| From: Jhana | 7/19/2024 12:07:18 PM | | | | | | “ My Lady Jane,” whose eight-episode first season is available now, on Amazon, seems to be in the vein of “The Great” or “Bridgerton,” irreverent historical fiction with aggressively contemporary mores and scores. But it is perhaps better understood as a fantasy comedy because not only does it break with history, it also breaks with reality: It is Tudor palace intrigue with shape-shifting, a joyful and breathless more-more-more. A lot of “Jane” adheres, happily, to genre conventions, but it is done with a well-pitched playfulness. Even the stained glass in so many of the backgrounds has a funfetti color scheme.
Our heroine is Lady Jane Grey (Emily Bader), a multilingual genius and healer who is at the mercy of a harsh mother (Anna Chancellor) and a cruel system. “I will do everything in my power to get out of this marriage,” she swears. “Jane, you have no power,” her mother replies. Well, we’ll see about that.
Jane’s power comes from her intelligence, resolve and pluck. But others in the show, known as Ethians, have a more supernatural gift: They can turn into animals. Jane’s trusty maid (Mairead Tyers) is also a hawk, and now that you mention it, that dog hanging around does seem unusually nosy. If you’re ever confused about how it all works, frequent snarky narration fills in the blanks and adds to the show’s cheeky charm.
“Jane” takes its historicity lightly and chemistry seriously. Jane is forced to marry the smug Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel), and over the course of the season, they have a real Chuck and Blair pas de deux, an inevitable enemies-to-lovers arc made festive with seething and swordplay. Jane’s more dangerous nemesis is Mary (Kate O’Flynn), a scheming loose cannon with an always-a-bridesmaid complex, and when the two battle — sometimes physically, sometimes verbally, sometimes just with stare-downs — the whole show trembles.
Early in the season, one of the more sheltered characters learns about flipping the bird and gets a huge thrill from deploying the gesture, which becomes a little running joke through the show. Is this the most mature experience a person can have? I guess not. But assessing a situation — a rude person, a flawed monarchy or even a well-worn TV subgenre — and deciding that what it truly merits is a grand one-finger salute? Ah, what a rush. |
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| From: Jhana | 7/19/2024 1:45:14 PM | | | | | | One of those RARE occasions when the History Channel had a real history show: "D-Day: The Unheard Tapes" was worth a few hours for war buffs. Real oral histories from participants on all sides were performed by lookalike actors using similar voices, accompanied by the usual low budget reenactments blended with real footage.
I didn't learn much new, but I appreciated the challenges portrayed in some of the individual operational pieces and parts. I also had no idea that the Allies had to bomb French towns like Caen so badly to drive the Germans out. What a price to pay for freedom and liberation, as one GI put it. |
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| To: Jhana who wrote (51332) | 7/19/2024 2:21:25 PM | | From: Jhana | | | | Then there's tonight's History Channel lineup:
Ancient Aliens
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Ancient Aliens
9:00 PM - 10:03 PM NEW
The Proof Is Out There: Alien Edition
10:03 PM - 11:05 PM NEW
If it isn't food, ghosts, aliens, or survivalists, cable TV pretty much ignores it.
Oh yeah, families of really fat people doing dumb stuff. |
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| From: Jhana | 7/22/2024 9:12:30 AM | | | | | | I had "Granite Harbour" (Britbox) in my watch list then simultaneously saw positive chat about it on FB and saw a second season debuting. Figured we should try it out - good move!
A young Jamaican military policemen in the British Army comes to Aberdeen on a secondment program as a trainee detective. Experienced, headstrong, and troubled by his mysterious past (of course, what a cliche) he struggles to fit in with the team.
Very promising first episode and NOT gory so far. |
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| From: Jhana | 7/30/2024 11:11:19 AM | | | | | | Once in a very long while, a movie by, for, and about grownups slips through the Hollywood process to remind us that good films can still exist in and among all the "summer blockbusters" out there. "Knox Goes Away" on HBO is one of those rarities, directed by and starring Michael Keaton in fine form.
The premise sounded weird and tired: aging hit man finds out he has sudden onset dementia but has to hold it together long enough to get his estranged son out of a jam. Visions of another old actor running around blowing away baddies, a VERY worn out cliche in Hollywood now.
Not at all. Two movies unfold, one as Keaton executes an elaborate scheme to save his son and the other a close (but not too weird) look at how someone functions as they lose their cognitive abilities.
The end result is a noirish, understated mystery that entertains all the way to the end. |
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| To: Jhana who wrote (51331) | 8/6/2024 9:11:22 AM | | From: Jhana | | | | We wrapped up "Lady Jane" last night with a fun but predictable last-minute hurrah that left much happier endings than the actual historical record.
Next up is "The Decameron" on Netflix in a very similar lane, looks like. Anyone tried it yet? |
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| To: Jhana who wrote (51339) | 8/6/2024 10:33:18 AM | | From: Ron | | | | We're watching The Sympathizer on Max, based on the book. We'll get back to Netflix next week.
Let us know how you liked it. (The Sympathizer is OK, a loose adaptation of the novel) |
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