TV

The 88th Annual Academy Awards
aka the Oscars. One of the best ceremonies for quite a while, with a few good surprises too. Great that Mad Max did so well.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x10 Yippie Kayak
A sitcom doing a Die Hard riff in a department store for its 2015 Christmas special? Never seen that before.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Dickensian
1x18 Episode 18
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
4x02 The Lorelais' First Day at Yale [2nd watch]

Ripper Street
4x06 Edmund Reid Did This [season finale]
Cliffhangertastic! Hope we don't have to wait too long for the next (presumably final) series.
[Watch it exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

TV

Oscars 2016: Nominations Special

Oscars 2016: Preview Live

Films

Cinderella (2015)
[#43 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo. (2012/2013)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

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


AfterDeath (2015)

A low-budget British single-location thriller with a mostly unknown cast... mainly trades on the mystery established by its situation. The characters are quickly sketched and somewhat archetypal, and the twists in their storylines aren’t all that surprising, but combined with the relatively brisk running time this means they crack on with trying to solve what’s going on.

Read more here.


Heaven Can Wait (1943)

It starts brilliantly: the bookend scenes are excellent, and the early parts of the plot are buoyed by consistent wit and enjoyable characters, particularly Charles Coburn as a slyly raucous grandfather. As it heads into its second half, it loses momentum and focus

Read more here.


Paddington (2014)

a fine example of why you can’t judge a film by its marketing, because the critics were right: this is a joyous, funny movie; a delight for all ages. It also shows that sometimes euphemistic PR phrases like “creative differences” or “we agreed he wasn’t right for the part” aren’t actually euphemistic at all: Firth would’ve been all wrong for Paddington [...] Whishaw, on the other hand, nails it

Read more here.


Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

at this point, one or two other people on the internet have written the odd word about The Force Awakens — you have to really go looking, but trust me, there are some articles out there. [So,] for an angle of moderate uniqueness, I’ll talk about the five elements of the film that have been singled out for recognition by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Bloody Sunday (2002)

The British Army don’t come across in the best light, with Tim Piggot-Smith’s Major General Robert Ford issuing hostile orders, and the troops eager for a fight. The depiction is tempered by Nicholas Farrell as Brigadier Patrick MacLellan, battling his conscious even as he must carry out his orders.

Read more here.


The Bourne Identity (2002)

Perhaps the Paul Greengrass-helmed sequels have been even more influential... but for me this first film is still the best of the bunch: an engaging mystery-thriller adrenalised by excellent action sequences.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Gilmore Girls
4x01 Ballrooms and Biscotti [2nd watch]

The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
1x02 The Run of His Life
So, turns out this is a comedy (I guess)...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Voice UK
5x08 The Battles 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The X Files
10x03 Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster
This is definitely a comedy. And so good for it.
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

Collection Count

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

As I mentioned a while ago, I'm currently getting one new release a week. This week: next week's arrives early.

Number of titles in collection: 1,842 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 632 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,719 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 2,016 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,173 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Gilmore Girls
3x22 Those Are Strings, Pinocchio [season finale; 2nd watch]

Room 101
5x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vera
6x04 The Sea Glass [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance. (2009/2010)
[2nd watch]

This was #65 in 100 Films 2011. As with 1.11, re-watched in preparation for the release of 3.33, my copy of which is in the post as I type.

I also watched all of the special features this time. Some interesting deleted scenes, but crikey do they have a lot of near-identical trailers.

TV

Dickensian
1x17 Episode 17
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x21 Here Comes the Son [2nd watch]

The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
3x04 Episode 4 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x09 The Swedes
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Gilmore Girls
3x20 Say Goodnight, Gracie [2nd watch]

Films

Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone. (2007/2009)
[2nd watch]

This was #41 in 100 Films 2010. Re-watched in preparation for the long-awaited release of Evangelion 3.33 within the next week.

Articles

The man who made 'the worst video game in history'
by Richard Hooper (from BBC News Magazine)

Interesting profile about the guy who programmed the infamous E.T. game in 1982.

TV

Death in Paradise
5x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dickensian
1x16 Episode 16
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x18 Happy Birthday, Baby [2nd watch]
3x19 Keg! Max! [2nd watch]

Films

Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
[#41 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Gilmore Girls
3x16 The Big One [2nd watch]
3x17 A Tale of Poes and Fire [2nd watch]

Ripper Street
4x05 No Wolves in Whitechapel
[Watch it exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

Films

Big Eyes (2014)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

The Hangover (2009)
[#40 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Dickensian
1x15 Episode 15
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x15 Face-Off [2nd watch]

Vera
6x03 The Moth Catcher
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

The Equalizer (2014)
[#37 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)
[#38 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

First up, a new feature I launched this week on 100 Films in a Year: a monthly TV review. Read more here:




In regular business, 2 brand-new reviews were published this week...


The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Extended Edition (2014/2015)

What, if anything, does extending the last one by 19½ minutes bring to the table? ... Most obvious, and most discussed, is the dwarves’ war chariot action scene, whose bloody decapitations saw the film earn an R in the US and 15 over here. A seven-minute action sequence in the middle of the battle, it’s by far the largest single addition, and is mainly notable for all that blood and its use of the word “jambags”.

Read more here.


Spectre (2015)

Regular readers will remember I shared my spoiler-free thoughts on Spectre when it came out. Consequently, this review contains major spoilers, of the “if you read this you will know every twist that happens in the movie” variety.

Read more here.


Finally, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Blade (1998)

the story is pretty standard, and the dialogue is laughable or worse. But creative cinematography and non-stop, decently choreographed gratuitous violence make watching this comic-book movie (Blade is a minor, almost-forgotten Marvel comic) entertaining.

Read more here.


Blade Runner: The Director's Cut (1982/1992)

Visually, Blade Runner is a non-stop marvel: the noir cinematography, the vehicle and set design, the lived-in world, the believable effects… The entire thing is imaginatively conceived and magnificently realised with unwavering plausibility.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Dickensian
1x14 Episode 14
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x13 Dear Emily and Richard [2nd watch]
3x14 Swan Song [2nd watch]

The Voice UK
5x07 The Blind Auditions 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Noah (2014)
[#36 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

This week: two new single-disc Blu-rays, one an upgrade from a two-disc DVD (hence the lack of change in total discs).

Number of titles in collection: 1,840 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 630 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,716 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 2,014 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,173 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

Plus this week it's time for a running time update...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
345 days, 16 hours, and 12 minutes.
(Up 4 days, 17 hours, and 53 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Dickensian
1x13 Episode 13
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x11 I Solemnly Swear [2nd watch]
3x12 Lorelai Out of Water [2nd watch]

Shetland
3x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Grand Piano (2013)
[#34 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Home (2015)
[#35 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x08 Ava
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Elementary
4x09 Murder Ex Machina

The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
3x03 Episode 3 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Gilmore Girls
3x10 That'll Do, Pig [2nd watch]

The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
1x01 From the Ashes of Tragedy
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Ripper Street
4x04 Men of Iron, Men of Smoke
[Watch it exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

The X Files
10x02 Founder's Mutation
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

TV

Death in Paradise
5x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dickensian
1x12 Episode 12
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x08 Let the Games Begin [2nd watch]
3x09 A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving [2nd watch]

Films

Crimson Peak (2015)
[#33 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Dickensian
1x11 Episode 11
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x07 They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They? [2nd watch]

Shetland
3x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Home on the Range (2004)
[#32 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

The British Academy Film Awards 2016
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The East (2013)
[#30 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Pillow Talk (1959)
[#31 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

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


Dressed to Kill (1946)

In the seven-and-a-bit years between 31st March 1939 and 7th June 1946, there were a total of 14 films released starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. By coincidence rather than design, I’ve spent nearly eight years viewing and reviewing them all... this entry takes loose inspiration from several tales. The use of secret codes is reminiscent of The Dancing Men, while the plot device of having to track down multiple identical items that hide something comes from The Six Napoleons.

Read more here.


Ex Machina (2015)

a sci-fi movie of the thoughtful variety. It’s a film that considers ideas of artificial life, how we test it and what it means to create it, and only gradually builds in thriller elements that pay off in its final twenty-or-so minutes. In truth, it’s not the most thorough deconstruction of what it means to be human and whether artificial intelligence can have that right, but it does touch on these issues and, in so doing, leaves them open for the viewer to mull over for themselves

Read more here.


Funny Games (1997)

The entire message is, “real-life violence is bad and you shouldn’t enjoy it in fiction, okay?” You don’t need to sit through a tough hour-and-a-half to know that.

Read more here.


The Martian (2015)

the latest in a growing subgenre of serious-minded near-future sci-fi adventures, following in the footsteps of 2013 Oscar winner Gravity and 2014 Oscar washout Interstellar. Where The Martian differs is in the element that tricked Golden Globes voters into thinking they could get away with giving it a comedy nomination (and win): rather than being stuffed to bursting with po-faced peril, it has a lightness of touch and regular doses of humour, making it probably the most feel-good serious sci-fi movie since ever.

Read more here.


Morning Glory (2010)

Rachel McAdams takes a break from time-jumping rom-coms to lead a film where the romantic subplot is merely tacked on, presumably for marketing purposes. Really, it’s about a woman in love with her job.

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Our Villain! No one’s slick as Gaston, no one’s quick as Gaston, no one’s got a swell cleft in his chin like Gaston. Uses antlers in all of his decorating, my what a guy, that Gaston.

Read more here.


The Big Sleep (1946)

Bogie and Bacall’s chemistry in To Have and Have Not led the studio to want more of the same, and her agent was only too keen after the poor reviews of Confidential Agent threatened to sink her career before it had really begun. New sparky dialogue scenes took the place of exposition ones in the final cut, essentially creating the film’s reputation for confusion.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Gilmore Girls
3x05 Eight O'Clock at the Oasis [2nd watch]
3x06 Take the Deviled Eggs... [2nd watch]

The Voice UK
5x06 The Blind Auditions 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)
[#28 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

SuperBob (2015)
[#29 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

After a busy few weeks, it's back to "no change" across the board. Don't expect that to last, not at all: it should be non-stop until at least the end of March from here.

Number of titles in collection: 1,839 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,211 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 628 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,716 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 2,012 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,173 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Gilmore Girls
3x04 One's Got Class and the Other One Dyes [2nd watch]

Room 101
5x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vera
6x02 Tuesday's Child
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Quigley Down Under (1990)
[#27 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Death in Paradise
5x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dickensian
1x10 Episode 10
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x03 Application Anxiety [2nd watch]

TV

Dickensian
1x09 Episode 9
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x02 Haunted Leg [2nd watch]

Insert Name Here
1x06 Chris [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The X Files
10x01 My Struggle
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Ex Machina (2015)
[#26 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Death in Paradise
5x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
3x02 Episode 2 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Room 101
5x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The X-Files Re-Opened
Behind-the-scenes special about the X-Files revival, which started airing in the UK last night. Next up: actually watch the actual programme.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Gilmore Girls
3x01 Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days [2nd watch]

Ripper Street
4x03 A White World Made Red
[Watch it exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

Shetland
3x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x07 The Mattress
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Vera
6x01 Dark Road
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

The Martian (2015)
[#25 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

I know it's been February for a whole week already, but as the first day of that week was the 1st, it's time to look back at last month on 100 Films in a Year. So here's my January progress report:




Also this week, four brand-new reviews were published...


Happy Feet Two (2011)

Not as fun as the first, Happy Feet Two suffers from messy storytelling that can’t seem to settle on a narrative thread. For example: a massive subplot featuring a pair of Pythonesque philosophical krill, voiced by Matt Damon and Brad Pitt, is the film’s most fun element, but never significantly connects to anything else.

Read more here.


Predestination (2014)

a film that rewards knowing as little as possible, especially as the seasoned sci-fi viewer/reader has a fair chance of guessing a good number of its twists (possibly all of them) long before they’re revealed by the film. Fortunately that doesn’t really matter, because the tale remains an engaging and thought-provoking one, with many thematic points to consider, and not just of a science-fictional nature — there are human and historical issues in play here too, which is undoubtedly a rarity in modern screen SF.

Read more here.


Prisoners (2013)

While the basic format is straightforward, it’s realised in the form of a multi-stranded narrative full of well-drawn characters with complications of their own. Jackman and Gyllenhaal may be top billed and on the poster, but there’s actually a powerful ensemble cast here, and its their performances that help the film to stand out from the thriller crowd

Read more here.


Slow West (2015)

The Coens and Wes Anderson are common reference points in reviews of this slightly quirky Western [but] writer-director Maclean has his own variation on that voice, bringing an occasional comically askew perspective to underscore tense confrontations and well-crafted shootouts.

Read more here.


Finally, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 superheroic entries...


Batman Begins (2005)

Nana-nana-nana-nana nana-nana-nana-nana Batman! But, y’know, serious. Important crimefighting jobs include getting hold of cool gadgets your company developed, messing around in restaurant fountains with models, and perfecting a ludicrously gruff voice to use when in costume.

Read more here.


Batman Returns (1992)

“Burton couldn’t play it safe if he wanted to, and he doesn’t want to. Entrusted with one of the most valuable franchises in movie history, he’s made a moody, grotesque, perversely funny $50 million art film.”

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Gilmore Girls
2x21 Lorelai's Graduation Day [2nd watch]
2x22 I Can't Get Started [season finale; 2nd watch]

Insert Name Here
1x05 Dave
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Voice UK
5x05 The Blind Auditions 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Daybreakers (2009)
[#24 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Collection Count

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

More new additions than I expected this week. Well, obviously I expected them all, because I ordered them all, but I thought things would quieten down after last week. I actually have at least one new release pre-ordered for every week throughout February and March, but next week's arrived early, today, so next week might be completely quiet... (Might.)

Number of titles in collection: 1,839 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,211 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 628 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 4,716 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 2,012 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,173 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Dickensian
1x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Elementary
4x08 A Burden of Blood

Gilmore Girls
2x20 Help Wanted [2nd watch]
Resuming this after 14 months. That's better than last time, at least.

Films

Macbeth (2015)
[#23 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

+ all of the special features on the Blu-ray, which amount to about 25 minutes of featurettes. Shame there's not more, it was quite interesting.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x05 Halloween III
3x06 Into the Woods
[Watch Halloween III and Into the Woods (again) on All 4.]

Death in Paradise
5x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dickensian
1x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Ripper Street
4x02 Some Conscience Lost
[Watch it exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

Would I Lie To You?
9x10 The Unseen Bits [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Prisoners (2013)
[#22 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Dickensian
1x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
3x01 Episode 1 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The One Show
A Tribute to Sir Terry
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Predestination (2014)
[#21 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Dickensian
1x05 Episode 5

Elementary
4x07 Miss Taken

Insert Name Here
1x04 Jo
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]