Hello everyone! How is everyone doing? Looks like summer time has finally hit us here in the UK. Timing has been perfect. Considering I’ve just come back from a long spell in Portugal where I’ve gotten used to 35 degree heat and a swimming pool where the water temperature is 30 degrees.
What have I been up to recently? To be honest, not a whole lot. What am I currently doing? Well…
Finally caught up on the last few episodes of The Americans. One of my new favourite TV shows. You guys need to watch this show, if you haven’t already. Spies, 80s music, the Russians and cold war. What’s not to love about that? Very glad and relieved The Americans has got a second season. I was worried for a second.
With it being summer there’s not much on at the moment. Well, Dexter’s back for its final season. Earlier than I was expecting. Two episodes in and enjoying the direction it is taking. Don’t worry, not going to let on anything! Just going to say, it looks like the final season might do the show some justice. Fingers crossed.
Also currently watching The Returned on Channel 4. French drama with people being returned from the dead. I honestly can say I have no fucking clue what is going to happen, episode to episode. Unpredictable and very watchable. Yes it’s French and there are subtitles. Suck it up and give this show a watch. Before the inevitable English language version gets made. You know it’s happening. (Huh, so it is. And it’s an English production.) If you need any convincing, just watch the opening title sequence, it’s beautiful:
(HA! While looking for photos from The Returned which I could use here I found out that there IS also an American version getting made as well! Resurrection. NO. Just NO. This will be horrific. And cancelled.)
Talking of English language versions of European shows, I learnt the other day that there’s not one, but two versions of Danish/Swedish show The Bridge being made. (A show I am waiting very impatiently to return. It’s been far too long! Ooo new season, Autumn, this year!) One, I vaguely knew of. The American/Mexican version which is going to be airing on FX soon. Looks like it could be promising. Seeing as FX have been pushing out some good stuff recently. *cough* The Americans. But also an English/French version called The Tunnel. Okay, it’s old news. But I didn’t know!
Oh and also started watching Hannibal. Quit two episodes in. Then decided to give it another shot and got sucked in. I wouldn’t say it’s an excellently amazing show. Sometimes it can be a bit formulaic. Especially in the beginning. Once it gets going it gets good. Gets fairly dark for a network TV show. Which is surprising.
What are you guys watching at the moment? Anything I should be? You know I’m all for trying out something new! I am so out of the loop when it comes to TV.
The past couple of months, I haven’t seen all that many films. Oddly, that hasn’t bothered me so much. I used to feel like I was missing out. Instead, I’m probably watching more films because I genuinely want to watch them. Not just all the fluff. There’s still some fluff though.
Highlights from the past couple of months include Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which I saw based on Jen and Fogs’ recommendations. Really enjoyed that one. And yes, I was craving sushi afterwards. But also left wondering what I could be the best at. Jiro gets another recommendation from me.
End of Watch was another highlight – excellent film which went where I was not expecting. At all.
From the cinema side of things, Man of Steel was seen and, yes, enjoyed. Found it a little too serious at times and feeling like it needed to prove itself too much. Fairly solid superhero film.
Most disappointing film of the year so far for me is…. Fast & Furious 6. Some say I should have expected that. But to them I point to 4 and 5 in the series. More so 5. Both of which were solid and hugely entertaining action films. 6. Just poor. It makes me sad to think about it too much, so I won’t.
Still, there’s plenty more films to look forward to. Before Midnight, The World’s End, Pacific Rim and Monsters University are currently topping my list.
My 365 project is going smoothly. So far! It’s only been just over 30 days but I haven’t wobbled too much with it. It has made me realise how much photography I’ve ‘forgotten’. It is coming back to me, thankfully.
On the life side of things, things have gone a bit topsy turvy but I’m dealing. Slowly. My OH got a job in Bahrain, for at least a year. Probably more. So I’m finding myself in a long distance relationship. For now. It’s taking some getting used to. God bless technology though. Email. Skype. Google Hangouts. WhatsApp. Viber. Smartphones. INTERNET. I’ve never loved technology more than I do now. Well, loved and appreciated it.
Going in for surgery number 2 on my wrist soon. Friday in fact. You might remember that I had an operation on my wrist last year to sort out some issues I was having with it. A couple of months back some tests found a small ganglionic cyst in my wrist. Very small. But enough of a size to still be causing me a decent amount of pain. Hopefully getting that removed, along with the pain. (Yet to figure out how I’m going to carry on my 365 Project without the use of my dominant hand. I’ll figure something out!) I’ll be in and out on the same day, so it’s not a major surgery. But it’s not keyhole, unlike last year. They’ll be opening me up good and proper! Don’t know when I’ll be back to blogging. Hopefully not too soon after.
There are a few things on the horizon to look forward to. A new job, starting at the beginning of August. I’ll be working as an email specialist for a start-up company in London. Exciting!
September gets a whole lot more exciting. Going to see Macklemore & Ryan Lewis! I am BEYOND excited about this concert. Seriously and hugely. The Heist has probably been my most listened to album since it was released. So very good. Sad that I won’t get to see it with my OH, seeing as he was the one who introduced me to Macklemore in the first place.
Also, in the same week, I’m going to go and see Portugal. The Man. Very excited about that too. Going to be completely different to the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis concert. Much, much, much smaller venue. Woo!
But the MOST exciting thing about September is getting to see my OH in Bahrain. I’m heading out there for 10 days. It’s not long, but it’s something to look forward to. And boy am I. Never been to Bahrain, so that will add to the excitement of it all. I don’t know much about Bahrain. All I know is that it’ll be HOT.
And I applaud any of you who managed to read this lot. Seriously. I will not be offended whatsoever if you didn’t get through this dump here. There aren’t even any pretty pictures. Sorry!
Justified.
Nothing else comes close at the moment.
However, having watched Skyfall the other day and thought it the most tedious cliched crap I have seen in ages, maybe you could try Burn Notice – better than Bond.
OH? Objectionable Halfwit? A tad harsh in my view.
I am all over Justified. Impatiently awaiting the next season.
Burn Notice I used to watch but I had to stop. It was going nowhere! And looks like it still is on that same road.
Skyfall – cliched crap? Ohhh dear…. oh dear! How could you say such a thing!
Harsh but fair? No wait, that is terribly harsh!
I can’t wait for Bates Motel to return! The characters are so odd, I’m hooked. And Jiro Dreams of Sushi is on my list. Glad it got another thumbs up from you! Good luck on the surgery! Yay for continuing with project 365. And have fun in Bahrain with OH (what does that stand for?). And ooooo Macklemore & Lewis in concert. Should be fun!
OH = Other Half 🙂
I didn’t know your parents had a pool at their place. I’d love to have a pool in my back yard… maybe if I win the lottery…
Les Revenants/The Returned is awesome. I think it is very different to most of the TV produced in the UK and US – I love that about it. That said, I know a couple of people who think it meanders a bit; I think the slow pace that lets things unfold more naturally, and that it also adds to the creepy factor in some places.
With regards to the subtitles, I agree that things are best watched in their original language – though from an accessibility standpoint, Channel 4 dropped the ball by not having a dubbed showing of the episodes. One of the women who lives in my building is legally blind and whilst she can watch TV and see most of what is going on, subtitles just do not work for her. And of course, me, the other women here and most of the staff had given it a huge build up.
I’m really not sure how I feel about there being remakes in the works already. Whilst I think the UK one may work, the idea of a US one makes me wince. (Sorry Jaina’s US-ian friends.)
I don’t have any other shows to add since my show list has kept shrinking more and more as the years have gone by. CSI:NY was cancelled this year, Warehouse 13 is getting a season five, but it’s only going to be six episodes. (I’m so done with SyFy after that ends.)
Congratulations on the new job. I hope this one will offer more challenges than the last one.
I was wondering how long it’d be before you took a trip to Bahrain… =D
Good luck for your surgery.
I would LOVE to have a pool in my back garden too. I’d be in it every day!
The Returned was definitely a slow mover, but I appreciated the work they did with the characters and stuff. You don’t get that a lot in most TV shows these days.
Yes, I don’t think I’d have been able to last much longer without scheduling a trip out to see the BF in Bahrain!
Am I the only person who guessed that OH was Other Half? Maybe I wish it was Olaf the Hairy! He’s not is he?
Having an 8 month old son means I don’t get to the cinema much (though I am going to see Pacific Rim next week – the wife isn’t interested) or watch much TV. Having said that we did manage to install ourselves at a friends house to take advantage of their Sky+ box and pile through Game of Thrones series 3. WTF?!! I did see the trailers for The Returned and thought that it looked promising, but it’s passed me by I’m afraid.
I hope the op on your wrist goes well. Sounds like it’s fairly routine.
You are clearly very well versed in all things Internet 😉 And no, thankfully not Olaf the Hairy!
Season 3 of Game of Thrones had some of my favourite parts from the books. But I do feel season 4 might just trump this… maybe!
End of Watch is awesome! Can’t wait to see how both Dexter and Breaking Bad are going to end! It’s going to be epic!
Sounds like you had good weather in Portugal. We don’t have many movie overlaps on this occasion, look forward to your thoughts on Before Midnight & The World’s End.
Have fun with the 365 project, and good luck with your surgery, and new job !
Happy to see that you enjoyed some good movies. End of Watch is excellent indeed. Shame you didn’t like Fast 6, really loved it myself.
Good luck with the operation.
[…] long ago, I had a mini gush over The Returned. I was enjoying the beautifully made supernatural French drama TV show thing. The […]