Movie review: The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club is based on a book by Richard Osman. Four retirees at the rather sumptuous Cooper’s Chase retirement home entertain themselves by technically solving cold case murders, as the eponymous Thursday Murder Club, until a real murder happens in their village. The murder of the property owner threatens their home as the property reverts to a co-developer. This nasty piece of work is intent on pulling down the wonderful old building and developing luxury apartments. Until he ends up dead too and it is discovered there is a third owner… The plot thickens. The police, while not exactly inept, find themselves obliged to accept the help of these enterprising OAPs, since they seem to know more than the police do. There are shoals of red herrings, loads of cosy murder tropes, and a wonderful script with top acting. It is a must-watch.

Fittingly, the movie arrived on my entertainment channel on Thursday, and I was eager to watch. Let’s talk about the setting. The retirement home boggles the mind. The only retirement homes I have ever seen are bland, okayish, not very deluxe outfits, but I am sure more luxurious ones do exist. The interior of Cooper’s Chase is positively palatial. It is like a giant Highclere on Laura Ashley steroids. Very English, lots of riotously patterned wallpaper, lots of ornaments, fireplaces, bookshelves, antiques, the works. The building itself is Englefield House in Berkshire, with some rooms ‘dressed’ for the filming, although the place is so gorgeous I have no idea what they would need to do. The adorable village with charming old buildings was filmed in the real-life village of Aldbury.

With top actors one can hardly go wrong and I am sure that this was a doddle for director Chris Columbus. Helen Mirren is Elizabeth, a sharp, driven, intelligent woman who one suspects worked for MI6. She did. Ron, who was a union leader, is played by Pierce Brosnan in a bluff, hearty manner. Ron is very sad that his son has ended up on TV entertainment like Dancing on Ice after an injury ended his stellar sporting career. I felt this casting was the only one that jarred. Brosnan is a good actor who is game for any part, but it did not work for me. Sir Ben Kingsley offers a lovely, detailed portrait of retired psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif. I just loved watching his expressions and gestures. He is a fine actor. Celia Imrie plays Joyce Meadowcroft, a retired nurse who is invited to join the club because she was a nurse and would know about blood and wounds. I’ve seen this actress play saucier, naughtier roles, so I was surprised she went for this simple part of a not very special person who is a dab hand at baking the most delicious cakes. However, watch for the scene where the sketching group are portraying a semi-nude male model of glorious proportions. In the film, the model is draped. In Joyce’s sketch, he is not….

The police. Not quite the Keystone Cops but Daniel Mays always bring an aura of hilarious and chaotic disarray to his policeman characters. Please watch The Magpie Murders…. In this movie, Mays is DCI Chris Hudson, rumpled, often confused, loves cake, and defers to his junior, the very competent PC Donna de Freitas ably played by Naomi Ackie. The remaining characters are well cast. The second property owner is played with maniacal nastiness and intensity by David Tennant. He is so awful (in a good way) that I was relieved to see him drop dead. Literally. A special mention must go to Jonathan Pryce as Stephen Best, Elizabeth’s husband, who is teetering on the verge of dementia with good days and bad days. What a beautiful, finely tuned performance. This proves the adage that there are no small parts…

I was captivated and transported into the fictional world of Fairhaven. Maybe it’s because the actors are such professionals that they made it seem easy. There are some hilarious scenes. Old people can be very funny. Old people are not the walking dead. They have life and vigour and likes and needs, just as they did when younger. It is a real eye-opener on senior citizens. A big plus for me is the total lack of wokery. I am so fed up with the UK production houses forcing an artificially conceived idea of demographics down an audience’s throat. Maybe the author got his way? The cast was honestly representative of British society. No men in dresses too, always a relief. No pink hair, no nose rings, and no one spouting on about feeling ‘fearful and unsafe’ etc. I can only imagine what Elizabeth would say to that. I’ve read several reviews that sneered at various aspects of this production, and they get it wrong. This movie is not pretending to be anything more than a cosy murder mystery with wonderful, relatable, realistic characters that anyone would just love. I will certainly be watching it again. And maybe even again…. Turn off your phone, make a cuppa, open a packet of biscuits and settle in for some serious sleuthing.

10 Reasons Why We Love James Bond



Daniel Craig



The recent James Bond film festival on television and the 2012 release of Skyfall sparked this post. Who is James Bond and why do we love him? The movies are possibly the best way the world has come to know and appreciate Bond.

Bond the Moneymaker: The James Bond film series is a British series of spy films based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond (code designation "007"), who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines. It is one of the longest continually running film series in history, having been in ongoing production from 1962 to the present (with a six-year hiatus between 1989 and 1995). In that time, Eon Productions has produced 23 films, at an average of about one every two years, usually produced at Pinewood Studios. The series has grossed just over US $5 billion to date, making it the second-highest-grossing film series (behind Harry Potter), and the single most successfully adjusted for inflation. Six actors have portrayed 007 in the Eon series, with the Sean Connery films largely setting the style and mood of the series, and Roger Moore starring in the most films.



Sean Connery



Bond the Character: In Bond and Other Conspiracy Theories journo Stephen Kelly says: “There’s always been something a bit off about that suave, mysterious, sexually charged murderer, James Bond: he appears to be a shape-shifting immortal. Or at least that’s what the franchise suggests, what with the same man being played by six people over 50 years, making for quite the hefty 00-pension. But where pop culture logic is broken, there’s a fan theory to fix it. In this case: that James Bond is not a single man, but a code name given to agents who fit a certain profile.



George Lazenby

 Makes sense, doesn’t it? For even if this is a profile to which psychologists refer as the Dark Triad of the psyche—a combination of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and a psychopathic disregard for life—each incarnation does come with its own set of characteristics.

Sean Connery, for instance, was smooth and deadpan; George Lazenby: clunky and… forgettable; Roger Moore had fun with the role; Timothy Dalton preferred a serious approach; cigar-smoking Pierce Brosnan played it rugged and old-fashioned; whereas Daniel Craig, moonlighting from his full-time job of protruding out of Mount Rushmore, portrays a more tortured, layered Bond.”

Bond the Hero: For me, James Bond is the hero we love. He’s flawed, he’s brave, he is what we all want—what more can I say… he’s a hero!

Here are my ten reasons why James Bond is the perfect hero. And heroes, to be heroes, are not perfect!



Timothy Dalton

1. He sets out to be a hero, although he may deny it.

2. He saves the world, no matter what the baddies throw at him.

3. He is flawed. He makes mistakes, he lets his heart rule his head, and he always goes back to save the girl.

4. He suffers loss, pain, and anguish. Sometimes a friend dies, sometimes the woman he loves dies, and it cuts him to the core of his being.



Roger Moore

5. He always gets the girl in the end. Despite the fact we know he is a womaniser/playboy/Casanova, we want him to ride/fly/float off into the sunset with the Bond girl in his arms (and all the actresses who’ve played a Bond girl say the same thing!)

6. He has a great sense of humour. Dry wit and a martini shaken not stirred are his trademarks. He laughs in the face of death and usually flings a (cheesy) quip at his nemesis.

7. He loves gadgets, and boy does Q make sure he has plenty of them. Cars that can assume an invisibility cloak as well as packing an arsenal in the trunk, exploding pens, belt buckles with escape wires, watches that can set off bombs, even watches with lasers installed—Q has a gadget for every day of Bond’s week.



Pierce Brosnan

8. He is fanatically loyal to Queen and country. He serves the crown and he will die for his country’s security. You can’t get more loyal than that.

9. He has feelings although he may hide them under that impenetrable mask.

10. If he could, he’d date Miss Moneypenny!

So, out of all the Bond actors, who portray Bond the best?