The Twilight Zone
3x06 The Mirror
3x11 Still Valley
3x20 Showdown with Rance McGrew
Setting out towards a third "worst of" selection for my 100 Films TV column. I'm aiming to include the next seven worst-regarded episodes, and these are all three season 3 episodes that feature in that list.
Monday, 18 May 2020
Films
Batman (1989)
[5th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #22. In 4K Ultra HD, which looked superb. There's a link to my 100 Films review from 2012 above, plus some new comments on Letterboxd here. Intending to give it the full "Guide To" treatment at some point, alongside the other Batman films I haven't covered yet.
[5th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #22. In 4K Ultra HD, which looked superb. There's a link to my 100 Films review from 2012 above, plus some new comments on Letterboxd here. Intending to give it the full "Guide To" treatment at some point, alongside the other Batman films I haven't covered yet.
Sunday, 17 May 2020
this week on 100 Films
The schedule for my "monthly" TV column at 100 Films in a Year is all over the place these days, but I published one this week...
There was also 1 new film review...
The Head Hunter (2018)
More next Sunday.
There was also 1 new film review...
The Head Hunter (2018)
a low-budget independent fantasy/horror movie. Such a description might conjure up images of fancy-dress-like costumes, plastic props, locations that venture no further than a mate’s back garden and a nearby bit of forest, cinematography with all the hallmarks of digital video, and some embarrassingly basic and boxy CGI. None of this is true of The Head Hunter, which marries some impressive production design to an understanding of its limits — its low budget shows only in its small scale, rather than uncomfortably forcing its reach to exceed its grasp.Read more here.
More next Sunday.
Saturday, 16 May 2020
TV
Doctor Who
2x39 Checkmate [season finale]
aka The Time Meddler Part 4. This is a great episode, and almost single-handedly explains why the serial is so well-regarded. Indeed, there's a great two- or even three-parter in here, it just takes a while to get to the point.
+ listened to the audio commentary on the full story, which was entertaining and informative in places, but understandably suffers at times from the participants trying to remember something they made over 40 years earlier.
Eurovision: Come Together
The full contest was cancelled this year, so instead the BBC aired this special show of iconic performances...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light
...and this official replacement broadcast, which had its moments.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2x39 Checkmate [season finale]
aka The Time Meddler Part 4. This is a great episode, and almost single-handedly explains why the serial is so well-regarded. Indeed, there's a great two- or even three-parter in here, it just takes a while to get to the point.
+ listened to the audio commentary on the full story, which was entertaining and informative in places, but understandably suffers at times from the participants trying to remember something they made over 40 years earlier.
Eurovision: Come Together
The full contest was cancelled this year, so instead the BBC aired this special show of iconic performances...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light
...and this official replacement broadcast, which had its moments.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Another eight new additions this week (one day I'll slow down again). But in addition to that, I'm currently adding my collection to a list on Letterboxd, a process which has led me to notice some more alternate cuts and short films that I hadn't counted before. Makes me wonder how many more are hiding in there... It's probably not that many in the grand scheme of things, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are a handful more still lurking.
Number of titles in collection: 2,370 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,103 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,267 [up 8]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 58 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 6,133 [up 11]
Number of films: 2,654 [up 9]
Number of additional cuts: 172 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 8,887 [no change]
Number of short films: 733 [up 11]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Another eight new additions this week (one day I'll slow down again). But in addition to that, I'm currently adding my collection to a list on Letterboxd, a process which has led me to notice some more alternate cuts and short films that I hadn't counted before. Makes me wonder how many more are hiding in there... It's probably not that many in the grand scheme of things, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are a handful more still lurking.
Number of titles in collection: 2,370 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,103 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,267 [up 8]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 58 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 6,133 [up 11]
Number of films: 2,654 [up 9]
Number of additional cuts: 172 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 8,887 [no change]
Number of short films: 733 [up 11]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 15 May 2020
TV
Doctor Who
2x38 A Battle of Wits
aka The Time Meddler Part 3. Surely one of the series' greatest-ever cliffhangers. Less impactful today, of course, especially as most people watching will know the Monk's secret, but at the time it must've been huge. (Well, let's be honest, Doctor Who didn't have the same obsessive following then that it does now, nor were there ways to communicate like the internet; but I bet regular viewers had plenty to say about it in the school playground on Monday morning.)
2x38 A Battle of Wits
aka The Time Meddler Part 3. Surely one of the series' greatest-ever cliffhangers. Less impactful today, of course, especially as most people watching will know the Monk's secret, but at the time it must've been huge. (Well, let's be honest, Doctor Who didn't have the same obsessive following then that it does now, nor were there ways to communicate like the internet; but I bet regular viewers had plenty to say about it in the school playground on Monday morning.)
Films
127 Hours (2010)
[#116 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
A Bug's Life (1998)
[#115 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
A fun either-side-of-midnight double-bill with Phase IV. (If you don't know what they're about... look it up.)
[#116 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
A Bug's Life (1998)
[#115 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
A fun either-side-of-midnight double-bill with Phase IV. (If you don't know what they're about... look it up.)
Thursday, 14 May 2020
Films
Misbehaviour FilmBath Live Q&A
with the film's director, editor, and screenwriter. I believe you can still watch it at the above link.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
[5th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #21. Doesn't feel like it can be my 5th watch of this, but if that's what my records say... This time it was on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and it looked fantastic.
Phase IV (1974)
[#114 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ director Saul Bass's original ending, which adds a couple of lines of dialogue and an abstract psychedelic nightmare to the finale
with the film's director, editor, and screenwriter. I believe you can still watch it at the above link.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
[5th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #21. Doesn't feel like it can be my 5th watch of this, but if that's what my records say... This time it was on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and it looked fantastic.
Phase IV (1974)
[#114 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ director Saul Bass's original ending, which adds a couple of lines of dialogue and an abstract psychedelic nightmare to the finale
Wednesday, 13 May 2020
TV
Doctor Who
2x36 The Watcher
aka The Time Meddler Part 1. Taking a break from watching animated missing episodes to check out the story that recently came a surprising (to me) second place in Doctor Who Magazine’s “First Doctor World Cup” Twitter poll.
2x36 The Watcher
aka The Time Meddler Part 1. Taking a break from watching animated missing episodes to check out the story that recently came a surprising (to me) second place in Doctor Who Magazine’s “First Doctor World Cup” Twitter poll.
Films
Misbehaviour (2020)
[#113 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Ready to watch the FilmBath Q&A tomorrow evening.
Stuber (2019)
[#112 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
[#111 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
[#113 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Ready to watch the FilmBath Q&A tomorrow evening.
Stuber (2019)
[#112 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
[#111 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Tuesday, 12 May 2020
Films
Marriage Story (2019)
[#110 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ the 2 three-minute featurettes Netflix offer, Directing with Noah Baumbach and An Ensemble Story. Obviously they’re really EPK promo pieces, but not wholly without insight.
[#110 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ the 2 three-minute featurettes Netflix offer, Directing with Noah Baumbach and An Ensemble Story. Obviously they’re really EPK promo pieces, but not wholly without insight.
Monday, 11 May 2020
Sunday, 10 May 2020
Films
American Animals (2018)
[#107 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
[#108 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
[#107 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
[#108 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
this week on 100 Films
6 new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)
The 100-Week Roundup III
More next Sunday.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)
I haven’t reviewed this until now because I didn’t have much to say about it... Even after reflecting on it, and reading other’s critical reactions, then reflecting on it some more (for over eight months at this point), I didn’t have much to contribute. Why was that? And I’ve kind of realised it’s because the film didn’t make me feel very much... I do consider Once Upon a Time to be a very good film. But at the same time, I didn’t leave the cinema feeling moved or wowed.Read more here.
The 100-Week Roundup III
including...Read more here.
Power Rangers
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The Warriors
The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage
More next Sunday.
Saturday, 9 May 2020
Films
Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)
[#105 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Top Secret! (1984)
[#106 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
[#105 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Top Secret! (1984)
[#106 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
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