TV

Death in Paradise
6x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Missing
2x03 A Prison Without Walls

Films

London Has Fallen (2016)
[#14 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Films

Sing Street (2016)
[#13 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Under the Shadow (2016)
[#12 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Insert Name Here
2x04 Ben
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Missing
2x02 The Turtle and the Stick

this week on 100 Films

6 brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...


Bridesmaids (2011)

Despite a rough start, there are some very, very funny parts later on; but, unexpectedly, it also works pretty well in more character-focused sections. You’re not going to mistake this for an emotional drama, but there’s more investment in the characters than you might anticipate given the cast and crew’s pedigree.

Read more here.


Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

The affable characters are quite delightful to get to know even as they’re getting to know each other, and there are some magical sequences. Plus it’s all beautifully designed and animated, as you’d expect from Studio Ghibli

Read more here.


iBoy (2017)

Where it comes unstuck is the tone. How many superhero films are going to feature gang rape? Well, somewhat appropriately, I guess the Netflix ones might. But the disjunct between iBoy’s daft premise and the grim world of inner city gangs (there are more acts of shocking violence) is a difficult one to negotiate.

Read more here.


Into the Wild (2007)

The true story of Christopher McCandless, who abandoned regular life after college to go hitchhiking and become one with nature or something, then accidentally killed himself by being a pretentious wanker.

Read more here.


The Pianist (2002)

It may not poke at your emotions quite so readily as, say, Schindler’s List, but that’s because Polanski and screenwriter Ronald Harwood dodge histrionics or an operatic envisioning of events. Instead this feels like a grounded relation of the facts, with everyday heroism (and cruelty) the order of the day — but, of course, there’s nothing “everyday” about it.

Read more here.


Wuthering Heights (2011)

Andrea Arnold’s earthy, plausible take on Emily Brontë’s beloved novel won’t be to all tastes — particularly anyone after an epic romance feel — but its sparse dialogue, Malickian attention to nature, and oppressive mood make for a benumbing work of cinematic art.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Let It Shine
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

iBoy (2017)
[#11 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

As promised, a whole host of additions this week -- just in time for the running time update! In the mix we have new Blu-rays, new DVDs, DVD-to-Blu-ray upgrades, and a whole season of TV, making updates across the board. Huzzah!

Number of titles in collection: 1,930 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,193 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 737 [up 7]

Number of discs in collection: 4,972 [up 9]
Number of films: 2,132 [up 7]
Number of TV episodes: 7,622 [up 20]
Number of short films: 508 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
368 days, 1 hour, and 8 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 14 hours, and 31 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Missing
2x01 Come Home

Room 101
6x01 Episode 1
Seems I stopped watching Room 101 halfway through the last series. Not sure why. Weird.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Enemy of the State (1998)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #1

TV

Elementary
5x04 Henny Penny the Sky is Falling
The 100th episode. An appropriate subplot for the occasion; not so much the title...

Not Going Out
8x01 Romance
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Arrow
5x09 What We Leave Behind

Films

The Conversation (1974)
[#10 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Blindspot 2017 #1

+ the alternate ending from the original screenplay, included among the Blu-ray's special features.

TV

Death in Paradise
6x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Insert Name Here
2x03 Mary
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Charlie Bartlett (2007)
[#9 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Let It Shine
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Eye in the Sky (2015)
[#8 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

this week on 100 Films

It was time for my monthly TV review over at 100 Films in a Year, with a bumper-sized crop of things to cover in-depth...





As well as that, I published 3 brand-new film reviews...


Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal: The Movie (2016)

Considering its pedigree, it should come as no surprise that The Art of the Deal: The Movie plays like a very long, out of control sketch. Just like all sketch comedy, some jokes land better than others, and just like most sketch comedy, it begins to outstay its welcome by the end.

Read more here.


Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

the animation is genuinely stunning — beautiful to look at, as well as being technically audacious and consequently impressive. Some of it is so grand that several times I forgot that most of what we’re seeing on screen was built for real and animated by hand over several years. I say “most” because it is augmented with CGI [which] doesn’t detract from the technical workmanship on display. That included the largest stop-motion puppet ever built [of which] there’s a behind-the-scenes glimpse during the end credits that is breathtaking.

Read more here.


Raising Arizona (1987)

before now all I could have told you about Raising Arizona is that “it has the longest pre-titles ever (except it doesn’t)”. Well, that and it stars Nic Cage and was directed by the Coen brothers. But now I’ve watched it and, three months after the fact, …that’s still almost all I can tell you. I also remember there was a kinda-cool semi-fantastical thing going on with, like, a demon biker or something. Oh, and it’s quite funny.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Into the Wild (2007)
[#7 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2017 #1

Fiction

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Dismal Dinner by Lemony Snicket

So, while reading some stuff about Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, one of the lists of stuff they could adapt mentioned this in passing. Being the only ASoUE work I'd not heard of, I looked it up. Turns out it's just a short 'story' that was given away with kids' snacks as part of the promotion for the 2004 film, and you can even read it all online here. Which I did. It was as pointless as its provenance suggests, but hey-ho, that's free gifts with kids' snacks for you.

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

Nothing to report this week, but there's plenty on order so I imagine things will get lively soon.

Number of titles in collection: 1,924 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,194 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 730 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,963 [no change]
Number of films: 2,125 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 7,602 [no change]
Number of short films: 508 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

A Series of Unfortunate Events
1x07 The Miserable Mill Part One
1x08 The Miserable Mill Part Two [season finale]

TV

Elementary
5x03 Render, and Then Seize Her

TV

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
Part 4 Fall

A Series of Unfortunate Events
1x05 The Wide Window Part One
1x06 The Wide Window Part Two

TV

A Series of Unfortunate Events
1x03 The Reptile Room Part One
1x04 The Reptile Room Part Two

Films

Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie (2016)
[#6 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

The Flash
3x09 The Present

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
Part 3 Summer

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2016/2017 Episode 10 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

DC's Legends of Tomorrow
2x07 Invasion!
Concluding the crossover.

Sherlock
4x03 The Final Problem [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
[#5 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

+ all of the Blu-ray's special features.

this week on 100 Films

3 brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...


Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

The most recent feature from the director of the very-different-to-each-other What We Do in the Shadows and Thor: Ragnarok, this very-different-again adventure-comedy-drama was a surprise hit in its native New Zealand, then around the rest of the world, before it wound up as Empire magazine’s pick for the best film of 2016.

Read more here.


Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973)

maybe it’s a kind of Stockholm syndrome, but I ended up rather enjoying it. It’s not genius, but it’s a fairly amusing farce once it gets going. Very of its time as an early-’70s mainstream-style silly comedy, but what’s wrong with being of your time?

Read more here.


Ninja Scroll (1993)

One of the films credited with helping to popularise anime in the West in the wake of Akira (reportedly it has had a greater and more enduring impact in the US than in Japan), Ninja Scroll is a fast-paced fantastical action flick full of gratuitous swordplay, gratuitous gore, and gratuitous nudity.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
Part 2 Spring

Let It Shine
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

A Series of Unfortunate Events
1x01 A Bad Beginning Part One
1x02 A Bad Beginning Part Two

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

Number of titles in collection: 1,924 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,194 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 730 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 4,963 [up 11]
Number of films: 2,125 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 7,602 [up 23]
Number of short films: 508 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
[#4 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Ninja Scroll (1993)
[#3 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]
+ the first half-ish of the audio commentary.

TV

Arrow
5x08 Invasion!
Part 2 (aka 3) of the crossover. Also Arrow's 100th episode, so it's handy they had those aliens to provide a way to bring back lots of dead characters.

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life
Part 1 Winter

TV

Elementary
5x02 Worth Several Cities

Insert Name Here
2x02 Alex
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Death in Paradise
6x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Flash
3x08 Invasion!
Four-episode crossover ep.2 (because apparently ep.1's content was all of one scene that they repeat here).

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
at Christmas [2016]
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Anomalisa (2015)
[#2 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Arrow
5x07 Vigilante

Elementary
5x01 Folie a Deux
You can never have enough Sherlock Holmes on the telly, I guess.

this week on 100 Films

No new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, but there was a bunch of other stuff going on.

First: wrapping up 2016...


My Top 5 Most-Read New Posts in 2016

…and why I think they made the cut.

Read more here.


2016: The Full List

the usual array of factual analysis of my viewing (lists! statistics! yay statistics!)

Read more here.


The Best & Worst of 2016

it’s now time to consider the quality of that viewing: which films were the worst? Which the best? And what did I miss?

Read more here.


Then, announcing some plans of 2017...


Blindspot 2017

In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept of Blindspot, it’s where you pick 12 films you’ve never seen but feel you should have and resolve to watch one per month over the course of the year.

Read more here.


What Do You Mean You Haven’t Seen…? 2017

So what differentiates my WDYMYHS selection? Well, to mark my 10th blogiversary I’ve attempted to identify the films from the last ten years that I really should have seen.

Read more here.


Rewatchathon 2017

This year I’m adding a new component to my annual goal: in addition to watching at least 100 films I’ve never seen before, I decided to set a target to rewatch more.

Read more here.


Reviews next Sunday, I should imagine.

TV

The Flash
3x07 Killer Frost
This episode should've been called Hugs, the amount they couldn't stop embracing each other. That or Painfully Obvious Reveal That Everyone Saw Coming.

Sherlock
4x02 The Lying Detective
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2016/2017 Episode 9 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Let It Shine
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Green Room (2015)
[#1 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Year #11, here we go...

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

After a busy couple of weeks, a quiet one: just one new box set replacing a couple of older releases (hence why "titles" goes down but "discs" goes up).

Number of titles in collection: 1,919 [down 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,193 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 726 [down 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,952 [up 1]
Number of films: 2,121 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 7,579 [no change]
Number of short films: 508 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Arrow
5x06 So It Begins

Celebrity Mastermind
2016/2017 Episode 8 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2016/2017 Episode 7 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Flash
3x06 Shade

Vicious
3x00 A Year [series finale]
Vicious was always a very strange series, and this double-length finale is no exception.
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2016/2017 Episode 6 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dara O Briain: Crowd Tickler Live
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2016/2017 Episode 5 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
6x00 Christmas Special
On the one hand, this messes up my lovely "complete series" DVD box set. On the other hand, it's really funny. Hurray for new Outnumbered!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Junior Bake Off
4x14 The Final Day One
4x15 The Final Day Two [series finale]
[Watch The Final Day One and Day Two (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
14x09 Noel (XL edition)
Still going with the Christmas telly...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2016/2017 Episode 3 (of 10)
2016/2017 Episode 4 (of 10)
[Watch episode three and four (again) on iPlayer.]

Sherlock
4x01 The Six Thatchers
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

I know it's New Year's Day, but this is all about the final updates for 2016 on 100 Films in a Year. Well, I say "final" -- there's loads of wrapping-up still to do. But, for now, here's a look back specifically at December...





As well as that, I reviewed some of the highlights of Christmas TV...





There were 3 brand-new reviews published as well...


Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Po and co are back in a movie that bucks the sequel trend by being perhaps the best Kung Fu Panda yet... After the occasionally muddled second film, KFP3 sets the legendary adventures of awesomeness back on track with an appealing mix of humour, action, and moral lessons for kiddies and adult viewers alike.

Read more here.


The Last Dragonslayer (2016)

you’re probably thinking The Last Dragonslayer is completely derivative of every other major young-adult fantasy franchise of the last… well, forever. It’s hard to deny that the plot is, at least in its broadest thematic strokes, a pretty familiar affair. What makes the enterprise worthwhile is its humorous execution. This isn’t a spoof of the genre, more a satirical mash-up of familiar fantasy building blocks and modern life

Read more here.


Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich shine in this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s play... Despite expanding the action, it’s still dialogue-heavy and a little stagey in places — but between the engrossingly labyrinthine plot, those captivating performances, and some added humour, such potential criticisms are irrelevant.

Read more here.


And to round things off, my 100 Favourites series concluded with a final post...


The Conclusion

About four years ago, I had a crazy notion: that for my 10th blogging anniversary (still several years away at that point) I could do a year-long series of posts discussing my 100 favourite movies — an idea in keeping with my blog’s theme and also a grand way to celebrate it lasting a whole decade. After several years spent mulling over options, about 18 months of writing, and literally hundreds of hours dedicated to the project, it’s finally at an end.

In this post, I’m going to list the second half of my also-rans and do what I always enjoy doing at the end of everything: share some statistics!

Read more here.


More next Sunday.