Articles

Sharknado sinks Jaws to become Syfy’s biggest film of the year
by Emma Daly (from Radio Times)

The shark-cum-tornado flick attracted four times the UK subscription channel’s usual primetime average

I have it recorded...

TV

Archer
4x01 Fugue and Riffs
Channel 5 have not only taken an age to show the new series of Archer, they've also switched its channel and, worst of all, taken the decision to dump it in the middle of the night. I guess it doesn't get the viewing figures or something, though I don't imagine 5* or 5USA's figures can be that great at the best of times. Anyway, it's an undeserved treatment, because it's still hilarious.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Cowboy Bebop
1x03 Honky Tonk Women

Law & Order: UK
7x04 Fatherly Love
Best episode of the series so far, said Radio Times, and they were right, with particularly remarkable performances from the girls playing the two 16-year-olds.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Veronica Mars
2x07 Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner

You Saw Them Here First
Episode 2 (of 2)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Articles

The Final UK Cover Art For Solo Is Here!
by John Cox (from The Book Bond)

This news about the new James Bond novel was announced on August 1st, but somehow I missed it until last night. Personally, I think the cover looks great, and the dust jacket / underneath combo looks like it will work really well. The new Bond novels are pretty much the only things I buy in hardback, because I want to read them quickly, but work like this banishes any consideration of possibly switching to the ebook -- it's the kind of thing I want to collect.

Click the image above for a huge version. Also follow the link for more pack shots (albeit weirdly compressed and looking noisier than the real thing is likely to be), plus a long bit by the cover's designer on her thinking. It's quite fascinating. You can also see the US art there, which is alright but nowhere near as good.



Doctor Who StoryBundle - Pay What You Want Offer
by Marcus (from Doctor Who News)

Talking of ebooks, here's some Doctor Who ones at a bargain price! Put simply, you pay what you want and in exchange you get DRM-free copies of several Who-related ebooks.

Minimum amount is $3 (c.£2), which gets you fan memoir Dalek I Loved You (if you happen to have the original from 2008, this is an expanded '50th Anniversary Edition'), Barry Letts autobiography Who & Me, critical history of the Second Doctor TARDIS Eruditorum Volume 2, and recipe book Dining With The Doctor: An Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook. That last one has one recipe from every nuWho episode up until the end of series six, plus a bunch of extra ones for fish fingers & custard. Kinda scary...

However, if you choose to pay $10 (c.£6.66) or more you get all that plus VWORP!, "a key primer to the Doctor Who canon from 1963 through to the 2011 Xmas special, for both novices and experts alike", and The Best of TARDIS Eruditorum, "twenty-one of the best and most popular essays from Philip Sandifer's acclaimed blog", compiled exclusively for this bundle. I was going to do a price comparison with buying the other five as ebooks from Amazon, but only three are there... though even that adds up to £8.34.

Plus, as well as picking how much to pay, you can set what percentage goes to the authors and what to running StoryBundle; and you can choose to give 10% to charity too (they offer two appropriate options). The books can either be flat-out downloaded or, if you have a Kindle device/app, be sent directly there (so long as you're prepared to quickly fiddle with a few online settings first).

Do note that there's a time limit to this offer: the ability to buy the bundle expires in about 12 days. If ebooks interest you, they've done this before and I'm sure will again. A list of their previous offers can be perused here.

TV

Cowboy Bebop
1x02 Stray Dog Strut
I think it's safe to say I'm going to like Ein...

Doctor Who
1x06 The Survivors
That was more like it! Bit of a nothing-y cliffhanger, but the rest was brilliant, especially the stuff with Susan running through the jungle -- tip-top direction there.

Dragons' Den
10x12 Episode 12 [season finale]
Had this one episode left over from last series. With the new one starting soon, it seemed about time!

Veronica Mars
2x06 Rat Saw God
I like VM, but this week they seemed to be having a competition to see who could mispronounce "Ibiza" most often in the space of 5 minutes, and for some reason they seemed to think you need an over-21 ID to go drinking in Europe! All a bit too... American.
Still, there was a Joss Whedon cameo, so that kinda made up for it.

TV

The Americans
1x13 The Colonel [season finale]
Great music choices to open the premiere and close the finale!
I think across this season The Americans has grown from a show I liked into one I love. I'll really miss it now -- can't wait for season two!
[Watch it from 24th August on ITV Player.]

Cowboy Bebop
1x01 Asteroid Blues
I've long heard how good Cowboy Bebop is, but me being me I'm only getting round to it now. I've actually had a US DVD set for ages, but the recent release of a UK Blu-ray, with limited packaging and new-outside-Japan extras, was irresistible to me. I'm glad I did too, because a) it looks great in HD, and b) it's finally prompted me to watch the series, and on the evidence of episode one it is indeed excellent.
Normally I'd view something like this in clumps of two or three episodes, but it felt a bit too special just to plough through. Though that's no guarantee I'll show such self restraint in the future.

Horrible Histories
5x01 Episode 1
The final season! But there's another 11 episodes to go yet, so we'll leave the sadness for a while.

Starlings
2x04 Episode Four

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
4x02 (2/8/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]


The Americans
1x12 The Oath
It's nice to have a penultimate episode that doesn't feel like "Part 1 of 2" these days. Nonetheless, it builds things up to a suitably tense/exciting point for next week's time's finale.
[Watch it from 17th August on ITV Player.]


Doctor Who
1x05 The Dead Planet

Beginning a 'season' of viewing to mark the show's 50th anniversary. 39 episodes of classic Who, 5 of nuWho, and the TV Movie, all precisely spaced out over the next 16 weeks to lead up to the 50th anniversary special as the season's climax. Very neat, if I do say so myself.

Much like last time (five years ago! God!), I'm joined on my viewing by a relative classic-Who-newbie (the same one, indeed), so I've tried to pick stories of interest for various reasons. Well, it's meant to be a celebration, so that makes sense regardless. I'll introduce them as we go.

So, my choice for the First Doctor is, I think, a fairly obvious one: his second serial, known now as The Daleks. Only right to celebrate them in the show's 50th year too, no? And how better than with their first story. Well, with a better story, maybe; but none more fitting. I have a dim memory of seeing The Daleks once before, years and years ago, late at night on UK Gold or something, so other than the familiarity of reading the novel, seeing the Cushing film, and generally reading tonnes about the serial down the years, it felt 'new' to me.

It also felt surprisingly slow. I don't think that's because I'm out of pace with '60s Who, because when I watched Reign of Terror in January I was fine with it, I just think writer Terry Nation needed to give things a bigger oomph. No wonder they were able to cut all seven episodes down to just 80 minutes for the movie. But you never know, maybe it all picks up once the Daleks arrive...


Miranda
1x06 Dog [season finale; 2nd watch]

TV

The Americans
1x11 Covert War
And now I'm ahead.
[Watch it from 10th August on ITV Player.]


Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor

Excellent news! And, thank God, they didn't cast another 20-something. Indeed, I believe Capaldi is technically the joint oldest Doctor ever. Win.

And, in case you've not seen it, the official image is to the right (if you want, you can click it to enlarge a bit; or you can find it super-large here).

[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]


The Last Leg
3x01 (31/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]


Veronica Mars
2x05 Blast from the Past

Films

Immortals (2011)
[#64 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

this week on 100 Films

It's August (did you notice?), which means that the big news this week on 100 Films in a Year is the July update. This month's top 5: significant directors whose films I've never seen.


Back to regular business: two new reviews were published this week, including...


Animalympics (1980)

Originally commissioned as a pair of specials for US TV, Animalympics was repurposed by its makers as a feature film. You might be able to guess the plot from the title: various animals compete in an Animal Olympics. It’s a series of sketches, essentially

Read more here.


The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

Time has arguably blunted it slightly, however: a meeting of anti-American leaders is tinged by most since dying. Era-specific jokes are few, instead offering the usual Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker mix of slapstick, visual puns and wordplay.

Read more here.


And also, new to the new blog were...


Kick-Ass (2010)

as Watchmen was to superhero comics, so Kick-Ass is to superhero films... it doesn’t “examine and deconstruct” quite as methodically — or, if you prefer, “as coldy” — as both Moore and Snyder did; but it still takes its cues as much, if not more, from fellow superhero films and TV series

Read more here.


Right at Your Door (2006)

L.A. is hit by a series of ‘dirty bombs’ in this indie suspense thriller, that follows the story of what happens to one man in the suburbs, as well as the various people whose paths cross his.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Americans
1x10 Only You
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Veronica Mars
2x04 Green-Eyed Monster

You Saw Them Here First
Episode 1 (of 2)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

Bicycle Thieves (1948)
[#63 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

For my "What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" project. I think the first time I've watched one at a time other than right at the end of the month!

Collection Count

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

Two additions this week: the first half of Cowboy Bebop looking beautiful on Blu-ray; and the beautifully packaged Fourth Doctor Time Capsule, complete with an early release of Terror of the Zygons.

Number of titles in collection: 1,587 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,169 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 418 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,958 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,699 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,803 [up 17]
Number of short films in collection: 383 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Americans
1x09 Safe House
Finally caught up with ITV! Though they've another one on tomorrow, so, y'know.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Law & Order: UK
7x03 Paternal
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Suburgatory
2x03 Ryan's Song
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Top Gear
20x05 (28/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The Americans
1x08 Mutually Assured Destruction
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Starlings
2x03 Episode Three

Veronica Mars
2x03 Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang

TV

The Americans
1x07 Duty and Honor
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Family Tree
1x03 The Austerity Games
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
2x02 Driver Ed

TV

The Americans
1x06 Trust Me
Getting close to ITV now...
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Good Life
4x08 Silly, But It's Fun... [Christmas special]

Veronica Mars
2x01 Normal is the Watchword
I'd heard season one was by far the best, but the second certainly kicks off to an intriguing start.

Articles

BBC Worldwide to include Widow on Series Seven Box Set
by Marcus (from Doctor Who News)

Well thank goodness for common sense! Though even while fixing a point of stupidity, they still come across as moronic:

Originally the decision was taken not to include this release on the box set as it had previously been released as a standalone product.

Which previous specials had been released as a standalone product before being included in the subsequent box set? Only all of them. But hey, if something's gone down without complaint for six years in a row, why not do the complete opposite on the seventh?

Morons.

Oh, and it looks like the US set has quite a few more special features. The UK listing released so far wasn't as thoroughly broken down as that in fairness, but nonetheless there are several things there that aren't even hinted at being on the UK set. Boo, Worldwide -- BOO.

TV

The Americans
1x05 COMINT

Family Tree
1x02 Treading the Boards
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Hoff's Best Film ...Ever!
1x05 The Hoff's Best Sci-Fi Film ...Ever!
After a month-long break, they resumed these while I was away -- and I nearly missed it! Now that would've been a tragedy.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Starlings
2x02 Episode Two

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
4x01 (26/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Americans
1x04 In Control

Once Upon a Time
2x05 The Doctor
See again my comments on origin episodes from last time. This time, it's that traditional fairytale character Dr. Frankenstein.

Suburgatory
2x02 The Witch of East Chatswin
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Articles

Doctor Who - Complete Seventh Series boxset [UPDATE]
(from Blogtor Who)

Confirmation that the 'complete' series seven set will not include the 2011 Christmas special -- in the UK. The US set will get it just fine.

If you think this is moronic (which it is), you can let BBC Worldwide know that here.

this fortnight on 100 Films

I was away last weekend (and there wasn't much to report anyway), so here's a look back at the last two weeks on 100 Films in a Year.


Firstly, earlier this week I was accepted as a member of the LAMB -- or, the Large Association of Movie Blogs, to give its full title. So that's nice, isn't it? Read more here.


Secondly (and finally), there was just one brand-new review published in the last fortnight...


Broken Arrow (1996)

In his second Hollywood outing, Hong Kong action maestro John Woo (over-)directs his little heart out: there’s an endless array of slightly hilarious slow-mo, crash zooms, etc.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Law & Order: UK
7x02 Tremors
Not sure whether it was the writing, the directing, or the acting -- or a combination of all three -- but I thought this episode was actually pretty awful. Stick to the straight procedural stuff, L&O!
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Starlings
2x01 Episode One

Collection Count

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

This week's only acquisition is the rather-pretty Zavvi-exclusive Close Encounters Steelbook. Though it includes all three cuts of the film (in HD, obv.), it doesn't appear to include any of the extras from the three-disc DVD I have, so I guess I keep both. Annoyingly, the three-disc DVD is missing some of the extras from the 2-disc BD. Why that second disc isn't in the Steelbook, Sony only knows.

Number of titles in collection: 1,585 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,168 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 417 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,954 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,699 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,786 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 383 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Americans
1x03 Gregory

Top Gear
20x04 (21/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Complete Series Seven Boxed Set announced
by Chuck Foster (from Doctor Who News)

Once upon a time, Doctor Who DVDs came with commentaries on every single episode. Sometimes there were additional commentaries online, meaning there are a good few episodes with two of the things. Now, we get a 15-episode set with just four tracks. To rub salt in the wound, none are on any of Amy & Rory's final episodes. Not a one.

Oh, wait, did I say "15-episode set"? Because apparently the 2011 Christmas special isn't included. 'Complete' my whatsit! But the set does include the prequel to that special, just to make sure you know the episode itself isn't there.

And to top it off, it looks as though we may be missing an extra from the US release. I don't know if I care about seeing "Doctor Who on The Nerdist" -- I probably don't, in fact -- but it's the principle.

TV

The Americans
1x02 The Clock

Family Tree
1x01 The Box
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
12x06 (18/7/13 edition) [mid-season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Americans
1x01 Pilot
Finally getting stuck into this. Glad I've bothered, too, because it's off to a flying start.

Luther
3x04 Episode 4 [season finale]
Is that it for Luther, then? If you told me this was the series finale, I'd believe you. And maybe it will be.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Suburgatory
2x01 Homecoming
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Luther
3x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Top Gear
20x03 (14/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Funny old update this week (well, for me): I'm away at present, and this update actually only includes what landed on my doormat on Monday -- there may yet be more sat there now, but probably not, so even if I'd been able to hold off until today to write this, I doubt there'd be any more to add. How handy they all arrived at once.

Number of titles in collection: 1,584 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,168 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 416 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 3,953 [up 6]
Number of films in collection: 1,696 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,786 [up 4]
Number of short films in collection: 383 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
13x12 (21/6/13 edition)

Law & Order: UK
7x01 Tracks
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Up the Women
1x03 Episode 3 [season finale]

TV

The Good Life
4x07 Anniversary [season finale]

Horrible Histories
4x13 Savage Songs [season finale]

Ripper Street
1x08 What Use Our Work [season finale]
All resolved, while also leaving almost every character and storyline potentially open for more. Neat.

Films

Akira (1988)
[2nd watch]

I'm not sure when I first (and last) watched Akira, but it's somewhere in the region of 10 or more years ago. I didn't really get it then -- I thought it had some impressive visuals but was otherwise overhyped -- and, truth be told, I didn't completely understand the ending now (does anyone?)

However, I found the rest of the film a lot more followable, and I liked it a lot more for that. The animation is still stunning, so is the sound (watched in Japanese rather than English this time out), and I'm sure it has much to say if you want to read into it. Even as just an out-there sci-fi movie centred around the friendship between two outcasts, though, it has plenty going for it.


The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
[#62 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

this week on 100 Films

Two brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Battleship (2012)

something to do with an alien invasion and they do it at sea and there’s only one ship that can stop them but the only person who can command it is the young loudmouth playboy recruit who has so much potential but never fully realises it… until now! Honestly, it’s that clichéd

Read more here.


Underdog (2007)

The film is widely disliked, it seems, with a very low rating on IMDb; but I thought it was actually good fun. It’s a kids’ comedy-adventure, but it also has enough wit and charm to see it through for some older viewers.

Read more here.


And new to the new blog...


The Illusionist (2006)

The story — you remember those? It’s the bit between the attention-grabbing opening and preposterous-twist finale — is mediocre with or without the finale. It’s a something-and-nothing account of a Poor Boy who loves a Rich Girl he can’t have and… oh, I can’t even be bothered to explain it.

Read more here.


True Grit (1969)

Mattie Ross is a great character — plain speaking, knows her own mind, ready & prepared for anything… Kim Darby was 21 at the time but is completely convincing not only as a 14-year-old but as a 14-year-old who’s wise beyond her years.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy
1x03 Episode Three
1x04 Episode Four

Mock the Week
12x05 (11/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Ripper Street
1x07 A Man of My Company

Top Gear
20x02 (7/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

It's the monthly running time update this week, and a couple of last-minute additions have done their bit: The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, with two cuts of the film totalling over four hours; and Cloud Atlas, which runs nearly three hours itself. So without further ado...

Number of titles in collection: 1,581 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,168 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 413 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 3,947 [up 6]
Number of films in collection: 1,693 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,782 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 382 [up 2]

And...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
283 days, 5 hours, and 39 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 8 hours, and 6 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Case Histories
2x03 Jackson and the Women [season finale]

Comic Relief's Big Chat with Graham Norton
Part 4 (of 4)
Finished!

How I Met Your Mother
8x24 Something New [season finale]
Big unexpected reveal! ...when it was shown in America. Pretty well known about by now.
And now, only one season left...
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Luther
3x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
12x03 (27/6/13 edition)

Films

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976/1978)
[#61 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

The re-edited shorter version, sometimes known as the director's cut (inaccurately, apparently).

Articles

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special Will Be “Feature Length” Confirms Moffat
by Dave Golder (from SFX)

"I think you could call it movie-length, yeah. I mean, I’m saying that with a slight hint of vagueness because I don’t know the finished running time. [Laughs] It’s certainly well over an hour."

What's the betting on it being something like 1 hour 20, then? Well over an hour but maybe not quite as long as a movie these days...

Moffat also goes on to talk about what the interaction of the two Doctors is like, some hints about how the next regeneration will play out, what they're doing about Matt Smith's hair, and that the next Doctor will be publicly announced pretty much as soon as he's cast.

TV

Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy
1x02 Episode Two

Luther
3x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
2x08 Episode 8 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Ripper Street
1x06 Tournament of Shadows

Articles

League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Coming To Fox With Put Pilot Order
by Brett White (from MTV Splash Page)

Hopefully this pilot will stay a bit more faithful to Moore and O'Neill's work, as opposed to the film which took a number of liberties with the source material.

Oh yeah, US network TV can totally do this faithfully.

TV

Dexter
7x12 Surprise, Motherfucker! [season finale]
Another surprising finale. Well, actually, I dunno how surprising it was, but it was certainly twisty and went places the show hasn't yet gone. In some respects, though, it didn't feel like a finale. It'll be interesting to see if next season just picks up where this left off and runs with it, or if they're going to attempt to differentiate it with new big arc plots. Considering this season had several and they came and went at a different rate to normal, I wouldn't be surprised if the final two seasons didn't still feel like one long one.

Jo Brand's Great Wall of Comedy
1x01 Episode One
Hm.

Mock the Week
12x04 (4/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

A Field In England multiplatform release: the results
(from Film4 Blog)

How the innovative release fared. In short: very well.

TV

Dexter
7x11 Do You See What I See?

Top Gear
20x01 (30/6/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

The Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)
[#60 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Articles

The Lone Ranger gives Disney a bumpy ride
by Ben Child (from the Guardian)

Johnny Depp-starring western's low box office yield looks set to lose studio more than $150m

I think this is something a lot of people actually saw coming... apart from Disney, it seems, who were blinded by the 'Pirates reunion' factor -- apparently forgetting that the last Pirates only did OK at the US box office; and though it made a shedload around the world, Westerns never do well outside the US... or inside the US, these days.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
8x23 Something Old
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Wimbledon 2013
I don't imagine you need me to tell you what happened.
[Watch the mens' final, and many other matches, on iPlayer.]

Films

A Field in England (2013)
[#59 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

this week on 100 Films

The only thing posted to 100 Films in a Year this week was the June update. But that's full o' fun, so there you go.

Hopefully, more next Sunday.

TV

Dexter
7x10 The Dark...Whatever
Thank goodness they avoided the obvious 'twist' with the fire inspector! Feels like a rare moment of unobviousness for this season, to me. But you can tell the writers know they're getting near the end (this being one of the closing episodes of the penultimate season), what with ditching one of the entire series' main conceits (the clue's in the title).

The Good Life
4x06 Sweet & Sour Charity

Wimbledon 2013
Poor Lisicki, but the way Bartoli played meant she really did deserve it.
[Watch the ladies' final, and many other matches, on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

A busy old week, this one. As I mentioned last time, I had a few things in the post. While a couple trickled in during the week, the vast majority (seven of the nine additions) arrived on Friday and Saturday, meaning a bit of last-minute totting up before posting this. How exciting.

The biggest addition must be The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blu-ray set. I'm keeping my DVDs (sentimentality, pretty packaging, that kind of reason), so it just adds to the numbers -- and it adds 15 discs, primarily.

Number of titles in collection: 1,579 [up 9]
Of which DVDs: 1,168 [up 3]
Of which Blu-rays: 411 [up 6]

Number of discs in collection: 3,941 [up 24]
Number of films in collection: 1,690 [up 8]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,782 [up 9]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader, when a running time update will see what difference all of this has made to that.

Comics

Batman '66 #1 by Jeff Parker & Jonathan Case

The new digital-first series. I was going to buy it in print, but now that I have an iPad and I read that it was very much designed for digital (with animations 'n' all that) I decided to pick it up this way. And it was fun, evoking the mood of the '60s TV show well (as it's meant to, of course). Be interesting to see how it translates to print, but I dunno if it'd be interesting enough to pay for again.

You can get it on Comixology (of course). For those unfamiliar, do be aware that it's a weekly series (three times a month) and each three parts form one story. So while issue one is only 99¢ (69p), you'll need three for each complete story.

Articles

A Field in England, review
by Robbie Collin (from the Telegraph)

Collin always comes across as pretty irritating as a person on TV or wherever, and this review's positivity is at odds with the more muted responses I've encountered elsewhere, but it's still an entertaining read.

TV

Comic Relief's Big Chat with Graham Norton
Part 4 (of 4)
Just a little bit left now...

Dexter
7x09 Helter Skelter
Much like 24, I like it better when Dexter does whole-season-long plots rather than these coming-and-going few-episode-long ones.

TV

Comic Relief's Big Chat with Graham Norton
Part 4 (of 4)
Not all of it -- it's two hours. But soon, soon it shall be over.

Dexter
7x08 Argentina
I've not quite been seeing what everyone else so loved about this season, but it felt to me like it kinda got moving in this instalment.

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
2x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Dexter
7x07 Chemistry

Miranda
1x05 Excuse [3rd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Touch of Evil: Reconstructed Version (1958/1998)
[#58 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

I watched this late last night, so I'm counting it as June for the purposes of 100 Films...

TV

Agatha Christie's Marple
6x02 Greenshaw's Folly
A bit slow in the second half, but otherwise a good one -- with a nicely traditional everyone-in-the-drawing-room explain-it-all denouement. Yay.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Good Life
4x05 Suit Yourself

Mad Men
6x13 In Care Of [season finale]
Helluva finale. Didn't see a lot of that coming, because I thought they were on the path of "the fall of Don Draper" to end the whole show with next season. But maybe he'll now be redeemed? Can't wait to find out.

this week on 100 Films

Four brand new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week! They were...


The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Andrew Garfield dons the webbed onesie for an unwarranted reboot of the only-one-decade-old Spider-Man film franchise, retelling his origins… but with a twist! Cos, y’know, the last version was only out about 10 minutes ago.

Read more here.


Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness (2012)

it is rubbish… I suppose… Thing is, it sort of grew on me. After a start that looks like a fan film shot in someone’s garden, by the time our hero teams up with a ragtag gang of evil-doers it begins to come together.

Read more here.


Final Destination 5 (2011)

this feels fresher than the dire fourth film. Not much, perhaps, but it has a few more twists on the formula. That said, it’s generally a very tired format now — the identikit plot is merely a delivery medium for more varied deaths.

Read more here.


Flightplan (2005)

Notorious (to me) for unjustly beating Serenity to #1 at the US box office (a slight we Brits can proudly say went unrepeated), this plane-based uncredited remake of The Lady Vanishes is the kind of film that’s a 12 for no real reason. It contains “moderate violence and suspense”. Wow.

Read more here.



Plus, new to the new blog...


Spider-Man 2.1 (2004/2007)

Shortly before the release of the threequel, Spider-Man 2 returned to DVD in this newly extended form. What’s there? Not much.

Read more here.


Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Spider-Man 3 carries the distinct air of a group of people trying to recapture former glories, and the fun they had achieving them, and failing on both counts.

Read more here.


Stardust (2007)

Perhaps the simplest way to describe Stardust is as “the British Princess Bride”. That may do it a disservice however, as this is sufficiently its own beast to stand apart from such (admittedly lofty) comparisons, and be much more than a simple rehash with different accents.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Comic Relief's Big Chat with Graham Norton
Part 3 (of 4)

Would I Lie To You?
7x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

If Films Were Reviewed Like Video Games
by Dennis Farrell (from Something Awful)

Hilarity at the expense of gamers ensues...

Collection Count

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

Just one new addition this week, the BD release of Hammer's original Dracula. There's a few things in the post though, so next week may be more lively.

Number of titles in collection: 1,570 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,165 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 405 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,917 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,682 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,773 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Comic Relief's Big Chat with Graham Norton
Part 2 (of 4)
The rest of this segment. Halfway there now...

Dexter
7x06 Do the Wrong Thing

TV

Comic Relief's Big Chat with Graham Norton
Part 1 (of 4)
Part 2 (of 4)
Remember this? I've had it lying around since it was on, when I watched some of the first chunk, so figured I ought to get on with the rest. Another 45 minutes down across these two sections...

How I Met Your Mother
8x22 The Bro Mitzvah
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Mad Men
6x12 The Quality of Mercy
When one of the show's cast said there were some big twists coming up about Bob Benson and who he was, that wasn't really what I expected. Unless there's even bigger twists to come in the finale...

TV

Dexter
7x05 Swim Deep

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
2x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

All the President's Men Revisited
New feature-length Discovery Channel documentary (it premiered in the US back in April, and was shown over here as part of the channel's White House Season), which reflects on the Watergate scandal and the resulting film about the newspaper investigation into it, All the President's Men. As it features fresh interviews with seemingly every major surviving player, I imagine it's a pretty definitive retrospective. That said, it clearly leaves a lot of stones unturned.

Mad Men
6x11 Favors

TV

The Hoff's Best Film ...Ever!
1x03 The Hoff's Best Sports Film ...Ever!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
12x02 (20/6/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Agatha Christie's Marple
6x01 A Caribbean Mystery
A script from a well-known writer and a cameo from Ian Fleming seem to have been the catalyst for some even-classier-than-usual touches in this particular episode. Lots of lovely direction, especially during the rain-drenched final act (even if, earlier, some bits were terribly awkwardly staged), and a Bond-referencing score that was consequently delightful.
Bit unusual, but there's a surprisingly thorough promotional photo gallery to be found at the bottom of this review, which I mention because it contains some uncommonly good photos for just TV promo images.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Dexter
7x04 Run

Would I Lie To You?
7x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

No new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, but new to the new blog were...


Big Nothing (2006)

A long time before the credits roll it degenerates into a grab-bag of random incidents and twists strung together until the made-up-as-it-goes-along script hits something approaching a produceable page count.

Read more here.


Flight 93 (2006)

Oh dear.

The Other Film About United 93 is just that.

Read more here.


Runaway Train (1985)

taken as a straight-up high-concept action-adventure, Runaway Train has an awful lot going for it. And if you want to get pretentious about it, well, it might just support that too.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Miranda
1x04 Holiday [3rd watch]
This is absolutely one of the best episodes of Miranda. A pretty perfect example of the half-hour sitcom form on the whole, actually.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Voice UK
2x15 The Final [season finale]
Well, someone lost a £10,000 bet on that. Serves 'em right, really.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Remember how I said there'd be nothing to report this week?

Well, there's nothing to report this week.

Number of titles in collection: 1,569 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,165 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 404 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,914 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,680 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,773 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
13x11 (14/6/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
8x21 Romeward Bound
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

The Good Life
4x04 The Weaver's Tale

Comics

Superman: Red Son #1 by Mark Millar & Dave Johnson

I just got an iPad, and Comixology are having a Superman sale, so I managed to get digital copies of all three issues of this for a total of just over £2. Sounds like a deal to me.

TV

Dexter
7x03 Buck the System

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Ripper Street
1x05 The Weight of One Man's Heart

TV

Horrible Histories
4x12 Episode 12

Mock the Week
12x01 (13/6/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Queen's
Rally Against Cancer
A charity event from the final day of this year's Aegon Championships tennis at Queen's Club. Featuring Andy Murray and Tim Henman vs Ivan Lendl and Tomáš Berdych, and Murray vs Henman with rotating teammates including Jonathan Ross, Jimmy Carr, Michael McIntyre, Eddie Redmayne, Richard Branson and Boris Johnson. Much hilarity.
[Watch it (again) soon on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
7x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

Two new pieces were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...


The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

found itself going head-to-head in the awards season with No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood... in some kind of thematic and stylistic triumvirate: they’re all products of what I’d call “American mainstream art house” cinema; all classifiable as Westerns, though none in a strictly traditional sense; all more concerned with their characters and their lives than the machinations of the plot.

In the end, No Country garnered most of the awards, There Will Be Blood seems to have settled in as a critical darling, but, for my money, this purest Western of the three is by far the best.

Read more here.


The Harry Potter Films of David Yates

Later than promised, but here it is: a director-focused overview of the final four Harry Potter films.

Plus, some closing thoughts on the series as a whole.

Read more here.


And new to the new blog...


The Cube Trilogy
An overview of:

Cube (1997)

In its series of careful, measured, necessary reveals, the film strikes a perfect balance between what it lets the viewer know and what it keeps hidden, either for the viewer to deduce or interpret for themselves

Read more here.

Cube²: Hypercube (2002)

The new cube set is bigger, shinier, simpler, emptier, always one plain colour, and devoid of traps. Consequently, but perhaps inadvertently, it seems to symbolise the film itself.

Read more here.

Cube Zero (2004)

answers too many questions, which might be acceptable if the answers were remotely original or satisfying, but, of course, they aren’t: they’re derivative and, worst of all, quite irritating.

Read more here.


Plus:


Coraline (2009)

[The novel] won a Hugo, Nebula and Stoker, while the film adaptation was Oscar-nominated (naturally it lost to whichever Pixar film was eligible) and widely well reviewed (an 89% Tomatometer). All of which seems to set it up for a fall. But... Coraline, in short, is excellent.

Read more here.


Transporter 2 (2005)

In spite of the odd bit of CG-aided silliness, or the lack of anything as inspired as the first film’s oil fight, the fights are still a lot of fun; one involving a fire hose is especially well executed.

Read more here.


Transporter 3 (2008)

Megaton over-directs and over-edits the action (and a lot else besides) too often — it would be nice to tell what’s going on. Someone also needs to tell him that speeding up footage of two cars racing doesn’t make it more exciting, it just makes it look silly.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Dexter
7x02 Sunshine and Frosty Swirl

The Voice UK
2x14 The Semi-Finals
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

5 Versions Of Jurassic Park You Never Saw
by Drew Taylor (from The Playlist)

An interesting insight into the development of Jurassic Park, which is 20 this year (bloody hell!)

Most interesting bit: for all the talk of its pioneering effects and extensive use of CGI, it has just 15 minutes of dino action, and only 6 of those are computer generated!

Collection Count

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

Just one new addition this week (another Doctor Who DVD), but it's also time for a running time update, so there's that.

Number of titles in collection: 1,569 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,165 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 404 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,914 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,680 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,773 [up 2]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [no change]

And finally...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
281 days, 21 hours, and 33 minutes.
(Up 9 hours and 26 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader, when there may be nothing to report at all! Gasp!