Right. I’ve had the worst writer’s block I’ve ever had and it’s been several months I’ve written anything. As I’m writing it, I’m impressed I’m even managing to write this. This is my first blog post since May. Madness. So, after a very productive chat with my dad, I’ve come up with this hopeful antidote. Every week I see and do a lot of things, so instead of a big ol’ review for each – I’m going to try and do a weekly recap my adventures through mini reviews. Hopefully they’ll be useful to you, beloved and generous and patient readers, as well as a way of me being able to build up my writing muscles again (like the literary variant of couch to 5k!) So, here we go, welcome to Culture Bites #1.

Film: Paddington in Peru (Out now)

It feels wrong to write the words ‘Paddington’ and ‘perfectly fine’ in the same sentence, and yet… The third in the series, and the first not directed by Paul King, Paddington in Peru follows the British sitcom tradition of packing off the central ensemble to a foreign country for an adventure – in this case, trying to find Paddington’s beloved Aunt Lucy who has gone missing in the Peruvian jungle. There’s some nice moments, and we get to see the characters we love doing the things we love about them (aside from Mrs Brown now looking like Emily Mortimer rather than Sally Hawkins). But those central comedic moments (the escalator, the toothbrushing, barbers, Knuckles – to name but a few) just aren’t there. Whilst the jungle adventure is entertaining, it doesn’t provide the joy or laughter that we get from the community of Windsor Gardens. It’s not Paddington 2, but then, really, few things are. [3.5/5 stars]

Film: Conclave (Out November 29th)

Sometimes you just want to watch actors act their socks off. Ralph Fiennes. Stanley Tucci. John Lithgow. All three provide exceptional performances in this drama set during a papal conclave to elect the next pope, Fiennes is the man in charge – overseeing proceedings whilst also investigating the secrets and scandals that surround the candidates. The cinematic equivalent of sitting in a comfy leather tub chair, with a whisky on the rocks in one hand and a cigar in the other, a well-crafted drama with thriller and mystery elements. Entertaining, suspenseful and thought-provoking. [4/5 stars]

Book: So Thrilled For You by Holly Bourne (Out January 16th 2025)

Few authors write millennial women as beliveably and authentically as Holly Bourne. So Thrilled For You is no exceptional, alternating between the viewpoints of four very different women. Friends since university, nearly a decade on they are growing apart for a multitude of reasons – a prevailing one being how women in their 30s become judged then defined by their decisions over motherhood (to have or not, the choices made over birth and childrearing, or what if having them can’t happen for reasons beyond their control). An essential read to encourage and build empathy when we oft are oblivious to so many of these issues if we don’t directly experience them. A powerful and bittersweet wonder of a book. [5/5 stars]

Theatre: Dr Strangelove (Running until January 25th 2025)

To quote Dr Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park, ‘Just because we could doesn’t mean we should.’ With Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb having existed since 1964, did we really need a stage show version of it? Having seen it, the answer is – sort of, not really? Directed by Armando Iannucci, there really isn’t all that much here that is different to the film version. If anything, considering it’s an Iannucci vehicle, you’d expect the dialogue to be even crisper than what we actually get. And, considering all that is going on in the world right now, simply recreating the film goes to show just how timeless the film is and how stupid humanity is for seemingly using it as a handbook rather than a lesson. The USP of seeing this adaptation is Steve Coogan’s performance as 4 separate roles, à la Peter Sellers in the film. They’re strong performances, each character distinctive and well directed to allow for these multiple simultaneous appearances. Whilst there’s style and flair, it all feels a bit safe and reliant on star power. [4/5 stars]

TV: Say Nothing (Out now, on Disney+)

Disney+ continue to be making a name for themselves with some stellar tv. After last month’s sweet and saucy Rivals, we’ve got this exceptional and provocative drama. A 9-episode series, based on the 2019 book ‘Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland’, we learn about the lives of a group of people growing up in Belfast in the 1970s-90s – courtesy of a frame narrative of interviews that were conducted by Boston College Tapes, also known as the Belfast Project, were recordings of former IRA members discussing their involvement in the Troubles. The result is a compelling drama that features representation of the Troubles that we have never seen before; a powerful rumination on the reckoning of conflict trauma. Lola Petticrew and Hazel Doupe are extraordinary as the radicalised teen girls at the centre, as is Anthony Boyle (one of the breakout stars of Apple’s Masters of The Air) and Rory Kinnear continues to be one of the finest additions you can get to a show (if you’ve not seen The Diplomat, rectify that immediately!!!). This isn’t just a much-needed history lesson, this a revealing and exposing examination of an under-assessed part of recent history.

[5/5 stars]

(YAY! I’ve written something! My first something in MONTHS! If you made it this far, liked what you read and would like me to do more, please message me and let me know!)