The Other Bennet Sister - I wasn’t at all sure that this would work, but actually it was really enjoyable. Picking up the story of the Bennet sisters from Mary’s perspective. She is the butt of the jokes in Pride and Prejudice, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story from the point of view of the underdog, in the first couple of episodes, then taking her into the future. Theeaded through through with in jokes as anwkward and overly serious, we watch her gradually unfurl. Short episodes too with lots of sharp insights and nods to P&P history. Some of the characters including Mr C get a bit of a redemption arc, which was fun too plus I thoroughly enjoyed this less than obliging take on the Bennett sisters. With Ella Bruccoleri as Mary, and Ruth Jones as Mrs Bennet, and a plot stuffed full of Easter eggs and outright theft from Austen, this was a bit of a treat. (
tv series, streaming on iplayer)
Under Salt Marsh - a nicely atmospheric murder mystery thriller with Rafe Spall as a suitably troubled detective,and Kelly Reilly as an ex-colleague with a grudge. Climate change and environmental damage are the back drop as the death of a child stirs up memories in a small town. Nicely twisty turney plot and I enjoyed Rafe Spalls awkward and stubborn detective and lots of entertaining characters to keep us guessing. Gorgeous bleak landscapes were absolutely beautiful, and I found myself pausing the screen sometimes just to admire the views. Pity about the often clunky dialogue but it wasn’t too hard to forgive it
(tv series, streaming on Sky/NowTV)
Yellowjackets - I am very late to this drama/horror thriller about a girls football team whose plane crashes in the wilderness. The narrative jumps between the teens and then their adult selves 25 years later. I’m not really a fan of horror, or of the jumping back and forth narrative approach but it has won me over in the end. I originally sought it out because of Sophie Nélisse (she was in Rose in Heated Rivalry) but there are lots of great names in this. The performances are great, and some pairings of the adult and teenage versions are uncannily close; Sophie Nélisse and Melanie Lynskey as Shauna are particularly good. Loving Misty too, played with exactly the right amount of slightly unhinged glee by Christina Ricci . It’s good fun if a bit serpentine. It is though, one of those annoying shows that doesn’t close out the story within one series so as it has me hooked it looks as though I am here for the duration.
(tv series streaming on Paramount+/Prime)
The Running Man (2025) - a fast paced plot driven action thriller. Mainly glossy nonsense and with what I thought was terrible dialogue but it’s pretty so I found I could ignore how empty headed it was. Set in a dystopian future where everyone is a slave to the capitalist regime, with few ways out. To earn money to pay for his child's healthcare, Ben (Glen Powell) signs up for a competition that will likely leave him dead, but if he survives will make him rich. Based on the Stephen King book and directed by Edgar Wright, this was a couple of hours of fun escapism (
film, streaming on Prime)
I Swear - this is the film about John Davidson, a man who has been living with Tourette’s syndrome since his teenage years. It’s a nicely moving ( and sometimes funny) portrait of a man doing his best, and the people who supported him. It is shocking how badly he was treated, and fairly recently too. Davidson is played beautifully by Robert Aramayo, and the rest of the cast is great too, with Shirley Henderson as his uptight unable to cope mum, and Maxine Peake as his substitute mum and champion. It’s a real shame that the message of this film, which is to understand rather than persecute someone for their disability got muddled at the BAFTA’s when he shouted a racist word. But some of the outrage seems to show there is still a long way to go. (
film, streaming on Netflix)
Predestination - a film with Sarah Snook and ~Ethan Hawkes. This is a timeloop drama with plenty of clever twists along the way. I did guess most of it fairly quickly although one obvious element I missed which closed off the whole loop. I enjoyed the pretty understated ending although I get that isn’t for everyone. Sarah Snook and Ethan Hawke are both great throughout but I can’t say much more without giving it away. Worth a watch
(film, streaming on ITVx )
Inside the Manosphere - a documentary by Louis Theroux digging into the toxic masculinity area of the internet. They seem both appalling and pathetic to me but the scary thing is that young men and boys seem to be falling for this nonsense. And then when you add in the ludicrous conspiracy theories that they cynically promote for clout and selling products to the kids who fall for this stuff, this is very depressing. But it's also very funny as Theroux lets them destroy themselves,whilst calling them out. I did laugh a lot when, despite his sometimes ridiculous but always unpalatable nonsense, we saw ‘HS Tickytocky’ cleaning up because his mum told him to. (film, streaming on Netflix)
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