Adrian Graham
Under The Banner of Heaven
Andrew Garfield is Detective Jeb Pyre in Under the Banner of Heaven. It’s a grim-in-places ‘true’ crime drama set within a claustrophobic religious community. This mini-series explores religious fundamentalism, and the nature of faith.
Notes
- The ‘crazies’ are coming to town. Bunker USA explores the rise of right wing conspiracy politics: election denial, QAnon, and a belief that US wildfires are caused by ‘Jewish lasers from space’.
- Sally Roony’s Beautiful World, Where Are You is part socialist fairy tale, part Pride and Prejudice, and part Fifty Shades of Grey. Born again marxists and traumatised millennials discuss relationships and mental health.
- Enjoyed Rob Hart’s The Warehouse a while ago, but couldn’t get into The Paradox Hotel.
- Watching The Last of Us – a pretty decent start, so far. Will it be the next The Walking Dead (a hit), Y: The Last Man (a miss), or meh?
- The strange world of male supremacists, and Andrew Tate.
- ‘The airport bestsellers that captured our hearts and ruined our minds’ – the If Books Could Kill podcast aims to debunk crap theories and their supporting framework of nonsensical bullshit.
- Like this review, John Lanchester’s Mr Phillips left me a bit perplexed. I read it on the strength of The Wall, which was intriguing. This was totally different. It’s a forensic portrait of an ordinary/dull central character with the narrative wallowing in the oppressive realism of the mundane. It felt like a series of vignettes more suited to the short story format.
- The Menu – dramatic mish-mash of black comedy and horror.
- Watched A Bigger Splash (2015) – to complete the set, along with Swimming Pool (2003), and La Piscine (1969).
- Finished the audiobook version of Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness – dark, but brilliant.
- Listened to the Rock & Roll Politics podcast with Steve Richards. He does a good job of contextualising UK politics.
- Reread Men Without Women – some great short stories in this Murakami collection.
- Enjoyed watching Kimi – Rear Window meets The Conversation.