Comics

Six tales from Gotham City today...

Batman #6 by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
Snyder's telling a great Batman tale overall, but it must be said that not much happens this issue; it's the last act of the last issue's story, really -- just a long fight ending in a double cliffhanger. Ah well.

Batman and Robin #6 by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason

Batman: The Dark Knight #6 by David Finch, Paul Jenkins & Joe Harris
Middling... which is as good as TDK gets. It still outsells Batman & Robin, which I can't help but feel must be down to the quality of their namesake films.

Batwoman #6 by J.H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman & Amy Reeder
New (to Batwoman) artist Reeder has a pleasant cartoony style, but it's nothing compared to the work Williams III was doing before. Oh well. They've replaced intricately-designed art with an apparently intricate story, following six characters across multiple time periods. Be interesting to see how that pans out.

Nightwing #6 by Kyle Higgins, Eddy Barrows & Geraldo Borges

Resurrection Man #6 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino
Nice one-and-done set in Arkham Asylum.
Every non-Batman book seems keen to get in on the Gotham City action at the minute: after All Star Western moved Jonah Hex there, I, Vampire just did a two-parter in Batman's city, and now there's Resurrection Man too; and that doesn't include the mass of non-Batman Bat-family books. Wouldn't be surprised if there's even more I'm not aware of. But hey, Batman's always popular, so why not.

TV

Dirk Gently
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Let's Dance for Sport Relief 2012
Episode 3 (of 5)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

My Life in Books
2x07 Phil Davis and Rosie Boycott
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
5x08 (3/3/12 edition) [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Roger & Val Have Just Got In
2x05 Poem for Uncle Jack
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Room 101: Extra Storage
12x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Sarah Millican Television Programme
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Just one new title this week, but it's a good'un: Game of Thrones season one. Specifically, this Amazon-exclusive version. Mmm, bonus-bonus-disc-tastic.

Number of titles in collection: 1,458 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,150 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 308 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,613 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,546 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,449 [up 10]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
10x17 (24/2/12 edition)

Films

The Other Guys (2010)
[#26 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Stepping Out (1991)
[#27 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
From the director of You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker... a film about middle-aged ladies tap dancing.

TV

10 O'Clock Live
2x04 (29/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Castle
2x02 The Double Down
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

The Mentalist
4x15 War of Roses
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 30th March. Probably.]

My Life in Books
2x06 Kate Silverton and Chris Addison
Several of Chris Addison's choices sounded particularly interesting, I thought.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x17 (6/3/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
1x05 Episode 5

Pointless
6x16 (5/3/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

If you like 'banter', you are an idiot
by Tom Chivers (from the Telegraph)

This is not a tirade against rudeness. I am all in favour of rudeness, of bawdiness, of insult and mockery and obscenity. They're all brilliant things, when done well. But "banter" isn't. If you insult someone, you expect them to be insulted; if you are rude, you expect people to be offended. "Banter" is apparently a free pass: I can insult you, but you're not allowed to be insulted, because "it's only banter". I can be obscene, but you can't be offended, because "it's only banter". No.

Great article.

Terra Nova Cancelled By Fox: Chernin Series Will Be Shopped To Other Networks
by Nellie Andreeva (from Deadline)
Good coverage of the life and death (and potential resurrection) of Terra Nova.

TV

The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Help! My Supply Teacher is Magic
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x15 (2/3/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stella
1x09 Episode 9

Watson & Oliver
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) In HD on iPlayer.]

Comics

The Amazing Spider-Man #677 by Mark Waid & Emma Ríos

Daredevil #8 by Mark Waid & Kano

Two-part story in which Spider-Man and Daredevil team up to prove the innocence of one of Spidey's foes/friends. Good stuff, better than that continuity-laden DC pair-up I read yesterday. Both parts are by Daredevil's regular writer, which seems to have meant the tale primarily forwards the ongoing plot in Daredevil -- up my street, as I read that regularly and don't read ASM.

TV

Castle
2x03 Inventing the Girl
Don't know what they showed on TV on Friday, and only episode two is on Demand 5 online, but this was the episode available in HD on Virgin Media catch-up. Both two and three are there in SD. Weird. I doubt they'll put up episode two in HD now, or next week, so SD it will be.
[Watch episode two, The Double Down, (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

The Lady Eve (1941)
[#25 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
[#24 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Comics

Action Comics #5 & #6 by Grant Morrison & Andy Kubert

Morrison takes a break from the ongoing Action Comics storyline (I believe while regular artist Rags Morales catches up) to tell a two-part tale about a future Superman saving something or other and blah blah blah. This is a great example of why comic book readership struggles to broaden: it's thoroughly wrapped up in ancient continuity and characters you know nothing about who are treated as if they're intimately familiar. The opening section of #5, picking up on a thread from #3 to finish the tale of baby Superman being sent out from a destructing Krypton, is the best bit.

Also: two short back-up strips written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by ChrisCross. The first, Baby Steps, shows the Jonathan and Martha Kent as they try for a baby in the run up to finding one in a crashed spaceship. It's quite good. The second, Last Day, is about Clark Kent's last day in Smallville before heading off to college. Aside from horrid art, it's fine.

this week on 100 Films

As I mentioned, this past week has seen 100 Films in a Year turn five years old. To celebrate the occasion, I've run a series of posts looking back at some key films from the past five years.

So no reviews this week, but instead you can read some lists. See if you can guess to what these quotes refer...

The 5 Worst Films

It’s not just bad, it’s impressively bad — how do you make a film this shoddy? Of course there always has and always will be bad writing, bad acting, bad directing, but how do you create something with so little awareness of how to tell a story? It baffles me.

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

The 5 Most Overrated Films

I didn’t really get either of them. I don’t think they’re bad films, but I struggled to get what they were for, and I certainly didn’t like or enjoy either... Maybe I need to take the time to re-evaluate them, but I’ve already seen one of them two or three times and I’m not sure I can face it again.

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

The 5 Most Underrated Films

There are many films Scorsese is praised for, and deservedly so, but having watched Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and more in the past five years, I think this is my favourite... apparently “Scorsese has called De Niro’s role… his favorite of their collaborations.” What better endorsement?

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

The 5 Best Films

So influential its name has become an adjective... There are many imitators, but few have done it with such conviction. Add beautiful cinematography, music and performances and you have a masterpiece.

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

My 5 Favourite Films

I haven’t seen this since the cinema, so maybe there’s a degree of nostalgia in my love for it. Or maybe it’s just a great action-thriller... At the time I asserted it was one of the greatest films ever made, and IMDb’s Top 250 continues to bear that out: it’s currently 8th.

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

And finally, a little different...

7x7 Link Award

here’s something I was kindly awarded by Colin of Riding the High Country... [I must nominate] one of my posts that I personally think best fits the following categories: Most Beautiful Piece, Most Helpful Piece, Most Popular Piece, Most Controversial Piece, Most Surprisingly Successful Piece, Most Underrated Piece, Most Pride-worthy Piece

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

And that's that. Normal service resumes next Sunday.

TV

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
5x07 (25/2/12 edition)
Including a list of the 100 highest-grossing films since the year 2000. Grand, what fun! Except whoever their idiot researcher has managed to include all of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels twice. Seriously. And that didn't make 103 possible answers -- they left three out in order to inaccurately include Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 4 alongside Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. What bloody idiots. I think I might complain.
You wouldn't get that on Pointless.

Pointless Celebrities
2x02 (3/3/12 edition)
With Brian Blessed! Love Brian Blessed.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stella
1x08 Episode 8

Top Gear
18x05 (26/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The Graham Norton Show
10x16 (17/2/12 edition)
Despite only seeing him on Jonathan Ross last week (in real life they were four weeks apart, but I'm different amounts behind on both), Daniel Radcliffe was completely unrepetitious. That's some good guesting.

Let's Dance for Sport Relief 2012
Episode 2 (of 5)
"Iain, you've been on that very stage, who could forget that incredible performance?" Me.
Honestly, I have no idea what he did. I didn't even recall he'd been on, and now they come to mention it I kind of remember he was. But I've not got the foggiest what he did. I could probably look it up somewhere, but as they've chosen not to tell us, I can't be bothered.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

My Life in Books
2x03 Anna Chancellor and Nicky Haslam
2x04 Tim Rice and Russell Grant
2x05 Pam Ayres and Don Warrington
[Watch all three episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Room 101: Extra Storage
12x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Couple of small boosts this week, not all that exciting.

Number of titles in collection: 1,457 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,150 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 307 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 3,607 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,546 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,439 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

House
8x12 Chase
After episodes last season (or was it the one before?) focussing on Cuddy and Wilson, now it's the turn of one of House's few remaining original cast members. (Have they done one about Foreman? I forget.)

My Life in Books
2x02 Natascha McElhone and Chris Hollins
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x14 (1/3/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Roger & Val Have Just Got In
2x04 Pam's Collage
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Music

Lungs by Florence + the Machine
Well, here's one I should've gotten round to years ago. But I didn't. It was good.

TV

10 O'Clock Live
2x03 (22/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Mad Bad Ad Show
1x02 Episode 2
So after Episode 1 was episode-2, Episode 2 is episode-6. What?
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Pointless
6x13 (29/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
[#23 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
1x04 Episode 4
With a daily quiz show, plus its new Saturday night version, and this panel show, plus the odd guest appearance elsewhere, there does seem to be a lot of Mr Armstrong -- Xander to friends -- around at the moment. Which is surprisingly unirritating.

The Mentalist
4x14 At First Blush
Well, that that was going there is no surprise. But I shall say no more for the sake of any readers watching it on Channel 5.
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 23rd March. Probably.]

Pointless
6x12 (28/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The 84th Annual Academy Awards
aka the Oscars, obviously. As usual (I've done it for a couple of years now), I got Sky Movies to watch this... and lots of on-demand movies for a month. Yay!
Anyway, the ceremony itself... was fine. Billy Crystal started weakly but got better; almost every award went where everyone thought it would; and Sky's coverage was a bit of a shambles. I presume there are very few people who know what they're talking about who'll agree to come on.

Castle
2x01 Deep in Death
It's only been six months since Channel 5 finished airing the first season of Castle, but it's such good fun it feels like a lot longer. Maybe one day we'll even catch up with the US (currently deep in season four).
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

My Life in Books
2x01 Pamela Stephenson and Alexander Armstrong
At the end of the first series I commented that some more would be nice, and lo and behold here it is! Didn't really expect that, but it's most welcome.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x11 (27/2/12 edition)
That's right, today's. You don't get much more caught up than that, eh.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Oscar 2012: Red Carpet Live
As per usual the actual awards begin at 1:30am over here, so here's a lot of pre-show speculation from Sky Movies' chosen presenting team. They always call it "red carpet", but there's not much of it on the Sky Premiere coverage. Thankfully, because all of that stuff's a bit dull.

Pointless Celebrities
2x01 (25/2/12 edition)
Was Penny Smith drunk?
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Sum of All Fears (2002)
[#22 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Comics

Uncanny X-Men #7 by Kieron Gillen & Greg Land

Wolverine and the X-Men #6 by Jason Aaron & Nick Bradshaw
I don't really like it when X-Men goes too far with the space-y stuff -- the Earth-based sci-fi, the level pitched in all the movies, is more my kind of pace for the franchise -- but this is still a fun book overall.

Currently thinking I won't bother with the super-huge (and therefore expensive) Avengers vs X-Men event Marvel have this summer, and probably ditch the likely-central Uncanny in the process, but hopefully WatX will remain fun enough to stick with.

this week on 100 Films

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

Ip Man (2008)

I’ve decided to try something a little different. I’ve read several different reviews of the film, found by various means, and have compiled a selection of quotes from them below... the "fight choreography is clever and exciting, with sequences that have Ip felling a sword-wielding rival with a feather-duster, or holding off two men with a 10-foot pole."

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

Winnie the Pooh (2011)

The American Academy have overlooked Winnie the Pooh in their nominations this weekend, I imagine writing it off as “just for little kids”. And that’s a shame, because I don’t think it is. I certainly loved it more than Rango and it’s definitely better than Kung Fu Panda 2, to pick on the two nominees I’ve seen. I struggle to believe I’ll find Puss in Boots more endearing.

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

Next week sees the fifth birthday of 100 Films, so expect a series of posts marking that august occasion. And probably no actual reviews.

TV

House
8x11 Nobody's Fault
Well that was a bloody good episode. House has definitely still got it.

The Jonathan Ross Show
2x03 (21/1/12 edition)

The Mentalist
4x13 Red is the New Black
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 16th March. Probably.]

Pointless
6x10 (24/2/12 edition)
That literature round was bleak and depressing. How can only 29 out of 100 people know JK Rowling was an author who sold over 2 million books in the '00s?! And Dan Brown at 14?! And so many famous names as pointless?! How is our nation so thick?!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
18x04 (19/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Legion (2010)
[#21 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

TV

The Graham Norton Show
10x15 (10/2/12 edition)
Graham's show can suffer when he has on an older person (or foreigner) who doesn't really get it, but fortunately Dame Judi Dench is exceptionally excellent in every way and was marvellous.

Roger & Val Have Just Got In
2x03 Surprise!
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Room 101: Extra Storage
12x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stella
1x07 Episode 7

Pointless
6x09 (23/2/12 edition)
I got loads of pointlesses in that final (on films nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar). Fun fun fun!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

RIP Gregg Jevin: Imaginary Death Of Imaginary Comic Trends On Twitter
by Andrea Mann (from The Huffington Post UK)
And not just for a bit -- for hours and hours (most/all of the day), with what felt like everyone joining in. Despite sounding kind of dark and morbid, it was actually quite fun. More, including some of the best tweets, at the link.

Collection Count

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

A slightly larger boost than of late this week, thanks to some sales and some long-delayed titles (I've been waiting for one of these for over a month). The number of discs was a nice round 3,600 until this morning too.

Anyway, all that's just in time for the regular monthly running time update. Which is nice.

Number of titles in collection: 1,455 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,150 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 305 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 3,603 [up 8]
Number of films in collection: 1,544 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,439 [up 22]

As I mentioned, it's that time of the month again: the running time update. Yay! So...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
259 days, 17 hours, and 39 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 7 hours, and 22 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff
1x01 Episode 1
As much as I enjoyed the Christmas special, it felt a bit long. This, however, was a much more enjoyable burst of Dickens spoofery. Half an hour is clearly its ideal length, as it is for most comedy. Particularly liked The Apprentice joke, but then I like most jokes against The Apprentice.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Let's Dance for Sport Relief 2012
Episode 1 (of 5)
Who thought this'd make it to four series, eh? I was surprised when there was a second. It's good fun, but not the sort of stuff that lasts, especially as it's felt like they were struggling for good guests ever since the first run.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x08 (22/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Burke & Hare (2010)
[#20 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Articles

David Tennant, Tom Jones, Emma Thompson for new Sky Arts shows
by Tom Eames (from Digital Spy)

The above will "star in a new collection of drama productions titled Playhouse Presents for the channel", which sounds quite exciting.

It also mentions that Michael Parkinson will be returning to TV to host a new chat show, Masterclass, more details of which are here.

TV

10 O'Clock Live
2x02 (15/2/12 edition)
For all its variability, sometimes the 10 O'Clock Live team manage a whole episode that clicks, and I thought this was one.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
5x06 (18/2/12 edition)
A round about movies starring Marvel characters made since 1970 seemed like fun... and it was... until they unveiled the full list. Apparently this is Fantastic Four 2 (with this being Fantastic Four 1, presumably), and this is The Punisher 2 (with this being Punisher 1, presumably). Can we look forward to future rounds that cover King Kong, King Kong 2 and King Kong 3? How about Psycho, Psycho II and Psycho 2?
I could go on.
You wouldn't get such stupidity on Pointless.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x07 (21/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Watson & Oliver
1x01 Episode 1
They really slagged this off in the Radio Times, and while it certainly wasn't perfect -- most sketches went on too long, some didn't even seem to have a joke -- it was quite good overall.
[Watch it (again) In HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

BBCA Enjoys Viral Spread Of NYC Outdoor Ads
by Kent Gibbons (from Multichannel News)

BBC America is getting social media mileage out of a new outdoor advertising campaign it's launched in the New York City area.

Lots more detail at the link, including many examples (better quality here). This one's my favourite:

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
1x03 Episode 3

House
8x10 Runaways

Pointless
6x06 (20/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Law & Order: UK
6x07 Fault Lines [season finale]
After a series that has mostly been very good, I thought that was a rather weak episode. Shame.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Mad Bad Ad Show
1x01 Episode 1
Well, that was moderately entertaining.
(Note how the programme guide URL for Episode 1 says "episode-2". What?)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Pointless
6x05 (17/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Devil (2010)
[#19 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Articles

Kick-Ass 2 to shoot this summer, says Mark Millar
by Mark Langshaw (from Digital Spy)
Funny: earlier today I was wondering if we'd ever see Kick-Ass 2 now, and then later read this news! Sounds a bit implausible -- shooting this summer, with no director or screenwriter announced? -- but you never know: it's an indie film, they may've developed it in secret. Time will tell.

The Most Expensive Starbucks Drink Ever: $23.60 Plus Tip
by Piper Weiss (from Shine from Yahoo!)

TV

Top Gear
18x03 (12/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

102 Dalmatians (2000)
[#18 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Unstoppable (2010)
[#17 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Really cracking on with film viewing at the minute... massively behind with review writing, though...

TV

The Magicians
2x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
A spectacular end to a series full of fantastic magic. And, if you think back over it, including all guest acts and forfeits, there were a total of 84 tricks performed across the series. 84!

The Mentalist
4x12 My Bloody Valentine
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 9th March. Probably.]

Pointless
6x04 (16/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stella
1x05 Episode 5
1x06 Episode 6
Just as I was commenting (to myself, at least) about how well constructed Stella's plots actually were, it goes and does a standard groom-to-be-looks-like-he's-having-an-affair-but-is-actually-getting-secret-dance-lessons-for-the-wedding plot. But at least it does it as amusingly as ever.

Articles

Beyond Dark Knight: What if Wes Anderson made Batman reboot?
and
After Dark Knight: Are you ready for Batman, the musical?
and
After Dark Knight: How about Robert Downey Jr as the Joker?
and
After Dark Knight: Could Arkham City work as a movie?
and
After Dark Knight: What if Tim Burton took back Gotham?
by Geoff Boucher & Sean Hartter (from Hero Complex at the Los Angeles Times)

when the credits roll on The Dark Knight Rises this July, it will mark the end of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy... Warner Bros. executives have made it clear they won’t leave the iconic property sitting on a shelf, however, and a new director and star tandem could be inhabiting Wayne Manor by 2014. But how on earth will any filmmaker follow the work of Nolan and company?

Five-part series suggesting (with tongue firmly in cheek) 15 possible futures for the Batman film series.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
10x14 (3/2/12 edition)

Pointless
6x03 (15/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Roger & Val Have Just Got In
2x02 The Woman in the Attic
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Knight and Day (2010)
[#16 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Articles

The Best New Action Classics, Volume 1
by Scott Weinberg (from Movies.com)

I was tweeting in highly opinionated fashion about how "foreign" films are presently kicking Hollywood's ass, as far as quality action films are concerned. Then I got a response from Duncan Jones, director of Moon and Source Code, asking me to write a piece about the best recent action movies I've seen from around the planet. And when the guy who debuted with one of the best sci-fi films in 20 years asks for a favor, you do it.

Now here's a list that merits some reading, watching and ticking-off-of-the-list-what-I've-watched...

James Bond Movie Poster Mashups
(from Empire)
Fun fun fun.

Collection Count

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

Finally, 300 Blu-rays! And my collection was nicely balanced on round numbers (1450/1150/300) until Master of Cinema's Repo Man went and turned up early. On the other hand, its Steelbook looks beautiful, I'm excited to watch it, and it turned up early. Yay!

Number of titles in collection: 1,451 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,150 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 301 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 3,595 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,541 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,417 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Priest (2011)
[#15 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

So far this year I've watched eight films from 2011, plus two from 2010, meaning the two years of the 2010s make up two-thirds of my viewing to date. Bit unbalanced, that.

(For the sake of completeness, the remainder included one from the '80s, one from the '90s, and three from the '00s.)

Articles

Sherlock exec comments on Johnny Lee Miller Elementary casting
by Morgan Jeffery (from Digital Spy)

The controversial US series setting Sherlock Holmes in the modern day, Elementary, has cast Jonny Lee Miller as its lead. Miller appeared alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, star of the acclaimed British series setting Sherlock Holmes in the modern day, last year in Danny Boyle's production of Frankenstein. Producer of Sherlock Sue Vertue pithily comments, "let's hope their pilot script has stayed further away from our Sherlock than their casting choice."

TV

10 O'Clock Live
2x01 (8/2/12 edition)
It's back! (Has it really been almost a year? And over a year since it began? Crikey. Time flies.) I'm still watching it a week late! (I said time flies.) And if they have tweaked or changed the format you'd never know. It felt shorter, but they still made more mistakes than it's common to see on a live show. So it's still sort-of-quite-good, but still commendable for looking at the news in a slightly more accessible (read: funny) way than most programming.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Pointless
6x02 (14/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Room 101: Extra Storage
12x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
1x02 Episode 2

Pointless
6x01 (13/2/12 edition)
There were 30 episodes in series one and two of Pointless... 50 episodes in series three... 60 episodes in series four and five... and now this one has 70! I guess that shows its continued widening success. And apparently the next celebrity specials will be on Saturday night BBC One, so that's nice for them.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)
[#14 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Articles

IDW announce Doctor Who/Star Trek crossover
by Chuck Foster (from Doctor Who News)

That would be US comics publisher IDW Publishing, and this would be a new comic (presumably a miniseries) in which Matt Smith's Doctor meets the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew. It's called Assimilation², is rumoured to feature the Borg and the Cybermen, and begins in May. Chances of being able to pick it up over here: slim (apparently there's some contractual thing stopping IDW's Who comics being sold in the UK).

TV

The Jonathan Ross Show
2x02 (14/1/12 edition)
Lots of catching up to do...
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Law & Order: UK
6x06 Dawn Till Dusk
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
5x05 (11/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Onion News Network
1x10 American Dream [season finale]
I was wondering why ONN had suddenly developed end credits. Answer (as I suspected): season finale.

Comics

All Star Western #5 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat

Last issue I comment that "some of these 20-page comics feel brief, lightweight and not worth their cover price, while others pack so much in I'm counting the pages to check it's not a bumper-length edition." This is another example of that. The speed of storytelling, humour and strong plotting make this a great action/adventure/detective comic. Nice work all.

Back-up strip The Barbary Ghost continues too, again with solid art by Phil Winslade, though Gray and Palmiotti provide more clunky dialogue and a tale heavy on exposition, setting up next issue's (final?) part. I don't know if they're overworked or going for a different pulpier style, but I don't think these secondary stories work as well as the main Hex-starring one.


Animal Man #6 by Jeff Lemire, John Paul Leon & Travel Foreman
Remember how issue 1 mentioned Buddy Baker (aka Animal Man) had recently acted in a movie about a washed-up superhero? Well, here we get to see it... or the opening chunk of it anyway, before a clever conceit kicks in. It's a filler issue, certainly -- presumably needing to sync up with Swamp Thing or something -- but as filler issues go it's an excellent idea.


Wolverine and the X-Men #5 by Jason Aaron & Nick Bradshaw
This continues to be exactly the kind of X-Men comic I want to be reading: fun, accessible, not reliant on plot points from other books that I don't read, and with a darker edge at times. The slightly cartoony art sets the tone perfectly, actually. This isn't a kiddy book -- the T+ rating seems bang on -- but it is for people who like their comics to be enjoyable, rather than mired in decades of continuity and po-faced seriousness.

Articles

BitTorrent doesn't hurt US box-office, delayed international releases drive downloading
by Cory Doctorow (from boingboing)

Title says it all, really. Or, to expand a little:

There's only one Internet, networked culture doesn't respect national boundaries. A particularly effective marketing campaign for a new release in America will stimulate demand in other countries, and if there's no legitimate way to fulfill demand, then some portion of viewers will choose illegitimate routes... the delayed release makes downloading easier and more attractive.

TV

The British Academy Film Awards 2012
As I think was expected, The Artist swept the board with seven awards, including Best Film, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay. Really looking forward to catching that when it comes to Blu-ray.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
4x11 Always Bet on Red
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 2nd March. Probably.]

Films

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
[#13 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Unknown (2011)
[#12 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

DVD Extras

Unknown: The Story
Just an EPK featurette, which might be expected but is disappointing considering how much things change in the final act -- would've been interesting to hear the cast and crew discuss that, but naturally they're not giving it away in this promotional puff piece.

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new review was posted to 100 Films in a Year this week...

Glorious 39 (2009)

it creates a mood of creeping terror and dread; of an oppressive conspiracy that our hero, who’s just a fairly ordinary girl, has no chance of overturning — if it’s even real, and if she can find details about it if it is... you can never be sure where it’s going to go; never be sure who’s on the side of the angels and who of the devils; of who is reliable and what is really happening; of who will survive. What’s better in a thriller than not actually knowing what will come?

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

More next Sunday.

TV

House
8x09 Better Half
Don't think this has started up again over here yet (if it has, I missed it), but they're three or four episodes into it Stateside so I thought I'd get going anyway.

The Magicians
2x05 Episode 5

The Singing Detective
Part 1 Skin
Dennis Potter's seminal 1986 drama, currently being repeated on BBC Four... but only on iPlayer for a week at a time, so I'm afraid I can't link to this one any more.

Top Gear
18x02 (5/2/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The Graham Norton Show
10x13 (27/1/12 edition)

Help! My Supply Teacher is Magic
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x59 (3/2/12 edition)
5x60 (6/2/12 edition) [season finale]
And that's me caught up! Series 6 begins on Monday.
[Watch the 6/2/12 edition (again) on iPlayer.]

Stella
1x04 Episode 4
Stella was recommissioned this week, which is nice because it's good fun.

Collection Count

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

A couple of new things this week, but still not quite at 300 for Blu-rays. Next week... maybe... (It'll probably land on 301 now, which looks less pretty.)

Number of titles in collection: 1,448 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,149 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 299 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,592 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,538 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,417 [up 3]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Help! My Supply Teacher is Magic
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Law & Order: UK
6x05 Line Up
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Pointless
5x58 (2/2/12 edition)

Roger & Val Have Just Got In
2x01 A Shock
I hadn't expected to see this quiet but excellent comedy-drama back, but I'm very glad it is. As mundane but brilliant as ever, with an intriguing new plot thread to guess at too -- what was outside the window? What's in the note?
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Room 101
12x03 Episode 3
No extended version this week thanks to the Super Bowl. Bloody Yanks.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
1x01 Episode 1
Missed the pilot of this last year (was it really on in May?!). Shame, because it's fun.

The Mentalist
4x10 Fugue in Red
Just forging on ahead now.
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 24th February. Probably.]

Pointless
5x57 (1/2/12 edition)

Comics

Animal Man
#4 by Jeff Lemire & Travel Foreman
#5 by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman & Steve Pugh

Dark as sin, with some of the most (deliberately) disgusting art I've ever seen, but brilliant stuff. Really can't believe it's only rated Teen+ though -- surely this is much tougher stuff than that implies?

Anyway, they're off to meet Swamp Thing next... or not. Quick Google search revealed that their much-discussed crossover is coming in the 12th issues, this summer. And there's also an annual about it. Christ, it does feel like you need to read the news to keep up with these things! It'd be nice if it was clear in advance in the comic itself how much crossover there'll be with Swamp Thing, because not every reader will read both (I'm not) and not everyone will have as much forethought as me to Google it.

That said, based on some of the stuff in this interview with Swamp Thing writer Scott Snyder, maybe I should double back and catch up... even though he specifically says, "We don't want you to feel like you have to read both books, at all. It's not that kind of thing."


Detective Comics #6 by Tony Salvador Daniel

That was a lot better -- a decent story, for one thing, even if the Penguin has nothing to do other than call other supervillains by their name so we know who they are; and if at times it felt like it was calling back to past stories/characters that it assumes the reader will know. That's the annoying thing about comics, and something I've always thought newcomers must have when watching something like Doctor Who: when there's a reference to a previous adventure, or the reveal of a villain, there's an element of "am I meant to know what that means?" And sometimes yes, they expect you to; and other times no, it's new to all viewers. Who is almost always the latter -- very little essential is based on fannish knowledge, and certainly not if it's something from the classic series. With comics... you never can be sure.

Most blatant was a reference to the current story in I, Vampire, which guest stars Batman. I'd been thinking about reading it anyway -- it's got Batman; I've thought I, Vampire sounds interesting -- but when it goes being so obviously called up... But there's no need to read it; it's not essential to this story. Which makes it the most pointless kind of reference, in a way; it plays like an uncomfortably obvious advert for another comic, because they've shoehorned it in for the sake of shoehorning it in. Oh well.

Articles

House Ends In May With The Conclusion Of Its Eighth Season – Official Statement
by Brendon Connelly (from Bleeding Cool)
They were taking so long over this I'd begun to assume it'd be recommissioned after all. Ah well. Goodbye, House -- you weren't always great, but you were always entertaining.

TV

The Mentalist
4x09 The Redshirt
From being increasingly far behind Five -- sorry, Channel 5 --, to being ahead of them. That's what happens when you take too long bringing a US show back from its Christmassy break, British network. Not that they care. Or I, really. Just fancied watching it.
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 17th February.]

Pointless
5x56 (31/1/12 edition)

Films

The Book of Eli (2010)
[#11 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Comics

Justice League #5 by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee
Considering the pace this is moving at, I really don't see how they're going to wrap it all up next issue. Hope it doesn't feel too rushed, or too inconclusive. Still, some good stuff in here; though one senses Jim Lee is finding the monthly deadlines a bit much -- his pencils are looking quite a lot sketchier, I think. No wonder he's taking a multi-issue break after this arc.

TV

Franklin & Bash
1x05 You Can't Take it With You
Needed something to watch fairly late at night; this seemed to be the last offensive thing on; turned out I quite liked it. Lightweight sure, but kinda fun.

Onion News Network
1x09 Real America
Particularly strong episode, I thought.

Pointless
5x55 (30/1/12 edition)

Comics

Aquaman #5 by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis
Poor Aquaman: saving the world one issue, still getting the piss taken out of him the next. Intriguing new story launching out of the old one though.

TV

Help! My Supply Teacher is Magic
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x54 (27/1/12 edition)

Stella
1x03 Episode 3
Somehow they managed to broadcast the first half-hour of this without any sound... and then out of nowhere cut to The Simpsons. Good thing Virgin have added Sky Anytime this month.

Comics

Uncanny X-Men #6 by Kieron Gillen & Greg Land

Articles

If 2012's Oscar-nominated movie posters told the truth
by Ali (from The Shiznit)
Hilarity.

Revisiting Alan Moore's Official Watchmen Prequel
by Timothy Callahan (from Comic Book Resources)
Amongst all the fuss around Before Watchmen, someone linked to this article from September 2008 looking back at the official Watchmen role-playing game, which was created with the help of Moore and Dave Gibbons while they were creating the very series on which it's based. Sounds fascinating, and a shame it's long out of print. Surely someone must have rights to re-print it?

this week on 100 Films

Just one new review was posted to 100 Films in a Year this week...

2000 AD (2000)

The centrepiece fist/foot fight takes place on the 32nd storey of a building. They really filmed it up there too. I learnt that from the DVD special features. It’s a shame, because you definitely get more of a feel for how dangerous and on the edge — literally — the fight was in some of the B-roll footage and interviews than you do from the movie itself: it’s covered almost entirely through low-angle shots, meaning it could just as well have been recreated on a ground-level mock-up as the actual rooftop.

We're now in February, as you may have noticed, so here's the monthly update for January.

And, as I linked to it on twitter, why not have a look at that on the new-look work-in-progress version of 100 Films. Feel free to have a look around there and let me know if you have any thoughts. Naturally the 2000 AD review is there too, as well as several others.

Yes, I know it's missing everything from before 2012 (for now). Aren't those chunky banner images -- different on every page -- awesome, though?

More next Sunday.