Films

Becoming Bond (2017)
[#144 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
More fun than a docudrama should be. And it made me really want to rewatch On Her Majesty's Secret Service, too... so...

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
[4th or so watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #24

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 8 (pages 22-25)

Collection Count

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

This week's additions include the first release in what's being branded as Doctor Who: The Collection, a season-by-season re-release of classic-era Who on Blu-ray, with upscaled episodes and new special features. Hopefully it'll sell well enough that they'll continue to do all 26 seasons, a) because I want them all, but b) so I can replace more of my DVDs. Y'see, I intended for this set to replace my DVD copies of the five stories in it, but I own three of them in box sets with other stories, so I've got to keep those for now, and of the remaining two stories, one of the DVDs has a special feature I'm interested in that's been moved to another (theoretical) Blu-ray set, i.e. it'll only be released again if they complete the range. So, for now, of the five DVDs I should've been able to replace, only one actually can be!

Oh, and it's the monthly running time update this week too. Excitement overload!

Number of titles in collection: 2,120 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,156 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 964 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,418 [up 11]
Number of films: 2,368 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes: 8,082 [up 16]
Number of short films: 614 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
399 days, 6 hours, and 38 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 6 hours, and 40 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Luke Cage
2x13 They Reminisce Over You [season finale]

Films

Amadeus: Director's Cut (1984/2002)
[#142 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #6

If You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death (1968)
[#143 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Introduction
Previously on Space Helmet for a Cow...
Chapter 8 (pages 7-21)

Picking up where volume one left off (including the chapter numbering), I wondered how Space Helmet was going to continue its "warts and all" behind-the-scenes narrative into New Who, which is still so recent that one suspects the full behind-the-scenes truth has yet to come out (aside from a few titbits, anyway). Well, the introduction addresses this head on: it notes that it's too soon for people involved to have come clean about everything, and expressly mentions the rumours and hearsay that have been reported by the likes of Private Eye, saying it won't cover them unless they've been verified. Which is fair enough, but surely means Vol.2 can't be to New Who what Vol.1 was to the classic era. I guess we'll have to wait another couple of decades for that book.

TV

Luke Cage
2x11 The Creator
2x12 Can't Front On Me

Films

Swingers (1996)
[#141 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 7 (pages 249-267) [the end]

That was a really good read -- a fun, comprehensive history of the delightfully barmy history of Doctor Who's production, accompanied by reviews of every single TV story for good measure. I liked it so much, I've already bought volume two so I can just go straight on.

TV

Luke Cage
2x09 For Pete's Sake
2x10 The Main Ingredient

Films

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
[#140 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 7 (pages 245-248)

TV

Luke Cage
2x08 If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right

Films

Sanjuro (1962)
[#139 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

The sequel to Yojimbo, released just nine months later -- and how long ago did I watch Yojimbo for the first time? Nine months! (Genuinely, that's a coincidence.)

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 7 (pages 230-244)

TV

Luke Cage
2x06 The Basement
2x07 On and On

Westworld
2x10 The Passenger [season finale]

Films

Rocky III (1982)
[#138 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 6 (pages 218-229)

TV

Luke Cage
2x04 I Get Physical
2x05 All Souled Out

Films

A Thousand and One Nights (1969)
[#137 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 6 (pages 204-217)

this week on 100 Films

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


The Death of Stalin (2017)

I’m sure some viewers must find the irreverence with which the film treats serious matters to be a turn-off. Personally, I think its perspective is more profound: these are silly men playing silly power games, but the end results are often unthinkable and horrific. You only have to look at the recent news headlines to see similar situations playing out to this day.

Read more here.


Rocky II (1979)

this is as much an underdog fairytale as the first movie was, and so events transpire to finally give Rocky his motivation, culminating in a triumphant revisit to the first film’s famous running-up-the-steps bit. The finale is, naturally, the big boxing rematch, where Stallone really shows off his directing chops: it’s a tense, drag-out duel that easily exceeds the first film’s for visceral impact.

Read more here.


Victoria & Abdul (2017)

I read someone else assess that it’s not as good as its individual parts, and I think that’s fair. Most of the scenes, moments, and performances are strong — there are notably funny bits, dramatic bits, emotional bits; even unexpected complications in how it handles some of the characters — but when it’s all put together, it doesn’t quite coalesce.

Read more here.


Yojimbo (1961)

Alexander Sesonske argues that Kurosawa is actually combining “two typically American genres”. So we have “a classic Western setting, with dust and leaves blowing across the wide, empty street that runs the length of a village, a lone stranger passes as frightened faces peer from behind shutters”, mixed with the morals (or lack thereof) of a gangster movie, with everyone a crook hoping to merely outgun the others. That all comes wrapped in the milieu of a samurai movie, meaning instead of pistol duels or scattershot machine-gun fire we get flashing blades.

Read more here.


Review Roundup

Quick reviews of:
'71
That's Entertainment!
and Russia's answer to The Avengers, Guardians.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Luke Cage
2x02 Straighten It Out
2x03 Wig Out

Westworld
2x09 Vanishing Point

Films

The Florida Project (2017)
[#136 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 5

Collection Count

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

Three new titles this week include a complete TV series (Steven Soderbergh's The Knick) and a pair of anime movies that complete the Animerama series (A Thousand & One Nights and Cleopatra, with the third, Belladonna of Sadness, previously released).

Number of titles in collection: 2,118 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 961 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,407 [up 10]
Number of films: 2,362 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,066 [up 20]
Number of short films: 614 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Luke Cage
2x01 Soul Brother #1

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 4 (pages 162-176)

Films

Not quite sure where the past few days have gone, but now I'm back culturally experiencing stuff.

Zatoichi's Revenge (1965)
[#135 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 4 (pages 143-162)

TV

Classic BRIT Awards 2018
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Lupin the Third: The Secret of Mamo (1978)

One of the major inspirations behind Lupin the 3rd’s creation was James Bond, and so, appropriately enough, this is a globetrotting adventure that takes in Transylvania, Egypt, France, Spain, the Caribbean, and Colombia. Similarly, it also showcases some great action scenes, particularly an extended car chase through Paris and then the mountains. Unlike Bond, there’s a definite cartoonishness to many of the antics, and the third act takes a turn into outright science-fiction that gets a bit crazy.

Read more here.


Almost Oscar-Worthy Review Roundup

Each of these films was nominated for multiple Oscars… but failed to win a single one. Featuring Big, Frost/Nixon, and Lion.

Read more here.


Gangster Review Roundup

Featuring City of God, RocknRolla, and Scarface.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #23

Collection Count

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

This week: absolutely nothing to report.

Number of titles in collection: 2,115 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 958 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,397 [no change]
Number of films: 2,360 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,046 [no change]
Number of short films: 614 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #22

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 4 (pages 117-142)

Films

Gaslight (1944)
[#134 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 4 (pages 105-116)

A chapter longer than those on the First and Second Doctors combined, and almost twice as long as the Third Doctor's — which makes sense, really, given how long Tom Baker was in the role. But that's why I've only read a fraction of it so far.

Articles

David Lynch Refuses To Explain Twin Peaks: The Return: “Ideas Came, And This Is What They Presented”
by Damon Wise (from Deadline)

Pulling Triple-Duty For Twin Peaks Revival, Kyle MacLachlan On The Prospect Of Another Return
by Damon Wise (from Deadline)

I wasn't sure why these interviews were popping up, but I think it's a US awards season thing. Whatever, it's always good to hear more about Twin Peaks.

TV

Westworld
2x08 Kiksuya

Films

Doubt (2008)
[#133 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 3

Films

Shrek Forever After (2010)
[#132 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapters 1-2

Possibly the only book to give a comprehensive narrative history of Doctor Who's production. Each chapter takes a different Doctor's era (so this reading covers all of Hartnell and Troughton, aka the '60s), which is as good a way to break it up as any. It's written in a relatively light and lively manner, taking a gently comic tone rather than a dry and serious one, which makes it very readable. Kirkley also briefly reviews every single story as he reaches it, which is a nice touch.

Films

Rocky II (1979)
[#131 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

One of the greatest TV series of all time reached its end on UK TV this past week, so I brought forward 100 Films in a Year's monthly TV column to review it. That, of course, was The Americans...





As well as that, 8 brand-new film reviews were published this week...


Adventures of Zatoichi (1964)

Everyone else seems to rate Adventures of Zatoichi somewhat poorly... Conversely, I thought it was rather brilliant. It has a nice, clear, well-connected narrative (something I haven’t always found in previous instalments). There’s a great cast of supporting characters, lots of small roles who all make their mark... Tonally the film displays an effective mix of humour, action, drama, and emotion, making for an all-round entertainment.

Read more here.


Babe: Pig in the City (1998)

In some ways it feels like a kids’ movie made for adults. Sure, it’s about cute talking animals, but a lot of the jokes are squarely aimed at knowing grown-ups, as is some of the emotional stuff, such as a scene where the Jack Russell is clearly running off to Heaven, which probably (hopefully, even) goes over younger children’s heads. As that may suggest, it’s also a very dark movie. Most of the darkness is eventually undercut, subverted, or rescued, but not always immediately

Read more here.


The Conversation (1974)

Harry Caul is a professional eavesdropper — people pay him to record what other people are saying in private. When Coppola conceived the film, this was just an interesting world to play around in. By the time it was produced and released, Watergate had recently happened, and the film could not have been more timely. Nonetheless, the end result is not merely an espionage mystery, but also a character study about what kind of man would perform this work.

Read more here.


It (2017)

Plenty of people will line up to tell you It isn’t actually all that scary, which is to watching horror movies as boasting who can eat the hottest curry is to dining. Obviously, everyone’s mileage will vary. I found some of it to be suitably unsettling and disturbing, and the “any time, any place” aspect keeps you alert and on edge. Its downside is that, for the first chunk of the movie, it just seems to be a series of unsettling scenes without much of a plot.

Read more here.


Men in Black 3 (2012)

MIB2 was a kind of typical first sequel: memorable-but-small characters get massively increased roles; things are referenced just for the sake of referencing them; jokes are repeated or amped up. MIB3 is more like the typical belated sequel: it stands somewhat divorced from the first two, with the minor stuff all gone, and some more significant changes necessitated by the passing of time.

Read more here.


Vehicular Review Roundup

Get in Vehicle 19 to go for a Drive with The Driver in this automobile-related review roundup.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Black Panther 3D (2018)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #21. On Blu-ray, with some lovely bits of IMAX-ratio stuff.

Collection Count

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

Two big anime box sets this week, with 15 discs, 78 episodes, and 3 movies between them... but one of those replaced a bunch of individual DVD versions, and there were a couple of other new additions too (four titles total), so the numbers are all jumbly.

Number of titles in collection: 2,115 [down 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 958 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,397 [no change]
Number of films: 2,360 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,046 [up 26]
Number of short films: 614 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
[#130 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Blindspot 2018 #6

Films

A Monster Calls (2016)
[#129 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Westworld
2x07 Les Écorchés

TV

Westworld
2x06 Phase Space

Films

Superman II (1980)
[#128 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

I can't be 100% certain I've not seen this before (I liked the first Superman when I saw it as a kid, so I don't know why I wouldn't've watched the sequel), but I didn't actually remember any of it, so I'm going with a new number.

this week on 100 Films

For the second month in a row, it was a new "best month ever" at 100 Films in a Year. Read all about that here...





Also this week, 6 brand-new reviews...


Deadpool 2 (2018)

I enjoyed it less than I enjoyed the first one the first time I saw it, but I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed the first one the second time I saw it. To clarify: when I first watched Deadpool, I loved it... When I rewatched it two years later in preparation for the sequel, I was less bowled over. I think a lot of its initial effectiveness was due to the freshness of its whole schtick, which has naturally gone away on a rewatch... In particular, I was surprised how sparse I found the humour to be. Maybe that prepared me for this one: the gags aren’t literally non-stop — it sometimes pauses to attempt emotion or to convey plot — but when they do come they’re thick and fast

Read more here.


Rocky (1976)

you might assume it’s broadly similar to the films Stallone would mostly go on to star in, but it isn’t, really. It’s the story of a smalltime coulda-been boxer left slumming it, when, through sheer luck, he gets a shot at the big leagues. Yes, it’s an underdog sports film, but it’s staged with a level of realism that such fantasies don’t normally reach for. And it’s certainly nothing like the indestructible super-action-hero of sundry later Stallone vehicles.

Read more here.


Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

It’s a decent space adventure flick, but I was sadly a bit underwhelmed by it. Frankly, I wish I liked it more than I did. Not just because I want to like every movie, but because I feel like this should’ve been a movie I really enjoyed — a fun sci-fi/heist/Western adventure kinda deal — but I didn’t love it. I thought it was mostly kinda fine.

Read more here.


Review Roundup

Featuring quick reviews of:
The Girl on the Train
Lions for Lambs
Tea For Two

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Power Rangers (2017)
[#126 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
[#127 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

A bunch of titles popped through my door right at the end of the week, just in time to make the monthly running time update.

Number of titles in collection: 2,116 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,159 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 957 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 5,397 [up 4]
Number of films: 2,358 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 8,020 [no change]
Number of short films: 614 [up 3]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
396 days, 23 hours, and 58 minutes.
(Up 14 hours and 8 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

American Made (2017)
[#124 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

The Post (2017)
[#125 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Music

Mouth Silence
Mouth Sounds
Mouth Moods
by Neil Cicierega

I discovered Neil Cicierega's mashup albums by accident about 48 hours ago, listened to a bunch of individual tracks on YouTube, and then today played through all three albums in full. Now I'm addicted. You can listen to them free here, here, and here.

Articles

Solo Theater Projection Problems Leave Fans In The Dark, Enrage Industry Veterans
by Chris O'Falt (from IndieWire)

In my review of Solo I commented on it looking too dark, and it seems I was far from alone in having this issue. This interesting piece explores how that came to be, and why it's a more widespread problem than just one film.