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What To Watch Wednesday #8

Posted on by Charlotte_Sometimes

I’m sure there’s theory for it, but when it gets darker and colder – I crave crime-related telly. If you’re the same, then this week’s 6 picks are for you….

Here’s What To Watch Wednesday #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7.

Slow Horses (Apple TV+: 2022: 6 x 50 mins)

River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) was an up-and-coming MI5 Agent until he made a serious mistake during a live training exercise, and found himself relegated to dead end work at Slough House. Ruled over by the curmudgeonly Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), it’s usually the home of dead end missions – until something dangerous comes headed quickly their way. The stacked cast also includes Olivia Cooke, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jonathon Pryce – to name but a few. An excellent addition to the espionage genre.

Inside Man (BBC iPlayer: 2022: 4 x 60 mins – two episodes shown so far)

Speaking of stacked cast, we turn here to David Tennant, Dolly Wells, Lydia West and Stanley Tucci fronting this intriguingly intricate crime drama. Tucci plays Jefferson Grieff – a law lecturer turned criminal on death row. His unique skillset has people turning to him to solve crimes. Lydia West plays Beth Davenport, a journalist who’s come to interview Jefferson and is also planning to use the opportunity to ask for his help with finding new friend Janice (Wells) who was last seen going to tutor the son of Rev Harry Watling (Tennant). Pulpy and properly compelling.

Am I Being Unreasonable? (BBC iPlayer: 2022: 6 x 30 mins)

The show’s title comes from the message board of the infamous Mumsnet, an online forum where mums around the world vent about their lives – which inspired Daisy May Cooper during her own unhappy marriage that she went on to co-write a show with her best friend Seline Hizli. Nic is depressed and mourning the secret lover her oblivious husband (Dustin Demri-Jones) knows nothing about. Lonely and isolated, Nic makes friends with a new school mum. Jen (Hizli) is unlike all the other mums in the village, and her friendship quickly becomes everything Nic has ever wanted – except it seems like Jen isn’t all that she appears… Savagely funny and dark as anything, a special mention has to go to young actor Lenny Rush who is incredible as Nic’s son.

Sicario (Netflix: 2015: 121 mins)

Taylor Sheridan has written some of the most underappreciated crime movies of the 21st Century, a run that kicked off with this film. Add in the iconic director Denis Villeneuve at the helm. Round it off with cast members Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benico Del Toro, Daniel Kaluuya and Jon Bernthal – I don’t think I need to say much more aside from the fact you need to be prepared for this dark and murky thriller.

Cruel Summer (Prime Video:2021: 10 x 45 mins)

In the summer of 1993 Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia) was nerdy and invisible. In summer 1994 she was the most popular girl in school. By 1995, the loser outcast. Over the course of the ten episodes we hop between the three years as things begun to become more apparent. Whilst it clearly has something to do with the disappearance of beloved Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt), how exactly is Jeanette involved? Deviously twisty and turny.

Romcom of the week – While You Were Sleeping (Disney+: 1995: 103 mins)

The fun thing about this film is, it’s on the cusp of creepy and it’s down to the charm of the leads that it really isn’t and ends up being one of the finest romantic comedies of the 90s. A hopelessly romantic Chicago Transit Authority token collector (Sandra Bullock) has been lusting over commuter Peter (Peter Gallagher) for as long as she can remember. When an accident occurs, and Peter ends up in a coma, she finds herself being mistaken as his fiancée. Enamoured with his close-knit family, she decides to play the role – although a growing connection with his brother Jack (Bill Pullman) may just jeopardise everything. I know, just trust me with this one. If you’re not sure, Bill Pullman as a plaid lumberjack shirt wearing grumpy love interest should be reason enough.

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What To Watch Wednesday #3

Posted on by Charlotte_Sometimes

Welcome back! Just like my Stream On feature from last year (all 19 editions available here), every Wednesday I’ll put up some suggestions of TV & Films you may be missing on your various streaming services. Here’s What To Watch Wednesday #1 and #2.

The Con (2020: Disney+: 8 x 45 mins)

Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, each episode focuses on a different con – from more familiar stories such as Fyre Festival and the 2019 college admissions scandal, to the story of a manipulative love bombing surgeon and a film-industry producer whose scam has to be seen to be believed.

If you like this, you might like: Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist (2022), The Tinder Swindler (2022)

Hobby Man (2022: All4: 4 x 60 minutes – two episodes aired already, two to go)

Alex Brooker has realised he’s a 38-year-old man with the same interests he had as a child, ‘football and Ghostbusters’. So, paired with a different friend each week, he tries out three different hobbies and meets the incredibly passionate people who are involved in them. The end result is an incredibly charming show full of joy, a celebration of oft underappreciated and undercelebrated people & their passions.

If you like this, you might like: The Great Pottery Throw Down (2015-), The Great British Sewing Bee (2013-)

Boys State (2020: Apple TV+: 109 mins)

‘Won’t somebody please think of the children?!?’ In the heart of Texas, there’s something on an unusual rite of passage for a select 1,100 teenage boys. A chance to come together and build a representative government from the ground up, over the course of a week. It’s a fascinating experiment to behold, with truly unpredictable consequences.

If you like this, you might like: Minding the Gap (2018), Accepted (2021)

Bad Sisters (2022: Apple TV+: 10 x 45 mins – two episodes aired, eight to go)

John Paul Williams (Claes Bang) may very well have been the worst brother-in-law in the world. But he didn’t deserve to die, did he…? The Garvey sisters – Eva (Sharon Horgan), Becka (Eve Hewson), Ursula (Eva Birthistle), Bibi (Sarah Greene) and Grace (Anne-Marie Duff) always swore to look out for each other. But just how far have they taken this promise? A pitch-black revenge comedy, deliciously well-cast this is a must-watch.

If you like this, you might like: The Resort (2022), In Bruges (2008)

Romcom of the week: Set It Up (2018: Netflix: 105 mins)

Harper (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie (Glen Powell) are both overworked and underpaid assistants. Their respective bosses, Kirsten (Lucy Liu) and Richard (Taye Diggs) make their lives miserable – seemingly because they’re miserable themselves. Thrown together in unlikely circumstances, the two assistants decide to set their bosses up together – it looks set to work a treat, although it involves Harper & Charlie working very closely together. So closely, in fact, their may be even more attachments forming… Cinematic comfort food at it’s finest, both Deutch and Powell are charisma machines and a total joy to watch.