Celebrating Stories in Every Medium
Biggest Disappointment: The Rules of the Game, His Double Life
Favorite Discovery: Swallows and Amazons, It’s a Date Continue reading “August 2020 Quickie Reviews”
Biggest Disappointment: Ekaterina Season 3
Favorite Discovery: The English Game, The Rape of Europa Continue reading “April 2020 Quickie Reviews”
Biggest Disappointment – Moonstruck
Favorite Discovery – I Wake Up Screaming Continue reading “February 2020 Quickie Reviews”
April was pretty busy for me as I watched 35 titles. Among these, one was a new theater release, one was a new Netflix release, one was a documentary. I saw six silent films, twenty two new to me classic titles including one foreign classic, re-watched six films for at least the second time and viewed three television series.
TCM chose to honor Greta Garbo this month, so I was able to catch seven of her films (including the documentary). My favorite of those was Love, a remake of Anna Karenina with John Gilbert. But I also discovered that I enjoy watching her opposite Nils Asther as well.
Kay Frances was also honored for a day this month and I saw six more of her movies. She was definitely at her best in the pre-code era.
Some of my favorite discoveries this month include Garbo and Asther in The Single Standard, the silent film Souls for Sale, the BBC’s mini-series Mrs. Wilson, The Teahouse of the August Moon and Kay Francis in The House on 56th Street. Continue reading “April 2019 Quickie Reviews”
Loosely based on the book series written by G.K. Chesterton, this newest television reincarnation updates the setting to the village of Kembleford in the Cotswolds district during the 1950’s. One of the few thing that remains true to the books is the character of Father Brown himself.
SUMMARYThe Father is a rather unassuming character with a keenly intuitive mind. Although he is dedicated to his religious calling, he can’t help but be snagged by his sharp attention to detail along with his exceptional insights into human nature. This compels him into a secondary vocation as a self-appointed investigator whenever a crime, usually a murder, is committed in Kembleford.
In some ways, he resembles his counterpart Sydney Chambers in another period mystery series, Grantchester. Both Sydney and the Father feel a loving responsibility to those in their parish, while their curious minds and sharp observations compel them to solve the deviant actions of human nature. However, unlike Sydney, Father Brown is no friend of the local police investigator(s) who find his meddling outside of the church as a nuisance and potential threat. And while Sydney tends to use deductive reasoning, Father Brown usually discovers his perpetrators through intuition.
He is possibly the least judgmental character I have seen on the small screen, while still encouraging parishioners and criminals alike to live according to religious principles. And although he is always invested in finding the perpetrator of crime, it is not so that he can bring them to justice, but so that he can urge them to make it right themselves.
For the rest of my review, please follow me over to The Silver Petticoat Review.