TV

Friends
6x13 The One with Rachel's Sister [4th or so watch]

Live at the Apollo
9x04 Episode 4
Apparently the broadcasts of Live at the Apollo have all been knocked back a week due to the Nelson Mandela tribute shown on Friday 6th... but they keep putting the ones that would have been on up on iPlayer, so I'm 'ahead'. Weird.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
2x08 'Til Death
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)
[#108 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

Elementary
2x08 Blood is Thicker

Friends
6x12 The One with the Joke [4th or so watch]

TV

Arrow
2x08 The Scientist
Spin-off setup alert! I thought they did a pretty good job, though, and clearly it's a fairly slow-build setup rather than a backdoor pilot (that said, one of those was due later in the season, so...)

Have I Got News For You
46x09 (6/12/2013 edition; extended repeat)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
27x11 Episode 11

TV

The British Comedy Awards 2013
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Friends
6x11 The One with the Apothecary Table [4th or so watch]

this week on 100 Films

The 100 Films Advent Calendar marches on this week, leading to seven new reviews again...


Fast & Furious (2009)

Some say this is the worst of the series, and I think I agree. 2 Fast 2 Furious has a stupid name and Tokyo Drift is almost a direct-to-DVD cheapo, but they embrace their trashy roots and are kinda fun. #4 takes itself too seriously as a revenge/drug-smuggling thriller.

Read more here.


Flight (2012)

After a decade locked away in motion-capture madness, Robert Zemeckis returned to the realms of the real with this Oscar-nominated drama... Cue a film that attempts a grown-up account of addiction, but fumbles it, in the process missing the more interesting story of the crash investigation.

Read more here.


G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

If Team America: World Police had been made for children, it would be a lot like this.

If The Asylum made blockbusters instead of mockbusters, they would be a lot like this.

If Michael Bay were a less skilled director, his movies would be a lot like this.

Read more here.


Jack Reacher (2012)

an enthralling action-thriller with an unusual-these-days emphasis on the thriller part. There’s still a well-executed car chase, an epic punchy-shooty climax, and the odd spot of running and fighting along the way, but primarily this is a mystery that our heroes must wind their way through.

Read more here.


Lady of Deceit (1947) aka Born to Kill

Even today, it’s quite a nasty little work, although tastes have evolved to the point where “discriminating people” are likely to be attracted to it — though not purely for the violence. You’d imagine that would pale by today’s standards, but even now the opening double homicide is quite shocking

Read more here.


Real Steel (2011)

Once upon a time, Real Steel would have been rated PG, been aimed at 7- to 10-year-old boys, and would probably have been quite the success. In the current Hollywood moviemaking climate, however, it’s rated PG-13, consequently aimed at teenage boys and grown men who still have the tastes of teenage boys, and seems to be regularly slated in online comment sections. That’s a shame because, despite some corny and cheesy bits, it generally works.

Read more here.


Wolf (1994)

It’s about werewolves. But don’t go thinking this is like An American Werewolf in London or The Wolfman, and certainly don’t attach it to the modern Twilight-type werewolf saga — this is a supernatural movie For Adults. Not in the sense of there being excessive violence or sex or swearing or what have you, but, rather, because of the characters and their situations.

Read more here.


Plus, new to the new blog...


Friday the 13th Part III [3D] (1982)

They have a whale of a time shoving stuff out into the audience for almost no reason — just like the stereotype of 3D films, of course. That’s part of the fun of trashy 3D movies so I’m not criticising it, but what sadly doesn’t work is the ColorCode 3D system... It provides lovely depth to normal scenes, but as soon as something’s attempting to come out at you it fails.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Atlantis
1x11 Hunger Pangs
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Derren Brown: The Great Art Robbery
Well that was super. You know Derren's always going to have a few extra tricks up his sleeve, but then there are a couple more even beyond that...
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Friends
6x10 The One with the Routine [5th or so watch]
Sometimes Friends titles pick on a bizarrely minor point; and sometimes, they're bang on.

Yonderland
1x03 Reformation

Collection Count

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

As noted last week, I was expecting one new addition this week and one next. But the freakishly slow Christmastime post seems to have suddenly sprung back to life, and next week's parcel dropped today... along with something else I ordered that should have taken until next week, making a grand total of three!

There'll be nothing next week, now. Well, almost certainly nothing...

Number of titles in collection: 1,644 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,198 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 446 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,079 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,749 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,052 [up 22]
Number of short films in collection: 406 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Friends
6x09 The One Where Ross Got High [4th or so watch]

The Graham Norton Show
14x08 (6/12/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Hebburn
2x03 Knocking About
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Live at the Apollo
9x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
3x11 Nikki Heat
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Friends
6x08 The One with Ross's Teeth [4th or so watch]

TV

Friends
6x06 The One on the Last Night [5th or so watch]
6x07 The One Where Phoebe Runs [4th or so watch]

The Graham Norton Show
14x07 (29/11/13 edition)

Suburgatory
2x14 T-Ball & Sympathy

Yonderland
1x02 Wizard Bradley

Films

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
[#107 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Articles

Axed BBC drama Ripper Street could be revived by LOVEFiLM for third series
by Ben Dowell (from Radio Times)

I was disappointed when they cancelled Ripper Street (even though I haven't started season two yet, I enjoyed the first), but this has come as a right surprise nonetheless. Hope it comes to pass.

TV

Elementary
2x07 The Marchioness

Friends
6x05 The One with Joey's Porsche [4th or so watch]

The Happenings
1x01 Alien Invasion
Usually-comedic (and gory) magicians Barry and Stuart get their own series on Watch "from the makers of Derren Brown", in which they string together a selection of magic tricks posing as supernatural events in order to convince a community that something paranormal is happening. Here, it's a small British town that they try to make believe is being observed by aliens. Some of the tricks are quite familiar if you watch enough magic -- they're still impressive in their own right, just increasingly seen -- while others feel fresher. All are suitably baffling. I'm not sure how well the "convince a whole town" element works, though. But maybe.
[Watch it (again) on Watch's website.]

Person of Interest
2x07 Critical
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Arrow
2x07 State v. Queen
Did they re-cast the Count with a worse actor just to (spoilers!) kill him off? Or was it actually the same guy but I remembered him being not quite so bad?

Have I Got News For You
46x08 (29/11/2013 edition; extended repeat)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
27x10 Episode 10

Films

Kick-Ass (2010)
[2nd watch]

This was #39 in 100 Films 2010. I haven't seen it since that first viewing, but the sequel is out on DVD & Blu-ray today so I watched this last night in preparation. Sadly my copy of said follow-up didn't arrive today, but expect it to turn up here just as soon as it does.

TV

Castle
3x10 Last Call
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited
1x11 The Eleventh Doctor [final episode]

Friends
6x04 The One Where Joey Loses His Insurance [4th or so watch]
Behind that so-dull-it-sounds-like-a-spoof title lies one of Friends' funniest episodes.

Hebburn
2x02 Easy Tiger
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Yonderland
1x01 The Chosen Mum
The Horrible Histories gang do fantasy in this new Sky1 comedy (which has almost finished on the actual telly, so I've got some catching up to do). Like so many genre series, episode one is all about setting up the premise. Still funny though, so hopefully the rest will be even better.

Films

Hanna (2011)
[#106 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
Read my drabble review here.

DVD Extras

Special Features on Hanna

An alternate ending that was thankfully unused, and some near-pointless deleted scenes; a handful of featurettes looking at the fights, the fairytale inspirations, the music, and the military escape scene; and some promo stuff.

Plus I listened to a couple of short snippets of the commentary, which sounded interesting but also a bit quiet at times.

this week on 100 Films

The second 100 Films Advent Calendar is well and truly underway now, meaning that 7 new reviews were published this week.

First, on Channel 4 tonight at 10pm:


Hanna (2011)

There’s the genre’s typical globetrotting, fistfighting thrills; but also an allegorical coming-of-age indie drama; plus a surreal, fairytale tone that drifts across proceedings like a pleasant morning mist.

Read more here.


And the rest:


Black Death (2010)

Though not entirely devoid of gore or jumps, this is more a creeping horror; a tale of the supernatural where an uncanny mood is more important than visceral thrills. I don’t think it’s too lofty to suggest comparison to The Wicker Man rather than an historical Saw.

Read more here.


The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

There’s no shortage of ambition in the rendering on screen, but the film sadly comes up short on occasion. Despite director Michael Apted’s experienced hand on the wheel, the course strays into Syfy Channel TV movie territory at times, with a kind of cheapness that won’t please anyone

Read more here.


Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Extended Cut) (2013)

Having heard only bad things, I expected a soul-crushing dud of Van Helsing proportions. Actually, it’s a lot of fun.

Read more here.


LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite (2013)

I’ve seen a couple of the LEGO Star Wars TV specials and found them to be quite fun, but LEGO Batman can’t reach their level. It’s not just that it’s almost four times as long as one of those, it’s that the humour it does contain doesn’t hit home in the same way. It’s often too juvenile, too “that’ll do”

Read more here.


Side by Side (2012)

a documentary on camera technology. No, wait, come back! It’s much more interesting than that sounds. Side by Side is, primarily, about the debate between those who prefer the old film ways and those who embrace the digital future...

Read more here.


Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

In an ethnically diverse and equal future, white American Kirk and white Vulcan-American Spock are commanded by white American Pike and white American Marcus to lead their crew to capture a Starfleet-targeting terrorist: John Harrison, a white Englishman

Read more here.


And one related review was new to the new blog too...


The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

The epic final battle comes as close to rivalling Helm’s Deep as anything I can think of, albeit — in typical Narnia style — in broad daylight on a big field. It has a real story to it, with specific moves being made by each side in the name of an overall strategy, rather than just A Lot Of Good Guys charging at A Lot Of Bad Guys and hacking away ’til one side wins, the apparent battle tactic in most other such large encounters on film.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.