July telly

The summer is always weird for telly as there’s a lot more to do outside.  But I did watch a couple of things.

Ride or Die: Another women led action adventure, with cast, production and writing all covered, and I’m here for it..  With the magnificent Hannah Waddingham as an assassin and Octavia Spencer as her best friend, this is a lot of fun as the duo run rings around the Albanian mob with the support of a couple of green flag men in secondary roles.  I love the middle aged female friendship being displayed here, but it’s also great that women can be proper baddies and not just in a girlie way.  Some of the plot and dialogue is a bit iffy, but this is funny and engaging, and generally a cut above the majority of action adventures so I definitely recommend. (TV series streaming on Prime)

Silo: series 3 of this sci-fi dystopian book adaptation has been drip fed over the past few weeks.  Rebecca Ferguson is still fab, and it is still largely sticking to the books, but in some places, it is taking a long time about it whilst skimming over bits that I loved in the original.  Great performances though, and some of the cinematography, which I assume is mainly green screen, is actually pretty good.  We are finally seeing how the silos came about and that’s being handled pretty well.  Still watching!  (TV series, streaming on NowTV)

Pillion:  I finally got around to watching this after missing it at the London Film Festival last year.  Alexander Skarsgård is definitely on a roll with the parts he is choosing recently and this is actually an interesting role; seemingly in control and largely unemotional but with his own challenges swirling under the surface.  Harry Melling is great as the shy boy who discovers himself through his relationship with an emotionally unavailable biker dom.  There are sex scenes, which caused a bit of a fuss in that British flustered way, but none are gratuitous, all telling us something about the characters; I also found them highly unerotic.   Overall, this is really funny though,  and also sweet,  and I can see why it got a lot of awards nods beyond the sensationalism.   I loved Lesley Sharp’s portrayal of Colin’s mum, Peggy, who has been trying to set him up with nice young men, then is bewildered and worried about Ray - is he just emotionally abusive, rather than this being consensual? She articulated my feelings watching this. Douglas Hodge was also great as Colin’s dad, providing a counterpoint to Peggy, and it was good to see a supportive dad even if he doesn’t understand.  I did feel sorry for Ray in the end, rather than Colin, and this is actually a lovely and sensitive exploration of Colin’s growing self knowledge and confidence which gets rewarded at the end. (Film, streaming on Sky/Nowtv) 

Heated Rivalry:  Yes, this again, but this time because I watched it in a private event with loads of other people.  The thing with telly is that watching it is increasingly becoming an isolated experience,with very few watercooler moments and even families watching on their own screens, so getting a chance to share with others is enlightening, and makes it very different.  Everyone in the room is already a fan and knows it inside out, so that changes the experience too, but it's fascinating to see how story beats land - sometimes differently, but more often than not in exactly the same way.  In the UK, licensing and copyright for tv is really difficult, so there aren't the sort of public watch parties that have been happening in other countries, so it's a real treat when we find a way to get together anyway (and people do find a way - we video -linked up during our day with another private group doing exactly the same thing elsewhere).  In a world of clicks it's great to find real human connection . A challenge though is still segregation; this show has a big LGBTQ+ fanbase and although my group is inclusive and full of queer and allied people, there aren't enough men in my particular networks, given that we know they enjoy the show too.   Leaving that aside, apart from the fun of finding that we all experience the same feelings at various points, the chance for people to find other things in common is lovely, sometimes going on to be the start of real and lasting friendships.  I am still in touch with people from the GreenWing fandom over 20 years ago, so it is great to see it happening again.  (TV series, strreaming on NowTV)