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Victoria & Albert: The Royal Wedding (2018)
Another Lucy Worsley gem
Once again I very much enjoyed Lucy Worsley's take on British social history. This is an informative piece of work that filled the gaps in my understanding of the Victorian era. Victoria's vivacity as a young queen was well brought out by an impishly beautiful Abbie Garland and the choices of George Merrick-Cunningham as Prince Albert and Mike Nettleship as Victoria's devoted Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne were good. The analysis by historical experts, curators and archivists set details into context in a most engaging manner. A rewarding evening of TV in two parts. Worth watching!
Counterfeiting in Suburbia (2018)
Not even good enough for TV
This is a movie about criminality--the criminality of the writer, the director and the cast. What a turkey! The only urgency the viewer feels is the urgent need to flee (or to take an extended bathroom break) to avoid the tedium.
If I didn't know better I'd suspect that this Canadian-made effort was intended purely to cash in on Can-con requirements and to grab as much government cash as possible. Oh wait...
Battlefield Recovery (2016)
The worst possible portrayal of battlefield archaeology
Battlefield Recovery, as seen on Netflix, where only 4 episodes are available (dating from 2016), purports to be about the history aspect of the metal detectors' hobby, but really it is all about finding and collecting.
Episodes 1 and 2 are horrendous examples of battlefield looting, with absolutely no guided archaeology portrayed, although we are assured by the producers in an onscreen overlay message that proper techniques were observed.
There are a couple of truly distasteful light weapons demonstrations, with the hosts whooping and laughing as they spray machine pistols and assault rifles into the bushes.
The recovery of buried human remains is done with no sensitivity and with no preservation of the dignity due the dead.
Having watched the true archaeologists on Time Team and Battlefield Detectives sensitively and meticulously deal with other theatres of war, I cannot recommend this series. It is on a moral and ethical par with the Jerry Springer Show.
Once in a Blue Moon (1995)
Whimsical Canadian family movie
First of all, this is not a cerebral coming-of-age film. It is a gentle, funny glimpse of life in a 1960s Canadian small-town family. Think "The Wonder Years" without the American suburban setting. This story's opening is, like the American show, narrated by the protagonist as a grown man.
The boundaries of Peter Piper's world are those of a 9 year-old boy. He, like many of us did at his age, tries to understand what adults are really saying. His concerns are those of a kid, not some preternaturally gifted man-child. His family is no weirder than many,and no saner than most.
Peter (Cody Serpa) is the youngest in a family of girls. His mother (Cheryl Wilson) is run ragged working two jobs while trying to look after a family which includes foster children. She is really only seen in brief vignettes, rushing off to her second job slinging fries. Peter's father (comedian Mike MacDonald) is a mechanic and factory worker who, in Peter's words "works the graveyard ship". When asked whether his dad sees "the dead guys", Peter shrugs, "yeah". Hovering over Peter's shoulder is the image of his big brother, Eric, a Korean Conflict jet-pilot hero, still worshipped by Peter's dad.
The family is not well off and Peter's mother outfits him in hand- me-downs from his sisters out of a misplaced sense of thrift. So Peter is very much the outsider at school. He becomes friends with Sam Cardinal, a Native foster child, played brilliantly by Simon Baker. They see in each other kindred spirits who are both forced out of their comfortable fantasy worlds to interact with the world as seen through the newly nascent patriotism of Canada's 1967 Centennial (cue Bobby Gimby's "Caaaanaandaaaa, 1 little, 2 little, 3 Canadians...").
The story develops towards Peter and Sam's ultimate goal: to build a one-person rocket to the moon. Peter plans to be a hero like Eric.
The denouement that follows the climactic rocket launch leaves us laughing at the neighbourhood bullies and satisfied that the two boys will work out just fine.