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Programs

August 8, 2025 in Watching by Colleen | Permalink

Hey there! It’s been over three years since I posted a television or movie recommendation, but I have certainly not stopped partaking of either, so here we are with the first of a few installments. I hope you enjoy!

Before I get to them, a nod to my Grandma Tess. Whenever we spoke on the phone, she was one of two places, at the little table in the kitchen: listening to the radio, looking out the window, or sitting with Aunt Mary (before she died) or Grandpa. Sometimes all three! The second place was in front of the television in the basement, watching a program.

Though she died in 2014, I carry much of her with me, sometimes without even realizing. The other day, Greg was out of town, and we were catching up on the phone. When he asked me what I was doing, I said I was watching a program, which immediately got me giggling, and him to say, “Okay, Grandma.” It was, in no way, offensive, just an amusing recognition of fact. I now, seemingly out of nowhere, call shows programs. Another part of her DNA bubbling to the Colleen surface. Don’t mind if I do…

Speaking for Grandma Tess, about my programs, she would NOT like them, and, quite possibly, disapprove of my liking of them. If you haven’t yet grasped it, I like quirky and weird. Most of the shows I enjoy fall heavily on this spectrum, as I find the majority of television either thoroughly irksome or banal, which is definitely a me, NOT you or Grandma thing. I am what I am (to quote Popeye) and let my freak flag fly. I don’t generally like reality t.v., shows centering around doctors or hospitals, murder investigations, people being purposefully mean, or soap operas. Sorry, not sorry. Let this be your frame of reference as we proceed.

And now, to KLEO, a first-class German program, detailing the life of a former Stasi agent released from prison after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is two glorious seasons of late 80s/early 90s nostalgia, with a plethora of terrific Ladas, Trabants, and one 1965 Mustang, many fabulous clothes and interiors, albeit in the strange other-world of the former East Germany (mostly).

Kleo was imprisoned under false pretenses, had super horrible events occur while inside, and is very keen on exacting revenge on everyone even remotely involved, while also determining why events unfolded as they did. I believe the most apt descriptor would be madcap mystery-thriller, with a dose of violence (unfortunately). It is zany and laugh out loud funny, at the same time delving into the politics of a world of changing allegiances, enemies, and belief systems.

Imagine being high school age and gay and losing your beloved father and not really knowing how to deal with either and putting your life on hold to cope with your crippling grief!! Then imagine finally getting slightly ahead of it and going to college, where you are shoved into, not a dorm, but essentially a fancy shed, made to live with your polar opposite (who will eventually become your platonic soul mate) and do all of the normal college things. This is Big Boys. Also occasionally madcap, full of love and silliness, anger and acceptance, and quite a bit of confusion and wisdom.

Counterpart – Parallel worlds created when an experiment in 1987 East Germany (a minor theme in our viewing!) goes awry, causing each human to have an identical counterpart in the other world. Then, a deadly virus, a cold war, intrigue, politics, questions of how and why. So very good.

The City & The City – another program of parallel worlds, my friends. Two cities exist in the same geographical space, one vibrant, advanced, and prosperous, the other a cornucopia of browns and yellows and disadvantaged people, each population “unseeing” the other spaces, despite their fluid borders, for fear of Breach and disappearing forever. Underlying is a mystery of a single, ancient city beneath it all.

When a detective is tasked with solving a murder of a woman from the other city within his borders, it brings a personal mystery to the fore, along with competing loyalties between the police, the government, and the truth.

Now for Creamerie, which fulfills my promise for weirdness to the nth degree. In a world void of men after a deadly virus killed them to virtual extinction, women struggle not only to cope with the loss of spouses, partners, brothers, and children, but also jockey for control of the WORLD!

Dinosaur – Nina, an autistic woman in her 30s, finds herself at her wit’s end when her roommate, who is also her sister and best friend, is rather suddenly engaged. The series focuses not only on their changing dynamics, but Nina’s struggles as an autistic woman, the ups and downs of her job at a museum in Glasgow (the city is an awesome additional character!), and her fears about dating and moving forward with life. Gosh, is it brainy and illuminating, and quite hilarious, too.

Irma Vep (2022) – An actress tired of playing superheroes ventures to Paris to remake a 1920s film about vampires. Her world begins to shift the moment she dons the Irma Vep costume, and the realities of time and space and gravity begin to blur, but that is only the tip of the iceberg, peeps. Fantastically brilliant. Also, Vincent Micagne absolutely steals the show.

Bad Monkey is Vince Vaughn at his best, a little new-agey, a little reckless, and very lovable. He’s a cop on suspension for some genuinely bad behavior, brought back into the fold with what should have been a simple case. A tourist snags an arm instead of a fish, and desperately bored and missing the job, rather than dispose of it, he delves into the mystery. It’s a wild ride.

In Ludwig, a reclusive twin is brought headlong into the world of police detection when his cop brother disappears without a trace. I know, police and murder, but sometimes the formula is just right.

Elsbeth is another example of the police and murder formula being just right. Elsbeth, always carrying a random bag or three (why???), is an attorney assigned to the New York City Police to help ensure cops follow proper protocol. The thing is, she’s great at solving mysteries, too. This is a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and I am here for it!

My first foray into Korean drama! Missing: The Other Side follows the only two men, for reasons unknown, who can see and interact with a village of dead people, congregating solely based on the fact their bodies were never found, sometimes for months, other times decades. Watch as they investigate the mysteries surrounding each villager and how their remains can be retrieved to fully cross over.

OVNI(s) – Another show that gently pulls on the nostalgia heartstrings, this time in 1978 France. Didier, a scientist whose career literally bombs when the rocket he engineered explodes, rather than finding himself unemployed, is sent to a tiny backwater to investigate UFO (OVNI en Francais) sightings. In order to move back to his previous job, he must solve every case on file. He begins rather systematically, and quite cruelly, with his fellow employees and believers, unbelieving himself, until weird events inside and outside the office occur. Gah, such a gem!

Somebody Somewhere – Grieving the death of her sister, a kindly disaster of a woman moves into her home, makes good and bad relationship choices, drinks a shit-ton of booze, sings, rekindles the most marvelous friendship, and takes her alcoholic narcissist of a mother to task. A sweet, heart wrencher if ever there was.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Pardon my rant, but I must: after seriously disliking Deep Space Nine for essentially being a soap opera in a mall; Enterprise for its meanness; Discovery for starting very strong, then devolving into another soap opera about feelings rather than space travel; and rather sadly, Picard, for turning the whole Star Trek universe upside down by not following Gene Roddenberry’s vision; this is the best offering of the Star Trek genre Greg and I have seen in decades. It embodies everything I fell in love with, with exploration and science, great characters, good writing, and boldy going where no one has gone before. Huzzah!

Ted Lasso – upon hearing so much about the awesomeness of this show, I was very worried about how I’d receive it. Turns out, it really is that good, especially considering it revolves around a sport in which I have zero interest. I LOVE that it is primarily about redemption and people being kind! The women building each other up was especially refreshing.

Another sports themed program, and one I actually enjoy watching, though I rarely do – HOCKEY! There are some aspects I really don’t like, the objectification of women in slow-motion being top of mind, and the wildly raunchy talk of sex, but I digress. Shoresy is a stellar show. Lemme break it down: it centers on LOVE. First and foremost, love for the game of hockey; love of friends, family, and team mates; and a desire for loyalty, to do and be your very best, especially on the ice. Plus it is hilarious, a great study in Canadian culture, and brimming with heart. An astounding aside, the star, Jared Keeso (front and center), had his tooth surgically removed, permanently, for authenticity.

I first spied Greg Davies on an episode of Portrait Artist of The Year: very, very tall, big bellied, and ridiculously adorable and funny. I wanted more. Plus, his name is GREG. So I searched the interwebs and learned about The Cleaner, in which he plays, in quite an original spin on a comedy, a crime scene cleaner. Each episode has him cleaning up (or failing to) after a horrific event, and having sometimes tender, other times wild interactions with neighbors, caretakers, and the like. If you ever saw High Maintenance and enjoyed it, the self-contained aspect is reminiscent of that and obviously quite enjoyable!

This Way Up – Struggling to get back to “normal” after being hospitalized as a result of a nervous breakdown, Aine finds challenges all around: in her family, in her job teaching English as a second language, and in navigating the vagaries of friendship. I believe the theme here is never give up.

Alrighty! One very long post and eighteen shows I adore. I’m pooped. Happy Friday, y’all…

Slow to Warm

March 21, 2025 in Feeling, Watching by Colleen | Permalink

Remains of the blizzard, pretty that. Also note the flourish of leaf and bud on the fern bush, a reliable early notion of spring. I need it this year.

I have been struggling, for peace some days, mental wellness all along. My usual, every few years, precipitous dip into darkness. My maddening chemistry. Also, this country, of which I used to be ridiculously proud, making enemies of friends, blithely, with impunity, what could possibly go wrong?

I find respite in the usual pockets, the leaf of fern bush above, a porch-full of sun warmth on black clad legs, a Juniper snuffle and wiggle of tail, a Greg kiss and cuddle in the thin light of morning. I’m crafting a playlist of beloved-by-me dance songs, a medicine all their own. Essentials, if you will.

In an unusual turn, at least for the Colorado Springs leg of this journey of life, we have seen three movies in an actual theater recently. Entertaining and TWO directed by Steven Soderbergh, which, in the car on the way home from Black Bag (very good, plus Michael Fassbender, whose voice I could put on a loop for more good medicine) made me realize he is probably my favorite director of all time, with such a willingness to try — serious, historical, funny, strange — and does a brilliant job.

A semi-short list for funsies, exclamation points for personal favorites: Sex, Lies, and Video Tape, Out of Sight (!!), The Limey (!), Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven (!!), Solaris (!), Bubble, Che: Part One (!) and Two, Logan Lucky (!), Mosaic (Paul Reubens!), Kimi, Presence.

Also, to plug our favorite local theater since the demise of the Kimball’s Peak Three downtown (sadly, the owner died in 2023), Roadhouse Cinemas is seriously all the things. They have: really good drinks – boozy – margarita, an electric green apple drink whose name evades, and not – a most magical root beer, legit excellent food, even amazing churros! It is also full service to a comfy recliner, which, on a cold winter evening (or any time), can be made warm and toasty with the flick of a button. Why would you go anywhere else?!

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Anyone Can Play Guitar

April 27, 2022 in Inspiring, Listening, Watching by Colleen | Permalink

Hi there –

My most handsome (that smile!!) favorite person is learning to play guitar. He’s gone from literally not knowing which way to hold it (insert goofy Brady Bunch laugh track) to strumming the beginnings of familiar songs. There is still ever-so-much to learn, but I am so proud of him. Each week, he spends hours and hours practicing (“I gotta stop. I can’t feel my fingertips!”), watching videos, and reading all he can to make sense of different techniques and bits of advice. I’m really enjoying observing the process. Very cool.

After going nearly a month without any moisture, we got some snow earlier this week. So pretty! I am also keeping my fingers crossed for more, though, at this point, we’d prefer it in the form of rain.

Finally, I have another couple of movie recommendations for you before nearly a year passes again. Also, in classic brain fart fashion, one of the movies I mentioned this time was included in last year’s list. Good grief!

Straight Up – A gay man, encouraged by his therapist to not be so afraid of taking chances, interprets the advice as a sign to date women. While rearranging books in the self-help section of the library (he’s a little OCD), he meets a woman who ticks all of his personal boxes. They fall into a deeply intimate relationship without sex that works until it doesn’t, and they are forced to make big life decisions. I loved this on so many levels! The cinematography is splendid, the dialog sharp, and WOW, a fresh look at relationship possibilities. Plus Randall Park as the Dad, which was ACES. Thank you, James Sweeney, I clearly needed that.

The Kid Detective – Jeepers. This was not what we expected! From the previews, we envisioned a light-hearted comedy about a young detective. What we got was a humorous and deeply moving story about a man who peaked at the ripe age of TWELVE and now half asses his way through life, over-drinking, over-sleeping, and mostly disappointing those around him. UNTIL, he has the opportunity for redemption in the form of solving the murder of a teenage boy. So VERY good!!

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This is Not That, Movies and Such…

April 15, 2022 in Watching by Colleen | Permalink

I am still very much a paper and pen or pencil type. I have never reached for my phone to make a list or take down an idea. Though I have some pretty luddite tendencies, this is not that. Frankly, I don’t think of my phone in that way (it’s me, not you…) I cannot pinpoint exactly why. I use it for phone calls and the calculator and the occasional internet search. I know it has a greater purpose. Half of the time, when I leave the house, I don’t remember to bring it, more if you count walking the dog. I never bring it then. I can’t tell you how many times Greg has called me when I’m at the grocery to hear the phone ring in the next room. To be fair, when I do remember to bring it and call him, his ringer is usually turned off. Aren’t we a pair?!

I am writing all this because I keep a list of movies written on a piece of paper. It goes from the living room, where I bring it after watching something good, then back to my office. I have shown you my messy desk, so, in an effort to keep it from getting lost, I put it off to one side on this very old wire coil of a file organizer that I’ve had forever. It is probably older than desk top computing and very handy. Unfortunately, I am not always consistent in my organization, and the list got lost in a pile of other business, which got shoved into a basket to be organized later. I finally unearthed it this morning, and for about five minutes thought maybe, just maybe, I should try the whole list on the phone thing. Probably a snowball’s chance and all, but you never know. After all this rigmarole, and hopefully a good chuckle on your part, I have some recent favorites.

Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off – Good gracious. For me, this was all the right things at exactly the right moment. I streamed it twice in two days – no guilt, no shame, all LOVE. The music, the best hair of the eighties, the story of Tony growing up and finding skateboarding (so many amazing photos and videos!!) and much, much later, really finding himself. It was honest and earnest and a pure joy to watch.

The Map of Tiny Imperfect Things – A high schooler gets caught in a Groundhog Day type loop, seemingly all alone, until a girl wreaks a little havoc where she hasn’t been before. Their friendship is fast, and he falls hard for her, but she, always aware of the time, holds back. Why? Fun, inventive, and sweet!

Brittany Runs a Marathon – This is a great transformational story, but not in the fairy tale sense. We meet Brittany and follow her as she begins running. She gets stronger, loses weight, makes good decisions and poor decisions, suffers the cruelty of others. It’s a big ol’ life sandwich – messy and funny and worth the time.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post: A lesbian teen is forced to attend a conversion camp after she is outed on prom night. What follows is both horrifying and touching, as the kids do their best to become “straight” at the direction of camp leaders while trying to understand and honor their true selves.

Our Friend – A young mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer and a very dear friend comes to pick up the pieces for the family. He stays well past the point where nearly everyone else has abandoned the family out of discomfort and their own grief, until the bitter end. A tearjerker based on a true story.

Heavy Trip – Turo is a shy, death metal lover in need of a break. He finds it when his band, Impaled Rektum (right?!), is invited to a festival in Norway. It is the ultimate weird and wild underdog road trip story, also utterly implausible, but such good fun!

Pig – What we do for those we love. That’s it. Oh, and bits of Oregon. A treasure.

The Planters – The ultimate eccentric-style story that I L-O-V-E. Really and truly. How to describe? An orphaned woman telemarketer who also plants unusual thrift store items in the desert for money makes friends and enemies while selling air conditioners. Totally inadequate, I know. Watch it anyway. If it makes you even a tenth as happy as it did me, it will be a very good day.

Arab Blues – A Parisian returns to her native Tunisia to set up as a therapist. She struggles initially to find patients, then with government bureaucracy, ideas around femininity, sexuality, and grief. All the things!

The Sunlit Night – A struggling artist gets a job assisting a famous painter in Norway, where she meets a host of colorful characters, dreamers, and oddballs.

Maborosi – After her husband takes his own life, a young mother and their infant son attempt to move forward. She eventually remarries a widow, living a quiet existence by the sea, while still haunted by her first husband’s death. A meditation on grief and life’s unanswered questions.

Woman in Motion – All about the wonderful Nichelle Nicols, her history, and how she championed the integration of NASA. One of those glorious instances when I learn a person I hold in high esteem is even more marvelous (and funny!) than previously believed.

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Summer Movie List

June 18, 2021 in Watching by Colleen | Permalink

Hi ALL! Though summer has yet to officially begin, the heat (SO hot!) and sun and wild rollick of garden blooms speaks otherwise, so here we are with my recent favorites.

Tokyo Girl, which is not a movie but a stellar t.v. show. It follows Aya from a teenager dreaming of moving to Tokyo, to a recent college graduate making the move to the big city, all the way into her 40s. I loved this! It’s so rare to find a show that feels so true to a woman’s emotional journey, dreaming of one life while another unfolds. Additionally, as someone who has never visited Japan, it was such a treat to get an intimate look at neighborhood life in Tokyo.

Arctic – a man struggles against weather and polar bears after his plane crashes. He is mad-clever and great at systems, but his burden becomes far more dear when the helicopter come to his rescue crashes, and he must help a woman in far worse shape than he. Not a thriller in the typical sense, but Greg and I were seriously stressed out as we rooted for the pair to make it to safety. And bonus, what beautiful scenery!

All Nighter – A father with poor communication skills enlists his daughter’s ex to help him find her after she fails to return his phone calls. Silly and funny and light-hearted.

Freaks – A father and daughter exist in isolation, only venturing outside when absolutely necessary. But why? Is it delusion, madness, a criminal past? Something strange is going on, and the film makers sure kept us guessing!

The Assistant – Spend the day in the life of an assistant to a very important and powerful entertainment mogul. A subtle and disturbing glimpse at the sacrifices people make to bring their dreams to life.

Map of Tiny Imperfect Things – A teenager relives, a la Groundhog Day, one day over and over again, no deviation from the norm. Until a young woman enters the scene and he is flummoxed. It takes ages, but he finds her again, and they form a friendship before coming to grips with what it might take to move into the future. All.The.Things. Yup.

A Fantastic Fear of Everything – A crazy romp with a man who spends far too much time in his head and not nearly enough in the actual world. Paranoid and squeamish, he sees horror lurking around every corner, even laundry freaks this guy out. We laughed A LOT.

The Farewell – Billi, a flailing artist, learns her beloved Nai Nai (grandma) has a terminal illness. Against her family’s wishes, she travels to China for a wedding banquet to say goodbye without arousing suspicion of her diagnosis. Tender and filled with love, with a pro-collectivist nod. By not disclosing her illness, the family takes the burden off Nai Nai and shares it, so she might live more peacefully. Chew on that.

Uncle Frank – 1973. A rather sheltered Southern young woman moves to New York to attend the college where her Uncle Frank is also a professor. During a party at his apartment, she learns he is gay. Soon after, her grandfather dies and the pair drive down for the funeral. A story of love and understanding, a fair dose of hatred (self and other) and fear, of those who can cope with gayness, and those who cannot. Brilliantly done.

Long Strange Trip – When I was in college, my friend Mitch and I had a shared love for Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, and Big Head Todd. Where I could not join him was in his affection for the Grateful Dead. As much as I tried, no matter how catchy, I did not like Truckin’ or Uncle John’s Band. I could not abide a Touch of Gray, and said as much. He was kindly and told me the JAMS were where it’s at. End of conversation.

Here we are, some twenty-nine years later, and Long Strange Trip pops up on Prime. If you know me, I’ll watch any documentary of quality, regardless of subject. Greg joined me, and we loved it. I scribbled song titles as the fascinating history unfolded. Turns out Mitch was right. It IS the jams. We’ve been playing a pretty steady stream. Apologies all these years later, my friend, wherever you are.

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