TV Show: Armchair Detectives

          Here I am lying in bed as I am typing this. I am sick. I got the chills and fever yesterday. My throat is sore and it hurts, plus I developed a cold (clogged nose). I'm taking antibiotics today and paracetamol. I just finished watching Netflix's Irish Wish, it is a cute rom-com played by Lindsay Lohan. She is a popular American actress who played the lead in "Mean Girls" movie.

Anyway, checking my Amazon Prime. I bumped into this cool tv series, hosted by Susan Calman. It is called, "Armchair Detectives". Its a cool tv series because you get to solve the mystery of who is the culprit. I read that they based this on the "Cluedo," "Sleuth 101" and "Whodunit". I got hooked immediately and I tried solving it. I just had a hard time understanding what was being said because British English is quite different from American English, the way they pronounce and say sentences and words. British accent is more close with Australian accent. I am a lover of British culture and an Anglophile. Someday I wish to visit the birth place of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie, my favorite writers. 

If you enjoy mystery/crime tv shows and series, you better check this out, and let yourself be involved in solving the mystery! 

Movie Review: See How They Run

         I just finished watching this movie today.

This movie mentions our favorite queen of mystery writer, Agatha Christie's long-running play, The Mousetrap. This is available on Disney channel, Philippines.

Spoilers ahead! So the movie is about this director who got killed while in a celebratory party for the musical play, The Mousetrap. In the movie there was a plan of making it in a film. Enter these two inspector from the Scotland Yard, a young rookie one, Constable Stalker and senior Inspector Stoppard. 

I kinda find this movie dragging. I started watching this weeks ago and its only now that I have finished it. I learned that this was based upon two young boys who were maltreated by their foster parents and one of that boy died (real life person named, + Dennis O' Neill) due to physical abuse. I have not seen or read this play. The Three Blind Mice is the novel form, and The Mousetrap is the play script of it. I also didn't like their portrayal of Agatha Christie. Well, this is my opinion only, we are all entitled to our own opinion right?! If you have not seen the movie try watching and write me a comment of your thoughts about it. Okay?!

TV Series Review: Only Murders in the Building

           I am currently subscribed to Disney channel in my cellphone application. I have decided to subscribe because, "See How They Run," is the movie adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel, "The Mousetrap." 

I have read that, "The Mousetrap" is the world's longest running play. So I am itching again to have a copy of her book. This Disney tv series stars, Pop Princess and former tv series princess, Selena Gomez and tv movie and veteran actors Martin Short and Steve Martin. In Season 3, Meryl Streep was included in the cast. In less than one week I have finished this tv series and I absolutely love it. Even if crime and murder is really scary, I was not really scared at all. What I felt in this movie is like a cozy feeling at home. Watching the trio solve a crime and just being best pals with each other gave me comfort, and I must say this tv series is one happy pill for me! I love Steve Martin's portrayal of a "has been" action tv series star, as Charles Haden Savage, and Martin Short as Oliver, a former director of theater plays and lastly Selena plays the Mabel, the mysterious beautiful neighbor (in Season 1). This was set in a beautiful building called the Arconia in New York.

Spoilers coming! Season 1 is about the trio uncovering the murder Tim Kono, a tenant in the Arconia. Season 2 is about Mabel being suspected as the killer of Bunny, the building president and Season 3, who is the killer of the lead star in Oliver's directorial play again. If you have not seen the series I suggest you do! It is so funnily entertaining! Can' t wait for season 4. The double of Charles Haden Savage was shot.

Agatha: The Real Life of Agatha Christie

          

  I'm back with another Agatha Christie book. This time it is an illustrated one. On the back page of the book. Ms. Christie was described by the following words, novelist, wife, nurse, tourist, mother, archaeologist, playwright and dame. Dame is the honorary title given to her. The price of this illustrated or I would like to call it as a comic book is $19.95 as shown at the back cover. 

The authors of the book is a trio. If I am not mistaken, they are all French. I like the illustration, the way it was drawn like a classic cartoon from a Sunday newspaper. Check out the photo here. If reading her biography is too taxing for you then I suggest you grab a copy of this. This may not be as comprehensive as the one written by Lucy Worsley but you can pick up some idea about her life is. This book is also an ideal gift to give to an avid Agatha Christie fan. Books became even more interesting because of her. Don't forget that she is the most widely read mystery author for many years now and as the same popularity with Shakespeare and the Bible! 

Another Agatha Christie Book

 I got another book by Ms. Agatha Christie, it is February now and the Holiday season is still faraway, but I got this book! Actually, I have not read "The Secret Adversary," and I still bought another book. I still have one more book that I am waiting for. Mystery novels are really good. This kind of read really makes your day less boring. I'm happily adding this to my AC (Agatha Christie) book collection! Read on!

More Agatha Christie Books

           

 I have seen the Wonka movie that was shown December 2023. It was entertaining indeed. So I got hooked into it for awhile. I suddenly missed my mystery and crime side. Again, I bought two books. I got a bargain, "The Secret Adversary," from Agatha Christie collection. It is a hard bound copy with a magazine. This book was very timely since the group of "Read Christie Challenge 2024", this is their book of the month.  The people of Agatha Christie Ltd suggested that challenge. I asked the team if they can send me a photo with a handwritten signature of Agatha Christie's grandson. They were not able to grant my request but instead they said that they just can send me postcards.I am eagerly awaiting it. 

I also bought the life story of Agatha Christie by British Historian Lucy Worsley. Both books are expensive but I know its worth it. Even if the period when she wrote these stories are really far from the modern world today, I still love the feeling that it gives me. I got this one from my favorite bookstore, Fully Booked. So that's all for now, while I relax and continue reading one of Ms. Christie's book, while having my cup of tea.

Beatrix Potter, The Creator of Peter Rabbit

             This pandemic, I have immersed myself in arts. Mostly drawing, coloring with colored pencils and watercolor. I recently re-watched Miss Potter (2006) movie starring Renee Zellweger, and I have seen a classic movie about her life, "Beatrix: The Early Life of Beatrix Potter", starring Helena Bonham Carter as Beatrix Potter. I am also enjoying watching the old classic cartoon, "The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends". I also bought a few Beatrix Potter/Peter Rabbit memorabilias online. But I did not splurge much, because my husband is telling me to be careful in spending money especially during this time of pandemic. I am presently enjoying re-creating Beatrix Potter's characters like Peter Rabbit and the mice from the "Tailor of Gloucester". 

Though Beatrix Potter's stories are written mainly for children, it is also entertaining for us adults. Her stories are not boring, and the message from her stories is not really shallow. I also love her artworks. From her book by Elizabeth Buchan. We can see at an early age she showed her potential, she draws animals like insects, caterpillars etc. in a detailed way and she draws them very well. 

The book that I bought is only the lone one available. I was blessed because its price was already marked down. The book is hardcover, and the pages were all very good, it is glossy and it contains photos. So its not boring at all to read. I was able to finish it for 2 days.

Beatrix and her brother Bertram loved to draw and paint, they have many sketches of their pets ranging from rabbits, mice, frogs lizards and bats. What I like about her is that she followed her heart, and not anyone when it comes to pursuing what she wants in her life. The first artwork that I did was Peter Rabbit which Beatrix Potter was really known for. She is considered as a mycologist (someone who works with fungi), in her young adult years she met and collaborated with Charles Macintosh, a musician and also known as a "Pertshire Naturalist". You can see Beatrix Potter's beautiful and detailed works as per the advice of Sir Macintosh who encouraged her to  make her drawings even more detailed. Thus, she began using watercolors. Her work was rejected by the Linnean society (which was obviously a sexist). In those days, women didn't go to school, Beatrix was tutored by a governess. During her time formal education was inaccessible for women. Perth museum and art gallery has a collection of her works. If she wasn't rejected, we wouldn't have "Peter Rabbit" today. So look for the silver lining in everything. 

The man who helped her and was instrumental for her success, Norman Warren was also her first love, and became engaged but unfortunately no wedding happened because Norman got sick and died. She later on got married to a lawyer named William Heelis. Beatrix has no children. She lived on happily in her old age together with her husband in a farm she bought. 

Her best known books for the children's were tales of "The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends", are 23 all in all. Her unpublished book, "The Tale of Kitty in Boots", with illustrations by Quentin Blake was a bestseller again, and was published on September 1, 2016, to mark her 150th anniversary of her birth. She wrote 10 other books which includes a coloring book, painting books and an almanac. In 1936, Beatrix flatly declined Walt Disney's offer to make an animation of Peter Rabbit. So critics were saying that the modern adaptation by Sony of her character Peter Rabbit wouldn't make Beatrix happy, and she would disagree with it. It is not because she was possessive of her works but because she has a clear idea in her head what her characters should be like. I have seen the latest Peter Rabbit film from Sony, and I can see that Peter was portrayed as a somewhat notorious bad rabbit there, which shouldn't be.

I like to imitate and copy her artworks, it is a sort of relaxation therapy for me, especially this pandemic and as my date of delivery nears (expecting my little angel to come out of this world in November!) I bought a few of her books so I can tell my baby about her and her stories. If you want a very good documentary about Beatrix Potter, I suggest you watch, Timeline World Histories Documentaries - Who Was the Real Beatrix Potter hosted by Dame Patricia Routledge. I also bought Beatrix Potter memorabilias (book and cd, plush toys Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle duck, cellphone case and mug). I also have an old dvd movie of Miss Potter starring Renee Zellweger.

The British people are really artistic and talented. Once I was hooked with the works of Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien. I also like Paddington, very brilliant creator Michael Bond. What about you, who is the artist that you look up to? Let's do art, and make our world more colorful and lovable!

(This is a repost from my other blog: pilgrimsmelody.blogspot.com )