Reacher - Serialisation on Amazon Prime

There have been three TV series to date and they don't follow the books precisely but this is quite normal. Series one was based on the first book, Killing Floor, series three was based on book seven (probably my least favourite of the Reacher books I've read so far - too much action for me but others may prefer it).

Whereas the books seem to be in chronological order, the series are random. I'm not even sure which book the second series is based on, as I haven't read it yet.

Did I enjoy the series? Yes, mostly. I like the character's strengths, even if does take things to the extreme and has to have a bed-mate everywhere he travels. I say extreme because the character is very physical whereas I'm weedy and also a pacifist - why fight with fists or weapons when you can keep your distance and try to work out what to do? Reacher is not quite a vigilante but he will, very effectively, sort things out his way, rather than hand matters to an over-stretched, bound-by-rules police force.

However, those would be different stories, such as Ludwig or Patience, who like solving puzzles.

Julia Stewart books

• The Last Pearl Fisher of Scotland 
• The Pigeon Pie Mystery 
• The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise 
• The Matchmaker of Périgord 

I've enjoyed reading all these books by Julia Stewart. Each one is entirely different, in terms of genre,  story and writing style, with barely a grammatical error.

The first one I read (over ten years ago) was The Matchmaker of Périgord, a quirky love story set in a small village in France - and which elicited numerous grins! I've recommended it to several people (many of whom are Francophiles, as I knew that they would appreciate the humour). 

The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise is also quirky and a little sad, with lots of interesting snippets (which I assume to be true?) relating to the Tower of London since Victorian times, as a tourist attraction rather than a place of incarceration and executions! 

A historically based novel centred around life in Hampton Court Palace, The Pigeon Pie Mystery is a cross between a Victorian murder-mystery and The Importance of Being Ernest. Subtly humorous, the 'upper classes' are not all awful...  

Another complete change of genre for The Last Pearl Fisher of Scotland. An intriguing story about the demise of pearl fishing but a satisfying outcome to the pearl fisherman's quest. 

If any of these books appeal to you, I hope you will enjoy your choice(s). Let us know in the comments. 

Debut Novel by Richard Armitage

Actor Richard Armitage has written his first novel, a thriller, titled Geneva. According to the 'blurb' it's not a particularly happy book, with the main character showing signs of early onset Alzheimer's. It is, however, described as "Outstanding" by popular writer Harlan Coben, whose televised books often had major roles for Armitage. And, to be fair, he was good in them, as befitting an award winning star of screen and TV. He seems to portray the complexities of characters, mixing darkness and vulnerability. Personally, my favourite of his roles was the TV series of Robin Hood where his portrayal of Guy of Gisborne moved from unlikeable to hero. He was also in the sit-com, The Vicar of Dibley, which was fun.

Anyway, back to the book. 

It centres around Sarah, a not-so-average woman, the winner of a Nobel award for a medical science breakthrough who has retired to be a mother to her daughter. Her husband is also in the medical profession and her father is in a care facility, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia. Sarah fears that she is exhibiting signs of early-onset Alzheimer's and is persuaded to endorse a new, revolutionary technology from a Swiss pharmaceutical research institute. (Don't worry, the story is aimed at ordinary people who need have no knowledge of the technical details of the plot.)

Geneva is the setting throughout virtually the whole book, which grows more intense with every chapter. Perhaps too intense for some but it's an easy read and the 'baddies' get their come-uppance.

I read the whole book with Richard Armitage cast as Sarah's husband.

White Collar (TV series)

Following rumours, earlier this year, of a return or reboot, I've started watching White Collar, a TV series from more than ten years ago, which is currently being shown on the Disney+ channel.

I'm currently at the point where Neal Caffrey, master forger and con artist, is at a crossroads for his future. He likes his new life as a reformed con on a four-year probation seconded to the FBI in New York; he has friendships with his old buddy Mozz, his landlady June, his love interest Sara and the FBI team, including his 'boss' Peter Burke and Peter's wife Elizabeth. 

Although he is trying to be a good guy, his past keeps catching up with him. In this part of the series, Neal is covering for Mozz, who has taken possession of a billion dollars of  artefacts that were stolen from the Russians by Nazis during WWII. Mozz is planning to retire to an island, using the treasure as his pension, and wants Neal to join him. Neal has just said no so Mozz and the artefacts have disappeared. 

Unfortunately, a clever and greedy killer, Matthew Keller, will stop at nothing to steal this 'treasure'. However, Neal, Mozz and Peter are also clever so the battle is on. They 'goodies' win, of course, which leads to something good...

There may be a follow up post when I finish watching the series.

NOTE: the island was supposedly Cape Verde but was actually filmed in Costa Rica. 

David Mitchell: Comedian, Author, Actor.

I've watched two TV series starring David Mitchell as the lead actor. The first was Upstart Crow, a comedy set around the time of Shakespeare, in which there were funny moments but, overall, I wasn't bothered about it. I much prefer his story-telling, rants and banter with Lee Mack on 'WILTY'.

The other series, which was the recently aired Ludwig, is described as a 'Comedy drama, Detective, Mystery' - which I did enjoy. Here is a link to the official trailer from the BBC for Ludwig.

I have a couple of books written by David Mitchell. They're a bit exhausting, in my opinion. The short rants that make me smile on TV don't transfer well into long, rambling book form. But, if you appreciate well crafted rants on general topics of life, you really need to visit David Mitchell's Soapbox. Here's an example:

In conclusion, his quick thinking interaction on WILTY (would I lie to you) are top class, his characters on TV can be good but his books are a bit too much for me.

Stephen King - Fairy Tale - Review

A short review, not a synopsis. There are many reviews of this fantasy novel already on the internet (none of which I've yet read) but here goes with mine, anyway.

The story of a teenage boy from Illinois. An ordinary boy who lost his mother at an early age and all but lost his father at the same time, because the pain of losing his wife led Dad to alcohol dependency and, as a consequence, he lost his job. The boy, Charlie, had to grow up fast. Not a happy beginning to a novel. 

One day, Charlie was walking home from school when he heard a dog frantically barking; he rushed to investigate and his intervention saved an old man's life. He was used to looking after his dad from an early age so he volunteered to look after the neighbour and his dog. After getting to know the old man, Charlie's life took a different turn, from ordinary to surreal.

Most of the book is a fairy tale setting, often 'grim' but with a happy ending.

So what did I think of Fairy Tale? As usual, with a Stephen King novel, the story has significant detail and the characters, although many, are described well. There was a bit in the middle when I wished he'd get on with it but you have to persevere as it may be revealed to be important later in the book.

Tip! You may want to keep a pencil and paper to hand. There were a few pages containing loads of uncommon words, most of which meant nothing to me - and I should have made a note of them to look up afterwards.

There were some grammatical faux-pas for which the proof-reader(s) should be held responsible. These include 'compare to' and a couple of others, which are no doubt mentioned elsewhere in this blog in some grammar rants. Incorrect grammar momentarily disrupts my reading enjoyment but I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority.

Another nice detail at the end of the book was that the author included a section that tidies up loose ends. 

Reacher Series - books 3, 4, 5.

Having reviewed the first book - Killing Floor - and the second book - Die Trying - I thought I should continue with the next three books in the Reacher series by Lee Child. 

Book 3: Tripwire

The book begins with Jack Reacher in Florida Keys but events lead him north to the New York area, where he has an unexpected reunion at the funeral of a friend with whom he worked in book 2. Also, Reacher falls in love.

As usual, Reacher becomes embroiled in dealing with criminals and their gratuitously violent tortures. Other than that, the book is a page turner and the story telling is more fluent plus there's a nice plot twist reveal towards the end of the book. 

Book 4: The Visitor

The murders in this book are less graphically violent, more chilling, indicating a different kind of killer rather than organised crime. Reacher is staying with his girlfriend from the previous book when approached by the FBI to assist with identifying and catching a serial killer which, eventually, he does.

Not sure if I liked the story but, once again, it was compelling reading.

Book 5: Echo Burning

I think that this is the best of the books, so far, in that it deals with the story and leaves out the unnecessary torture and love-making details that I previously found wearing. Reacher's on the road again and this adventure finds him in Texas. 

There are several murders but without the graphic violence from earlier books. The way the author brings together the many elements of the story is excellent. Of the likely suspects, I'd narrowed it down to two until near the end when the person behind these will become obvious.

Conclusion: I always felt that Texas was a place I would never want to live (although I have visited once and I know a couple of 'normal' people who live there). This book brings home how vast the state is and confirms that I would not be comfortable living there.

About the Author.

Lee Child is a Brit, born James Dover Grant in the midlands, almost 70 years ago. He worked in TV from 1977 until 1995 when he was made redundant and began writing. Both he and his younger brother, Andrew, also an author, live in the U.S.A. with their American wives.

I found this interesting (Wikipedia): "In January 2020, Child announced that he would be retiring from writing the Jack Reacher series and handing it to his brother Andrew Grant, who would write further books of the series under the surname Child. He intended to write the next few books together with Grant before passing the series entirely over to him." Andrew Grant writes under the name Andrew Child.

Note:

p.s. Please bear in mind that these are my opinions of how good I feel the books are and are not meant to be a synopsis of the stories. As such, feel free to agree/disagree in the comments.

My Time Again ... And Again?

I have now read these two books by author Ian Cummins.

The first book was My Time Again, a story of a 69-year-old man who went to sleep in his own bed in his own bedroom in his own home, with the expectation of waking up the following morning to celebrate his 70th birthday. But... he wakes up in a different room. 

As he becomes more awake, he feels that the room is familiar. He also feels physically better than he did the previous day. In a few minutes, he discovers that this is, in fact, his 18th birthday and he is back in his room where he lived when he started university - in October 1970.

By the time he reaches the eve of his 70th birthday (again), he has been involved in numerous events, including some with secret services. But what happens then? Will he return, move to another 'parallel' life, die or something else? Read My Time Again to find out.

Spoiler? Just mentioning the sequel, And Again? implies that he didn't die, because he has another adventure - where? Or, a more accurate question might be when? And, of course, why?

Another time travelling adventure for the septuagenarian! Both books are available from Amazon (and free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription).

Manifest - TV series - Review

Oddly, the first, second and fourth series is on Netflix but the third series was on Sky/Now TV (in the UK). 

Should you watch Manifest? Read below and decide.

It started as a mystery - a plane and its passengers disappeared, to arrive five years later. Unlike the people who had been mourning them, assuming them to be dead, the passengers hadn't aged. It was as if they had been in suspended animation for that time. Most noticeable were the twins - a girl aged about 15 (who was not on the flight) and her twin brother (who was on the flight) had remained about ten years old.

The passengers were unaware of anything being amiss until they landed. For them, it was a normal flight, a few hours in the air.

As the story progressed, it became more surreal. "God" was setting tasks for the passengers, who received their 'callings' in their heads, sometimes shared with others, as vague puzzles to be solved. Driving the quest to resolve the 'callings' was Ben (father of the aforementioned twins) and his sister, Mick (Michaela).

There were three other instances of people cheating death, temporarily, which led to the conslusion that the world would end in a finite time.

Skipping ahead to the fourth series, we are now familiar with all the characters. Key to resolving the mystery are: Ben and Mick Stone (mentioned above), Ben's family, especially his son, Cal, and Dr Saanvi Bahl. Additionally, non-passengers, Jared, Drea and Vance, provide help and support with the tasks. Last, but not least, is Zeke, an anomaly.

To quote K from Men In Black, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals ..."

Mob mentality means that a growing number of people mistrust the people from the plane, many think that they are aliens. Others consider that they perform miracles and they form cults (remember, this is America). The Government, which has been conducting illegal experiments on some passengers to see if the callings can be replicated and possibly weaponised, eventually treats them as criminals.

Obviously, without proof, the 'outside world' does not buy in to "the world will end tomorrow" theory. It's down to the Stone family to defeat the odds. 

The end of the series will be: (1) the good guys save the world, (2) they got it wrong and life goes on, possibly without them, or (3) the world ends. If you plan to watch it but don't want spoilers, stop reading. Otherwise... 

 

Conclusion.

1. The story would have been better in three series rather than four, which dragged it out a bit. However, those four seasons covered five years so, arguably, it could have been dragged out even longer. 

2. I've omitted some of the major plot details, such as Cal's leukaemia and a main player, Angelina. This will leave something to discover for those who plan to watch the series. Zeke is also difficult to classify here so viewers will have his character to look forward to.

3. SPOILER ALERT: The ending was inevitable - but nicely tied up the loose ends. Except for Cal, whose journey was slightly different from the others, most of the passengers who survived did so with their memories intact. 

4. MAJOR SPOILER ALERT: The flight landed as scheduled, five years before the main story took place. People were reunited. Lives continued, possibly better than they woud have done. Mick found Zeke.

Book Review: The Hearing Trumpet

Written by Leonora Carrington, a surrealist who is mostly known for her artworks, this has to be the most surreal book I've read. It begins almost normally and becomes increasingly bizarre to... I'm not sure what:  supernatural, fantasy, post-apocalyptic? 

It features a deaf elderly grandmother whose obnoxious grandson persuades his parents to put her in an old folks home. She's not allowed to take her cats into the retirement complex so her friend and neighbour  (who spends much of her time in a fantasy world) takes them in. 

The retirement village is run by not-very-nice people but most of the other residents are friendly, each living in run-down cottages that were reminiscent of fairy tale buildings. 

Life progressively gets more surreal and the ending is a complete surprise. 

According to Wikipedia "92-year-old Marian Leatherby lives in Mexico with her son Galahad, his wife Muriel, and her grandson Robert. Upon being gifted a hearing trumpet by her friend Carmella, Marian discovers that her family is planning to put her in an institution, which indeed happens. At the institution Marian finds herself drawn into surreal and occult intrigue, conspiracy and adventure."

 Related link 

 

Book Review: Reacher - Die Trying

'Die Trying' is the second Reacher book which I have also finished reading in a day. Fast-paced, it's difficult to put down so "well done" to author Lee Child. I preferred the switch to third person, too.

The question is - is it too action-packed? It's certainly exhausting to read about people who are tireless heroes who seem to function with virtually no sleep and almost no food or drink and who have also survived physical damage. In real life, many people can't even crawl to work if they catch a cold but maybe, at least in our heads, we aspire to be heroes. Most of us can't do it ourselves so we read about it because - who wants to read about lives as ordinary as our own?

The story involved 'great minds' including POTUS, the head of the FBI and the head of the US Military yet, sometimes, they overlooked the obvious for a few pages. However, Reacher saves the day. Again. He's dependable, logical, with a strong sense of 'right' and 'wrong'.

Good news - although there were still passionate scenes, they were not clumsy (as they were in the first book) and there was still wanton torture by the 'baddies' but the author was not so fixated on it. More good news - there was an absence of unnecessary gratuitous swearing, the sign of a competent wordsmith.

Next week, it's on to the third Reacher book. I'll keep you posted.

Review of Reacher - Killing Floor.

Book Review: Reacher - Killing Floor

Having watched and enjoyed the first two seasons of Reacher with Alan Ritchson, I began to read the books by Lee Child. The first book, Killing Floor, was written in the first person. It must have been a while since I watched series 1 because I didn't really recognise most of the story in the book - I'll need to re-watch the series again, soon. 

Lee Child writes well. I found the book gripping and finished it within 24 hours. However, a couple of niggles were: the detailed graphic violence from people who were enjoyed torturing their victims and the romance scenes. Regarding the violence - it seems that either the author is obsessed with genitals or he thinks his readers will be. Regarding the romance, the scenes felt like carbon copies of other middle-aged authors, who think that perfection in love-making is something they wish to achieve.

I think I preferred the TV adaptation but it was a good book and well worth reading.

I've just started the second book, Die Trying. I was surprised to find that he had switched to writing in the third person, which felt more comfortable to read.
Review - Die Trying.

The Watch (Discworld)

Not to be confused with the not-very-good 2012 comedy film, this review is about the TV series that was inspired by Terry Pratchett's Discworld books.

I love the Discworld books. Over the years, I've read them at least three times each, so maybe I'm a little biased with this review. The question is... in which direction?

In my opinion, the criticism that this TV series received was unwarranted, a gut-reaction from people who were expecting something else. It's not a TV adaptation of the books but is inspired by them. For example, some of The Watch members are physically inaccurate when compared with the descriptions in the books - but where do you find actors with the physical characteristics of the more unusual Discworld characters? I prefer not to see an overuse of CGI in place of actors.

I enjoyed the series. It was entertaining and I thought two of the best characters portrayed were Richard Dormer's Sam Vimes and Jo Eaton-Kent's Constable Cheery.

If you haven't formed your own fixed ideas of what this series should be, give it a try. I watched it twice and now I have the DVD-set so that I can watch The Watch whenever I want.

The series is no longer available via BBC iplayer but the DVD-set is currently under £10 on Amazon. There are also trailers on YouTube that provide a taster.

Also available are DVDs of: The Colour of Magic, Hogfather and Going Postal - plus Discworld books, of course.

By the way, I found the opinions of another film & series reviewer on IMDB to be quite interesting, too.

Another post about Books

 I'm currently reading a book about Leonora Carrington. 

But this part of the post is about a completely different book by Stephen King.

Having watched The Shining and seen excepts from other horror films based on his books (e.g. Carrie and IT), I decided to avoid Stephen King's prolific output... until recently, when I learned that the author also disliked the film.

During a discussion of The Shining with someone who had seen the film and read the book, he covered some of the differences and recommended that I read the sequel, Doctor Sleep, which he lent to me.

I admit to some trepidation during descriptions of the antagonists but the rest of the book more than made up for those. The author has the ability to create fully rounded characters who, during the course of the story, become people whom you 'know' and can imagine being from a neighbouring village (if you ignore that it's set in America). And, all importantly, the ending is more positive than you think!

Conclusion: I might try another Stephen King novel soon, possibly Fairy Tale - another suggestion from my 'book-lender'.

Leonora Carrington.

Update: I have finished reading the book about Leonora Carrington by Joanna Moorhead. Leonora led an interesting life and I found many aspects of her character to be admirable. Although I tried to like her art, examples of her surrealist style are not for me.

The next book I have lined up to read is Leonora Carrington's The Hearing Trumpet. 

Do You Remember "The Full Monty" ?

Some of the cast from the 1997 British film have returned for The Full Monty TV mini series, notably Robert Carlyle and Paul Barber - and some new characters, too, such as Gaz's daughter, Destiny. 

Set in Sheffield, the fortunes of some of the team haven't improved since the film. In particular, Horse (Paul Barber, maybe you know him as Denzil from Only Fools and Horses) is in poverty and unfit for work but is having his state benefits cut. 

The episodes cover various stories. Just like real life, many of the storylines run through several episodes but some small plots are self-contained. For example, Gaz's son is a policeman who is often embarrassed by his dad's dodgy capers. He has a disabled son who Gaz is determined to help by buying a modern wheelchair but, unfortunately, he has no money. Gaz is also trying to help his daughter get into music college. 

Dave (Mark Addy) is married to Jean (Lesley Sharp) who is now a school head, Lomper is married to Dennis and they are owners of a corner café where the old gang congregate on what seems like a daily basis.

Verdict: a little scatty, annoying in parts but humorous. It's like a mini-soap but, thankfully, is funny and doesn't drag on for fifty years! If you like British 'characters' then it is worth a few hours of your TV time.

Image is  AI & NOT from The Full Monty!

 

Red Eye Review

Not to be confused with the 2005 film. ITVX is really annoying with its ads but for the TV series, Red Eye featuring Richard Armitage, it was worth putting up with them (thanks to the mute button). 

In some ways, the story was typical of other MI5/MI6 political shennanigans with its own twist at the end but it was well told and well acted. It was also fast paced, which encourages binge-watching!

Main cast: 

• Richard Armitage as Dr Matthew Nolan
• Jing Lusi as DC Hana Li
• Lesley Sharp as Madeline Delaney,  Head of MI5
  

Nolan had been to a conference in Beijing but, on arrival in London, he is arrested by DC Li for a crime that he claims not to have committed and is promptly returned on the next fight, alongside some of his colleagues, who were required to give testimony at his trial in China. 

This seems unusual. Normally, extradition takes forever. Something is definitely fishy. The head of MI5 seems to think so, too, and half the story is dedicated to unravelling this mystery.

During the flight back to Beijing, there were four deaths and the other half of the story takes place in the air, looking for whoever was doing the killings - and why. 

Not sure what more I can say without spoilers so meander over to ITVX and check it out for yourselves.

Review - The Night Agent

Amenadiel (Lucifer's brother) returns in the guise of Erik Monks in Season 1 of The Night Agent - an actor I like, playing a character I like... Here follows my review of The Night Agent.

Based on a book by author Matthew Quirk, The Night Agent has been brought to our screens by Netflix and, wow, it's fast-paced action all the way. 

The basic story is that Peter Sutherland (junior) is driven to find the truth about Peter Sutherland (senior, deceased) but other things get in the way, such as saving Rose Larkin from being killed. 

Rose witnessed the murder of her aunt and uncle in their own home. Aware that professional assassins were outside their house and death was imminent, Rose was instructed to escape, head for a neighbour's house, dial a specific telephone number, repeat a code and request immediate help. The number goes through to The White House, the person who receives her call is Peter.

Twists and turns of the plot - not knowing who can be trusted because Rose had overheard her aunt and uncle (both Night Agents) discussing that there is a traitor in The White House - have Peter and Rose on the run from both 'goodies' and 'baddies'. Eventually, the story culminates at Camp David. For me, this was the point where the production seemed disjointed, as if the film editor wasn't sure about what scenes to include and in what order. Anyway, despite several deaths throughout the series, the show concluded with an 'okay' ending.

Some of the cast from Season 1 will be returning for a second series, expected later this year: 

• Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland
• Luciane Buchanan as Rose Larkin
• Hong Chau as Diane Farr
• Sarah Desjardins as Maddie Redfield
• Christopher Shyer as Vice President Redfield
• Fola Evans-Akingbola as Chelsea Arrington 

It was good enough for me to watch the next series when it's released.

Review - Slow Horses

The next series of Slow Horses is rumoured to be released on AppleTV+ in Autumn 2024. So... are we looking forward to this?

Absolutely. It's a bit of a weird show. Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) heads up a team of 'frowned-upon' government agents, ones who are being punished for messing up in some way. But, of course, this is the team that, under Oldman's character's guidance, continues to successfully take down 'baddies' where other agents have failed - and without any praise or acknowledgement, obviously. 

Jackson Lamb's boss, Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas), is the only one who appreciates the team's worth but it suits her to keep it to herself, a kind of secret backup team. 

The main characters are:

• Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb
• Jack Lowden as River Cartright
• Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner
  

It's not obvious why River Cartwright is the agent who is singled out for top billing but he is certainly the agent who is featured the most in the series. 

When I've suggested to friends that they might enjoy this series, I've felt compelled to warn them about Gary Oldman's character. He's repulsive - you can almost smell him when he appears onto your TV set. Eventually, though, this renegade makes you appreciate his experience, tactics and so much more. 

And the humour makes me smile. 

If you're thinking of watching the new series, take the next few months to bring yourself up to date with the three previous seasons. According to AppleTV+: 

      

Fool Me Once (NetFlix Series)

I'd never come across author Harlan Coben until recently when his name kept cropping up - his work is all over Netflix. I've not yet read any of his books and, so far, I've seen only one TV serialisation of a book, Fool Me Once, by screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst. This was compelling and I watched the eight episodes over two evenings. 

The book was set in/near New York but the Netflix series was set in England, starring Joanna Lumley, Richard Armitage, Michelle Keegan, Marcus Garvey and Adeel Akhtar. 

The plot has twists and turns and the main storyline is essentially about the rich and powerful buying off (or killing off) anyone who could damage their reputation and therefore wealth. Knowing who to believe and who can be trusted provides the tension. 

A secondary storyline is about the ordinary people whose lives are disrupted by events from the main storyline. This provides the break between the shenanigens of the 'unreal' world of deceit and death, which is as far from the ordinary viewing public's lives as any sci-fi. That said, it's a gripping series and worthy of inclusion in your list of things to watch. 

Feel free to leave a comment if you agree, disagree or wish to add your views in any way. 

Directed by Dexter Fletcher

Born in the mid-1960s in Enfield (now a London borough), Dexter Fletcher is an actor, film director and producer. He is the British equivalent of USA's Ron Howard. Both became famous as actors and have gone on to direct some great films. Fletcher's quirky style brings enjoyment to a mostly family audience, through such movies as:

• Sunshine on Leith (2013)
• Eddie the Eagle (2015) 
• Rocketman (2019) 
• Ghosted (2023) 
  

I've just got round to watching Ghosted, which features Chris Pine and other Marvel stars in small roles (e.g. Anthony Mackie & Ryan Reynolds). It's a love story, it's an action-packed spy film, it's humorous. Summary: a recommended watch; great fun!

I know that I watched Sunshine on Leith and Eddie the Eagle, both of which I enjoyed, but it was so long ago that I can't remember details of what was good about them! Not a fan of Elton John but I may watch Rocketman some day. 

Unrelated quote:
‘I am constantly mistaken for Ben Elton...' - David Baddiel.