Tuesday 31 October 2017

Articles

Blade Runner 2049 Was First Cut Into A Four-Hour, Two-Part Epic (But We’ll Never See This Version)
by Zack Sharf (from IndieWire)

The headline has most of it covered, but obviously there's more detail in the story.

Sunday 29 October 2017

this week on 100 Films

This week on 100 Films in a Year it was time for my monthly TV review...





And 2 brand-new reviews were published too...


Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
It’s been a busy year for the MCU. Long gone are the days of Marvel Studios putting out one or two movies a year — this is their third theatrical release in 2017, alongside three full seasons of Netflix shows and two network TV series currently running. Whew! Nonetheless, according to Rotten Tomatoes this Thor threequel is the best-reviewed thing they’ve released this year (so far). Some critics have even said it’s the best Marvel Studios movie ever made. Well, let’s not get too hasty.
Read more here.


Transformers: Age of Extinction 3D (2014)
On a purely technical level, Age of Extinction is a masterpiece. As well as 3D, significant chunks of the film were shot for IMAX, and the IMAX 3D stuff is incredible. Sometimes director Michael Bay uses it for just regular scenes, like Mark Wahlberg driving his truck or walking around an old theatre, and even those bits are a riot of depth and dimensionality. So when it opens out to show wide scenery, or for the action sequences… wow! And Bay chooses to use IMAX, like, all the time
Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Saturday 28 October 2017

TV

Red Dwarf
12x03 Timewave

Films

Vehicle 19 (2013)
[#151 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Collection Count

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

After last week's kerfuffling, normal service is resumed, including one box set adding an overabundance of discs compared to how many titles and films were added.

Number of titles in collection: 2,043 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,170 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 873 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,242 [up 10]
Number of films: 2,279 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 7,945 [no change]
Number of short films: 594 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday 27 October 2017

TV

Peaky Blinders
3x05 Episode 5
3x06 Episode 6 [season finale]

Films

The Exorcist (1973)
[#150 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Blindspot 2017 #10

+ some (but not all) of the Blu-ray's special features, including documentaries on the locations and the differing cuts of the film.

Thursday 26 October 2017

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Monday 23 October 2017

Films

RocknRolla (2008)
[#146 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Articles

Ghostwatch: the Halloween hoax that changed the language of television
by Kate Mossman (from New Statesman)

A good, in-depth piece on the BBC's 1992 Halloween drama/hoax Ghostwatch, which I've still not seen. As it's 25 years old this year, maybe now's the time...

Sunday 22 October 2017

Films

The Heat (2013)
[#144 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Moon (2009)
[#145 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2017 #9

The Reckless Moment (1949)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2017 #40. This was also #24 way back in 100 Films 2007, and is reviewed here.

this week on 100 Films

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


Now You See Me 2 (2016)
Con thrillers are much like magic tricks: they set you up to expect one thing, then reveal something else was going on all along... So whoever came up with the idea of combining those two things into a movie where magicians use their skills to pull off elaborate heists was practically a genius in my book — what a magnificent marriage of ideas! Unfortunately, the resulting films aren’t much good at magic, routinely substituting CGI for the tricks, and they’re not great at cons either. That’s why these films are fundamentally empty: they don’t understand that the impressiveness of both magic and a reveal-based narratives lies in doing it for real, not in pretending to do it.
Read more here.


Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
I can’t remember when I first heard of Twilight Zone: The Movie, but I do remember being surprised I hadn’t heard of it before. Why wasn’t it more often talked about? After all, here’s a film based on a classic TV series, directed by some of the hottest genre filmmakers of the time: John Landis just after An American Werewolf in London; Joe Dante just before Gremlins; George Miller fresh from Mad Max 2; and, most of all, Steven Spielberg, coming off a run that encompassed Jaws, Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. I mean, Jesus, even if the movie wasn’t great then surely it should be well-known! ... My viewing of it was primarily motivated by attempting to complete the filmographies of Spielberg and Miller, but I’m glad I did because, on the whole, I rather enjoyed it.
Read more here.


Vixen (2017)
Fans of any or all of the other Arrowverse shows may well find something to enjoy in Vixen. Otherwise, it’s newcomer-friendly (aside from those cameos it’s fundamentally standalone) but I doubt it would do much to persuade the uninitiated that they’re missing out.
Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Saturday 21 October 2017

Films

Rurouni Kenshin (2012)
[#143 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
[#142 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Collection Count

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

A bit of jiggery-pokery going on this week. I bought the 90th anniversary edition of Metropolis, which replaces three(!) copies I previously owned. I also switched my box set of the two The Thing films for just the 2011 prequel, in anticipation of Arrow's new release of the 1982 film. But on top of that I bought four other brand-new Blu-rays, so the final stats show little evidence of all that kerfuffling.

Number of titles in collection: 2,041 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,170 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 871 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,232 [up 5]
Number of films: 2,275 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 7,945 [no change]
Number of short films: 593 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday 20 October 2017

TV

The Thick of It
The Rise of the Nutters [special]
Spinners and Losers [special]
Opposition Extra [special]
I'd forgotten how little of The Thick of It I'd actually seen. I knew I hadn't finished it and it was a while since I watched it, but I thought I'd got through a fair chunk not that long ago. Turns out, I watched only the first six episodes (after which there are 17 more) and that was almost three years ago. Crikey. I shake my head at myself sometimes, I really do. Anyway, here I try again — with episodes that first aired almost 11 years ago. Where does time go?!

Films

Silence (2016)
[#141 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Thursday 19 October 2017

Tuesday 17 October 2017

Films

Vixen (2017)
[#137 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]
The Arrowverse shows are all back on UK TV this week, so I thought it was about time I caught up with this animated spin-off.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
[#138 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Monday 16 October 2017

TV

Upstart Crow
2x04 Food of Love
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Sunday 15 October 2017

TV

Peaky Blinders
3x03 Episode 3

Films

Frost/Nixon (2008)
[#136 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

this week on 100 Films

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


Antz (1998)
it’s a funny old film. It feels more aimed at adults than kids: star Woody Allen is doing a version of his usual schtick, and the plot riffs heavily on political systems like Communism, a combination which means most of the jokes will soar over children’s heads. That’s before we get on to the brutal war sequence against monstrous termites.
Read more here.


Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
This is a movie with a lot to think about. It doesn’t do the thinking for you either, instead leaving space for the viewer to interpret not only what themes they should be thinking about but also what they should be thinking about those themes. This seems to have been a little too much for some viewers... It’s definitely a long film — a shade under 2 hours 45, though obviously there’s a fair chunk of credits... It’s not a mile-a-minute thrill ride of a movie, but I think it’s the length it needs to be. It leaves room for ideas to sink in.
Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Saturday 14 October 2017

TV

Castle
8x03 PhDead

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
4x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Peaky Blinders
3x02 Episode 2

Upstart Crow
2x03 I Did Adore a Twinkling Star
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Assassin's Creed 3D (2016)
[#135 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Collection Count

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

It's a super, heroic update this week, with new additions Wonder Woman and X-Men TV spin-off Legion. Also, the running time update, which has done fairly well for itself this past month.

Number of titles in collection: 2,039 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,171 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 868 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,227 [up 4]
Number of films: 2,271 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 7,945 [up 8]
Number of short films: 593 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
388 days, 17 hours, and 13 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 7 hours, and 6 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday 13 October 2017

Thursday 12 October 2017

Wednesday 11 October 2017

Monday 9 October 2017

TV

Doctor Foster
2x05 Episode 5 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off
8x06 Pastry Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
[4th watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #38

Sunday 8 October 2017

TV

Doctor Foster
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
6x06 Episode 6

Films

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
[5th watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #37

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new review was published to 100 Films in a Year this week, though it covered three (short) films...


Blade Runner 2022-2048 (2017)
You’ve probably heard that three short films have been released as part of the promotion for sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049. More than just trailers, these shorts go some way to bridging the 30-year gap between 2049 and the original Blade Runner. They were released out of sequence over the past couple of months, but here they’re reviewed in chronological order.
Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Saturday 7 October 2017

TV

Doctor Foster
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
4x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Upstart Crow
2x01 The Green-Eyed Monster
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

A box set and two new individual-film releases this week, the latter two both in 3D. I'm building up quite a 3D collection now -- I might start adding that to the stats...

Number of titles in collection: 2,037 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,171 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 866 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,223 [up 10]
Number of films: 2,270 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes: 7,937 [no change]
Number of short films: 593 [up 3]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday 6 October 2017

TV

Doctor Foster
2x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off
8x05 Pudding Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982/2007)
[4th watch]
Only my second time seeing The Final Cut (the first was way back in 2009), but my records tell me this is my fourth viewing of the film overall. Watched it last night, before...

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
[#132 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Thursday 5 October 2017

TV

Doctor Foster
2x01 Episode 1
Bingeing now it's finished. (Also, quite surprised to realise it's over a year since I watched series one.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
6x05 Episode 5

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Films

Perfect Sense (2011)
[#131 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

+ three short prequels to Blade Runner 2049...

Blade Runner: Black Out 2022 (2017)
[#130a in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

2036: Nexus Dawn (2017)
[#130b in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

2048: Nowhere to Run (2017)
[#130c in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Tuesday 3 October 2017

Monday 2 October 2017

Sunday 1 October 2017

Films

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
[#129 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Wayne's World 2 (1993)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2017 #35

Articles

DC Rethinks Its Universe
by Abraham Riesman (from Vulture)
A longish, interesting piece on how DC are managing (or hoping to manage) the negative reception their movies have mostly received so far.

TV Series Budgets Hit the Breaking Point as Costs Skyrocket in Peak TV Era
by Maureen Ryan & Cynthia Littleton (from Variety)
Another lengthy but very interesting behind-the-scenes piece, this one on the spiralling cost of high-end TV shows -- why it's happening, what effect it's having, and how it might change going forward. All quite insider-y stuff, but if that's your thing then, as I said, super-interesting.

this week on 100 Films

2017 heads into its final third today, as October begins. As ever, a new month means it's time to look back at the one just past on 100 Films in a Year...





The monthly updates and my TV column don't usually coincide, but this week they do for the second month in a row. Last time it was because I was publishing TV reviews at increased frequency to cover the volume of stuff I was watching. This time it's because I haven't watched much so delayed the column a week. Funny old life, ain't it?





Finally, in regular business, 2 brand-new reviews were also posted this week...


A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Watching Yojimbo and this back to back, you can’t miss how similar they are — no wonder they settled the legal case, they wouldn’t’ve had a leg to stand on. Yojimbo is the classier handling of the material, giving the whole scenario a weightiness that has gone astray here. Fistful has its own charms, of course, as director Sergio Leone merrily reinvents the Western genre before our eyes
Read more here.


Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
Critics, eh? There’s a lot you could say about them, both individually and en masse, but right now I’m concerned with the fact they’ve given Kingsman: The Golden Circle a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 50%. More than that, many have gone further: I’ve read one-star reviews from several major outlets. Audiences disagree. On IMDb it’s got a very respectable 7.4 (just a few points down from the much better-received Wonder Woman, for comparison) and it topped the box office this past weekend, beating the latest LEGO movie in the US and almost doubling the first film’s opening weekend in the UK. Well, I’m definitely an audience member rather than a critic. In fact, I’m still weighing up the possibility that The Golden Circle might be even better than its predecessor.
Read more here.


More next Sunday.