Palatkik

Donald Trump and Joe Biden ended up at the same barber shop. As they sat there, each being worked on by a different barber, not a word was spoken. The barbers were both afraid to start a conversation, for fear that it would turn nasty. As the barbers finished their shaves in silence, the one who had Trump in his chair reached for the aftershave. But Donald was quick to stop him, jokingly saying, "No thanks. My wife, Melania, will smell that and think I've been in a brothel." The second barber turned to Joe and said, "How about you, Mr. Biden?" Joe replied, "Go right ahead, my wife, Jill, doesn't know what the inside of a brothel smells like."

The Boys in the Boat [2023 Movie] A 1930s-set story centered on the University of Washington's rowing team, from their Depression-era beginnings to winning gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Based on Daniel James Brown's non-fiction best-seller, a rousing old school underdog sports saga.

Robot Dreams [2023 Movie] The adventures and misfortunes of Dog and Robot in New York City during the 1980s. An absolute masterclass in artistic animation film making, 90 minutes of dialogue free visuals and sounds that are as good as it gets.

Suncoast [2024 Movie] While caring for her brother along with her audacious mother, a teenager strikes up a friendship with an eccentric activist who is protesting one of the most landmark medical cases of all time. An enjoyable drama about grief and growing up, teeters on the edge of being a cringe teen melodrama but the grown ups keep it in check.

Clarkson's Farm [2021 TV] Jeremy Clarkson attempts to run a farm in the countryside. Now into the third season during 2024 with more to come, this realty TV series is entertaining, insightful and humbling throughout.

The Responder [2022 TV] A crisis-stricken, morally compromised first-responder tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool, while trying to keep his head above water personally and professionally. This is a UK TV police drama at its best, astonishing lead performance, top support actors in a dark atmospheric and disturbing plot. The second series out in 2024 is as brilliant follows on from where series one left off.

Sasquatch Sunset [2024 Movie] A year in the life of a unique family. It captures the daily life of the Sasquatch, mythical bigfoot, with a level of detail and rigor that is simply unforgettable. Some big name actors in prosthetics you won’t recognize grunt the whole movie in a well-made and unusual theme. Rated R for several gross out scenes mostly of Yeti sex! Worth a look if you want original.

American Dreamer [2022 Movie] Based on a true story, this winesome comedy, an entitled economics professor pursues a tactic to buy an ailing widows mansion for nothing, but soon realizes his foolproof strategy wont be as easy as he thought. Old school format comedy with some established actors raises a smile.

Baby Reindeer [2024 TV] The story follows writer and performer Richard Gadd's warped relationship with a female stalker and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark buried trauma. This true-life story written and played out by the performer himself with a superb supporting actor stalker makes for some compelling viewing of this award winning psychological drama. The series took on a further life of its own as the real stalker has since gone public saying it’s all lies!

Spaceman [2024 Movie] Half a year into his solo mission on the edge of the solar system, an astronaut concerned with the state of his life back on Earth is helped by an ancient creature he discovers in the bowels of his ship. Based on the absurdist Czech novel "Spaceman Of Bohemia" this is self indulgent art house that can seem exceedingly dull or bizarely unusual. Worth seeing when the mood for something odd beckons but ultimately meaningless.

Very sad news. RIP.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare [2024 Movie] The British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II. Humorous Nazi killing war fest, very loosely based around true characters in history and a book by Damien Lewis, does what is expected of it from this established director Guy Ritchie prone to entertain with some Tarantino like flair.

Coma [2024 TV] A recently redundant dedicated family man’s neighborhood falls victim to the antics of a group of law-breaking teenagers. He and his wife want to move their daughter to a safer area. He confronts the leader of the group, and a split-second decision changes everything. An entertaining effective psychological thriller with two strong leads in this four-part series is worth a look.

Femme [2023 Movie] Follows a drag artist, who is targeted in a horrific homophobic attack, destroying his life and career as he withdraws into himself. Sometime after that event he encounters one of his attackers, in a gay sauna. A tense and well-acted revenge porn thriller.

Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer [2024 Movie] An iconic comedian tackles controversial issues such as gun control, religion, cancellation culture and consent through provocative humor. Mainly for fans of Carr's edgy humor, not his best work, the last half hour improves on the first 30 minutes which is pretty dire.

Monkey Man [2024 Movie] An anonymous young man in India unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systematically victimize the poor and powerless. An adrenalin fueled debut action fest from this director/actor lead does what it says. Worth seeing for those into the genre.

Ripley [2024 TV] A grifter named Ripley living in New York during the 1960s is hired by a wealthy man to bring his vagabond son home from Italy. Exceptional cinematography recreates the era in an old school Hitchcockian film noire style psychological antihero crime thriller that is a visual feast. The story, a simply told plot armor, runs slow with many silent moments that work to perfection. Entirely shot in black and white, every scene mesmerizing. TV at its best that requires some suspension of disbelief.

Knox Goes Away [2023] When a contract killer has a rapidly evolving form of dementia, he is offered an opportunity to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son. Superb lead carries this excellent crime caper all the way. Worth seeing.

Hundreds Of Beavers [2024] In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers. This bizarre independent slapstick comedy. Made 2022, released 2024, with some laughs that transcend language barriers gets full marks for originality, but two hours is too long.

This Town [2024 TV Series] An extended family and four young people are drawn into the world of ska and two-tone music, which exploded from the grass roots of Coventry and Birmingham in the late '70s and early '80s which united black, white and Asian youths. A lot of sub plots and goings on to follow in this edgy and exciting six part drama series with some excellent performances and soundtrack. No news on a second series coming but it deserves one.

Immaculate [2024] A woman of devout faith, is warmly welcomed to the picture-perfect Italian countryside where she is offered a new role at an illustrious convent. But it becomes clear that her new home harbors dark and horrifying secrets. Old school horror cliches saved with a solid lead who needs better scripts.

Wicked Little Letters [2023] When people in 1920's Littlehampton begin to receive letters full of hilarious profanities, a rowdy Irish migrant is charged with the crime. Suspecting that something is amiss, the town's women investigate. A profanity laden ball of fun well worth a look.

Damaged [2024] A Chicago detective, travels to Scotland to link up with a Scottish detective, following the resurgence of a serial killer who's crimes match an unsolved case that he looked into 5 years previous in Chicago. Don't let the Scottish scenery or established actors deceive you. This is schoolboy error lower grade movie making.