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Old Bexley & Sidcup: The betting overstates CON chances – politicalbetting.com

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  • BurgessianBurgessian Posts: 2,751
    I think the only chance the Tories have in North Shropshire is to big up the back-story of their candidate who seems impressive.

    https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/health/coronavirus-covid19/2021/12/01/tory-candidate-in-north-shropshire-by-election-signs-up-to-help-booster-jab-effort/

    "Dr Shastri-Hurst is a former NHS surgeon who trained locally at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital in Oswestry.

    He previously returned to the NHS to help people at a Major trauma service as well as delivering jabs as a vaccinator."
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    Selebian said:

    Selebian said:

    kinabalu said:

    The Truman Show is a great film imo. Also one I watched ages ago, only on TV and only once, a Dutch psycho-chiller called The Golden Egg, which if the test of a film is how long it stays on your mind is easily the best I've ever seen.

    Not doing a Top 10 (as I'm rubbish at remembering lists - I'd make a list and then amend it every time someome mentioned a good film I'd forgotten).

    But in niche but good films, not necessarily top ten, but worth a watch:
    - End of Sentence (recentish, I think - father-son road trip after death of mother, but much better than that suggests)
    - Head On (English title)/ Gegen die Wand (German - 'Against the wall') from ealry 2000s, I think. Random late night watch on telly, but a fascinating piece of work
    Oh and The Lives of Others and Goodbye Lenin (not mentioned by others?). Starting to think I'm just a sucker for German cinema....
    Yes, the Lives of Others is a cracking film, as well as an exemplar portrayal of a remarkable piece of history.

    As it’s Xmas, surely Great Escape has to be in the mix.

    I’d also add:

    Dances with Wolves
    Black Book
    Shooting Dogs
    Enemy at the Gates
    Fury
    Zelary
    Closely Observed Trains
    Il Divo

    Not that those are particularly Christmassy, although no less so than Die Hard.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,698

    Foxy said:

    Films that used to be great but now aren't, top 1.

    Taxi Driver.

    I rewatched this classic recently and all the glitter has worn off. It has more-or-less the same plot as Joker, and the lone vigilante is almost a film cliche. You're left with one memorable line and Jodie Foster as an underage pro. Too influential for its own good, perhaps? Oh, and there is an election campaign in the background so good for pb.

    Difficult, as it is a film that has become so well known that it becomes a cliche rather than recognised as the pioneer that it was.

    The King of Comedy is much the better Scorsese film, I think, from only a couple of years later, but much the lesser known. I only came it across it again recently because I saw it on the MUBI subscription service, which I hugely recommend to anyone interested in international as well as less commercial cinema, along with the BFI's streaming service.
    Yes MUBI is fantastic, a real education. I like BFI player too, but the streams on MUBI seem more robust. Both are far better than Netflix or Amazon Prime, though Netflix does do an interesting range of Nollywood films.
  • isamisam Posts: 41,118
    moonshine said:

    rcs1000 said:

    No Trainspotting love? Or The Usual Suspects? Or The Third Man?

    And if we have to have a Wes Anderson movie in there, then it should probably be The Royal Tenanbaums.

    Not enough full on comedies on these lists either. Superbad and Hangover both instant classics of American comedy from recent years. Hot Fuzz I think is the best British comedy since 2000, although I do have a soft spot for Yesterday.
    There's Something About Mary would be my Desert Island Film if I could only watch one. A love story, hilariously funny, where the good guy gets the gal
  • Farooq said:

    Farooq said:

    Astounding that more people would put Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in their top ten than would put Rear Window.

    You people.

    My list is favourite films not already done, and I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t seen Rear Window; I will rectify the error this evening.

    On that subject, has anyone mentioned Twelve Angry Men yet?
    Oh my goodness, Twelve Angry Men is even better than Rear Window.

    But seriously, Rear Window is magical. Everything is spot on. Hitchcock could make magnificent films in incredibly limited settings. See also Rope. I believe both are the same in the way that they're set almost entirely in a single room (or looking out from it).
    Re "Twelve Angry Men" for years have sought backing for a fresh take combining two proven winners:
    >>> Twelve Angry Muppets

    With Kermit as foreman, and Ms Piggy as a fellow juror AND old flame. Critical triumph AND box office boffo!

    On slightly more serious note, if not yet mentioned check out another Hitchcockian classic -"North by Northwest"
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,855
    Selebian said:

    Carnyx said:

    Cookie said:

    Carnyx said:

    Cookie said:

    JBriskin3 said:

    Aslan said:

    Top 10 movies:

    Bladerunner 2049
    The Godfather (Parts I and II)
    The Shawshank Redemption
    The Constant Gardener
    The Road
    Fight Club
    Aliens
    Apocalypse Now!
    Pulp Fiction
    Road to Perdition

    Glad to see Fight Club has made it to someones list.

    Pulp Fiction is another cracker.

    Bladerunner 2049 is one of the few films I own on DVD - pretty slooooow going on the the re-watch.
    According to this site@
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BFI_Top_100_British_films
    the only Carry On film which makes it into the top 100 British Films is Carry On up the Khyber.

    Which, on reflection, would be my choice. Well, I'm not sure about best, but perhaps 'most archetypal'. It also has the most Carry On title.

    I'm struggling to think of 10 films I'd have in my top 10. My top 2 would be:

    24 Hour Party People
    Local Hero

    and the other 8 might include:

    Whisky Galore
    Sleuth
    The Railway Children
    Shallow Grave
    The Royal Tenenbaums
    2001
    Airplane
    LA Story
    Hmm, which WG and which RC?
    There are more than one? I think I mean the originals of each. The only WG I've seen was so primitively shot it was quite hard to make out what was going on; I can't imagine that was a remake. And the RC I know dates from well before I was born.
    "Daddy, my Daddy!". Welling up now just thinking about it.
    Awwww!

    There's actually a Gregor Fisher/Eddie Izzard remake of WG which I have not seen; ditto of RC with Jenny Agutter as mother this time (had bought it for our niece without looking further than her name, and was very cheesed to discover it wasn't the original).

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4769214/
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0215111/
    I've seen the WG remake (think it was on iplayer maybe). Not great, not terrible. I don't need to see it again. Izzard was pretty good. I haven't seen the original, but have read the book, which was fun (while staying on Barra - it was one of those left in the holiday let).
    I need to reread it - long time - but as TUD remarked recently here the author Compton Mackenzie who knew his locals so it will be interesting to see how he approached the book; certainly more sensitive than at least one contemporary I can think of.
  • WhisperingOracleWhisperingOracle Posts: 9,164
    edited December 2021
    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Films that used to be great but now aren't, top 1.

    Taxi Driver.

    I rewatched this classic recently and all the glitter has worn off. It has more-or-less the same plot as Joker, and the lone vigilante is almost a film cliche. You're left with one memorable line and Jodie Foster as an underage pro. Too influential for its own good, perhaps? Oh, and there is an election campaign in the background so good for pb.

    Difficult, as it is a film that has become so well known that it becomes a cliche rather than recognised as the pioneer that it was.

    The King of Comedy is much the better Scorsese film, I think, from only a couple of years later, but much the lesser known. I only came it across it again recently because I saw it on the MUBI subscription service, which I hugely recommend to anyone interested in international as well as less commercial cinema, along with the BFI's streaming service.
    Yes MUBI is fantastic, a real education. I like BFI player too, but the streams on MUBI seem more robust. Both are far better than Netflix or Amazon Prime, though Netflix does do an interesting range of Nollywood films.
    I got fed up with some very formulaic dramas on Netflix, and so searched for more interesting streaming services, and found MUBI. It does indeed show a great range of newer and older films.
  • SirNorfolkPassmoreSirNorfolkPassmore Posts: 7,152
    edited December 2021
    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    HYUFD said:

    The Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was a clear further shift to isolate the Cobrynites and far left by Starmer with the appointment of the Blairite Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Brownite Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. That does suggest Starmer is making efforts to make Labour more centrist after its heavy defeat in 2019 under Corbyn.

    However, it was also a clear promotion for Remainers. He replaced Nandy with a fervent People's Vote campaigner in Lammy and alongside Starmer and Reeves most of Labour's top team were diehard Remainers until the 2019 general election. Streeting, also a diehard Remainer, meanwhile came into the Shadow Cabinet as Education Secretary.

    How that goes down in 63% Leave Bexley in the by election tomorrow remains to be seen

    Unlike the last time this was brilliant from Starmer.

    He's managed to get as much wisdom as he can around the table. The left has been hugely weakened, but they'll not point to why.
    Starmer's pointless dig at Angela Rayner was an own goal. Labour needs people who can hammer the Tories and whether you like her or not, Rayner has been cutting through. And she is not even that left-wing.
    Ah yes, I totally agree that his handling of Rayner is a bit odd. I suspect that there's something we don't know there.

    Rayner is a capable politician.
    She seems a loose cannon who is more comfortable preaching to the choir (against "Tory scum" etc) than winning converts.

    As well as the fact he pretty clearly distrusts her, I don't think she and Starmer agree on fundamental approach. What he wants to do is detoxify ("not Corbyn's party"), convey competence ("ready to govern"), and separate Tory voters from Tory politicians in quite a targeted way (a "lions led by donkeys" message). Rayner is more of a tub-thumper - generate a wave of righteous rage in order to win.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,023
    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    No Trainspotting love? Or The Usual Suspects? Or The Third Man?

    And if we have to have a Wes Anderson movie in there, then it should probably be The Royal Tenanbaums.

    Trainspotting 1 for me.
    I walked out after 10 minutes when I realised it didn't do exactly what it says on the tin. Not a Platform 5 book in sight.


    (Actually, I've never seen it.)
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,325
    edited December 2021
    MattW said:

    kinabalu said:

    Coincidentally I was chatting to my wife earlier today - which we still do even though we've been together a while - about which we thought were the best CHRISTMAS movies. I said the usual, she added in the usual, but then she really took me aback with her last one, which was Die Hard. First I've heard of that being considered a Christmas movie but she's adamant it is. People can surprise you sometimes, even those you think you know well.

    That's something that PC types have been flapping about for years. It's a perennial on the Guardian's kronky outrage bus.

    Up there with Winterval.
    It's not Christmas until someone has thrown Alan Rickman off a building....

    image
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,698

    Farooq said:

    Farooq said:

    Astounding that more people would put Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in their top ten than would put Rear Window.

    You people.

    My list is favourite films not already done, and I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t seen Rear Window; I will rectify the error this evening.

    On that subject, has anyone mentioned Twelve Angry Men yet?
    Oh my goodness, Twelve Angry Men is even better than Rear Window.

    But seriously, Rear Window is magical. Everything is spot on. Hitchcock could make magnificent films in incredibly limited settings. See also Rope. I believe both are the same in the way that they're set almost entirely in a single room (or looking out from it).
    Re "Twelve Angry Men" for years have sought backing for a fresh take combining two proven winners:
    >>> Twelve Angry Muppets

    With Kermit as foreman, and Ms Piggy as a fellow juror AND old flame. Critical triumph AND box office boffo!

    On slightly more serious note, if not yet mentioned check out another Hitchcockian classic -"North by Northwest"
    On that subject, The Muppet Christmas Carol is the best Christmas movie ever!
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,855

    Carnyx said:

    rcs1000 said:

    No Trainspotting love? Or The Usual Suspects? Or The Third Man?

    And if we have to have a Wes Anderson movie in there, then it should probably be The Royal Tenanbaums.

    Trainspotting 1 for me.
    I walked out after 10 minutes when I realised it didn't do exactly what it says on the tin. Not a Platform 5 book in sight.


    (Actually, I've never seen it.)
    The name comes from the local slang for shooting up in a local derelict building - which happened to be Leith Central passenger railway station I think (but IMDB would confirm: the railway network and interconnections of the NBR and Caley are extremely confusing in that airt).
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,023
    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    The Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was a clear further shift to isolate the Cobrynites and far left by Starmer with the appointment of the Blairite Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Brownite Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. That does suggest Starmer is making efforts to make Labour more centrist after its heavy defeat in 2019 under Corbyn.

    However, it was also a clear promotion for Remainers. He replaced Nandy with a fervent People's Vote campaigner in Lammy and alongside Starmer and Reeves most of Labour's top team were diehard Remainers until the 2019 general election. Streeting, also a diehard Remainer, meanwhile came into the Shadow Cabinet as Education Secretary.

    How that goes down in 63% Leave Bexley in the by election tomorrow remains to be seen

    I broadly agree on centrist aspects, but I'm not really sure on the Remainer bit. Yes, a lot of Labour centrists backed Starmer's (and Corbyn's, but clearly Starmer was the architect) flawed policy of reopening the issue rather than settling Brexit on the best possible terms in 2019. But it's yesterday's debate.

    On Nandy, I don't actually see it as a demotion. Foreign Secretary is one of the great offices of state, but Shadow Foreign Secretary isn't all that much of a thing - you criticise diplomatic missteps, but the big foreign affairs issues are all pinched by your boss, and the policy development issues aren't that huge.

    Nandy is a good tactical choice to shadow Gove - she's a capable operator and does manage to convey a northern authenticity which is tricky for Gove, who is a good in terms of grip on his brief and policy generation ability (hence why he's been brought in to sort out the mess of levelling up, which has never really got beyond the level of Johnson slogan so far), but is a hard to like southerner.
    The big 3 offices of state are Foreign, Home and Chancellor, it was a demotion for Nandy with Starmer just giving her the levelling up job as a consolation prize. The fact Nandy, who accepted the Brexit result, was replaced with a People's Vote campaigner in Lammy was a clear shift to a more Remain stance by the Labour leadership. That suggests Brexit is far from over, if Starmer becomes PM with SNP and LD support it would be a much more diluted Brexit with the UK closely aligned to both the SM and CU.

    Shad Foreign was a daft job to give Nandy in the first place. She's much better placed now. Queen of the North.

  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,209
    Foxy said:

    Two famous comedies, the Marx Brothers "A Night at the Opera" and Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" were first shown during trying years, 1935 and 1940, respectively.

    Perhaps we could use some more comedies, now.

    (I am not enough of a movie buff to list ten favorites, but I do suggest that those who are include a few more comedies in their lists.)

    I have seen it many times, but Borat gets me laughing every time!
    Personally I would love to see an Isis or Taliban version of The Producers.

    It is definitely required.
  • OmniumOmnium Posts: 10,770

    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    HYUFD said:

    The Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was a clear further shift to isolate the Cobrynites and far left by Starmer with the appointment of the Blairite Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Brownite Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. That does suggest Starmer is making efforts to make Labour more centrist after its heavy defeat in 2019 under Corbyn.

    However, it was also a clear promotion for Remainers. He replaced Nandy with a fervent People's Vote campaigner in Lammy and alongside Starmer and Reeves most of Labour's top team were diehard Remainers until the 2019 general election. Streeting, also a diehard Remainer, meanwhile came into the Shadow Cabinet as Education Secretary.

    How that goes down in 63% Leave Bexley in the by election tomorrow remains to be seen

    Unlike the last time this was brilliant from Starmer.

    He's managed to get as much wisdom as he can around the table. The left has been hugely weakened, but they'll not point to why.
    Starmer's pointless dig at Angela Rayner was an own goal. Labour needs people who can hammer the Tories and whether you like her or not, Rayner has been cutting through. And she is not even that left-wing.
    Ah yes, I totally agree that his handling of Rayner is a bit odd. I suspect that there's something we don't know there.

    Rayner is a capable politician.
    She seems a loose cannon who is more comfortable preaching to the choir (against "Tory scum" etc) than winning converts.

    As well as the fact he pretty clearly distrusts her, I don't think she and Starmer agree on fundamental approach. What he wants to do is detoxify, convey competence, and separate Tory voters from Tory politicians in quite a targeted way (a "lions led by donkeys" message). Rayner is more of a tub-thumper - generate rage in order to win.
    If he can't work out the way to mend fences with Rayner then he's not over the first hurdle of potentially being PM.

  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    Foxy said:

    Two famous comedies, the Marx Brothers "A Night at the Opera" and Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" were first shown during trying years, 1935 and 1940, respectively.

    Perhaps we could use some more comedies, now.

    (I am not enough of a movie buff to list ten favorites, but I do suggest that those who are include a few more comedies in their lists.)

    I have seen it many times, but Borat gets me laughing every time!
    I think he is an unpleasant bully. It's funny, mind, just as fear and loathing in Las Vegas is funny (the book, not seen the film) but is about 2 unpleasant bullies

    Mind you the nude wrestling in Borat is the greatest 3 minutes in the whole of cinema
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,067
    edited December 2021

    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    HYUFD said:

    The Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was a clear further shift to isolate the Cobrynites and far left by Starmer with the appointment of the Blairite Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Brownite Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. That does suggest Starmer is making efforts to make Labour more centrist after its heavy defeat in 2019 under Corbyn.

    However, it was also a clear promotion for Remainers. He replaced Nandy with a fervent People's Vote campaigner in Lammy and alongside Starmer and Reeves most of Labour's top team were diehard Remainers until the 2019 general election. Streeting, also a diehard Remainer, meanwhile came into the Shadow Cabinet as Education Secretary.

    How that goes down in 63% Leave Bexley in the by election tomorrow remains to be seen

    Unlike the last time this was brilliant from Starmer.

    He's managed to get as much wisdom as he can around the table. The left has been hugely weakened, but they'll not point to why.
    Starmer's pointless dig at Angela Rayner was an own goal. Labour needs people who can hammer the Tories and whether you like her or not, Rayner has been cutting through. And she is not even that left-wing.
    Ah yes, I totally agree that his handling of Rayner is a bit odd. I suspect that there's something we don't know there.

    Rayner is a capable politician.
    She seems a loose cannon who is more comfortable preaching to the choir (against "Tory scum" etc) than winning converts.

    As well as the fact he pretty clearly distrusts her, I don't think she and Starmer agree on fundamental approach. What he wants to do is detoxify ("not Corbyn's party"), convey competence ("ready to govern"), and separate Tory voters from Tory politicians in quite a targeted way (a "lions led by donkeys" message). Rayner is more of a tub-thumper - generate a wave of righteous rage in order to win.
    Rayner is Starmer's John Prescott, a token sop to the left and working class and unions, having a grand position as Deputy Leader and Shadow First Secretary of State but little actual power. Prescott of course even in the New Labour years ended every Labour conference with a tub thumping speech ranting at the Tories to the party activists delight, much as Rayner will do
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,209
    edited December 2021
    Foxy said:

    MattW said:

    Bring back the death penalty for this wanker.

    A man who put superglue on the lock of a Covid-19 vaccination centre, preventing 504 people from getting jabs, has been jailed for 12 weeks.

    Hayden Brown, 53, of Burgh Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, squirted glue into the keyhole of the centre's door on 26 November.

    It meant the premises in Lowestoft Road, Gorleston, could not be opened.

    Brown admitted criminal damage and causing a public nuisance at Norwich Magistrates' Court.

    He was arrested on Tuesday after being identified in footage from cameras that had been installed following two previous incidents earlier in November.

    Supt Nathan Clark said that a "large number" of the 504 people who were affected were elderly.

    "This disruption will have caused great anxiety to those who have chosen to be vaccinated and then not able to attend," he said.


    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-59493747

    Good on the Court for 3 months in prison.
    Well he'll be out in three weeks on HDC.
    Unless someone superglues the locks...
    It's still a relatively firm sentence for the bastard, not a wrist slap.

    Does this cause him visa problems in the future?
  • isam said:

    HYUFD said:

    The Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was a clear further shift to isolate the Cobrynites and far left by Starmer with the appointment of the Blairite Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Brownite Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. That does suggest Starmer is making efforts to make Labour more centrist after its heavy defeat in 2019 under Corbyn.

    However, it was also a clear promotion for Remainers. He replaced Nandy with a fervent People's Vote campaigner in Lammy and alongside Starmer and Reeves most of Labour's top team were diehard Remainers until the 2019 general election. Streeting, also a diehard Remainer, meanwhile came into the Shadow Cabinet as Education Secretary.

    How that goes down in 63% Leave Bexley in the by election tomorrow remains to be seen

    I broadly agree on centrist aspects, but I'm not really sure on the Remainer bit. Yes, a lot of Labour centrists backed Starmer's (and Corbyn's, but clearly Starmer was the architect) flawed policy of reopening the issue rather than settling Brexit on the best possible terms in 2019. But it's yesterday's debate.

    On Nandy, I don't actually see it as a demotion. Foreign Secretary is one of the great offices of state, but Shadow Foreign Secretary isn't all that much of a thing - you criticise diplomatic missteps, but the big foreign affairs issues are all pinched by your boss, and the policy development issues aren't that huge.

    Nandy is a good tactical choice to shadow Gove - she's a capable operator and does manage to convey a northern authenticity which is tricky for Gove, who is a good in terms of grip on his brief and policy generation ability (hence why he's been brought in to sort out the mess of levelling up, which has never really got beyond the level of Johnson slogan so far), but is a hard to like southerner.
    The woman who helped write the Con 2019 Manifesto says Boris is relying on a "Hanging Baskets" strategy - as long as people see their towns looking a bit better than they did in 2019, that is enough. So 40 New Hospitals" might not be true, but if the local hospital has been refurbished, that's a win. Labour can say "But you said there'd be 40 new hospitals" and the Tories will just point to the the local improvements, is the theory. A bit like "we send £350m a week to the EU"
    It's been clear for a while that Levelling Up would come down to a Hanging Baskets Fund. Maybe that will work out for them, undoing a thousand years of structural regional inequalities is hard, and people like flowers.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,698
    MattW said:

    Foxy said:

    Two famous comedies, the Marx Brothers "A Night at the Opera" and Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" were first shown during trying years, 1935 and 1940, respectively.

    Perhaps we could use some more comedies, now.

    (I am not enough of a movie buff to list ten favorites, but I do suggest that those who are include a few more comedies in their lists.)

    I have seen it many times, but Borat gets me laughing every time!
    Personally I would love to see an Isis or Taliban version of The Producers.

    It is definitely required.
    The original The Producers is also amongst the funniest films ever made.
  • eek said:

    IanB2 said:

    Selebian said:

    Selebian said:

    kinabalu said:

    The Truman Show is a great film imo. Also one I watched ages ago, only on TV and only once, a Dutch psycho-chiller called The Golden Egg, which if the test of a film is how long it stays on your mind is easily the best I've ever seen.

    Not doing a Top 10 (as I'm rubbish at remembering lists - I'd make a list and then amend it every time someome mentioned a good film I'd forgotten).

    But in niche but good films, not necessarily top ten, but worth a watch:
    - End of Sentence (recentish, I think - father-son road trip after death of mother, but much better than that suggests)
    - Head On (English title)/ Gegen die Wand (German - 'Against the wall') from ealry 2000s, I think. Random late night watch on telly, but a fascinating piece of work
    Oh and The Lives of Others and Goodbye Lenin (not mentioned by others?). Starting to think I'm just a sucker for German cinema....
    Yes, the Lives of Others is a cracking film, as well as an exemplar portrayal of a remarkable piece of history.

    As it’s Xmas, surely Great Escape has to be in the mix.

    I’d also add:

    Dances with Wolves
    Black Book
    Shooting Dogs
    Enemy at the Gates
    Fury
    Zelary
    Closely Observed Trains
    Il Divo

    Not that those are particularly Christmassy, although no less so than Die Hard.
    The best Christmas movie is (and always will be) Muppet Christmas Carol.
    I prefer It's A Wonderful Life, but the Muppet Christmas Carol is certainly the best screen adaptation of Dickens.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,508
    Leon said:

    WITHNAIL AND I
    SPINAL TAP
    INSIDE OUT
    THE EXORCIST
    LA LA LAND
    SOUND OF MUSIC
    THE WICKER MAN
    1917
    ANDREI RUBLYEV
    RATATOUILLE

    ANDREI RUBLYEV Well done Leon! not only passions and struggles of an artist, but concerns of the whole nation during times of political change and upheaval. This is where art can improve the lives of people living in the same time, so fart can be compared with religion, serving similar goals. Art and faith can provide solace to people, giving them hope and strength. Art exists to help us deal with the world’s imperfections. 👍🏻
  • There are loads of famous "great" movies I haven't watched so my list is probably a bit odd. My list is the films I've watched the most times. I think I saw them all for the first time in my teens excepts Raiders.

    Goodfellas
    Pulp Fiction
    Withnail & I
    Groundhog Day
    Dazed And Confused
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    The Blues Brothers
    White Men Can't Jump
    Good Morning, Vietnam
    Point Break

    Culled from my original too long list were Life Of Brian, Forrest Gump and The Commitments
  • dr_spyndr_spyn Posts: 11,300
    Part of the fun in watching Hot Fuzz is trying to identify the great variety of rifles, pistols, revolvers, sub machine guns and mines which have supporting roles.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,209
    Foxy said:

    MattW said:

    Foxy said:

    Two famous comedies, the Marx Brothers "A Night at the Opera" and Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" were first shown during trying years, 1935 and 1940, respectively.

    Perhaps we could use some more comedies, now.

    (I am not enough of a movie buff to list ten favorites, but I do suggest that those who are include a few more comedies in their lists.)

    I have seen it many times, but Borat gets me laughing every time!
    Personally I would love to see an Isis or Taliban version of The Producers.

    It is definitely required.
    The original The Producers is also amongst the funniest films ever made.
    On fillums I enjoyed the original version of Rififi though not quite "great".
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,486
    The Christmas parties fear is completely irrational.

    There are 32 omicron cases in the UK. On current trends there might be a few hundred by the time the works party season ends in a fortnight.

    Thirty two.

    Three two.

    FFS.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,057
    edited December 2021
    BBC news...

    I was refused a booster for being too young'
    A 34-year-old woman says she is "livid" after being turned away from a booster jab walk-in centre for being too young.

    Heidi Bird, a nutrition scientist in London, tells the BBC she had queued at a pharmacy in Hampstead, North London with other young people who also got turned away.

    "I asked the pharmacist why and he said the system is not set up to handle these at the moment," she says.

    The UK has been dragging its heels on this. All my friends in Europe have been vaccinated.

    ----

    The head of NHS made it absolutely clear yesterday that is not how it works. It going in age grouping. Your friends been vaccinated, but I doubt boostered.

    Why are the BBC even reporting this ranty lady?
  • Foxy said:

    Farooq said:

    Farooq said:

    Astounding that more people would put Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in their top ten than would put Rear Window.

    You people.

    My list is favourite films not already done, and I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t seen Rear Window; I will rectify the error this evening.

    On that subject, has anyone mentioned Twelve Angry Men yet?
    Oh my goodness, Twelve Angry Men is even better than Rear Window.

    But seriously, Rear Window is magical. Everything is spot on. Hitchcock could make magnificent films in incredibly limited settings. See also Rope. I believe both are the same in the way that they're set almost entirely in a single room (or looking out from it).
    Re "Twelve Angry Men" for years have sought backing for a fresh take combining two proven winners:
    >>> Twelve Angry Muppets

    With Kermit as foreman, and Ms Piggy as a fellow juror AND old flame. Critical triumph AND box office boffo!

    On slightly more serious note, if not yet mentioned check out another Hitchcockian classic -"North by Northwest"
    On that subject, The Muppet Christmas Carol is the best Christmas movie ever!
    Certainly one of the best adaptations of the book.
  • On the subject of sequels that are better than the originals, I'd nominate Toy Story 3 and the Empire Strikes Back. Manon des Sources too (Emanuelle Beart occupied my fevered teenage imagination for some time).
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,508
    kinabalu said:

    Coincidentally I was chatting to my wife earlier today - which we still do even though we've been together a while - about which we thought were the best CHRISTMAS movies. I said the usual, she added in the usual, but then she really took me aback with her last one, which was Die Hard. First I've heard of that being considered a Christmas movie but she's adamant it is. People can surprise you sometimes, even those you think you know well.

    Die Hard is absolute rubbish. Compare it to the four Brothers. No comparison. One is a proper action movie, the other a waste of time. Better still read the die hard book, you realise in the first few paragraphs of this all American hero, former quarterback etc, that it’s complete waste of time.

    Whenever it’s on it’s rubbish.

    No Bruce Willis, no stickups, no terrorists and no pat happy endings! Thank you. 😄
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,209

    isam said:

    HYUFD said:

    The Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was a clear further shift to isolate the Cobrynites and far left by Starmer with the appointment of the Blairite Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Brownite Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. That does suggest Starmer is making efforts to make Labour more centrist after its heavy defeat in 2019 under Corbyn.

    However, it was also a clear promotion for Remainers. He replaced Nandy with a fervent People's Vote campaigner in Lammy and alongside Starmer and Reeves most of Labour's top team were diehard Remainers until the 2019 general election. Streeting, also a diehard Remainer, meanwhile came into the Shadow Cabinet as Education Secretary.

    How that goes down in 63% Leave Bexley in the by election tomorrow remains to be seen

    I broadly agree on centrist aspects, but I'm not really sure on the Remainer bit. Yes, a lot of Labour centrists backed Starmer's (and Corbyn's, but clearly Starmer was the architect) flawed policy of reopening the issue rather than settling Brexit on the best possible terms in 2019. But it's yesterday's debate.

    On Nandy, I don't actually see it as a demotion. Foreign Secretary is one of the great offices of state, but Shadow Foreign Secretary isn't all that much of a thing - you criticise diplomatic missteps, but the big foreign affairs issues are all pinched by your boss, and the policy development issues aren't that huge.

    Nandy is a good tactical choice to shadow Gove - she's a capable operator and does manage to convey a northern authenticity which is tricky for Gove, who is a good in terms of grip on his brief and policy generation ability (hence why he's been brought in to sort out the mess of levelling up, which has never really got beyond the level of Johnson slogan so far), but is a hard to like southerner.
    The woman who helped write the Con 2019 Manifesto says Boris is relying on a "Hanging Baskets" strategy - as long as people see their towns looking a bit better than they did in 2019, that is enough. So 40 New Hospitals" might not be true, but if the local hospital has been refurbished, that's a win. Labour can say "But you said there'd be 40 new hospitals" and the Tories will just point to the the local improvements, is the theory. A bit like "we send £350m a week to the EU"
    It's been clear for a while that Levelling Up would come down to a Hanging Baskets Fund. Maybe that will work out for them, undoing a thousand years of structural regional inequalities is hard, and people like flowers.
    My town has I think 62m under the Towns' Fund, which is substantial and way more than 'hanging baskets', but tactics not strategy.

    HS2 is still required, and significant rebalancing of the tax system.

    And we need the Govt to stop pissing away the future key sectors of our economy, and build them instead.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,209

    BBC news...

    I was refused a booster for being too young'
    A 34-year-old woman says she is "livid" after being turned away from a booster jab walk-in centre for being too young.

    Heidi Bird, a nutrition scientist in London, tells the BBC she had queued at a pharmacy in Hampstead, North London with other young people who also got turned away.

    "I asked the pharmacist why and he said the system is not set up to handle these at the moment," she says.

    The UK has been dragging its heels on this. All my friends in Europe have been vaccinated.

    ----

    The head of NHS made it absolutely clear yesterday that is not how it works. It going in age grouping. Your friends been vaccinated, but I doubt boostered.

    Why are the BBC even reporting this ranty lady?

    On that one she needs to go home and punch herself in the head for being stupid.

    Unless she is Clinically Vulnerable, perhaps.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,698

    The Christmas parties fear is completely irrational.

    There are 32 omicron cases in the UK. On current trends there might be a few hundred by the time the works party season ends in a fortnight.

    Thirty two.

    Three two.

    FFS.

    Up from 13 yesterday, and those just the diagnosed cases. For every one of those there will be a dozen or more seeded...
  • CookieCookie Posts: 13,810

    There are loads of famous "great" movies I haven't watched so my list is probably a bit odd. My list is the films I've watched the most times. I think I saw them all for the first time in my teens excepts Raiders.

    Goodfellas
    Pulp Fiction
    Withnail & I
    Groundhog Day
    Dazed And Confused
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    The Blues Brothers
    White Men Can't Jump
    Good Morning, Vietnam
    Point Break

    Culled from my original too long list were Life Of Brian, Forrest Gump and The Commitments

    Oh yes, I'll add Groundhog Day to my list too. Brilliant concept, brilliantly acted by Bill Murray. Slightly let down by Andy McDowell who I just don't get as a leading lady - she is always at least slightly annoying - but only slightly. And while I'm about it, Lost in Translation. Though I've not seen it for years, and I'm now worried it might not age well.
  • There are loads of famous "great" movies I haven't watched so my list is probably a bit odd. My list is the films I've watched the most times. I think I saw them all for the first time in my teens excepts Raiders.

    Goodfellas
    Pulp Fiction
    Withnail & I
    Groundhog Day
    Dazed And Confused
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    The Blues Brothers
    White Men Can't Jump
    Good Morning, Vietnam
    Point Break

    Culled from my original too long list were Life Of Brian, Forrest Gump and The Commitments

    Groundhog Day is one of those films you could watch every single day.
    There's a film on your list and on others' though which I really couldn't get into. Withnail and I. I couldn't even finish watching it, I found it so utterly unfunny. I don't know what it is, lots of people seem to love itbut it left me totally cold. I also hate Love Actually but I think that's a more widely held view.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,486
    Foxy said:

    The Christmas parties fear is completely irrational.

    There are 32 omicron cases in the UK. On current trends there might be a few hundred by the time the works party season ends in a fortnight.

    Thirty two.

    Three two.

    FFS.

    Up from 13 yesterday, and those just the diagnosed cases. For every one of those there will be a dozen or more seeded...
    No, up from 22 yesterday. At this rate there will be a few hundred by the time the works party season ends in a fortnight.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,486
    Peter Openshaw from Sage tells ITV News that he wouldn’t feel safe at a Christmas party.

    Would he have felt safe at a Christmas party were it held a week ago?
  • pingping Posts: 3,805
    edited December 2021

    The Christmas parties fear is completely irrational.

    There are 32 omicron cases in the UK. On current trends there might be a few hundred by the time the works party season ends in a fortnight.

    Thirty two.

    Three two.

    FFS.

    I’m pretty sure there will be more than “a few hundred” in a fortnight’s time.

    Fancy a bet?

    15th Dec. Under/over 400 @ evens

    I’ll take the overs. Stake up to £100
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,508

    Leon said:

    WITHNAIL AND I
    SPINAL TAP
    INSIDE OUT
    THE EXORCIST
    LA LA LAND
    SOUND OF MUSIC
    THE WICKER MAN
    1917
    ANDREI RUBLYEV
    RATATOUILLE

    ANDREI RUBLYEV Well done Leon! not only passions and struggles of an artist, but concerns of the whole nation during times of political change and upheaval. This is where art can improve the lives of people living in the same time, so fart can be compared with religion, serving similar goals. Art and faith can provide solace to people, giving them hope and strength. Art exists to help us deal with the world’s imperfections. 👍🏻
    Typical. I done a fart in the middle of my most profoundest thinking. 🤦‍♀️
  • CookieCookie Posts: 13,810

    There are loads of famous "great" movies I haven't watched so my list is probably a bit odd. My list is the films I've watched the most times. I think I saw them all for the first time in my teens excepts Raiders.

    Goodfellas
    Pulp Fiction
    Withnail & I
    Groundhog Day
    Dazed And Confused
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    The Blues Brothers
    White Men Can't Jump
    Good Morning, Vietnam
    Point Break

    Culled from my original too long list were Life Of Brian, Forrest Gump and The Commitments

    Groundhog Day is one of those films you could watch every single day.
    There's a film on your list and on others' though which I really couldn't get into. Withnail and I. I couldn't even finish watching it, I found it so utterly unfunny. I don't know what it is, lots of people seem to love itbut it left me totally cold. I also hate Love Actually but I think that's a more widely held view.
    I hated Love Actually, but not as much as I expected to. Whereas my then girlfriend, who expected to love it, really, really hated it.
    I suspect coming at it cold she would have liked it more than me, but it's the old difference between expectation and reality.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 23,486
    edited December 2021
    Let’s say there is 1,000 cases by 18 Dec. And that Foxy is right that each of those indicates 12 others per case.

    13,000 omicronians by 18 Dec, active and recovered.

    Out of a population of 68 million.

    Maths lessons required perhaps for Sage and iSage talking heads who feel “unsafe” at Christmas parties?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,374
    edited December 2021
    HYUFD said:

    Omnium said:

    Omnium said:

    HYUFD said:

    The Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was a clear further shift to isolate the Cobrynites and far left by Starmer with the appointment of the Blairite Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Brownite Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. That does suggest Starmer is making efforts to make Labour more centrist after its heavy defeat in 2019 under Corbyn.

    However, it was also a clear promotion for Remainers. He replaced Nandy with a fervent People's Vote campaigner in Lammy and alongside Starmer and Reeves most of Labour's top team were diehard Remainers until the 2019 general election. Streeting, also a diehard Remainer, meanwhile came into the Shadow Cabinet as Education Secretary.

    How that goes down in 63% Leave Bexley in the by election tomorrow remains to be seen

    Unlike the last time this was brilliant from Starmer.

    He's managed to get as much wisdom as he can around the table. The left has been hugely weakened, but they'll not point to why.
    Starmer's pointless dig at Angela Rayner was an own goal. Labour needs people who can hammer the Tories and whether you like her or not, Rayner has been cutting through. And she is not even that left-wing.
    Ah yes, I totally agree that his handling of Rayner is a bit odd. I suspect that there's something we don't know there.

    Rayner is a capable politician.
    She seems a loose cannon who is more comfortable preaching to the choir (against "Tory scum" etc) than winning converts.

    As well as the fact he pretty clearly distrusts her, I don't think she and Starmer agree on fundamental approach. What he wants to do is detoxify ("not Corbyn's party"), convey competence ("ready to govern"), and separate Tory voters from Tory politicians in quite a targeted way (a "lions led by donkeys" message). Rayner is more of a tub-thumper - generate a wave of righteous rage in order to win.
    Rayner is Starmer's John Prescott, a token sop to the left and working class and unions, having a grand position as Deputy Leader and Shadow First Secretary of State but little actual power. Prescott of course even in the New Labour years ended every Labour conference with a tub thumping speech ranting at the Tories to the party activists delight, much as Rayner will do
    (John) "Prescott" and "tub thumping" in the same sentence without reference in either case to Chumbawamba is genius, respect!
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,325
    dr_spyn said:

    Part of the fun in watching Hot Fuzz is trying to identify the great variety of rifles, pistols, revolvers, sub machine guns and mines which have supporting roles.

    Mine horns don't work like that..... etc etc
  • CookieCookie Posts: 13,810

    I’m

    go on...?
  • BBC news...

    I was refused a booster for being too young'
    A 34-year-old woman says she is "livid" after being turned away from a booster jab walk-in centre for being too young.

    Heidi Bird, a nutrition scientist in London, tells the BBC she had queued at a pharmacy in Hampstead, North London with other young people who also got turned away.

    "I asked the pharmacist why and he said the system is not set up to handle these at the moment," she says.

    The UK has been dragging its heels on this. All my friends in Europe have been vaccinated.

    ----

    The head of NHS made it absolutely clear yesterday that is not how it works. It going in age grouping. Your friends been vaccinated, but I doubt boostered.

    Why are the BBC even reporting this ranty lady?

    Obviously, it is far from absolutely clear what the new plan is. The old plan (booster after six (or five) months) would naturally follow the original roll-out which was by clinical need and age. Headlines for the new plan were that all adults should be jabbed. I can't blame ranty lady or anyone else for missing the small print.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,057
    edited December 2021

    BBC news...

    I was refused a booster for being too young'
    A 34-year-old woman says she is "livid" after being turned away from a booster jab walk-in centre for being too young.

    Heidi Bird, a nutrition scientist in London, tells the BBC she had queued at a pharmacy in Hampstead, North London with other young people who also got turned away.

    "I asked the pharmacist why and he said the system is not set up to handle these at the moment," she says.

    The UK has been dragging its heels on this. All my friends in Europe have been vaccinated.

    ----

    The head of NHS made it absolutely clear yesterday that is not how it works. It going in age grouping. Your friends been vaccinated, but I doubt boostered.

    Why are the BBC even reporting this ranty lady?

    Obviously, it is far from absolutely clear what the new plan is. The old plan (booster after six (or five) months) would naturally follow the original roll-out which was by clinical need and age. Headlines for the new plan were that all adults should be jabbed. I can't blame ranty lady or anyone else for missing the small print.
    It was absolutely clear at the press conference, under 40, wait to be contacted, and on the NHS website. There is a huge yellow box....which she would have had to go on to find the walk in centre.

    And again why are the BBC even reporting this. I am sure vaccination centres get idiots every day trying to get jabbed who don't have an appointment or aren't eligible. And they report the nonsense about well europe are doing loads of boosters, UK government are crap....which is just false.
  • MoonRabbitMoonRabbit Posts: 13,508

    On the subject of sequels that are better than the originals, I'd nominate Toy Story 3 and the Empire Strikes Back. Manon des Sources too (Emanuelle Beart occupied my fevered teenage imagination for some time).

    Many probably wouldn’t say Raiders 2 but that fighting on two little train tracks through tunnels scene, how the hell did they film that?
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,346
    edited December 2021
    IanB2 said:

    Selebian said:

    Selebian said:

    kinabalu said:

    The Truman Show is a great film imo. Also one I watched ages ago, only on TV and only once, a Dutch psycho-chiller called The Golden Egg, which if the test of a film is how long it stays on your mind is easily the best I've ever seen.

    Not doing a Top 10 (as I'm rubbish at remembering lists - I'd make a list and then amend it every time someome mentioned a good film I'd forgotten).

    But in niche but good films, not necessarily top ten, but worth a watch:
    - End of Sentence (recentish, I think - father-son road trip after death of mother, but much better than that suggests)
    - Head On (English title)/ Gegen die Wand (German - 'Against the wall') from ealry 2000s, I think. Random late night watch on telly, but a fascinating piece of work
    Oh and The Lives of Others and Goodbye Lenin (not mentioned by others?). Starting to think I'm just a sucker for German cinema....
    Yes, the Lives of Others is a cracking film, as well as an exemplar portrayal of a remarkable piece of history.

    As it’s Xmas, surely Great Escape has to be in the mix.

    I’d also add:

    Dances with Wolves
    Black Book
    Shooting Dogs
    Enemy at the Gates
    Fury
    Zelary
    Closely Observed Trains
    Il Divo

    Not that those are particularly Christmassy, although no less so than Die Hard.
    Gladiator has to be up there, Braveheart , Rooster Cogburn, spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood , The Untouchables, Road to Perdition to name but a few , oh Tintin and the Lone ranger with Johnny Depp and all Pirates of the Caribbean, Kidnapped

    PS: Inspector Closeau films.
    Will stop there or be here all night
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,199
    edited December 2021

    There are loads of famous "great" movies I haven't watched so my list is probably a bit odd. My list is the films I've watched the most times. I think I saw them all for the first time in my teens excepts Raiders.

    Goodfellas
    Pulp Fiction
    Withnail & I
    Groundhog Day
    Dazed And Confused
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    The Blues Brothers
    White Men Can't Jump
    Good Morning, Vietnam
    Point Break

    Culled from my original too long list were Life Of Brian, Forrest Gump and The Commitments

    Groundhog Day is one of those films you could watch every single day.
    There's a film on your list and on others' though which I really couldn't get into. Withnail and I. I couldn't even finish watching it, I found it so utterly unfunny. I don't know what it is, lots of people seem to love itbut it left me totally cold. I also hate Love Actually but I think that's a more widely held view.
    DITTO !!!

    Thanks for going first with that. Withnail a total no no.

    But one the other way - I noted you had SLIH. That did not make me laugh very much. I know it's deemed a classic but, nope, not for me.
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830

    There are loads of famous "great" movies I haven't watched so my list is probably a bit odd. My list is the films I've watched the most times. I think I saw them all for the first time in my teens excepts Raiders.

    Goodfellas
    Pulp Fiction
    Withnail & I
    Groundhog Day
    Dazed And Confused
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    The Blues Brothers
    White Men Can't Jump
    Good Morning, Vietnam
    Point Break

    Culled from my original too long list were Life Of Brian, Forrest Gump and The Commitments

    Groundhog Day is one of those films you could watch every single day.
    There's a film on your list and on others' though which I really couldn't get into. Withnail and I. I couldn't even finish watching it, I found it so utterly unfunny. I don't know what it is, lots of people seem to love itbut it left me totally cold. I also hate Love Actually but I think that's a more widely held view.
    Same about Withnail. And same about Spinal Tap actually. Both could be rather dull documentaries about dull people.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 43,346
    IshmaelZ said:

    Foxy said:

    Two famous comedies, the Marx Brothers "A Night at the Opera" and Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" were first shown during trying years, 1935 and 1940, respectively.

    Perhaps we could use some more comedies, now.

    (I am not enough of a movie buff to list ten favorites, but I do suggest that those who are include a few more comedies in their lists.)

    I have seen it many times, but Borat gets me laughing every time!
    I think he is an unpleasant bully. It's funny, mind, just as fear and loathing in Las Vegas is funny (the book, not seen the film) but is about 2 unpleasant bullies

    Mind you the nude wrestling in Borat is the greatest 3 minutes in the whole of cinema
    I find him a mind numbingly boring barsteward
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,385

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    The Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was a clear further shift to isolate the Cobrynites and far left by Starmer with the appointment of the Blairite Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Brownite Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. That does suggest Starmer is making efforts to make Labour more centrist after its heavy defeat in 2019 under Corbyn.

    However, it was also a clear promotion for Remainers. He replaced Nandy with a fervent People's Vote campaigner in Lammy and alongside Starmer and Reeves most of Labour's top team were diehard Remainers until the 2019 general election. Streeting, also a diehard Remainer, meanwhile came into the Shadow Cabinet as Education Secretary.

    How that goes down in 63% Leave Bexley in the by election tomorrow remains to be seen

    I broadly agree on centrist aspects, but I'm not really sure on the Remainer bit. Yes, a lot of Labour centrists backed Starmer's (and Corbyn's, but clearly Starmer was the architect) flawed policy of reopening the issue rather than settling Brexit on the best possible terms in 2019. But it's yesterday's debate.

    On Nandy, I don't actually see it as a demotion. Foreign Secretary is one of the great offices of state, but Shadow Foreign Secretary isn't all that much of a thing - you criticise diplomatic missteps, but the big foreign affairs issues are all pinched by your boss, and the policy development issues aren't that huge.

    Nandy is a good tactical choice to shadow Gove - she's a capable operator and does manage to convey a northern authenticity which is tricky for Gove, who is a good in terms of grip on his brief and policy generation ability (hence why he's been brought in to sort out the mess of levelling up, which has never really got beyond the level of Johnson slogan so far), but is a hard to like southerner.
    The big 3 offices of state are Foreign, Home and Chancellor, it was a demotion for Nandy with Starmer just giving her the levelling up job as a consolation prize. The fact Nandy, who accepted the Brexit result, was replaced with a People's Vote campaigner in Lammy was a clear shift to a more Remain stance by the Labour leadership. That suggests Brexit is far from over, if Starmer becomes PM with SNP and LD support it would be a much more diluted Brexit with the UK closely aligned to both the SM and CU.

    Shad Foreign was a daft job to give Nandy in the first place. She's much better placed now. Queen of the North.

    I like that. Andy and Lisa - King and Queen of the North. Get the spin doctors on it.
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,219
    edited December 2021
    A question for the techies:

    Should I be upgrading my IPhone to iOS 15?
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,959
    Of course we have forgotten that vital film category - films you wouldn't dare watch or admit to watching unless on an aeroplane.

    Grimsby for me.

    Was crying with laughter the whole way through many snorts as well the other passengers thought I was mad.
  • AslanAslan Posts: 1,673
    IshmaelZ said:

    There are loads of famous "great" movies I haven't watched so my list is probably a bit odd. My list is the films I've watched the most times. I think I saw them all for the first time in my teens excepts Raiders.

    Goodfellas
    Pulp Fiction
    Withnail & I
    Groundhog Day
    Dazed And Confused
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    The Blues Brothers
    White Men Can't Jump
    Good Morning, Vietnam
    Point Break

    Culled from my original too long list were Life Of Brian, Forrest Gump and The Commitments

    Groundhog Day is one of those films you could watch every single day.
    There's a film on your list and on others' though which I really couldn't get into. Withnail and I. I couldn't even finish watching it, I found it so utterly unfunny. I don't know what it is, lots of people seem to love itbut it left me totally cold. I also hate Love Actually but I think that's a more widely held view.
    Same about Withnail. And same about Spinal Tap actually. Both could be rather dull documentaries about dull people.
    +2 on Withnail. For Spinal Tap I think it helps if you are really into that period of music.
  • IanB2IanB2 Posts: 49,868
    HYUFD said:
    I trust your prediction for NS remains unchanged.
  • BBC News - Covid Omicron: Time to consider mandatory jabs, EU chief says
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59497462
  • StockyStocky Posts: 10,219
    IshmaelZ said:

    There are loads of famous "great" movies I haven't watched so my list is probably a bit odd. My list is the films I've watched the most times. I think I saw them all for the first time in my teens excepts Raiders.

    Goodfellas
    Pulp Fiction
    Withnail & I
    Groundhog Day
    Dazed And Confused
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    The Blues Brothers
    White Men Can't Jump
    Good Morning, Vietnam
    Point Break

    Culled from my original too long list were Life Of Brian, Forrest Gump and The Commitments

    Groundhog Day is one of those films you could watch every single day.
    There's a film on your list and on others' though which I really couldn't get into. Withnail and I. I couldn't even finish watching it, I found it so utterly unfunny. I don't know what it is, lots of people seem to love itbut it left me totally cold. I also hate Love Actually but I think that's a more widely held view.
    Same about Withnail. And same about Spinal Tap actually. Both could be rather dull documentaries about dull people.
    No ... Withnail and I is hilarious.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,067
    edited December 2021
    IanB2 said:
    If Boris holds Old Bexley and Sidcup reasonably comfortably he can brush off even a loss in North Shropshire as a Paterson protest vote
  • Re: movies, am nominating "Stagecoach" (1939) directed by John Ford, classic western staring John Wayne and other great actors, and featuring Yakima Canute doing some amazing, ground-breaking stunt work.

    Also "UHF" (1989) from the wild mind of Weird Al Yankovic.
  • Peter Openshaw from Sage tells ITV News that he wouldn’t feel safe at a Christmas party.

    Would he have felt safe at a Christmas party were it held a week ago?

    Has he ever felt safe at a Xmas party?
  • maaarshmaaarsh Posts: 3,590
    Stocky said:

    A question for the techies:

    Should I be upgrading my IPhone to iOS 15?

    Have any actually useful new features come out in the last... decade. Updates now just seem to be security and making sure phones slow down enough to force people to buy new ones.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,023

    HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    The Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was a clear further shift to isolate the Cobrynites and far left by Starmer with the appointment of the Blairite Lammy as Shadow Foreign Secretary and the Brownite Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. That does suggest Starmer is making efforts to make Labour more centrist after its heavy defeat in 2019 under Corbyn.

    However, it was also a clear promotion for Remainers. He replaced Nandy with a fervent People's Vote campaigner in Lammy and alongside Starmer and Reeves most of Labour's top team were diehard Remainers until the 2019 general election. Streeting, also a diehard Remainer, meanwhile came into the Shadow Cabinet as Education Secretary.

    How that goes down in 63% Leave Bexley in the by election tomorrow remains to be seen

    I broadly agree on centrist aspects, but I'm not really sure on the Remainer bit. Yes, a lot of Labour centrists backed Starmer's (and Corbyn's, but clearly Starmer was the architect) flawed policy of reopening the issue rather than settling Brexit on the best possible terms in 2019. But it's yesterday's debate.

    On Nandy, I don't actually see it as a demotion. Foreign Secretary is one of the great offices of state, but Shadow Foreign Secretary isn't all that much of a thing - you criticise diplomatic missteps, but the big foreign affairs issues are all pinched by your boss, and the policy development issues aren't that huge.

    Nandy is a good tactical choice to shadow Gove - she's a capable operator and does manage to convey a northern authenticity which is tricky for Gove, who is a good in terms of grip on his brief and policy generation ability (hence why he's been brought in to sort out the mess of levelling up, which has never really got beyond the level of Johnson slogan so far), but is a hard to like southerner.
    The big 3 offices of state are Foreign, Home and Chancellor, it was a demotion for Nandy with Starmer just giving her the levelling up job as a consolation prize. The fact Nandy, who accepted the Brexit result, was replaced with a People's Vote campaigner in Lammy was a clear shift to a more Remain stance by the Labour leadership. That suggests Brexit is far from over, if Starmer becomes PM with SNP and LD support it would be a much more diluted Brexit with the UK closely aligned to both the SM and CU.

    Shad Foreign was a daft job to give Nandy in the first place. She's much better placed now. Queen of the North.

    I like that. Andy and Lisa - King and Queen of the North. Get the spin doctors on it.
    Of course, Tracy Brabin may also claim the crown.

    Queen of West Yorkshire, anyway.
  • Omicron was in the UK days before South Africa warned the world of the new Covid variant, it has emerged after the majority of cases in Scotland were linked to a single 'event' on November 20.

    Mail Online


    Looks like it started in Scotland :smiley:
  • AslanAslan Posts: 1,673
    moonshine said:

    On sequels and remakes.

    Bourne Supremacy > Bourne Identity
    The Departed > Internal Affairs
    Attack of the Clones > Phantom Menace (maybe)

    Also both Spiderman 2 and Spiderman Homecoming are superior to Spiderman 1. Haven’t seen the Garfield ones.

    Attack of the Clones is the worst Star Wars movie, and that's a very low bar to still miss.
  • Foxy said:

    rcs1000 said:

    No Trainspotting love?

    Great film.
    moonshine said:

    On sequels and remakes.

    Bourne Supremacy > Bourne Identity
    The Departed > Internal Affairs
    Attack of the Clones > Phantom Menace (maybe)

    Also both Spiderman 2 and Spiderman Homecoming are superior to Spiderman 1. Haven’t seen the Garfield ones.

    ITV4 did the Mad Max season a few weeks back. Mad Max 2 is a great film, though the original is an under recognised gem.

    The problem with a lot of sequels is producers and directors worry about the financials and end up substituting money for ideas. See Alien.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,057
    edited December 2021

    Omicron was in the UK days before South Africa warned the world of the new Covid variant, it has emerged after the majority of cases in Scotland were linked to a single 'event' on November 20.

    Mail Online


    Looks like it started in Scotland :smiley:

    The Israel earliest case came from somebody who attended a medical conference in London a couple of weeks ago.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176
    Bad Boys 2 is better than Bad Boys.
  • I think the Withnail haters are being very bald.
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,385
    Having said earlier that Goodfellas is the best film and soundtrack ever, how about favourite scene ever?
    Travolta and Thurman dancing to You Never Can Tell in Pulp Fiction.
  • Switzerland reports 10,466 new coronavirus cases, the biggest one-day increase on record
  • AslanAslan Posts: 1,673

    Having said earlier that Goodfellas is the best film and soundtrack ever, how about favourite scene ever?
    Travolta and Thurman dancing to You Never Can Tell in Pulp Fiction.

    Christopher Walken interrogating Dennis Hopper in True Romance.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,067
    Farage's exclusive interview with Donald Trump in Florida at Mar a Lago on GB news just started now
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    edited December 2021
    Foxy said:

    MattW said:

    Foxy said:

    Two famous comedies, the Marx Brothers "A Night at the Opera" and Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" were first shown during trying years, 1935 and 1940, respectively.

    Perhaps we could use some more comedies, now.

    (I am not enough of a movie buff to list ten favorites, but I do suggest that those who are include a few more comedies in their lists.)

    I have seen it many times, but Borat gets me laughing every time!
    Personally I would love to see an Isis or Taliban version of The Producers.

    It is definitely required.
    The original The Producers is also amongst the funniest films ever made.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPXHRX8Q2hs
  • HYUFD said:

    Farage's exclusive interview with Donald Trump in Florida at Mar a Lago on GB news just started now

    Luckily, there are 5000 other channels available.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,057
    edited December 2021
    HYUFD said:

    Farage's exclusive interview with Donald Trump in Florida at Mar a Lago on GB news just started now

    Twitter ban...wrrrrrrooooooonnnngggggg....low energy, no excitement, boring, now i am not on it.
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,385
    edited December 2021
    HYUFD said:

    Farage's exclusive interview with Donald Trump in Florida at Mar a Lago on GB news just started now

    I don't think that's going to make it into my favourite film list.
  • Omicron was in the UK days before South Africa warned the world of the new Covid variant, it has emerged after the majority of cases in Scotland were linked to a single 'event' on November 20.

    Mail Online


    Looks like it started in Scotland :smiley:

    The Israel earliest case came from somebody who attended a medical conference in London a couple of weeks ago.
    London Smog variant?
  • HYUFD said:

    Farage's exclusive interview with Donald Trump in Florida at Mar a Lago on GB news just started now

    Who cares
  • Omicron was in the UK days before South Africa warned the world of the new Covid variant, it has emerged after the majority of cases in Scotland were linked to a single 'event' on November 20.

    Mail Online


    Looks like it started in Scotland :smiley:

    COP26 maybe
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,199

    kinabalu said:

    Sorry but I now can't get this out of my head - 12 Angry Men as PB argument cum jury deliberation. I picture a man called Boris on trial and the charge is "Putting a Border in the Irish Sea". It looks a slam dunk - he did it - and when the jury retire they agree. However it's not quite unanimous. It's 11 to 1 for Guilty. But that one is the indefatigable Philip Thompson - played not by Henry Fonda but by Christian Bale - and he sees it differently. Cue an interminable debate, back & forth, forth & back, as he first refuses to concede and then, slowly, relentlessly, grinds the others down, forces them to say everything 10 times, then rebuts it 10 times, till they are faced with the choice of killing him, which is a world of trouble, or caving in and agreeing. Which they do, they change their vote and Boris goes free.

    But for PT, as he says repeatedly, dying is part of life. So maybe they take the choice of killing him, and stick with convicting Boris.
    PS: I do hope you weren't thinking of American Psycho in suggesting Christian Bale for the PT role.
    The nervy yet oddly deadpan energy of Bale, plus I was going for affectionate send-up there, so I thought I'd pick an ok actor. Who I actually picture in the role is a slightly different matter but anyway ...
  • HYUFD said:

    IanB2 said:
    If Boris holds Old Bexley and Sidcup reasonably comfortably he can brush off even a loss in North Shropshire as a Paterson protest vote
    I think that's right. Especially as close to xmas, so attention will be elsewhere, e.g. have we got the tree ordered, is there any stuffing left in the shops etc.
  • Having said earlier that Goodfellas is the best film and soundtrack ever, how about favourite scene ever?
    Travolta and Thurman dancing to You Never Can Tell in Pulp Fiction.

    Stallone training by running though Philly in Rocky.

    It was completely unstaged. They (I think Stallone and two others) drove around looking for places for him to run. They couldn't afford any extras, so the people in the market are just real people in a market, and the guy that throws him an orange just did that spontaneously.

    When Stallone gets to the top of the steps and starts shadow boxing, they actually play the tape of him doing it in reverse.

    And it's got the Rocky theme.
  • Cookie said:

    I’m

    go on...?
    ...thinking?
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 123,067
    edited December 2021

    HYUFD said:

    Farage's exclusive interview with Donald Trump in Florida at Mar a Lago on GB news just started now

    Who cares
    Well he leads Biden again in some current 2024 polls, for now, so he cannot be ignored even if you loathe him
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,199

    kinabalu said:

    Sorry but I now can't get this out of my head - 12 Angry Men as PB argument cum jury deliberation. I picture a man called Boris on trial and the charge is "Putting a Border in the Irish Sea". It looks a slam dunk - he did it - and when the jury retire they agree. However it's not quite unanimous. It's 11 to 1 for Guilty. But that one is the indefatigable Philip Thompson - played not by Henry Fonda but by Christian Bale - and he sees it differently. Cue an interminable debate, back & forth, forth & back, as he first refuses to concede and then, slowly, relentlessly, grinds the others down, forces them to say everything 10 times, then rebuts it 10 times, till they are faced with the choice of killing him, which is a world of trouble, or caving in and agreeing. Which they do, they change their vote and Boris goes free.

    LOL!

    Considering I put all 3 Dark Knight movies in my top 10, I'm quite honoured to be played by Christian Bale.
    Yes, I saw your list. Very 'superhero' heavy. Quite strikingly so.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 21,298
    Not a Top 10:

    Vertigo
    Rear Window
    North By Northwest
    The 39 Steps

    Paths of Glory
    Dr Strangelove
    2001: Space Odyssey
    A Clockwork Orange

    La Strada
    Nights of Cabiria
    8 1/2
    Amarcord

    +

    The Leopard
  • HYUFD said:

    Farage's exclusive interview with Donald Trump in Florida at Mar a Lago on GB news just started now

    If I wanted to see Nigel with his tongue so far up Donald's arse that he's able to polish the man's tonsils, then I'd have accepted the invitation to visit Vladimir Putin's personal video library.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 23,209
    edited December 2021

    BBC news...

    I was refused a booster for being too young'
    A 34-year-old woman says she is "livid" after being turned away from a booster jab walk-in centre for being too young.

    Heidi Bird, a nutrition scientist in London, tells the BBC she had queued at a pharmacy in Hampstead, North London with other young people who also got turned away.

    "I asked the pharmacist why and he said the system is not set up to handle these at the moment," she says.

    The UK has been dragging its heels on this. All my friends in Europe have been vaccinated.

    ----

    The head of NHS made it absolutely clear yesterday that is not how it works. It going in age grouping. Your friends been vaccinated, but I doubt boostered.

    Why are the BBC even reporting this ranty lady?

    Obviously, it is far from absolutely clear what the new plan is. The old plan (booster after six (or five) months) would naturally follow the original roll-out which was by clinical need and age. Headlines for the new plan were that all adults should be jabbed. I can't blame ranty lady or anyone else for missing the small print.
    I didn't even listen to it, and it is in neon lights.

    The rollout will be done in age bands, as before.

    Ranty lady even seems confused between the difference between a 'booster' and a 'vaccination'.
  • Warning. Just got this dodgy email:

    Get Your Free Omicron PCR today to avoid restrictions

    NHS scientists have warned that the new Covid variant Omicron spreads rapidly, can be transmitted between fully vaccinated people, and makes jabs less effective.However, as the new covid variant (Omicron)has quickly become apparent, we have had to make new test kits as the new variant appears dormant in the original test kits.

    What happen if you decline a COVID-19 Omicron test?
    In this situation, we warned that testing is in the best interests of themselves, friends, and family. People who do not consent or cannot agree to a COVID-19 test and refuse to undergo a swab must be isolated.

    How to request a Free Omicron PCR test?
    You can order your Omicorn pcr test via NHS portal by clicking the link below:



    The link is NOT NHS but in Sri Lanka.
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 21,298
    MattW said:

    BBC news...

    I was refused a booster for being too young'
    A 34-year-old woman says she is "livid" after being turned away from a booster jab walk-in centre for being too young.

    Heidi Bird, a nutrition scientist in London, tells the BBC she had queued at a pharmacy in Hampstead, North London with other young people who also got turned away.

    "I asked the pharmacist why and he said the system is not set up to handle these at the moment," she says.

    The UK has been dragging its heels on this. All my friends in Europe have been vaccinated.

    ----

    The head of NHS made it absolutely clear yesterday that is not how it works. It going in age grouping. Your friends been vaccinated, but I doubt boostered.

    Why are the BBC even reporting this ranty lady?

    Obviously, it is far from absolutely clear what the new plan is. The old plan (booster after six (or five) months) would naturally follow the original roll-out which was by clinical need and age. Headlines for the new plan were that all adults should be jabbed. I can't blame ranty lady or anyone else for missing the small print.
    I didn't even listen to it, and it is in neon lights.

    The rollout will be done in age bands, as before.

    Ranty lady even seems confused between the difference between a 'booster' and a 'vaccination'.
    I don’t think it’s obvious.

    Previously, the booster was being administered in age bands, at least 6 months after the last shot.

    Now, the booster is administered in age bands, at least 6 months after the last shot.

    Nothing’s bloody changed.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,199
    edited December 2021

    HYUFD said:

    Farage's exclusive interview with Donald Trump in Florida at Mar a Lago on GB news just started now

    I don't think that's going to make it into my favourite film list.
    A litmus test of courage is to be able to look a problem right in the eye, not shy away from it, but I seriously could not watch that. I simply don't have it in me.
  • Omicron was in the UK days before South Africa warned the world of the new Covid variant, it has emerged after the majority of cases in Scotland were linked to a single 'event' on November 20.

    Mail Online


    Looks like it started in Scotland :smiley:

    The Israel earliest case came from somebody who attended a medical conference in London a couple of weeks ago.
    London Smog variant?
    Cockney Covid II.
  • MattW said:

    BBC news...

    I was refused a booster for being too young'
    A 34-year-old woman says she is "livid" after being turned away from a booster jab walk-in centre for being too young.

    Heidi Bird, a nutrition scientist in London, tells the BBC she had queued at a pharmacy in Hampstead, North London with other young people who also got turned away.

    "I asked the pharmacist why and he said the system is not set up to handle these at the moment," she says.

    The UK has been dragging its heels on this. All my friends in Europe have been vaccinated.

    ----

    The head of NHS made it absolutely clear yesterday that is not how it works. It going in age grouping. Your friends been vaccinated, but I doubt boostered.

    Why are the BBC even reporting this ranty lady?

    Obviously, it is far from absolutely clear what the new plan is. The old plan (booster after six (or five) months) would naturally follow the original roll-out which was by clinical need and age. Headlines for the new plan were that all adults should be jabbed. I can't blame ranty lady or anyone else for missing the small print.
    I didn't even listen to it, and it is in neon lights.

    The rollout will be done in age bands, as before.

    Ranty lady even seems confused between the difference between a 'booster' and a 'vaccination'.
    If she'd listened to Boris, she'd know. But if she'd listened to The Saj on the same day, he did not mention an age-based rollout. There is also the problem that what was announced as a great change is really doing the same thing as before, only faster.
  • BigRichBigRich Posts: 3,492

    Omicron was in the UK days before South Africa warned the world of the new Covid variant, it has emerged after the majority of cases in Scotland were linked to a single 'event' on November 20.

    Mail Online


    Looks like it started in Scotland :smiley:

    I thought the UK was 'sequaning' (is that the right word?) a large proportion/most of the samples taken for PCR testing, which would show up the variants?

    Am I wrong?
  • HYUFD said:

    HYUFD said:

    Farage's exclusive interview with Donald Trump in Florida at Mar a Lago on GB news just started now

    Who cares
    Well he leads Biden again in some current 2024 polls, for now, so he cannot be ignored even if you loathe him
    For my piece of mind, yes he can and Farage as well
  • GardenwalkerGardenwalker Posts: 21,298
    First Omicron case found in the US - California.
This discussion has been closed.