TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x20 AC/DC

Mock the Week
14x01 (11/06/15 edition)
Got some catching up to do...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
8x04 (13/6/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Voices (2014)
[#96 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

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


Changing Lanes (2002)

I don’t know if Changing Lanes was aiming to be a state-of-the-nation thriller or just a character drama, but either way, the storyline is a mite too implausible, and the ending — where everyone suddenly realises The Right Thing To Do — is rather pat

Read more here.


Meet the Robinsons (2007)

Disney’s 47th Animated Classic comes from their weak ’00s period, after the end of the so-called Renaissance and before what’s apparently been dubbed the neo-Renaissance (presumably no one could think of a synonym). This hails from the tail end of that lamentable era, though, so there are signs of recovery: Meet the Robinsons isn’t bad, just mediocre.

Read more here.


Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics (2013)

Christopher Lee narrates as a bunch of talking heads (writers, actors, psychologists) discuss the titular. The topics are quite universal — the psychological underpinnings apply not just to DC, not even just to comics, but to all fiction.

Read more here.


Song of the Sea (2014)

This depth of emotion and, if you like, thematic consideration probably marks Song of the Sea out over The Secret of Kells in some respects. Certainly, there seems to be a broad understanding that this is the better film... a more mature, complex work. I’ll be the dissenting voice, because while I did like Song of the Sea, I didn’t think it was as strong an overall experience as Kells.

Read more here.


What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)

It's hard to miss the Outnumbered parallels early on... There's a suspicion that Hamilton and Jenkin are returning to their half-improvised TV show's early glory days, when the natural kids said funny things and the adults had to react. If anything, however, the more Kids Say the Funniest Things: The Sitcom tendencies of early Outnumbered are toned down for this movie, which (like later seasons of the series) is very story-driven much of the time.

Read more here.


Plus six archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Bolt (2008)

Also noteworthy are the action sequences. Far from being perfunctory attempts at liveliness, these are properly exciting, making full use of 3D CGI to create exciting and dynamic sequences. I'm not just talking about the couple we get from the TV-series-within-the-film either, but also the 'real world' ones as Bolt, Mittens and Rhino jump onto trains, out of moving vans, escape from a pound, etc.

Read more here.


Commentary! The Musical (2008)

on the Dr. Horrible DVD can be found this — an alternate audio track, on which the cast and crew discuss the making of the feature… except it’s all scripted and the majority is sung. Not your traditional audio commentary then. [It] falls somewhere between DVD extra, TV episode and short film. Whatever it should be classed as, it’s utter genius.

Read more here.


Hello, Dolly! (1969)

Comedians Walter Matthau and Michael Crawford (yes, Frank Spencer!) star alongside Barbra Streisand in this comedy musical directed by Gene Kelly (yes, the star of many a musical himself!) which flopped at the box office but did well at the Oscars, and has gained in popularity since.

Read more here.


Odd Man Out (1974)

What the structure really facilitates is the depiction of a cross-section of Northern Irish life, and particularly their reaction to “the organisation” — it doesn’t take a genius to guess what that means. As the opening scroll said, this is indeed concerned “only with the conflict in the hearts of the people when they become unexpectedly involved”, but by leaving out detail of the politically contentious background to the unrest, it perhaps robs the characters’ indecision of any basis.

Read more here.


Tangled (2010)

It’s funny, which is its biggest asset, and exciting at times — as usual, the highly moveable camera of CG animation adds fluidity, speed and excitement to the action sequences, making them one of the high points.

Read more here.


Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)

Dana Andrews is an effective lead, believable as Dixon the thuggish cop. We support him, but only just — he doesn’t quite have the instant likeability of Bogie’s Marlowe, for example, but he’s enough on the side of right that we can get behind him.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.