TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x15 The 9-8

Episodes
5x01 Episode 1
Almost three years since the previous season, and seven months since it was on in the US, we finally get the final episodes of Episodes.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Line of Duty
4x01 Episode 1

A Series of Unfortunate Events
2x01 The Austere Academy Part One
2x02 The Austere Academy Part Two

Collection Count

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

No new additions this week (though there's a bunch of stuff on the go-slow in the post for next time), but it's the time of the month for a running time update, so at least there's that.

Number of titles in collection: 2,090 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,163 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 927 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,356 [no change]
Number of films: 2,332 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,017 [no change]
Number of short films: 605 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
395 days, 8 hours, and 4 minutes.
(Up 11 hours and 59 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Lucifer
2x09 Homewrecker

Room 101
7x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Rocky (1976)
[#57 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #3

The Silent Child (2017)
[#57a in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
This year's Best Live Action Short Oscar winner, which you can watch on iPlayer for the next month.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x14 Karen Peralta

The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Lucifer
2x08 Trip to Stabby Town

TV

Lucifer
2x07 My Little Monkey

Films

The Hangover Part II (2011)
[#56 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

dinnerladies diaries
Part 2 Love Bites

The Life of Mammals
Part 1 A Winning Design

Lucifer
2x06 Monster

Films

It Comes at Night (2017)
[#55 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Lucifer
2x05 Weaponizer

Who Dares Wins
11x01 (24/3/18 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Cars 3 3D (2017)
[#54 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Lucifer
2x04 Lady Parts

Films

Bad Boys II (2003)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #13

Benji (2018)
[#53 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

Time again for my monthly TV column this week at 100 Films in a Year...





Other than that, there was just 1 brand-new review this week...


Long Way North (2015)

Regular readers may recall I ranked it among the top movies I saw last year, when I cited the “understated beauty in its deceptively simple visual style”. Indeed, the animation initially seems so plain that it feels like watching a draft animatic, but that conceals its ability to reveal subtleties when needed. In the end, the distinctive look is part of the film’s considerable charm.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Lucifer
2x03 Sin-Eater

Films

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
[#51 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Victoria & Abdul (2017)
[#52 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

There was going to be just one new addition again this week, and another next... but then next week's turned up early. A quiet one next time, then... though you never know when a sale or bargain might crop up...

Number of titles in collection: 2,090 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,163 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 927 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,356 [up 4]
Number of films: 2,332 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,017 [no change]
Number of short films: 605 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x13 The Cruise

Lucifer
2x02 Liar, Liar, Slutty Dress on Fire

Nailed It!
1x06 In Your Face! [season finale]

Not Going Out
9x03 Stolen
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Zatoichi's Flashing Sword (1964)
[#50 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Lucifer
2x01 Everything's Coming Up Lucifer

TV

Nailed It!
1x05 Big in Japan

Shetland
4x05 Episode 5
4x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch episodes five and six (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Black Narcissus (1947)
[#49 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Blindspot 2018 #3

TV

dinnerladies diaries
Part 1 Perfect Ingredients

Nailed It!
1x04 Weird Science

Shetland
4x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
[#48 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Jessica Jones
2x12 AKA Pray for My Patsy
2x13 AKA Playland [season finale]

Shetland
4x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x12 9 Days

Jessica Jones
2x10 AKA Pork Chop
2x11 AKA Three Lives and Counting

Shetland
4x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Annihilation (2018)

Despite Paramount’s insistence that the film was too intelligent for non-US audiences (you can take a moment to laugh at that notion if you like), Annihilation is perhaps more accessible than Arrival, at least initially. Whereas Villeneuve’s film played like a character drama, Garland’s has a strong adventure-movie vein, also laced with elements of the horror genre.

Read more here.


Make/Remake: Deaths at a Funeral

In 2007, Frank Oz directed a gaggle of British thesps (plus Peter Dinklage) in a darkly comic farce set during an English funeral. Just three short years later, director Neil LaBute and a gaggle of American comedians (plus Peter Dinklage) remade it in the US. Why did they so speedily re-do an English-language film in English? Goodness only knows. But I watched both versions almost back to back, so here are my thoughts…

Read more here.


Transformers: The Last Knight 3D (2017)

Here we have the fifth Transformers film in 11 years from director Michael Bay. At this point you ought to know what you’re getting — the style hasn’t fundamentally changed since at least the third movie, arguably since the first, so if you dislike those then most probably there’s nothing for you here. I say “probably” because I’ve seen at least one review from someone who despised the fourth film but enjoyed this one, so clearly there’s always room for variability.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x11 Hostage Situation
Just over two years since I accidentally stopped watching Brooklyn, I'm diving back into it (thanks to most of it being available on Netflix). I don't really know why I stopped before, it is funny.

Jessica Jones
2x07 AKA I Want Your Cray Cray
2x08 AKA Ain't We Got Fun
2x09 AKA Shark in the Bathtub, Monster in the Bed

Not Going Out
9x02 Escape Room
A particularly good episode. Good day for comedy, then.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Shetland
4x01 Episode 1
And talking of two years ago, that's when the last series of Shetland aired. This new one finishes on Tuesday, so now's more-or-less the perfect time to start binge-watching it.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Two new additions this week, one an upgrade, both with two cuts of their respective films.

Number of titles in collection: 2,088 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,163 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 925 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,352 [up 3]
Number of films: 2,330 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 8,017 [no change]
Number of short films: 605 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Jessica Jones
2x04 AKA God Help the Hobo
2x05 AKA The Octopus
2x06 AKA Facetime

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1x07 The Giuoco Piano Affair

Nailed It!
1x02 Fantasyland
1x03 Head Under Water

TV

Jessica Jones
2x01 AKA Start at the Beginning
2x02 AKA Freak Accident
2x03 AKA Sole Survivor
It's getting close to two-and-a-half years since Jessica Jones season one was released. Where does time go? Well, on Netflix making too many Marvel shows, I guess.

Lucifer
1x12 #TeamLucifer
1x13 Take Me Back to Hell [season finale]

Nailed It!
1x01 First Date to Life Mate
Why would you make a reality show about baking and call it Nailed It? Surely that's a show about manicurists...

TV

Lucifer
1x11 St. Lucifer

Not Going Out
9x01 Home Improvements
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Room 101
7x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Transformers: The Last Knight 3D (2017)
[#47 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off
1x01 Episode 1
aka Celebrity Bake Off, now on its third charity.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Lucifer
1x10 Pops

Films

Death at a Funeral (2010)
[#46 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Annihilation (2018)
[#45 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Death at a Funeral (2007)
[#44 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

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


The Jungle Book 3D (2016)

the visuals are stunning. It’s incredible stuff by the animators, though also by Favreau and DP Bill Pope to make all that hard work look great as a film too — they put special effort into making sure the CGI was properly lit, etc. And I reckon it’s even better in 3D. Presented in a screen-filling 1.78:1 ratio, unconstrained by the black bars of your nowadays-standard 2.35:1, it honestly feels like a window into another world.

Read more here.


Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

It’s a film of its genre and heritage — by which I mean it functions the way Christie-style murder mysteries always do, and it’s staged and shot mostly with a classical dignity — so if you have a dislike for that then this isn’t revisionist in a way that will win you over. But within those ‘constraints’ it’s very well done. The photography, in particular, is magnificent. Shot on 65mm, but without showing off about it in the way some other directors have recently, it has a richness, a grandeur, and an elegance that is most befitting.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Happy Death Day (2017)
[#43 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

The Jungle Book (2016)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #12

Collection Count

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

Just one more addition, for the third week in a row.

Number of titles in collection: 2,087 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,163 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 924 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,349 [up 4]
Number of films: 2,327 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,017 [up 12]
Number of short films: 605 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)
[#41 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Lucifer
1x08 Et Tu, Doctor?
1x09 A Priest Walks Into a Bar

Films

The Jungle Book 3D (2016)
[#40 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

+ all the special features (bar the audio commentary) included on the UK 2D Blu-ray, which made for a very interesting insight into the film's production. (I specify it was the UK BD because the US 3D release, which came out some three months later, adds a further 15 minutes of featurettes.)

TV

Lucifer
1x06 Favorite Son
1x07 Wingman

Strike
2x02 Career of Evil Part 2 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Bad Boys (1995)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2018 #11

TV

The 90th Annual Academy Awards
aka the Oscars. It felt like a fairly uneventful ceremony, with no surprise winners, but some very welcome ones (Roger Deakins!)

Lucifer
1x05 Sweet Kicks

Oscars 2018: Red Carpet Live

Room 101
7x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Strike
2x01 Career of Evil Part 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Oscars: Greatest Shocks, Frocks and Fairytales

Room 101
7x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

In & Out (1997)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
[#38 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

A new month began in the middle of the past week, so it was time for 100 Films in a Year to look back over February...





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


La La Land (2016)

Yes, I am very, very, exceptionally late to the party here. For example: whenever I watch a film I log it on Letterboxd, then have a scan through the ratings my ‘friends’ have given it, whether that’s just one other person or a few dozen. This had by far the highest number of ‘friends’ who’d already seen it that I’ve ever encountered. And it was on Letterboxd that I first encountered La La Land, in fact, when it started screening at festivals in the latter half of 2016 and everyone was raving about it. It was a must-see long before the Oscar buzz started to build, and obviously that only intensified the film’s reputation. It’s a lot of anticipation to heap upon one movie. Fortunately, La La Land can bear it.

Read more here.


The Love Punch (2013)

if you like any (or all) of Brosnan, Thompson, Imrie, and Spall, as well as the idea of a bit of gently-farcical gadding about in the south of France, then The Love Punch is amiable fluff to while away 90 minutes on a Sunday.

Read more here.


Making of the Living Dead

To mark the UK release of Criterion’s remastered, definitive Blu-ray edition of George A. Romero’s seminal subgenre-starting zombie classic Night of the Living Dead, I finally got round to watching two related feature-length documentaries that, er, aren’t included on that release. Never mind, eh? Anyway, here are my thoughts on One for the Fire: The Legacy of "Night of the Living Dead" and Birth of the Living Dead.

Read the reviews here.


T2 Trainspotting (2017)

At one point during T2, a younger character accuses some of the returning characters of living in the past; that it’s all they talk about. It’s true of the characters, and it’s kinda true of the film itself too: this belated sequel to the era-defining original feels try-hard, like it wants to recapture the verve and inventiveness of its predecessor, but everyone’s now too grown up to do it properly.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Lucifer
1x04 Manly Whatnots

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1x06 The Green Opal Affair

Films

Sausage Party (2016)
[#37 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

Just one new addition this week. It's clearly been quite a quiet month too, as the running time update shows.

Number of titles in collection: 2,086 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,163 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 923 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,345 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,327 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,005 [no change]
Number of short films: 605 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
394 days, 20 hours, and 5 minutes.
(Up 8 hours and 28 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

24 Hours in Police Custody
6x01 Sex and Corruption
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Lucifer
1x03 The Would-Be Prince of Darkness

TV

Lucifer
1x01 Pilot
1x02 Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil.

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
6x08 Episode 8 [season finale]