Chewin' the Fat (1999)

With three shows under its collective belt, this comedy team has put Scottish comedy on the map. This one-season show was my first introduction, so I had to listen closely to "get the swing of the lingo" by episode 4, before I started over again to enjoy the whole season in one swell foop! These sketches (esp. the recurring ones like the randy retirement home biddy) are inspired genius and mostly based on real-life examples (for example, Big Man). My only quibble is the camera-mugging prankster in the lighthouse sketches. I'd watch this show again at the drop of a shot glass. Enjoy! 4 stars. (12-15-2017)

Darkest Hour (2017)

I saw Darkest Hour previewed in Houston three days before it opened, and greatly enjoyed it. In a surprising benefit to the preview, the great-grandson of Winston Churchill was present to introduce the film and to ably answer questions afterwards. (He "married a Texan" and speaks eloquently of his forefather's legacy -- historic, world-saving, and then cast aside after the war.) Gary Oldman deserves an Oscar for his performance. Touches of humor are smart and wry. The film only covers the span from shortly before Churchill's elevation to British Prime Minister to his historic "never surrender" speech, and left me wanting more. I felt like I was there with Churchill, experiencing the man through his words and actions, on which the US and the UK soon after founded their "special relationship." I will see this movie again with a British friend. Enjoy! 4.5 stars. (12-15-2017)