La Belle Sauvage; by Phillip Pullman: I loved the original His Dark Materials, and re-read them over the summer (they're still great) in preparation for this, but La Belle Sauvage was....only ok. It felt much more like a childrens' book than the original trilogy, and there was too much magic for my taste. (C+)
Lincoln in the Bardo; by George Saunders: The Booker Prize winner, and on everyone's 'best of 2017' lists. The writing style is so weird - some chapters are dialogues of reported speech between ghosts, others are made up of citations from both genuine and fictional sources - that I found this very difficult to get into. I'm pleased I persisted though, because this turned out to be a moving and unusual novel, unlike anything I've ever read. (B)
McMafia: The BBC tried to recreate the success of The Night Manager by copying the formula almost exactly: young British actor flying around the world to exotic locations to meet dangerous and wealthy people, occasionally having to commit crimes but all in the name of doing 'good'. Unfortunately for them, it missed the mark massively. Utterly vacuous, completely dull. Couldn't get past the 3rd episode. (F)
Molly's Game: A fast-paced film featuring a compellingly written and acted woman navigating the world of high-stakes poker, based on a true story. Not groundbreaking or thought provoking, but very good fun. (B+)
Peaky Blinders, S4: I don't think I like this as much as everyone else seems to. I enjoy the depiction of an unusual period/location, but the story and acting is completely overwrought and ruins it for me. Adrian Brodie is the guy at the fancy dress party that keeps doing his (bad) Marlon Brando Godfather impression. Not sure I could watch the next season. (C)
The Crown, S2: This was fantastic, as good again as the first season. I never would have thought that I'd like this as much as I do, but the writing, the acting, the set design, and everything else is so well done. And it's tense! After every episode I was looking up the stories on Wikipedia and wasnconstantly amazed that these things actually happened. (A)
Sing, Unburied, Sing; by Jesmyn Ward: Another one from the 'best of 2017' lists. Slightly odd, very enjoyable. (B)
The Post: Another true story with a well written, well-acted female lead. I didn't know much about these events, and ending on the very beginning of the Watergate scandal was a nice touch, but it wasn't exactly gripping. Good, but not great. (B)