Sonatine

Am due to see her in York on the 22nd Feb. Last time I saw her in concert was way-back-when in the late 90s. She still has a fabulous voice and her songs still resonate to this day

"Hill Street Blues" Back in the 80s I thought this show was incredibly raw and true-to-life compared to the usual formulaic cop shows such as Starsky and Hutch, Cagney and Lacey, Kojak et al. Some 40 odd years on, and it still has its moments, even though it hasn't aged well. But with the presence of the late-great, Daniel J. Travanti (as Captain Frank Furillo) in control of things, it is still a pleasure to watch. Oh, and let's be careful out there!

Have had a penchant to watch some old 1970s films from my youth. I remember "The French Connection" vividly because it was the first "X" rated film (now "18") I saw at the cinema at the tender age of 14! Despite being over 50 years old it still resonates as one of the best police thrillers I've seen in many-a-year. And as always Gene Hackman is a joy to watch, ably supported by the ever-dependable Roy Scheider.

Earthshine - both studio version and live. Certainly ranks in my top 5 Rush anthems.

A rendition of Tangerine Dream's "Love on a Real Train" (from the film, Risky Business)

Glorious sunshine here in the Lake District (North West England). Yes' its a bit on the chilly side with a biting breeze, but the sun has brough everything to life once again with plenty of colour and vibrance.

I woke up at my usual time of around 5am GMT and went out for my usual 5 mile jog around the block in the dark. It was bloody cold of course but the good things was that by around 7:30am the clear sky was beginning to glow a warm red-orange from the eastern horizon. 20 odd minutes later I could see the sun rise above the mountain fells of the Lake District where I live. No clouds, no industrialisation, no artificial lights/pollution to block the view of the sun doing what it's been doing for billions of years! There is something hugely positive about seeing the sun in its unfettered glory, albeit 93 million miles away. For the last couple of weeks we've had nothing but blankets of thick grey cloud 24/7, but just to see the sun this morning is a massive boost to one's mindset.

The original and best - "Taking of Pelham 1,2,3" (circa 1974). A very taught thriller especially with the ever-dependable Robert Shaw as the sinister bad guy, but with a hint of intellectual superiority about him. Also great to see Walter Matthau playing a straight role but with a mild twist of that old familiar subtle witted charm. The ending could have been better, but overall a great film that stands the test of time (oh and a great pounding score from David Shire)

My QNAP media centre server went offline a few days ago due to a failed hard drive. I could have lost around 150 TV programmes and films. But thankfully the box was RAIDed and after a quick hot drive swap out normality retuned and the server is back online. In terms of words of wisdom in the context of IT is always ALWAYS imperative to backup your stuff. Backups don't sound very sexy, but it doesn't matter if you have the most expensive hardware on the planet, they can fail at anytime, and without a backup in place you've lost everything. And its only after the event do you think "If only....."

Am feeling in a Kate Bush mood tonight, starting with "Running up that Hill"

Bloody hell, what a coincidence! I've only just this minute noticed this post an hour or so after posting in the "What are you watching right now?" thread that I'd finished watching "Get Carter"

Scott must be wanting to top up his pension if he wants to revive this 23 year old classic. Is there any real need for a sequel after such a long interval? But then again perhaps it might work out if Scott plays it right, although if it does get released he will be asking critics and audiences....

A unique British comedy from the early 00s. And what made in stand out from the crowd was that the majority of the scenes were taking from the point-of-view of the character, with their thoughts played out as voice overs. (Another bonus is the lack of any canned audience laughter) I think there were 9 series all told from 2003-2015, and I do a binge-watch at least 3 or 4 times per year and never tire of it.

No, not the bloody awful travesty of a remake starring Sylvester Stallone, but the original 1971 classic with Michael Caine. A very bleak depressing but very hard-hitting crime thriller that looks rather dated now obviously. And yet it still carries a heavy punch with an amazing performance from Caine (far more believable compared to his earlier Harry Palmer thrillers). The last 10 minutes is quite shocking, and the entire film is not exactly a barrel of laughs. Another highlight was the first 5 minutes and the credits-intro while Caine is travelling up to the North of England on a British Rail train. The music fitted the scene perfectly.

"Three Days..." is such an underrated crime thriller. A nice complex plot and a pretty decent performance from Reford, even though he was playing Robert Redford again. But I really liked the cool, calculated performance from the ever-dependable Max Von Sydow as the Hitman. I also enjoyed the last 5 minutes with Redford threatening to go to the press to reveal all the covert foreign ops going on by his former government agency; only to be told in no uncertain terms by hi former boss, "Yeah, but how do you know they will print it!?"

A blast from the past. Blackadder II was a real blast on first viewing back in the 80s, but hasn't really worn well over time. Still quite amusing, not least for the presence of Baldrick and the wonderful Lord Flashheart cameo (Rik Mayall)

"The Seventh Seal" - A perennial favourite of mine, especially for this time of year. It's pretty bleak and soulless at times, helped greatly by it being in black and white rather than colour. But the characters, and the beguiling/haunting landscapes (including the (in)famous chess on the beach scene between Death and Bloc)is really what sets this film apart.

I started reading the Covenant books on the back of reading LOTR back in the late 80s I think. LOTR is a pretty awesome tome and a hefty benchmark for others to follow. But a friend recommended Donaldson's 1st Chronicles and after some considerable effort I eventually became engrossed in the books - even though Thomas came across as a right miserable old git! The last time I read the Chronicles (up to and including "White Gold Wielder" (1984)) was perhaps about 20 years ago. I have tried to do another complete read-through on a couple of occasions but I just didn't have that determination to do so not least due to the writing style of Donaldson and the way he describes characters and scenarios. I have also completed LFB, which was never my favourite from the first trilogy, but will be enjoying The Illearth War next.

I watched this on New Year's Eve night with a couple of friends and a few cans of beer. "Groovy!!"

All this talk of Sabbath put me in the mood to listen to a favourite LP (not CD of mp3 render) of theirs in "Heaven and Hell" along with a 12" live version of the "Heaven and Hell" single. I always liked Ozzy fronting Sabbath during the early days (early 70s), but soon lost interest in both his vocals and the choice of Sabbath music come "Technical Ecstasy" . In my opinion Dio was a great choice as their new frontman, even though it did take some time for die hard fans to come to terms with the seismic shift in vocals and personalities. As a side note I once saw Geezer Butler and Iommi drinking at a local pub in Aston, Birmingham in the late 70s during my time living there. They barely attracted any attention from the locals but just came across as a pair of ordinary geezers having a drink and a smoke!

I know I'm coming into this way late, but I have always admired Caan's acting abilities even though he probably never received the same respect from film critics compared to the usual suspects, Pacino and Bob de Niro. For me his best film was "Thief", directed by Michael Man back in 1981. A crime/thriller with Caan's character trying to go straight from a life of being a thief. This could have been just another bad-guy-does-good, but Caan's role was certainly far more rounded and engrossing especially with his personal confessions over coffee with his on/off girlfriend Tuesday Weld. Even some of the more stoic film critics such as Rogert Ebert admired not only the film itself but also Caan's enthralling performance. A film well worth checking out

An amazing show from start to finish, and for me was far more entertaining that Breaking Bad, not least because of the powerhouse performances from Odenkirk, Banks, Esposito, McKean, Mando and above all Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler. The Jimmy character throughout the 6 seasons was a mixture of humour, endearment, frustration and pure monomaniacal determination. The way he treated Kim through lying and trying to blame her for his mistakes was not only incredibly well acted but also made the viewer (me) seething with rage at his myopic arrogance and victimhood. And yet there were many times when he was very endearing, kind hearted and genuine, although I guess the ending was nothing more than a belated Pyrrhic victory. Jonathan Banks, was also outstanding as Mike Ehrmantraut, but also quite soulless at times, especially with his mild contempt of Jimmy. And yet their long trek through the desert was yet another highlight in a very absorbing season. This will definitely be one of my repeat viewings over the next few years. I might even feel inclined to re-watch and show some love for Breaking Bad - a show I never really rated that much.

A Man Escaped, directed by Robert Bresson and starring Francois Leterrier. An intense, claustrophobic and utterly convincing story concerning the imprisonment and attempted jailbreak of a WWII French resistance fighter.