Off Topic The Review Thread

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Not really a review, but for any fans of Line of Duty. Local boy Martin Compston is an ambassador for the hospice in town, and arranged a fundraiser, with himself, Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar and Jed Mercurio doing a Q&A session at the local town hall last night. Over 400 attendees, hopefully raised a fortune for the hospice. Here's "Hastings" belting out Go, Lassie Go...

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And these photos taken just behind my house earlier today...

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Uber_Hoop said:
My bad, as I didn't mean to imply this. Yes, the book recognises that Churchill was one of the first voices to warn of Germany's threat in the 1930s, but he also apparently played a part in Britain's declining military capabilities in the years between the two World Wars.

My understanding of the British Far East WW2 experience has previously been somewhat limited to the 'headlines' of the Burma campaign and fall of Singapore, so have found Hitchens' research and opinions in this area of particular interest. He makes quite a defence of General Percival, commander of the British forces in Singapore, who he claims warned of the Japanese threat through Malaya and had his demands for military strengthening in that region utterly ignored by Churchill.

I'm a slow reader because I tend to go off at tangents and do independent research on certain aspects of this book. Percival was an interesting character in that he's (kind of) portrayed by Hitchens as the unsung hero of Singapore who had to endure many years of brutality as a POW of the Japanese, but further reading shows him to have been particularly brutal & sadistic to the Irish during his time fighting the IRA etc. in the 1920s, which Hitchens doesn't mention at all.

One thing I really love about history is how seemingly different chapters are inextricably linked. For example, Henry Leach, who was the son of the captain of the Prince of Wales (John Leach), was a midshipman stationed in Singapore and could hear the battle that sank that battleship and killed his father. Henry rose to become First Sea Lord and was instrumental in convincing Thatcher that it was feasible to retake the Falklands in 1982. (Hitchens is also highly critical of Thatcher's military expenditure cuts that exposed the Falklands to the possibility of Argentinian invasion in the first place - nobody particularly cared about them until that happened.)

I'm not sure about 'big impression', but certainly a very interesting read. Maybe that's the same thing?

P.S. Anybody watching ITV's remake of 'The Ipcress File'? It's very good and the lead actress is very beautiful in her 1960s finery.
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Having finished Hitchens’ book on WW2 and the ITV series of The Ipcress File - very different than the My Cocaine fillum - it makes one think more about the so-called Special Relationship with the Yanks.

You hear about Biden’s oil & gas deal with the EU off the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, once again, there’s already a winner.

God Bless America.
 
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Watched Boiling Point last night.

A gritty, realistic drama shot in one phenomenal 92-minute long take.

The story is set in a high-end London restaurant and follows head chef Andy ( Stephen Graham, excellent yet again ) as his business and personal life slowly fall apart during one particularly hectic Christmas Friday night sitting.

Anyone interested in hospitality and the workings of such a restaurant will find it thoroughly fascinating. Any cinephiles will marvel at the structuring and execution of the one-take as the camera follows different staff members around the premises as they encounter all manner of problems.

The entire cast and crew do a fantastic job ( rehearsals must have been pain-staking ) and it all comes together very realistically.

The ending will divide opinion but for any fan of the food hospitality arena and hard-hitting personality confrontations, I heartily recommend.
 
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Hoop-Leif said:
Watched Boiling Point last night.

A gritty, realistic drama shot in one phenomenal 92-minute long take.

The story is set in a high-end London restaurant and follows head chef Andy ( Stephen Graham, excellent yet again ) as his business and personal life slowly fall apart during one particularly hectic Christmas Friday night sitting.

Anyone interested in hospitality and the workings of such a restaurant will find it thoroughly fascinating. Any cinephiles will marvel at the structuring and execution of the one-take as the camera follows different staff members around the premises as they encounter all manner of problems.

The entire cast and crew do a fantastic job ( rehearsals must have been pain-staking ) and it all comes together very realistically.

The ending will divide opinion but for any fan of the food hospitality arena and hard-hitting personality confrontations, I heartily recommend.
Click to expand...
Locke
Now there's a movie
One bloke in a car
 
Hoop-Leif said:
Watched Boiling Point last night.

A gritty, realistic drama shot in one phenomenal 92-minute long take.

The story is set in a high-end London restaurant and follows head chef Andy ( Stephen Graham, excellent yet again ) as his business and personal life slowly fall apart during one particularly hectic Christmas Friday night sitting.

Anyone interested in hospitality and the workings of such a restaurant will find it thoroughly fascinating. Any cinephiles will marvel at the structuring and execution of the one-take as the camera follows different staff members around the premises as they encounter all manner of problems.

The entire cast and crew do a fantastic job ( rehearsals must have been pain-staking ) and it all comes together very realistically.

The ending will divide opinion but for any fan of the food hospitality arena and hard-hitting personality confrontations, I heartily recommend.
Click to expand...

I think they did the same in 1917.
When you know about it it’s very clever to watch
 
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Hoop-Leif said:
Watched Boiling Point last night.

A gritty, realistic drama shot in one phenomenal 92-minute long take.

The story is set in a high-end London restaurant and follows head chef Andy ( Stephen Graham, excellent yet again ) as his business and personal life slowly fall apart during one particularly hectic Christmas Friday night sitting.

Anyone interested in hospitality and the workings of such a restaurant will find it thoroughly fascinating. Any cinephiles will marvel at the structuring and execution of the one-take as the camera follows different staff members around the premises as they encounter all manner of problems.

The entire cast and crew do a fantastic job ( rehearsals must have been pain-staking ) and it all comes together very realistically.

The ending will divide opinion but for any fan of the food hospitality arena and hard-hitting personality confrontations, I heartily recommend.
Click to expand...

10 minutes in and loving it already…Stephan Graham has it totally on the mark as to how many Chefs are…loud, obnoxious, borderline (and straight out) bullying and shouty.
I worked in a Kitchen of a pub with my mate who was the chef for a couple of months…got paid £50 a day (which was mostly spent on class A’s to keep us going), and came home shattered after what turned into a 14 hour day and stinking of grease with clogged up pores, becoming as spotty as a Dalmatian.
Ended up having a massive row with my mate, who I loved like a brother, threatened to kick his head in if he shouted at me again and ended up almost head butting one of the waiters who said I was coming on to his girlfriend (which I was)
Not my greatest stint of employment
 
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Hoop-Leif said:
Watched Boiling Point last night.

A gritty, realistic drama shot in one phenomenal 92-minute long take.

The story is set in a high-end London restaurant and follows head chef Andy ( Stephen Graham, excellent yet again ) as his business and personal life slowly fall apart during one particularly hectic Christmas Friday night sitting.

Anyone interested in hospitality and the workings of such a restaurant will find it thoroughly fascinating. Any cinephiles will marvel at the structuring and execution of the one-take as the camera follows different staff members around the premises as they encounter all manner of problems.

The entire cast and crew do a fantastic job ( rehearsals must have been pain-staking ) and it all comes together very realistically.

The ending will divide opinion but for any fan of the food hospitality arena and hard-hitting personality confrontations, I heartily recommend.
Click to expand...

Just finished it…..won’t spoil it for others but dunno how I feel about the ending.
It’s got me thinking so probably good.
 
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Staines R's said:
Yeah definitely did. I only worked in the kitchens for a few months but got the stress and shouting down to a tee……and the drug use. Dunno if it’s the same nowadays, but I can only assume it is, but EVERYBODY was on something
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Apparently the newish fashion for ‘open’ kitchens, where the diners can see what’s going on, has changed a lot in high end places.
 
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sb_73 said:
Apparently the newish fashion for ‘open’ kitchens, where the diners can see what’s going on, has changed a lot in high end places.
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The pub I worked at had a good reputation and seen as a pretty high end Gastro pub…..I would dread to have people see what went on in the kitchen. Got pretty lively at times with shouting, swearing and the odd blow handed out.
You had people like me, the dishwashers, at the bottom, then the kitchen helpers, waiting staff after that, then the ‘under chefs’…..and finally the head chef at the top. Like a true under class I used my friendship with the “fascist leader” to my advantage and rose above the ranks…….I even peeled the carrots once.
 
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Anyway, if you like the ‘single take’ film approach feast on this: only three and a half minutes but every frame of consequence. Orson Welles of course, as well as directing he also played the villain in this great film, A Touch of Evil, which even survived the casting of Charlton Heston as a Mexican policeman. Heston insisted on Welles being asked to direct, to his credit.

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sb_73 said:
Anyway, if you like the ‘single take’ film approach feast on this: only three and a half minutes but every frame of consequence. Orson Welles of course, as well as directing he also played the villain in this great film, A Touch of Evil, which even survived the casting of Charlton Heston as a Mexican policeman. Heston insisted on Welles being asked to direct, to his credit.

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Another great continuous film sequence was ' The Bonfire Of The Vanities ' ( 1990, Brian DePalma ) Larry McConkey was the operator of the
'Steadicam' which filmed four minutes and forty seconds of the film's opening scene.

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I know The Botantist is a trendy-ish bar chain, but the one in Newcastle is in a fantastic building with a great glass dome. And the ladies liked the cocktails.

Ate at the excellent Dobson and Parnell, tasting menu the only option, of course with the wine pairing. The food was really good, but not a patch on the experience at the Whitebrook a few weeks ago, and the wine pairings had nothing like the same imagination or impact when coupled with the food. I am beginning to understand what a Michelin star means. Nevertheless, recommended if you are ever up this way. Expensive but quite a lot less than the Whitebrook.

Also a well done to Newcastle University, really good graduation ceremony which really recognised and celebrated my daughter’s year group’s unique and very difficult experience at Uni due to the pandemic, including graduating 9 months after they finished their courses. Several of the academics on the stage were in tears. I hadn’t really recognised that these kids who we routinely deride as snowflakes really had to handle an unprecedented set of circumstances, and they (or at least my daughter and her mates) just got on with it. Bravo.
 
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Recently ate at the Roots Restaurant in Southbourne, just outside Bournemouth. Tough to get a table these days but I was lucky enough to sneak one as a celebration for the end of a busy year. Michelin recommended and well worth it, if not a star. Had the Discovery taster menu with wine tasting and would highly recommend. Fantastic evening and very well looked after. Every course was superb and the flavours amazing - not sure I could pick a favourite course.
10/10

Baba Ganoush Cornetto, Yogurt & Wild Rice
Foie Royale Toffifee, Fig & Caramelised Chocolate
Crab Salad, Carrot, Mango & Togarashi
…
Rye Bread, Chive Butter & Obatzda
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Oscietra Caviar, White Asparagus, Potato & Chervil
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Morel Mushroom, Wild Garlic, Chicken Mousse, Pepper Dulse
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Seared Scallop, Lobster, Leek, Truffle, Yuzu Kosho
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Steamed Chalk Stream Trout, New Forest Asparagus, Hay & Nasturtium
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Cranborne Blue, Tokaji Sweet Wine, Apple & Mustard
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Jerusalem Artichoke, Hazelnut Caramel, Spring White Truffle
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Rhubarb, Coconut, Szechuan Pepper & Shiso
…
Sweet Treat: Miso Fudge & Passionfruit


https://www.facebook.com/RestaurantRoots/
 
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