I thought I would log some thoughts on a couple of things I have enjoyed recently.
Last night we watched The Banshees of Inisherin. I had heard it was up for various awards, but did not know much about it. @daniellemurray recommended it and mentioned there were some nice music scenes. I saw it on Disney+. They have quite a lot of content that is not aimed at kids, so that makes it good value for us. I am looking forward to seeing the new Black Panther movie and the next series of The Mandalorian soon.
This is basically about a friendship ending when one of the men decides he has better things to do than pointless chats. He threatens to cut off one of his fingers if his former friend talks to him again. Be prepared for some gruesome scenes.
The film is set in 1920s on an island off Ireland. Life there is simple with small farms and other traditional jobs. Avoiding someone would be small in such a small community who all meet in the same pub.
The scenery is bleak, but spectacular. Trees seem to be a rare thing there. I think some shots were digitally enhanced, e.g. the rainbow in the trailer. It could be done as a play with the small cast and limited locations.
Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell as the leads are great with a good supporting cast. Some people may struggle with the accents a bit, but you could enable subtitles if necessary.
I am not sure this is a film for everyone. Some of it is hard to watch, but then there are some laughs too from the dialogue and situations. I think Father Ted has coloured my impressions of rural Ireland, but life was tough for people there and you needed some sense of humour to cope.
I also just finished reading Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz. This is his second book based around Sherlock Holmes, but in this case Holmes has just apparently died at the Reichenbach Falls whilst fighting his arch enemy Professor Moriarty whose body is being examined at the start of the book. The protagonists are a Scotland Yard detective and a Pinkerton's agent who is after an American crime kingpin who has made a move on the English scene.
The two of them follow a cryptic trail through various nasty types to find this master criminal.
I cannot say too much more without spoiling the plot. The style of the book is pretty authentic. It paints a picture of a Victorian London with a dark underside. The pace may just be a little quicker than the original books to keep a modern audience interested.
I did enjoy it even if some of the nasty bits made me wince. I am not a big fan of violence in general. The ending did surprise me, but I expect some will see it coming. I do not read a lot of crime novels, so I may miss clues that others will spot.
What are you reading and watching?