TV

Castle
8x18 Backstabber

Insert Name Here
3x06 John
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Die Hard 2 (1990)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2018 #4

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2017/2018 Episode 8 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vera
8x04 Darkwater [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword 3D (2017)
[#15 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Castle
8x17 Death Wish

Death in Paradise
7x04 The Healer
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Scarface (1983)
[#14 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #1

TV

Castle
8x16 Heartbreaker

Vera
8x03 Home
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)
[#13 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

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


The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)

Naturally it’s a tale not so much of derring-do as of humorous shenanigans, though in truth it’s not the studio’s most hysterical offering, ticking along with a level of gentle amusement rather than outright hilarity... Plus it’s all carried off with the ineffable charm of Aardman’s hand-crafted puppetry

Read more here.


Public Access (1993)

What secrets lurk beneath the surface of this pretty little town? Who is this stranger and what are his motives? How will the community react to the previously-secret complaints and possible revelations? Unfortunately, Public Access does very little to explore any of those possibilities.

Read more here.


Saludos Amigos (1942)

The sixth film in Disney’s official animated canon was the first in a run of cheap “package films” that span the gap from 1942’s Bambi to 1950’s Cinderella. Frankly, if Disney hadn’t decided to make it part of their animated canon whenever that list was first settled upon, I very much doubt it would be remembered today.

Read more here.


The Straight Story (1999)

Such a simple, straightforward, grounded narrative seems so very un-Lynch-like at first, but its tale of quirky Americana, peopled by a ragtag selection of endearing oddballs, isn’t so far outside his wheelhouse.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Murder on the Blackpool Express

Would I Lie To You?
11x10 The Unseen Bits [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Boss Baby 3D (2017)
[#12 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

One new DVD-to-BD upgrade this week, which otherwise makes no changes whatsoever. Ho hum.

Number of titles in collection: 2,076 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,165 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 911 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,327 [no change]
Number of films: 2,315 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,005 [no change]
Number of short films: 599 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2017/2018 Episode 7 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vera
8x02 Black Ice
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

TV

The Great British Bake Off
The Great Festive Bake Off [2018 special]
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Would I Lie To You?
11x09 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Death in Paradise
7x03 Written in Murder
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Zatoichi on the Road (1963)
[#11 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2017/2018 Episode 6 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Would I Lie To You?
11x08 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

La La Land (2016)
[#10 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

It's that time of the month over at 100 Films in a Year: the TV review...





Plus there were 4 brand-new film reviews too...


Black Swan (2010)

Described by director Darren Aronofsky as “a psychological thriller horror film”, Black Swan straddles the divide between classy Cinema and genre Movies as artfully as, say, a Hitchcock thriller. [...] Shot handheld on a mix of 16mm and video-capable HD DSLRs,it has a documentary look, often emphasised by its editing — at times it could almost pass for a fly-on-the-wall look behind the scenes of a ballet company. [This] serves to make the film’s unsettling parts all the more effective

Read more here.


Bright (2017)

Bright is a long way from perfect, but it’s also pretty far from being the disaster of epic proportions that critical and social media reaction seems suspiciously keen to paint it as (the Cannes-like “Netflix make TV not movies” sentiment is strong in some quarters). It’s a middle-of-the-road blockbuster movie, with some very solid plus points that are let down by some irritating negatives.

Read more here.


The Man from Earth: Holocene (2017)

has some very good ideas that could’ve made for a worthy continuation of the original film. Chief among them is the mystery of John’s relatively sudden ageing. Is he dying? Is he just entering a new phase of his existence? Either way: why? The film asks these questions, makes nods towards possible explanations, but otherwise doesn’t seek to explore it too much.

Read more here.


The Mummy (2017)

It’s a tonal mishmash. It’s not exciting enough to satisfy as an action movie, but not scary enough to qualify as a horror. There’s humour, but it’s poorly integrated, feeling at odds with the dark tone. This is a PG-13 movie that kinda wants to be an R, but not so much that it’ll really commit to sitting on that PG-13/R line.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Theatre

Aladdin

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 2,076 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,166 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 910 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,327 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,315 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,005 [no change]
Number of short films: 599 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

QI
15x12 Occult
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Man from Earth: Holocene (2017)
[#9 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

The Man from Earth (2007)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2018 #3

+ one of the two audio commentaries, featuring director Richard Schenkman and actor John Billingsley

Films

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)
[#8 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Die Hard (1988)
[4th watch]

Rewatchathon 2018 #2. It's been almost ten years since I last watched Die Hard. Where does time go?!

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2017/2018 Episode 5 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
11x07 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Love Punch (2013)
[#7 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
[#6 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

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


District 9 (2009)

The first half is excitingly original and interestingly ideas-driven, with allegory that is powerful if perhaps a little heavy-handed (I suppose that’s kind of unavoidable when you make a movie about segregation and set it in South Africa). The second half is just a shoot-em-up.

Read more here.


Forbidden Planet (1956)

Once it gets past everyone’s lustfulness (it feels uncomfortably like watching the filmmakers play out some personal fantasies), there are proper big sci-fi ideas driving Forbidden Planet. There are also some gloriously pulpy action sequences, like a fight against an invisible monster. It’s backed up by great special effects.

Read more here.


Get Out (2017)

Get Out unfurls with a slow-burn tension, where you can’t be sure that Chris isn’t just being paranoid. Well, we can be sure, because we know we’re watching a horror movie. In terms of that genre, it’s effectively creepy without indulging in many outright scares — it foregrounds an encroaching sense of unease rather than pure terror.

Read more here.


Her (2013)

People often refer to the template of Black Mirror as “what if technology but MORE”, and Her definitely fulfils that brief: “what if Siri was genuinely intelligent and someone fell in love with her?” Also like an episode of Black Mirror, it’s as much about what this reveals about humanity as it is about the crazy sci-fi concept

Read more here.


Moon (2009)

Like so much good sci-fi, it uses its imagined situation as impetus to explore the effect on its characters (or, in this case, character) and what the human reaction would be in such a situation. Maybe this is becoming a cliché already, but it’s quite like an episode of Black Mirror in that regard.

Read more here.


I also selected the 22 films I must watch during 2018 for my Blindspot and "What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen" challenges. Read about those at these two links:







More next Sunday.

TV

Upstart Crow
2x07 A Christmas Crow [Christmas special; 2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vera
8x01 Blood and Bone
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

The Purge (2013)
[#5 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

After all the new stuff and yearly stats last week, this week there's absolutely nothing to report. Not a sausage.

Number of titles in collection: 2,075 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,166 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 909 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,325 [no change]
Number of films: 2,314 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,005 [no change]
Number of short films: 599 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader, when there will be some additions, I promise.

TV

Blue Planet II
Episode 6 Coasts
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Death in Paradise
7x02 The Stakes are High
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
11x06 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The 400 Blows (1959)
[#4 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Blindspot 2018 #1

TV

Blue Planet II
Episode 5 Green Seas
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off
The Great Christmas Bake Off [2017 special]
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

My Life as a Courgette (2016)
[#3 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Blue Planet II
Episode 4 Big Blue
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Celebrity Mastermind
2017/2018 Episode 4 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Our Friend Victoria
1x07 Christmas [special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Narrow Margin (1952)
[#2 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Blue Planet II
Episode 3 Coral Reefs
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Celebrity Mastermind
2017/2018 Episode 3 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Insert Name Here
3x05 Christmas
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

DVD Extras

Dunkirk Special Features
The three featurettes under "Land", about how they staged the beach scenes, and the two under "Air", about how they achieved the aerial sequences. The latter was particularly interesting, because they basically invented a load of new techniques -- as well as reviving some very old ones -- to do things that have never been done before. Quite incredible.

TV

Blue Planet II
Episode 2 The Deep
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Celebrity Mastermind
2017/2018 Episode 2 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who
37x00 Twice Upon a Time [Christmas special; 2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Blue Planet II
Episode 1 One Ocean
Finally watching this in UHD via iPlayer (only available via certain devices). It looks absolutely stunning.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Celebrity Mastermind
2017/2018 Episode 1 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong
[2nd watch]
Enjoyed this more a second time, actually.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Not Going Out
9x00 The True Meaning of Christmas [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Tim Vine Travels Through Time
Christmas Special [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

With the new year only just underway, the past week over at 100 Films in a Year has been entirely concerned with looking back at 2017.

It started with the monthly progress report for December...





And continued with these four posts looking over the year in its entirety...


My Top 5 Most-Read New Posts in 2017

This year, all five of my most-read posts are from my TV review column... But this is a film blog (it’s in the title), so this year I’m doing two top fives: the genuine top 5 most-read new posts in 2017, which is also the top 5 most-read new TV-related posts, and then the top 5 most-read new film-related posts.

Read more here.


2017: The Full List

2017 — the 11th year I’ve been doing this 100 films challenge, and the fifth consecutive year I’ve surpassed that goal. Below is the full list of new films I watched this year, all linked up to reviews and that.

Read more here.


2017 Statistics

In today’s post we do the fun stuff: look at all sorts of statistics about 2017's viewing. Hurrah!

Read more here.


The Best & Worst of 2017

Having listed all I watched in 2017 and analysed it thoroughly, it’s time for the finale: what I thought were the best films I saw last year.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Death in Paradise
7x01 Murder from Above
I once complained that Death in Paradise should have episode titles. According to Wikipedia, it's had them all along. Hm. Anyway, henceforth I'll be using those, wherever they derive from.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
11x05 At Christmas
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

I was unable to do an accurate year-on-year increases post last time because I was away from home. Although we're now nearly a week into 2018, I've not purchased or received anything new since December 31st, so this post will serve just as well.

Number of titles in collection: 2,075 [up 3 this week; up 154 in 2017]
Of which DVDs: 1,166 [no change this week; down 27 in 2017]
Of which Blu-rays: 909 [up 3 this week; up 181 in 2017]

That's my highest number of new titles in a year since records began (i.e. 2013). And I was meant to be trying to buy less!

Number of discs in collection: 5,325 [up 11 this week; up 374 in 2017]
Number of films: 2,314 [up 7 this week; up 193 in 2017]
Number of TV episodes: 8,005 [no change this week; up 426 in 2017]
Number of short films: 599 [no change this week; up 91 in 2017]

Not quite sure how I acquired so many short films. As far as I'm aware that's all made up of odd ones here and there included with feature films.

Total running time of collection (approx.):
393 days, 17 hours, and 40 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 12 hours, and 18 minutes from last month.)
(Up 27 days, 7 hours, and 3 minutes from last year.)

Despite that whopping number of new titles, that's not the highest yearly running time increase (that belongs to 2015, probably because I acquired nearly 50% more TV episodes that year).

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

University Challenge
Christmas 2017 The Grand Final
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

DVD Extras

Dunkirk Special Features
The four featurettes under the heading "Creation". I intend to watch the remaining 12, just not all in one go (altogether they add up to just under 2 hours -- slightly longer than the film itself).

TV

University Challenge
Christmas 2017 Semi-Final 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Bright (2017)
[#1 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
It begins again...

Dunkirk (2017)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #1. This, too, begins again...

TV

University Challenge
Christmas 2017 Brunel University v Reading University
Christmas 2017 Semi-Final 1
[Watch Brunel v Reading and Semi-Final 1 (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Michael McIntyre: Happy & Glorious
Thought I'd seen this -- I recognised the start -- but it's not in my records and there were bits I didn't remember, so...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mrs Brown's Boys
CSI: Mammy [New Year special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

University Challenge
Christmas 2017 Queen Mary College, London v Cardiff University
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]