TV

1001 Things You Should Know
1x12 (27/11/12 edition)
That must be the smallest contribution to the prize pot yet. Unsurprisingly none of them were bright enough to even get to the final question, never mind actually win the money. Only fair.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Dragons' Den
10x10 Episode 10
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

James Bond: A BAFTA Tribute [2nd watch]
BBC special from 2002 celebrating 40 years of the Bond films. It's interesting to watch it again now: 10 years doesn't necessarily seem like such a long time, especially when you're only going back to the '00s, but it actually really feels it. You wouldn't think TV has changed so much in that time, for instance, but at points this has a borderline-old-fashioned sense; and certainly everyone looks older now, especially Roger Moore (as seen on HIGNFY the other night).

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
26x09 Episode 9
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
1x18 Identity Crisis

this week on 100 Films

The start of December means two things for 100 Films in a Year this year: firstly, the November update, which is as fascinating as ever; secondly, the inaugural 100 Films Advent Calendar, sharing 25 new reviews throughout (most of) December. The first two are up already and, of course, are shared below -- along with the one other brand-new review posted in the last week.


2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Poor acting, a plot done by the numbers, and a style that sometimes feels like a rap video writ into a film. Oh dear. Yet the chases and other car-based action sequences are pretty coolly done, and there’s more of them than I remember there being in the first film. That’s a definite plus — really, it’s all you want from a film like this.

Read more here.


Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part I (2012)

the team behind these direct-to-DVD DC animated movies have taken a reverent route to bringing DKR to the screen. It’s in two parts because the original story is too long to faithfully adapt in their limited-length movies, but that also works out OK from a storytelling point of view: this first half ends with a major threat rapped up and a great cliffhanger to kick off the second half.

Read more here.


Tombstone (1993)

Not knowing more than the name, and a few key players, I fully expected the gunfight at said corral to be the story’s climax. Maybe it is in other versions, but here it comes about halfway through. It’s the pivot around which the story turns, however, with the first half building to it and the second handling its consequences.

Read more here.


And new to the new blog...


Heat (1995)

will probably always be best remembered for two things: the excellent running shoot out on the streets of L.A., and De Niro and Pacino on screen together for the first (and, so far, last) time.

Read more here.


Ivanhoe (1952)

swashing buckles are the order of the day... Most notable is an excellent siege sequence, a moderately epic extended battle that is certainly the film’s high point. The randomly hurled arrows and choreography-free sword fights may look a tad amateurish sixty years on, but the scale and rough excitement of the battle easily makes up for it.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.