I cannot believe that I missed this film in 2014. I also think that this film is underrated. I do see the similarities with Outnumbered. But this has more emotional depth. The scenery is amazing. The characters are likeable and while parts of the film fall into stereotypes, overall I would recommend watching this.
The quote from Kirk came to mind watching this, though I did not mention it to my wife who watched it with me and like me, enjoyed it.
It was a great day for the end of the day which was not as enjoyable as many Saturdays as I was at work for the day. But I had a great dinner as my son and wife made a great meal for me.
My son has taken advantage of my daughter not being about to bond with Leia. My daughter has been enjoying France and we have sent pictures to us of her day there. It is great to hear from her, but it is also great to see the joy on the face of my son as he plays with our Cockapoo.
I find it hard to think that I have not reviewed this. I had listened to an interview with Angie Thomas and found out that this book has been banned in many schools in the USA. I have not read the book, but my daughter has, and has also watched the film.
I enjoyed the film. I would have probably done what the police officer in the film did and shot the teenager armed with a hair brush, thinking that he was going for a gun. Needless to say, on this, my daughter and I disagree. I do agree that the subsequent handcuffing of the sole witness was wrong, as was the attempted arrest of her father later in the film. Also, it was very wrong of the police to ask the questions they did of those they had pulled over about drugs and gangs. I also think that the way the film showed how the innocent man was demonised was all too accurate.
When it comes to the matter of blaming the man who has been killed, we saw that with George Floyd. In essence, George Floyd was not a nice man. But, he did not deserve to be murdered by the police. When it came to the investigation, too many people focused on his past, as opposed to how the police acted based on the information they had at the time and the situation which was present. Even if the police knew about his past, his murder was inexcusable.
I know that I differ from many both here and in the USA in that I think that the killing of some men of colour was understandable. And example of that in the UK was Mark Duggan, killed when transporting a gun which in all probability would have been used to kill someone black. But there is no doubt that too many black people in the USA are murdered and the police seem to ignore it.
On a different matter, it was interesting to see that the main actress was of mixed race. As anyone who has watched Jungle Fever by Spike Lee knows, this is a stereotype that is an issue in many films, fortunately not in either of the Black Panther ones.
I am transphobic. But I think that Labour has a lot to learn from Scotland when it comes to Transgender issues.
I do not consider a transgender person to be anything other transgender. This means that I consider a TransMan to be a TransMan, not a woman, not a man, but a TransMan. I also consider one who is before transitioning to be different to one who has undergone gender reassignment surgery. The same applies to TransWomen. I do not consider them to be men or women, but I view each as a TransWoman, one with or without a penis.
I think that pronouns should be respected, but I think that it is silly to advertise your own if you do not wish to do so. I consider it rude to refer to India Willoughby as a man, she does not consider herself to be one anymore. Likewise, if someone prefers to be referred to as Ms, as opposed to Miss or Mrs, then that should be respected.
I think that in areas, such as toilets and changing rooms, where segregation has occurred by biological sex, it should be replaced by genitalia. I have no issues with gender neutral or unisex spaces existing, especially as we live in a world with multiple gender identities, but people should have the choice to go to places there they can be segregated. There are many devout followers of many religions who believe in segregation based on biological sex, and a compromise based on genitalia is, in my view, the best way forwards.
I think that there are more than one hundred gender identities l and that people should be allowed to question what gender they are. That includes discussions and education about this at school, as well as respecting the choice of a secondary school student to be non-binary and for the parents not to be told. If a student wants to use gender neutral facilities, they should have that choice and accepting the risks of doing so, but segregation based on biological sex has to be available.
I am in favour of self ID when it comes to gender identities but I as discussed earlier, I think that segregation is important. The wait to see someone on the NHS who is an expert on gender are far too long for ID to be based on an expert view.
I know that JK Rowling is right when she argues that “the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others, but are vulnerable.” Also JK Rowling is right that “Trans people need and deserve protection. Like women, they’re most likely to be killed by sexual partners. Trans women who work in the sex industry, particularly trans women of colour, are at particular risk. Like every other domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor I know, I feel nothing but empathy and solidarity with trans women who’ve been abused by men.” In her article, she does not argue for gender neutral facilities, but I think that there should be gender neutral shelters as men can be the victims of domestic violence, and we can avoid situations like that which happened in Canada, when Desiree Anderson, 32, also known as Cody D’Entremont, was accused of assault. Or the situation of Katie Dolatowski (aka Lennon Dolatowski/Alyanna McKenna), a sex offender who was housed in a women’s unit. “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman” “you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside.” We have seen a person using self identification to try to expose himself to women and girls in a Seattle changing room. I agree with Emily Atack that cyber-flashing should be a crime. We should not make it legal to flash a woman in person but make it illegal to do so electronically.
I disagree with many transphobic people about some aspects of transgender rights, but I accept that I am to be considered to be the same as them.
On that topic, a quick discussion on climate change. The wildfires in Rhodes have not been caused by climate change. They have been caused by arson. Climate change means that wildfires are more likely to happen, and when they do they are more likely to be worse, because forests are dryer.
I am aware that by flying there, we will be contributing to climate change, but this is to be our first family holiday abroad in a few years. Besides, the people of Rhodes will need the money that tourism is to bring in.
First of all, we won the pub quiz. We enter for fun and never think that we are going to win, but have done well when the questions have been very hard. They were very hard this week and this is the first time we have won the quiz at the Fat Cat! That meant £28 between the six of us.
Second, the issue of Nigel Farage being a grifter came up. The description was more colourful than I had used, but he was the answer to the question about someone with "xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views" though I admit that the question appeared to show some bias against Farage
Next, my son is preparing for a week without his sister. I have reminded him that his chores will need to be done, and that he is going to have to ensure that he looks after Leia properly. My daughter is to travel to France for a week tomorrow. She has packed ready for it and we have given her some money for this, but to be fair, have given him money, which he is already making plans to spend!
But, the title of this refers to ULEZ. I was talking with our friend Nick at the quiz, about the recent election results and the direction that Labour have taken before and since then. Basically, Sadiq Khan has brought in ULEZ to help the people of London. Starmer appears to have stabbed him in the back over this and I strongly disagree with him over this. A leader leads by example. If you do not back loyalty, you cannot expect loyalty. In addition to this, Labour needs to show some backbone and come out fighting. Admit that ULEZ is going to lose votes, but say that the health of those in London is more important and that if you want no action to be taken on pollution, vote Conservative.
ULEZ has some effect on climate, but the main reason for reducing emissions is to reduce pollution. Be honest, have a simple and easy message for people to remember and keep repeating it. If you want no action to be taken on pollution, vote Conservative.
Loved it. My wife recommended this, though she was not able to recall the plot of the book when we did. It is an interesting take on a whodunnit especially as you do not know what is being investigated at first. It has great scenery, but, like many films set in the UK, it shows the posh side of the nation. Also, I suspect that the book would have been better as some of the characters did not seem to have time to be developed, I may be wrong as there are books about which could be improved as well. I am glad that I watched it and this is a film that I might be tempted to watch again.
As for the rest of today, I spent it annoying the kids, but we did visit my mother and my parents-in-law. They loved seeing our children, but all felt we should have spent longer with them.
Both children are now on their summer holidays. They watched Barbie yesterday but had mixed experiences. My daughter went with some friends which included some boys she does not consider friends and felt that they made the film experience one which was not as good as she liked. My son loved it and when asked about it being sexist stated that it was not. I guess my wife and I will watch it on the small screen, but we may be tempted to watch it in cinema as it appears to be a more enlightened take on Barbie.
There is a big argument in Labour that it is not being radical enough. An example of Labour not being radical is the decision not to scrap the two-child benefit cap. I have to say that I disagree with this decision but I do understand that Labour will have to make hard choices.
Many want Labour to have more left wing policies, but as much as I want Labour to be more left wing, it has to be elected to undo a lot of the damage that the Conservatives have inflicted upon our nation since 2010.
Many see that the difference between the victory of Labour in Selby and its loss in Uxbridge (by less than 500 votes) is the ULEZ policy. I know that this is going to cause hardship for many, but I am with Sadiq Khan that action needs to be taken.
I want a radical Labour government that will bring about real change and results. I will settle for a less radical Labour government which is electable. Those who are not happy with Starmer for not being left wing enough need to decide if they would prefer him or Sunak to be Prime Minister after the next General Election.
In PMQ's the issue of if Farage should be discriminated against came up. It has transpired that the bank he was with decided not to allow him to bank with them because they felt that he had a different view to him. That would be acceptable, if they did this all the time, but they do not.
An internal report, prepared for the Coutts risk committee, had described Farage as a “disingenuous grifter” who promotes “xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views” and while Farage had described the dossier as a “prejudiced, nasty document” the report is right.
The issue that I am concerned about, is if it is right to deny Farage the right to bank, what about other people and also other organisations? Would it be right to deny banking services to Just Stop Oil, an organisation I agree with (in part)?
I have no issues with a bank trying to be ethical, so long as it tries more often than Coutts has in this situation. Well, I do have issues, but I would accept them more if the policy was one that is open and transparent. Nigel Farage has just as much right to have a bank account as Gerry Adams does and a bank changing rules to discriminate against him is just as wrong as it would be for a bank to discriminate against Just Stop Oil.
One review for this film says "There are no real laugh-out-loud moments, no emotionally moving denouement, just a bland but good-natured outing you can safely forget the moment it’s over." I have to disagree, but I suspect my wife would agree with the review. I guess we came at this from two different perspectives. I had watched some terrible films, she had not. So this was an improvement for me.
This is not an emotionally taxing film, and as a man, I had some laugh out loud moments. It may be that this is a film better suited for men rather than women, but I do agree that this is not that memorable a film. Unlike the previous two films I had watched, it had a decent, if predictable plot, laughs and it was put together properly. I liked the characters, even the ones who are not likeable, and that is an important part of a film.
I doubt that I will ever watch this film again but I did enjoy it. I would not recommend going out of your way to watch it, but if it is on and you are looking for something to watch, pick it. There are lots of films about which are worse,
Intrigued? Don’t be. I do not know why I watched this film considering that the previous one was so bad. I guess if you like fairy tales with a bit of bondage, this is a film to watch. The acting was okay, the sets were good as was the scenery. The plot was poor, but this is not a film targeted at me. This is an adult fairy tale film for women.Christian Grey is the prince, Anastasia Steele the princess. I would comment on the troll, but that would give away parts of a meagre plot.
The last one skirted a line between grooming and seduction. I guess this one is more about if it is right to buy your bride.
Every now and then you come across a film which makes you appreciate others. This is one of them. I can forgive terrible special effects, I cannot forgive bad acting and atrocious direction. The plot of this film was best described as below average. I guess the high ratings that it had when I saw it were from those who made the film, or die hard Cthulhu fans. Watching this was a waste of time and I hope others do not waste time watching it.
Yesterday was awesome for me. I think that the kids liked it as well, not sure who liked it the most, I suspect my son I guess.
We went to an event in Hyde Park where Lana Del Rey was singing. There were other acts during the day before and as I got us there late, we missed some of them.
When we got there, we bumped into a friend of my son and her mother. Although the two of us did not recognise ourselves at first, her mother and I have worked together, albeit in a fleeting manner a few years ago. It made things easier having another adult there as we were able to keep a space while the other went somewhere. I bought the kids a T-shirt each, though by the time we went, the ones they wanted were not there. Still, I think that they were happy with what they got. Next time they might listen to me about getting merchandise earlier! We initially set up behind a stand which meant that we had a great view of the screens, but none of the stage. The kids initially were happy with the location, even though Donna (the mother of Jess) and I asked the kids repeatedly, but later, once the better places were taken they changed their minds. We moved to a different area, only for them to talk about moving again a few hours later!
The experience was affected by some people who collapsed, I presume after doing drugs. The smell of cannabis was ever present, one man behind us vomited and was taken away by paramedics, but later, while Lana Del Rey was singing, one girl literally was not able to stand. She was carried away by a bystander while her boyfriend walked behind her. Literally not being able to stand unaided, she had to be supported by the bystander. My daughter was freaked out as when helping her, he appeared to be possibly holding onto her breast. It was hard to judge, as she was not able to stand, but things would have been easier if her boyfriend helped. However, my daughter later wanted us to check up on them and we went to find a first aider who told us they had gone to the treatment tent. Later we found out others had been affected, I guess it was a bad batch if drugs. I just hope none of the reactions were fatal.
I would love to do something like this again, but if I do, I will insist we are closer to the stage from the start, and also take note of where the first-aiders are so that I can get help in the future.
This was actually a good film. Better than the Scream films that I have watched, though I have yet to watch the ones with Jenna Ortega in them. For those who do not know, X is a horror film. I found it fun to watch, but not one I would watch again, or consider a classic.
It has a decent plot, good characters with adequate acting and direction. I would consider this film to be average and worth watching. I would not go out of the way to watch it however, but if you are interested in the cast, then it is worth seeing.
There is a scene at the end of Pretty Woman where Richard Gere rescues Julia Roberts on a white Limo rather than a white horse. We found out today I would screw that up.
My wife went to a course today, she left yesterday and stayed over. I said that I should travel down to it today to get her, but she declined, but later today, when on a walk with Leia, she changed her mind.
My son was to go to his old school fete and my daughter was to go to see The Weekend in concert. So after doing my chores at home, I left. I got to the station by scooter, my first experience of using an electric one. I got the hang of it in the end. The journey down was quick on the train to Liverpool Street and I used the Elizabeth line to get to Heathrow. But I went to the wrong hotel. My wife picked me up and I still drove her back. It was just as well that I did with all the traffic, but I failed to rescue her. Oh well…
Basically, over millions of years, carbon dioxide has been removed from our atmosphere and has been stored in the crust in the form of fossil fuels. The world was a lot hotter and more inhospitable then. Putting that carbon dioxide back in the atmosphere is not a good thing.
I agree, a reform of funding is needed. During the years that Labour was in charge of the NHS, it improved with falling waiting lists, and that corresponded with increasing funding levels which have been, on average, greater than what the Conservative government have given the NHS. During the time that the Conservatives were in charge, waiting lists rose.
Remember that despite promising not to reform the NHS, David Cameron did once elected. So when people on the right call for reform, it was reformed by the Conservatives and performance has fallen since.
"Social insurance would be better than the NHS" "Why" "Germany has more beds/doctors/nurses/capacity and they have social insurance" "Why" "Well their insurance system spends more" "Have you considered it's literally just *more money* that's the solution then?" pic.twitter.com/FJ3Xx9PVVH
My daughter went to Parliament yesterday, taken by our MP Will Quince. She met the MP's for Harwich and Clacton as well, but did not get to meet Priti Patel. If you watch this link, you will be able to see her depending on there the camera is as it focuses on the MP.
While I am very jealous that she has been there, if I had to pick with a trip round CERN like my son had last year, or a trip to Parliament, I would have picked CERN.
My family know that I also will not knowingly consume anything made by Nestlé, something the children do take advantage of because the know that any chocolate or ice-cream at home made by Nestlé is safe from me. Likewise, I will not knowingly buy anything made in Burma, or Myanmar as it is now called. I have to say knowingly as I did have an amazing winter coat bought for me from there, but when it came to replacing it, I refused to get the same which was still available.
When younger I also took part in the boycott of South Africa, my contribution to this being not using Barclays Bank as a student, but around this time, things were improving in South Africa with Nelson Mandela being freed. I also took part in the protests at the South African Embassy before I went to university, but stopped doing so once the path to peace became more apparent.
But back to Israel. Settlement expansion in the West Bank is continuing. Right now, violence is taking place with innocents on both sides being killed. Extremists on both sides seem to want war over peace, a blind eye being turned towards attacks by extremists by Israel by the state itself. Considering the history of murder that Jews have faced because of hatred towards them, I understand the desire for a nation state. Watching A Small Light made my cry, and talking about it on the weekend, I felt teary again. Put simply, I understand some of the fear that anyone Jewish must feel when they see hatred being directed towards them considering the millions that were murdered during the time of the Nazi's let alone what has happened before, including in the UK.
And sadly, the children are still not talking to each other. They had better be doing so by this weekend or I will have to be creative and they tend not to like that.
Later that year, on the 13th of November, there was a party held at Downing Street which broke the law. Apparently the defence was that the Prime Minister thought that it was a work event which is why he said that there were no parties. I doubt that I would avoid a speeding ticket if I was genuinely not aware that I was breaking the speeding limit, though in this case, Boris Johnson knew what has happened and he lied to Parliament about this.
The law of the land can be changed through the Houses of Parliament. Despite this, the right just keep wanting to Break the Law. No wonder they defunded the police!
Today has been tiring. We went to visit my parents-in-law for my wife to fill in some forms. It took more time than we expected. I did visit my wife, but instead of this being on our journey to see my old friend Martyn, we returned to collect my wife,
The journey to see him took time, the North Circular Road being quite busy. The last time I saw him, he was married to his first wife, this being at my daughters first birthday party.
He is much happier now. While he is with his second wife, in religious terms, this is his first as that marriage was annulled. It was a very ‘interesting’ marriage and what his first wife was like is hard to believe, unless you meet her. He is so much happier now and it is truly great to see. We had parted ways when he had asked me why I did not like his first wife and knowing me well, there was no point in lying so I told him the truth. It put him in a position where he has to chose between a friend and his wife and he did the decent and honourable thing and broke contact with me.
But he is free of her now, sadly finding out the hard way the truth of what I said. I am so glad that his new wife has made him so happy and I hope they spend the rest of their lives together in marital harmony.
