What I’m Watching... June 2019

Just catching June before it disappears to give you a little run down of the TV shows and films I’ve been watching this month...

TV SHOWS

Hanna (Season 1) - Amazon Prime

Adapted from the movie of the same name, Hanna is a mixture of action thriller with coming of age drama. Hanna lives in hiding with her father deep in the forests of Poland. He has trained her to be a killing machine, ready for when the unnamed hunters find them. And of course they do causing Hanna and her father to split up and go on the run. Along the way Hanna realises she isn’t a normal girl and is torn in a battle between finding out the truth behind her birth and wanting to be a normal 16yr old. I’m on the fence about this show. I was super excited to see Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos on screen together as I loved them in the The Killing but I found the juxtaposition of the high energy thriller with the ‘normal’ life of a 16yr old bizarre but actually preferred the low key bits to get another fight scene. I think I need to watch the original movie and compare the two.

Grey’s Anatomy (Season 15) - Sky Witness

Finally finished all the episodes backed up on my digi box and I can say the season finale was an absolute let down. Fog was the natural disaster of choice this time around. Yes fog. That should have been a sign that the writers are running out of creative ways to stage a cliff hanger ending. It felt much more like a mid-season finale before the break than the actual end of series. Probably the first time I’ve felt let down by the writers of this show.

The Society (Season 1) - Netflix

Coachloads of high school student (200 in fact) depart on a school trip only to return to their town the same night due to bad weather and find everyone except them gone. And to make things even creepier - there doesn’t seem to be anything outside the town limits - just dense woods and fields. No cellphone or WiFi - Where has the rest of the world gone? The kids enjoy their freedom at first but soon power struggles begin as they fight each over for leadership and control. This show doesn’t feel very original and I kept having feelings of deja video. It owes a lot to Lord of the Flies and some of the current teen fiction such as the Michael Grant Gone series and makes an interesting social science study. Take a bunch of privileged kids and force them to live in a socialist society. Can it work or will gender and class dynamics cause it to fail? The ending was intriguing and I’d be interested to see what happens in the second series.

The Good Fight (Season 3) - Channel 4

One of my favourite spin off shows has flailed a little during it’s 3rd season. The Good Fight has always had a political agenda but season 3 is just one long Trump bashing. Perhaps it’s because I’m not in America but I’m a bit over it now and wish it would move on!

New Amsterdam (Season 1) - Amazon Prime

I do love a medical drama and New Amsterdam is Amazon’s foray into the genre. New Amsterdam is the only public hospital in New York. That means they will treat you for free without insurance. That is a big deal. Whilst I have really enjoyed this show and really connected with all the characters (especially Iggy) the ‘American health system is seriously broken’ message is done to death. As with The Good Fight it feels political and shoved down your throat every episode. But the finale was a blinder with a end of your seat cliff hanger which has to give it a second series.

MOVIES

Glass (2019)

Husband and I were so excited for the final film in the Unbreakable trilogy. The film which brought the characters back together. But it was a bit of a wet lettuce. I found myself completely distracted a number of times and I didn’t really care what happened at the end. Such a dissapointment.

Adrift (2018)

Based on the true story of what happened when Tami Oldham and Richard Sharp sailed into one of the biggest hurricanes recorded in history. I don’t want to say too much but be prepared - I cried for an hour afterwards.

Avenger’s Endgame (2019)

After what felt like a very long wait the final Avengers movie hit the big screens. We managed to get a night away from the kids to watch the fate of the seriously depleted universe and it was quite a ride. Husband felt severely underwhelmed by it but I was emotional to the point of ridiculousness. Perhaps It was still the emotions of Adrift from the night before but I just couldn’t stop crying! It wasn’t all sad though, the Thor twist was hilarious and, spoiler alert, they saved the day.

Aladdin (2019)

This was our Father’s Day family cinema treat and despite Husband and I having super low expectations we loved it! Will Smith did a very decent job at the Genie and overall the film was a respectable live action remake. The makers of the recent Dumbo remake should take note...