The Good German (2006)
[#103 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
2006? Really? Didn't think this was so old. (I know it's only four years, but still, I didn't think it was that old.)
Monday, 11 October 2010
Articles
Freeman confirms rejecting Hobbit role by Mayer Nissim
(from Digital Spy)
Dear journalists (especially at Digital Spy, of course), this is why you don't end articles with comments like "Freeman is expected to be done filming Animals before taking on the role of Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit movies" until the rumours you've heard (incidentally, in this case, rumours which said he'd turned it down) have been properly officially confirmed. Now your journalistic ability just looks like bobbins. Which it is, but you can always improve.
(from Digital Spy)
Dear journalists (especially at Digital Spy, of course), this is why you don't end articles with comments like "Freeman is expected to be done filming Animals before taking on the role of Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit movies" until the rumours you've heard (incidentally, in this case, rumours which said he'd turned it down) have been properly officially confirmed. Now your journalistic ability just looks like bobbins. Which it is, but you can always improve.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
TV
Argumental
3x08 (5/10/10 edition)
Downton Abbey
1x03 Episode Three
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
QI
8x04 Humans (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
3x08 (5/10/10 edition)
Downton Abbey
1x03 Episode Three
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
QI
8x04 Humans (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Articles
It's Official: Doctor Who To Film in the U.S. For The First Time!
(from Anglophenia at BBC America)
As a (very) geeky fan, I'm not particularly interested that they're (properly) filming in the US for the first time ever, or that the story's set in '60s America, or that River Song is back (again)... No, what interests me is that it's a two-part season opener! They've not done that before!
Also, if you're going all the way to a properly-alien-looking environment (i.e. one that isn't a Welsh quarry, which they've wound up using several times now), surely it'd make sense to use it as the basis for an alien planet? Just sayin'...
(from Anglophenia at BBC America)
As a (very) geeky fan, I'm not particularly interested that they're (properly) filming in the US for the first time ever, or that the story's set in '60s America, or that River Song is back (again)... No, what interests me is that it's a two-part season opener! They've not done that before!
Also, if you're going all the way to a properly-alien-looking environment (i.e. one that isn't a Welsh quarry, which they've wound up using several times now), surely it'd make sense to use it as the basis for an alien planet? Just sayin'...
this week on 100 Films
3 new reviews were posted to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...
Daylight (1996)
Road to Rio (1947)
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
More next Sunday.
Daylight (1996)
a fireball rips through the tunnel. It seems to destroy most cars and kill most people, except for about a dozen survivors. How are they not killed by the fireball? Well, it seems to be by the good fortune of Because We Need Some Characters. Should you ever get stuck in an exploding tunnel, pray you find yourself in a disaster movie and had been doing something mundane yet passably interesting earlier on, and you might get to survive.
Road to Rio (1947)
If you’ve seen one Road to film then you’ve a fair idea what to expect from any other: lots of comedy, a few songs, a bit of romance, as well as some general hijinks. The differences, in all of these aspects, lie in the specifics
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
Faces Death leaves behind the proto-Bond WW2 spying of the last three films (”it can almost be viewed as the starting point of a completely new Holmes series” asserts one review I’ve read) to involve Holmes in a genuine detective mystery. The story is packed with proper deduction, which is excellent, and to top it off Watson isn’t as bumbling as he could be
More next Sunday.
Saturday, 9 October 2010
DVD Extras
Filmmaker Profile: David Arnold, Composer
An interesting featurette I wound up watching while checking my Casino Royale Blu-ray played OK. It's the closest I can claim to a "cultural experience" for the last 24 hours. Well, that and this.
An interesting featurette I wound up watching while checking my Casino Royale Blu-ray played OK. It's the closest I can claim to a "cultural experience" for the last 24 hours. Well, that and this.
Magazines
Radio Times 9-15 October 2010
I read the last bit of this today. It's the closest I can claim to a "cultural experience" for the last 24 hours. Well, that and this.
I read the last bit of this today. It's the closest I can claim to a "cultural experience" for the last 24 hours. Well, that and this.
Friday, 8 October 2010
TV
Ask Rhod Gilbert
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Rosslyn Chapel: A Treasure in Stone
A decent documentary, but, having visited Rosslyn Chapel earlier this year, I'm quite aware that it left out a lot of rather interesting stuff. Shame.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Rosslyn Chapel: A Treasure in Stone
A decent documentary, but, having visited Rosslyn Chapel earlier this year, I'm quite aware that it left out a lot of rather interesting stuff. Shame.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Articles
Dan Aykroyd Writing Ghostbusters 3 Again by James White
(from Empire)
It's edging ever closer... Some seem dubious about this "new generation"/"passing the torch" idea, but honestly, by the time this is made it's going to be 30 years (more-or-less) since the original -- these guys are old now. I don't want to see them struggling to behave like they did back then. No, passing of the torch -- if done right -- is the perfect idea for a three-decades-later sequel.
Peter Jackson Talks The Hobbit by Tom Ambrose
(from Empire)
After all the rumours this week, PJ himself clarifies: it's not greenlit yet (and no announcement is imminent) and he's not the director (yet). No confirmation or denial of that disappointing 3D business though...
(from Empire)
It's edging ever closer... Some seem dubious about this "new generation"/"passing the torch" idea, but honestly, by the time this is made it's going to be 30 years (more-or-less) since the original -- these guys are old now. I don't want to see them struggling to behave like they did back then. No, passing of the torch -- if done right -- is the perfect idea for a three-decades-later sequel.
Peter Jackson Talks The Hobbit by Tom Ambrose
(from Empire)
After all the rumours this week, PJ himself clarifies: it's not greenlit yet (and no announcement is imminent) and he's not the director (yet). No confirmation or denial of that disappointing 3D business though...
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
A nice big pile of post this week, although it's less numbers-boosting than numbers-rearranging. There's one DVD set that replaces several individual releases, and most are DVD-to-BD upgrades... except in several instances I'm hanging onto the DVDs (for now at least). Why keep a DVD when I've got the BD? Various reasons, including additional extras and, in one case, a different cut of the main feature that's sadly missing from the BD.
If you're interested, the following stats account for 9 new titles this week. That the "titles" figure only goes up 1 shows the scale of re-ordering.
Number of titles in collection: 1,221 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,100 [down 5]
Of which Blu-rays: 121 [up 6]
Number of discs in collection: 2,996 [up 17]
Number of films in collection: 1,291 [up 8]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 4,221 [up 26]
Statistic of the week is having a break due to my busy schedule (not all down to ordering-and-listing DVDs).
See you next week, faithful reader.
A nice big pile of post this week, although it's less numbers-boosting than numbers-rearranging. There's one DVD set that replaces several individual releases, and most are DVD-to-BD upgrades... except in several instances I'm hanging onto the DVDs (for now at least). Why keep a DVD when I've got the BD? Various reasons, including additional extras and, in one case, a different cut of the main feature that's sadly missing from the BD.
If you're interested, the following stats account for 9 new titles this week. That the "titles" figure only goes up 1 shows the scale of re-ordering.
Number of titles in collection: 1,221 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,100 [down 5]
Of which Blu-rays: 121 [up 6]
Number of discs in collection: 2,996 [up 17]
Number of films in collection: 1,291 [up 8]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 4,221 [up 26]
Statistic of the week is having a break due to my busy schedule (not all down to ordering-and-listing DVDs).
See you next week, faithful reader.
Thursday, 7 October 2010
TV
8 Out of 10 Cats
10x06 (1/10/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
The People's Detective
Part 6 Poirot/Sherlock [final episode]
ITV3 are doing a poll to find which of their regularly-shown 12 detectives is the people's favourite. I'm not bothered by that myself, but I do like Holmes and Poirot, hence why I bothered to catch this one part of the series profiling all the candidates.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
10x06 (1/10/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
The People's Detective
Part 6 Poirot/Sherlock [final episode]
ITV3 are doing a poll to find which of their regularly-shown 12 detectives is the people's favourite. I'm not bothered by that myself, but I do like Holmes and Poirot, hence why I bothered to catch this one part of the series profiling all the candidates.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
TV
Argumental
3x07 (28/9/10 edition)
Argumental's back! Obviously; but also: yay!
Story of England
Part 2 Domesday to Magna Carta
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
3x07 (28/9/10 edition)
Argumental's back! Obviously; but also: yay!
Story of England
Part 2 Domesday to Magna Carta
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
TV
Mad Men
4x04 The Rejected
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
2x03 Blackpool
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
4x04 The Rejected
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
2x03 Blackpool
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Articles
[Doctor Who] Nintendo Games Update by Chuck Foster
(from Doctor Who News Page)
Well those don't look at all rubbish.
(from Doctor Who News Page)
Well those don't look at all rubbish.
Monday, 4 October 2010
TV
Spooks
9x02 Episode 2
I actually laughed out loud at this episode a couple of times. The plot itself was fine, more-or-less, but the abundance of implausible scenes (the Nigerian bloke just confronts Lucas in the street and demands he hands over the poison? And Lucas isn't all "actually, I'm an agent of the secret service, so how about I just hold onto these and report you for attempted murder" etc? Or the ending, where the Nigerian blokey describes the target as "a white man, long black coat, carrying a bag" -- oh, yes, cos they're so rare at expensive golf clubs! The assassin will definitely get the right man) and horribly clichéd dialogue (I was saying lines out loud before the characters could) was, literally, laughable. Must try harder, Spooks.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Whites
1x01 Episode 1
This, on the other hand, I enjoyed very much. Most amusing. Jolly good show. Etc. But why can't programmes have episode titles these days? I miss episode titles.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
9x02 Episode 2
I actually laughed out loud at this episode a couple of times. The plot itself was fine, more-or-less, but the abundance of implausible scenes (the Nigerian bloke just confronts Lucas in the street and demands he hands over the poison? And Lucas isn't all "actually, I'm an agent of the secret service, so how about I just hold onto these and report you for attempted murder" etc? Or the ending, where the Nigerian blokey describes the target as "a white man, long black coat, carrying a bag" -- oh, yes, cos they're so rare at expensive golf clubs! The assassin will definitely get the right man) and horribly clichéd dialogue (I was saying lines out loud before the characters could) was, literally, laughable. Must try harder, Spooks.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Whites
1x01 Episode 1
This, on the other hand, I enjoyed very much. Most amusing. Jolly good show. Etc. But why can't programmes have episode titles these days? I miss episode titles.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Articles
Affleck 'was Nolan's choice for Superman' by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
Ben Affleck as Superman? Really?
No. Nolan wanted him to direct. Yup, really.
Zack Snyder Will Direct Superman by Russ Fischer
(from /Film)
And here's the just-revealed actual choice, apparently. Not who I'd've expected -- he actually has a track record for this kind of film, whereas studios tend to choose initially-surprising directors for their big comic book films (look at the pre-superhero-movie careers of, say, Tim Burton, Bryan Singer, Sam Raimi and Chris Nolan).
(from Digital Spy)
Ben Affleck as Superman? Really?
No. Nolan wanted him to direct. Yup, really.
Zack Snyder Will Direct Superman by Russ Fischer
(from /Film)
And here's the just-revealed actual choice, apparently. Not who I'd've expected -- he actually has a track record for this kind of film, whereas studios tend to choose initially-surprising directors for their big comic book films (look at the pre-superhero-movie careers of, say, Tim Burton, Bryan Singer, Sam Raimi and Chris Nolan).
Sunday, 3 October 2010
TV
Downton Abbey
1x02 Episode Two
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
QI
8x03 Hoaxes (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
1x02 Episode Two
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
QI
8x03 Hoaxes (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Films
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
[#102 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
Road to Rio (1947)
[#101 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
[#102 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
Road to Rio (1947)
[#101 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
this week on 100 Films
Just 1 new review was posted to 100 Films in a Year this week...
Angels & Demons: Extended Version (2009)
I seem to have been too busy watching films to post much about them this week, but there is at least the September update, discussing how I've reached 100. Yay!
More next Sunday. Hopefully.
Angels & Demons: Extended Version (2009)
This version is 7½ minutes longer than the theatrical version... There are changes, but most are barely noticeable. While watching I wondered if the violence had been extended (I was right), and there was one line I found particularly funny which I thought I’d've remembered (indeed, it’s new), but other than that if you’d told me this was the cut I watched in cinemas I’d believe you.
I seem to have been too busy watching films to post much about them this week, but there is at least the September update, discussing how I've reached 100. Yay!
More next Sunday. Hopefully.
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