Mr. Jones: A man for all reasons

      
At once a story of the past and a tale for our times, Mr. Jones is one of those movies you fall in love with slowly. At least, the Movie Slut did.

 It stars James Norton (Sidney Chambers in the PBS series Grantchester), and it belongs to her fave genre: journalism flicks. It's also a true story. All of which elevates Mr. Jones to the absolutely must-see category even though Amazon charged an extra $6 for the privilege.

Gareth Jones was a young Welch journalist who interviewed Hitler in the early 1930s and was mocked for his prescient reports of impending disaster. We catch up with him as he finagles a trip to Russia to interview Stalin. He never lands an interview with the Communist Party leader, but comes away with eye-opening news for a world blinded by propaganda.

No, the Movie Slut won't give any more away, but will say that his discovery is an often overlooked chapter in the dark history of the Soviet Union.

"There is only one truth," Gareth tells a fellow journalist.

The Movie Slut plans to see Mr. Jones again. Just to hear that line.

Scapegoat: Trading Places Revisited

Matthew Rhys & Matthew Rhys

John Standing and Johnny Spence could pass for twins and they do in this 2012 movie based on a 1957 book by Daphne du Maurier. John is a nasty, wealthy ner de well who meets Johnny, a decent and honorable teacher, and concocts a scheme to swap lives.

Good guy Johnny is plunged into a world peopled by miserable relatives who have been tarnished by John's selfish behavior, bad business deals, and wasteful spending.

The Movie Slut loves the theme of this flick. One man/woman can make a difference. And sometimes he/she has to move well beyond the comfort zone to enact change.  

Collision: Crash, bang, boom

Kate Ashfield & Douglas Henshall

A six-car pile-up on the A-12 in Britain unites a team of investigators intent on uncovering the cause the deadly accident in this five-part PBS Masterpiece Contemporary series now on Amazon. As the investigation proceeds, the lives of the victims are uncovered and, holy moly, some of these peeps were up to crazy stuff.

Viewers of Collision are a bit ahead of the cracker jack team since they meet some of the characters prior to the crash. Still, unraveling the events is a Herculean task.

And then there's DI John Tolin and Inspector Ann Stallwood. What's up with them?

Collision is a riveting series that is tied up at the end in a most bee-utiful fashion. 

Belgravia: Pssst! It's the secrets, stupid.

It's June 1815. At a ball in Brussles, a young British woman meets a young British man. They fall in love. Twenty-five years and six episodes later, the secret that engulfed them is finally revealed.

Based on the eponymous novel by Julian Fellowes (yes, that Julian Fellowes), this costume drama on Amazon swept the Movie Slut away. Not a fan of Fellowes's Downton Abbey, the MS found all her reservations about that ultra-popular and ultra-annoying series corrected in this engrossing story.

It's not the Movie Slut's modus operandi to give too much away. So just trust her when she says this is television streaming at its best.

Episodes: Five seasons and you'll want more

Tamsin Grieg, Matt LeBland, and Stephen Mangan

Beverly and Sean are a husband and wife British writing team with a successful sitcom on the other side of the pond.

Imagine their excitement when Hollywood calls with an offer to create an American version staring Matt LeBlanc. Yes, Matt LeBlanc of Friends fame.

Imagine their distress when they encounter the clueless and talentless team hired to produce their show. And then there's Matt, the amoral, egotistical, shallow-as-a-puddle star of their show.

Episodes is a hilarious Hollywood spoof, but it's more than that. LeBlanc, playing a rib-tickling version of himself (a post-Friends star) manages to be endearing despite his blatant flaws, as do the other characters in this eminently binge-worthy series.

Daniel Deronda: A Masterpiece

Hugh Dancy is Daniel Deronda 

 

 

George Elliot's 1876 coming-of-age novel comes alive in this BBC limited series now on Amazon. Set in the Victorian era, we meet Daniel who was raised as an English gentleman, although his true parentage remains a secret. The search for his identity uncovers surprising information, which the Movie Slut won't reveal.

In a gambling hall in Germany, Daniel observes an English beauty as she loses all her winnings. They will meet again, of course.

Out for a row on the lake, he encounters another beautiful woman and saves her from drowning herself.

The plot thickens and thickens and thickens as only a brilliant novelist can do. And the series is true to Elliot's plot. But rest assured, it's not all about a young man's love life. The series also shines a light on the nascent Zionist movement and the attitude toward Jews in Victorian England.

A Price Above Rubies: A Gem

To enjoy this 1998 movie now on Amazon it is necessary to suspend with a ton of disbelief. You will also have to overlook some unbelievable coincidences. Then you'll be ready to enjoy this gem.

Renee Zellweger is Sonia, a gemologist's daughter, who enters into an arranged marriage with an ultra-Orthodox man living in an insular New York neighborhood. His loves are God and the rabbi with little left for Sonia.

She's suffocating in this ritualistic society where a woman's place is in the home. When her brother-in-law offers her a job in his jewelry business, she grabs it only plunging herself into deeper despair. 

The Movie Slut won't say more, only that you're sure to get hooked and watch till the end.