Sunday 3 December 2017

TV

The Graham Norton Show
22x09 (1/12/17 edition)
I only really watch this nowadays when I'm at my parents' and they bung it on.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Michael McIntyre's Big Show
3x01 (18/11/17 edition)
Same as above for this (as well as a few other random shows that I didn't really pay attention to).
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
[#164 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Despite the mixed-to-poor reviews, I rather enjoyed this. It's also now made over $210 million worldwide, nearly quadruple its budget, so I guess we'll be getting the rumoured sequel.

this week on 100 Films

I'm sure you can't have failed to notice that it's now December (nearly Christmas!), which means it was time to look back at November on 100 Films in a Year...





There were also 4 brand-new reviews published in the last week...


Rurouni Kenshin (2012)
As promised, the action sequences are excitingly staged, full of quick choreography and slick stunts. Couple their impressiveness with the large cast and varied period locations, and it gives the whole thing a glossy, big-budget feel.
Read more here.


Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (2014)
one of those sequels that benefits from the its predecessor establishing the world of the story and the characters that inhabit it, meaning it can launch off on its own grander scale. Partly we see this in a material sense: it looks even more expensive than the first one... but it’s also in the scope of the story and the way it stretches the characters, both old and new.
Read more here.


Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
It’s probably a bit too barmy — a bit too European, even — for mainstream US tastes, but there’s a lot to like here for those who are so inclined. The main selling point is the imagery. Simply put, it’s incredible. There’s so much going on, all the time. There’s background detail galore. It whizzes through worlds that could be the entire setting for some other story. There are dozens, probably hundreds, of alien species thrown around. It’s so casually inventive, as if it’s got imagination to spare. And it’s mostly vibrantly colourful too
Read more here.


Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)
the best part of the film is the final 20 minutes, a tour de force of emotion and action that sees Ichi surrounded and, enraged into action, taking down an army that stands between him and vengeance. Said vengeance comes in the form of a one-on-one sword duel, of course. Obviously we know our hero will triumph, but it’s still a tense scene, especially as it seems to be a rare occasion when Ichi’s been out-fought. This third act elevates the whole movie
Read more here.


The third and final (so far) Rurouni Kenshin will be reviewed tomorrow, and therefore feature in next Sunday's roundup.