House of the Dragon | Licorice Pizza | Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes | Welcome to Wrexham

Well, hello and welcome to binge. Watch the podcast where we take a look at the hottest new TV and film releases on streaming television platforms. I'm Hannah, Fernando, the editor of woman magazine.

th of August,: 2022

The eagerly anticipated game of Thrones, prequel house of the dragon on now TV and the arrival of Paul Thomas. Anderson's wonderful film licorice pizza on Amazon prime video.

And we'll also be looking at two sports documentaries, Ben stoke. Phoenix from the ashes on Amazon prime video and Disney plus is welcome to reim, which follows Hollywood stars, Ryan Reynolds, and Rob McElheny as they become the owners of a Welsh non-league football club. But first Ian, what is in the news?

Harry Potter star, Jason Isaacs will play Bristol borne Hollywood star carry grant in a four part biopic called Archie, which will air on the upcoming streaming site, ITV X. What else is in the news? Hannah? Well,

sexy beast, a precall to the.: 2000

heist.

Well for the second week running Hannah, we've got an absolutely cracking lineup. We're gonna start with one of the big streaming TV events of this year. Everyone's been waiting for it. Everyone's been longing for it. It's finally arrived. It's a house of the dragon it's on now TV. And here's a clip they consider the matter urgent that of your succession and who else would have a claim?

The first born child ran, no queen has ever sat. The iron from the king has an heir Damon Tarian. I will not be made to choose between my brother and my daughter. Now, first of all, Hannah, I'm gonna have to come clean and I'm slightly embarrassed to say that, although I'm a TV critic, I haven't watched game of Thrones because, uh, I, I don't subscribe to sky.

So I'm waiting patiently till it arrives on another streaming platform, if it ever does. However, I, of course, I know that it's one of the most popular shows there's ever been. And now this is the prequel, which game of Thrones fans are right. Very excited about. And although I came to it somewhat uninitiated, I must say, I thought it was really good.

So yes, as we said in the intro, it is a prequel we're going back. I think it's about a hundred odd years and it's a bit like king Le it's a succession drama because the king vis played by Patty Considine. He is hoping to have a male air. Uh, and his wife is pregnant, but if that doesn't happen, there's going to be a succession battle between his daughter, princess.

Roseen, they're all quite strange names. played by milli Ock and she's, she likes riding dragons and she really wants to be a warrior also it's, you know, I don't think there's ever been a queen on the iron throne before. And then there's his brother. Played very well by Matt Smith, the former doctor who he's called Damon.

Um, and he's a bit of a hot head. Uh, he's got this, um, it's almost like the Pretorian guard from gladiator. He's got this group of soldiers who are supposedly, uh, in charge of keeping the. Keeping the peace or law and order what I do know about, uh, game of Thrones. Well, of course that followed the fortunes of various different sort of clans or families in the battle for power.

This is focusing very much on this ONELAN to start with. Anyway, they're sort of blonde hair, dragon riding clan, and Matt Smith. I mean, he's a terrific actor and he's done so much great stuff. Doctor who lots of really good stuff. And he's great in this. I mean, he's really, uh, quite frightening. So what I did know about game of Thrones was that there was a lot of nudity and quite a lot of people had their Johnson's cut off.

Well, if that's the kind of thing you like, you're not gonna be disappointed because in episode one, I did see a bare bottom and yes, uh, demons crew went on the rampage. Suppoly rounding up criminals, but, um, just chopping various limbs off anyone who they came across. So it's violent. It's sexy. It's got great.

Dialogue and performances as people are plotting, uh, their way to power. So I'm pretty sure. I mean, I don't have anything to compare it to, but I'm pretty sure that if you, if you like game of Thrones, you are gonna absolutely love this. It's really well made. It's got a great cast. They spent lots of money on it.

So I'm pleased to say. It more than lives up to expectations. What did you think, Hannah, are you a game of Thrones? Fanatic?

I feel like people will, um, shut off in their droves when I say this, but, uh, I'll still try and put it in a way that makes me clearly the minority. Um, I've really struggled with the game of Thrones.

Like I totally get it. I mean, it is in, it's incredible and so many different levels, but honestly I'm sat on the safe with my kind of looking through my fingers because like you quite rightly said, I mean, it is. Oh, murder and rape and just the most violence. My poor little mind could take . So I, I did, I, it is good.

I get it, but I ha some people can like really binge watch it. Don't they? And I, I have to drip feed it as opposed to binge watch it. And, and like, you. Anybody who loves the game of Thrones is not going to be disappointed with this. Matt Smith is absolutely, um, brilliantly, evil and nasty and. Just everything that his character should be.

And I think he pulls it off really, really well. Again, I don't think it deviates too much from, from, from the game of Thrones, in as much as the, kind of the violence level. And, uh, you mentioned bare bottoms. The nudity is still very much there and the storyline is incredibly strong. So I think everything, um, makes it brilliant, but you just need to be prepared because this is go.

Really really go. If you don't like goriness, then you just need to be warned, uh, before you start watching.

Okay. Well, a welcome bit of light relief that you are going to tell us about arriving on Amazon prime video. It's a feature film and it's called licorice pizza. Do you know, uh, who? My girlfriend is?

Barbara sand. Barbara stre sand, sand, sand. Yeah, like sand, like the ocean, like Bise sand. No, but stre sand.

Sand. Yes, it is. Now, um, some of you may have watched this already in a slim, but this is, as you say, on coming through on prime video, um, it's really quite weird. Um, it's brilliantly weird, I suppose, but it's just kind of odd.

So, um, it's, it is the story of, of two people, um, very sort of ill fitted. Um, couple, I suppose, or they become a couple where he fancies her. She doesn't fancy him and there you watch their lives kind of intertwine. Now, uh, these two people, um, one is, um, Gary Valentine, uh, very sort of heavyset child with not, not stereotypically gorgeous, shall we say?

Not, not Hollywood gorgeous, but he's a child actor. Um, and his career in TV movies is, is, is, is on the way and it's coming to an end. And so he's kind of trying loads of different things to, to, to make ends meet and he ends. Um, running this watered company and now , he has met Alana. He Fancys her, but she isn't that interested in him.

But guess what? It sort of works. It's. It sort of feels like, I think if you've had a drink, you might have felt that you've had one too many to drink when you watch this because the music and the, the fun loving kind of element of it really gets you going. But of course there is this whole, um, stream that runs through, which is that, you know, love doesn't ever run smooth.

And you know, these two are, you know, break each other's hearts all over the shop. Um, and of course you. Will they end up together or won't they? Um, but I, it is, it is really good. Fun. I know you are a big

fan in, I absolutely love it. It's fantastic. And yeah, it sets in the early seventies and of course the central relationship, there's a 10 year age gap.

He's 15 she's 25. So I think today that might raise a few more eyebrows. So the two young stars, well, Cooper Hoffman plays Gary. He's the son of the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman. Who's a wonderful actor. He's terrific. And you've got Alana Heim from the band Heim. What is, she's a brilliant actress.

She's a, she's amazing. She's kind of been compared to, to sort of. Barbara stre, uh, in this, she

kind of has that look about her as well.

Doesn't she? And as you say, I like the fact that it's not these sort of perfect looking Hollywood A-listers they look like normal kids from the seventies, you know? So it's, it's a free wheeling delight.

It's not really like anything I've ever seen before. It's just, it's just wonderful. And there's this great little cameo from Bradley Cooper, uh, playing this guy, John. Peters who was Barbara ST's boyfriend, as you will have heard from the little clip I played. Um, he's hilarious. It's also got Sean Penn playing a movie star who is not unlike William Holden and he's in a hilarious bar scene with, uh, Tom waits, the musician, if you haven't seen it.

You've got to watch it. It's wonderful. And I'm sure if you have watched it, you will, for sure. Want to see it again because there's just so much in it. It's just a wonderful, wonderful piece of work from a great director and with two terrific lead performances. It's one of those

ones that you watch and then you watch again, you've missed something, isn't it?

You, there's never too many times for

this. Absolutely. Well, we're going all sporty now, Hannah, and, uh, we've got two sports documentary series. The first one. Is also on Amazon prime video. It's available from Friday the 26th of August. It's called Ben Stokes, Phoenix from the ashes. If I was making the movie, if the Ben Stokes story a pivotal scene would be you saying I'm done England's star all round Ben Stokes has confirmed.

He's taking an indefinite period of leave from cricket to prioritize his mental wellbeing. Be. Now I'm not a huge cricket fan. I must admit, but I do watch England, uh, when they're playing test series or in the world cup. And of course it was in the world cup that's, uh, Ben Stokes, the all-rounder the.

Perhaps had his finest hour when we beat New Zealand. And that incredible sequence of events is featured in episode one of this series about Stokes, but this is a bit of a sports documentary with a difference from the off, just the look of it is, is much more sort of art and it's. Quite a dark side to it because Stokes has been well documented that he has really struggled with his mental health.

et the huge excitement of the: 2019

But I think the real gold dust in this is, is when he opens up about. His struggles. Of course he, his father was a Kiwi, but he, he came to this country. Ben came to this country when he was quite young and, and became this terrific England, all rounder. One of his teammates remembers coming onto the pitch at this crucial point in the world cup game.

And he said his eyes were just glazed over. He was completely in the zone and that's the kind of player he is. He's just so focused. Now. It kind of throws up. That old question of like, you know, does talent sometimes come from demons or difficulties, you know? And, and how do you untangle those things? So that, so that for instance, Stokes, for him, he can make playing cricket, which is clearly brilliant at something that he actually enjoys rather than just something that creates a huge amount of anxiety.

So, yeah, I think even if you're not a cricket fan, You're gonna get a lot from this because it's, you know, it's got a lot to say about, of course, Stokes got involved. He was in a brawl, wasn't he a bar brawl. Um, and that was all over the newspaper. So he's been through it with his family. He's been through it with the press, he, and yet he's had these incredible highs with the England team, but great expectations placed on him.

So, yeah, it's, I would say this is a sports documentary with the difference that you don't have to be a cricket fan to enjoy. What did you think Hannah. Yeah,

I completely agree. I mean, I actually really enjoy these documentaries. We talk a lot about documentaries, whether it's music, documentaries, or sports, and I, and I think it's relevant, whether you like the sport or not.

I'm not a massive cricket fan yet. This interests me because it's, it's real. It's the person behind the person on TV, I suppose. And, um, this is, uh, been directed by Sam Meers and, and I, and I think it's been. Incredibly well, because I think seeing something so real, seeing somebody who is so incredibly successful, be that honest about, um, their mental health situation, how they hit bottom, giving real, um, clarity and honest anecdotes.

You know, what was going on in their life and, and how low they actually got and, and why and how they got that. I think just shine a spotlight on why it's good to talk. Why other people who might be suffering will, will see that as a, as a, as a way. Well, if you can do it, I can do it. Um, and it's not something to be embarrassed about or something to be locked away.

So I, I, I find the whole thing. Interesting. I find that sort of, that look into. Who these real people are really interesting. So I don't think, I think the whole sport thing is, is sort of irrelevant to a degree. Um, but yeah, really interesting, good

stuff. Now you are gonna tell us about another sports documentary series, but it's slightly different because.

It's almost like the plot of a feel. Good movie. Isn't it hits on Disney plus. And it's called welcome to Reem. I've got with me, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElheny. The new owners of Reem

AFC. What was

the

connection between you and

Reem football club? We had no direct connection. It was just a feeling what me and my dad thought was.

Cuz Rex's red. Deadpool's red though. That's the real reason. I'm sorry.

I mean, this really does sound made up. Doesn't it? I mean, it just is quite ridiculous, but it's true. Um, Hollywood stars, Ryan Reynolds and Rob Hanny. Um, well they decided to, uh, Take over Rex and AFC. It was a 2 million pound takeover, which I, I suppose for them's pocket change, I guess.

Um, but it, I don't know much about Rex and, but I do know there's one of the oldest football teams in the world, um, languishing in the fifth tier, not in the premiership. Um, so I, I I've seen an interview actually with Ryan Reynolds and I don't think he real, I don't think he realized quite the state it was in or anything, but this.

Talks you through the whole thing. Um, it's it is, it is 10 parts. So I don't think you'll get lost along the way. It is quite funny. They are actors. So therefore it makes for, um, they know what they're doing. I mean, are they acting, are they being real? Who knows? Who cares? Because actually it's just really quite funny how they kind of save this.

This football club, I suppose. And, um, and I guess they have got a little bit of a cat injection, which kind of, which kind of helps. Um, but yeah, I, for me, Again, it's it's we were just talking obviously about the cricket one. I, and, and with Ben Stoks, it's not there with that. Cause I really like seeing somebody and who they really are, this is something completely different, but I think football lovers will like it.

I, I think, and I, and I think that anyone who let's be honest, Ryan Reynolds is a nice looking lad. Um, lots of people will tune in just for that. I'd say

okay. Well, um, I enjoyed it, I must say. And you know, they seem to have good intentions. I mean, they do admit that they know very little about, uh, a British football.

I mean, why would they, of course, especially the non league game, but it's a real feel. Good story. Isn't it. And if you are a REM fan, I think you'd be pretty excited about what's happened. And then they did have kind of a zoom call with the supporters and so that they could kind of suss out where they were coming from and whether they wanted these two stars to become the club zones, you know?

So. It's I think it's a nice story. And I, I believe that, um, at the weekend, Rex gave Maton United a good toing. So based on that things seems to be, um, heading in the right direction. So, yeah, I think it's, uh, well you got Ted lasso, which is the sports comedy in which an American coach comes over and, and coaches a premiership side.

Well, this is the real life story of two American stars. Owning a non-league club. You couldn't make it up, but it did happen. Now. We've got to that time, Hannah, where you tell us what you've been binging on. So please reveal all

well, it's been another busy week, um, with children, but we did watch the boxing match.

Um, the Anthony Joshua Alexander is sick boxing match. Um, Which I think the real show came at the end. Um, I dunno much about boxing, but I quite enjoyed the outbreak at the end, which then subsequently calls headlines. But yeah. Uh, that's what I've been doing. How

about you? I watched for the first time Jumanji, welcome to the jungle, which was, uh, on all four.

Yeah. I really liked it. It's great. Isn't it? Yeah. And also there's a yes, another. Uh, sports documentary all about the academy at crystal palace football club. That is on all four. And. Yeah recommended for, especially for young kids who would dream of becoming professional footballers. This is the reality of it.

This is where dreams are made or crushed. Now we've just got time to look ahead to next week, which is another massive week for TV streaming platforms. What's coming up. Hannah Bonneville,

a Hugh Bonneville is a former high court judge with a very dark secret in the new Netflix thrill. I came by

and exciting.

The epic battle for middle earth plays out in the new Amazon prime video fantasy drama, the Lord of the rings, the rings of power, which is the most expensive TV series ever made. So we're looking forward to having a look at. Those and more, but in the meantime,

watching.