Films

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
[#69 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2015 #3

I've been pretty lax with WDYMYHS this year (I should be on #5 by now), so hopefully this is the start of getting it back on track.

TV

Episodes
4x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Flash
1x22 Rogue Air

Person of Interest
3x09 The Crossing
Channel 5 have decided to take a mid-season break after the last episode, showing how much they hate their viewers -- there's unresolved stuff at the end of this one, but it feels like the big end to a two-parter, whereas the last was just halfway through. Anyway, they do this every season at some point, so, as per usual, I have found other ways to continue.

Films

Behind the Candelabra (2013)
[#68 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Car Share
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Critical
1x13 Episode 13 [season finale]
This has massively grown on me over the course of the season. Hopefully it'll get recommissioned.

Elementary
3x21 Under My Skin

Films

Hummingbird (2013)
[#67 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Forever
1x20 Best Foot Forward

Game of Thrones
5x06 Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken

Outnumbered
5x01 Rites of Passage [2nd watch]

Films

Robot & Frank (2012)
[#66 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x02 (15/5/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Car Share
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
7x14 Person to Person [series finale]
Well.

Person of Interest
3x08 Endgame
Maybe HR will finally be done with in the next episode! (I live in eternal hope.)
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Mad Men
7x13 The Milk and Honey Route
The last ever episode is on in the US tonight and the UK on Thursday. I imagine I shall watch it somewhere between those two times. What will happen? Nobody knows!

Pointless Celebrities
7x04 Game Shows
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)
[#65 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]


Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980/2011)
[goodness-knows-what-th watch]

Continuing my Star Wars HD re-watch with the movie that was previously #82a in 100 Films 2007.

this week on 100 Films

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


Mad Max 2 (1981)

The most memorable part, however, is the climax... An almighty action sequence, a speeding battle through the outback. It feels wrong to just call it “an action sequence”, like that’s selling it short. You get the sense that this is why the movie exists; that co-writer/director George Miller’s goal with the entire rest of the film has been to get us to this point. It’s not just “the climax”, it’s “the third act”, and it’s stunning

Read more here.


Tarzan (1999)

Disney's '80s/'90s renaissance more-or-less came to an end with this adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough's jungle hero... The animated medium is put to excellent use in thrillingly fluid jungle-swinging action scenes (normally the purview of CGI, but here peerless in 2D)

Read more here.


Time Lapse (2014)

Shallow Grave meets Primer in this indie thriller that sees three housemates discover a camera that takes photos 24 hours into the future. They initially use it to their financial advantage, but soon Things Go Wrong™... a sci-fi setup, but it’s a film driven by its characters rather than its high concept.

Read more here.


Tropic Thunder: Director's Cut (2008)

A bunch of obstreperous actors are too much to handle for the director of a Vietnam war movie, so he dumps them in the jungle to shoot it with hidden cameras. Things go awry; hilarity ensues.

Read more here.


Plus nine archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Brigadoon (1954)

“Oh dear,” is surely the initial reaction to Brigadoon. The Scottish accents are appalling, the costumes and setting gratingly twee, the Highlands recreated entirely on a soundstage... But, importantly — and thankfully — it does grow on you as it goes on. The ill-conceived cast, costumes and studio-bound setting begin to pale under the charm of Gene Kelly and the machinations of the plot.

Read more here.


The Day of the Locust (1975)

a slightly scrappy film about the seedy underside of Hollywood’s golden age. The plot is neither here nor there in many respects — the film is about the grotesques who are attracted to Hollywood, and that being exactly what it feeds on. The bizarre, surreal ending definitely makes more sense if you’re already thinking about the film in this way.

Read more here.


Death Wish (1974)

Paul’s encounters aren’t all easily won; he gets injured; his crimes create a media storm, on which public opinion is divided... There are still unrealistic bits, certainly, but by employing enough believability and leaving aside certain rules of the revenge thriller — for one thing, he never actually gets revenge — Death Wish manages to rise a little above the “heroic vigilante” sub-genre.

Read more here.


The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

Disney's 40th (canonical) animated film had a very troubled production, which, from what I can tell, turned it from a derivative riff on The Prince and the Pauper into this load of tosh.

Read more here.


Juno (2007)

The most discussed aspect is Diablo Cody’s screenplay, with its idiosyncratic slang-laden dialogue and accusations that every character speaks the same. The first is true, the latter is rubbish, and one has to wonder if whoever thinks it watched beyond the first ten minutes. Most of the film’s teenage characters speak similarly… in that they use the same bits of slang, have similar speech patterns, employ a similar sense of humour — you know, like groups of teenagers tend to.

Read more here.


Manhatta (1921)

Another ’20s city film, showing off (as you might guess from the title) parts of New York. The focus appears to be industrial — skyscrapers under construction, finished architecture, tug boats, trains near the docks; the people of the city only crop up at the start and close, and then only in faceless crowds.

Read more here.


À propos de Nice (1930)

Short film about the French city of Nice, mixing documentary-style footage of people with shots of the architecture, as well as clearly staged scenes (a man getting sunburnt, for example).

Read more here.


Skyscraper Symphony (1929)

It’s probably hard to ‘appreciate’ this without getting a little pretentious; certainly, it’s much more aimed at creating the feeling of a city, or a visual representation of it, or something like that, than it is with, say, showing pretty views of New York’s buildings.

Read more here.


Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

our bed-ridden heroine overhears a threat on someone’s life and begins to wonder if it’s actually about her... Barbara Stanwyck portrays a not-very-sympathetic lead character, which makes the viewer question how we feel about her possibly being murdered. We should be against it, but she’s not nice, but she is ill…

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,766 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 556 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,388 [up 7]
Number of films in collection: 1,905 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,508 [up 26]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

Plus this week it's time for a running time update, so...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
316 days, 21 hours, and 59 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 2 hours, and 32 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Arrow
3x23 My Name is Oliver Queen [season finale]

Car Share
1x02 Episode 2 [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Critical
1x12 Episode 12

Films

Red Sonja (1985)
[#64 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x18 Captain Peralta
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Have I Got News For You
49x05 (8/5/2015 edition; extended repeat)
aka Have I Got Election News For You, allegedly.
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
7x13 White Orchids [series finale]
Cheerio, The Mentalist! It may be past its best, but I'll still miss it.
[Watch episodes 12 and 13 (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Star Wars Begins (2011)
[#63 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Watch it on Vimeo.

TV

Episodes
4x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Flash
1x21 Grodd Lives
Rather overstretched their CGI capabilities with the giant gorilla, there.

Mad Men
7x12 Lost Horizon

Films

21 Jump Street (2012)
[#62 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Arrow
3x22 This is Your Sword
He's good! He's bad! He's winning! He's losing! He is! He isn't! Deja vu!

Car Share
1x01 Episode 1 [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
7x12 Brown Shag Carpet
[Watch episodes 12 and 13 (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Forty Guns (1957)
[#61 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Elementary
3x20 A Stitch in Time

The Flash
1x20 The Trap

Game of Thrones
5x05 Kill the Boy

This is the 6,000th post on here. Crikey.

TV

Forever
1x19 Punk is Dead

Person of Interest
3x07 The Perfect Mark
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Pointless Celebrities
7x03 Outdoors
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Batman: The Brave and the Bold
1x19 Legends of the Dark Mite!
3x01 Joker: The Vile and the Villainous!
Two more recommended episodes. Only slightly further down the list I compiled, but already feeling noticeably less good -- not bad, just 'average'. Aside from the show's very best turns, I wonder if my initial view was right after all...

The British Academy Television Awards 2015
[Watch it (again) soon on iPlayer.]

Films

Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope (1977/2011)
[goodness-knows-what-th watch]

This was #81a way back in 100 Films 2007, which was the last time I watched it. First time I've watched it in HD on Blu-ray though, which is what makes this the 2011 edition, thanks to even further tweaks after those already made for the 1997 and 2004 releases(!)

this week on 100 Films

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


Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher (2014)

Anime take on Marvel properties... A clichéd, heavy-handed screenplay and stilted line delivery tell a rote story through talky exposition scenes and uninspired action sequences

Read more here.


Killing Them Softly (2012)

Dominik uses news audio about the financial crisis to comment on the plot, an inclusion somewhere between neat dramatic irony and heavy-handed affectation. He gets better mileage from the mundane mechanics and economics of organised crime, but it's small consolation among flabby storytelling

Read more here.


Plus three archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Cathy Come Home (1966)

a powerful piece of work... As an important and timely history lesson, a challenge to prejudices that some of us may hold, and a reminder of how close most of us are to such a fate — especially right now — it remains essential viewing

Read more here.


Doctor Faustus (1967)

stylistically reminiscent of a Gothic Hammer Horror, which is either wholly inappropriate or an ingenious genre mash-up... There are repulsively horrific corpses, a harem of naked ladies, an array of special effects, plus a medieval-styled gothic atmosphere to all the sets and costumes, though the scene where Faustus mucks about with the Pope feels more Carry On.

Read more here.


Telling Lies (2001)

A simple idea, very well executed: as we listen to a series of phone conversations, the speakers' dialogue appears on screen... except instead of transcribing their exact words, it reveals their true thoughts.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Have I Got News For You
49x04 (1/5/2015 edition; extended repeat)
Not the post-election episode that aired yesterday -- there's an extended version of that on Monday, as per usual -- just last week's episode.
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
5x00 The Sick Party [Christmas special; 2nd watch]

Person of Interest
3x06 Mors Praematura
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

The Eagle (2011)
[#60 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,764 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,209 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 555 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,381 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,905 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,482 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x17 Boyle-Linetti Wedding
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Critical
1x11 Episode 11

TV

Mad Men
7x11 Time & Life

Films

Fitzcarraldo (1982)
[1st hour]

Couldn't keep my eyes open for any more. Not yet sure if I'll return to it, start it again, or just give up on it for Another Day (hence why there's no 100 Films number yet).

TV

Arrow
3x21 Al Sah-Him
He's good! He's bad! He's dead! He's not! He is! He isn't! This season has gone round in circles far too many times. At least we're nearly at the end. I hope next year is better plotted-out, though.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold
2x17 The Mask of Matches Malone!
2x23 The Knights of Tomorrow!
The next two episodes flagged as the best by my survey. I enjoyed the first (an episode so risqué it wasn't actually aired in the US), and while the second wasn't bad I didn't love it as much as some seem to (note the very high score on at TV.com).

Forever
1x18 Dead Men Tell Long Tales

Films

Telling Lies (2001)
[2nd watch]

Brilliant short animation, #127a in 100 Films 2007, which you can nowadays watch online (for free) here.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x01 (3/5/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Elementary
3x19 One Watson, One Holmes

The Flash
1x19 Who is Harrison Wells?

Game of Thrones
5x04 Sons of the Harpy

Outnumbered
4x07 The Broken Santa [Christmas special; 2nd watch]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x16 The Wednesday Incident
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Critical
1x10 Episode 10

Have I Got News For You
49x03 (24/4/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Vera
5x04 Shadows in the Sky [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

this week on 100 Films

You may have noticed it's a new month, but I'm currently away and so the 100 Films in a Year April update will have to keep until next week.


Nonetheless, two brand-new reviews were still published this week...


The Sugarland Express (1974)

Largely overlooked these days, I guess because it doesn’t obviously fit with Spielberg’s renowned sci-fi, adventure, and worthy-historical pictures, The Sugarland Express merits more attention. Tonally, and in terms of the level of directorial skill it exhibits, it fits right amongst the pack of his better-remembered works.

Read more here.


Valkyrie (2008)

There's no point beating about the bush: they don't succeed [in killing Hitler]. We all know that. The film's marvel, really, is in making us believe they might... Singer has crafted a proper thriller here, replete with scenes of edge-of-your-seat tension. Many a filmmaker can't manage that with a fictional storyline, never mind one where we know exactly how it turns out.

Read more here.


Additionally, I added five archive reviews to the new blog...


Ghost Town (2008)

It's a gently amusing affair, with little that's especially memorable but is absolutely fine while it goes about its business. Many scenes may raise a smile or a giggle, but little more than that.

Read more here.


The Great Dictator (1940)

one of Chaplin's most widely-known films thanks to setting its sights on the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler in particular... the real-world targets make his work satirical as well. I'm sure this made for great propaganda when it was released just a year into the war, but Chaplin's skill and accuracy mean it works beyond that: like all good impersonations or spoofs it doesn't make its objects silly for no reason, but instead takes what's inherently laughable about them and exploits it.

Read more here.


Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

adaptation of Patrick Süskind's popular novel, often considered unfilmable because of its focus on the sense of smell. Tykwer covers for that with strong cinematography, with sumptuously rich visuals and a judicious use of close-ups to evoke beauty or disgust as appropriate

Read more here.


Superhero Movie (2008)

Superhero Movie is mainly a spoof of Spider-Man... a film that [at the time of making was] six years old. Unfortunately, this means that most of the best jokes have already been done in numerous other sketch-length spoofs... Superhero Movie takes all this sketchery to the next level, however, crafting its story simply by reworking the first Spider-Man film almost scene by scene, inserting jokes (and, more often, 'jokes') where it can -- which is about once per scene.

Read more here.


Wilde (1997)

Stephen Fry is perfectly cast as Wilde and Jude Law is suitably horrid as the spoilt, stroppy and thoroughly dislikeable Bosie, whose selfishness brings about Wilde's downfall. Also worthy of note is the ever-excellent Michael Sheen in a smaller but vital role

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

This week: nowt.

Number of titles in collection: 1,762 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 554 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,378 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,903 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,482 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Car Share
1x02 Episode 2
Even funnier than the first. Glad I've bothered now.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Car Share
1x01 Episode 1
I wasn't going to watch this. Then I did, and it was actually quite good.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Game of Thrones
5x03 High Sparrow

The Mentalist
7x11 Byzantium
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Pointless Celebrities
7x02 Morning TV
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher (1959)
[#59 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x15 Windbreaker City
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Daredevil
1x12 The Ones We Leave Behind
1x13 Daredevil [season finale]
The MCU may have offered us several well-liked films at this point, but I think this is my favourite thing that shared universe has produced so far. Ever so glad it's got a second season, and I can't wait to see what the other Marvel/Netflix series have to offer.

Gotham
1x17 Red Hood
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Person of Interest
3x05 Razgovor
Ugh, HR. When will they let that crap die?
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Daredevil
1x11 The Path of the Righteous
Great final scene, even if I'm gutted to have that character leave the show.

Vera
5x03 Muddy Waters
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Bernie (2011)

Richard Linklater tells this story in a docu-drama style, mixing talking head interviews with dramatic recreations. Many (most) of the interviewees are real-life Carthage residents, presumably giving their real recollections and opinions. It fits this narrative to a T, lending veracity to the unbelievable-if-it-weren’t-true story.

Read more here.


Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

the sense that enough of the truth remains keeps the film inherently captivating. That’s handy for the film, which almost leans on the “it’s all true!” angle as a crutch to help the viewer through its own production. Eastwood’s direction might kindly be described as “workmanlike” — it’s strikingly unremarkable. Cusack is as blank as he ever seems to be

Read more here.


Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008)

there’s the son of Captain America and Black Widow; the daughter of Thor and Sif; the son of Hank Pym and Wasp; the son of Hawkeye and Mockingbird; and the son of Black Panther. These kids must work with the still-living members of the original Avengers to fight… Ultron, the villain of this summer’s Live-Action Avengers 2! (Do you ever feel like the Marvel universe goes round in circles?)

Read more here.


Pain & Gain (2013)

For his first non-sci-fi movie in a decade, divisive action director Michael Bay channels Tarantino (kinda) for this based-on-a-true-story crime comedy. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg and Anthony “The Falcon” Mackie star as a gang of dimwitted Florida bodybuilders who come up with a ‘foolproof’ plan to rob a rich gym client.

Read more here.


Plus five archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


The Big Heat (1953)

It’s rather grim and very violent, to be blunt. Even if most of the violence is off screen, it’s still described in fair detail — and most of it’s against women too. Lang adds intensity to this mix, a quiet sort of tension. It becomes clear that this is a tale where anything could — and does — happen; where it is, for once, genuinely true that no one is safe.

Read more here.


Roman Holiday (1953)

the cast work well together. The film is often painted as a Peck/Hepburn two-hander — easier to sell the romance angle that way — and I’m sure it would work as that, but Albert’s in it enough to qualify for attention, and is fairly essential to what makes it quite so likeable in my opinion. He and Peck carry much of the humour while Hepburn charms as a sweet girl finally allowed to be herself.

Read more here.


Snake Eyes (1998)

Let's start with the opening take. It's a fake (there are eight cuts), which is pretty obvious, but it's still a nifty way of starting the film... it sets up nearly everything we need to know for the rest of the film. Almost every element of the conspiracy is tucked away in there somewhere, from the blatantly obvious to the tiniest detail we won't even notice.

Read more here.


Ultimate Avengers (2006)

The primary problem is balance. [It] spends the entire first half assembling the team, the story crawling along at a snail’s pace; consequently, there’s nothing like enough time to do the remaining plot justice, leaving much of it to feel rushed. However, the tale itself retains an appropriately comic-book feel

Read more here.


Ultimate Avengers II (2006)

yes, it’s a modern genre sequel, so yes, it’s ‘darker’. In this case that means “more adult”, touching on issues you might not expect in superhero animation with such a low certificate — marital problems, survivor’s guilt, political isolationism, even vague allusions to alcoholism. None are dealt with in any great depth I should add, but it will likely please adult fans wishing for something more “grown-up”.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Arrow
3x20 The Fallen

Daredevil
1x10 Nelson v. Murdock

Elementary
3x18 The View from Olympus

Outnumbered
4x06 The Exchange Student [season finale; 2nd watch]
Some people say Outnumbered lost it as it went on, but this is a really great episode. The "kids say the funniest things" element definitely faded a bit with time, but the writing and plot construction could still be sharp. The titular German kid is the best bit of the episode, too.

Films

Blitz (2011)
[#58 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

After the crazy month, just one addition this week. There are very few pre-orders on the horizon right now, actually, so any additions in the immediate future will be spur-of-the-moment purchases.

Number of titles in collection: 1,762 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 554 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,378 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,903 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,482 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Daredevil
1x09 Speak of the Devil

Have I Got News For You
49x02 (17/4/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
7x10 The Forecast

Films

Killing Them Softly (2012)
[#57 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Critical
1x09 Episode 9

Outnumbered
4x05 The Cold Caller [2nd watch]

TV

Daredevil
1x08 Shadows in the Glass

The Flash
1x18 All Star Team Up

Forever
1x17 Social Engineering

Films

Room 237 (2012)
[#56 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Arrow
3x19 Broken Arrow

Daredevil
1x07 Stick
A virtually standalone episode -- wonders will never cease! And then a big teasing ending. Could be a new arc plot; more excitingly, could be a first tease for The Defenders.

Elementary
3x17 T-Bone and the Iceman

Game of Thrones
5x02 The House of Black and White
Two shows with major character deaths today, but Game of Thrones isn't one of them. What're the odds?!

The Mentalist
7x10 Nothing Gold Can Stay
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Outnumbered
4x04 The Parents' Evening [2nd watch]

TV

Between three episodes of Daredevil and one each of Gotham and Person of Interest, it's been a very Batman-esque day...

Daredevil
1x04 In the Blood
1x05 World on Fire
1x06 Condemned
I was only going to watch one episode again, but it really is very good, so two seemed a nice idea... and then they went and ended it on an almighty cliffhanger! The season may all be one long story, but World on Fire and Condemned are a bit of a two-parter within that. It’s times like this that Netflix's "release it all at once" policy really pays off.

Forever
1x16 Memories of Murder

Gotham
1x16 The Blind Fortune Teller
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Outnumbered
4x03 The Labrador [2nd watch]

Person of Interest
3x04 Reasonable Doubt
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Daredevil
1x03 Rabbit in a Snowstorm
This seems to be one of the season's lowest-rated episodes on many a site (IMDb, for example), but I thought it was possibly the best yet. Still very much in the setting up phase though, with major new characters being introduced each episode.

Vera
5x02 Old Wounds
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

eXistenZ (1999)
[2nd watch]

First saw this many, many years ago, so my memories of it were rather vague, but also positive. Glad to see a re-viewing has only reasserted that. Also, that in the intervening decade-and-a-half the icky special effects haven't gotten significantly less icky.

this week on 100 Films

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


The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Peter Jackson’s epic Tolkien adaptation blunders its way to a conclusion with an instalment some have declared the trilogy’s best, presumably because they really enjoy watching someone else play video games. That’s what about half of this sextet-completing movie feels like, as it concludes the three-part Hobbit narrative with a CGI-riddled rendering of the titular battle.

Read more here.


A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

The second feature from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, after the justly popular Ted, A Million Ways to Die in the West is a disappointing mixed bag, half pretty-decent character- and situation-based comedy, half cringingly infantile toilet-humour tomfoolery.

Read more here.


Plus five archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Browncoats: Redemption (2010)

Undoubtedly the greatest thing about this project -- fans coming together to celebrate and recreate something they love in aid of charity -- is down to producer Michael C. Dougherty's thought and organisation. Sadly, the worst things about it -- the writing and direction -- are also his responsibility. We must be forgiving -- it is made by amateurs, and for charity -- but it's a shame someone(s) more proficient weren't found for the important creative roles.

Read more here.


Done the Impossible: The Fans' Tale of Firefly and Serenity (2006)

investigates the cult sparked by the prematurely-cancelled TV series Firefly and its continuation movie, Serenity — a movie that only exists thanks to the fans’ dedication. The activism, and success, of Firefly’s fans makes for a key difference from other fan docs: these aren’t just people who queue for obscene amounts of time to see something they like; these are people who helped turn a cancelled TV show into a successful movie.

Read more here.


Ray (2004)

It’s easy to see why Walk the Line has been described as “Ray with white people”; but Ray has also been described as being an outstanding performance in an average film, and I’d pretty much agree with this too.

Read more here.


Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)

you'd expect this documentary to focus itself on Lord of the Rings fandom. To a degree it does, but it also encompasses a history of the books and their popularity, as well as various thematic issues contained within them

Read more here.


Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Despite its unpronounceable title, Synecdoche, New York starts out like a relatively normal comedy/drama… but then weird touches begin to crop in. A house that's on fire when a character buys it and continues to be on fire for the next several decades, for instance. No one in the film bats an eyelid. Then the really weird bit arrives; the bit you all probably know; what the film's about (except, of course, not what it's About), as Philip Seymour Hoffman's theatre director begins to construct a life-size New York within a warehouse.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Batman: The Brave and the Bold
1x25 Mayhem of the Music Meister! [2nd watch]
Yeah, I watched it again already. It really is that much fun. Also, only 22 minutes long.

Daredevil
1x02 Cut Man
Had to take a break as soon as I started! Back into it now though, hopefully solidly for the next couple of weeks-ish. Anyway, this is the episode with the single-take hallway fight you may have read about it. And yes, it is a good'un.

Mad Men
7x09 New Business

Pointless Celebrities
7x01 Mixed Bag
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poldark
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Here's all the stuff that should've been here last week -- and more! As I said, so much for a quiet month... and it's all arrived in time for the running time update.

Number of titles in collection: 1,761 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 553 [up 5]

Number of discs in collection: 4,377 [up 8]
Number of films in collection: 1,902 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,482 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [up 4]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
315 days, 19 hours, and 27 minutes.
(Up 1 day and 48 minutes from last month.)

Next month will be quieter.

Probably.

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x14 Defense Rests
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Critical
1x08 Episode 8

Have I Got News For You
49x01 (10/4/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Batman: The Brave and the Bold
1x25 Mayhem of the Music Meister!
2x11 Chill of the Night!

I watched the first eight episodes of this bright-n-cheerful animated series back in August/September 2012, after which I gave up on it for not being particularly good. However, I recently discovered it's all on Amazon Prime Instant Video, so I decided to watch the first of these episodes, which got a lot of coverage on its premiere back in 2009 for being a musical guest starring Neil Patrick Harris. And it was actually really good fun.

"Maybe the series deserves a second shot?", I thought. Googling to find the best episodes, it seems to actually have a lot of fans, although consensus on which episodes are the best only extends to a handful. The second of the ones I watched seems to be one of only two that gains universal acclaim -- and as the other is the series finale, I thought I might leave it for a bit. Aside from its tacky pre-titles, Chill of the Night is excellent -- much more like a Batman: The Animated Series episode than a Brave and the Bold one, which is no bad thing.

So looks like I may give some more of this a go after all.

TV

Daredevil
1x01 Into the Ring
The first of five connected TV series from Marvel and Netflix. As is the latter's way, the entire season was released last Friday. I shall be pacing myself, so as not to end up like all those people on Twitter currently wishing they hadn't rushed through it.

Game of Thrones
5x01 The Wars to Come
Hurrah for the return of Thrones! Between this, Daredevil, Mad Men, The Americans (which has been back in the US for a while and I've been saving up)... so much good telly at the moment!

Films

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
[#55 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Arrow
3x18 Public Enemy

Forever
1x15 The King of Columbus Circle

Outnumbered
4x02 The Girls' Day Out [2nd watch]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x13 Payback
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Vera
5x01 Changing Tides
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

Bernie (2011)
[#53 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

The Philadelphia Story (1940)
[#54 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

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


Persona (1966)

I can’t promise gravity or insight. In fact, practically the opposite, because I think that Persona is almost wilfully obtuse. That’s not because the film is stupid, but because it’s “slow to understand” — people have been debating its meaning for almost 50 years now, and it seems that still no one really knows what it’s about... Obviously that’s some people’s bag, but it leaves me slightly baffled

Read more here.


Rear Window (1954)

a heady mix of suspicion, tension, voyeurism, and a light romantic subplot — Hitchcock through and through. It’s one of his best-regarded films, too: Vertigo may gain the Sight & Sound plaudits, but Rear Window is second only to Psycho on the IMDb Top 250; and, as I write, they sit precisely side by side, which on a list that long is tantamount to equality.

Read more here.


Runner Runner (2013)

Sometimes, films are so maligned that you feel you just have to see for yourself. Or I do, anyway. Crime thriller Runner Runner, with its 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is one of those occasions... It’s fatally marred by flabby storytelling, which substitutes voiceover and aimless montages for plot, with a pace that’s shot to hell

Read more here.


Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

I very nearly spent a little over two and a half of my precious hours watching the fourth Transformers movie... And then I remembered that the last two Transformers films were rubbish, and that Age of Extinction had met with an even worse reception upon its theatrical debut last July, so why would I want to waste so much of my time on something I was sure to think was dross? ... Lest you came here hoping for some thoughts on Transformers 4 from someone who had actually endured it, here are some choice quotes from (and links to) other pieces that I have appreciated

Read more here.


Plus eight archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

The story is intensely procedural: we meet the lead character, defence attorney Paul Biegler, moments before he first learns of the case; leave the story almost immediately after the verdict; and in between, every single scene is bent to Biegler’s research and the trial itself. It’s so thorough, accurate and real that it is (reportedly) still used as a working example in law education.

Read more here.


Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

It’s easy to see how Gentlemen Prefer Blondes helped launch Marilyn Monroe as a sex-symbol superstar — her ditzy, breathy blonde, who may just be cleverer than she looks, is clearly the star of the film.

Read more here.


South Pacific (1958)

Honestly, I think this must be one of the most uninformative 'reviews' I ever wrote...

Read more here.


Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope (DVD Edition) (1977/2004)

Much criticism has been made of Lucas deciding to modify the original trilogy for the 1997 re-release, and then further for the 2004 DVD release. It’s not necessarily unjustified, but it is sometimes picky. If Han shooting first bothered you, you may be a little pleased to know they now shoot at the same time.

Read more here.


Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (DVD Edition) (1980/2004)

Little here is visually different from the ’97 Special Edition. Cloud City benefits from the CGI windows and lighting it was given back then, though the views look as fake as ever. The big change comes in dubbing both Boba Fett and the Emperor with appropriate actors from the prequel trilogy

Read more here.


Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (DVD Edition) (1983/2004)

here seem to be only minor differences or effects improvements here — it does make you wonder what the fans were kicking up such a fuss about! ... The main addition for the DVD is Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. It doesn’t work at all; in fact, it manages to make it look as if there was never anyone there at all.

Read more here.


Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2010)

can boast an awful lot of firsts within the Star Wars franchise: the first animated Star Wars in cinemas, the first not to feature Frank Oz as Yoda, the first not to open in May, the first not to have a text-crawl intro… It’s also the first not to open at number one at the box office. None of these facts are likely to endear itself to die-hard Star Wars fans. I’m not one, but it did little to endear itself to me either.

Read more here.


Starwoids (2001)

A fan documentary, Starwoids tells the tale of two groups of Star Wars fans who queued for six weeks to be the first to see The Phantom Menace. Alongside this, the film takes a couple of diversions into general Star Wars fandom.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Gotham
1x15 The Scarecrow
In which Bruce Wayne goes for a walk! Drama!
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Person of Interest
3x03 Lady Killer
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
[#52 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Articles

The 100 best films of the decade (so far)
#51-100, #21-50, #1-20
by Mike D'Angelo, A.A. Dowd, Jesse Hassenger, Alex McCown, Benjamin Mercer, Josh Modell, Kiva Reardon, Vadim Rizov, Nick Schager, Cameron Scheetz and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (from A.V. Club)

Does what it says on the tin. An interesting set, of which I've only seen 21. Loads more sound worthwhile, though.

Collection Count

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

Should've been more this week, but damn post... More next time.

Number of titles in collection: 1,755 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,207 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 548 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,369 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,896 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,482 [up 8]
Number of short films in collection: 444 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Flash
1x17 Tricksters

The Mentalist
7x09 Copper Bullet
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

White House Down (2013)
[#51 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

2013's other "White House is taken by terrorists" movie, Olympus Has Fallen, has its UK TV premiere on Channel 5 this Sunday at 9pm. I shall compare them.

TV

Critical
1x07 Episode 7

Elementary
3x16 For All You Know

Films

High Noon (1952)
[#50 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Mad Men
7x08 Severance
Or 8x01, if they had any honesty. Starts on Sky Atlantic tomorrow, if you're waiting for that.

Outnumbered
4x01 The Funeral [2nd watch]

Films

Man of Tai Chi (2013)
[#49 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Arrow
3x17 Suicidal Tendencies

Forever
1x14 Hitler on the Half Shell

Films

Monsters University (2013)
[#48 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Elementary
3x15 When Your Number's Up

Outnumbered
3x06 The Hospital [season finale; 2nd watch]

Relatively Clever
1x01 Episode 1
Well that was pretty awful.

Films

Pain & Gain (2013)
[#47 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]