TV

Downton Abbey
3x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Dragons' Den
10x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
1x07 Witness
Clever, unexpected twist there, I thought. Neat.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Suburgatory
1x12 The Casino Trip
Last time I said it was "no huge disturbance" to have watched episode 13 first, but I was wrong: it's the first time Suburgatory has done, essentially, a two-parter, and I accidentally watched them the wrong way round. Typical.

Films

Quantum of Solace (2008)
[3rd watch]

It's been 3½ years since I last watched 2008's #73, and I think it just improves with age. I've always liked it, against the consensus, but I enjoy it more every time I see it.

It's fair to say that it's not that great as A Bond Film, lacking many of the requisite elements that define what people think of that as; but as an action-thriller starring the character of James Bond, it really is rather good. One that merits re-evaluation, and I hope comes to be better-liked with time.

Articles

Disney confesses to messing up UK Avengers Blu-ray and DVD release
(from Home Cinema Choice)

This must've been reported a little while ago (the article is undated), but I've only just seen it. Essentially, Disney admit they messed up the UK DVD/BD release of The Avengers -- and they lied about it. Shocking behaviour.

this week on 100 Films

Two new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...


The Other Guys (2010)

It doesn’t trade on the idea of the Amazing Cops vs the Regular Guys enough, and that’s where the humour lies for me... Wouldn’t it have been more fun if everyone actually hated The Big Damn Heroes who make it hard for the regular guys to do their job? If a pair of normal detectives were assigned The Big Case and had to prove themselves worthy?

Read more here.


Outland (1981)

Two years on from Alien, director Peter Hyams has adopted the same grungey, real-world, lived-in aesthetic for the mining outpost setting. It’s a style that doesn’t date, which means that it doesn’t feel 30 years old. The plot is even more timeless: lone hero stands up to bad guys that no one else is brave enough to confront. It works as well in space as it does anywhere else.

Read more here.


And new to the new blog...

Copycat (1995)

The Radio Times compare this favourably to David Fincher’s excellent Se7en, because both are high-concept serial killer thrillers released in 1995 but only one has been widely remembered. The Radio Times consider this unfair, suggesting Copycat deserves a similar level of recognition. Unfortunately, they’re wrong.

Read more here.


Late Spring (1949)

Late Spring’s consistently cheery, bouncy music is a surprise [though] it would seem to reflect Noriko’s ceaseless smiling, laughing and happy demeanor; which all serves to increase the emphasis on her anger and sullenness when the prospect of marriage and leaving her father seriously raises its head.

Read more here.


The Night Listener (2006)

What sounds like an intriguing concept is actually based on a true story... and is executed with good performances, a well-paced screenplay and direction that renders the film tense or mystifying when it needs to be. Sadly it seems to go nowhere, the mystery fizzling out and the characters gaining little from the experience.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.