Tuesday 27 February 2024
Poor Things (2023)
Sunday 25 February 2024
Miller's Girl (2024)
Jenna Ortega's 18 year-old character Cairo (what a great name) starts to take his class and demonstrates to him that she has a special writing talent, so he singles her out for special attention. He sees nothing wrong with that. Until it gets out of hand and they're clearly falling for each other.
Friday 16 February 2024
Laced (2023)
The film that desperately needed a twist. And it didn’t come. But it keeps you expecting one and OK if you don’t know (I’ve spoiled that for you now)! Well actually there is one small twist, I guess. But anyway, I quite liked this little thriller.
It’s quite claustrophobic and felt as though it could have easily been a stage play with the whole shoot inside one house whilst outside a snow storm is in motion.
It’s the story of Molly who is living with her husband, Charlie, who abuses her (though we don’t see any evidence of it). She’s fallen in love (before we join the story) with a woman called Victoria.
Victoria has encouraged and facilitated Molly into bumping Charlie off by poisoning him, which she tries to do. Victoria is the apparent brains behind the plan and has it all worked out regarding disposal of the body.
In the middle of all this, Charlie’s friend Austin (who is also Molly’s brother) turns up unexpectedly and finds himself in the now-getting, complicated mix. It could well have been turned into a comedy (of errors) but no, it sticks to its guns as a thriller!
Three of the four actors, particularly Dana Mackin as Molly, are very good and Kyle Butenhoff playing Charlie is also the director/writer of the yarn. Hermione Lynch as Victoria is the one out of her depth as she goes about her task in a wooden manner.
But most of it is fun and stitches together nicely as a well-paced thriller. It keeps the viewer’s attention with some suspense and gore here and there. Worth a watch. It just really needed a twist!
The End We Start From (2023)
The population is trying to flee to higher ground but the armed forces have been engaged to prevent overcrowding and the resulting drain on limited (and dwindling) resources for everyone to stay alive. As we approach the birthing scene, we are offered plenty of nudity and a fairly explicit, but brief, exposure to more as the sprog comes out.
The early scenes of the film depict a quiet, isolated existence for the pair and this only changes as they try to get away from London and join his parents in rural England (presumably) somewhere. We’re not really very sure where’s where in the film - at one point we seem to end up on a Scottish-looking island, but that’s a long way from London. And there’s no mention at all of any shortage of petrol for cars. Or indeed where they’re getting their cigarettes from which seem to be in plentiful supply!
Anyway, they find the parents’ house but eventually run out of food, so have to go out looking. One thing leads to another, tragedy galore, until the three of them end up in a shelter - but in doing so, get separated. She’s allowed in with the brat, but he, not. She befriends a woman in a similar situation whilst there and they decide to trek off together and away from everyone. Eventually, getting a tip-off (from a character played by Benedict Cumberbatch) about the aforementioned island where there’s a kind of self-supporting, Kibbutz, hippy community.
Monday 12 February 2024
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Leonard Vole has been accused of murder and is to stand trial for the crime he claims not to have committed. He appeals to famous barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts and his team of solicitors to reveal the truth and save him from a hanging. Vole is married to a German lady, Christine, and we're served up with a flashback as to how they met in Berlin, when she was an actress/entertainer and he, just finishing duty as a soldier in WWII.
Saturday 10 February 2024
Night Swim (2024)
It’s about a family who have bought a house where a little girl, some decades earlier, has died/drowned/disappeared whilst swimming in the house’s pool. We get a flashback of that incident right at the start.
Friday 9 February 2024
Summertime (2015)
The leader of this group is the free-spirited Carole, also played beautifully by Cécile de France (High Tension, Russian Dolls, The French Dispatch, Chinese Puzzle), and they soon fall for each other and slowly build a personal and physical relationship. Carole's life is complicated too as she is living with her boyfriend Manuel, who is not happy about Carole's orientation swing when the truth comes out. The passion and chemistry of the two girls' relationship is explored and depicted on camera by the director in a 'no holds barred' way, with somewhat explicit nudity and sexual activity between the two leads.
Delphine's father collapses and is hospitalised, so she is now required by the family to return and work the farm in his place. He never recovers, so this depiction of family duty and responsibility remains a feature throughout the rest of the film. The desire to get away and be herself, pursuing her desires, up against traditional values and perceived responsibility to those close to her. So she goes home and does just that. However, Carole is so besotted with Delpine by now that she goes with her - and the middle part of the film depicts the pair of them sneaking around, working the farm, keeping their secret between them.
The backdrop might be the social turmoil and prejudice of the era, but this is very much an engaging love story as our two leads negotiate their plight. It's exceptionally moving with an intimate portrait and sprinkling of tragedy and heartbreak thrown in for good measure. We revisit the pair some years later in the end to have a peek at how the decisions they have made impacted their lives down the road.
Monday 5 February 2024
The Royal Hotel (2023)
They do so in a bar in an aggressively male-orientated outback town where the pair of them witness, and are subjected to, lots of male attention and bad behaviour, usually via booze.
Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
Apart from flashbacks in which much of the truth about their situation is unpeeled for us - and time getting to know the characters - the film ends up in court as she faces the trial.
Another Earth (2011)
She's fascinated of course. So much so that she is peering out of her car window at it, driving, a bit tipsy after a party, and crashes into another car occupied by a family. Fatalities litter the scene. But the man of the family survives and Rhoda tries to connect with him a few years later, not revealing her identity. They start to spend time together.
Primer (2004)
Friday 2 February 2024
Microsoft Surface Duo 2 Fun!
Thursday 1 February 2024
PodHubUK Podcasts for the Month of January 2024
...a roundup of our month of podcasting. Links to the team, communities and podcast homes on the net at the foot, so scroll down!
Whatever Works
Episode 200 - A Double Century!
Wednesday 3rd January
Aidan and I bring you this landmark show, 8 years on, with nods to fellow founders Richard Yates and David Rich back in January 2016. So a new theme tune, but lots of the usual kind of mayhem and fun, so do join us for a small celebration as we're joined in turn by Gareth Williams and Chris Kelly.
Phones Show Chat
Episode 783 - Noting the Zenfone
Saturday 6th January
Mike Robins joins Steve and I this week as we natter about all sorts of good mobile stuff, including what Mike's been using, me looking forward to the arrival of the Flip5 and Steve musing on speakers and cameras-in-phones compared to a 30x Zoom Compact or Marshall Willen!
Tech Addicts Podcast
Scratching that Twitch
Sunday 7th January
Gareth and I are back for 2024, dribbling over tech! In this show, an investigation into the sexy streamings on Twitch, the Incognito mode judgment, Nuclear container ships, an e-book reader from Onyx, Samsung AI, Motorola AI, Microsoft AI, Google AI and the Retroid Pocket 4 amongst much more!
Projector Room
Episode 154 - Society Minus One
Wednesday 10th January
Allan, Gareth and I are back again with our first roundup of all things film, cinema and TV for 2024. Godzilla, Chicken and all sorts of Cold Prey found within The Ruins in Mexico, the Andes and Dangerous Waters is on our plate! So come and join us for a bumper-length outing!
Phones Show Chat
Episode 784 - Death to Passwords and Big Phones
Saturday 13th January
It's been far too long since Jamie Holland was our guest, so Steve and I fixed that and welcomed him in for a chat about what's going on in the world of IT security and what tech he's using just now. Loads of other stuff too, including my findings with the Flip5 for a week and Steve's take on nuclear-powered phones!
Phones Show Chat
Episode 785 - Why Stop at Three NexDocks?
Saturday 20th January
Steve and I are joined this week by Mark Finlay who tells us all about the devices and services he's been using since last on, in 2020. We also natter about the Samsung Unpacked event, Ready4 and DeX, Sony and Flip phones, even The Duo - something for everyone!
Tech Addicts Podcast
It's a Ring Thing
Sunday 21st January
Gareth and I bring you our fortnightly roundup of techy trinkets. We caress CES by kipping on our cars, daisy-chaining pogos, Rabbiting on about the R1, Think(hybrid)Book, go retro with FiiO, climb with Casio and Ring the planet with mirrors - and fingers with Rings! Plus loads more!
Projector Room
Episode 155 - Post Office Monsters
Thursday 25th January
Allan, Gareth and I are back again with another bumper-length look at what we've all been watching in film, cinema and TV. This time we Treat on Burt Reynolds, conduct an Autopsy on The Stranger For All Mankind and go Freelance as we Lift Crazy Eights! Loads more of course, so do get stuck in!
Phones Show Chat
Episode 786 - Getting Our Geek On: Fixing the iPhone and Surface Duo 2
Saturday 27th January
Steve and I clear out the store room this week, mopping up the lingering left-overs! It's Surface Duo, Nokia and pimping the Fairphone for me whilst Steve takes the Flipping Samsung Smart Switch challenge. Plenty more besides, so do join us for an hour.
Whatever Works
Episode 201 - Trimming the Pink!
Monday 29th January
Aidan and I are back with another roundup of Whatever Works for us and you, enveloped in a plethora of pesticulance and plankfire! Lots of goodies as we hear from a man who found a pair of gloves with 7 fingers and a woman who once ate the shell of a turtle before lunch! Pod is available in the usual places, so get stuck in and enjoy. Or you will be punished.
The Podcasts
PodHubUK - Phones Show Chat - The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - Tech Addicts
Phones Show Chat & The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - PSC Photos - PSC Videos - PSC Classifieds - Tech Addicts
Ted Salmon - Steve Litchfield - Aidan Bell - Gareth Myles - Allan Gildea
Motorola G85
The obvious way to tackle this G85 review is as a three-way comparison. Firstly, with the phone it replaces, the G84 from the year before, b...
-
I've been looking at these Mini PC units for some months or even years now and never quite got to the point where I felt that they were ...
-
It's a long time since I had a new Motorola phone. In fact, since 2020 and the Edge Plus - now abandoned by Moto in terms of security up...
-
The Cosmo Communicator from Planet Computers is a very interesting device. A step back in time maybe. A niche product for a very specific us...