This was more of a page-turning thriller than the more sedate whodunit’s I’m used to from Christie, but it was still quite interesting in its own way. The introduction suggested it was a satire, which did come across in the text, but I must admit most of what it was sending up went over my head - I guess that’s just a lack of knowledge of the period, really.

Mr C was under the impression that this was another weak entry in the Lethal Weapon franchise - the sequel that effectively killed off the series. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and from the looks of the way it ended, this was always anticipated to be the final outing for Riggs and Murtaugh.

Hmm, not sure about this. The good songs are incredible. Everybody Wants to Rule the World is up there with the proper classics. Head Over Heels, very good. But there are also some real low points. It’s a totally mixed bag.

Really love this album! It’s fun, upbeat and a wonderful eclectic mix of styles and languages. It’s standard Shakira, but there are lots of influences in there and you can tell she was just having fun with the whole thing. Great job.

I loved this wonderfully, quirky film. It’s clearly just a vehicle for Sally Field to show how brilliant she is, but it did that perfectly. She was brilliant! And it was nice to see a flawed character going on a journey that doesn’t necessarily end happily but certainly winds up better than it started!

I’m glad we finally got round to watching it, the film is really, very good. The story is the most interesting part of the whole thing - a tale about outsiders moving in and taking over, where indigenous people are left to fight for their rightful homes. Moving and, of course, quite relevant.

This is a really lovely piece of work, with a great structure that leads you through what turns out to be a fascinating friendship dynamic. Poppy’s mother wrote her ten letters for the next ten birthdays before she passed away, and we get to check in with Poppy each year to see what she is up to and how the letter affects her.

One of Ken Follett’s standalone thrillers, I really enjoyed this book. It had an unusual premise, and the crime itself was inventive and really quite terrifying as a concept! I liked the internal politics that was wrapping the FBI up in knots and it was good to have the hero come out on top, both in terms of solving the crime and also getting the upper hand in the office.

We are rapidly heading towards the point of the year where Wimbledon takes over UK TV screens. Currently, the WTA and ATP tours are finishing up their stints on the orange clay, with the French Open still to come, but attention has already turned to the highlight of the grass court season (and arguably the entire tennis-related year). This year, there are no less than three women with everything to fight for heading into Wimbledon, and no Serena Williams to dominate, it couldn’t really be a more interesting battle all set to take place under the Centre Court roof.

A tough read this one. This is Jaycee’s story, told in her own words, of how she was abducted at age eleven, kept captive for many, many years, had two children, and eventually re-emerged to join the outside world. It’s a confusing jumble of notes and lists and stories, and as the author herself admits, the confusion is an accurate portrayal of how she felt going through it.

The format of visiting a subject through a certain number of tangential objects has been done a few times, but I’ve found this recent iteration from the BBC fascinating. Tim Harford, one of the Beeb’s resident economists, covers fifty things that have, in some way, shaped the economy that we know and live with today. If you had to list some things, you’d probably say credit cards, interest rates, banks, etc, etc, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to read this book, it’s great. A passionate plea for the survival of punctuation whilst at the same time embracing the fact that language and prose is constantly changing and we’re better off not being elitist about it all.

Aw, lovely Kylie’s first effort is a poptastic celebration. It’s all very Hit Factory, which is no bad thing as long as you know what you’ve signed up for. The classics are, of course, fantastic, and the rest of it fills in the gaps nicely.

I like the odd Linkin Park song or two so was interested to see what they’ve come up with this time. It veered a lot more towards pop than I’d anticipated, there wasn’t the rage and angst there used to be, which is interesting. Good album but nothing really stood out.

For the longest time, I’ve been wanting to buy Buffy the Vampire Slayer on iTunes, but I’ve held off because it’s not in HD. Plenty of older content is being converted into HD, but I understood that Buffy was a particularly tricky one to convert, what with it being all special effects and kick-ass movement. I hadn’t realised that the conversion had already been attempted a couple of years ago, with incredibly awful results.

Loved the first Lethal Weapon, whilst the second was a bit of a disappointment, but thankfully this third installment was perhaps the best of the lot. It doesn’t take long to be right back in the thick of things, with our heroes setting off a bomb within ten minutes of arriving on screen.

I’ve been looking forward to this one since I saw the trailer. Okay, yes, it’s probably a bit childish and not at all groundbreaking (so like Zootopia, it’s kinda painful) but also it’s animals singing. Bunnies doing Nikki Minaj, a German pig with sass, what else do you need?

Ah, Bridget, always able to cause a catastrophe no matter what she does. This is the story of how Bridget’s first child came into the world and the crazy antics that surround trying to figure out who the father is and also navigate the worrying nine months of pregnancy.

This looks AMAZING. One of the bonuses of this film is that there’s a documentary about this subject too, which is on my documentary to-watch list that never gets looked at. If they could just go ahead and dramatise all of them, I’d be able to cross a lot more off that list!

My Monty Python knowledge is limited, and I know Michael Palin more from his travel work than anything else, but it’s never too late to learn. I love this collection of diaries, covering a full decade that coincidentally starts at the beginning of Python, and ends at the height of its powers with the release of Life of Brian.

Working my way through Michael Palin’s first collection of diaries, and stumbled across this paragraph – a dream of utopia that is still relevant today, even though we’re further away than ever. I’m glad that there are cars and planes and television and washing machines, and I think we cannot suddenly pretend that they have not been invented – but I feel we must control their use, and that they should be used not to dictate but to stimulate.

This is a really good, classic album. They have a different sound to most, with that missing guitar element, and that makes it a more maudlin effort than I remembered. Great collection of songs though, really a staple for any music library.

Mmm, love this album! I was so excited for it to arrive, which hasn’t happened with many albums so far. It lived up the expectation, great tunes, intensely eighties from start to finish and just a lovely mix of honest emotions, hopeful optimism and realistic sadness. Love it, have and will listen many times.

The Eurovision Song Competition this weekend was a fun evening of drinking wine and watching a variety of singing acts doing their thing, but despite the enjoyment of the evening, it left me a little flat. I thought at first it was because a serious song had won the whole thing. Portugal’s guy was clearly very talented but it didn’t really feel in the spirit of Eurovision – this is a competition about sassy gorillas and yodelling rappers after all.

It is too arty, there’s plenty about it I’m sure I don’t get, but even so, you can’t argue that it’s not well made. Every shot is clearly thought about and measured, not a hair out of place. It’s an odd story and a dissatisfactory ending, but I thought the way the narratives weaved in and out of each other was well done, and Amy Adams did a good job in a role not to her usual style.

Every time I finish watching a Netflix original show, I keep thinking I should write about it and then I never do. So gathered here are some thoughts on the things I have watched over the last few months, probably in reverse order. 13 Reasons Why Lots of fuss about this one and I can see why. It is surprisingly graphic in content, and tells a depressing story from start to finish. It’s well made and gradually grabs your attention, but I’m not sure it’s the best TV I’ve ever witnessed. I’m not sure which side of the debate I fall on, but I guess I’m glad that it’s raised awareness of topics like teen suicide. That can only be a good thing. Not sure how a second series would work, aside from the loose threads, this feels like a self-contained story.

So, I bought a new car. I know what you’re thinking, “when I read on this blog that the new car buying process was starting, it sounded like we were going to enjoy tales from every step along the journey.” Well, yea, except that was five years ago. My old car kept on keeping on for longer than expected, and then of course, life got in the way, and I didn’t buy a new car. Then life got in the way again, forced my hand, and now I do have a new car.

Incredible film. Somehow, I’ve managed to read the book twice without ever seeing the film to go with it. But I loved it. Everyone was so good within it, and the tension, oh boy, you are drawn in every single step of the way. Foster is brilliant, and considering that Hopkins doesn’t truly get that much screen time, he’s also fantastic - a disturbing villain through and through.

Wow, this is an incredible novella. It’s stacked with ideas, which you wouldn’t have thought possible in a short story about the Queen taking up reading as a hobby. Love some of the concepts in here, such as the Queen treating all of her books the same as she does her subjects, with an equal attitude. Or that once the public get wind of her reading, they are suddenly presenting her with books as presents or their own works for a royal opinion.

Love this TV programme so was curious to see what the book would be like. It’s in the same style, with the same dry humour, and does exactly what it says on the tin - runs through a list of 100 or so lies that you have probably told, or heard, or are in some way very much aware of.

I really liked this album. I only knew a couple of the songs going in, but it’s a lot of good guitar pop and you can occasionally here the echoes of why Darius Rucker went into country in the end. Great songs, beautifully 90s, top addition to the collection. Interesting note: huge amount of lyrics referencing crying and tears.

Lovely to have Texas back, with Sharlene’s silky smooth vocals guiding us through a love song or two. It’s a good album, probably not groundbreaking in any way, but it’s like having a warm hug with a friend.

This is such a bizarre book. It’s top and tailed with explanatory chapters, firstly from the ghost writer who tells how the book was written. At the end, there are additional chapters from the Goldman family who fought tooth and nail to get the book published, and a couple of additional paragraphs from others close to the situation.

I’ve seen this one before, perhaps a couple of times, but still couldn’t quite remember the finer details when watching it. It’s the perfect film to squeeze in when you’re short on time, because the actual action is only about 70 minutes, and the rest is all credits.

Mixed feelings about this one. Firstly, the space ship was amazing. Great set, impressive technology, fantastic CGI to make it a totally immersive experience. Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence were both brilliant, good chemistry between them, and the perfect reactions to their situation, guilt, horror, loneliness, togetherness, all of the above. The bar and Michael Sheen’s stint as an android bartender were particular highlights of the whole film. He had some of the best lines and delivered them perfectly.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a terrible film. It’s crude from start to finish, some of the jokes are pretty rubbish, the acting isn’t top notch, and the story is obvious and, you know, a bit stupid. Having said that, I secretly loved it. Laughed a lot, so many nerd jokes and brilliant references. Elon Musk showed up, for crying out loud!

I found this one a bit of a disappointment, if I’m honest, but only because I couldn’t follow the twists and turns, the who’s who of spies and secret agents and super villains. The trouble with having a protagonist that doesn’t know who he is, is that it becomes quite an ungrounded story, with wild theories flying around. I found it difficult to know where I was at any given time.

I’m so gutted by the news that Peter Kay isn’t planning on any more Car Share. Plans change and things have a habit of being resurrected when you least expect it, but for the moment, Kay suggests the show is done. There’s not going to be a series three so it won’t ever happen. You’ve got to get out while the going’s good. No Christmas special, no… There’s only so much you can do in a car and the last thing you want to do is ruin it because I think it’s a lovely thing.

Ah, love this, it’s totally random and quirky. The songs veer from well-known catchy classics to the more oddball instrumentals, but it is so refreshing to have songs that aren’t just about love! A really entertaining album.

Surprisingly good, actually, although you have to really be in the mood for some soul-searching, slow-warbling, meaningful stuff. Interestingly found this better than Emeli Sandé, where it’s the same kind of genre.

I’ve seen the original before, but a long time ago, and all I really recall of it was a fond feeling that it was good, if with a sad ending. This new version seemed to continue that trend. It was a really well made film, good to look at, great acting, lots of tension, strong directing. I’m not sure if it particularly added anything over and above the original, but will have to revisit that version to make sure.

After the misery that was the Twilight series, we wanted to watch a proper film, and this is one that Mr C has fond memories of from years gone by. It’s one of those where the pressure was slightly on me to not hate it, but how could I? Tony Scott directing, Quentin Tarantino writing, and such an incredible cast?

So look, the only three things worth watching in this whole saga are Alice, Charlie and Jessica. Jessica wasn’t in this one at all, they were constantly mean to Charlie, and Alice disappeared for a good chunk of it. And when she returned, she treated us to the most pointless ten minutes of cinema ever - an epic battle that’s supposed to be moving and emotional and your favourite characters getting bumped off, only for none of it to have happened.

Ahhhh, what a let down after the previous film. This one was just… a nightmare from start to finish. None of it made any sense, I had so many questions during and after the film, so. many. questions. The characters made decisions that were bonkers, the story itself wrapped itself up in nonsense knots, and really, it was just dull.

So, you know that feeling when you’ve loved the soundtrack to a movie for years and years, and then you start listening to more albums and catch up with one that you probably should have already known about, that quickly becomes one of your top ten, and then you realise that one of the artists actually sings on that original soundtrack, one of your favourite songs? Happens to us all, right?

New trailer released for The Golden Circle, the sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service (which I can’t believe I watched two whole years ago!). I actually ended viewing this trailer with my mouth agape. The first film garnered a 5 out of 5 stars rave review from me, and this second one looks just as good. It’s also a great excuse to have to re-watch the first one again… just to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything.

Really enjoyed this album, it’s definitely an indication of what music will be like when the robots officially inherit the earth. Lots of good beats and repeated lyrics to get right into your head. The only one I didn’t like was Giorgio with far too much chatting.

This is just classic Steps. After 15 years, you’d think their sound has changed, and maybe it’s marginally more grown up but for the most part, it’s still that Abba pop sound that they do so well. I really enjoyed it, partly because I loved Steps before but also because there isn’t a lot of pop like this around anymore.

This film is a lot better than the previous two, the characters are starting to develop a little bit, although it’s all still way over-the-top dramatic. I like the love triangle going on, developing more and more, although the relationships are all intensely unhealthy and the boys are a little bit too happy to force themselves around.

Hmm, bit of a dip in form for the second Twilight installment. It was all just a bit over-emotional and dramatic, bad acting and poor dialogue, with not a lot to endear you to the characters. Particularly Bella. I have no sympathy for this girl at all, she’s an absolute nitwit. She’s scared of getting old so decided living a hideous dead life would be better? Sitting around for literally months on end because her boyfriend left town. Jumping off cliffs to get a glimpse of him? I can’t even.