TV

Castle
5x11 Under the Influence

Doctor Who
35x04 Before the Flood
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
5x03 House of Hormones [2nd watch]

Films

Ender's Game (2013)
[#146 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

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


Rush (2013)

Appropriately, the racing sequences are the best part. Those were the days when F1 was a little wild and uncontrolled, which the film does a good job of conveying, and also of using to its advantage to create tense and exciting set pieces. Kudos to every element of production here, not only the brilliant camerawork and editing, and the array of special effects required to tie it together, but also the production design that makes the one or two tracks they filmed on look like circuits all around the world.

Read more here.


Shallow Grave (1994)

it concerns three ultra-chummy flatmates in contemporary Edinburgh who take in a fourth lodger, who promptly dies, leaving behind an insane amount of cash. Rather than report it, they dispose of the corpse and keep the cash. You don’t get much further from Merchant-Ivory than that.

Read more here.


Meanwhile, my archive posts are well into 2010 now, with 11 more reposted this week...


A final push...!

So today is the final day of 2008, and so the final day of this blog's second year. And have I made it to 100? Not yet.

Read more here.


Another dismal January

It seems like barely a couple of months since I was posting about a dismal January; but, of course, it was a year ago -- and I've just had another equally mediocre month.

Read more here.


Sit-rep (or, ‘In want of a better title’)

The start of April marks the end of the year’s first quarter in just about every way possible (meaning in months, weeks and days). Unfortunately, it looks unlikely that the same will be said for this year’s attempt at 100 films.

Read more here.


July 2009

one month on from my last post, and at around 58% of the way through 2009 I find the actions toward my titular aim floundering this year — never mind the last post, it’s been over a month since I actually watched a film.

Read more here.


It’s halfway through 2009!

“But it’s September!” I hear you cry in response to my patently ludicrous title. “That’s not halfway through the year by any reasonable measure!” No, it isn’t — but it is (if you haven’t already guessed) the point at which I’ve seen 50 new films in 2009 (at last!)

Read more here.


The end is nigh…

this is simply an observation (and little more than that, I’m afraid) that there are a mere 31 days of 2009 left. Indeed, 31 days of this decade. Cripes.

Read more here.


Another year over, or: Third time unlucky

“Another year over,” sang John Lennon, “and what have you done?” (Well, if you re-arrange the lyrics he did.) Failed to reach 100 films, that’s what. Well… There’s a first time for everything. It had to happen sooner or later.

Read more here.


A ¼ through 2010

Pat on the back over, it’s back to actually watching films. 25 in two months — 150 by the end of December? Well, we’ll see..

Read more here.


May 2010

I’ve decided to start putting these little lists up every month as a way of keeping the blog current and offering myself a chance to reflect on How Things Are Going. Having switched to longer reviews in the blog’s second year, and ultimately abandoned posting them in order too, I feel I’ve lost this side of things a little. And without it, the whole exercise becomes just a random selection of films.

Read more here.


June 2010

The start of July is, perhaps obviously, halfway through the year. In terms of film-viewing, then, I should have reached 50, obviously. As attentive regular readers will be aware, I actually reached 50 last month. It’s nice to be well ahead of schedule after last year’s failure

Read more here.


July 2010

July last year was when I didn’t watch a single film, so while I’ve not watched a great many this month (compared to the rest of the year so far), I’ve done a bang-up job compared to 2009.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Great British Bake Off
6x10 Class of 2014
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Have I Got News For You
50x01 (2/10/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Twilight (2008)
[#145 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Yep.

Comics

Marvel's Jessica Jones #1 by Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Gaydos

Short prequel to Netflix's second Marvel TV series (available from November 20th) by the character's original creators. Features a cameo from Daredevil for good measure.

Articles

Daniel Craig's 'secret plan' to save James Bond
by Robbie Collin (from the Telegraph)

A good feature on how the current run of Bond films have served to rejuvenate the franchise.

Collection Count

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

This week: two new releases, and a double-film catalogue title replacing a single-film DVD. Number-changing fun!

Number of titles in collection: 1,801 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 593 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,529 [up 7]
Number of films in collection: 1,953 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,801 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 456 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
2x10 Episode 10 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Fifth Estate (2013)
[#144 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x10 Significant Others

Outnumbered
5x02 K for Victory [3rd watch]

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
3x05 Episode 5

The Great British Bake Off
6x11 The Final [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Wrestler (2008)
[#143 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x09 Secret Santa

Films

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
[#142 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x08 After Hours

Mock the Week
14x10 (1/10/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
5x07 Swan Song

Doctor Who
35x03 Under the Lake
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
3x04 Episode 4

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
2x09 Episode 9
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

First up from 100 Films in a Year this week, it's a new month, so here's a look back at the last one -- which was rather special...




Elsewise, two brand-new reviews were published this week...


Filmed in Supermarionation (2014)

This documentary about the behind-the-scenes story of those iconic shows is an absolute nostalgia-fest, then; but it’s also more than that: a story of British endeavour, ambition and inventiveness, which perfected an art form and, in the process, revolutionised television and film. And all by a bunch of young Brits working out of a poky little industrial unit in Slough to make children’s TV programmes using puppets.

Read more here.


Foxcatcher (2014)

In a rare dramatic role, and lumbered with a hefty prosthetic noise, Carrell’s John Du Pont almost feels like a caricature rather than a plausible human being… but apparently the film has actually toned down how odd the man was, so what are you gonna do? It’s a memorable performance none the less.

Read more here.


And finally, ten archive posts were reposted too...


2007 | Weeks 43-45

It’s goodbye to October and hello to November, as the year moves into its final sixth. It’ll be over before you know it — and with it, my final total of new films this year. How exciting!

Read more here.


2007 | Weeks 46-48

being the dedicated student that I am, I’ve watched all the suggested viewing for a seminar in which my group had to pose the questions. The seminar was on “Urban Rhythms”… but in film-viewing terms that translates to four Scorseses, four Woody Allens, and an anthology featuring shorts by both of them and Francis Ford Coppola

Read more here.


2007 | Weeks 49-50 (2008 Preview)

in the past two weeks I’ve only watched… well, NO films! Yet there is still an entry. Why? Well, I resolved that, regardless of how many films I watched, I’d post double-week entries for both this one and the next. And I haven’t watched any films, so there’s none here. A silly resolution, obviously... So instead of film reviews, but in light of the fact I’m posting this anyway, I’ve decided to share with you some of the changes I have planned for 2008. I’m sure there’s nothing mind-blowingly exciting here, but maybe it’ll be of vague interest.

Read more here.


2007 | Weeks 50-52

After the emptiness of my last entry, I have actually watched some films this time. Three of them, in fact — my final three films of the year! And one short too.

Read more here.


Here we go again…

With 2007 finally finished, it’s time to begin all over again for 2008.

Read more here.


A dismal January

This new year of film watching has hardly got off to an auspicious start, with only five new films seen in January. For those who haven’t already done the maths, that rate sees me just reaching 60 by the end of the year — a tad short of 100!

Read more here.


100 Days

the 100th day of 2008! As it’s just over a quarter of the way through the year, and also a nice round number in its own right, and as I did a similar thing at roughly this point last year, it seems an appropriate time for a statisticstastic look at how things are going so far.

Read more here.


What May has been

Ah May! The start of summer! Not that I like summer, personally, as I’m rather adverse to all that heat. But it’s been miserable weather for the most part so far, so I’m all the happier. As is my film viewing, it must be said. Happier, that is, not miserable.

Read more here.


Two-thirds done

With August now behind us, 2008 is two-thirds complete. And so, as I missed halfway, now seems like a moderately appropriate time to reflect on how well my aim of watching 100 new films is going in 2008.

Read more here.


Eternal laziness of the dreamless blogger

11 months down, 1 to go… 81 films down — it should’ve been at least 92. It’s fair to say 100 Films hasn’t gone quite as smoothly this year as it did last

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Only one new title this week... but it's also the monthly running time update -- and, as promised, it's a big'un. Biggest increase ever? To be honest, I can't remember (and I've been doing this for years now, so I'm not going to go check), but surely it's up there.

Number of titles in collection: 1,799 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,209 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 590 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,522 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,947 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,801 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 455 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
327 days, 7 hours, and 51 minutes.
(Up 6 days and 5 hours (precisely) from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

A Fine Romance
3x02 The Hotel
Episode guides for this series are remarkably inconsistent, but this is the episode number the Radio Times said was on (even if their plot description doesn't match), so...