Film: True Crime

One of tonight's many tv movies was one I don't think I'd seen before - True Crime has Clint Eastwood as an over-the-hill reporter, who is sent to do a human interest story on a prisoner (Isaiah Washington), who's on death row for murder. And suitably repentant, and looking forward to meeting Jesus. Which seems to be enough to set off Clint's alarm bells - he figures there's something not right about this. But if he's to prove this, he has to move fast - the execution is imminent. LisaGay Hamilton plays the prisoner's wife, Bernard Hill plays the warden.

You know Clint is right. He's always right. And he'll get the guy off. It's suitably touching (with a little daughter n all) to hold my attention, and the reprises of the crime are interesting, as we gradually piece together what happened. There's also a cracking finish, at Christmas, with a gorgeous accompanying soundtrack. So yes, quite a passable way to spend an evening..

For tomorrow.. Cultureseekers have another quiz, but it's on UK politics. So I'm skipping it. And there isn't any point in looking up what's on in the cinema, as the car is still banjaxed. Turns out it's not actually the gearbox (phew), it's a connecting cable that snapped. But they have to order it from Suzuki.. I'm still waiting to hear. Meantime, I still have more of The Purge to see on Amazon.. and I am dying to see the outcome of the latest twist!

Sunday does have something interesting on tv - would you believe, I've never seen Mary, Queen of Scots! The title role is taken by Saoirse Ronan, Elizabeth I is played by Margot Robbie. It's slated for its historical inaccuracies - it seems they claim that Mary was trying to depose Elizabeth, which I've never heard, although enough plots were raised in her name (Mary was Elizabeth's closest relative and heir, a Catholic, and the focus of many Catholic plots against the Protestant Elizabeth).

Not to mention that, in real life, Mary probably didn't have the pronounced Scottish accent she adopts here; having taken the throne as a baby, she was raised in France from the age of 5, for her own safety - Scottish nobles were notorious through history for killing royals so they could take the throne themselves - and stayed there until she was 18 (France would have been a natural choice, as her mother was French). So I'm guessing she had a touch of French about her, although I guess that would have made the story a tad more complicated. Finally, she definitely never met Elizabeth, despite begging her for years for an audience. A review I've just read describes their meeting as a spellbinding encounter, though. Ah hell, I couldn't miss it, now could I?!