TV

Death in Paradise
7x08 Melodies of Murder [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

I Origins (2014)
[#36 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Absentia
1x09 Child's Play
1x10 Original Sin [season finale]
Well, that wasn't really worth it. The series started out OK, but it got pretty stupid by the end. And Nick Durand may be the most irritatingly dumb FBI agent ever. Apparently there's the possibility of a second season. I hope not, because I don't want to end up considering watching it.

Room 101
7x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Villainess (2017)
[#35 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Absentia
1x07 A & B
1x08 Brave Boy

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1x05 The Deadly Games Affair

Films

Mindhorn (2016)
[#34 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

My Cousin Rachel (2017)
[#33 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Shrek (2001)
[3rd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #10. Goodness knows when I last watched Shrek, but I'd wager it's been the best part of 15 years. Some of it holds up, some of it really feels "of its time", not least the song choices. Speaking of which, I also watched the Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party short, which definitely didn't feel as entertaining as it did all those years ago.

this week on 100 Films

Slightly later than intended (not that anyone notices but me), this week saw the latest TV review column posted at 100 Films in a Year...





There were also 4 brand-new film reviews...


Big Game (2014)

I’ve read some complaints that, given the daft premise, Big Game is not a comedy. I don’t know what movie they were watching, but I thought it was pretty fun. It’s not an out-and-out parody, but surely no one involved thought they were making a serious action flick? Or maybe I’m wrong, I dunno — but whether it was me or them, one of us has misread the intended tone.

Read more here.


The Duellists (1977)

Ultimately, honour and the futility of fighting are what The Duellists is most about, if it’s about anything — if you like, you can enjoy it as merely a series of well-staged combats between two men, each stubborn in their own different way.

Read more here.


Mute (2018)

I don’t think Mute is anything like as unremittingly terrible as some reviews would have you believe, but it is a tonally strange film. I’m not sure it works as a whole, but bits really do. I wouldn’t dismiss the idea of it becoming a cult classic, and maybe in a couple of years we’ll all be reevaluating it.

Read more here.


Warcraft: The Beginning (2016)

It plays like a $160 million fan film. It doesn’t bother with world-building, just throwing the viewer in at the deep end. That can work, but it needs to be carefully managed. Warcraft just ploughs ahead, going deeper and deeper. It’s been made for people who know this world, its places, its people, its concepts, its rules.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Big Fish (2003)
[#32 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
Blindspot 2018 #2

Mission: Impossible (1996)
[4th watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #9
+ all the featurettes on the Blu-ray

Collection Count

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

A sole new addition this week. It should have been an upgrade to an old Blu-ray, but I've decided to hang on to that edition too, at least for the time being.

Number of titles in collection: 2,085 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,163 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 922 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,343 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,326 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,005 [no change]
Number of short films: 605 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Birth of the Living Dead (2013)
[#30 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Mute (2018)
[#31 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Absentia
1x06 Nobody's Innocent

The Good Place
2x11 The Burrito
2x12 Somewhere Else [season finale]

Films

One for the Fire: The Legacy of "Night of the Living Dead" (2008)
[#29 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Absentia
1x05 Dig

The Good Place
2x10 Rhonda, Diana, Jake, and Trent

Films

Being John Malkovich (1999)
[#28 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Absentia
1x04 Me You Him Me

The Good Place
2x09 Best Self

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1x04 The Shark Affair

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
6x07 Episode 7

Films

Persepolis (2007)
[#27 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Absentia
1x03 The Emily Show

The Good Place
2x08 Leap to Faith

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1x03 The Quadripartite Affair

Films

The Duellists (1977)
[#26 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Absentia
1x02 Reset

The British Academy Film Awards 2018
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Good Place
2x07 Derek

Films

The Dark Tower (2017)
[#25 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

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


Black Panther (2018)

Black Panther is once again undoubtedly a superhero movie in more than just the literal sense that it’s adapted from a comic book about a superhero, but this particular mix of varied influences — some familiar (it’s not the first movie to imitate Bond), others less so (African culture in an action-adventure blockbuster) — does make it feel genuinely different to the norm.

Read more here.


Fast & Furious 8 (2017)

You may remember that, once upon a time, these films were about street racers who occasionally carried out on-the-road heists, all the better to keep the focus on the cars. Those days are long gone, despite an opening sequence here that tries to pretend that’s still part of the game. No, nowadays we’re in the “international spy actioner” genre, and our former street racers have somehow become highly capable agents… whose primary tools/weapons are still vehicles. It’s utterly ridiculous… but, thank goodness, everyone involved seems to know that.

Read more here.


Zatoichi on the Road (1963)

“Easily one of the best entries in the series”? Nope. The “action starts red hot and keeps getting hotter”? Don’t be silly... As for the plot… Overdeveloped? Yes. Convoluted? Undoubtedly. And needlessly so

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Absentia
1x01 Comeback

Death in Paradise
7x07 Dark Memories
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

For the first time in... only a month, actually... there's nothing at all to report.

Number of titles in collection: 2,084 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,163 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 921 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,341 [no change]
Number of films: 2,325 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,005 [no change]
Number of short films: 605 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Good Place
2x06 Janet and Michael

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1x02 The Iowa-Scuba Affair
Directed by Richard Donner, of Superman and Lethal Weapon fame!

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
6x06 Episode 6

Room 101
7x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold (1964)
[#24 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

The Good Place
2x05 The Trolley Problem

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1x01 The Vulcan Affair
Haven't watched any of this since I was a kid (and, consequently, I've no idea whatsoever which episodes I've seen -- I don't remember any specifics), but here I go with a full-on watch. One episode done, 104 to go...

The X Files
11x01 My Struggle III
Oh dear, that was... confusing. It didn't help that it's nearly two years since the last episode, which this played heavily on. OK, there was a "previously on", but I didn't think that helped enough. And even if it hadn't been confusing, I don't think it was a very good episode anyway. It was just... odd. I mean, what was with all that random voiceover from Mulder? Nonetheless, sometime I really need to watch all of The X Files from the start -- maybe this would make more sense then.
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

TV

The Persuaders!
1x23 A Death in the Family [2nd watch]

I first watched this episode back in October 2010, and it's what persuaded (joke not intended) me to buy the complete series DVD set... which I then didn't start watching until May 2017... and now we're in February 2018 and I've finally almost finished it.

Films

Black Panther (2018)
[#23 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

WarGames (1983)
[#22 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

The Brokenwood Mysteries
3x01 The Black Widower

Films

Fast & Furious 8 (2017)
[#21 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Castle
8x22 Crossfire [series finale]

Death in Paradise
7x06 Meditated in Murder
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Hitchcock (2012)
[#20 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

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


Blade Runner 2049 3D (2017)

cinematographer Roger Deakins is, I believe, no fan of 3D. Indeed, he’s publicly expressed that his preferred version of Blade Runner 2049 is the 2D one... Nonetheless, he also personally supervised the film’s conversion to 3D. I guess that’s some kind of dedication. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise, then, that this is not a film designed to show off in 3D — but that’s not to say it’s bad. Rather, what it most often offers is a subtle, believable delineation of space.

Read more here.


The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

“Logic doesn’t apply to any of this.” So says Tam, played by Zhang Ziyi, about halfway through this third movie in the Cloverfield sort-of-series. She’s talking about the crazy circumstances they’ve found themselves mixed up in, but she may as well be talking about the movie itself.

Read more here.


Eddie the Eagle (2016)

The unlikely hero of the 1988 Winter Olympics — ski jumper Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards — gets the Cool Runnings treatment in this comedy-drama. I make the Cool Runnings connection because, firstly, they’re both about unlikely competitors in the Winter Olympics (from the same year, in fact — what was in the water in ’88?!); and, secondly, because in their transition to the big screen they were both heavily fictionalised.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Casino (1995)
[#19 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #2

The Love Punch (2013)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #8

Collection Count

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

After an exceptionally busy time last week, it's back to the regular drip of my ever-increasing collection.

Number of titles in collection: 2,084 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,163 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 921 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,341 [up 4]
Number of films: 2,325 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,005 [no change]
Number of short films: 605 [up 3]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

The Mask (1994)
[2nd or so watch]

Rewatchathon 2018 #7

TV

The Good Place
2x04 Existential Crisis

Strike
1x05 The Silkworm Part 2 [season finale]

TV

The Good Place
2x03 Team Cockroach

Strike
1x04 The Silkworm Part 1

Films

Beetlejuice (1988)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2018 #6

TV

Castle
8x21 Hell to Pay

The Good Place
2x02 Dance Dance Resolution

Death in Paradise
7x05 Murder on the Day of the Dead
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
[#18 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Castle
8x20 Much Ado About Murder

The Good Place
2x01 Everything is Great!

Films

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
[#17 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Castle
8x19 Dead Again

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

Insert Name Here
3x08 Jack [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Blade Runner 2049 3D (2017)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2018 #5

this week on 100 Films

We're in to the second month of 2018 already, which meant it was time to look back on January over at 100 Films in a Year this week...





There were also 5 brand-new reviews published this week...


Comedy Review Roundup

Quick reviews of The Heat, In the Loop, and This is the End.

Read more here.


Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)

Two of Japan’s most successful cultural exports meet for the first time here as the King of the Monsters, Godzilla, gets the anime treatment. Originally conceived as a TV series, the box office success of Shin Godzilla prompted studio Toho to restructure the project as a trilogy of movies and release them theatrically (in Japan, anyway — the rest of the world gets them via Netflix). Part 2 is due later in 2018 and Part 3 in early 2019.

Read more here.


King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

we’re in familiar Guy Ritchie territory: lads up to criminal hijinks with a London accent, only now in medieval costumes. [And] if you approach Legend of the Sword less as a King Arthur film and more as a Guy Ritchie-flavoured fantasy movie, there are bits of it I think are really, really good. Some of it’s great, even

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Room 101
7x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Strike
1x02 The Cuckoo's Calling Part 2
1x03 The Cuckoo's Calling Part 3

Collection Count

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

A whopping nine new titles were added to my collection this week, a mix of new releases and sale purchases. They were also a mix of brand new additions, DVD-to-BD upgrades, and BD-to-BD upgrades too, meaning there's a scattering of different changes to the numbers below.

And all of that just in time for the monthly running time update, too!

Number of titles in collection: 2,082 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,163 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 919 [up 8]

Number of discs in collection: 5,337 [up 10]
Number of films: 2,323 [up 8]
Number of TV episodes: 8,005 [no change]
Number of short films: 602 [up 3]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
394 days, 11 hours, and 37 minutes.
(Up 17 hours and 57 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2017/2018 Episode 9 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Insert Name Here
3x07 Jane
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Strike
1x01 The Cuckoo's Calling Part 1

Films

Accomplice (1946)
[#16 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Articles

Highsnobsiety: A Beginner’s Guide to the Yakuza
by Mark Edwards (from Team Yellow)

Stumbled across this while looking for something else, and learnt a lot of stuff I never knew.