Watching - July 2025

Taskmaster (season 19, 2025)

A sudden jump to season 19, as K - who I watch with - managed to grind through everything from 5 to 18 without me, and also it turns out she was desperate to watch Mathew Baynton. Very entertaining as always, although possibly ten episodes is stretching it a little and of course, as with anything improvised, it can be a bit hit or miss. But you can't fault the creativity or the effort put in, both by Alex Horne and the Taskmaster team (excluding Greg Davies, who seems to have it rather easy) and the participants. Also, fun fact I learned: Alex Horne lives in Chesham, near where I grew up, and many of the filming locations are in the area!

Live Aid at 40 (2025)

A documentary about such a complex subject - even a three part one, as here - is only going to be able to skim the surface of the event itself, let alone all the political and social issues that led up to it and that arose from it. Still, this was a balanced and interesting overview of an incredible series of achievements.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (season 4, 2016-2017)

I said I'd give myself a break after the last season, but actually, this is perfectly sized for consumption in between other things, and sufficiently unchallenging viewing for when I'm tired or not feeling well (although this is obviously doing a disservice to the amount of effort involved in making it). I could do without the cliffhanger at the end of each season (of course it will resolve itself - the essence of a sitcom is that the "sit" never changes), but it's nice to see Jake and Amy in a straightforward relationship, without gratuitous roadblocks thrown in the way, and all 22 episodes are effortlessly funny.

The Naked Gun (1988)

It's possible that parody dates faster than just about any other form of comedy. Being the film version of the early 80s TV series Police Squad, which in turn was a spoof of 60s and 70s police dramas, this was probably already out of date when it was released. It didn't stop it being a success, and yes, it is funny - but I'm guessing only for people my age or above?

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Comfort viewing for while I'm ill. Still brilliant.

Inside Out (2015)

Having stumbled across an interesting video about Inside Out, I couldn't not watch the film itself, especially since I haven't seen it since records began! (ok, actually, so in at least five years) I still think it's incredibly insightful, and they have so much fun with the metaphor of how memories get stored (including repeatedly sending a random commercial back for fun). A classic for a reason.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

This is basically a James Bond film, right? Silly, fairly mindless action fun that jumps round multiple random locations. Kept me entertained.

I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)

A Powell/Pressburger film that I'm not quite sure warrants the "masterpiece" accolade given by some (including Martin Scorcese, no less), but as a lovely example of a romantic comedy of the time, it's unquestionably charming.

Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (2019)

A weird, hodge-podge of a film that can't decide what it wants to be, so ends up being bits of about three. Not that any of it is bad by any means, it's just that the motivation seems to be more that Quentin Tarantino wanted to do a pastiche/tribute to various bits of Hollywood history and retrofitted a story around them. He - along with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio - seem to be having great fun remaking a lost era, but I suspect most of it is lost on anyone who isn't a film buff. For example, 8 August, 1969 - the date of the Tate murders - wouldn't have registered with me if I hadn't read the synopsis ahead of time. But without this information, or knowledge of what actually happened that day, the ending's impact is completely fudged. Still, I enjoyed it, nothing dragged, Pitt in particular is very good and I'm pleased I watched it. (side note: just reading some of the ridiculous critical theories catalogued on Wikipedia confirms to me that it's a film made for film geeks to bullshit about and I have no doubt that this is part of Tarantino's motivation also)

How Do You Know? (2010)

I can see what the makers were trying to do here, but the story is too slight for the emotions they're attempting to invoke. So, ultimately, it's a bit unsatisfying, because it's not clear why the two main characters should feel strongly enough end up together. It's a shame, because Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd are very good. Oh well.