Thursday, 21 September 2023

Fiction

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Chapters 102–115 [the end]

Well, it took me longer than I hoped when I started it back in June, but finishing a novel in under three months is a relative rarity for me nowadays — lest we forget, the one before last took 14 months (albeit including a 13 month pause).

Anyway, I enjoyed it very much, and will definitely read the sequels. But next, I have some Who to attend to...

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
2–4 March 2021

These three days consist of, respectively, finding a shield, opening a treasure chest, and taking a rest. Sometimes, it really feels like it pays off to be playing several days at once.

Wednesday, 20 September 2023

Podcasts

Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast
2x13 What Makes "Dead Reckoning Part One" Work with Bilge Ebiri Part 2

I recently switched jobs. It was during the last few days of my old job that I began listening to podcasts on my commute, often getting through an episode each way — look back through the "Audio" tag and see all the days with two episodes? That's (mostly) that. But my new job is significantly closer, meaning a shorter commute. So I actually started this episode yesterday (just forgot to log it), then continued it today, but won't finish it until tomorrow. The new drive is not so good for listening to podcasts, but I definitely prefer the shortness overall!

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
27 February — 1 March 2021

Tuesday, 19 September 2023

Monday, 18 September 2023

Sunday, 17 September 2023

Audio Drama

Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time
Part 5 The Avenues of Possibility

It’s funny that Part 1 of this box set seems to the best regarded, because I thought it was a bit clunky and awkward and padded and I generally didn’t really care for it all that much, whereas I’ve largely enjoyed every episode since. Maybe I just needed to get my ear in and I should give it another chance? Maybe it’s just that tastes differ. Anyway, hopefully the finale (up next) is good too.

Fiction

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Chapters 95–101

Comics

2000 AD #2349

If I'd read this issue on Friday (as I planned), I could've said that I'd finally caught up, after seven months of working on it. But that would've been short-lived anyway, because Prog 2350 arrived Saturday morning — so I'm behind again. (Sort of: it's not officially out 'til Wednesday; getting it early is just a subscriber perk.)

Well, that's how it goes — there's always more to come. And besides, I've still got a small pile of Regened issues to go back to, so technically I wouldn't've been fully up-to-date anyway. I'll feel able to start my American comics eventually...

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
18–21 February 2021

this week on 100Films.co.uk

A mid-month update from 100Films.co.uk!? What's going on?! Well, no new reviews, for starters, just a bit of a musing on the state of things...


What a waste of a week
I’ve just left one job and am about to start another, with (to quote myself) “a small amount of time off in between”. That was 11 days, to be precise, which are now coming to an end. My plan for that time had been to “cram a bunch of films in… I’ve certainly got plenty that I want to catch up on.”

Dear reader, I have not crammed. In fact, I have watched… just checking my notes, adding them all up… one (1) film.

Look, for once it’s not my fault...
Read more here.


More next Sunday, maybe. But probably not.

Saturday, 16 September 2023

Films

Spy (2015)
[2nd watch]
[#68 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
Last time I watched the extended cut. I enjoyed this slightly-shorter theatrical version more.

Audio Drama

Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time
Part 4 Relative Time

Comics

2000 AD #2348

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
15–17 February 2021

Magic: The Gathering Arena
I'm not going to log this every time I play it going forward, because it's a bit "casual" for that (there are several casual games I play all the time that I never mention here, precisely for that reason), but I felt my third session was worth noting (a) for that reason, and (b) because I completed the first stage of the initial challenge, which culminated in my first match against another real human being — which I won! Hurrah!

Collection Count

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

Five new additions this week, although that's rather masked by some of them being upgrades. On the other hand, almost every category sees a change in numbers — except the total number of titles, ironically.

This week's acquisitions include: two brand-new film releases (both on 4K; one an upgrade from Blu-ray); one title that's arrived a week early; a box set I finally picked up thanks to Amazon's 25th anniversary discount (only £5 off, but every litte helps); and the latest addition to the Doctor Who classic series Blu-ray Collection, which Royal Mail told me was going to arrive on Monday but then turned up this morning. Hurrah! Not that I'm going to watch any of it immediately, but it is part of my 60th plans, so it's nice it's here.

Also worth mentioning is that we're finally reaching something of a tipping point in that Collection series. What I mean is, I'm intending to replace all my classic Who DVDs with the Blu-rays, and I've been ditching them as we go along... except I've been hanging on to any where the special features haven't made the leap to BD (usually because they've decided to move it to a different story) or, even more importantly, box sets with multiple stories from which not all have been released on Blu-ray yet. Now, this new release sees the number of discs go down (it's a nine-disc set that replaces ten discs), as well as the number of episodes (because it replaces some cross-season box sets). This tipping point was always gonna come, and some future releases may be even more extreme than the results seen here. Of course, it makes sense that we're at that point: this is the 14th release out of at least 26 (hopefully 27), so we're definitely over halfway through.

Number of titles in collection: 3,155 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,022 [down 4]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,133 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 294 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 7,714 [up 7]
Number of films: 3,873 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 340 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 9,621 [down 7]
Number of short films: 1,078 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Wednesday, 13 September 2023

Audio Drama

Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time
Part 1 Lies in Ruins

Big Finish's series to mark Who's 60th anniversary, Once and Future, is well underway at this point (the fifth episode came out this week; though, as someone who subscribed to the limited edition CD versions, I'm still waiting for all but the first disc to arrive!) But I never got round to listening to their last big celebrarory special. No, not the one for the 50th (I managed to do that at the time), but this one, which was released back in 2019 to mark the 20th anniversary of their own Doctor Who range (how time flies!) So, I thought I'd listen to this first.

And I guess that means my Doctor Who 60th anniversary celebratory viewing/listening/reading officially begins here! I've got a whole thing planned out, going Doctor by Doctor, so maybe I'll outline that when it begins 'properly' with my chosem First Doctor represenation.

Comics

2000 AD #2347

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
6–8 February 2021

Tuesday, 12 September 2023

Fiction

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Chapters 67–79

Comics

2000 AD #2345

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
3–5 February 2021

Magic: The Gathering Arena
Having done the tutorials yesterday, today I started a challenge-thing. But, more importantly, I gave it a go on my tablet (having played it on my Mac yesterday). Worked nicely... which is especially good as it's an Amazon Fire tablet and I had to sideload the Google Play store to even get MTGA on there.

Monday, 11 September 2023

TV

Christopher Eccleston Remembers Our Friends in the North
Never seen Our Friends in the North — only watched this interview because someone posted an interesting clip from it on Twitter. Ought to watch the series, really. The existence of this interview makes me presume they're repeating it, so maybe I will.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Games

Two different types of (nerdy, fantasy) games today...


The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
1–2 February 2021

In to the second month already! In that respect, it feels like this is flying by. And yet I also know it's going to last until Christmas (and slightly beyond), which feels like a long way off yet. Hopefully that means it's going to feel like an epic adventure — something that takes "a whole year" should do, really.

Also, you can kinda tell this is the first one they made, because each day varies in size so much. Sometimes that's at the discretion of the player (1st February is a sewer map where it's really up to you how many rooms you venture through), other times less so (2nd February is a four-round battle). Either way, playing just these two days felt plenty for a session, in the sense that it was comparable to times I've played through five days at once.


Magic: The Gathering Arena

aka MTG Arena. For those that don't know, Magic is a trading card game, and this is the primary online version.

I played some Magic when I was younger. Or, at least, I remember having some of the cards. Don't remember the circumstances of how I got them, or how many I had (did they do starter kits back then?), or even who I played against (maybe I forced my sister into it?), but when recent developments caused me to look into the game again, I definitely remembered some of the rules and mechanics (all that tapping mana business) and the back design of the cards (which hasn't changed since the beginning, for the sake of formats where all cards are allowed) also felt very familiar.

Those "recent developments" were the release of a Lord of the Rings set and the forthcoming release of a Doctor Who one. I bought some of the LotR cards and have been opening them over the past few days — it's quite enjoyable, the collecting side of it, and the fun of seeing what will be in the packs. I also bought the starter kit, which comes with a code to unlock its sets on MTG Arena — hence why today I signed up and had a crack at that. I've only played through the opening tutorial campaign thingy so far, but, well, gotta start somewhere.

(Also, saying I've enjoyed the collecting side of it... I'm now a little addicted to ordering packs of the LotR cards, but trying to cut back already because I've also forked out for the entire range of Doctor Who sets that are coming in October! Really looking forward to getting stuck into the 400+ Who cards that are coming my way...)

Sunday, 10 September 2023

DVD Extras

William Russell in Conversation
One of the most recent instalments in the ongoing series of long-form interviews included on the classic Doctor Who Blu-ray releases, this one from Season 2. ("Recent" here being a relative term, because this set came out nine months ago, but is (for the moment) the last-but-one release in the range (a new one is out next week); and there wasn't an "in conversation" feature on the last release anyway.)

Russell seems like a lovely man, but he's also clearly very old and a bit frail, and so while interviewer Matthew Sweet tries to gently steer him towards some recollections, it doesn't feel like there's all that much fresh here — Sweet brings most of the stories and facts (presumably researched from previous interviews, etc) and Russell mostly agrees, with the occasional minor extrapolation. Still, seems like a lovely man.

Comics

2000 AD #23432344

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
28–31 January 2021

Slightly messing up my "three days per day" plan is that weekends are double days (i.e. there are six "days" per week of the calendar), so today I had to play four days. Do I restructure my whole pace to account for this, or just play two days the next day when this happens? I'm banking on this being a rare occurence, and therefore the latter will suffice. (Who knew this simple plan would get so complicated, eh?)

Saturday, 9 September 2023

TV

Doctor Who
3x04 The Exploding Planet
aka Galaxy 4 Part 4, the final instalment. Enjoyed it overall. Not top-tier First Doctor, but solid mid-range stuff.

Podcasts

The Empire Spoiler Special Film Podcast
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ft. Christopher McQuarrie Part Four

It felt like I had to wait forever (it's actually only been nine days), but here it is: the final part. Oh no! Over so soon? Actually, no, because there's a bonus live show they did too. And anyway, across the four parts they talked for 11½ hours — that's enough for four commentary tracks, even on a film as long as M:I-7. But I want more! Not just because I'm greedy, but because McQ is so insightful and a joy to listen to and learn from. Good thing that live show is reportedly 3 hours long, then...

Comics

2000 AD #2342
After a couple of weeks off for reasons largely beyond my control, it's back on the 2000 AD horse once again.

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
23–27 January 2021
There, caught up to my original plan. Sometimes playing five days at once felt like plenty, sometimes not nearly enough. It'll be interesting to see how three goes down. (Also, I'm currently on a holiday from work, so have plenty of time for things like games. Once I'm back to full time, having only a little burst each day might be more welcome.)

Collection Count

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

I thought this was going to be a zero additions week, but then two titles I was expecting on Monday managed to turn up on Saturday. Both are theatrically-released animated superhero movies in 4K, too — namely, sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse making its disc debut, and a new edition of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. The latter I already own twice on Blu-ray, and unfortunately I won't be getting rid of either: one is in the box set of the TV series, the other contains a 4:3 version of the film not available on any other release. Grr.

Number of titles in collection: 3,155 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,026 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,129 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 292 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 7,707 [up 3]
Number of films: 3,867 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 338 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,628 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,077 [no change]

This week also marks the time for another running time update. The past month has had three low-key weeks and one packed one, so what effect has that had?

Total running time of collection (approx.):
546 days, 4 hours, and 12 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 20 hours, and 35 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday, 8 September 2023

TV

Doctor Who
3x03 Air Lock
aka Galaxy 4 Part 3. This is the one episode of the serial that survives, but I'm still watching the animated version for consistency.

Fiction

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Chapters 54–66

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
16–22 January 2021

Well, playing this in chunks definitely paid off today: January 16th through 22nd are just character introductions and stat sheets, so you can pick your hero. According to the developers on the game's forum, spending a whole week introducing the characters "was meant to be an experience in reading each of their bio's and learning more about the world [but] it inevitably slows down the story." Yeah... So, that's why I've broken my own pacing rules (today should have ended on the 20th) and read ahead a couple of days, so as to cover all the intros in one. This only adjusts my catchup pace slightly: playing five days tomorrow will just get me on track a day earlier than initially intended.

Wednesday, 6 September 2023

TV

Doctor Who
3x01 Four Hundred Dawns
aka Part 1 of Galaxy 4, one of the missing stories that's recently been animated — and therefore has ended up with two listings on places like IMDb and Letterboxd, both for its original '60s version and the animation. For someone as anal as me, it's kinda confusing knowing which to log / link to: more people have done the original, but that's because the animation is recent and/or wasn't listed when it first came out. In some respects it doesn't matter (whichever I choose to log/link, I can't have watched the original, because it's lost), but it bothers me!

Podcasts

Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast
2x11 Why We Love Mission: Impossible
Oh, I'm all caught up! Now I just need the Empire one to get on with posting the rest of their McQ sessions...

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
6–10 January 2021

My "speedrun" plan calls for playing three days per day (because I'm doing it in four months rather than twelve — s'just maths, innit), but as I forgot to start on September 1st, I'm currently doing five days per day to catch up (I should be on track by the end of January, aka the end of this week).

Tuesday, 5 September 2023

Podcasts

Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast
2x09 In the Studio with Composer Lorne Balfe Part 1
2x10 Composer Lorne Balfe Hits All the Right Notes Part 2

Games

The Dragon Staff of Maladoria
1–5 January 2021

So, somehow I came across Sundial Games' Quest Calendars thanks to their Kickstarter campaign for the 2024 edition. It sounded fun and I backed it, and in the process ended up with a digital copy of this, their first calendar from 2021. It's meant to play out over a whole year (obviously), but as I intend to be playing the 2024 one from next January, I decided to speed-run this one over the next four months (it would've been ideal to start on September 1st, therefore, but I forgot).

The game designed to give you a quick little burst of RPG-ing each day (or, rather, for 6 days out of 7, as the weekends are doubled up). That means it actually works quite well saved up and playing a few days at once — each day is so short (especially here at the start, which has a lot of intro material) that even playing through a few days doesn't take very long.

So, that means there's not much to comment on so far (in terms of interactivity, I've conducted precisely one dice roll), but I'm curious to see where it goes and how it plays over the long term.

Monday, 4 September 2023

Podcasts

Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast
2x07 Henry Czerny on the Evolution of Kittridge Part 2
2x08 Rebecca Ferguson’s Adventures with Ilsa

Here's what happens after you get bought out and become "official", I guess: your Mission: Impossible-centred podcast has to do a 15-minute segment promoting a completely different and unrelated film (the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie) from the same studio. Almost worth it for the "Light the Ooze" pun.

Sunday, 3 September 2023

Films

The Pied Piper (1986)
[#66 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Podcasts

The F-Rated Podcast
1x01 Meet Your Hosts

this week on 100Films.co.uk

It's time again for "this month on 100Films.co.uk", with my review of August...





...and my look over all the films I failed to watch last month...





More next Sunday, perhaps; next month, if not.

Saturday, 2 September 2023

Films

Benediction (2021)

Collection Count

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

I always knew this week was going to represent an uptick in additions, because I was expecting a tidy pile of preorders, plus a couple of discount purchases that didn't quite turn up in time for last week. But then another whole pile turned up from the US a week earlier than I was expecting, and so I was left with a grand total of 15 new titles. Crikey.

Not that it says 15 below. That's thanks to those two that were due last week — both recent-ish-but-not-brand-new 4K releases that upgrade my old DVD copies (always nice to jump straight from DVD to 4K, because I don't feel like I've wasted money on a Blu-ray that way — especially as half (or more) of those BDs I upgrade are ones I haven't even watched).

There were more 4Ks among the five preorders: four titles from Indicator, with three in 4K; and the fifth was a delayed box set from Eureka, though that's not 4K. But the 4K love continued with that box of American titles: eight Blu-rays in total, five of them in 4K. That's a total of 10 new 4K titles this week alone, which I suspect is a personal record (maybe I should go back and check...)

Number of titles in collection: 3,153 [up 13]
Of which DVDs: 1,026 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,127 [up 15]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 290 [up 10]

Number of discs in collection: 7,704 [up 25]
Number of films: 3,865 [up 16]
Number of additional cuts: 338 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,628 [up 4]
Number of short films: 1,077 [up 8]

See you next week, faithful reader, when I'm expecting... nothing whatsoever, now. Huh. But it is time for the monthly running time update (already? Apparently so!), so at least there's that to look forward to.

Thursday, 31 August 2023

Films

65 (2023)
[#65 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
Yes, I deliberately held off watching this to make it #65.

Podcasts

The Empire Spoiler Special Film Podcast
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ft. Christopher McQuarrie Part Three

Finished off Part Three on my commutes today. Now just impatiently waiting for Part Four. In the meantime, back to the regular Mission pod...

Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast
2x04 Inside the Action with the Cast of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Wednesday, 30 August 2023

TV

The 1% Club
2x08 Episode 8 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on ITVX.]

Murder, They Hope
2x01 Can't See the Blood for the Trees
Having enjoyed the previous 'movies' and series, I somehow missed that this was on last year. Catching up now (obviously) before there's a new special at Christmas.

Podcasts

The Empire Spoiler Special Film Podcast
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ft. Christopher McQuarrie Part Three

As if these weren't divided up enough already (in terms of recording, this is Day Two Part One (with at least one, but possibly two or even three, more parts to come)), I only listened to the first hour or so of this 2½-hour edition — not because it's not good (it's excellent), that's just how my time management worked out.

Monday, 28 August 2023

Podcasts

The Empire Spoiler Special Film Podcast
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ft. Christopher McQuarrie Part One & Part Two

Since 2018 and the last time the Empire podcast + McQ dived deep into a Mission, they've spun off their "spoiler specials" into its own podcast — and made that subscription only, grr. But these are so good that I've paid up so I can listen to 'em. The sheer length (5½ hours across these first two parts, with at least two more to come) means it can get a little rambling, going off on tangents here, there and everywhere rather than being laser-focused on the filmmaking, but that's kinda fun in its own way too. And when it really gets down to the meat of it, it's as super-insightful as ever.

Sunday, 27 August 2023

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x100 Week 22: Friday [season finale]
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

All the Old Knives (2022)

Urge to Kill (1960)
[#64 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

DVD Extras

Murder on the Orient Express Special Features
Several of the featurettes (on Agatha Christie, on Poirot, and one that generally covered the making of the film), plus the deleted scenes with commentary (by director Kenneth Branagh and screenwriter Michael Green), and about the first half of the main film commentary (by the same contributors). Not truly in-depth stuff, but all interesting enough.

Saturday, 26 August 2023

TV

Leverage
5x12 The White Rabbit Job

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x98 Week 22: Wednesday
6x99 Week 22: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Greatest Days (2023)
[#63 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
[2nd watch]
[#62 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Collection Count

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

At one point I thought there was going to be nothing to report this week... but then I placed a couple of orders, of course, and they turned up quickly (one thanks to Amazon Prime, one just speedily from the US).

Number of titles in collection: 3,140 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,112 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 280 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 7,679 [up 5]
Number of films: 3,849 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 338 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,624 [up 6]
Number of short films: 1,069 [up 2]

And there'll definitely be more next week, with a couple more sale pickups that should arrive, plus a few new releases direct from the label that (almost-)definitely will (on time rather than early, what shocking behaviour!) See you then, faithful reader.

Friday, 25 August 2023

TV

Death in Paradise
11x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x97 Week 22: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Thursday, 24 August 2023

TV

Death in Paradise
11x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x95 Week 21: Friday
6x96 Week 22: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Wednesday, 23 August 2023

Tuesday, 22 August 2023

Monday, 21 August 2023

TV

Death in Paradise
11x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x89 Week 20: Thursday
6x90 Week 20: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Sunday, 20 August 2023

Saturday, 19 August 2023

TV

Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra
[2nd watch]
This is one of those things that's not really TV (though it has been shown on TV) but is not really a film either (it's a filmed live show, which I watched on Blu-ray), so where should I list it? Well, it's here now; and whatever it is, it's very good.

Leverage
5x09 The Rundown Job
This is listed as episode 10 on IMDb, but comes up as episode 9 on Amazon Prime. Seems the pair were originally broadcast on the same night, with this one first, so it's IMDb that's wrong in this case.

More interestingly, it felt like a backdoor pilot for a spinoff, or possibly a new direction in season 6: Nate and Sophie not only don't appear, they aren't even mentioned; while Eliot becomes team leader due to his military connections as he, Hardison and Parker take down a would-be terrorist. It's more like a low-budget 24 or something than a regular heist-based episode of Leverage. I was fully expecting to check the IMDb trivia and learn it was intended as such a relaunch, but there's nothing there — which is almost weirder.

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x87 Week 20: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Jigsaw Man (1983)

Marriage of Convenience (1960)
[#61 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Collection Count

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

Three new additions this week, between them representing my regular kinds of purchases: a newly released title (in 4K); a preorder direct from the label that's turned up a couple of weeks early; and a cheap catalogue title.

Number of titles in collection: 3,138 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,110 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 278 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,674 [up 4]
Number of films: 3,847 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 338 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,624 [up 6]
Number of short films: 1,067 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday, 18 August 2023

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x86 Week 20: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Wednesday, 16 August 2023

Fiction

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Chapters 33–53

Didn't mean to leave it so long since I last read any of this, and now, of course, I'm struggling to remember what's been happening and who some of the minor characters are. Dammit. This keeps happening. I need to find a way to be more consistent with my reading.

Anyway, today I have reached the end of Part One. I didn't realise I was reading a Part One, so either I accidentally turned past the page where it said that back when I started, or I just forgot. Anyway, always nice to reach a milestone.

Comics

2000 AD #2341

Monday, 14 August 2023

Collection Count

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

A whole pile of new additions this week, just in time for a new monthly running time update — which is why this post is days late, because I've had a busy time at the ol' day job and haven't had time to input it all until now.

Contributing to this week's bumper selection are: a bunch of titles from Vinegar Syndrome's recent sale, and with them a couple of new releases; another pair of new releases from Eureka (turning up two full weeks before their release date!); another pair of titles from Indicator, including their second box set (also almost two weeks before their scheduled date); and a Kickstarter of a silent film serial. It means nearly every category sees an increase (I've counted the serial's episodes under "TV episodes", which isn't truly accurate, but nor would it be to count them as either 1 or 7 films). Only poor old DVD misses out. Such is life.

Number of titles in collection: 3,135 [up 12]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,107 [up 12]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 275 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 7,670 [up 18]
Number of films: 3,845 [up 13]
Number of additional cuts: 338 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 9,618 [up 7]
Number of short films: 1,067 [up 5]

Plus, as I mentioned, it's time again for a running time update...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
544 days, 7 hours, and 37 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 7 hours, and 24 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

Sunday, 13 August 2023

TV

The Diplomat
1x07 Keep Your Enemies Closer
1x08 The James Bond Clause [season finale]
Really enjoyed this series overall, but it fell into multiple streaming series pitfalls — primarily, that it doesn't conclude its story; it just ends in a great big "hope we get recommissioned cliffhanger". It's particularly disappointing because there's enough going on here, and enough potential, that they could've wrapped up one narrative as a "story of the season" kind of plot and that would've still left various threads dangling for future seasons. On the bright side, at least it has been recommissioned. Would've been doubly shit if it hadn't.

Poker Face
1x10 The Hook [season finale]
This, on the other hand, does it all right: wraps up the ongoing plot that kicked off in episode one, but sets things up to continue. A great show all round — I've loved every episode. So glad this is coming back, too.

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x85 Week 19: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

An Irish Goodbye (2022)
This year's Oscar winner for Best Short Film, currently available in the UK on iPlayer.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Saturday, 12 August 2023

Friday, 11 August 2023

Thursday, 10 August 2023

TV

Not Going Out
13x07 Football [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x80 Week 18: Friday
6x81 Week 19: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Wednesday, 9 August 2023

TV

Not Going Out
13x06 Beep
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x78 Week 18: Wednesday
6x79 Week 18: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Tuesday, 8 August 2023

Monday, 7 August 2023

TV

The Diplomat
1x03 Lambs in the Dark
1x04 He Bought a Hat

Not Going Out
13x05 Train
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x76 Week 18: Monday
Weeks 16 and 17 were the two weeks of festive specials, which I watched (appropriately) back in December (and, technically, January).
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Sunday, 6 August 2023

TV

Not Going Out
13x04 Coffin
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poker Face
1x08 The Orpheus Syndrome

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x75 Week 15: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Georgetown (2019)

The Imitation Game (2014)
[2nd watch]
[#59 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

this week on 100Films.co.uk

I ought to start calling these post "this month on 100Films.co.uk", because that's how often I've been posting updates for most of 2023 so far.

That's because my reviewing has collapsed into nothingness, so there's nothing to report most weeks. But, once a month, there's the monthly review — like this one for July...





And, at the same time, the list of things I failed to watch in the past month...





And that's it, most months. I usually sign off with "more next Sunday", but let's be honest, it's more likely to be "more next month".

Though, you never know...

Saturday, 5 August 2023

TV

The Diplomat
1x01 The Cinderella Thing
1x02 Don't Call It a Kidnapping

Leverage
5x07 The Real Fake Car Job

Not Going Out
13x03 Hospital
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poker Face
1x07 The Future of the Sport

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x74 Week 15: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Enigma (2001)

Collection Count

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

I've been placing lots of expensive orders this week (the last Evangelion movie for £50; importing an Australian release of the Dune miniseries (with a LEGO set!) for a little over £100; amongst others), but only one title has actually arrived to bolster my collection (that being Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, which looks like a ton of fun).

Number of titles in collection: 3,123 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,095 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 271 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,652 [up 1]
Number of films: 3,832 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 335 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,611 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,062 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader, when there'll definitely be more — I've got a big-ish sale order from the US arriving Wednesday. And that's just in time for the monthly running time update, too. Exciting times.

Friday, 4 August 2023

TV

Not Going Out
13x02 Hospital
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poker Face
1x06 Exit Stage Death

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x73 Week 15: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Thursday, 3 August 2023

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x72 Week 15: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Saturday, 29 July 2023

Films

Beau Travail (1999)
[#57 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
Blindspot 2023 #7

Comics

2000 AD #23392340

Collection Count

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

As mentioned at the end of last week's update, I wasn't expecting anything new for this week. That can always change, of course — I do have a habit of ordering stuff on a whim. But not this week, with my money instead going into other things (comics, books, CDs) and preorders (it used to be all preorders were charged at the point of dispatch; these days, unless you're ordering from Amazon, most seem to be charged when you order. Gotta say, I dislike that — it means I need the money now, rather than knowing I've got an expensive month coming up and being able to prepare).

Anyway, on with the stats... which are, in fact, slightly different from last week. Having looked through all the special features of the Bruce Lee sets I own on DVD, Blu-ray, and now 4K, I found I could definitely sell... one DVD. So that's gone.

Number of titles in collection: 3,122 [down 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,094 [no change]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 270 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 7,651 [down 1]
Number of films: 3,831 [down 1]
Number of additional cuts: 335 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,611 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,062 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday, 28 July 2023

Other

Brick America: An Adventure in LEGO Bricks
at American Museum & Gardens

I don't use categories like "Museums" often. Mainly because I don't have call to often; and so, when I do, sometimes I forget. But this I remembered, because it was fun. It runs until the end of the year and is worth a visit if you're local and/or LEGO is your kinda thing.

Wednesday, 26 July 2023

Films

Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
aka Lift to the Scaffold

Sunday, 23 July 2023

Films

The Calm (2003)
A BMW short film, produced as "an homage" to their great short film series, The Hire. It's not as good as any of those were, but it's not bad. You can watch it here.

Podcasts

Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast
2x02 How Simon Pegg Ended Up in Mission: Impossible
2x03 Hayley Atwell Graces Us with Her Presence

Comics

2000 AD #23372338
Skipping #2336 for now because it's another Regened prog. But I'm almost caught up (next Wednesday's prog (which, as a subscriber, I received yesterday) is #2342), so it won't be long before I'm tackling the small pile of Regeneds I've built up.

Saturday, 22 July 2023

TV

The 1% Club
2x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on ITVX.]

Films

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
[2nd watch]
Well, I say "second"... Yeah, like Sully last week, I'm not really sure this counts. More thoughts in that vein on Letterboxd.

Living (2022)
[#53 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Comics

2000 AD #23342335

Articles

Mission Impossible Director Chris McQuarrie on Stunts, VFX, COVID
by Iain Blair (from postPerspective)

Maybe these kinds of interviews happen all the time and I just don’t see them, I dunno; but across various articles & podcasts, it feels like McQ is the filmmaker who’s most open and detailed in his discussion of the actual process of making movies. This is a fantastic piece in that vein if you're intested in how the Missions are done.

Collection Count

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

This week's major addition is Arrow's 4K box set of Bruce Lee films. I've owned most of these on DVD for over a decade, which I've never watched; and I bought the similar Criterion Blu-ray box set a couple of years ago, which I think is still unopened; and yet the promise of all-new transfers, plus a raft of versions and new extras... well, I couldn't resist! I should probably sell those DVDs, and maybe the Criterion set too, but I need to work out if they've got any unique special features worth keeping first. Either way, they're never likely to grace my player — why would they when I've got these Arrow versions now? (Well, for the special features, obviously; but, actually, I rarely watch those. So I should just sell them. But... Yeah, I'm hopeless.)

So, while that set only adds one title (and one Blu-ray and one UHD Blu-ray), it ratchets up numbers in the second half: across ten discs (a mix of UHD and regular BD), there are eight films, plus 13 further alternate cuts — six of the films have at least one alternate version, with one having five or six (depending what you count as an alternate cut and what as a special feature curio).

The only other newcomer this week was also an Arrow release, upgrading Dario Argento's debut film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, from regualr BD to 4K. All that really does is take away one disc (because the BD also had a DVD copy, whereas the 4K doesn't have a BD copy).

Number of titles in collection: 3,123 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,029 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,094 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 270 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 7,652 [up 9]
Number of films: 3,832 [up 8]
Number of additional cuts: 335 [up 13]
Number of TV episodes: 9,611 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,062 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader, when I am currently expecting... nothing. Gasp!

Monday, 17 July 2023

TV

University Challenge
2023/24 Episode 1
A new era begins, with Amol Rajan starting as only the third host since the show began 60-odd years ago.

...but that wasn't why I watched. I only saw it because I was at my parents' house and they watch regularly.

[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Sunday, 16 July 2023

Films

Santo vs. Infernal Men (1961)
[#51 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Podcasts

Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast
2x01 When in Rome with Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie

Former fan podcast Light the Fuse is now the official M:I podcast, just in time for the release of Dead Reckoning Part One. That's not why I've finally got round to actually listening to it... but I guess it kinda is.

Comics

2000 AD #2331,2332,2333

Saturday, 15 July 2023

TV

The 1% Club
2x05 Episode 5
2x06 Episode 6
[Watch the whole series (again) on ITVX.]

Films

Sully: Miracle on the Hudson (2016)
[2nd watch]
...well, sort of. As I wrote on Letterboxd, I caught roughly the second half of this on BBC One this evening after turning it on by chance and getting sucked in. I'm never sure if I should count viewings like that (not that they happen often), because while I didn’t watch the whole film, I did watch a significant chunk; including, in this case, the best bit. At present, I've decided to note it here and on Letterboxd, and probably on 100 Films' Recently Watched page, but not allow it to count towards the 100 Films Challenge.

Comics

2000 AD #23292330

Articles

Henry Czerny On The Return of Kittridge In Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
by Mike Ryan (from Uproxx)

I actually read this a few days ago but forgot to share it. It's a great read for fans of the M:I series.

Collection Count

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

Seven additions this week, include a trio of new releases (one in 4K; two arriving early), a trio of Arrow sales purchases (one in 4K, and also an upgrade from Arrow's regular BD), and one from Amazon's Prime Day offers (the third season of anime Attack on Titan. I've not actually got round to watching seasons one and two yet, which did make buying season three feel a bit silly, but while it was on offer I couldn't resist. Now I've just got to resist completing my collection with the parts of season four, in the hope they bundle them into a complete set eventually (as I've got complete series sets for the seasons so far).)

Number of titles in collection: 3,122 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,029 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,093 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 268 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 7,643 [up 10]
Number of films: 3,824 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 322 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,611 [up 22]
Number of short films: 1,062 [up 6]

Plus, it's once again time for the monthly running time update...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
543 days and 13 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 6 hours, and 35 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday, 14 July 2023

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x71 Week 15: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Wednesday, 12 July 2023

Sunday, 9 July 2023

Films

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
[#49 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
My first trip to the cinema since Dune: Part One in October 2021! But I had to go for Indy. (And, soon, for Mission #7.)

Saturday, 8 July 2023

Films

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
[#48 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Santo vs. Evil Brain (1961)
If it weren’t for the strange confluence of MST3K piquing my interest and then Indicator releasing a box set, I’m not sure I’d have ever seen this movie. I’m not yet wholly sure whether that’s a good or indifferent thing, but at least it’s not bad.

Comics

2000 AD #2328

Collection Count

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

Four new titles this week, including that rarest of sightings: an addition to my DVD collection! That was the Ian McKellen / Judi Dench Macbeth (shot for TV in the 1970s, so never likely to see a Blu-ray release). I don't know why I'd not bought it before, really, as I've wanted to rewatch it for years (having last seen it at school, presumably off a VHS, while studying the play for the first time, and so being less enamoured of it than I am now).

The other three titles are all new (or new-ish) releases from Radiance, including their first box set — which shipped with two corrected discs outside the box. Well, at least I don't have to sign up for some replacement programme and wait for them.

Number of titles in collection: 3,116 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,029 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,087 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 266 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 7,633 [up 6]
Number of films: 3,818 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 321 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,589 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,056 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Wednesday, 5 July 2023

TV

Have I Got News for You
65x10 (16/6/2023 edition; extended repeat) [season finale]
I think that's the first time I've ever wanted to buy the guest publication...
[Watch the extended episode (again) on iPlayer.]

Tuesday, 4 July 2023

Monday, 3 July 2023

TV

Only Murders in the Building
2x07 Flipping the Pieces
2x08 Hello, Darkness

Poker Face
1x04 Rest in Metal

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x68 Week 14: Wednesday
6x69 Week 14: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100Films.co.uk

June was the fourth month in a row where I didn't publish any new reviews to 100Films.co.uk. Oh dear. Hopefully I'll restart again soon.

In the meantime, July has begun, and so that means it's time for the usual lookbacks at last month. First, the general review of the month...





And second, a bunch of stuff I didn't watch last month...





Perhaps there'll be more next Sunday. If not, see you in August!

Saturday, 1 July 2023

TV

Not Going Out
13x01 Italian Lessons
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Only Murders in the Building
2x02 Framed
2x03 The Last Day of Bunny Folger
2x04 Here's Looking at You

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x65 Week 13: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical (2022)
[#47 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Collection Count

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

This week brings a heady mix of new releases (Avatar 2 in 3D; anime Pompo the Cinephile; '70s Japanese action in the Game trilogy from Arrow); a belated pickup from earlier in the year (Park Chan-wook's Decision to Leave); and a pile of titles from US label Vinegar Syndrome, including three in 4K. An eclectic bunch, to be sure, but that's half the fun.

Number of titles in collection: 3,112 [up 8]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,084 [up 8]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 266 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 7,627 [up 18]
Number of films: 3,812 [up 10]
Number of additional cuts: 320 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 9,589 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,055 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Thursday, 29 June 2023

Wednesday, 28 June 2023

Tuesday, 27 June 2023

Comics

2000 AD #2327
Once I finally catch up on 2000 AD, I've got a massive pile of American comics I've been buying for, like, the past year to catch up on too. Looking forward to that 'n' all.

Sunday, 25 June 2023

TV

The 1% Club
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on ITVX.]

Glastonbury 2023
Elton John
Farewell (again), Elton. A pretty spectacular send-off it was, too.
[Find the BBC's complete Glastonbury TV coverage on iPlayer.]

Mystery Science Theater 3000
13x09 The Million Eyes of Sumuru
So much for watching MST3K more regularly (it's been almost four months), but, hey, there's no season 14 in sight (yet), so I'll get there eventually (only four more to go now).