With Rugby suspended and most people acting sensibly and staying at home, it is time to help one another out by reviewing something which you think fellow board users might like to avail themselves of to pass the time.

It could be a book, TV show, film, or the latest album or track by your favourite band. Just include the title, where it can be viewed or listened to or purchased (online) and tell us all what you think. Try an avoid spoilers, you are suggesting something for others so it would be pointless to give away the ending.

Don't feel restricted by our suggestions, if your favourite album is from 1969 and by Led Zeppelin, tell us all about it and why we should give it a try.

We'll leave this thread sticky until life returns to normal.

Convince us!

I’ve been watching that pandemic series on Netflix. Scary how accurate it is!

Alternatively if you want something that has nothing to do with the current predicament we are in, the best series I have watched recently by a long way is “hunting isis”. A documentary featuring volunteers battling isis.

Thank you for the kind offer. I’d like to review something that has a direct impact on every Rugby League fan’s lives, and a good cross-section of society as a whole. A topic that everyone from Refuse collector to Queen will have an opinion on. The review is of the societal impact, public perception and available evidence surrounding whether Chris Joynt perpetrated a voluntary tackle in contravention of the laws of the game in the 2002 Superleague Grand Final.
 
The case
 
On 79 minutes and 50 seconds of the 2002 Grand Final, St Helens hold a narrow 19-18 lead over the Bradford Bulls. Chris Joynt takes the ball as first receiver and crosses 9 metres to his left when he is intercepted by Paul Deacon and Lee Gilmour. At that point he dives to the floor before contact is made with any Bradford player.

At the time of the incident, the official position of the Rugby Football League (RFL) was: "A player in possession shall not deliberately and unnecessarily allow himself to be tackled by voluntarily falling to the ground when not held by an opponent.". Indeed the crime is almost universally regarded as 'malum in se'.

Writing in the Guardian, Andy Wilson eruditely summed up common opinion when he stated "There can never have been a more blatant voluntary tackle than the way the Saints captain Chris Joynt went to ground on the penultimate play of the game". This widely held viewpoint was further reinforced on visitmanchester's list of greatest sporting events to be held in the city. This included the 2002 Grand Final, and their assessment is that "The event is even enshrined in St Helens captain Chris Joynt appeared to take a voluntary tackle with just seven seconds left on the clock to run out the game. The decision should have been a penalty against Joynt, which would have most likely resulted in Bradford taking the victory"

But perhaps the most damning statement came from a 42 year old Civil Servant* who stated "This was a dark day for this sport and indeed for society as a whole. A historical injustice that sent ripples of evil cascading around the world, rocking the fabric of all that is held to be right and true. No one would sleep as soundly in their beds afterwards, crops failed in the years to follow, and shadows in the corners of our minds seemed somehow darker and more pervasive. Chris Joynt is to all intents and purposes Satan".

Reparations
The prima facie evidence points to an animus nocendi wrongdoing perpetrated by Chris Joynt for which the notion of “restorative justice” might be deemed to be an appropriate salve. The most apt form of reparation would be toward the club that was disadvantaged. The author proposes that Chris Joynt now puts plans in place to single-handedly renovate Odsal to meet current standards of safety and comfort.

*Competing interest declaration - the 42 year old Civil Servant and the author occupy the same body.

I am getting some time to reacquaint myself with the weird world of Phish. If you have never come across them before they are possibly the biggest band that you have never heard of. Now that The Grateful Dead have finally called it a day they are the biggest thing on the American jam band circuit with the possible exception of The Dave Matthews Band . A jam band is a group who extemporise (make it up as they go along) and the basis for the music can come from virtually any genre. There are country, rock, blues and even electronica jam bands. What they all have in common is the ability to take a basic framework, like a song, and take the music off in any direction that they chose.
Phish are a favourite although I have a really soft spot for The Grateful Dead, this is strange because I am not into anything more mind altering than Old Peculiar. In terms of the sound, Phish play an eclectic mix of rock and funk and unlike the Grateful Dead when Phish play bluegrass it is almost always with tounge in cheek. Phish produce ordinary studio albums generally with short eclectic songs but it is LivePhish that garners the most hardcore support. You have probably never heard of them because they are a touring band who live stream and sell downloads to those who cannot make the concerts. Amongst the travelling army of true believers the constant fear is missing the one concert where something special happens. This might be a rarely performed song out of their repertoire of over 400 songs, an entire album of someone else's material like their recreation of The White Album, or even an elaborate joke like when they set up an entirely fictional online backstory for an entirely bogus Scandanavian pop band called Kasvost Vaxt in order to play an album of 90's dodgy Scand Pop material.
A typical live Phish track can be of any length. A three minute studio track can become the jumping off point for an hour long experimental jam. Those who have entered the world know the secret language. They know the strange references to the fantasy world of Gamehenge without which some of the early tracks make no sense but everyone should find much of what they do accessible as Phish have never been afraid to take on cover versions.
Phish concerts generally have audiences in the tens of thousands. Sometimes however they will put on whole weekend festivals at which they are the only performers. Audiences for these events can run into the hundreds of thousands. Although there is a definite skew towards the more left of centre in the audience the band generally keep out of politics and as such also have a strong following on the libertarian right.
After touring for over 30 years and becoming multimillionaires in the process Phish were still touring up until the recent pandemic. As a sub cultural movement they are one of a small group of bands who have been stunningly successful without registering on most peoples radars. If you have an hour or two sit back and listen to some LivePhish.
PS My wife hates them and will not stay in the same room if they are on the hifi.

Forget Gloria Gaynor, the song that everyone should listen to at this moment is A touch of grey, by The Grateful Dead. Always keeps my spirits up.

Most will be more familiar with the ice cream, but probably don't realise why it's called Phish Food.

The Gentlemen

Got a chance to watch this last night.

Typical slick Guy Ritchie movie with a clever script, plenty of twists and turns, and a great ensemble cast. It also has the obligatory Guy Ritchie appalling English accents by American actors but some ingenious directorial ploys which make it a most enjoyable two hours. The show is stolen by a terrific performance from Hugh Grant as a cheeky cockney Private Investigator but Matthew McConaughey puts in a solid stint as the main protagonist while Charlie Hunnam demonstrates why he is the king of cool.

The opening half hour is a little slow and requires plenty of concentration, invest or you’ll miss out in the latter stages.

It’s not going to win a best picture Oscar but it is a solid 8/10. Very enjoyable.

Agree 100% with South Stander's review above.

Two from Netflix last night.

Spenser Confidential - better than I expected, not the most complex plot and nothing new (think updated Lethal Weapon without the humour), but very watchable.

The Circle - when Netflix get Emma Watson and Tom Hanks into a film about what a large corporate internet business might actually be up to it gets interesting. It doesn't directly suggest Google and the Pentagon are in cahoots, but does give a pause for thought on just where an ever connected world [icould[/i lead. Emma Watson actually acting and Tom Hanks being uncomfortably affable and slimy at the same time. Enjoyed it.

The biggest turkey since christmas - Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, just bl00dy awful.

A mixture I've seen in recent months-

Call of The Wild - inoffensive, watchable, not going to win awards.
Dolittle - as above
Paddington 2 - worth it to see Hugh Grant tap dance!
Emma - as period costume dramas go, it's rubbish
Knives Out - a lot better than expected, Daniel Craig's accent is hilarious

Dark Water - just brilliant, you'll never trust Teflon again. (Pelican Brief with a different villain)

odd things that "were just on but I watched it anyway"

Pitch Perfect - the best of the three (four is rumoured to be on the cards), a true feel good film.
" 2 - the worst of the three, still raises a smile
" 3 - fun and makes you smile (Spice Girls the movie, with singing!)
The Hustle - Rebel Wilson is over the top funny, Anne Hathaway tiptoes on the borderline of almost acting...

seen about 150 more in the last few years, more reviews in a while...

As the author of the novel "Three Good Years" I would be very interested to read some reviews by a few fans of the greatest game. It has a background of Work, Family Life, Saving the NHS and Rugby League and is set during the 2006, 07 and 08 seasons. It is the sixth novel in a series which is set against a strong Lancashire/Yorkshire background.
My other five novels have already been well reviewed by such media people as Tony Collins, Ray French, Dave Hadfield, Tony Hannan, Mike Stephenson, Gavin Willacy and Graham Williams along with the late Stan Barstow who wrote "A Kind of Loving" in the late Fifties..

Something we can agree on. Did all three series last week.

If you need a binge worthy tv series look no further than the Sopranos. Great writing, equally great acting (from the main cast anyway), combines brutal and violent scenes with light hearted humour seamlessly.

I've only watched the first episode of Ozark. It was ok but didn't grip me immediately. Does it grab your attention more as it goes on?

Yes, it took me 2 or 3 to get into it. Pleased I stuck with it.

Just finished watching the Witcher. Game of Thrones meets Lord of the Rings with a dash of Harry Potter.