Batman: The Brave and the Bold
1x01 The Rise of the Blue Beetle!
1x02 Terror on Dinosaur Island!
This most recent of the many Batman animated series recently came to an end (well, nine months ago), but it's just begun being shown on Channel 5 over here. It started during the Olympics, so I'm playing catch-up now (they're up to episode five, so not much catch-up).
I believe it was consciously designed to be a lighter, brighter, more kid-centric Bat-cartoon, after decades of darkness across the likes of Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond. It means it's a crazy kind of colourful fun that you don't find anywhere else in the Bat-verse right now (and soon won't find any longer, as the new animated series replacing it -- Beware the Batman -- very much swings back towards the dark). Far from the gritty real-world / quasi-real-world of current Batman films and comics, these two episodes feature space travel through a wormhole to save an amoebic alien race on the other side of the galaxy and a battle against a race of gorilla-men on a dinosaur-populated island. You don't get much less "gritty" or "real" than that.
Each episode, Batman teams up with a different DC hero. That part doesn't work so well in these two episodes. I mean, they're not bad, but both feature a lesser-known member of DC's cast, and both have essentially the same character arc (prove they're worthy to be a hero, saving Batman in the process; while he also does some saving-y stuff so as to not appear useless). Hopefully there's more variety to come.
Lorraine's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food
1x01 Easy Entertaining
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Once Upon a Time
1x15 Red Handed
That was, by OUaT's standards, exceptional. By anyone else's it was "quite good", but, y'know, every little helps.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Just another DVD-to-BD upgrade this week, this time of the TV series Rome -- so one less disc, and a whole lot of shelf space saved!
Number of titles in collection: 1,507 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,160 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 347 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 3,733 [down 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,591 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,618 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Just another DVD-to-BD upgrade this week, this time of the TV series Rome -- so one less disc, and a whole lot of shelf space saved!
Number of titles in collection: 1,507 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,160 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 347 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 3,733 [down 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,591 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,618 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 17 August 2012
TV
Outnumbered
2x01 Episode 1 [2nd watch]
2x02 Episode 2 [3rd watch]
Stumbled across these on one of the endless repeats channels. Remembered them so clearly, I was surprised to discover that a) they were only series two (thought it had been running a while by this point, for some reason), and b) I supposedly haven't watched them since at least 2009. Probably seen bits here and there. If by some weird fluke you still haven't seen Outnumbered, you really really should.
Playhouse Presents
1x05 City Hall
Wilfred
2x01 Progress
You may happen to recall that I abandoned the first series of Wilfred nine months ago, but a good review in the Radio Times -- including mention of a guest appearance by Robin Williams -- led me to give it another shot as season two began. It was always fine, this is no different; don't imagine I'll bother continuing.
2x01 Episode 1 [2nd watch]
2x02 Episode 2 [3rd watch]
Stumbled across these on one of the endless repeats channels. Remembered them so clearly, I was surprised to discover that a) they were only series two (thought it had been running a while by this point, for some reason), and b) I supposedly haven't watched them since at least 2009. Probably seen bits here and there. If by some weird fluke you still haven't seen Outnumbered, you really really should.
Playhouse Presents
1x05 City Hall
Wilfred
2x01 Progress
You may happen to recall that I abandoned the first series of Wilfred nine months ago, but a good review in the Radio Times -- including mention of a guest appearance by Robin Williams -- led me to give it another shot as season two began. It was always fine, this is no different; don't imagine I'll bother continuing.
Thursday, 16 August 2012
TV
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Behind the Magic
Last June, with Deathly Hallows Part 2's cinema release imminent, I finally watched the TV making-of about Part 1. Now, another year on, I've finally cleared Part 2's equivalent off my V+ box. Funny how these things work out. (It's also provoked by the fact that Part 2 is coming to Sky Movies soon, so I ought to get my bloody review up -- I only watched it at the start of January!)
Despite being on ITV and presented by Ben Shephard, these do a surprisingly good job of going behind-the-scenes. It's not a thorough, detailed exploration of how the film is made, of course, but in sharing a few interesting facts and figures and capturing the opinions of cast and crew -- particularly valuable (in a "for fans" way, obviously) as the series comes to a close after a decade -- it's nice.
Once Upon a Time
1x14 Dreamy
Ugh.
The Rob Brydon Show
3x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Last June, with Deathly Hallows Part 2's cinema release imminent, I finally watched the TV making-of about Part 1. Now, another year on, I've finally cleared Part 2's equivalent off my V+ box. Funny how these things work out. (It's also provoked by the fact that Part 2 is coming to Sky Movies soon, so I ought to get my bloody review up -- I only watched it at the start of January!)
Despite being on ITV and presented by Ben Shephard, these do a surprisingly good job of going behind-the-scenes. It's not a thorough, detailed exploration of how the film is made, of course, but in sharing a few interesting facts and figures and capturing the opinions of cast and crew -- particularly valuable (in a "for fans" way, obviously) as the series comes to a close after a decade -- it's nice.
Once Upon a Time
1x14 Dreamy
Ugh.
The Rob Brydon Show
3x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Films
Dirty Laundry (2012)
[#62a in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
A ten-minute Punisher fan film, premiered a couple of months ago at ComicCon, from the production company of & starring the star of the 2004 version of The Punisher, Thomas Jane. It's kind of a pitch for how the franchise should be brought to the big screen, and it's rather good. You can watch it here.
The Saint's Double Trouble (1940)
[#63 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
[#62a in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
A ten-minute Punisher fan film, premiered a couple of months ago at ComicCon, from the production company of & starring the star of the 2004 version of The Punisher, Thomas Jane. It's kind of a pitch for how the franchise should be brought to the big screen, and it's rather good. You can watch it here.
The Saint's Double Trouble (1940)
[#63 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
Comics
Idolized #0 & #1 by David Schwartz & Micah Gunnell
Zero issues are a funny business. When they're released mid-run (as DC are doing next month with all their titles), they make sense as prequels. But before the series itself starts? Why isn't it just issue #1?
Here, the first superhero comic from Aspen (as they proudly proclaim in various places) offers a bit of setup... as well as revealing what look like future events in the comic. Now, maybe this isn't a problem, but it sure looks like they're spoilering their own series to me.
The other thing that interests me is that this doesn't seem to be promoted as a miniseries, but surely it's got a finite life? Once Superhero Idol is over, surely you can only go so far before it begins to move far from its original concept? Surely this is why the very-similarly-themed America's Got Powers is only six issues? There are options, of course -- you continue with the characters regardless of how it began; you reset with each new season of the TV show; etc -- and it might be interesting to see where they choose to go with it.
The actual first issue is more setup, really. If #0 establishes the premise, #1 establishes the lead character. Unfortunately it does this through an awful lot of telling and not showing -- it's her audition, at which she stands around and talks us through her life. Comics allow us to see snatches of this as she talks about it, but still, it's being narrated, not really shown. But it's an interesting one, actually, and the concept and balls Schwartz has set into play are interesting. Plus Gunnell's art is nicely cartoony, yet still expressive and exciting when needed.
I made sure to read this quickly (over all of the other comics I have stacked up) because despite ordering it ages ago Forbidden Planet seem to have failed to send me a copy, so I thought I better read it (coughonewayoranothercough) before it was impossible to get anywhere else. On the quality of these first two, I think I'll keep going.
Revival #1 by Tim Seeley & Mike Norton
Described as "A Rural Noir", Revival looks set to be The Next Big Thing from Image, publishers of The Walking Dead -- and look how that turned out. Copies of The Walking Dead #1 now change hands for prices in excess of $1,000 (according to Bleeding Cool Magazine), so this isn't just a good read but also potentially an investment. If I could sell this in however-many-years for half the cost of The Walking Dead #1 after the-same-number-of-years, I'd be a happy bunny (and it'd be a pretty stunning return on investment).
But that's not my main aim, because I'm not One Of Those People. My main aim is to enjoy it as a read, and it is a damn fine read. It feels exactly like a TV pilot, actually, as it establishes multiple major characters and plot threads. One great thing about it is it dives into the middle of the story: in one small area of Wisconsin death has stopped, but so-called Revival Day was sometime weeks or months ago (it's not specified, but it's clearly A While whilst still being Quite Recently) -- the world knows what happened, but not why or how, while debates still rage about how to deal with it going forward.
The other extraordinary thing it does is, in 25 pages, feel like an entire pilot episode. If you watched this on TV, with this much incident, I imagine you'd feel satiated. It's not action-packed, but with an HBO-y Mad Men-y pace -- entirely befitting the kind of genre-but-intelligent stable it's going for -- it'd slot right in. And there's plenty of threads and mysteries set in motion to keep it going, too. Definitely one to stick with.
Zero issues are a funny business. When they're released mid-run (as DC are doing next month with all their titles), they make sense as prequels. But before the series itself starts? Why isn't it just issue #1?
Here, the first superhero comic from Aspen (as they proudly proclaim in various places) offers a bit of setup... as well as revealing what look like future events in the comic. Now, maybe this isn't a problem, but it sure looks like they're spoilering their own series to me.
The other thing that interests me is that this doesn't seem to be promoted as a miniseries, but surely it's got a finite life? Once Superhero Idol is over, surely you can only go so far before it begins to move far from its original concept? Surely this is why the very-similarly-themed America's Got Powers is only six issues? There are options, of course -- you continue with the characters regardless of how it began; you reset with each new season of the TV show; etc -- and it might be interesting to see where they choose to go with it.
The actual first issue is more setup, really. If #0 establishes the premise, #1 establishes the lead character. Unfortunately it does this through an awful lot of telling and not showing -- it's her audition, at which she stands around and talks us through her life. Comics allow us to see snatches of this as she talks about it, but still, it's being narrated, not really shown. But it's an interesting one, actually, and the concept and balls Schwartz has set into play are interesting. Plus Gunnell's art is nicely cartoony, yet still expressive and exciting when needed.
I made sure to read this quickly (over all of the other comics I have stacked up) because despite ordering it ages ago Forbidden Planet seem to have failed to send me a copy, so I thought I better read it (coughonewayoranothercough) before it was impossible to get anywhere else. On the quality of these first two, I think I'll keep going.
Revival #1 by Tim Seeley & Mike Norton
Described as "A Rural Noir", Revival looks set to be The Next Big Thing from Image, publishers of The Walking Dead -- and look how that turned out. Copies of The Walking Dead #1 now change hands for prices in excess of $1,000 (according to Bleeding Cool Magazine), so this isn't just a good read but also potentially an investment. If I could sell this in however-many-years for half the cost of The Walking Dead #1 after the-same-number-of-years, I'd be a happy bunny (and it'd be a pretty stunning return on investment).
But that's not my main aim, because I'm not One Of Those People. My main aim is to enjoy it as a read, and it is a damn fine read. It feels exactly like a TV pilot, actually, as it establishes multiple major characters and plot threads. One great thing about it is it dives into the middle of the story: in one small area of Wisconsin death has stopped, but so-called Revival Day was sometime weeks or months ago (it's not specified, but it's clearly A While whilst still being Quite Recently) -- the world knows what happened, but not why or how, while debates still rage about how to deal with it going forward.
The other extraordinary thing it does is, in 25 pages, feel like an entire pilot episode. If you watched this on TV, with this much incident, I imagine you'd feel satiated. It's not action-packed, but with an HBO-y Mad Men-y pace -- entirely befitting the kind of genre-but-intelligent stable it's going for -- it'd slot right in. And there's plenty of threads and mysteries set in motion to keep it going, too. Definitely one to stick with.
Articles
Movie Cities' Olympic Promo Posters
(from Empire)
What if the 2020 Olympics weren't taking place in a real city, but One From The Movies? In this fun piece, Empire imagines how the promo posters for 13 such cities might look.
(from Empire)
What if the 2020 Olympics weren't taking place in a real city, but One From The Movies? In this fun piece, Empire imagines how the promo posters for 13 such cities might look.
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
TV
The Great British Bake Off
3x01 Cakes
Hurrah for the Bake Off! From the off this series seems to be tougher on it's gaggle of amateur bakers, so goodness knows what they've got planned for the weeks to come.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Gates
1x01 Episode 1
New sitcom with a large cast, five credited writers, five creators (not all the same), and on Sky Living. With that setup you might expect it to be dreadful, but it's actually pretty good. Certainly superior to Parents, and that got to be on Sky1.
3x01 Cakes
Hurrah for the Bake Off! From the off this series seems to be tougher on it's gaggle of amateur bakers, so goodness knows what they've got planned for the weeks to come.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Gates
1x01 Episode 1
New sitcom with a large cast, five credited writers, five creators (not all the same), and on Sky Living. With that setup you might expect it to be dreadful, but it's actually pretty good. Certainly superior to Parents, and that got to be on Sky1.
Articles
Bond Reclassified – 50th Anniversary Blu Ray Update.
by Matthew Harkin (from CommanderBond.net)
As part of the big 50th anniversary box set coming soon, some more Bond films have been reclassified (GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies were included uncut as 15s last time they did a big re-issue on DVD). This time out, Diamonds Are Forever has been re-rated as a 12 (stuff that was once deemed suitable at PG no longer is), while Casino Royale will be uncut for the first time in the UK, earning a 12.
Fantastic news. If I wasn't sold on this set already (and, to be honest, I was borderline, as they haven't included all the extras for Casino Royale or any of the made-but-unreleased special features for Quantum of Solace), I pretty much am now.
Date for the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who
by Amy Jones (from The Digital Fix)
Also coming out of tonight's screening of Asylum of the Daleks: the episode titles for the first half of the series (the five episodes that will air before this year's Christmas special), and the news that every episode will feature it's own unique title sequence -- if they do that properly, it could be brilliant.
by Matthew Harkin (from CommanderBond.net)
As part of the big 50th anniversary box set coming soon, some more Bond films have been reclassified (GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies were included uncut as 15s last time they did a big re-issue on DVD). This time out, Diamonds Are Forever has been re-rated as a 12 (stuff that was once deemed suitable at PG no longer is), while Casino Royale will be uncut for the first time in the UK, earning a 12.
Fantastic news. If I wasn't sold on this set already (and, to be honest, I was borderline, as they haven't included all the extras for Casino Royale or any of the made-but-unreleased special features for Quantum of Solace), I pretty much am now.
Date for the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who
by Amy Jones (from The Digital Fix)
Also coming out of tonight's screening of Asylum of the Daleks: the episode titles for the first half of the series (the five episodes that will air before this year's Christmas special), and the news that every episode will feature it's own unique title sequence -- if they do that properly, it could be brilliant.
Monday, 13 August 2012
TV
Pointless
6x40 (8/5/12 edition)
Starlings
1x04 Episode Four
Suburgatory
1x04 Don't Call Me Shirley
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Vexed
2x01 Episode 1
It's two years since the first series of Vexed, and it didn't seem to go down very well so I didn't expect to see it back. But I quite liked it -- it's not high art, but it is quite funny; so I'm very happy -- if also very surprised -- to see its return.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
6x40 (8/5/12 edition)
Starlings
1x04 Episode Four
Suburgatory
1x04 Don't Call Me Shirley
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Vexed
2x01 Episode 1
It's two years since the first series of Vexed, and it didn't seem to go down very well so I didn't expect to see it back. But I quite liked it -- it's not high art, but it is quite funny; so I'm very happy -- if also very surprised -- to see its return.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Sunday, 12 August 2012
TV
London 2012 Olympics
Day Sixteen
Closing Ceremony Countdown
Closing Ceremony
The last day! A bit of volleyball, a bit of gymnastics, the end of the modern pentathlon... and, of course, the closing ceremony, which I thought was pretty good overall.
No Olympics Tonight tonight though, sadly, which means no round-up of the final sports... at a sporting event. Dropped the ball a bit there, BBC.
[Watch the countdown and closing ceremony (again), as well as loads of archived coverage from the BBC.]
Day Sixteen
Closing Ceremony Countdown
Closing Ceremony
The last day! A bit of volleyball, a bit of gymnastics, the end of the modern pentathlon... and, of course, the closing ceremony, which I thought was pretty good overall.
No Olympics Tonight tonight though, sadly, which means no round-up of the final sports... at a sporting event. Dropped the ball a bit there, BBC.
[Watch the countdown and closing ceremony (again), as well as loads of archived coverage from the BBC.]
this week on 100 Films
Half by accident, it's been a kind of 'animation week' at 100 Films in a Year, with a mix of old and new reviews. It started with Cars and Cars 2 last week, and continues with two new reviews...
Rango: Extended Cut (2011)
Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation (2011)
And new to the new blog this week...
Toy Story 3 (2010)
WALL-E (2008)
More next Sunday.
Rango: Extended Cut (2011)
perhaps the most striking thing about Rango is ILM’s hallmark, the extraordinary realism. Though some of the characters are rendered cartoonishly (just look at Rango’s face) and all are of course anthropomorphised, the textures and lighting are as true-to-life as any of their work in live-action movies. They consciously went for a photographic look, as if it had been shot with real cameras, and it paid off because the whole thing looks incredible.Read more here.
Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation (2011)
Toy Story is in many ways Pixar’s flagship franchise, and after the Huge Event that was Toy Story 3, was it really wise to dilute the experience with a series of mini-adventures? Was it not better to leave it as a series of three big movies, each one a grand and special event? After all, the more you do something, the less special it becomes.Read more here.
And new to the new blog this week...
Toy Story 3 (2010)
it’s hilarious, emotional, exciting, scary; a great comedy, a great action/adventure... It’s kid-friendly, of course, but it’s not just for kids — it’s for young adults, who’ve grown up with these films and these characters and, in a way, are letting them go along with Andy; and for adults, who may have left childish things behind but can hopefully still appreciate the thematic sentiment.Read more here.
WALL-E (2008)
a film of two halves. They’re not exactly poorly linked, as elements from each feed into the other, but they are notably different... If I were to broadly characterise the two halves, I’d say the first is everything you’d hoped for after the advance hype, while the second is something you could have feared.Read more here.
More next Sunday.
Saturday, 11 August 2012
TV
London 2012 Olympics
Day Fifteen
It's the penultimate day of the Olympics (don't worry, there's the Paralympics later this month), which today saw me watch diving twice (this morning's semis and the evening's final), a bit of mountain biking, a bit of gymnastics, and finally the usually evening routine of athletics.
And to round it off, the final edition (boo!) of Olympics Tonight. Where will I get my summary of the final day?! I know it's the closing ceremony, but surely they could follow it with a sports-related round-up.
[Watch Saturday's Olympics Tonight (again), as well as loads of live coverage from the BBC.]
Day Fifteen
It's the penultimate day of the Olympics (don't worry, there's the Paralympics later this month), which today saw me watch diving twice (this morning's semis and the evening's final), a bit of mountain biking, a bit of gymnastics, and finally the usually evening routine of athletics.
And to round it off, the final edition (boo!) of Olympics Tonight. Where will I get my summary of the final day?! I know it's the closing ceremony, but surely they could follow it with a sports-related round-up.
[Watch Saturday's Olympics Tonight (again), as well as loads of live coverage from the BBC.]
Articles
Another Twittter Storm: BMW
by PME200 (from The Blog That Peter Wrote)
When twitter found out BMW were giving free cars to Team GB's male medal winners, but not to the female ones, everyone naturally got Very Upset And Angry. But they should've bothered to check their facts first...
BBC Books: The Exodus Code
by Chuck Foster (from Doctor Who News)
More at the link.
by PME200 (from The Blog That Peter Wrote)
When twitter found out BMW were giving free cars to Team GB's male medal winners, but not to the female ones, everyone naturally got Very Upset And Angry. But they should've bothered to check their facts first...
BBC Books: The Exodus Code
by Chuck Foster (from Doctor Who News)
BBC Books have released details on the next book in their hardback range of novels, the first to feature spin-off series Torchwood; The Exodus Code is written by "Captain Jack" himself John Barrowman with his sister Carole
More at the link.
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