TV

The Twilight Zone
3x35 I Sing the Body Electric
+ commentary by Twilight Zone expert Marc Scott Zicree

Films

Frankenstein (1931)
[#53 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]
Blindspot 2021 #2
+ commentary by film historian Sir Christopher Frayling

this week on 100 Films

Time flies: this week, it was already time for a new monthly TV column at 100 Films in a Year...





Plus 2 new film reviews...


Creed II (2018)

The film’s title is, obviously, meant to be read “Creed 2” because it’s a follow-up to “Creed 1”, but if you chose to read it as “Creed the 2nd” it wouldn’t be inappropriate to the movie’s themes. This is a movie all about parents and children, what they owe to each other, and how they live up to that — or fail to. It’s a meaty subject to chew on, and [the film] examines it from almost every conceivable angle.

Read more here.


Zatoichi in Desperation (1972)

The 24th and penultimate film in the original Zatoichi series is also the first to be directed by star Shintarô Katsu. Despite such fundamental creative control by the man who arguably knew the character best, it's widely regarded as one of the series’ worst instalments, and yet you’ll find some people full of praise for it. It’s one of the series’ darkest entries, and I suspect it’s unpopular overall because it’s so grim; but for those who do like it, they love it.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Dial M for Middlesbrough
Sequel to Murder on the Blackpool Express and Death on the Tyne. I thought it was the best one yet.

Films

Radioactive (2019)
[#52 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983)
[#51 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Collection Count

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

It was supposed to be a new running time update this week, but it's been a busy month and a bunch of titles arrived just this morning, so I haven't found time to add it all up. That's bumped to next week, then. In the meantime, this week's pile of new arrivals: one recent release, and four sale pickups.
Number of titles in collection: 2,549 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,081 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,468 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 96 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 6,532 [up 6]
Number of films: 2,956 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 209 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,048 [no change]
Number of short films: 843 [up 2]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

WandaVision
Part 8 Previously On

Films

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
[#50 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

TV

Would I Lie To You?
14x05 Episode 5
14x06 Episode 6
[Watch these episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

For All Mankind
1x01 Red Moon

The Twilight Zone
3x27 Person or Persons Unknown

TV

The Twilight Zone
1x10 Judgment Night
2x11 The Night of the Meek
+ commentary on The Night of the Meek by Twilight Zone expert Marc Scott Zicree and comic book author Len Wein.

These episodes see me pass the halfway mark of watching the whole series: I've now seen 79 episodes, and I've got 77 to go...

Films

Vampyr (1932)
[#49 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Xchange (2001)
[#48 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Articles

What Peter Jackson’s original two-movie Lord of the Rings almost looked like
by Drew McWeeny (from Polygon)
I don't share any articles for ages and then two really good ones come along almost at once...

Films

Apollo 13 (1995)
[3rd or so watch]
Rewatchathon 2021 #6. Plus a few bits from the audio commentaries by Jim & Marilyn Lovell and director Ron Howard, which were quite interesting.

Articles

Justice League: The Shocking, Exhilarating, Heartbreaking True Story of #TheSnyderCut
by Anthony Breznican (from Vanity Fair)
As someone put it on Twitter, "this is possibly the most well-rounded, thoughtful, and genuinely informative articles about the Snyder Cut I've ever had the pleasure to read... An uncommonly good piece."

Films

The ’Burbs (1989)
[#47 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new review on 100 Films in a Year this week...


Muse: Simulation Theory (2020)

Often cited as one of the best live acts around, for their latest concert movie British rock band Muse have attempted something a bit different: rather than just footage of them performing songs in front of a massive audience, Simulation Theory attempts to tell a sci-fi narrative… driven by and/or interspersed with the band performing songs in front of a massive audience, natch.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

News of the World (2020)
[#46 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Collection Count

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

A few new additions this week, again. I thought next week was going to finally be a totally quiet one, but I just ordered some stuff that I expect will turn up. I'm insatiable.

Number of titles in collection: 2,544 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,081 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,463 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 96 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 6,526 [up 7]
Number of films: 2,950 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 208 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 9,048 [no change]
Number of short films: 841 [up 5]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

It's a Sin
Part 5 (of 5)
[Watch the whole series (again) on All 4.]

It's a Sin: After Hours
Episode 5 (of 5)
[Watch it (again) on All 4 or YouTube.]

WandaVision
Part 7 Breaking the Fourth Wall

Films

The House of Fear (1939)
[#44 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]
Not to be confused with the Sherlock Holmes film of the same title, this is a remake of The Last Warning — and a vastly inferior one at that.

Muse: Simulation Theory (2020)
[#45 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

TV

It's a Sin
Part 4 (of 5)
[Watch the whole series (again) on All 4.]

It's a Sin: After Hours
Episode 4 (of 5)
[Watch it (again) on All 4 or YouTube.]

Films

The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
[#43 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

TV

A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote
I don't know if this actually aired anywhere in the UK (probably on a Sky channel if it did), but I got hold of it nonetheless out of curiosity. More thoughts on Letterboxd.

Films

The Guilty (2018)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Mortal Kombat (1995)
[#41 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

TV

It's a Sin
Part 3 (of 5)
[Watch the whole series (again) on All 4.]

It's a Sin: After Hours
Episode 3 (of 5)
[Watch it (again) on All 4 or YouTube.]

Films

The Last Warning (1928)
[#40 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]
+ the extras on the new Masters of Cinema Blu-ray: an audio commentary by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones; and a 10-minute video essay that, despite that short running time, still only talked about the actual film for about a third of its running time!

Films

Crocodile Dundee II (1999)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2021 #5. I'm sure I watched this as a kid, but I didn't remember a second of it.

TV

It's a Sin
Part 2 (of 5)
[Watch the whole series (again) on All 4.]

It's a Sin: After Hours
Episode 2 (of 5)
[Watch it (again) on All 4 or YouTube.]

Films

Shakespeare in Love (1998)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]
The only Oscar Best Picture winner from the last 30 years that I hadn't seen. (Next oldest: 1988's Rain Man, which is on this year's Blindspot list.)

this week on 100 Films

5 new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, all thanks to another 100-week roundup...


The 100-Week Roundup XXV

Featuring...
- The Italian Job
- Downsizing
- Brigsby Bear
- Starship Troopers
- Escape from New York

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Tangerines (2013)
[#37 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

The White Tiger (2021)
[#38 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Collection Count

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

A bit of a calmer week this time, with only three new additions... though as two of those are box sets, there's still a whole pile of new films and shorts. Also, that rarest of rarities: a new DVD! (Of a film not available on Blu, obv.)

Number of titles in collection: 2,540 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,081 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,459 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 96 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 6,519 [up 12]
Number of films: 2,946 [up 11]
Number of additional cuts: 206 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,048 [no change]
Number of short films: 836 [up 15]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

It's a Sin
Part 1 (of 5)
[Watch the whole series (again) on All 4.]

It's a Sin: After Hours
Episode 1 (of 5)
Channel 4's quarter-hour "after show" thingy.
[Watch it (again) on All 4 or YouTube.]

WandaVision
Part 6 All-New Halloween Spooktacular!

Films

Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
[#36 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Films

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
[#35 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Also...

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2021 #4. This isn't just because I enjoyed it so much I watched it twice (although it is very good), but because the BFI Blu-ray has a choice of soundtracks: the first is the original 1926 musical score; the second is an English voiceover narration recorded in 2013 but based on the director's original text. Really, the latter wasn't worth bothering with (I wrote a little more about that on Letterboxd).

Films

Isn't It Romantic (2019)
[#34 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

TV

Would I Lie To You?
14x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Musicals: The Greatest Show
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Dig (2021)
[#33 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
[#32 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

this week on 100 Films

We're a whole week into February now, but that week began with February beginning, and so over at 100 Films in a Year it was time to look back at the first month of 2021...





And I published 3 new film reviews, too...


The 100-Week Roundup XXIV

Featuring...
- Bruce Almighty
- Isle of Dogs
- Life is Beautiful

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

When the Wind Blows (1986)
[#31 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]
+ the commentary by first assistant editor John Fordham and film historian Nick Redman ("first assistant editor" sounds like a bit of a lowly position to be doing the commentary, but Fordham was there for most of production and seems to know a fair bit — it's not a bad track), and the interview with Raymond Briggs (insightful into the original conception of the characters, including how he had to make them "fairly dim" in order to slavishly follow the "lunatic" official advice!)

Collection Count

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

Last week I said this week might challenge some of the record-breakers from last year. In the end, due to stuff getting lost in the post or not arriving as quickly as expected, it's not quite at that level — but it's still a relatively big'un, with 11 all-new titles, containing 15 films (no multi-film sets, just a bunch of extra films as special features!) and 38 episodes of TV, plus a pile of short films too. Sadly, nothing on Ultra HD or DVD, and no additional cuts, otherwise every single stat would've gone up. Hey-ho, you can't have it all!

Number of titles in collection: 2,537 [up 11]
Of which DVDs: 1,080 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,457 [up 11]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 96 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 6,507 [up 28]
Number of films: 2,935 [up 15]
Number of additional cuts: 206 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,048 [up 38]
Number of short films: 821 [up 9]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Twilight Zone
1x12 What You Need

WandaVision
Part 5 On a Very Special Episode...

Films

Frozen 3D (2013)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2021 #3

Films

High Life (2018)
[#30 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Films

The Burning Buddha Man (2013)
[#29 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Coming to America (1988)
[#28 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]

Films

Weird Woman (1944)
[#27 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]
The second Inner Sanctum Mystery.
+ commentary by film historian Justin Humphreys & author Del Howison

Films

Psycho Goreman (2020)
[#26 in 100 Films in a Year 2021]