So the last few days have been spent catching up on some movies I actually missed at the cinema (yes it does happen!!)

Trumbo
A film based on the biography of Dalton Trumbo, a successful screenwriter for Hollywood who was a member of the Communist Party of the USA. This is not taken well by the anti-soviet entertainment industry figures, most notably Hedda Hopper (Hollywood gossip coulmnist) and John Wayne.

To cut a long story short, countless screenwriters end up being blacklisted so their work cannot be recognised, if they even get work!
Trumbo starts to ghost write screenplays and while blacklisted, 2 of his screenplays actually received oscars.
Roman Holiday – 1954 Oscars. He was finally recognised posthumously for this Oscar in 1993
The Brave One – 1957 Oscars. He received recognistion for this Oscar in 1975.

I vaguely knew about the communist witch hunts but until watching this I didn’t truly understand the impact it had on the lives of so many.
This film only tackles Hollywood but it went so much further.
So, freedom of speech and religion? The US certainly doesn’t practice what it preaches!

Spotlight
A film about the ‘Spolight’ team. The oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative journalist unit in the USA.
It’s the true story of how the team uncovers cases of widespread child sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests in the Boston area.
These stories end up earning the ‘Boston Globe’ the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
The stories also open up a can of worms and evidence is found worldwide of the hidden practice.

A brilliant film with some amazing performances, most noteably Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton.

The Big Short
A film that identifies several of the key players in the creation of the credit default swap market that looked to bet against the collateralized debt obligation bubble and ended up profiting from the financial crisis of 2007-08.
As in the book, it also highlights the eccentric nature of the type of person who bets against the market or goes against the grain.

It took me a while to get my head around what was actually happening but when I did I was stunned that corporations are allowed to play with peoples lives in this way.
The end of the movie leaves you with figures that are hard to believe.

When the dust settled from the collapse,
5 trillian dollars in pension money, real estate value, 401k, savings and bonds had disappeared.
8 million people lost their jobs, 6 million lost their homes, and that was just in the USA!

It then leaves you with a chilling warning.

In 2015, several large banks began selling billions in something called a ‘bespoke tranche opportunity’.
Which, according to Bloomsberg News, is just another name for a collateral debt obligation!

Are they actually being allowed to get away with it again?
What will be the consequences if/when the economy callapses again?

Room
A heartbreaking film about a woman who was kidnapped as a teenager and kept locked away for 7 years and abused. While locked away she has a son who is 5 years old by the start of the movie.
The movie concentrates on their astounding relationship, not only with each other but with ‘room’ and their eventual escape and reintroduction to the world outside room.

A beautiful film and little Jacob Tremblay is definately one to watch!

So, lots of rest for the knee.
A visit to the GP and Occupational Health see me returning to work next week!
Reduced hours for the first couple of weeks to see how the knee handles it and then hopefully back to  normal.

Dharma has had a great week at school and her knee is also improving daily.
Hopefully she’ll be more careful from now on. She really needs to improve her attendence record.

Marjorie is still Marjorie. Working hard for her exams. She has been accepted to both Bedford Sixth Form and Bedford College and is having an interview for Mark Rutherford Sixth Form (although why a student already at Mark Rutherford has to interview to stay on in Sixth Form is beyond me!!)
Anyway, I think she’s hoping for the college option but it all depends on her exam grades!

Murron is doing really well.
She is loving college and yesterday she signed a contract on her first official job!!
It’s a job she’s been holding out for for a while. Bartending at Esquires.
It’s a dream job for Murron. She spends her life at Esquires, meets her friends at Esquires, loves the bands at Esquires and now she has an excuse to practically live there!
From my point of view, it takes a bit of pressure off of me and her Dad financially.
No more pocket money and depending on what she’s earning, hopefully she’ll take on the responsibility of her own phone, we’ll see.

Ian is getting on great with his new position at work.
He’s being challenged again and that was the point of the drastic decision to go ahead with the move even though it meant a temporary drop in wages.

Today, I am doing something a little bit naughty.
I’ve had a bacon and onion roll steaming since 09:30 this morning.
I haven’t made one for years!
They are not the healthiest thing in the world being made of suet pastry and lashings of bacon but they are scrummy!
When my Mum mentioned it yesterday I decided to make one today for a treat.
By 17:00 tonight it would have steamed to perfection!
Can’t wait.

So now that I’ve finished writing this it’s time for a tidy up and then some more movies!!