Dan McGinn
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danmc2.bsky.social
Dan McGinn
@danmc2.bsky.social
97 followers 220 following 130 posts
Dad, Husband, dog owner, Comms geezer, film critic, Blogger, Facebooker, Instagramer, less frequent Tweeter & West Ham dreamer.
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danmc2.bsky.social
RECYCLING PROJECT: We start 2026 with two #BBC1 sitcoms - the new #BrendanOCarroll pilot #Shedites and the #NewYearsEve episode of #TomBasden's #HereWeGo. But did both deliver enough laughs?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2026/01/recy... #PaddyHoulihan #PhilDavis #KatherineParkinson #AlisonSteadman
The Men's Shed phenomenon is the source of inspiration for a comedy pilot on BBC1 Shedites but does the Dublin sitcom deliver enough laughs? With three series already under its belt, BBC1's Bedford set suburban sitcom Here We Go returned for a New Year's Eve episode but how close is it to be claiming its place among the best British suburban comedies? Who had on their 2026 celebrity bingo card Quadrophenia star Phil Davis appearing in an Irish sitcom with Mrs Brown's Boys star Brendan O'Connor? The Here We Go cast sing Aul Langs Syne in the New Years Eve episode of the show but did Tom Basden's sitcom fly?
January 4, 2026 at 10:33 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
HEROES AND LOVERS: 2026 will see the return of popular franchises, daring takes on literary classics and plenty of awards contenders. But what #cinema will Pomona be keeping an eye on this year?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2026/01/hero...
January 2, 2026 at 7:29 PM
danmc2.bsky.social
LAUGH? I NEARLY PAID MY SUBSCRIPTION FEE: 2026 promises the return of some old favourites, some sitcom reboots, a fresh #LisaMcGee comedy drama and a new #DoctorWho. So what is on Pomona's watchlist for this year?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2026/01/laug...
January 2, 2026 at 9:19 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
THE ART OF THE STEAL: Pomona's last two #film reviews of 2025 are #indie #director #KellyReichardt's crima drama #TheMastermind and #WalterSalles' Oscar winning Brazilian drama #ImStillHere. But do we end on a high?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-... #JoshOConnor #FernandaTorres
December 31, 2025 at 5:04 PM
danmc2.bsky.social
FEEL LUCKY PUNK?: #SallyWainwright's #RiotWomen hit our TV screens on BBC1 with its tale of an accidental, menopausal punk band in #Yorkshire,. But did it amuse?.. alternativepomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/feel...
December 31, 2025 at 9:55 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
WHERE'S THE PARTY?: Pomona's last minute mop up of 2025 #movies sees review two films with very different budgets - Paddy Duffy's #Belfast #student comedy #TheUnholylands & the #Marvel tale #Thunderbolts* with #FlorencePugh. So what do we make of them?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/wher...
Paddy Duffy's Belfast comedy The Unholylands celebrates student boorishness but does it deliver any laughs? James Nesbitt makes cameo appearances in the low budget Belfast comedy The Unholylands but the question is why? Florence Pugh's Yelena Bolova returns in Marvel's Thunderbolts* but is her star power enough to carry it? Julia Louis-Dreyfus is one of the more experienced hands in Thunderbolts* but how does it compare to the 35 MCU films that preceded it?
December 30, 2025 at 4:43 PM
danmc2.bsky.social
HOUSE OF PAIN: #JoachimTrier's Norwegian family drama #SentimentalValue and the #RussoBrothers' #TheElectricState have vastly different budgets. So how come the $12 million film manages to outclass the $320 million movie in almost every department?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/hous...
Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lileass impress as sisters on Joachim Trier's absorbing Norwegian family drama Sentimental Value. Stellan Skarsgard is superb as an errant father and film director who teams up with Elle Fanning's eager Hollywood star in Sentimental Value. Chris Pratt, Millie Bobby Brown and a robot voiced by Anthony Mackie go on a soulless journey in the Russo Brothers' dire and confused Netflix movie The Electric State. Woody Harrelson voices the Planters Peanut logo Mr Peanut, leader of the robot revolution in one of the worst movies to hit our screens in 2025, The Electric State.
December 29, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Dan McGinn
irishtimes.com
Brigitte Bardot, French screen legend and animal rights activist, dies aged 91
Brigitte Bardot, French screen legend and animal rights activist, dies aged 91
French actress shot to fame in the 1950s, subsequently retiring and becoming active politically
www.irishtimes.com
December 28, 2025 at 10:13 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
FROM WINDSOR TO ROME: Two BBC documentaries purport to peel back the secrets of the #British #Monarchy & the #Papacy. So what does Pomona make of #DavidDimbleby's #WhatsTheMonarchyFor & #SecretsoftheConclave?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/from...
The influence, wealth and image of King Charles and his fellow Royals is the focus of David Dimbleby's proving BBC1 documentary What's The Monarchy For? Among the famous faces who David Dimbleby seeks insight from in What's The Monarchy For? is former British Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. After seeing Hollywood's recent take on the election of a Pope in the Oscar nominated movie Conclave, BBC2 offers a peek into the real election that took place this year in Secrets of the Conclave. Pope Leo is the first American to be chosen as the leader of the Catholic Church but does the new BBC2 documentary Secrets of the Conclave shed enough light on the process that elected him?
December 28, 2025 at 10:16 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
ALL IN THE FAMILY: #GoodbyeJune, the directorial debut of #KateWinslet, takes an all star cast and uses a #Festive backdrop to examine family dynamics in the face of #death. Pomona reflects on it and one of 2025's biggest box office smashes #Sinners.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/all-...
Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet star in the latter's directorial debut, the Festive family drama Goodbye June, now on Netflix. Michael B Jordan takes on dual roles as twin brothers in Ryan Coogler's vivid Mississippi Delta vampire period drama Sinners. Andrea Riseborough, Johnny Flynn, Kate Winslet and Timothy Spall's family struggles to come to terms with the grim prognosis for Helen Mirren's matriarch in the Winslet directed Christmas drama Goodbye June. Jack O'Connell shines as an Irish vampire in Ryan Coogler's supernatural horror box office smash Sinners.
December 27, 2025 at 11:02 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT: Landing the primetime slot on Christmas Day was no mean feat for #Amandaland. But did it live up to the hype? Pomona considers this and another project #SharonHorgan was involved in #TheTwistedTaleofAmandaKnox.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/high...
Amandaland, the sitcom about Lucy Punch's Queen Bee and would be influencer, landed a Christmas Day episode on BBC1 but did the episode with Samuel Anderson live up to expectation? Jennifer Saunders had a much hyped reunion with her Absolutely Fabulous co-star Joanna Lumley in the Christmas episode of Amandaland but was it a hit or a miss? Grace Van Patten stars as Amanda Knox in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox but was it wise for Hulu and Disney Plus to dramatise such a high profile and controversial Italian murder case? Sharon Horgan leads the supporting cast in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox but can the eight part miniseries about the murder of British student Meredith Kercher and the miscarriage of justice that followed avoid the pitfalls?
December 26, 2025 at 12:09 PM
danmc2.bsky.social
TICK, TICK, BOOM: As we head into the final furlong for 2025, Pomona reflects on two #films featuring #AyoEdebiri. So what do we make of the academic drama #AfterTheHunt with #JuliaRoberts & the #horror tale #Opus with #JohnMalkovich?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/tick... #AndrewGarfield
Ayo Edebiri plays a Yale student at the centre of a #MeToo scandal in Luca Guadagnino's movie After The Fall but does the campus drama convince? In Mark Anthony Green's horror movie Opus, Ayo Edebiri's journalist has a twisted encounter with celebrity as John Malkovich's reclusive 1990s pop music icon makes a comeback. Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield find themselves embroiled in a campus controversy at Yale in Luca Guadagnino's After The Fall. Juliette Lewis is just one of the actors who joins Ayo Edebiri in the satirical horror movie Opus but does the movie work?
December 25, 2025 at 1:00 PM
danmc2.bsky.social
RAIL LIFE: #ClintBentley's period drama #TrainDreams with #JoelEdgerton is an elegaic reflection on the life of an #Idaho #railway construction worker. Find out why Pomona was so charmed by the #Netflix #film.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/rail... #FelicityJones #KerryCondon #WilliamHMacy
Joel Edgerton's Idaho railway construction worker Robert Grainier finds a purpose in life through fatherhood in Clint Bentley's sumptuous Netflix movie adaptation of Denis Johnson's novella Train Dreams. Felicity Jones' Gladys helps Joel Edgerton's Robert find a better way to live in Clint Bentley's period tale Train Dreams. William H Macy's explosives expert helps clear land for the railway in Clint Bentley's jaw droppingly gorgeous Netflix movie Train Dreams. The shocking death of Alfred Hsing's co worker Fu Sheng haunts Joel Edgerton's railroad construction worker Robert in Train Dreams.
December 24, 2025 at 8:37 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
BABE AND A WOOD: With #WhiteLotus, #ToxicTown & #FilmClub, 2025 has been quite some year for #AimeeLouWood. But does she cap it off successfully with the second series of the #BBC3 #sitcom #DaddyIssues?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/babe... #DavidMorrissey #TajAtwal #SharonRooney #DavidFynn
David Morrissey and Aimee Lou Wood star in the BBC3 sitcom Daddy Issues but does Danielle Ward's sitcom land all its blows? Taj Atwal turns in one of the show's strongest performances as Cherry in BBC3's Stockport set sitcom Daddy Issues. David Morrissey's Malcolm meets his other daughter Sharon Rooney's Catherine in jail in the sitcom Daddy Issues. Series One of Daddy Issues finds Aimee Lou Wood's Gemma dealing with the joys of pregnancy, while Series Two tackles motherhood. But how does the show measure up against other UK sitcoms?
December 23, 2025 at 9:30 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
THE FIGHTING IRISH: #Saipan revisits the feud between #Irish #footballer #RoyKeane and his manager #MickMcCarthy before the 2002 #WorldCup. But does #LisaBarrosDSa and #GlennLeyburn's #feature match the real life drama?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-... #eannahardwicke #stevecoogan
Steve Coogan and Eanna Hardwicke recreate Ireland manager Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane's infamous bust up before the 2002 World Cup in the movie Saipan. Eanna Hardwickee embodies the spirit and physicality of his fellow Corkman Roy Keane in Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn's football movie Saipan. Steve Coogan taps into his Irish roots as the football manager Mick McCarthy in Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn's 2002 World Cup movie Saipan. The trials and tribulations of the Irish soccer team's preparations for the 2002 World Cup hit the bog screen in the movie Saipan.
December 19, 2025 at 6:18 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
PERMISSION TO BE HUMAN: #GeorgeClooney and #NoahBaumbach have teamed up for an introspective #Netflix movie #JayKelly with nods to #FedericoFellini and #WoodyAllen. But does the star studded tale of an ageing #Hollywood star convince?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/perm... #adamsandler #film
George Clooney plays a version of himself in Noah Baumbach's tale of a Hollywood star, Jay Kelly on Netflix. Laura Dern and Adam Sandler are members of a Hollywood star's entourage who find themselves questioning their loyalty and life choices in the Netflix movie Jay Kelly. George Clooney's eponymous anti-hero Jay Kelly wanders through Tuscany troubled by his treatment of family members like Riley Keough's Jessica in Noah Baumbach's film. Gripping Adam Sandler's character Ron's hand, George Clooney's Jay Kelly watches a career showreel that draws from the actor's real life career but is Noah Baumbach's film too self indulgent?
December 15, 2025 at 6:36 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE: #RianJohnson and #DanielCraig are back with a third star studded #KnivesOut mystery #WakeUpDeadMan. But is it a worthy #sequel? Pomona considers it and the #StephenKing adaptation #TheLifeofChuck.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/fire... #JoshOConnor #JoshBrolin #MarkHamill
Daniel Craig returns as the flamboyant super sleuth Benoit Blanc for Wake Up Dead Man, the third Knives Out mystery but does the star studded Netflix film match expectations? Tom Hiddleston is the title character in the 2024 Toronto Film Festival People's Choice award winner The Life of Chuck but why did Mike Flanagan's film not strike a chord at the box office? Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeney, Kerry Washington, Glenn Close, Thomas Haden Church and Daryl McCormack are among the star studded cast in Rian Johnson's Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out mystery but does it delight? Mark Hamill joins an accomplished cast in Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck, a big screen adaptation of a Stephen King novella.
December 13, 2025 at 11:41 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
#StanleyBaxter at his best. Sorry to hear he has passed away.. youtu.be/sfhxptqpbCA?...
STANLEY BAXTER - ETHEL MERMAN
YouTube video by Gary Carter
youtu.be
December 12, 2025 at 12:38 PM
danmc2.bsky.social
IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE: #EmmaThompson & #RuthWilson are sucked into a military cover-up in #DownCemeteryRoad. But does #AppleTV's latest #MickHerron adaptation come up to the mark of #SlowHorses?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/in-s... #Oxford #AdeelAkhtar #DarrenBoyd #thriller
Emma Thompson & Ruth Wilson go on a trek across Britain on the run for shady military chiefs in Apple TV's adaptation of Mick Heron's novel Down Cemetery Road. Darren Boyd exudes spite and menace as the Ministry of Defence official C but does he convince in Down Cemetery Road? Adeel Akhtar is a bumbling MoD official Hamza Malik in Morwenna Banks' Apple TV adaptation of Down Cemetery Road. Fehinti Balogun gives serious Fargo vibes as his psycho Amos goes on a murderous spree in Down Cemetery Road.
December 11, 2025 at 8:36 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
FORGOTTEN HISTORY: #Netflix's miniseries #DeathByLightning with #MatthewMacfadyean & #MichaelShannon tells the story of a long forgotten US Presidential assassination. But how does Pomona rate it?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/forg... #uspresidents #JamesAGarfield #CharlesGuiteau
Michael Shannon portrays US President James A Garfield in Netflix's miniseries Death By Lightning who had one of the shortest stints in the White House. Matthew Macfadyen's performance as President Garfield's assassin Charles Guiteau in Death By Lightning has shades of Robert de Niro in Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. Betty Gilpin turns in an impressive performance as the reluctant First Lady Lucretia Garfield in Netflix's Death By Lightning. Nick Offerman plays future US President Chester A Arthur alongside Bradley Whitford as Maine Congressman Richard Blaine in a drama that is as interested in political backstabbing as it is about assassination.
December 6, 2025 at 12:56 PM
danmc2.bsky.social
CALLING CARDS: Three #NIScreen and #BBC #shortfilms are being platformed online with up and coming directors working with #SaoirseMonicaJackson #EannaHardwicke & #AmyHuberman. So what does Pomona make of #Helpless #Rewarding & #MourningGlory?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/12/call...
Three up and coming Northern Ireland are getting a chance to showcase their talent on the BBC iPlayer which is platforming their short films Helpless, Rewarding and Mourning Glory.
December 4, 2025 at 7:48 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
CARR SHARING: In a hell of a #November for #AlanCarr, he went from winning the #CelebrityTraitors to a third series of his #ITV #sitcom #ChangingEnds. But with the sitcom Alan now in his teenage years, does it retain its charm?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/11/carr... #OliverSavell #ShaunDooley
Alan Carr's ITV sitcom Changing Ends with the comedian watching Oliver Savell's teenage version of him navigating adolescence in its third series. Nancy Sullivan's Christine Carr lets her husband's success with Northampton Town FC get to her head in ITV's Changing Ends. Reality bites for Shaun Dooley's football manager Graham Carr and his club chairman Colin Salmon's Ron as The Cobblers struggle following promotion in the third series of the ITV sitcom Changing Ends. Harry Peacock's Nigel Hudson and his wife Gabby Best's Angela continue to interfere in the Carrs' lives in Alan Carr's semi-autobiographical sitcom Changing Ends on ITV.
December 2, 2025 at 8:16 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
GREAT FELLA: #RebeccaMiller's five-part #AppleTV #docuseries #MrScorsese dives into the life and career of #MartinScorsese. But does it shed new light on arguably America's greatest #director?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/11/good... #cinema #newyork #hollywood #film #movies #meanstreets
Rebecca Miller celebrates the career of the great Martin Scorsese in Apple TV's five part docuseries Mr Scorsese but also reveals how his career was very nearly curtailed. Robert de Niro and Martin Scorsese revisit old haunts from their youth as Apple TV's docuseries Mr Scorsese examines the forces that shaped the great director. Margot Robbie, Leonardo di Caprio and Martin Scorsese spill the beans on the wild antics on the set of The Wolf of Wall Street in Rebecca Miller's 5 part Apple TV docuseries Mr Scorsese. Martin Scorsese's long time collaborator, the film editor Thelma Schoonmaker is among those interviewed in Apple TV's Mr Scorsese.
November 28, 2025 at 9:15 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
BLAME GAME: #Peacock #thriller #AllHerFault with #SarahSnook and #BBC3 #sitcom #FilmClub with #AimeeLouWood & #NabhaanRizwan couldn't be more different. But which is the more impressive?.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/11/blam... #JakeLacy #MichaelPena #Chicago #SuranneJones #LivHill #Manchester
The disappearance of a child is every parent's nightmare but does the Peacock series All Her Fault properly mine the full terror on Sky Atlantic? Nabhaan Rizwan and Aimee Lou Wood play movie buffs in the BBC3 sitcom Film Club but does it land its gags? Sarah Snook and Jake Lacy play parents going through a terrible nightmare with the Chicago set missing child drama All Her Fault. Aimee Lou Wood's mum is played by Suranne Jones in BBC3's sitcom Film Club but does she has the comic chops to carry it off?
November 26, 2025 at 7:57 AM
danmc2.bsky.social
THE HUNGRY GHOST: #EdwardBerger's #BalladofaSmallPlayer with #ColinFarrell gives the #gambling #movie an #Asian twist. Pomona gives it's thoughts on the #Netflix tale.. loveitinpomona.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-... #tildaswinton #falachen #streaming #cinema #macau #alexjennings #film #movies
Colin Farrell plays a fake Anglo Irish peer on an unlucky streak in Macau's casinos in Edward Berger's gambling tale The Ballad of a Small Player. Fala Chen is the gambling creditor who might hold the key to the anti-hero's redemption in the Netflix movie The Ballad of a Small Player. Alex Jennings' trickster lords it over Colin Farrell's down at heel gambling conman in The Ballad of a Small Player. Edward Berger follows up All Quiet On The Western Front and Conclave with another stylish movie in The Ballad of a Small Player.
November 23, 2025 at 11:16 AM