The time of the Doctor (Matt Smith)

(Amazon UK link)

We very much enjoyed rewatching series seven of Doctor Who recently. It was the last full series with Matt Smith, whom we had started to appreciate very much with his somewhat eccentric - and occasionally clumsy - portrayal of the Doctor. We then watched the 50th anniversary special, ‘The day of the Doctor’ a week or so back, and thought it excellent.  

Next in the series is the 2013 Christmas special, one which we had seen about ten years ago (on someone else’s i-player), but had totally forgotten. I spent some time trying to find it as a standalone DVD but ended up having to buy it on a ‘Christmas specials’ DVD set, which included three others which we had already seen, and had as part of their series (or, in the case of ‘The doctor, the widow and the wardrobe', as a standalone).

This wasn’t sold as part of series 8 for two reasons, or so I'm assuming. The first is that, rather than being Peter Capaldi’s first episode as the twelfth doctor, it’s Matt Smith’s final episode; he regenerates right at the end. The second is that series 8 didn’t start until August 2014, eight months after this one was broadcast.

Cabaret (Liza Minnelli)

(Amazon UK link)

We’ve had the film Cabaret on our shelves for over a decade. As far as I remember, it was a free DVD which a relative acquired with a Sunday newspaper, and then passed on to us. I’ve looked at the blurb a couple of times, and thought it sounded interesting… but it’s taken until now for us to finally sit down and watch it.

The film was made in 1972, so inevitably the style is a bit dated - and perhaps deliberately so because it’s set in the 1930s, in Germany. Apparently it was based on a stage show which was based on a book, but I’m not familiar with either of them. 

Quite a bit of the film is set in a popular night club in Berlin, with a cabaret show hosted by a made up man (Joel Grey) who is excellent at what he does, though it’s not a style that appeals to me at all. He makes crude jokes which the audience laugh at, and sometimes dances with the women (one of whom is a man in drag…). Sally (Liza Minnelli) is one of the stars of the show and it’s quickly clear that she lives a highly promiscuous lifestyle.

The day of the doctor (50th anniversary special)

(Amazon UK link)

We finished re-watching Doctor Who series 7 around a week ago. It ends with Matt Smith as the 11th doctor seeing the place where he will eventually die, but with no sign of regenerating. That happens before series 8, but in between the two series were a couple of ‘special’ episodes. We saw them in 2016 on a relative’s streaming system in 2016, but I decided to acquire the DVDs after that, as we enjoyed them both and I was pretty sure we would eventually want to re-watch them.

A decade later, we allowed longer than usual and watched ‘The day of the Doctor’, which was broadcast as the 50th anniversary ‘special’. I had forgotten, until we started watching, that it featured not just Matt Smith, but David Tennant who returned specially, as well as Billie Piper.  I had forgotten everything else about it, too…

The episode begins with the Doctor and Clara (Jenna Coleman) having rather an undignified ride over London when the tardis is requisitioned by UNIT, in particular by Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave). She wants them to investigate some 3d paintings which have apparently been vandalised… from inside. 

We bought a zoo (Matt Damon)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over ten years since we watched ‘We bought a zoo’, a 2011 film which we assumed, at first, was a children’s film. In more than a decade I had forgotten everything other than the overall story: a family who knew nothing about zoos decided to buy one. But I could not recall why, or the circumstances leading up to the purchase.

It turns out that the film was based on a true story. Benjamin (brilliantly portrayed by Matt Damon) has been recently widowed. He had lived quite an adventurous life as a reporter, but, as the introduction tells us, nothing prepared him for being a single father, not just grieving himself but having to deal with both the practical and emotional ramifications for his teenage son Dylan (Colin Ford) and his seven-year-old daughter Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones). 

Dylan is going through a rough patch at school and after three incidents, triggered by his anger and depression, he is expelled. Benjamin decides they need to make a new start, in a house that doesn’t remind them all of his late wife. So he goes house-hunting with Rosie in quite an amusing sequence. None of the houses feel right to them at all, until they find out way out in the countryside, which they both feel is perfect.

Doctor Who series 7 (Matt Smith)

(Amazon UK link)

After rewatching the excellent 2011 Christmas special, ‘The doctor, the widow and the wardrobe’ towards the end of April, we embarked again on series 7, the last full series featuring Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor.  We first watched series 7 during 2014; it was originally broadcast during 2012. 

The first episode, ‘Asylum of the daleks’ is a dramatic one. I have never liked the daleks, but they’re probably the most iconic aliens in the series. In this episode, the Doctor is summoned, to his astonishment, to help them figure out a problem with the planet where they have imprisoned daleks who have gone insane. 

They’re worried that they might escape, and the Doctor is the only person who can do what they want. They also send Amy (Karen Gillen) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), who - as we have seen in the first scenes of this episode - are about to get divorced.

It’s an exciting start to the new series, one with several twists and turns and the introduction of Jenna-Louise Coleman as Oswin. She’s a self-proclaimed genius who has somehow survived a spaceship crash and is using her computer to control doors and other features around the plant.

A good woman (Helen Hunt)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over eleven years since we watched the DVD of the 2004 film ‘A good woman’, and we had both forgotten everything about it. As the story progressed, I remembered that it was an adaptation - or a film based on - the Oscar Wilde play ‘Lady Windermere’s fan’. But since I’m not familiar with the play, it didn’t help me recall any details of the film.

A woman called Mrs Erlynne (Helen Hunt) is really the main protagonist of this film, which is set in the 1930s. We meet her leaving New York where she has a lot of unpaid debts. And we quickly learn that she’s the kind of woman who attracts men, usually married ones. There’s a lot of gossip about her, much of it accurate.

The action moves to the Amalfi coast in Italy.  A young couple - Lord Windermere (Mark Umbers) and his American wife Meg (Scarlett Johansson) - are having a long holiday there. They’ve been married for a year, and she’s about to celebrate her 21st birthday. They are clearly devoted to each other, but Mrs Erlynne has her sights set on them… and we start seeing him arriving, secretly, at her house, followed by writing cheques to her. 

The magic of Belle Isle (Morgan Freeman)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over ten years since we watched ‘The magic of Belle Isle’. I had forgotten most of the story, but knew it featured Morgan Freeman, who is always excellent. We wanted something relaxing to watch, and decided on this 2012 film.

We were almost immediately captivated. 

Monty Wildhorn (Morgan Freeman) is a former novelist who was quite well-known for his western adventures. But life has not treated him well, and he’s lost both his faith and his mojo. He hasn’t written for years and has become an alcoholic. He’s in a wheelchair - we don’t learn why until much later in the film - and is both angry and depressed.

Monty’s nephew Henry (Kenan Thompson) persuades him to stay in a beach house, dog-sitting for the summer. He sets up Monty’s typewriter, hoping that the tranquillity of the location might persuade him to write again.