has had.

The most recent series of Doctor Who came to an end a week or so ago, the second full series to feature the Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker. But is she really the Thirteenth Doctor? Such revelations in this series! Spoilers and stuff follow, so do be careful if you read on. I’m talking to myself again. That’s a good sign. Firstly, Jodie continued to be wonderful. Her Doctor had a bit more emotional fallout to deal with this time round, and it was interesting to see her isolating from the group a little bit towards the beginning of the series. It just showed off Jodie’s range though, and the one moment that stands out for me is when she was talking to herself in that final episode. So good and so difficult to do without looking weird.

I thought this was going to be more out and out funny, but actually there were a lot of serious edges to it. Jack Black does a great job, especially considering he doesn’t really have anyone to riff off. The kids are great but not exactly comedy partners, so he’s doing a lot of work to keep things moving.

We’re in to the fifth year of this album adventure and I’ve only just picked up an Elvis record to listen to. Incredible. This is his debut, twelve songs of lovely Elvis voice - some covers, some original stuff, some that are super famous. Imagine having Blue Suede Shoes on your debut!

I’ve been looking forward to this one, and it absolutely delivered. It probably hasn’t moved their sound forward very much, but you know what you’re getting with Paul & Jacqui - good tunes with excellent lyrics, and some honest and truthful subject matters.

This is a childhood favourite, an absolute classic, and one that it’s taken far too long to Film Watch. However, I had to wait until Mr C was ready for the brilliance of it and today was the day. There’s a lot to love, obviously, the music is incredible, the story fun, the performances hit and miss. There were more layers to it than I remembered though.

Okay, so let’s kick things off with the positive. We were looking for some mindless action and this delivered - it was entertaining in the moment, not too much of a thinking film, with some great visuals along the way. However, it really doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny.

Everyone has been raving about Picard, the new show on Prime, and I desperately want to watch it. But I realised, although I love Star Trek, my knowledge of the TV shows really isn’t that great. Of course I know the characters and the general idea but I can’t remember ever really watching it. Movies, sure, but TV shows? I don’t recall. So, seeing as it’s all available on Netflix at the moment, I decided to go back to the very start and watch The Original Series. I wasn’t expecting to like it particularly, and thought I’d quite quickly move on to Next Generation. But I love it! I didn’t quite realise how much the show is about ethics and morals and decision-making, rather than just travelling around and looking at aliens. Boldly going where no man has gone before means addressing issues that no one had really addressed before, and that’s fascinating.

I picked this up after watching the TV series on Apple TV+, and was interested to see how the source material had been adapted. The TV show went down with mixed reviews in my household but overall it was enjoyable, so I was surprised at how completely different the book was! Rather than being the protagonist, Poppy the podcaster is really a hated figure that only pops up every now and again and is really, very mean.

My expectations going into this were relatively low - I like Jillian Bell and thought she would be funny but I just wasn’t sure. I ended up loving it! It’s not a straight up comedy, and actually hit a lot closer to home than I’d thought but that made it even better.

I was probably in the camp that didn’t think we needed another Zombieland movie but I’m glad they made it because it was almost as good as the first one, but more importantly, they didn’t ruin anything that was good about the first one. It was superb, enjoyable, funny in the right places and that joyous comedy of great references and plenty of banter.

I listened to the audiobook of this, read in turn by Emilia Fox and Jack Hawkins. The story is told from the two main protagonist’s point of view and it’s fascinating to see how the pair gradually develop and change as events overtake them. Ben was behind the wheel of the car that killed Alice’s husband and eventually worms his way into her life.

Really good film, this one. Of course I’m a Costner fan so that helped, but what a cast they’ve gathered here! It was funny and heartbreaking and a good action drama, based on the true story of bringing Al Capone to some kind of justice.

I’m well aware that this blog has basically become an Apple TV+ review site, but everything I’ve watched on there so far has been really good quality. Okay, sometimes it doesn’t completely hit the spot (Truth Be Told) and some things just don’t look that interesting to me to even start (Servant) but what I’ve seen, I’ve liked. This time, it’s the turn of MythicQuest: Raven’s Banquet – a workplace sitcom based in a games company that have made a hugely successful MMORPG. There are your traditional office-type situations that create their own humour but where the series really shines is its focus and attention to detail on gaming.

Yay for J-Lo! I do love this lady, and seeing her in action at the Super Bowl made me realise I need to do a bit more J-Lo on the album adventure. And then we saw her in Hustlers and that was that, time for an album!

My first K-Pop album, after watching BTS doing a spot of Carpool Karaoke with James Corden. I’ve been aware of these guys, obviously, but they’ve never really sparked an interest until now. I really quite enjoyed this album, although it is far too long and took a while to get through the second time round.

I’ve gone a bit book club crazy at the moment, and there has to be a limit, but before I find it, I picked up this book on the recommendation of one Reese Witherspoon. Such a Fun Age starts with the story of Emira, who is cornered in a supermarket and accused of kidnapping the white child that she is babysitting.

I can’t start this review without addressing the elephant in the room, or should I say the tortoise in the room. That is, surely, the worst album cover ever? Two guys photoshopped on the back of a cartoon tortoise… for no apparent reason? Every time I look at it, it makes me shake my head.

I loved this! I wasn’t really familiar with Grimes at all beforehand, only really in passing and having heard whispers about her love life. But that wasn’t relevant at all in an album that I really enjoyed. If I’m honest, as I listened, it all started to blur into one so I couldn’t tell you if there were particular standout songs or not, but I really enjoyed the process of listening and quite looked forward to sitting through it a second time.

Another of Oprah’s Book Club picks, this was an incredible read. The story follows a mother and son from the moment of an horrific family tragedy in Mexico through their desperate attempts to flee the country and find their way into the United States. It provides a deep and moving portrayal of how quickly things can change for a seemingly settled and untroubled family and how horrifying the journey is when you are just trying to look for safety.

It took me a while to get used to listening to the Doctor rather than seeing him/her. Nicholas Briggs voices this first book and his version of the Doctor is a good one, it has that Northern goofiness so that you can immediately tell who it is but I did think it sometimes went a bit too far into the silly voice. Our Doctor can be serious too.

It’s clear that Zac Efron was the star of the show, he was given some of the best songs and sequences - I really loved his piece inside the school alone, and the bit with the friend in the scrapyard, also great. When he was with the others, it didn’t quite seem to gel so well, but hey, High School Musical has always been awkward-fest.

What a terrible film! And what an awful way to wrap up the trilogy. It goes downhill straight away when Estevez appears and just as quickly disappears for almost all the rest of the movie. How is he first billed when he’s barely in it? And without him, it’s sort of hard to care about the rest.

I don’t know what I was expecting of this but I really liked it! The Kinks, as a concept, confuse me because many of their songs are so timeless, you feel like they could be released today and still fit in perfectly. So it sort of boggles my mind that they’re of the sixties. But then you hear something like Cadillac and they slot right back into place again.

Good music! It’s quite nice to hear Green Day again, because whilst there wasn’t anything particularly outstanding or evolved about this album (they’re not going to be making a musical out of this one, I’m sure), I realised that not a lot of people are making this type of music anymore, so they do have a niche.

A great film this one. Takes a minute to get used to the masses of stilettos and the lack of clothing on display but once you’re in the right headspace, it’s really just a female version of The Wolf of Wall Street - hustlers using their skills to get the most out of the greedy, without feeling guilty about it.

Little America, the anthology series on Apple TV+, came at the perfect time in our household, as we’d just finished indulging in Modern Love and were in the right head-space for the ‘different story every episode’ style. Little America takes the formula and applies it to immigrant stories across a broad range of ages and lifestyles and all walks of life in the US. There were eight episodes and it was wonderful how the same theme shone through them all – people don’t necessarily want hand outs, to take up too much space, or even necessarily to fit in. So much nonsense is spewed about them but at the end of the day they just want the same chances as everyone else.

I’m not sure this sequel lives up to its predecessor but it was fun enough to watch. It seemed to be more of a kids film than the first, which maybe had a few more levels. Here, we had quite long sequences of kids skating down the road causing chaos, and far too much quacking - either via duck whistle or in the middle of chants.

I’ve had a few disappointments over the last couple of weeks, so I wanted to listen to something I knew I would like - good old-fashioned 90s boyband pop. I fell for the manufactured BSB vs NSync rivalry back in the day but older and wiser I can now listen to it all and enjoy.

This album took so long to come to fruition! It’s been on our upcoming list for a couple of years but the release date kept being put back and back. Eventually, at last, it’s out in the world and was it worth the wait? Well, it’s certainly a lot better than I was expecting.

I heard a lot of good things about this book but I had to go for the audiobook option, read by Taron Egerton. Elton introduces his memoir by reading the introduction (and he voices the epilogue as well), but soon we are into the heart of the story with Taron doing an incredible job guiding us through Elton’s difficult early years, exciting early success, troubled drug decades, and post-sobriety contentment.

This book is a quirky little thing, but totally enjoyable. It took a little while to grow on me because initially, whilst I was absolutely seeing a lot of myself in the lovely Nina, I couldn’t quite see what was happening. But then I was halfway through and realised I was invested in a lot of things: the new ready-made family, the relationship with the quizzer, and the fate of the bookshop. Plus all conversations with the cat, Phil.

I wasn’t expecting too much from this movie, but we wanted something completely different to the previous film and I knew this was relatively well-liked and culturally referenced work. Plus, I like Emilio. It was a nice, family-friendly, sports film - competition, drama, people working through their issues, and eventually doing the right thing. I enjoyed it.