Netflix's Ratched.. A Review

 Hi WWW

At first I was put off with the premise, gleamed only from the promo shot, which I thought would simply be a psychotic nurse.. but I took a chance.. and this wasn't that.

It's a Hitchcockian-Capraesque series, laid out like a film in series form. It put me in mind of Arsenic and Old Lace.. but much more predominantly, it put me in mind of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents..' which was an anthology series very much in the vein of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, but with a non-supernatural (iirc) and instead psychological slant.

With the Hitchcockian-Capraesque theme being so strong, I couldn't help but think by the fifth episode 'I wish they had done this as an anthology.. a modern 'Hitchcock Presents.. but by the showrunner for this.. Ryan Murphy Presents.. with Sarah Paulson etal~ doing a AHS (set cast but changing roles).. one film serialized as a series'.

Now back to Ratched..The main and real star of this show was wardrobe/continuity director/Prop Department.. lighting ranged from 6 out of 10 to 9 out of 10, same for cinematography,, direction was OK.. ranging from 5 to 9 out of 10, couple of shaky camera moments that were off putting. Makeup was excellent and very on piste for how stylized this show is.

And to be clear.. this show's stylization is *excellent*.

Sarah Paulson, gave solid competent performances, and even in one moment moved me. Finn Wittrock.. was competent, although.. I note he didn't have much in the way of dialogue that could show his acting to any degree. Cynthia Nixon, I enjoyed her performances less so. Aside from Ms. Paulson.. the real surprise was Charlie Carver, who delivered a solid performance each and every time he was on screen, without exception.. I would award him my 'best in cast' if it wasn't for Ms.Paulson. Judy Davis.. as a villain had her moments, but the overall performance, I was less impressed with. Sharon Stone, while I want to say she did well, I felt she was only middle road 5/10.. not quite 'phoning it in' but.. not great, her death scene was her stand out moment.  I actually have a 'worst in cast' to award this time.. Jon Jon Briones.. I felt like he was new to acting..which he is not.. even having been in AHS..he couldn't cut this level of production and it showed. Vincent D'Onofrio had some good moments but also a few shaky ones. Notable & special mention to Alice Englert who acquitted herself admirably.. outshining many of the main cast. 

Music was.. very Hitchcockian.. at a few points I just expected it to burst out into the Alfred Hitchcock presents theme..

The script.. erm.. the first episode drags on without anything much happening.. after that it's all slow boil.. a 'slow boil thriller' to coin a phrase. The ending was.. wow that was a bad ending..  however with it having a second series order from netflix I guess.. also I don't know the book it's based on so.. I guess all that remains is to wait and see.  

With Alfred Hitchcock sadly no longer with us.. and no one .. except perhaps M.Night Shyamalan, but he is much to much of a butterfly mind to keep consistency..  that he enjoys changing projects often..  so with no suitable alternatives for modern Hitchcockian adventures.. 

This team on Ratched have came the closest to the great Aghast-arama himself, since he himself was alive. I would enjoy to see this team go on together.. perhaps even doing remakes of Hitchcock's (now) public domain films and TV..

peace

Dava

A Narnian Food Review.. or Turkish Delight (inc Fry's)

 Hi Internet!

The White Witch stylee: Would you like some Turkish Delight?

I recently bought 15 x 3 Fry's Turkish Delight Lemon (limited edition).. and this set me down a path of thoughts I'll share with you if you are kind enough to read..

Now.. I'm not new to Turkish Delight.. in fact in my late teens/early twenties I went through a period of buying *real* Turkish Delight in fancy boxes..it was the 90s and my aunt would buy it for me on my behalf from a place in Glasgow..

I tried many different types of Turkish Delight, and I am now wondering why Fry's hasn't done this and much much more besides.. like why not do classic flavors we can't get anymore because sugary drinks from they days are banned now.. we get saccharine filled versions which taste rubbish..but Gels don't have the same sugar tax.. so why not bring back the flavor of all the tastes we are missing? Orange.. Red Kola.. Passion Fruit but also more trad flavors.. and so the review:

Fry's Rose Turkish Delight:

Decent but slightly pedestrian, the rose tones are there, but the higher tones are muted. This means no bad thing as it lets the sugar of the gel come out. overall a great TD.. the flavors mix well. This because the chocolate is also sweet.. so if the rose was full strength it would be *too much*.

Fry's Lemon Turkish Delight:

Gentle lemon tones with strong lime undertones. Lime is very well balanced with the chocolate..could use more of lemon kick otherwise. Thinking this should not be a limited edition but a regular standard flavor.

The following are from memory in the 90s .. soo.. make of that what you will..

Rose Turkish Delight:

At first I hated it.. but after three squares.. this is what started me on that journey. Strong almost overpowering rose. Ate the whole box of 20 squares.

Lemon Turkish Delight:

Very strong lemon. I had to lick the powder to get used to the strength of the lemon. Became a firm favorite of the boxes.

Orange Turkish Delight:

Only tried one square as this was not my box.. at that time I gotten into the stronger lemon, but it was OK.

Apple Turkish Delight:

Surprised myself by not liking this.. had a slight bitter taste that put me off, ended up just giving the rest of the box to my aunt after 3 squares. She seemed to like it.

Grapefruit Turkish Delight:

Nope. Sour turkish delight is not my thing.

Lavender Turkish Delight:

TBH.. for a second the taste was so strong I thought it made me blind for a split second. But that's just  my imagination. Gave me pains in my right ear for.. some reason. The strongest turkish delight I've ever eaten.. and by then I was used to strong turkish delight.

Eucalyptus Turkish Delight:

Surprisingly not bad.. I kept telling people it was like eating a small block of Vosene shampoo. Wasn't my box, so I only had one square.. but yeah not bad. Cleaned out my sinuses too.

Mint Turkish Delight:

Was OK.. just a mildly mint flavor. Tasted like pretty much any mint confectionery.

Cola Turkish Delight:

Loved this so much ate the whole box of 20 squares so quickly.. by the end of the box I hated it. Box normally lasted me a day to 2 days.. ate this in around an hour and a half.

Lime Turkish Delight:

This was the first sour one I tried.. not a fan. The undertones of the Fry's Lemon has a *much* better lime flavor. Lime could definitely be a proper flavor if done right.

and other flavors.. but I can't remember.

Suggestions for Frys..

Early 80s Pepsi Turkish Delight

Had some retro 80s Pepsi when I lived in the states. Loved it.. taste of my childhood.

Red Kola

Dandelion and Burdock

super sad about Dandelion and Burdock.. tastes awful with saccharin,., needs real sugar to taste right.

Quatro

Besides cola (Pepsi and Coke) and Irn Bru.. for ages this was my favorite drink. (Passion fruit based drink with grapefruit orange and pineapple <3 <3 )

Cream Soda

Old Style Cordial

Any old flavor that got gimped with saccharin and/or sugar tax*.

Thanks for reading :

peace

Dava

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Gimped:

Tizer

Vimto

Dr Pepper

Lilt

7UP

Cherry Pepsi (Although Cherry Coke is not gimped and might be a good TD)

Actresses with beautiful eyes..

Hi www

Randomly want to share this...

BLUE:

Alexandra DAddario 

Notes:

Ice grey blue. Looks like ice sheet cracking. Stunning.

AMBER:

Ana De Armas

Notes:

In certain lights looks *perfect* amber.. with very few brown deviations (although these are not brown but dark mocha). in other lights all mocha. undercolour of olive green. Speckles. Regardless of deviations.. she has the most amazing amber eyes I've ever seen.

LILAC

Elizabeth Taylor

Notes:

Heavy blue devations. Required perfect lighting to show properly. When shown properly stunning.. not quite purple, but very strong lilac overtones.


JADE


Antonia Thomas

(Updated with better pic.  09/July/2023)

Antonia has a mix of amber/grey with an under-colour of deep jade. 

Fun fact.. people of non-caucasian ethnicities.. Jade is the most highly prized eye colour, I once heard of a legend of a King who gave a sizable portion of his Kingdom as a dowery to meet/marry a woman with jade eyes. This isn't an endorsement of sexism.. I only mention it as this mentality is very alive in the minds of non-white ethnic values/peoples/cultures... Jade eyes are meant to 'glow' which Ms. Thomas doesn't have.. but her eyes are her jewels none-the-less with having a combination of three rare eye colours.. Amber/Grey/Jade. 

Grey Slate

N/A haven't found suitable actress yet.

Will come back and up date.

09/July/2023 .. still haven't found a actress with stunning grey eyes.

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(original pic of Ms. Thomas)