Archives for March 2012

Top Ten: The West Wing Moments

15 March 2012 by Louise 5 Comments

Much as I love movies, going to the cinema or having a good old DVD watching session, I’m also a big fan of the TV box-set. Just before Christmas I named my top TV boxsets and of the ten shows on the list my favourite is undoubtedly The West Wing…

Filed Under: Top 10 Tagged With: Aaron Sorkin, John Spencer, Josiah Bartlet, Leo McGarry, The West Wing, TV Boxsets

Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner

12 March 2012 by Louise Leave a Comment

One of the most enduring on-screen partnerships was undoubtedly that of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Their long-standing romance was hidden from fans but is now recognised as one of Hollywood’s greatest real-life love stories…

Filed Under: Movies Tagged With: Adam's Rib, Desk Set, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton, liberalism, racism, Sidney Poitieir, Spencer Tracy, Stanley Kramer, Woman of the Year

Top Ten: Disney Songs

10 March 2012 by Louise Leave a Comment

The death of Disney songwriter Robert B. Sheldon earlier this week got me thinking about how many fabulous songs there have been in Disney films over the years. From Snow White’s Heigh-Ho

Filed Under: Top 10 Tagged With: Beauty and the Beast, Circle of Life, Disney, Elton John, Hakuna Matata, Heigh-Ho, Mary Poppins, Michael Caine, Robert B. Sheldon, Snow White, Song of the South, Statler and Waldorf, Tangled, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Tigger, Tim Rice, Under the Sea, Walt Disney

Sleepyhead

9 March 2012 by Louise 1 Comment

I’m delighted to have been chosen as one of this year’s World Book Night givers. I didn’t get my first choice, The Book Thief, but I’m still really pleased to be able to give away 24 copies of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road…

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Cormac McCarthy, crime novels, David Morrissey, locked-in syndrome, Mark Billingham, Scaredy Cat, Sleepyhead, The Book Thief, The Road, Tom Thorne, World Book Night

The Secret Life of Bletchley Park

6 March 2012 by Louise Leave a Comment

One of last year’s surprise publishing hits was Sinclair McKay’s The Secret Life of Bletchley Park which looked at the men and women who worked at the secret code-breaking centre during World War II…

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Alan Turing, Bletchley Park, code-breaking, Enigma machine, Sinclair McKay, The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, World War II

Robert B. Sherman Dies

6 March 2012 by Louise Leave a Comment

Legendary songwriter Robert B. Sherman has died at the age of 86. The name may not be familiar to everyone but the songs will be. For many of us, including me, the songs that Robert Sherman and his brother Richard Morton Sherman wrote are an important part of our childhood. Most closely associated with Disney, the Sherman Brothers songs include Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious…

Filed Under: Movie News Tagged With: Disney, Feed The Birds, I Wanna Be Like You, It's A Small World, Richard Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, The Bare Necessities, The Sherman Brothers, The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers

The Social Network

2 March 2012 by Louise Leave a Comment

If you listen to the BBC’s flagship movie programme Kermode & Mayo’s Film Reviews on Five Live, you’ll know there’s an ongoing debate about whether Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a spy movie…

Filed Under: Movies Tagged With: A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Cameron Winklevoss, David Fincher, Eduardo Saverin, Facebook, Jesse Eisenberg, Kermode and Mayo, Mark Zuckerberg, social media, The American President, The Social Network, The West Wing, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tyler Winklevoss, Winklevii

A Cold Snow In Castaway County

1 March 2012 by Louise 1 Comment

I’ve not yet visited America but I have a strong sense of what different areas are like. New York City is a place of 24 hour excitement, Los Angeles is glamorous…

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: A Cold Snow in Castaway County, cold cases, crime novels, Dell Hinton, John Lindsey Hickman, murder, New England