TV

24
7x22 5:00AM - 6:00AM

How I Met Your Mother
4x23 As Fast As She Can
[Watch it on 4oD from 13th May (probably).]

Mo
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

Juno (2007)
[#25 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
Finally seen all the Best Picture Oscar nominees for 2007! It's only taken three years (more if you count from when they were actually released, not just announced); and it's been over a year since I set about seeing most of them for one big 100 Films post. That should now be coming within the week... hopefully...

Also, as you can see, I've now reached 25 films in my 2010 collection. I've posted a bit on this subject here.

Articles

Jolie departure kills Wanted sequel by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
My first reaction to seeing this story was, "why?" She was hardly the biggest draw of the first film, which was also self-contained and not needing of a sequel... until it made a lot of money. So I was thoroughly unsurprised to see this story the very next day:
Wanted 2 going ahead without Jolie by Paul Millar
(from Digital Spy)
And this points out just what I said: that it was self-contained, the big-name stars die at the end, and then it made a fortune at the box office and they wanted a sequel. Essentially, then, there was no truth to Jolie's departure killing the sequel -- the news reports just made it up/assumed it. Which just goes to remind us why you can't trust the media. Especially Digital Spy.

Real-Life Buzz Lightyear by Peter Sciretta
(from /film)
Not real-real life, but a realistic CGI version. It's rather impressive and consequently disconcerting (certainly more so than ones done for other cartoon characters like Mario or Jessica Rabbit, which just look like their originals with more realistic skin-tone. Or, worst of all, a freaky puffy Homer Simpson, looking like someone with a horrible disease.)

this week on 100 Films

7 new reviews were posted to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...

Batman (1966)

it has a real feel for what comics were like at the time — the vibrant colours, silliness, larger-than-life characters, nonsensical plots, plus there’s a nice line in risque humour, keeping the adults happy in what’s really a kid-focused film.

Deja Vu (2006)

kinda nonsense, albeit nonsense that some people have put a lot of thought into trying to explain. In spite of this, I quite enjoyed it

Exiled (2006)

features several impressive action scenes. They’re Leone-like in the way there’s often an extended pause, the threat of violence hanging in the air — then a sudden burst, over quickly. But within this style there’s a lot of visual flair

Frankenstein (2004)

this is what Dean Koontz would like viewers/readers to believe: that the novels are his undiluted vision, while the film most certainly is not. Well, don’t believe him. Watching the film having read the book (a couple of years ago), this feels like a faithful adaptation.

M (1931)

a film of immense significance, not least because of its place on numerous Best Ever lists... near-endless essays and articles and whole books have been penned discussing every notable aspect, it’s unlikely I’m going to have much either new or significant to say after one viewing. Just so you know

Paths of Glory (1957)

Kubrick’s depiction of war is excellent, from long tracking shots through the trenches, to the nighttime wilderness of No Man’s Land, lit only by flares that reveal it’s strewn with bodies, to an epic and perfectly-staged battle that is a visual and aural assault.

Zum Beispiel: Fritz Lang (1968)

A slightly odd little documentary, in which Erwin Leiser ‘interviews’ Lang about his early directing career.

More next Sunday.

TV

The Bubble
1x02 (26/2/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Let's Dance for Sport Relief
Episode 2 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
8x06 (25/2/10 edition) [season finale]
Often Mock the Week's Best Of/Outtakes shows are more the former than the latter, but this achieved a nice mix with plenty of new material. Hurrah!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Tinga Tinga Tales
1x08 Why Vulture is Bald
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

24
7x21 4:00AM - 5:00AM

Archer
1x01 Mole Hunt
1x02 Training Day
A relatively speedy UK debut for this animated spy-com, albeit buried on Fiver.
Strictly adults-only, it's funnier than your average sitcom manages these days, particularly benefitting from a fast pace and near-constant stream of gags, and not quite as vulgar as some can be (though it certainly pushes toward those limits). Better than I'd hoped for, then, especially considering its inconspicuous scheduling. Plus there's a lot more to look forward to as it's recently been picked up for a longer second season.
(Five have a minisite with clips and character profiles (and not much else) for the interested.)
[Watch Mole Hunt and Training Day (again) on Demand Five.]

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
18x06 (19/2/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
4x22 Right Place Right Time
[Watch it on 4oD from 6th May (probably).]

Films

No Country For Old Men (2007)
[2nd watch]
This was #5 in 100 Films 2009. I first watched it 13 months ago and I've still not posted a review! Soon though...

Articles

Skins Effy, Freddie praised for episode by Dan French
(from Digital Spy)
By critics for an exceptional storyline, you might presume... but no. The article doesn't mention what the episode was about to garner this praise, but it does tell us who it came from: one of their co-stars, and her boyfriend. On twitter. Seriously.
And so the award for "crap non-news story of the week" goes to...

Survivors Season Two - The Verdict by Ben Rawson-Jones
(from Digital Spy)
Look at the comments -- hardly anyone ever seems to agree with Rawson-Jones' reviews. Why they let him keep going is a mystery.
[This isn't the "crap non-news story of the week". That's the Skins one. Just in case you were confused.]

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week. Little to report again this week though.

Number of titles in collection: 1,148 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,078 [up 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 70 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 2,801 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,213 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 3,874 [no change]

Statistic of the week:

Titles with films over 100 years old:
3
(0.3% of the total)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
10x07 The Lost Girls
aka CSI Trilogy Part Three. See here for my thoughts on these episodes.
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

CSI: Miami
8x07 Bone Voyage
aka CSI Trilogy Part One. See here for my thoughts on these episodes.

CSI: NY
6x07 Hammer Down
aka CSI Trilogy Part Two. See here for my thoughts on these episodes.
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

How I Met Your Mother
4x21 The Three Days Rule
[Watch it on 4oD from 29th April (probably).]

Articles

Odeon makes U-turn on Alice boycott by Alex Fletcher
(from Digital Spy)
So much for that, then. I wonder what incentives/bribes they were offered to give in...

CSI Trilogy

CSI Trilogy

Part 1 CSI: Miami 8x07 Bone Voyage
Part 2 CSI: NY 6x07 Hammer Down
Part 3 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 10x07 The Lost Girls

I don't normally watch any of the CSIs (as regular readers of this blog could deduce), but I've seen the odd episode before and usually quite enjoyed it. So, as the idea of doing a three-part story spread across all of the series is the kind of thing that appeals to me (I have no idea why, but it's the kind of notion that does), I decided to watch them. And the advantage of V+ is getting to watch all three back-to-back.

I still have no intention of watching any of the series regularly, but that goes especially for Miami. Over-directed, over-edited, over-acted, over-technologised (a giant hologram screen with Minority Report-style controls? Seriously?), and full of bits that are meant to be Deadly Serious but push it too far (far too far) and are just unintentionally hilarious. How this show has lasted to its eighth season is beyond me.

Despite my memories from episodes I saw several years ago (of it being the worst of the bunch), NY is nothing like as bad. Which isn't to say it's great, but there's no one quite as po-faced-edly embarrassing/irritating as Horatio Caine and the show itself is more sensibly shot and edited. Thank goodness.

The original Vegas-set series is still the best, though this is far from the best episode I've seen. Don't know if it's gone off the boil after ten seasons or if it's just this episode, but it's still OK. Apart from a rather twee ending.

As a whole, the trilogy is quite neatly linked: sort of three standalone episodes with vaguelly related plots, but with one that distinctly develops under/alongside all of them. Some would've preferred a full-on three-parter with all teams, I'm sure, but with the strictures of finding a plot to believably bring three totally different departments together and the practicalities of the US network TV production style, it seems unlikely that would ever have happened.

It's not the "TV event of the year" that Five were trying to claim, then -- not even close, actually -- but it wasn't bad. Well, not that bad. Except Miami.

[Watch parts two and three (again) on Demand Five. No idea why the first one's not there.]

TV

24
7x20 3:00AM - 4:00AM

Argumental
3x04 (23/2/10 edition)

Tinga Tinga Tales
1x06 Why Hen Pecks at the Ground
1x07 Why Spider Has a Tiny Waist
[Watch episodes six and seven (again) on iPlayer.]

Magazines

Vworp Vworp! Vol.1

Excellent Doctor Who fanzine that sets its sights on Doctor Who Magazine and, by extension, Who comics. If your image of a fanzine is still an A5 black-and-white photocopy you might be in for a surprise -- full-size, perfect-bound and in glorious colour throughout, the design and content of Vworp Vworp! puts many professional magazines to shame. Torchwood's official mag, with it's consistently huge text and simple layouts, has nothing on this.

Features in this first issue are numerous, but include an interview with DWM's creator/first editor; a feature on the magazine's first comic strip (including an interview with its artist, the legendary Dave Gibbons); a behind-the-scenes look at the final Eighth Doctor strip, The Flood; a look at DWM's regular comedy illustrations/strips; plus three all-new adventures comic strip adventures for the Doctor, friends and foes; and several more features that I've entirely forgotten to mention. Plus, free transfers! No, really.

It's a brilliant magazine for anyone who's a fan of DWM or Who comics and, as I said, much better put-together than numerous pro mags you'll find on shelves in your local newsagent. Despite what might look like a high asking price for a magazine, all things considered -- from it design quality to its superlative content -- it's well worth every penny.

You can still order volume one from the fanzine's website. There's a second volume promised, and I for one can't wait.

Articles

Major SFX Doctor Who Exclusive by Dave Golder
(from SFX)
The next issue of SFX has a specially-shot 3D cover. Cool.

Serial Boxes by Jason Mittell
(from Just TV)
A rather academic (but very readable) essay about how the advent of DVD box sets has changed the way we perceive and consume television, as well as the way it's changed scholarly study of the medium. Very interesting, I thought, with lots of agreeable assertions.

TV

Mad Men
3x05 The Fog
[Watch it again in HD on iPlayer.]

Tinga Tinga Tales
1x05 Why Lizard Always Hides Under Rocks
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Alice in Wonderland will not be shown in Odeon cinemas
(from BBC News)
Hurrah to Odeon for sticking to their guns and standing up to Disney (unlike the other major cinema chains). On the other hand, Disney's attempted new model (which has been in the offing for a while) may indeed be the first steps toward the future of film distribution. With piracy on the increase something clearly has to change, and a shorter cinema-to-home window is one way to do this -- when there's no legal way to see a film (that period when it's not in cinemas and not out on DVD), people still have an excuse for obtaining content illegally. You'll never get rid of people who want something for nothing regardless of whether they should pay, but the music industry has shown that by providing viable ways to access content (in their case, downloads; movies may still want to pay attention to DVD and Blu-ray) you can significantly change the culture of how people acquire their content.

iPhone developers angry as Apple purges adult apps
(from BBC News)
For all their amazing hardware and fully-integrated software, sometimes Apple really suck. It's not so much that they have removed the adult content as the way they've gone about it -- no warnings to companies that rely on the business; excluding some stuff because it's 'well known' (or bribed, perhaps?); and all while they could just implement parental controls, which they surely must have a system for already as they sell explicit-branded music and 12/15/18-rated (or R-, in the US) films?
Poor show, Apple.

Worm Hunter makes shortlist for oddest title award
(from BBC News)

Afterthoughts Of A Worm Hunter and Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich have been shortlisted for this year's oddest book title award.

By its inclusion in the article title, ...Worm Hunter has clearly been deemed the oddest (at least by the press, and by extension their anticipated readers) and so should surely win.
The article also mentions that it "has not sold a single copy in the UK or US" -- bet that changes now!

new reviews at 100 Films

It's been an awfully long time since I last posted a notification of a new review at 100 Films to this blog. Mainly, it's a bit tiring posting a whole update here having done a whole review there, especially as I've been churning them out almost daily for weeks.

From now on, then, every Sunday will see a "this week on 100 Films"-style update. Yes, I know today's Tuesday -- starting next Sunday it'll be weekly, this is just everything since the last review.

So, since Avatar I've posted 24 reviews (24!), and they are...

Air Force One (1997)

An American in Paris (1951)

Anna Boleyn (1920)

Die Austernprinzessin (1919)

Die Bergkatze (1921)

Children of Heaven (1997)

Cinderella (1965)

Copycat (1995)

Culloden (1964)

Ernst Lubitsch in Berlin: From Schönhauser Allee to Hollywood (2006)

The Gruffalo (2009)

Hamlet (2009)

Hard Candy (2005)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Ich möchte kein Mann sein (1918)

Jumper (2008)

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Die Puppe (1919)

Rage (2009)

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Sumurun (1920)

Wallander: Mastermind (2005)

Wallander: The Secret (2006)

Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)

As I said, more on Sunday...

TV

How I Met Your Mother
4x19 Murtaugh
4x20 Mosbius Designs
[Watch it on 4oD from 15th & 22nd April (probably).

QI
7x13 Gothic (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Survivors [2008]
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Review of Beyond the Rave by Adrian Smith
(from Retro Ramblings)
After decades away, Hammer are back. Well, sort of. Based on this review, no one should be getting too excited... and yet, I feel strangely compelled to get hold of a copy. Doesn't bode well for their forthcoming remake of Let the Right One In though, does it?

TV

The British Academy Film Awards 2010
Most of this year's awards went quite well -- very pleased for The Hurt Locker, Colin Firth, and in particular Carey Mulligan, as well as Avatar being justifiably overlooked. Shame, then, that the audience award became the Internet Fangirl Award For Rising Star. Blood Twilight.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Deja Vu
[#24 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
Despite the incessant insistence of my spellchecker, the film's not actually called Déjà Vu. (Except on posters and DVD covers and what have you. Oh, it's swings and roundabouts.)

Doctor Faustus (1967)
[final two-thirds; #23 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
Yep, it's taken six weeks to get round to finishing this. (Six weeks?! Christ.) Not my fault, in fact; but still...

TV

Argumental
3x03 (16/2/10 edition)

The Bubble
1x01 (19/2/10 edition)
I had high hopes for this show... luckily, it lived up to them.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who Series One/Five/31 Trailer
Looks to me like they got too obsessed with it being 3D in cinemas and forgot to produce something that was exciting in its own right. The clip-filled one from Christmas built anticipation better, if you ask me.
[Watch it (again) on the official site.]

How I Met Your Mother
4x18 Old King Clancy
[Watch it on 4oD from 8th April (probably).]

Let's Dance for Sport Relief
Episode 1 (of 4)
The chances of anyone beating Robert Webb's instant-comedy-classic dance from last year are slim, but... well, you never know...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
2x01 Redemption
It's been a whole six months since The Mentalist was last on British screens, so it's nice to finally have it back. Plus, they've found a way to make the Red John case last a bit longer and be a bit different: give it to another unit who have no interest in Jane. I just hope they don't drag this out too long...
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

Films

Frankenstein, aka Dean Koontz's Frankenstein (2004)
[#22 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Speed Racer (2008)
[#21 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Articles

Review of American VI: Ain't No Grave by Johnny Cash by Andy Gill
(from The Independent)
Positive review of Johnny Cash's final studio album (that's what they said last time, but it looks like they mean it now), out on Monday. It dropped through my letterbox yesterday but I've not had a chance to listen yet.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
4x17 The Front Porch
[Watch it on 4oD from 1st April (probably).]

DVD Extras

"Bogdanovich, Kaiser, Koerber & Lang" audio commentary on M (aka "Commentary #2")
Second of two audio commentaries on the new Masters of Cinema edition of M, featuring comments from filmmaker/filmfan Peter Bogdanovich, restoration expert (and restorer of M) Martin Koerber, and comments from director Fritz Lang recorded in 1965, all introduced by Torsten Kaiser (who also offers the odd comment of his own). It's an informative listen, with a good mix between Lang's thoughts/memories and Koerber's restoration notes, with a couple of asides from Kaiser and Bogdanovich

Zum Beispiel: Fritz Lang (1968)
[#20a in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
Odd little short film/DVD extra that contains an interview (of sorts) with Lang. (Reviewed on 100 Films here.)

Collection Count

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

This week, just one purchase... but the discovery of a DVD I'd sold that was left in the list, plus an error on the number of episodes in one TV box set, and more-or-less everything holds still... or even goes down. Don't expect to see that happen too often in the future.

Number of titles in collection: 1,146 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,076 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 70 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 2,798 [down 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,212 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 3,874 [down 8]

Statistic of the week:

With my Blu-ray collection hitting a nice round 70 this week (I wonder if it'll make 100 before I've had the thing a year. Probably; maybe I should wonder if it'll make 150?), I thought I'd echo the second half of the above statistics, but about BDs only. So...

Number of Blu-ray titles in collection: 70 (6.1% of the total)
Number of Blu-ray discs in collection: 137 (4.9% of the total)
Number of films on Blu-ray: 81 (6.7% of the total)
Number of TV episodes on Blu-ray: 129 (3.3% of the total)

This also includes a couple of films that are actually in SD, while excluding a couple of alternate versions of movies (such as the export cut of The Big Switch included on Man of Violence, or the British version of M). Nor does it include the odd episode of TV included as an extra (such as Doctor Who Confidential), which is true across the whole collection. And a couple of releases also include a DVD amongst their BDs, so that second number is technically inaccurate. Still, swings and roundabouts...

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
4x16 Sorry, Bro
[Watch it on 4oD from 25th March (probably).]

Non-Fiction / DVD Extras

"M": The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray Series #9 (DVD booklet), edited by Jess Fulton & Andrew Utterson

A typically informative booklet from MoC, accompanying their new release of M on DVD and Blu-ray (out Monday).

Writings include Fritz Lang himself discussing the film, once in 1931 and looking back in an interview from 1963; details on a missing scene from early in the film (the most complete surviving version, restored from numerous prints, is seven minutes short of the original running time); and a discussion of the French and English versions of the film, which as well as dubbing include some re-shot scenes, including Peter Lorre's first performance in English.

I suppose one might argue the booklet's short on analysis, but when the disc includes two full-length audio commentaries that feature two film scholars, a restoration expert, an historian, and filmmaker (and commentator extraordinaire) Peter Bogdanovich -- not to mention excerpts from interviews with Lang -- it's hard to justifiably complain, I think.

Articles

We're Watching: Green Screen Shatter Our TV
(from current)
A showreel for a visual effects company might sound a little dull, but this is pretty impressive. OK, some shots are obviously visual effects, and others obviously have to be, but what they pull off in others is nothing short of incredible. Who'd've thought there was so much fakery just to do city streets, for example, particularly in Ugly Betty -- in particular, the shot that begins 30 seconds in. It might look like nothing, but that's what makes it so impressive when you see the greenscreen replay.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
4x14 The Possimpible
4x15 The Stinsons
[Watch these episodes on 4oD from 11th & 18th March (probably).]

Law & Order: UK
2x06 Honour Bound [season finale]
As with the mid-season finale -- sorry, season one finale -- this goes down the "this time it's personal" route. Better, though, the good guys finally actually win a case! Who'd've thunk it?
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

M (1931)
[#20 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Articles

Time for a good laugh at Twilight...

Twilight trio "not close" to Dawn deals by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)

studio Summit Entertainment hasn't secured the trio past a fourth feature and is planning to split the [fourth] book... into two 3D films. Should Breaking Dawn be released in two parts, Summit will have to renegotiate Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner's contracts at considerable cost.

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Ha ha ha.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

And so on.

(Incidentally, apologies if anyone wanted those links to go to information on the actual things. And by "apologies" I mean "click on the links, I put some effort into making them mildly amusing".)

TV

24
7x19 2:00AM - 3:00AM

QI
7x12 Gravity (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Survivors [2008]
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

24
7x18 1:00AM - 2:00AM
And so Main Plot #3 comes to an end -- after, what, five episodes? -- and it's time for Main Plot #4. One wonders how the first few seasons ever survived with just two or three -- and those were usually natural developments (like the progression of the virus in season three) rather than whole new Even Bigger Villain Behind The Last One restarts that the last few seasons have subsisted on.

Mock the Week
8x04 (11/2/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Tinga Tinga Tales
1x04 Why Owl's Head Turns All the Way Round
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Elektra (2005)
[#19 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Kung Fu Panda (2008)
[#18 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Articles

Southwest Bosses Apologise To Smith
(from WENN)
Since when did Kevin Smith have anything at all to do with Gigli?

TV

From the Earth to the Moon
Part Twelve Le Voyage Dans La Lune [final episode]
Every episode of this series has had its own distinct identity, but this is nonetheless an odd closing instalment. The documentary-style voiceover jars, even if it fits with the faked modern interviews with aged-up actors; and then there's the flashbacks to Georges Méliès making Le Voyage dans la lune, just to cement the half-thought-out juxtapositional weirdness. Strange.

Films

Saturday Night Fever (1977)
[#17 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

TV

How I Met Your Mother
4x12 Benefits
4x13 Three Days of Snow
The second episode once again demonstrates HIMYM's skill at narrative subversion and cleverness, which is always fun.
[Watch these episodes on 4oD from 25th February and 4th March (probably).]

Mad Men
3x04 The Arrangements
And another exemplary episode of this series too.
[Watch it again in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
[#16 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Articles

And The Hits Keep On Comin’…
(from Progress City, U.S.A.)
Disney seem to be cancelling every animated film they have on the go. Why?

Collection Count

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

After last week's tiny update, this one is rather more packed, including a load that arrived on Friday (hence the 24 hour delay. Again.) Most exciting this week are a few releases that aren't even out yet: Blu-rays of Up (out on Monday in a variety of editions), M (out February 22nd on Blu-ray and DVD), and City Girl (out February 22nd on Blu-ray only -- a first?) Always love getting things pre-release.

Number of titles in collection: 1,146 [up 10]
Of which DVDs: 1,077 [up 3]
Of which Blu-rays: 69 [up 7]

Number of discs in collection: 2,799 [up 15]
Number of films in collection: 1,212 [up 10]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 3,882 [up 6]

Statistic of the week:

Total running time of collection (approx.):
194 days, 4 hours, and 43 minutes.
(Up 3 days, 8 hours, and 55 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

24
7x17 12:00AM - 1:00AM

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
18x04 (5/2/10 edition)
I've never seen a Bollywood film, but My Name is Khan (trailered on this edition and which, it must be said, doesn't look in the least bit Bollywood-y) looks like it might be a good film full-stop. Jump to the trailer part of the show here. Of course, US attitudes to Asperger's syndrome (which the main character in the film has) is a pertinent issue at the moment.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

First Look: Roman Polanski's The Ghost by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
More widely known as The Ghost Writer, UK distributors Optimum seem to have decided that, a) it would be better with a bland, generic, meaningless title, and b) it would be best promoted with a bland, generic, meaningless poster (see that, and the trailer, at the link). The original title is hardly revelatory, but it's certainly better than this, while the US one-sheet is evocative and quite stylish, unlike the UK's Stereotypical Thriller rehash (in fact, the French-language version of the one-sheet is even better).

UK cinemas plan Alice boycott by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)

UK cinema chains Odeon, Vue and Cineworld are planning to boycott Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland due to its truncated theatrical run...
the 3D film is in jeopardy because the leading exhibitors require a guaranteed four-month theatrical run to book a film. Disney announced earlier this week that the gap between the cinema and home release will be cut from the standard 17 weeks to 12...
According to The Guardian, the 12-week deal is said to be a "take it or leave it" offer.

Go cinemas! I sincerely hope they choose the "leave it" option and see what Disney make of that -- looks like they could do with reminding that film studios are nothing without cinemas willing to show their films.

TV

Argumental
3x02 (9/2/10 edition)

From the Earth to the Moon
Part Eleven The Original Wives Club
Mad Men meets Desperate Housewives in what is, perhaps surprisingly, one of the series' best episodes. It's so well written, acted and directed, in fact, that the 50-minute running time doesn't do the subject justice -- one longs for it to be a full feature length (and shorn of the compulsory coverage of Apollo 16 that's been shoehorned in thanks to the episode's place in the series).

How I Met Your Mother
4x11 Little Minnesota
[Watch it on 4oD from 18th February (probably).]

Law & Order: UK
2x05 Love and Loss
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

24
7x16 11:00PM - 12:00AM

From the Earth to the Moon
Part Ten Galileo Was Right

How I Met Your Mother
4x10 The Fight
[Watch it from tomorrow evening on 4oD.]

Tinga Tinga Tales
1x03 Why Tortoise Has a Broken Shell
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

From the Earth to the Moon
Part Nine For Miles and Miles
I was doing rather well getting through this miniseries back in August and September last year -- I got through the first eight parts in just two weeks. I only stalled because I'd reached the episode dealing with Apollo 13 and had been intending to watch the film, something which I clearly failed to find time for. So, five months later, I've decided to just soldier on with the series itself.

Mad Men
3x03 My Old Kentucky Home
[Watch it again in HD on iPlayer.]

QI
7x11 Gifts (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Review Show
5/2/10 edition
Discussing this year's Oscar nominations, including some interesting critiquing of Avatar.
(Incidentally, completely missed this being rebranded from Newsnight Review (last month, apparently). You'd've thought they'd've used the opportunity to give it some promotion, otherwise what was the point?)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Tinga Tinga Tales
1x02 Why Giraffe Has a Long Neck
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

24 set to transfer to the big screen by Ben Child
(from guardian.co.uk)
Naturally this story has been all over the web, but I've picked The Guardian's version for this paragraph:

Ironically, the only thing that looks to be standing in the way of 24: The Movie is the further success of 24 the TV show. Producers would be unlikely to green light a big-screen outing while new episodes are still being shot, due to the logistical issues of shooting a film concurrently. In effect, for the movie to live, 24 would first have to die in its current form.

As for the news itself... Well, a movie has been in the offing for years, even to the point where the writing team had a story and/or screenplay for it. So though they've gone as far as hiring an established film writer, I'd still say this is a We'll See proposition for the time being.

TV

24
7x15 10:00PM - 11:00PM

Mock the Week
8x03 (4/2/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Survivors [2008]
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Tinga Tinga Tales
1x01 Why Elephant Has a Trunk
Kids get all the best telly. Well, the most fun. And though it may be young-child-orientated (it's on CBeebies, not even CBBC), the commitment to African art and animation plus traditional stories is both commendable and entertaining.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Sky responds to Pacific airing criticisms by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
Yep, Sky are as good at spinning out a load of BS same as everything else Murdoch owns. Do they think people are going to sign up to watch it? Or do they just not care? Or, most likely, whoever owns the DVD/Blu-ray rights is over the moon it'll be shown on a minority channel -- more sales to those of us who want to see it. Assuming we don't just all pirate it, of course.

TV

24
7x14 9:00PM - 10:00PM

Films

What About Bob? (1991)
[#15 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Helping Haiti

"Single £3.97 ... At least £1 goes to charity."

I'm sure it's not just Simon Cowell profiting from disaster. Sure it isn't.

But still -- why buy a single from a bunch of crap artists when just donating the money directly would give more to where it's needed, rather than to recording studios / CD duplicating facilities / Cowell's pockets / etc?

It's raised awareness, I'm sure; and it's probably getting money from those who can afford to give but wouldn't care enough to donate normally -- yes, despite what you think, you don't actually care if you're only giving because you get a high-profile single in return.

That's the long and the short of it: if you actually care about the charity, not Simon Cowell's latest money-making scheme, you'd donate £3.97 directly instead of buying the single.

TV

24
7x13 8:00PM - 9:00PM
Oh, that's Main Plot #2 over already. As it moves into Main Plot #3, one has to hope it'll last til the end of the season. Resolution is nice, but the show's history shows that two or three main plots are plenty.

How I Met Your Mother
4x09 The Naked Man
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

Million Dollar Baby (2004)
[#14 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week. It's a pretty light week, for whatever reason; so light I even delayed it til today in case anything turned up in the post (it didn't).

Probably for the best -- it's not like I don't own many. I mean, I have:

Number of titles in collection: 1,136 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,074 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 62 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 2,784 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,202 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 3,876 [no change]

Statistic of the week:

Near the start of this series, stat of the week was the number of titles I owned rated 18. So, in a sort of mirror image to that, this week we have...

Number of titles rated U:
36
(3.2% of the total)

A lot fewer, as it turns out.

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

24
7x12 7:00PM - 8:00PM
The problem with watching 24 a year late is that I know who's in the next series, removing the tension from some situations. Oh well. I suppose it's nice to have some surety in the world of 24, actually... other than all the plot points they recycle every season.

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
18x03 (29/1/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

24
7x11 6:00PM - 7:00PM
Immediately, 24 launches too-quickly into a new plot. Ho hum. Something I believe I've forgotten to mention, however, is how well it's doing examining Jack's methods. He's been allowed free reign to torture and kill for six seasons and now, following criticism in the real-world press, the show's doing a good job of debating and discussing how right his methods may or may not be. A good case of life imitating art. Well, sort of.

Law & Order: UK
2x04 Sacrifice
A surprisingly un-grim episode of what's been a rather depressing series of late. Next week's looks like a return to that downbeat form though.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

QI
7x10 Greats (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

24
7x10 5:00PM - 6:00PM
And so Main Plot #1 draws to a close, a move that very much harks back to the earlier -- better -- seasons of the show. It's rather odd, actually, feeling very much like a season finale by the closing minutes. The first few seasons can very much be split into two or three major plot arcs (while the last few degenerated into a raft of shorter ones we were meant to believe were part of One Big Bad Thing), but they always had a slight bit of overlap. Here, it basically stops... and then has a clear signal that Main Plot #2 is about to begin. Still, better that than the other.
24 may not be quite back to its very best with season seven, but it's certainly closer than it's been for a good while. Fingers crossed it keeps (or, rather, kept, as I'm a year later on this) it up.

Argumental
3x01 (2/2/10 edition)

How I Met Your Mother
4x08 Woooo!
Lo and behold, I've caught up with E4. Woo! And now I'll surely overtake it...
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Richard Dimbleby Lecture
34 Shaking Hands with Death
By Sir Terry Pratchett. Important and brilliant.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Air Force One (1997)
[#13 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
Read my review here.

Articles

First Smith Doctor Who titles confirmed by Mayer Nissim
(from Digital Spy)
Spoilers at the above link, obviously, so rather than repeat them I'll just offer my opinion on each:
1) Nice. Not a great Who title per se, but a neat use of a common phrase.
2) Mediocre, though there have been worse.
3) Evocative, considering the setting of the episode. Interesting to see the titular, er, things turning up so early.

Royal premiere for Alice In Wonderland movie
(from BBC News)
It's been shot in 3D, so will it be screened in it? It amuses one to imagine the Queen having to don 3D specs.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
4x07 Not a Father's Day
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Survivors [2008]
2x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

The Oscar Nominations Are Announced! by Chris Hewitt
(from Empire)
Today was, of course, Oscar nominations day. It's been covered pretty widely, naturally, but here's some of Empire's thoughts, plus the full list of nominees.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
4x06 Happily Ever After
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Mad Men
3x01 Out of Town
3x02 Love Among the Ruins
Great opening to the third season. Having a time-leap, but not one as thoroughly radical as season two's, works excellently (whereas season two's was a bit much), while the writing shows all its usual subtly and style -- not everything makes sense yet, but it surely will before the season's out.
[Watch Out of Town and Love Among the Ruins again in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Sky runs world-first live 3D TV sport by Andrew Laughlin
(from Digital Spy)
A report on how the above went; or, rather, initial impressions from the journalist, because no public survey data is back yet. Suffice to say, football doesn't look that different in 3D -- but "other stuff might, honest" seems to be Sky's line.

Transformers leads Razzies worst films contest
(from BBC News)
Pleasing to see lots of noms for Twirubbish: New Tosh (or, y'know, whatever it's called), though they seem to have forgotten Avatar in the screenplay category.