Tag: Netflix

My ‘Motherland’ Review

Having spent a lot of time laughing at clips of this BBC show on Tiktok lately, I think I ought to review it. Motherland is a funny TV series about some parents who gather together before and after school. Their personal lives are absolute carnage and the characters themselves are known to speak their own minds. Read on for my Motherland review and I bet you will want to check it out for yourselves.

Another venue for them to get together is the local cafe.

What is Motherland?

Motherland is a sitcom on BBC iPlayer that has been incredibly successful and now shows on Netflix. It is about Julia, an early forties mum, and her group of parent friends. They all tend to meet up at the school gate each morning and share their woes.

Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin) has a pretty invisible husband who randomly rings her from time to time as she deals with endless predicaments. Her besties include Liz (Diane Morgan) and Kevin (Paul Ready) who are both struggling single parents and join in with her adventures. Meg (a wealthy business woman and regular drunk) also gets involved in their daily hilarity.

Packing a comedy punch

Alongside these, a snooty Amanda (Lucy Punch) is always trying to outdo everyone. She is head of the PTA and constantly showing off about her incredible life and career. We see the truth behind this and witness her broken marriage, failing business and horrid mum (played brilliantly by Joanna Lumley). Meanwhile, her subservient sidekick – Anne – is chasing her around and providing a lot of entertainment. The two of them together are enough to make anyone chuckle.

Relatable storylines

Although these characters have a lot of crazy things to deal with, they are very relatable. You would be unlikely to face all of their dilemmas at once. However, we have all been there. From balancing work and relationships badly to cooking a slap-up meal with leftovers. The storylines are set in reality and the fallout laced with misfortune.

One of my favourite characters is Liz because she is very honest and straight talking. Diane Morgan plays her expertly and her snappy throw away comments have me rolling around laughing. Julia is really funny too. In recent episodes she developed a love for her plumber. Hilariously she tried so many ways to impress him, while not once gaining his attention.

In a nutshell

This half an hour programme is packed with fun. I have watched all three seasons and the recent Christmas special. They were all entertaining and overflowing with jokes. I absolutely love this TV show and firmly believe that you will fall in love with it too.

Thank you for reading my Motherland review. I hope you find time to check it out on Netflix or BBC soon. For more suggestions of what to watch on TV, check out Two TV shows worth watching. Perhaps also follow my blog for similar future articles.

Matilda Movie Review

When I was a child I remember hearing my infant teacher read the BFG to our class. She used different voices and was totally enthralling. Every year I heard another of Dahl’s stories and I began to read them myself. Soon I became a massive Roald Dahl fan. It is therefore no surprise that the new Matilda Movie has recently captured my imagination.

About ten years ago I went to see the Tim Minchin musical version of Matilda and it blew me away. So I had very high expectations when they announced that Netflix was making a film production of that very musical.

My Thoughts On Matilda

I remember Matilda being released as a book in 1988 and instantly loved it. In my job I regularly read this book and other wonderful stories aloud to a class and they always soak up the witty remarks and hilarious plots.

Emma Thompson as the Trunchbull has gone down really well. She has created a character who is terrifying, awkward and very amusing. Seeing her stomping around whilst singing clever and funny lyrics, dressed as a tall, staunch hammer thrower, makes this film perfect in my eyes.

Newbie child actor, Alisha Weir, is well cast as the lead role of Matilda and fits in well with an already stellar group of actors, including the kind and tuneful teacher, Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch). In keeping with the book, Matilda strikes up a friendship with her local librarian, who occupies a mobile library van in the film version.

Tiktok has gone crazy for one of the dance routines where the kids rampage down the corridors of their school, Crunchem Hall. As a musical, it is great, with a combination of sentimental, energetic and angry songs. Emma sings triumphantly in character and they all perform the lyrics live rather than miming to a prerecorded soundtrack.

In A Nutshell

Without giving too much away, the Matilda movie generally keeps to the original plot, with some additions to make it visually more stunning. The tiny details that Roald used are all there to be spotted and it even references several of his other stories at one point. Look out for a giraffe, a gypsy caravan (no doubt from Danny the Champion of the World) and a sweet nod to the BFG.

This musical is packed with fun, vibrant characters and incredible songs. I totally recommend checking it out at a cinema as it is just brilliant! Please follow my blog for similar future posts about books, films and the environment.

Heartstopper TV Show – Ground-breaking!

Always someone to welcome and encourage diversity, I am excited to write about the new Netflix series based on the incredible YA books written by Alice Oseman. It was definitely intriguing to see her work get picked up by Netflix but I was initially anxious that they may not represent it as wonderfully as she has.

Thankfully Netflix got Alice on board as script writer and producer during the making of the TV show and integrated some of her unique style into this brilliant take on LGBTQ romance. If you want to know more about the books, check my previous review of Heartstopper Book One here.

Heartstopper Review

This particular TV production was filmed last year in England and has been hotly anticipated ever since. Tiktok has always been fond of Alice Oseman’s best selling webcomic-turned book and the series trailers started to inspire a whole new set of inventive Heartstopper Tiktok videos right away.

Heartstopper tells the modern tale of a nervous, but likeable, Charlie Spring who is openly gay but pretty intimidated by the English equivalent of jocks (otherwise known as rugby players). Being asked to sit next to a slightly older rugby lad in class, Charlie is instantly smitten, despite that guy being apparently straight. Played by a newbie, Joe Locke, Charlie takes us on a journey through his crush.

Nick Nelson is the other lead character. As a charismatic lad who is in with the cool crowd, it surprises Charlie just how much interest in him he shows. Nick is played by Kit Connor who famously had the role of the young Elton John in the movie Rocketman.

Why is Alice Oseman so cool?

Alice originally published a book about Tori Spring, Charlie’s sister, in 2014 after signing a book deal at the age of seventeen. She followed this success with other novellas and, of course, a webcomic which was first put out weekly as a series of Tumblr cartoon strips.

Heartstopper illuminates Alice’s ability to shine a light on diversity in relation to LGBTQ issues without making the stories obscure. She has a way of handling such subjects with respect and cleverness, weaving them naturally into stories without making them seem awkward.

Following trans characters and topics such as confusion over sexuality, she has a way of making her characters very relatable and intriguing. I wish her material was around when I was younger as it would have made such a difference. It promotes acceptance and celebrates individuality.

So, in answer to my own question, Alice is cool because her stories grab readers and enable them to think carefully about these situations and feel more comfortable about their own feelings and insecurities.

The Heartstopper TV Show Itself

The director has a great way of capturing emotions and the actors are really well cast. It is a nice surprise to find out that Olivia Coleman has a guest role as Nick’s mum and it is also good to see Sebastian Croft (a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones) playing the role of Ben, the guy who toys with Charlie’s affections while remaining safely in the closet.

Without giving too much away, this series of eight half an hour episodes is beautifully laid out with a well written script. The use of some cartoon images really adds a bit of extra Alice Oseman spark. For instance, colourful cartoon leaves float in and out of shot at key points in the episodes.

Summary

If you haven’t had time to check out this fresh and refreshing new Netflix phenomenon, what are you waiting for? It is great to see a series that discusses those issues that can consume you when growing up (and forever after). This show is a genuine heartstopper and is beautifully acted, in keeping with the thought-provoking feel good books of the amazing Alice Oseman.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my article about Heartstopper TV Show. If you enjoyed the post, please drop a comment below and consider following my little blog for similar future content.