Dersu Uzala (1975)
[#47 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2026 #4
Saturday, 29 August 2026
Fiction
His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
5 The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
6 The Adventure of the Dying Detective
That's the end of His Last Bow for me, but no "the end" note because I've already read the final story. Not that I don't want to read it again, but I'm still focused on reading all the stories I have never read (nine to go!)
Lady Frances Carfax goes to show why you can't always trust others' opinions: rated a strong but not exceptional 4 stars by the Pocket Essentials guide, and ranked right near the bottom-end by the fan poll, I thought this was actually rather brilliant — an unusual, fun, and surprising escapade.
The Dying Detective, meanwhile, is rated full marks by Pocket Essentials but sits almost bang in the middle of the fan poll. It's also different and kind of clever, but the 'reveal' feels obvious.
5 The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax
6 The Adventure of the Dying Detective
That's the end of His Last Bow for me, but no "the end" note because I've already read the final story. Not that I don't want to read it again, but I'm still focused on reading all the stories I have never read (nine to go!)
Lady Frances Carfax goes to show why you can't always trust others' opinions: rated a strong but not exceptional 4 stars by the Pocket Essentials guide, and ranked right near the bottom-end by the fan poll, I thought this was actually rather brilliant — an unusual, fun, and surprising escapade.
The Dying Detective, meanwhile, is rated full marks by Pocket Essentials but sits almost bang in the middle of the fan poll. It's also different and kind of clever, but the 'reveal' feels obvious.
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
I spent lots of money on Blu-rays this week... but almost all on preorders. Only one new addition actually arrived: Radiance's delayed box set of Jean Luc Godard's Histoire(s) du cinéma, along with other related works.
Number of titles in collection: 3,729 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 962 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,767 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 554 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,952 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,825 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 511 no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,144 [up 8]
Number of short films: 1,330 [up 5]
See you next week, faithful reader.
I spent lots of money on Blu-rays this week... but almost all on preorders. Only one new addition actually arrived: Radiance's delayed box set of Jean Luc Godard's Histoire(s) du cinéma, along with other related works.
Number of titles in collection: 3,729 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 962 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,767 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 554 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,952 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,825 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 511 no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,144 [up 8]
Number of short films: 1,330 [up 5]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 28 August 2026
Fiction
His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
3 The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
This is one of the most-acclaimed Holmes adventures (9th on Conan Doyle's personal top 12; 13th in definitive fan poll; 5 stars in the Pocket Essentials guide), which is interesting because I pretty much guessed exactly what had happened. But it's a bit different to the norm and atmospherically told, so it still has that going for it.
3 The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
This is one of the most-acclaimed Holmes adventures (9th on Conan Doyle's personal top 12; 13th in definitive fan poll; 5 stars in the Pocket Essentials guide), which is interesting because I pretty much guessed exactly what had happened. But it's a bit different to the norm and atmospherically told, so it still has that going for it.
Thursday, 27 August 2026
Films
Robot Monster 3D (1953)
[#45 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
Preceded by the short Stardust in Your Eyes (as it was in theatres), which I already watched earlier this year as part of 3-D Rarities. Didn't see that rewatch coming!
[#45 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
Preceded by the short Stardust in Your Eyes (as it was in theatres), which I already watched earlier this year as part of 3-D Rarities. Didn't see that rewatch coming!
Fiction
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The Witch in the Wood Chapters 10–14 [the end]
Well, it didn't drag on like Sword in the Stone, but in the end I don't think I enjoyed it any more. The Once and Future King is not turning out to be anything like what I was expecting, and not in a good way. So far I'm failing to see why it's so acclaimed.
The Witch in the Wood Chapters 10–14 [the end]
Well, it didn't drag on like Sword in the Stone, but in the end I don't think I enjoyed it any more. The Once and Future King is not turning out to be anything like what I was expecting, and not in a good way. So far I'm failing to see why it's so acclaimed.
Video Games
Buffet Knight: Decadent Full Course
Classing this as completed — I only got ending 1 (of 4), but it wasn't immediately obvious how to get 2 and 3 (and 4 is a whole extra palaver), so I couldn't be bothered. Fun game, though.
Classing this as completed — I only got ending 1 (of 4), but it wasn't immediately obvious how to get 2 and 3 (and 4 is a whole extra palaver), so I couldn't be bothered. Fun game, though.
Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Monday, 24 August 2026
Sunday, 23 August 2026
Fiction
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The Witch in the Wood Chapters 1–7
Didn't mean to leave it two whole years before picking this back up, but, well, here we are.
This second part is also known as The Queen of Air and Darkness, the title they've gone with for the Wikipedia article because apparently that's what it was later retitled, and it was significantly revised too. Well, my copy (first published in 2015, so hardly out of date) calls it The Witch in the Wood, so I'm going with that, though I have no idea whether what I'm reading is actually the original or the modified version (although I think it's the latter).
The Witch in the Wood Chapters 1–7
Didn't mean to leave it two whole years before picking this back up, but, well, here we are.
This second part is also known as The Queen of Air and Darkness, the title they've gone with for the Wikipedia article because apparently that's what it was later retitled, and it was significantly revised too. Well, my copy (first published in 2015, so hardly out of date) calls it The Witch in the Wood, so I'm going with that, though I have no idea whether what I'm reading is actually the original or the modified version (although I think it's the latter).
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