Kate Winslet’s Regime

Another Unique Performance

Not the actual palace in The Regime but equally nice.

Kate Winslet has always been a brilliant film actress. She has an incredible track record.

Who can forget her as Marianne in Sense and Sensibility or playing Rose in Titanic?

But it is rare that she does TV shows. Her first was more than ten years ago, but recently she has made two amazing series.

First, she starred as a middle America detective called Mare. Mare of Easttown was a hit and definitely showed off her acting abilities.

Now she is incredible in a powerful and funny new series.

The Regime (HBO/ Now TV)

Mare of Easttown came out two years ago and now we are watching a new series unfold, set in a small fictional European country. It is powerfully entitled ‘The Regime’.

It reminds me of Luxembourg but with more political hostility.

Kate plays the Chancellor (Elena) who is obsessed with hygiene, convinced that mould is terrorising her palace. She hires a war criminal to be her guard and assistant but soon becomes intrigued by him.

So intrigued that he starts to influence her and everything she does.

Her weird marriage of convenience and peculiar politics make this a satirical show. It has moments of comedy and seriousness.

The series is actually written by Will Tracy, who helped create the brilliant show ‘Succession’, which also had many millions of us totally riveted.

Final Thoughts

Kate Winslet holds this show together with her incredible way of shaping a dictatorship. She is funny, especially when she sings. Elena is also strong, argumentative and a ruthless negotiator.

I would totally recommend checking out this HBO series which is also playing on Now TV and Sky Atlantic in Britain.

For another of my recent reviews, check out Jodie Foster’s True Detective and consider following my blog.

Arctic Climate in Crisis

This month the Climate Change Collective of bloggers decided to discuss the issue of how Climate Change is affecting the Arctic. Not only that, but we hoped to work out how those changes impact the rest of the world.

That was quite a tall order but Michelle did a brilliant job in her lead post:

How climate change in the Arctic affects all of us

Shrinking sea ice is one of the biggest changes which has ramifications for wildlife, including Polar Bears and seals. Ice melting generally will increasingly lead to higher sea levels and extended periods of flooding around our coasts.

In my own region, the Fenlands of East Anglia were reclaimed from being wetlands hundreds of years ago. With current predictions, they are likely to be back under water by 2050 if global warming is not tamed.

We should all be watching what is happening in the Arctic with a keen interest.

Animals such as walruses have less sea ice to inhabit and are forced to group together on land, especially in places such as northern Russia. Restrictions on space make them more vulnerable to predators. Michelle explains how these habitat alterations are worrying indeed.

In A Nutshell

There are many changes to Arctic ecosystems which are directly associated with temperature change. With sea ice melting more rapidly, this area is going to suffer from the negative consequences sooner and affect the rest of us too.

If you haven’t seen The Climate Change Collective before, we are an enthusiastic bunch of bloggers who are keen to write about environmental issues. Our goal is to spread awareness and make suggestions for living more sustainable lives.

Thank you for reading my post. Please check out the lead article and comment your thoughts on it for Michelle.

The Prince’s Scoop

A Netflix Movie Review

This weekend, before I returned to work after the Easter holidays, I wanted to cosy up and watch a film on TV.

Noticing that Gillian Anderson had made a movie about the Prince Andrew scandal, I chose ‘Scoop.’

Having watched the infamous BBC Newsnight interview back in 2019, I was intrigued about how events unfolded.

My Review

Gillian Anderson played Emily Maitlis, the clever TV reporter who gave a one hour interview with Prince Andrew about his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.

It turned out that the central character was actually Sam McAlister (Billie Piper). She was the booker who had the difficult task of being the first to arrange an interview with Andrew after a new bunch of revelations hit the news.

Rufus Sewell did a good job of playing the despicable prince and wore prosthetics that made him look very convincing in the role. His Private Secretary was played by Keeley Hawes.

The subject matter in the film is very grim as it was unpicking allegations made against Andrew which were later dismissed in a settlement where one of the girls involved supposedly received an 8 figure payoff.

Billie Piper played her role excellently and it was good to see her back on our screens. She portrayed a single parent who had a track record of persuading unlikely celebrities to appear on Newsnight and discuss their featured stories

I thought the filmmakers did a brilliant job of producing a film which put the whole story under a lens.

In A Nutshell

Overall this film was well made and brilliantly acted. Billie, Gillian, Rufus and Keeley were all flawless in portraying real people.

I know that the subject matter may be upsetting for some viewers but if you are interested in the scandal, check out this film.

In terms of pace, narrative and realism this movie was very good.