Films

The Brothers Bloom (2008)
[#84 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]

Articles

Life on Mars Russian remake will move '70s action from Manchester to Moscow by Ben Dowell & Shiv Malik
(from guardian.co.uk)
This sounds as interesting as the Spanish version did, but as that never made it over here I doubt this will either.

this week on 100 Films

2 new reviews were posted to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...

Browncoats: Redemption (2010)

It's quite understandable if you haven't heard of Browncoats: Redemption. In short, it's an officially-okayed Firefly/Serenity fan film for the benefit of charity. There's no doubting the enthusiasm and heart of the cast & crew of Redemption — on those factors they score a perfect 5 — but as a film in its own right... well...

A Study in Terror (1965)

it’s a decent Holmes movie, with an atmospheric rendering of Victorian London and a passably intriguing plot. However, the relatively light basis in the true story of Jack the Ripper may grate with some who approach it from that angle: there’s a Holmesian plot grafted onto a smattering of Ripper facts

More next Sunday.

TV

The Jonathan Ross Show
1x05 (1/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Merlin
4x02 The Darkest Hour Part Two
Didn't expect that development! I mean, if this wasn't a series based in long-established myths, then obviously that character was being positioned for that fate in this two-parter... but it is based in long-established myths, so I was surprised. Well done Merlin.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x28 (5/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
9x04 Indecision (XL edition)
All that stuff about "chick sexing" was far more hilarious than it had any right to be.

Smallville
10x18 Booster
Regular readers may be aware that I don't watch Smallville, so what's this doing here? Well, I did watch it when it began, about a decade ago, but I happened to see that this episode featured Booster Gold, one of DC's most irritating heroes, so was quite curious. From the little I know they certainly seem to have captured his character -- i.e. he was suitably irritating. I was a little surprised to discover just how many other DC characters they've stuffed into it over the years, considering the stripped-back start it came from. Fan-pleasing, I guess.
More interesting than any of that, though, was that this episode was made within the past year but looked just like all those US SF/F series from the late '90s/early '00s. I guess it never transcended its roots in that era.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Comics

2000 AD #1750
After wrapping everything up last Prog, here's all-new stories. Except most of them carry on from previous ones again. That said, most are quite pick-up-able, and there's better variety of styles than in the last jumping on Prog -- even better for new readers, then.
Anyway, here's ECBT 2000AD's reviews for this week's Thrills:

Judge Dredd Day of Chaos: The Fourth Faction Part One

Ampney Crucis Investigates... The English Assassin Part One

Indigo Prime Everything and More Part One

Low Life The Deal Part 1

(I thought it was about time I made these link-lists a bit more useful than repetitions of the word "here".)
See also: a free Indigo Prime primer from 1990, available on the official 2000 AD site.

TV

Outnumbered
4x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x27 (4/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
5x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Magicians (2007)
[#83 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]

Comics

Superman #1 by George Pérez & Jesús Merino

Having read the new Action Comics #1 yesterday, it seemed only sensible to read the other Superman reboot today. Whereas the former has been one of The New 52's more praised books, Superman has proved more divisive.

No surprises, really: Action Comics' "Young Superman" story is the kind of tale that always messes around with the status quo and accepted continuity; Superman, however, is set in the 'present day' of the new DC Universe, and it makes significant changes to the pre-New 52 setup. Clark and Lois are no longer married, for instance, and apparently have never even had a relationship; Perry White now looks less a roly-poly editor and more a slightly older Man Of Action; and Lois is heading up a digital division for the company that's just bought out the Daily Planet. How very Modern.

As someone who didn't read Superman before, and isn't necessarily intending to keep it up now, I'm not necessarily all that bothered by all that. It makes sense to move with the times after all, and this is the way the news business is going. Plus, if you're trying to attract new readers, many believe the setup is a will-they-won't-they between Clark and Lois, not a married couple, and it's probably wise to play into that. Is it right to play fast and loose with continuity and character development for the sake of engaging new readers? Well, that's a much wider debate the whole industry needs to engage with.

The issue does make mistakes for every reader, mind. There's some dreadfully clunky dialogue and exposition, most of it coming when the story ought to be getting more exciting rather than more wordy -- this is a comic, not a novel, so ditch the prose description of the pictures! Then there's a one-page aside that apparently serves no purpose other than to shill Stormwatch, a completely unrelated New 52 comic (which was released weeks before this one, in fact) -- a stupid distraction. And apparently having cast Justin Bieber as Jimmy Olsen is obviously a bad idea.

Other than that, though... It's not one I'll be rushing to buy in print, but I might check out issue two sometime.

Collection Count

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

An exciting Blu-ray from America and a Doctor Who upgrade make up this week's handful of updates.

Number of titles in collection: 1,388 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,140 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 248 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,438 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,470 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,166 [up 4]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Billy Connolly's Route 66
Episode 3 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Mock the Week
10x10 (29/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x26 (3/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comics

Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison & Rags Morales

Such are the perils of ordering comics online rather than going into a shop: this turned up today, a week and a day after this second printing was published (and just over a month since it was originally released). Ah well.

Another one of the more acclaimed titles from DC's relaunch, the revamped Action Comics sees Morrison telling the story of a young Superman, fighting crime in Metropolis, still half-myth, not yet in his full costume, not even working for the Daily Planet. More importantly than all that, however, is that Morrison has roughed him up a little: this isn't the dull All-American Boy Scout most people know as Superman, but one who's willing to be a little more against the law, a little more pro-active -- we're told he threw a wife-beater out of a window and broke his hip and six ribs, for instance.

A most interesting start.

Articles

Apple: Steve Jobs Has Died by Doug Aamoth
(from Techland at Time)
I'm sure you can't've missed the news about Apple's co-founder, but this article does a great job of collecting together the myriad tributes from relevant people and sources.

Apple logo turned into touching tribute to Steve Jobs by Joe Svetlik
(from T3)
And other images of mourning, but this one is the most effective:

And in other news...

'James Bond 23' title revealed to be Skyfall? by Justin Harp
(from Digital Spy)
I hope not -- that's a pretty weak title, in my opinion.

Joel Schumacher was asked to make Batman & Robin sequel by Zakia Uddin
(from Digital Spy)
Which just goes to show, money always rules in the movies.

TV

The A to Z of Crime
Episode 5 QRST (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Ask Rhod Gilbert
2x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x25 (30/9/11 edition)
A special episode to mark the show's 200th edition, featuring only previous contestants who crashed out with 200 points (the highest possible score in a single round). I've seen people before who managed to exit with 400 points (i.e. the full 200 on both of the two episodes they're allowed) -- I guess they're saving those sorts for a future special...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comics

2000 AD #1749
Firstly, as usual, I shall direct you to the ECBT 2000AD reviews, covering both parts of Judge Dredd, Savage, Sinister Dexter and Zombo.
Secondly, my thoughts on my first ten issues since returning to the 2000 AD readership are here.

Animal Man #1 by Jeff Lemire & Travel Foreman
This is one of the surprise hits of DC's New 52, selling out quickly and garnering much praise. So it was one of the few I decided to order belatedly based on recommendations, but after my reaction to Justice League International (see below) I decided it best to read a digital copy before my 2nd printing hardcopy turned up. Fortunately, unlike JLI, this one lived up to the hype. Animal Man has a wife a two kids and a very present family life, lending a completely different feel and set of stories to the regular superhero setup. There's a good amount of story too, unlike some of the other books (and modern comics in general). Unlike Batman: The Dark Knight, say, I feel like I got a decent chunk of the story. With intriguing elements going forward, including a great cliffhanger-twist, this is definitely one I'll be continuing with. Indeed, it's probably one of my favourites of the New 52 books I've read.

Justice League International #1 by Dan Jurgens & Aaron Lopresti
I'd heard this was quite good, quite fun, so decided to give it a go. It wasn't. A squabbling team of superheroes is the kind of thing that probably works -- indeed, Marvel are banking on it -- but it helps if you've actually heard of most of them. It wasn't funny, it wasn't much fun, and it was actually kind of dull.
This was one of those additional books I'd decided to order. Fortunately, however, I read it in time to cancel my order. That's £2 saved.

Articles

The DC Comics New Reader Litmus Test: The New 52 Week 4 by Josie Campbell
(from Comic Book Resources)

Today saw the release of the first round of #2s for DC's New 52 -- this'll be where it really gets interesting, seeing whether sales can match the high level they've reached so far. It's been more successful than most expected, but the much-hyped beginning was always going to be the biggest bit -- will it carry over?

Anyway, all of that news and speculation is for the coming week. First, here's the last part of CBR's new reader test, where the #1s are given to completely new readers to see if it works for them, as was intended by DC. Unsurprisingly, results are more or less the same as in the previous three weeks.

However, there are some pretty damning conclusions right at the end. This, for instance: "When it came to those I approached to participate in this test, the news of the relaunch had not reached a single reader not already familiar with comics in some capacity. … Based on our anecdotal evidence, DC has failed to reach greater mainstream consciousness and is marketing to its existing audience of comics' readers, not to a brand-new market."

Oh dear.

The Adventures of Tintin trailer

This looks brilliant. I may even bother to make one of my rare trips to the cinema for it.

2000 AD #1749

As I mentioned when I read the last Prog, all the stories that started in my first Prog of 2000 AD all end this week (well, "this Prog" -- "this week"'s issue is about five on from that). That would seem to make it the perfect time to reflect on my re-initiation into the world of 2000 AD so far.

Judge Dredd, then, is undoubtedly 2000 AD's flagship strip. This has been an interesting one: after an opening three-parter that had some fun but was painfully light on logic, and was also a wrap-up for previous events rather than a properly new-reader-friendly jumping-on point, the story has progressed with a decently intriguing procedural. There's clearly a lot left to go in this Day of Chaos story, but it's off to a good start.

Sinister Dexter, on the other hand, was spectacularly unfriendly to the new reader. Although starting a new story, it built completely on events from the previous one, and on top of that on events going back years. It wasn't even especially entertaining to make up for it either. Apparently this one's on its way to being wrapped up for good, and by the sounds of things there aren't many who'll miss it.

Savage, then again, is brilliant. A real change from the overtly sci-fi angle of the rest of the strips, this is like a WW2 resistance comic, only set now (more or less) after a Russian-allegory occupation of Britain. Patrick Goddard's realistic black-and-white art is never less than gorgeous and Pat Mills' scripts are almost always a perfect example of how to tell a pulpy story in small but exciting pieces. Indeed, he and Dredd writer John Wagner really are the masters of the form -- even if Wagner's overall storytelling has been a bit iffy at points, his structuring is immaculate.

Zombo seems to be much beloved by 2000 AD fans, and while I wasn't sure at first I was quickly won over. This is the third outing for the strip, and while that means there's some continuity to overcome for a new reader, it's much more accessible than Sinister Dexter. It took me a Prog or two to become accustomed to Al Ewing's wit, but once there it was a hoot. Similarly, Henry Flint's art at first appeared sketchy and cartoonish, but is actually highly detailed and completely appropriate. I really want to get the collected edition of the first two tales now -- can't say better than that!

Finally, Tharg's 3hrillers (which ended last Prog) have been a mixed bag -- which you'd expect from an anthology format. The first one was passable but lost its way towards the end; the second had a good atmosphere and concept but a hurried conclusion -- it would've been good if it had been longer and more thoroughly developed; the third was an unredeemable piece of rubbish, with a weak story and pathetic art. Ho hum.

The most interesting bit has been getting back into the culture of reading the mag itself. By which I mean, reading stories in five-or-six-page chunks once a week for a couple of months at a time, five stories at once. I haven't read a regular comic for years, so not getting a whole story in one go (as you do with collected paperbacks) and not getting an apparently meaningful chunk of narrative in each portion are both adjustments.

What it highlights, however, is the differing storytelling skill set needed to make a six-page chunk satisfying, rather than the 20+ pages of a US monthly comic. Some of those writers could do with reading and learning from 2000 AD, because there are occasions where a Tharg strip can cover as much ground in six pages as a US comic will cover in 20. They'd benefit from that added speed.

TV

How to Win in the Den
Episode 1 Pitching and Presentation (of 4)
Despite the title implying a new concept, this is just the latest Dragons' Den catch-up-with-previous-contestants series. (And, despite listings calling it Dragons' Den: How to blah blah blah, the words "Dragons' Den" never appear on screen. So there.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
25x01 Episode 1
Hurrah for the return of Buzzcocks! They may have plasticky new CGI titles and a slight set redesign, but it's still the same old hilariousness. I just hope the final round isn't all about the guest host every week.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x24 (29/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Dragons' Den
9x09 Episode 9
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Home Cooking Made Easy
1x01 Comfort
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x23 (28/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

DC's The New 52 #1s: My Thoughts

With all of DC's New 52 first issues now out, and with (most of*) the ones I've chosen having finally made their way to me and been read by me, I thought I'd offer some quick thoughts on each (in the order I read them)…

(* I have three more #1s on order from their second printings, but I figure as it's nearly time for #2s (they start on Wednesday) it was best to give in and post this.)

Justice League by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee
This came in for a lot of stick, it felt like. No, it's not the greatest book ever, but it was a more-than-solid introduction to the series and universe. It may suffer from the infamous decompressed storytelling, but the thing is, so does everything else -- that's just how comics are now, and while it might be good if that were changed, it's going to require a shift bigger even than DC's re-numbering re-launch. So with that in mind, I think this is actually pretty good: there's action, humour, mystery, and the story is both newbie friendly and prepares them for what it's like to read comics. Good job.

Detective Comics by Tony S. Daniel
Both these first two Bat books felt slower than Justice League, to my mind; or, rather, less content-filled. This particular one sees Batman encounter the Joker in a way that suggests he's been tracking him for years but never really come face-to-face with him… and, in that grisly and surprising cliffhanger, maybe he never will! This is looking like it might be set up for something altogether more unusual.

Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Bit on the fence about this one. For one thing, it's not at all newbie friendly, referencing and building on a tonne of stuff from the last few years of Bat books. Luckily for me I'd been reading up a bit out of idle curiosity, but a total newbie is going to be totally lost. Fail as a new #1, then. Even more so than the two books above, this has long scenes with pages of few panels -- it's either slowly character building (followed by a decent action sequence in the second half), or a bit thumb-twiddling. The plot developing is Moscow is intriguing so I'll stick with it for now.

Resurrection Man by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino
This is one of the books I picked up retrospectively, having heard good things. The concept always appealed, mind, so I guess that says something about following your instincts. Anyway, it was worth it. This is a great example of how to do a re-launch character introduction without telling the origin story: we learn his powers, we learn there are people after him, there's plenty of enticing mystery but none of it feels like we need to know his past to understand. Can't wait to read more, and indeed it makes me want to go back and read the original run too. Can't say better than that.

Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
The only Batman-starring book in the relaunch that seems to have achieved widespread acclaim, I wasn't as completely convinced. It's got some great bits though, including the cliffhanger and some proper detective work from our hero, but equally some speechmaking by Bruce Wayne drags along in the middle. Greg Capullo's art is brilliant in places, mainly anything with Batman himself, but I'm not such a fan of his manga-ish renderings of human characters. I also still resent the excellent solicited cover being switched for Capullo's cartoonish rendering of the same scene. Maybe they feared it would raise the wrong expectations for the internal art?

Batgirl by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf
One of the best-selling and popular books of the relaunch, which lead me to get hold of it a bit later. Personally I didn't care for it a great deal -- it has an interesting villain and setup with Barbara Gordon's newfound ability to walk again (and hence her return to active superheroing), and I'd quite like to see where all that goes, but it felt even briefer than the other books I've read so far. Perhaps that's the fault of the format I read it in: with digital I don't think I savoured the art and storytelling in the same way I did the ones I bought in print. Which is kinda interesting, I suppose. That said, I'm not alone: as the CBR review I quoted before said, "it feels like Batgirl #1 has barely gotten moving full steam ahead when we get to the cliffhanger."

Batwoman by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
A long-awaited title finally emerges as part of the New 52. I have no idea why exactly it was so anticipated, but I'm sure people found it worth the wait. It's a tad hard to get into for a new reader, stuffed as it is with allusions to backstory and previous plots, but it feels like it's worth getting through that because the actual story and characters are intriguing. And, even more so, the art by J.H. Williams III is gorgeous: the crisp pencils and detailed inks really make an impact, and there's masses of innovative page layouts that demand your attention to follow (in a good way) and that you sit back and appreciate them as art in their own right. Loved it.

Aquaman by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis
"How does it feel to be nobody's favourite superhero?" a character asks Aquaman in this issue, neatly bringing his real-world status into the story. Johns does this throughout, making the book a very entertaining read. And it's true, of course: real-world popularity effects how important characters are in-universe, because that's what makes readers want to see more or less of a character, and that makes them more or less involved in big stories. Anyway, it's a fun read, with strong art, especially the intriguing well-designed villains. I look forward to more.

Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch & Paul Jenkins
This seems to have been the worst reviewed of the four books starring Batman, and I can see why. It has the slightest story of all four, achieving virtually nothing in its 20 pages. Plus, coming at the end of the month, its Bruce-Wayne-making-a-speech centre section and a big prison break sequence both feel repetitious of Batman #1. Finch's art is fine when drawing action but I find it ugly when crafting faces, making the long-ish dialogue-based scene at a charity gala an uncomfortable read. Even the cliffhanger wasn't particular intriguing for me. The reviews are right, this is easily the weakest Batman book of the New 52.

All Star Western by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat
My initial run through The New 52's #1 ends with perhaps my most anticipated book. All Star Western is a continuation of Gray & Palmiotti's surprisingly-lengthy run on Jonah Hex in all but name… well, and setting. Instead of the Wild West, here Hex finds himself in a burgeoning Gotham City, teamed up with Dr Amadeus Arkham (yes, as in the Asylum) to hunt down a murderer of prostitutes. And, in the process, perhaps tie-in a little to the modern-day arc in Batman. Clever… but, importantly, it feels like neither will be dependant on you reading the other, just offer neat commentary/parallels if you do. This is an exciting, violent, gritty book, beautifully rendered in a sketchy style by Moritat. It lived up to all my expectations and I can't wait for more.

So that's that. If you're interested, my favourite books were Resurrection Man, All Star Western, Aquaman and Batman, while my least favourite were Batgirl and Batman: The Dark Knight. Neither of those were bad per se -- Batgirl in particular had a lot to recommend it -- but I either really liked or outright loved the other eight I've read so far.

I've been intending to read even more of the New 52 #1s at some point, possibly even all of them -- I suppose I ought to get on with it, really, to see if I'd want to continue with any other series. I'm sure I'll share similarly bitesize opinions on those as I read them, but as I read them rather than in a pointlessly saved-up way such as this.