No one is going to argue that this is a good film. But it’s fun and it’s the characters that guided us through the first one, and it’s just a quite enjoyable ride after a wine or two. It’s most fun to be able to pick holes in the entire thing, which probably isn’t what the makers were going for but is how it goes down best.

I just looked back through my reviews of the other Toy Story films, and the last two got five out of five scores… which is weird because I remember absolutely nothing about the second one, and the more distance I got from the third, the more I hated it. But thankfully, this fourth entry in the franchise was brilliant and genuinely deserves the top score. It made up for my feelings on the last one.

Many moons ago, I wrote about Duolingo, the language learning app that uses short lessons, goals and badges to encourage you to reach your targets. I’ve dipped in and out of that app over the years and for some reason, just recently, the obsession grabbed me once again. I downloaded the app and was impressed with some of the new content since the last time I looked at it. Not only are there the standard lessons – with each topic of the language broken up into a specific area where you can learn and gain skills via typing, speaking and listening – but now there are stories and audio lessons too.

It only took four weeks to get some Strictly Come controversy but I have to admit I was surprised by the bottom two and the subsequent decision by the judges. However, before we get there, here are some quick notes about the dances as they happened. Chris Ramsay went first, and I quite enjoyed the inside basketball included in the dance. It was good although I’m not totally sure I like the non-pointy-foot option. He is a funny one though, “let’s see that leaderboard!”

I was dreading this a bit, I didn’t think it would have aged well and might not work in this slightly more enlightened era we’re living in. But actually, aside from some early quibbles where they referred to Demi as the husband’s property, I didn’t think it was too bad. It really raises some interesting moral, relationship and ethical questions - would you, how much would you, how on earth would you recover?

I just wanted to write a couple of thoughts down in praise of the TV series State of the Union. It aired earlier in the year in the US, I believe, and has just been shown on the BBC and via iPlayer and I absolutely drank that show up. Written by novelist Nick Hornby, the show consists of ten episodes of only about ten minutes each dipping into the lives of a married couple seeking counselling for their union.

Initially I thought I hadn’t heard of Cast, but Mr C said they were the band of the 90s that it was cool to dislike. When I got through the album, though, I realised I did know a couple of the songs, and more than that, I liked it! Thankfully I know I’m not cool so it makes no difference if I like or dislike them.

I listened to Lady Wood by Tove Lo just a couple of weeks ago in preparation for this release, but that might not have been the smartest move. I really loved that one and I’m not totally convinced this one lived up to its predecessor. It’s good though, lots of good songs and some amazing guests. Glad He’s Gone is fantastic, though, the stand out song of the album. I think the rest of it is probably a bit of a grower, so I’m going to have to listen a few more times.

LOVED THIS. Loved, loved, loved it. From start to finish. Emma Thompson is a hero and Mindy Kaling’s writing just shines. The pair of them work well together and it’s a joy to watch their relationship gradually soften and warm. There are equality and diversity issues confronted throughout but it’s not simple in-your-face stuff. Even Thompson’s character is both a victim but also complicit in bias.

I’ve been a podcast listener for a long time and have talked often about them, from my evolving listening habits, to being a bit of a hoarder, and even picking out some of my favourites on occasion. Recently, I’ve been more obsessed with Beats 1 and streaming music and letting my podcast backlog creep up and up, but that has all changed. My podcast app of choice has previously been Downcast. It’s a sturdy product that collects and plays podcasts well, but it’s not perfect, and if I’m honest I had got into that slightly stale place where you just keep using an app even though it crashes quite a lot, because laziness is keeping you there.

This was a really good one. I’ve read the book but couldn’t remember anything about it so it was presented as a brand new thriller to me. Julia Roberts was excellent and I love Denzel so that was just a dream team of casting. The story is Grisham at his best, although I have to admit to get a bit confused with the sheer volume of bad guys and there were a handful of questions I had at the end that they tried to explain but I still didn’t quite get.

One of the things Apple is renowned for, and also vilified for, is their unified approach to technology. They make the software and they make the devices which helps to have a more seamless experience as a user (although not at the moment!) and now they’ve added content to their list as well. When I wrote the post about enjoying the new reading goals in association with Oprah’s book club moving to the Apple platform, I hadn’t realised quite what a crossover experience the team have created.

Hey, remember when I wrote about buying a Soda Stream to replace the endless bottles of sparkling water I was wasting? Well, I just had to change the gas canister and it got even more awesome. Firstly, that’s lasted just over three months, which is longer than I’d expected and has saved a really significant number of plastic bottles. Secondly, the replacement canister I bought was just a bit more than £20 so it’s also saved a significant amount of cash.

This week, I was not very well and had to watch Strictly without a glass of wine in hand which was a different experience. Although I was a bit delirious from the cold meds, so it probably added up to the same thing. It was movie week, of course, and full of drama during the week of build up and on the night itself. Craig and the teeth! Katya falling over many times! Dev covering everyone and everything in blue body paint!

In the latest iOS release, Apple have got a lot wrong. Many things that used to function now no longer do so, and everything is just that little bit more flaky. I’ve never restarted my devices quite so much as I have these past few weeks. However, one thing that I have enjoyed is the new reading goals. The Books app, or iBooks as I can’t help but keep calling it, was always a tangential thing for me. I love reading and books but Kindle was my app and store of choice. The Apple Books app, whilst making a really nice reading experience, didn’t do much in terms of promotion, finding material, or collecting your works once downloaded. Meanwhile, I’ve just spent a significant amount of time putting my books into Kindle collections on the iPad which was an easy process and makes for a nice digital bookshelf.

I absolutely adore this film. First of all, the dream pairing of Robin Williams and Nathan Lane is mind-blowing, and then when you layer on top of that they are playing a wonderful, if high-maintenance gay couple, you’ve got everything you need - the rest of the story is almost incidental. It feels like it’s ahead of its time but also does feel quite 90s in places. The things these people are wearing on the beach!

What I liked about it is that apart from getting her away from the guy when he was shooting at her in the beginning, she didn’t really need his help. She was the famous writer who got into the guy’s villa, she solved the puzzle of the map, she saved her sister, and she pushed the guy into the crocodiles whilst he was climbing up the wall. (It’s that kind of movie.) It’s a good job, too, because Michael Douglas doesn’t really stand up as the big action star. He’s no Tom Cruise.

Anna Chlumsky is brilliant from start to finish, she really grabs your attention with her hypochondria and bossiness and general excellent confidence that hides an underlying fear about death and the role she plays in her family. And with the rest of the cast doing an equally good job, there’s very little to complain about with this one. I didn’t know they had made a sequel and I’m curious to see how that one plays out!

I think I knew this wasn’t going to be our kind of film, but it’s an Oscar winner and it came in a bundle of others and we were spending an afternoon feeling unwell on the sofa so why not try and watch a long movie? Mmm. Far too violent. Switched off. Nothing else to add.

Just a quick update on my previous post about the launch of Apple Arcade. I listed five games that I played when they first came out but since then I’ve tried a couple more that are worth a mention. We also investigated the new ability to pair a Playstation controller to the Apple TV and play games on the big screen - which can make a big difference depending which game you’re playing.

Before listening to this one, there was a little debate over whether it counted in the album game. I have weird rules that bend and mutate over time, but the fact that this album contains a significant amount of previous songs was an issue. They’re live, so that’s different, and in the end I allowed it because this is clearly an album that they have worked and crafted as a piece of art.

I really liked this one. I hadn’t heard of Tegan & Sara before, which is my bad. For some reason, I thought they were country music artists but this isn’t that. It’s kind of hard to describe what it actually is. It’s sort of pop, but grown up, very finely crafted with brilliant lyrics.

It’s taken me a full year to get through this but not because it isn’t a good book, mostly because it’s the kind that you can pick up and put down, dip in and out of and just generally revel in the calm storytelling of a master. He’s got plenty to talk about and is honest about it all, looking back philosophically about the highs and lows of a life in country music.

It’s definitely just your traditional Disney TV movie, with the fade outs for the ads and everything, and to be honest, I’m not even sure it’s the best musical Disney thing I’ve seen - Camp Rock was probably more fun and inspiring. But still, this is the one that captured the world’s imagination, and it has Zac Efron in it to boot!

John Carney’s Dublin movies are really good, and I wonder it’s taken us this long to watch this one. The music is obviously fantastic, and it’s nice to see a different side to Dublin rather than the more glamorous and Guinness-soaked side. It was relaxing and chilling, and a nice story.

It has two things going for it. The first is that Christopher Reeve does a great job with this character. Although the whole disguise business is laughable, he really does do his best to distinguish between the two, and I think he’s really charming and funny at times. The other thing is that at least this time, the whole film was watchable (whereas the last one had a start and end that really ruined the much better middle). But it was so frustrating.

This film has been lurking in my library for a little while but for some reason has never come to the surface. That’s a surprise because I’ve read the book and quite liked it, and it has a mega cast in the film. Overall, I really liked it. The music is good and the story winds it’s way through the trauma of being a teenager anyway, on top of the specific problems this gang of friends are going through, or have been through.

When I go Strictly, I like to go all in and whilst I have drawn the line at listening to the podcast this year, I’m keen to keep up the It Takes Two habit. I only just managed to fit them all in with a couple of hours to spare before we set about watching week 2’s show, but it got done. And what did I make of week 2? Fun and fabulous, as always. Here are some notes I made along the way.

This film is not what I was expecting at all. My primary thought having seen it is - why on earth is this so popular? The music is good, the dancing incredible and those art pieces on stage are brilliant - like some fabulous music videos. But as a movie? It’s weird.

I’m behind the times on this, but I’m glad I waited to watch Aisling Bea’s new comedy This Way Up. I bought the entire series to binge on the Apple TV and got through it in super quick time - it was wonderful and heartbreaking and genuine and lovely and inspirational and sobering all in equal measure. The two areas it particularly shines in are the portrayal of struggling with mental health - Bea’s character Aine is recovering from a nervous breakdown and trying to deal with life in a very lonely London. It’s a difficult subject to talk about let alone make a comedy of, but the tone of every episode is perfect. The fact that Aine can whip smart her way out of any conversation, but seconds later when by herself, sinks to her knees in desperation - I don’t know if there’s anyone who couldn’t relate to that in some way.

This felt like two different films. The first was quite similar to the previous Bad Boys movie, although it felt like they upped the comedy quite a lot. I was certainly laughing more than I’d expected. And then, when the whole gang turned up in Cuba, the film became out and out action. There were some gorgeous shots, it was like Top Gun!

Tove Lo has a new album out but I figured I should do a little bit of homework first. This is considered an essential album and I can see why, it’s really good! It’s got elements of pop, dance and even a little rock, but it stands apart from others with great songs and personal lyrics.

I’ve not really been aware of Sam Fender up to this point, but his debut album packs a real punch. I loved it! It’s got a rock sound that is reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen and The Killers and others, but also has its own sound that works well. I feel like I’m going to need to listen several more times to move past just enjoying the sound of it to listening to the lyrics as well, as the effort that’s gone into them sounds like it’ll be worth it.

Like many others, I saw the film adaptation of this non-fiction book without knowing anything of the subject matter beforehand. It was a moving story, of course, heroic bravery in the face of almost insurmountable odds and in the end, a victory for mankind against Mother Nature. But when you come to read the book, although still feeling dramatic and, honestly, quite horrific, there’s a steadfast nature about the writing that at first unsteadied me.

You know how people often say that technology can fix problems they didn’t even know they had? Well, Apple have fixed a problem that I definitely didn’t have – not enough access to games. Their recent launch of Apple Arcade is interesting and exciting for many reasons, but more than anything, when am I going to find time to play all of these titles? On the one hand, I never really thought the app gaming world needed a revolution or a boost – there was plenty out there to play, free games, paid games, lots of choice, lots of variety. But on the other hand, if Apple can help put a bit of a spanner in the free-to-start-with-but-then-pay-to-actually-get-any-enjoyment-out-of-the-game model that has taken the app world by storm, then I’m probably glad to see it.

So, we’ve all seen the first episode of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing competition and what an extravaganza it was. Immediately, I have to go back on two things I said in my previous post: That I didn’t know any of the contestants this year and was more likely to want to get on with my life than get to know them. But no, no, one show in and I was obsessed. My concerns about Motsi. I still stand by the feeling that the BBC have put themselves in a difficult position having sisters as judge and competitor, but I can see why they’ve taken the risk. Motsi is properly brilliant. So, having clarified that I loved it, here’s a stream of consciousness as I watched.

This was a really good film, I was surprised! The tension was there from the very beginning, and although it took a little while for the fires to actually start, it helped to build up a picture of how casually most people were taking the situation… right until the situation caught up with them. It was a long film, but I didn’t mind that so much. My only real complaint was that the characters felt under-developed. It was a huge cast with ridiculously famous names, but actually the only ones I cared about were Fred Astaire and Jennifer Jones. The rest never really had time or space to generate interest, despite an almost three hour film.

The underlying story is okay but dude, the violence. I don’t understand it. The guns seem to blow people to absolute pieces, what kind of machinery is this? It was gruesome and gory and gross and although not out of place - I can totally see it would be a violent world out there - it was gratuitous. Just not interested in watching any more of this series, whether forwards or backwards in the franchise.

Will Smith is excellent, as always, in fact much better than the other actor which does make it a bit annoying when so much focus is on the other guy. I also couldn’t work out what to make of Téa Leoni. I mean, we know Michael Bay doesn’t know what to do with women but this character’s story arc was the weirdest thing ever.

We all know Fugees are epic and this album is a classic but somehow I’d never actually listened to the full thing. I loved the music, but some of the bits and bobs around the songs weren’t quite my cup of tea. I’m always grumpy about clips and talking and radio and stuff, and there was a little too much of that for me. BUT, how can you argue with an album that has Ready or Not and Killing Me Softly on it?

This is tricky. I really love a couple of the singles on this - 1999 is brilliant, and Gone with Christine and the Queens is epic. Even Haim make an appearance! But the rest of it was really not for me. I feel guilty because I listened to an interview with Charli saying it was her best work and she thought it would stand the test of time, but I really didn’t enjoy it.

It’s unfortunate that this came out around the same time as Bohemian Rhapsody because it’s impossible not to compare the two - but they’re different beasts really. Bohemian Rhapsody felt like the story of Freddie with some Queen songs thrown in. This was more of a crafted jukebox musical, dancing in the street, and the family doing an early group number. I loved this movie, Taron does an absolutely stunning job and in some of the shots and outfits looks eerily like the man he’s trying to portray.

I’m sure you’ve seen this by now, but Jennifer Lopez gave a bit of a dancing masterclass on Jimmy Fallon’s talk show this week, as the pair of them demonstrated the evolution of dance in music videos. I particularly like the bit for Waterfalls, which I didn’t know what an iconic dance but must be, the Wrecking Ball space hoppers, and the Bad Guy hoodies.

I loved this so much. Wasn’t expecting to, because whilst I like Charlize a lot, I’m not so keen on Seth Rogen. Here, though, he seems to have grown up a little bit - just enough to make this a hilarious and moving movie, but not so much that he loses his humour. I was laughing almost from the beginning and throughout the whole thing, it was quirky and funny but had a lot of heart. There were some deep subjects beneath it about politics and family and difficult choices and optics, and I loved how it approached sexism and racism with frank openness.

This album is an old favourite, I suspect I had a physical copy as I knew all the songs throughout and had a lot of the lyrics in my head. It’s an interesting one because it’s a downbeat record, lazy and drifting, reminding me quite a lot of Coldplay’s debut album - not in the songs themselves but in the mood.

I knew a couple of songs from this album after they’ve been featured on Beats 1 over the months, and I’ve liked what I’ve heard. The album follows in the same vein as the initial singles - fantastic old school R&B with great beats, strong messages, and fantastic vocals.

Having gotten through the Avengers Endgame ordeal with only minor spoilers, attention now turns back to Agents of Shield. Previous seasons, we have paused watching this show because there are links to the big bad Marvel world and we didn’t want to go around spoiling ourselves as that would just be silly. Turns out, we needn’t have worried. There aren’t any spoilers in season six of Agents of Shield, due to several reasons.

Of the wide variety of museums to visit in London, for some reason, I opted to go to the London Transport Museum. I say for some reason, as though I am not actually a total nerd for trains and the underground and the history of both. It’s really a wonder I haven’t been before. The museum is situated near Covent Garden and claims to let you “discover London’s history at the world’s leading museum of urban transport, online, in our Museum and at our Depot. Our Depot houses over 320,000 objects from our collection, including trains, buses, signs, photographs, posters, and large objects - to name a few!”

I was vaguely aware of there being a TV adaptation of this book but knew very little about it, except there was a small time travelling element. Of course that spoke to me, so whilst having not seen the TV show, I thought I’d check out the book. The time travel is only a small part of it, the rest being more of a historical romance drama, but it does still have an impact at various points along the way.

When the sun’s been out, we’ve been sneaking quick trips to the South West Coast Path at various points along its length. None of them have been particularly exciting trips but there are enough now to make a quick scrapbook. This batch includes a walk returning by train, a walk returning by bus, a walk that was stopped by a massive hill that we just couldn’t face, and a trip down Newquay streets which covered more of the path than I thought it was going to.