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.