Sunday 14 April 2013

TV

Not Going Out
6x02 Skiing
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
1x07 The Girl Next Door

Films

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
[#40 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

The BBFC, IMDb (when referring to its original title), and the film's title card call it 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer; but Wikipedia and the film's posters call it the more sensible Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. So which is it? I'd go with the film's copyright, but there wasn't proper info for that at the end of the film. Grr.


Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Extended Version (2002/2005)
[#40a in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
[3rd watch]

Similar to Philosopher's Stone last week, it's been years and years since I've seen this; indeed, I'm not even convinced I've seen it since the cinema, over a decade ago. But I feel I must've, so, we'll go with third watch.

Already longer than its predecessor, here they've added 13½ minutes (just over double the 6½ on Philosopher's), pushing it to nearly three hours long. I'm not sure such length is all warranted, but hey-ho.

Non-Fiction

JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Chapter 2

this week on 100 Films

Just one new review on 100 Films in a Year this week...


Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
It doesn’t make much sense, it’s scrappy around the edges, but at times it exhibits a kind of loose fun and modest excitement. I can see why it appeals to those who saw it at the right age.
Read more here.


But also, new to the new blog were...


The Black Dahlia (2006)
It’s one of many problems in a film that tries hard to be a proper noir but fails in almost every respect: performances (most of which wind up flat), corny dialogue, plot, pretty-but-vacant direction, and even voice-over narration.
Read more here.


Death Race (2008)
There’s no denying that Death Race is B-movie tosh, but at least it’s an example of fairly entertaining B-movie tosh... It caters perfectly to its intended audience: there’s fast cars, sexy girls, lots of action, big explosions.
Read more here.


Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
Woody Allen mixes a bit of the thriller into his usual relationship-based comedy/drama style, with effective results. The combination produces an engaging thriller with the usual character-focused drama woven around it
Read more here.


Mean Streets (1973)
Semi-autobiographical New York gangster movie, guaranteed a place in history as the first collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro
Read more here.


Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)
Despite the success of their two Sherlock Holmes films, Fox decided the character was outdated and resolved not to make any more. Universal clearly disagreed, and the popular pairing of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce reprised their roles for this, the first of twelve Holmes films the studio would make with the duo
Read more here.


Wallace and Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008)
As ever it’s packed with inventive humour, both visual and verbal, and Gromit remains one of the finest silent comedy characters ever created. The amount of emotion and story that can be conveyed with a lump of plasticine is tribute to the abilities of Park and his team
Read more here.


More next Sunday.