Comics

Action Comics #8 by Grant Morrison, Rags Morales, Brad Walker, Rick Bryant & Bob McLeod
Morrison & co deliver a suitably exciting climax to their first tale. Against my expectations (as discussed last issue), I shall be continuing with a Superman comic.

Batman and Robin #8 by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
A fantastic epilogue to Batman and Robin's first arc. This book has definitely grown to be one of my favourites. I can't believe it's outsold by the woeful The Dark Knight -- I can only presume that's the power of movie titles for you (neither book has anything whatsoever to do with their namesake films).
Beautifully-rendered final page leading in to Night of the Owls, too.

Detective Comics #8 by Tony S. Daniel
A one-and-done? Well I never. Though as it guest stars a bunch of characters who have their own titles or have been popping up in others, it's hard to say how interconnected it is or isn't. Though the only thing footnoted as being from another title is a relatively minor aside from a months-old issue, so maybe it's more isn't... though I swear I spotted a reference to a Dark Knight storyline at least, so why didn't they flag that up? Oh, it doesn't really matter. The story works by itself and it's solid enough, and harks back to the back-up strip from #5... though not particularly overtly, so that still doesn't leave that with any real point.
This issue begins a back-up strip again written by Daniels with art by Szymon Kudranski, this time featuring Two-Face in the first of what seems to be an on-going tale. Still not very interesting though.

Wolverine and the X-Men #8 by Jason Aaron & Chris Bachalo
As ever, WatXM demonstrates superior comic book storytelling. Funny and exciting by turns, when appropriate, managing multiple plot threads simultaneously, telling a tale that is both one-and-done (the holy grail of mainstream comics in these days of decompression, it feels like) and vitally linked to the on-going story. Shame AvX looks like it's about to get in the way for anything up to half a year. (Unlike Uncanny, this one I won't be stopping.)

Articles

Skyfall poster: New James Bond movie unveils teaser image
by Simon Reynolds (from Digital Spy)
Trailer soon! Yay!

Click to enlarge.

TV

Archer
3x09 Bloody Ferlin
Will we get episode 11 next week? Or 12? Or some other? Who can tell! Not 5*, apparently.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Die Walküre
[2nd half]
Seven hours down, only nine to go...

Have I Got News For You
43x05 (11/5/12 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

House
8x20 Post Mortem
Another great episode, I thought. Which is good because there's only two more to go...

Comics

Uncanny X-Men #10 by Kieron Gillen, Carlos Pacheco & Paco Diaz

This was the last issue before Uncanny went all AvX-y, so it's the last one I intended to read until that great big six-month crossover finished. I'd been thinking about ditching this anyway so it didn't feel like a hardship. But it ends on an intriguing note, the whole issue building into a crossover that had felt exploitatively pointless but now is interesting -- and now I want to know what happens!

But God, AvX is going to be expensive: at £2.65 an issue (+ p&p) it's over £40 for the main series alone, never mind the extra issues of Uncanny involved (and that's ignoring any other tie-in series or one-shots, like the #0 issue and AvX: Vs). And after a bit of reading on some sites apparently it's not very good actually. So maybe I won't bother after all. Or just read it on the sly like a very naughty boy.

Articles

First Trailer For US Sherlock Holmes Show Elementary And Official Blurb
by Brendon Connelly (from Bleeding Cool)
It doesn't look bad, but that character isn't Sherlock Holmes, he's just Generic Autistic Spectrum Detective. But what can you really tell from a couple of minutes? We'll see.

TV

Die Walküre
[1st half]
La Fura dels Baus' 2007 staging of the second opera in Wagner's Ring Cycle (currently showing weekly on Sky Arts 2). I'm enjoying it, but I still can't handle 4½ hours of opera in a single sitting, hence only watching half.
Five hours down, only eleven to go...

Mad Men
5x08 Lady Lazarus
I laughed at this far more than it strictly deserved:

The Making of the Ring
2 Die Walküre (of 4)
Second of four half-hours looking behind the scenes of La Fura dels Baus' production.

Pointless
4x24 (14/4/11 edition)

TV

Castle
2x12 A Rose for Everafter
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Grandma's House
2x04 The day Simon was really determined to heal his Grandma's pain
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Matt Lucas Awards
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Not Going Out
5x05 Examination
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Once Upon a Time
1x06 The Shepherd
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

The Voice UK
1x12 Results Show 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
[#44 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

Articles

Weekend Report: Avengers Shatters More Records, Shadows Mostly Sucks
by Ray Subers (from Box Office Mojo)

Marvel's superhero team-up fell 50 percent to an estimated $103.2 million, which is by-far the best second weekend ever... It also topped The Dark Knight for best second weekend hold for a movie that opened to more than $120 million. Other new records include fastest movie to $300 million and $350 million, and highest eight-day, nine-day, and ten-day grosses...

It's now inevitable that the movie will finish above $500 million, and it should also claim third place on the all-time [domestic] chart

this week on 100 Films

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

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story (2010)

Stan “The Man” Lee is indeed The Man when it comes to the world of comic books. In the 1960s he revolutionised the medium in the US, introducing complex and realistic characters to a world that had previously focused on perfect super-humans. In a period of just two years he co-created the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man and the X-Men, and after that rejuvenated Captain America (cancelled a decade earlier) for a modern audience. If there’s anyone in the comic world deserving of a dedicated feature-length documentary, it’s Stan Lee

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

You need some pretty fine talent to replace two of our greatest actors — Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, of course — and in Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy you certainly have that. Fassbender carries much of the emotional weight of the film, but it’s thanks to McAvoy’s support that the film is lifted to a higher level. He provides calm, humour and fundamental decency to balance Fassbender’s rage and emotion.

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

More next Sunday.

TV

Episodes
2x01 Episode 1
Hurrah for the return of Episodes! I enjoyed the first series, in spite of the apparently endless criticism it got, and I enjoyed this very much too.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Voice UK
1x11 Live Show 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
6x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Horrible Histories
4x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
4x22 So Long, and Thanks for All the Red Snapper
Nice Hitchhikers-referencing title. Shame the rest of the episode wasn't up to a great deal -- lots of good bits and ideas, actually, but somehow it came to much less than the sum of its parts.
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 18th May.]

Collection Count

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

A few updates this week. I'd thought it would be a few more, but those three things were posted yesterday and will probably now populate next week's update. So there you go.

Number of titles in collection: 1,476 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 323 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 3,674 [up 7]
Number of films in collection: 1,563 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,479 [up 6]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Have I Got News For You
43x04 (4/5/12 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Maestro at the Opera
Episode 1 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Noel's Are You Smarter Than Your 10 Year Old?
3x04 Episode 4
3x05 Episode 5
I... well... yeah.

Films

The Lion King (1994)
[goodness-knows-what-th +1 watch]

TV

The Graham Norton Show
11x01 (13/4/12 edition)

Not Going Out
5x04 Running
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Weekend Report: Avengers Smashes Records
by Ray Subers (from Box Office Mojo)

The superhero team-up got off to an unprecedented $207.4 million start this weekend, which obliterates the previous all-time weekend record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last Summer ($169.2 million)…

It was the fastest movie ever to reach $100 million, $150 million, and $200 million, and it set new records for Saturday ($69.6 million) and Sunday ($57.1 million) grosses…

[It] has already grossed more than Thor ($181 million), Captain America: The First Avenger ($176.6 million) and The Incredible Hulk ($134.8 million). It's still behind Iron Man and Iron Man 2 ($318.4 million and $312.4 million, respectively), though it should pass those movies next weekend.

Wow.

TV

Castle
2x11 The Fifth Bullet
Guest starring Buffy's Marc Blucas, House's Anne Dudek and 24's Carlo Rota. Why so many recognisable faces all at once? Who knows.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Das Rheingold
La Fura dels Baus' 2007 staging of the first opera in Wagner's Ring Cycle (currently showing weekly on Sky Arts 2). I'm no opera expert (far from it), but this is a pretty amazing spectacle, full of giant robot-like creatures and sci-fi imagery on huge video screens, amongst other incredible feats. Plus highly dramatic music and an engrossing fantasy/mythical story. I really enjoyed it.
Three hours down, only 13 to go...

Grandma's House
2x03 The day Simon attempted to express actual feelings just like a person
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
5x07 At the Codfish Ball

The Making of the Ring
1 Das Rheingold (of 4)
First of four half-hours looking behind the scenes of La Fura dels Baus' production. Worth it for the look at the incredible free live show staged outside their stunning opera house during performances of the operas.

Pointless
4x23 (13/4/11 edition)
I got all 12 in round two! Woo!

TV

Once Upon a Time
1x05 That Still Small Voice
Oh, a daft real-world plot and a decent fairy-tale-world one! Makes a change.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Pointless Celebrities
2x04 (5/5/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vera
2x02 Silent Voices
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Voice UK
1x10 Live Show 2 Results
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

The Negotiator (1998)
[#43 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

this week on 100 Films

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

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

It’s not as funny... nor is it as exciting... it’s not as beautiful to look at... That’s my overriding impression of Kung Fu Panda 2: it’s not bad, but it’s not a patch on the first one.

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

But also this week was the look back at April, and I added reviews for four of the Avengers lead-in movies (well, three and Ang Lee's Hulk) to my new blog. So that's some stuff.

More next Sunday.

TV

The Mentalist
4x21 Ruby Slippers
One of the best for a while, I think. Not that I've disliked recent episodes, but this is a particularly good one.
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 11th May.]

QI
9x14 Idleness
The Jeremy Clarkson-featuring episode they skipped in December after his widely misunderstood 'controversial' comments on The One Show. I don't think he said anything offensive on this; I guess they just didn't want him on TV much that week.
The XL version, which was released on to some versions of iPlayer by mistake back in December (and I missed), doesn't seem to be forthcoming this time round. How daft.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Voice UK
1x09 Live Show 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
6x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Mission: Impossible III (2006)
[2nd watch]

The last time I saw this was in the cinema (has it really been six years? Six?!) I remembered quite liking it, but watching it again now I think it's actually a rather good action-thriller. The Vatican mission and bridge action sequence in particular are excellent.

And I love how things keep going wrong. Everything from big stuff (like jumping off a building several storeys too low or getting the identity of the mole wrong), to little things (like not getting phone signal or our hero alerting the enemy to his presence by knocking some stuff over), goes wrong at some point. Sure, the heroes still win, and sure, some stuff goes fine, but normally the only time things go significantly wrong for the good guys in a movie is when it turns out to be a bluff as part of the plan -- not so here. I liked that.

I may be alone in this, but I've actually really enjoyed every Mission: Impossible film. It often seems like people who like the first hate the second, or people who like the second hated the first, or they just dislike all of them: on IMDb the first has 6.9, the third 6.8, and the second a measly 5.8! I vehemently disagree with all that -- I like all three films, and one of the reasons is how different they all are.

But I've not seen Ghost Protocol yet. I hope it's just as good, and just as different again. It looked similar in tone and style to M:i:III though (whereas the first three differ from each other quite wildly, I'd say), so we'll see. It has 7.5 on IMDb though, so that might bode well...

Free Comic Book Day 2012

Free Comic Book Day – $7,000 we probably don’t see again
by Kenny (from Forbidden Planet International blog)

Today is Free Comic Book Day, which sounds marvellous but is actually a little dubious for various reasons.

I don't approve of publishers releasing new or "essential" (to quote Bleeding Cool's review of one FCBD title) content in a way that can only be accessed if you can, a) make it to a comic shop (which I imagine loads of people can't, especially in the UK), b) if that comic shop is participating (by no means guaranteed, especially in the UK), and c) you can get enough free comics to get the one you want.

The latter is related to another reason I dislike it: the retailer pays. Yep, they're not actually free to the shop; so understandably most shops limit how much you can take, one way or another (only one free, only with a purchase, you get a set-size "goodie bag", etc). Which is fair enough -- they're basically giving money away -- but can't be great if you're after multiple titles. The latter is what this article from 2007 is about. Being five years old might make you think it's now factually inaccurate, but FPI's blog about FCBD 2012 says it's "still valid now".

I'm not saying everyone should be able to get free comics without having to go to a shop or without someone paying. If it was "any comic free" or reprints, I wouldn't mind; if you could purchase it at a later date, maybe even have to wait a month or two for the privilege, then I wouldn't mind. But it's new content, some of it "essential" to the series, which not everyone can get hold of! That's insane.

And can you imagine another industry in which a shop would be forced to pay for a publishers' marketing exercise, and be criticised by customers if they didn't? (Comic shops are regularly accused of "not supporting the industry", etc, if they don't join in with FCBD.) The FP article notes that "it isn’t unusual for us to be given 500 of a 36 page sampler of a novel to give away to our customers" -- that's FCBD, except the difference with FCBD is FP would have to pay for those 500 samplers. Madness.

Doesn't look like such a great industry-boosting event after all, does it?

TV

House
8x19 The C-Word

The Matt Lucas Awards
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
4x22 (12/4/11 edition)

Would I Lie To You?
6x03 Episode 3

Articles

Ricky Gervais: Why I’m an Atheist
by Ricky Gervais (from Speakeasy at the Wall Street Journal)

This article was published nearly 18 months ago, but Stephen Fry mentioned it on twitter so I came to read it today. It's so full of Truth I thought I'd share it. It's very good.

Collection Count

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

Despite last week's prediction, there's still a couple of small boosts this week. And not even everything I was expecting, so there'll definitely be more again next time.

Number of titles in collection: 1,473 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,152 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 321 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 3,667 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,561 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Archer
3x10 Crossing Over
Looks like 5* mucked up and showed the wrong episode again, skipping two when they should've skipped one. And clearly there was a moderately major development in the last one that meant this doesn't even vaguely work out of sequence. Grr.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Castle
2x10 One Man's Treasure
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Not Going Out
5x03 Camping
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless Celebrities
2x03 (28/4/12 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

BBC3 to make zombie drama In the Flesh
(from RadioTimes)
So BBC Three had to cancel SF/F drama The Fades because (reportedly) they couldn't afford both it and more-established Being Human, but they can afford SF/F drama In the Flesh? Still, supporting new talent is good, and it does sound like it might be a solid twist on the zombie format. Irritating for Fades fans though.
Of even greater interest in this story (in my opinion) is news of BBC One commission The Musketeers, a 10-part modern-day re-working of The Three Musketeers. Be interesting to see how that works out -- it's not as obviously adaptable as Sherlock. If it's a hit too, I can well imagine us seeing a swathe of these modern-set re-imaginings of classic literature.

Downton, Walking Dead, How I Met Your Mother: Tube Talk Q&A
by Morgan Jeffery & Daniel Sperling (from Digital Spy)
A bunch of handy answers/updates to questions I've been curious about on series I'm interested in: Damages season four (and presumably five) will go straight to DVD in the UK; How I Met Your Mother season seven is finally resuming on E4 in a couple of weeks; The Hour season two is on in late June (has it really been a year since the first series? A British series can't be returning in under 12 months, surely); Episodes returns to UK screens nearly two months before the US; and a few other things too.

Sherlock series three details revealed by Mark Gatiss
by Morgan Jeffery (from Digital Spy)
Gatiss confirms that the first episode will be a version of The Adventure of the Empty House. Absolutely no surprise, but exciting to have it confirmed.

TV

Grandma's House
2x02 The day Simon thought it may be a good idea to find new living arrangements
I don't like most squirm-inducing comedy, even when favourite shows play at it for an episode, or even a scene; but this is endlessly brilliant. And I love the episode titles.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
5x06 Far Away Places
Well that was weird, but cool. Feels like Mad Men's being more experimental this season, and that can only be a good thing.

Onion News Network
2x10 Year in Review [series finale]
That's that then. I loved ONN at first, but somehow feel it hasn't been working as well recently. Too much emphasis on the presenters/characters and not enough on the actual satirical news stories, maybe. Sadly, I won't particularly miss it now it's been cancelled.

Pointless
4x21 (11/4/11 edition)

Articles

Marvel's Avengers torpedoes Battleship at UK box office
by Simon Reynolds (from Digital Spy)

Avengers Assemble "has already outperformed the entire box office runs of earlier Marvel films The Incredible Hulk (£8.2 million), Captain America (£9.5 million) and Thor (£14 million)." Crikey!

TV

Have I Got News For You
43x03 (27/4/12 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Scott & Bailey
2x08 Episode 8 [season finale]
Great final episode. Hope we get more of this.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer #3
Wow. Bold trailer. Can't wait for this.

The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
Sequel to The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers.

Non-Fiction

Drew Struzan: Oeuvre by Drew & Dylan Struzan

This large-format art book of Struzan's work -- movie posters, album covers, and more -- is stunning. There's very little text (just some introductions to each of the sections, plus a list of works featured at the back), just full-page reproductions of his incredible work. Highly recommended to anyone who has a liking for this kind of thing.

Articles

5 Scientific Explanations for Game of Thrones‘ Messed-Up Seasons
by George Dvorsky (from io9)
Actually very scientific, but also interesting. If you're interested in this kind of thing.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
10x20 (16/3/12 edition) [season finale]
That's that done; only three episodes behind on the new series. Why am I so poor at keeping up with chat shows these days?

Horrible Histories
4x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
4x20 Something's Rotten in Redmund
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 4th May.]

Pointless
4x20 (8/4/11 edition)

QI
9x19 The Immortal Bard [Shakespeare special]
This is, allegedly, episode 19. Pretty sure I haven't seen 18 others from this series, but God only knows. Apparently the one they skipped last series (because it featured Jeremy Clarkson) is on this coming Friday. Its XL version is currently unscheduled, and it seems this Shakespeare episode doesn't even have one.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Masters of Cinema May 2012 – Pasolini, Coppola, DeMille & Lang Plus Win! Masters of Cinema Posters
by Craig Skinner (from Bleeding Cool)
MoC announced their releases for July through September today, and there are details and (some) covers here. Less exciting than the last quarterly announcement, in my opinion, though I do still want all of the August and September releases! The only current instant-buy for me, though, is a dual-format release of the 1934 Cleopatra, out September 24th.

TV

House
8x18 Body and Soul
They're certainly piling the sadness/failure on right now, it seems. With just four episodes remaining ever, I wonder if they're building up to a very bleak ending.

Once Upon a Time
1x04 The Price of Gold
Different take on Cinderella. Always good to have more of Robert Carlyle, even if he's overacting furiously in the fantasy world bits.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Vera
2x01 The Ghost Position
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Voice UK
1x08 Live Show 1 Results
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Conan the Barbarian (2011)
[#41 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

this week on 100 Films

No new reviews were posted to 100 Films in a Year this week (I was away, remember).

But, as it was on TV last night, I did add my old review of Terminator Salvation to the new blog. Have a (re-)read of that here.

Hopefully more new stuff next Sunday.

TV

Archer
3x07 Drift Problem
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Have I Got News For You
43x02 (20/4/12 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
5x05 Signal 30
Excellent episode all round, for oh so many reasons. After a bit of a slow start in some ways, this season is really kicking in. No idea what that title means though.
Also, amazing how a throwaway reference to a fictional author -- Dave Algonquin, pen name of character Ken Cosgrove -- makes the internet explode with creativity.

Onion News Network
2x09 Brooke vs. O'Brady

Pointless
4x19 (7/4/11 edition)

Scott & Bailey
2x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Voice UK
1x07 Live Show 1
The vast majority of singers on this are insanely good. It's going to get very tough after a couple of weeks. Or not, if some of the ones I dislike manage to cling on.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

My late-afternoon-yesterday return from Cornwall, plus a pile of Blu-rays that had arrived during my absence (thanks to Arrow's BOGOF sale (lasts 'til Monday)), necessitated a delay until today. And then another one turned up this morning, which probably means I'll have nothing to say next week.

But for now...

Number of titles in collection: 1,471 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,152 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 319 [up 6]

Number of discs in collection: 3,664 [up 11]
Number of films in collection: 1,558 [up 7]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Not Going Out
5x02 Dads
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Twenty Twelve
2x04 The Rapper [mid-season finale]
This series ends having got nowhere near the start of the Olympics. I know the real thing is soon, but it'd be nice if we still got some more of this... and luckily we will. It'll be interesting to see if they push to continue it even after the games, or if the next series will rush through the 400+ days that remain (in-series). It doesn't feel like it's over by any stretch.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Voice UK
1x06 The Battles 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
6x02 Episode 2
Why isn't WILTY on iPlayer series link?

Articles

CinemaCon 2012: The Hobbit Underwhelms At 48 Frames Per Second
by Devin Faraci (from Badass Digest)
Footage from the forthcoming Hobbit adaptations has been screened in its much-heralded higher framerate of 48fps, and the results aren't good. "It is drenched in a TV-like -- specifically 70s era BBC -- video look. People on Twitter have asked if it has that soap opera look you get from badly calibrated TVs... and the answer is an emphatic YES." Oh dear. More detail at the link.

MST3K: The Movie (UK) in June
by Dave Foster (from The Digital Fix: Film)
Not only is the Mystery Science Theater 3000 movie coming out in the UK (which is a surprise), and not only is it coming out on Blu-ray (which is a surprise), but it's got extras too (which is a surprise). So I'm very surprised, but very happy about it. June 11th is the date; exactly £12 is the (current) best price for the BD.

back

I have returned!

As you can see, today's updates are already here (above this, obviously), and later I'll go back and add in the couple of things I have for earlier in the week.

away

I'm away from today, for anything up to a week, and I'm not sure what if any internet access I'll have. So please excuse the (potential) shortage of updates, and I'll try to update it all once back.

Films

Special (2006)
[#40 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]

this week on 100 Films

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

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Some people complained that Iron Man 2 had too little focus on its own story and too much stuff setting up The Avengers. I disagreed, but I’d consider levelling such a criticism at Cap. While it doesn’t do it so overtly as the second Iron Man, it feels at times as if it’s drawing together disparate threads from previous films in preparation for the team-up... Maybe the subtitle should’ve given that away.

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

La Règle du jeu (1939)
aka The Rules of the Game

it’s a farce, but also a drama, which clearly has Something To Say — I believe I read that Renoir said it’s intended to be more about the lifestyle and the time it’s set than it is about a story. That kind of idea can often lead to pretension, but here it works... I’m not sure how Proper Film Critics would feel about this link, but I felt a certain affinity for Gosford Park while watching.

Read more on my new blog or my classic blog.

I'm off to Cornwall for most/all of the next week, so it's quite possible there won't be any more reviews for a fortnight. We'll see.

TV

Castle
2x09 Love Me Dead
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Grandma's House
2x01 The day Simon officially became a very good and totally employable actor
20 months after the first series began, Simon Amstell's hilarious sitcom is back. Hurrah! I imagine a lot of people don't/won't like it -- it's not very traditional -- but in it's painfully-life-like-ness it's brilliant.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
21x03 Episode 3 [2nd watch]
Watched this for no particular reason (it was on Dave).
I'm sure I've seen it before, though it wasn't very familiar. But no wonder: this episode first aired (and I imagine I last watched it) before this blog even existed, back in November 2007. That's 4½ years ago! Crikey.

The Voice UK
1x05 The Battles 1
Loads of properly great duets in this, I thought. Some decisions I completely disagreed with, mostly by Danny. I'm away from tomorrow so will probably have to wait a whole week to see the second half!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Peter Dinklage Was Smart to Say No
by Dan Kois (from the New York Times)
A lengthy interview with/profile of the Game of Thrones star, which is very good.

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit Should Hit Theaters at 48-Per-Second Frame Rate
by Carolyn Giardina (from The Hollywood Reporter)
It's long been known that The Hobbit (both parts, obv.) is being shot at 48fps (which apparently we're all to start calling HFR, because an acronym always helps), but with the release date of the first half creeping closer (only 8 months to go!), the reality of getting that into cinemas (from a technical point of view) is beginning to bite.
How many cinemas will actually be showing it at 48fps? No one knows, yet...

Skyfall Set Visit: 10 Big Questions and How the Cast and Creators Answered Them
by Rick Marshall (from Movies.com)
In case you've somehow forgotten, Skyfall is the next Bond film. Other than that, the title's pretty much got it covered. Interesting questions; interesting, but naturally quite cagey, answers.

Why the Halo Movie Failed to Launch
by Jamie Russell (from Game|Life at Wired)
The film of Halo should probably have been one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. Instead, the project imploded and disappeared, probably forever. In this excerpt from his new book Generation Xbox: How Video Games Invaded Hollywood, journalist Russell interviews significant players to reveal the behind-the-scenes story of Microsoft's odd negotiation tactics and the production mess that ensued. A must-read (the article, at least; dunno about the book) for anyone interested in the business goings-on of Hollywood or video games.
There's a less-detailed summary of some of the events in this article by Mike Bracken at Movies.com, which goes on to comment on how the video game industry might be able to learn something from comic books when it comes to getting their properties onto the cinema screen.

the crapness of Blogger

Just noticed that Blogger hadn't bothered to publish most of my scheduled posts from the last few days. Presumably this stupidity is something to do with the semi-enforced transition to its stupid new interface. Stupid thing.

Anyway, they're there now. Thought I'd say why.

TV

Discovering Hamlet
There seem to have been various documentaries by this title over the years, but this is one recently shown on Sky Arts 2, featuring interviews with the likes of David Tennant, plus other actors who've played the role, and directors who've directed it. Unusual absence of scholars, actually, though John Nettles' surprising contribution on the play's historical allegory subtext was most enlightening. Very interesting it all was, in fact.
If you get Sky Arts 2, it's on again at 1pm on Saturday 21st.

The Matt Lucas Awards
1x02 Episode 2
Still so slow. Shame.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Once Upon a Time
1x03 Snow Falls
Bit less cheap this week. Still cheesy. But at least they're keeping the story moving (for now).
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Pointless
4x18 (6/4/11 edition)

Scott & Bailey
2x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Collection Count

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

This week's new arrivals include the Masters of Cinema Steelbook Blu-ray of Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (out next Monday). I already have Lifeboat on DVD, but it's in a box set so I'll be keeping that. It also comes with two Hitchcock-directed wartime shorts in HD. I have them on DVD too, in a separate release, but as it includes a special feature that this BD does not I may hang on to it.

Also this week, my Young Indiana Jones collection is completed with Volume 3. It feels like I've been waiting ages for it, though I only mentioned it last week.

And finally, this week also sees the monthly running time update. This month seems to have been mostly minor tweaks, and even a week with no new acquisitions... but it also included three box sets of feature-length TV episodes. How much will it be up? Ooh, the tension! See after the regular weekly stats...

Number of titles in collection: 1,465 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,152 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 313 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 3,653 [up 16]
Number of films in collection: 1,551 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,473 [up 9]

And so we come to that running time update, and it tells us that...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
261 days, 23 hours, and 5 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 12 hours, and 15 minutes from last month.)

Well, there you go.

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Archer
3x06 The Limited
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Horrible Histories
4x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Twenty Twelve
2x03 Clarence House
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Jonathan Ross: The king of comics
by Jonathan Ross (from London Evening Standard)
The title might suggest a profile of Wossy's new(ish) comic-writing career, but actually it's a piece by him about the new-found cool of comic books and their movies. I presume someone copyedited it to death though, as it's filled with references to "Spiderman", and "Captain Marvel" being in The Avengers alongside "Iron Man, the Hulk, the Mighty Thor, Captain, America, Hawkeye and Sgt Fury" (most of that last bit's fine -- spot the mistake in the middle). Still, the rest of the piece is good.

The Ethical Rot Behind Before Watchmen & The Avengers [Opinion]
by David Brothers (from Comics Alliance)
By contrast, here's a very good piece on the evils of the comic book industry.

TV

Have I Got News For You
43x01 (13/4/12 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

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

House
8x17 We Need the Eggs
Unless I've forgotten something, I have no idea what this title has to do with this episode.

Pointless
4x17 (5/4/11 edition)

I'm the One That's Cool

This has been around for almost three weeks. You may've seen it. But I only just did, so there. (It's really good, though.)

Watch it bigger on YouTube and/or buy it on UK iTunes. Only the song though, sadly.

TV

Not Going Out
5x01 Band
It's nice to watch a series of Not Going Out not thinking it might be the last ever -- they've already commissioned a sixth. Hurrah! And based on this, it's still on form. Double hurrah!
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Onion News Network
2x08 Artificial Intelligence
This show gets loopier by the episode.

Articles

Marvel: What Does the Future Hold?
by Daniel W. Baldwin (from CHUD.com)
The forthcoming Avengers movie -- that'd be Marvel Avengers Assemble, obv. -- is the unprecedented culmination of years of work from Marvel's movie division. But they're not stupid -- they have plans beyond it. Many plans. Here's a good succinct summation of what is actually known about those plans (and is very light on the usual conjecture and wishful-thingking-fan-speculation that usually fills these pieces), covering 12 movies that could actually be coming out within the next five or so years.

TV

Dame Elizabeth Taylor: A Tribute
Happened to notice, while browsing through recordings that have been on my V+ box for ages, that this was shown a year ago today. I didn't realise it had been so long. But a good time to watch it, eh. Nicely done too, full of comments from people who actually knew her rather than 'celebrities' who just liked some movies they saw once.

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

Pointless
4x16 (4/4/11 edition)

The Sarah Millican Television Programme
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Drive Angry (2011)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
After all that Game of Thrones-ing, trying to get back to some film-watching. If I can end the month by reaching May's target (#41), I'll be a happy bunny. Might sound easy, but I'm probably going away for a week soon -- could get in the way, that.

TV

Castle
2x08 Kill the Messenger
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

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

Playhouse Presents
1x01 The Minor Character
Well, that was certainly pretentious. Not sure what the point was, really. I could have a guess, but it was buried under so much arty pretentiousness that it doesn't seem worth caring about. Whenever actors/writers/directors clamour for a return of The Wednesday Play/Play for Today-style single drama series to mainstream TV, this is the kind of thing that shows why it doesn't happen. Hopefully future instalments will be less irritating/disappointing.

Pointless
4x15 (1/4/11 edition)

Films

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
[#38 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
Not bad, but possibly my least favourite of the six films leading up to The Avengers.

Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (2011)
[#38a in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
A fun little thing, more standalone than the other one.

this week on 100 Films

Once again, no new reviews were posted to 100 Films in a Year this week.

But I did add my review/defence of Sucker Punch to my new blog, as it's on Sky Movies Premiere this week. Have a (re-)read of that here.

More next Sunday. Hopefully.

TV

Mad Men
5x04 Mystery Date
Mad Men at its best, this, for all kinds of reasons.

Pointless
4x14 (31/3/11 edition)

Scott & Bailey
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Voice UK
1x04 The Blind Auditions 4
That's the auditions over, and with it the show's main gimmick. But don't worry, they've got another one lined up for next weekend's double bill.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
6x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant (2011)
[#37a in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
A short film on the Thor Blu-ray, contributing towards the interlinking of Marvel films.

Thor (2011)
[#37 in 100 Films in a Year 2012]
With The Avengers -- sorry, Marvel Avengers Assemble -- out soon, it's about time I got round to the last two movies that lead up to it. So here's the first.

TV

Archer
3x05 El Contador
Though they seem to have got the episode order back on track (after the mess-up a couple of weeks back), they still haven't fixed their Demand 5 URLs. But they do from next week. So that's nice then.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

The Graham Norton Show
10x19 (9/3/12 edition)
New series of this started tonight. Still finishing the last one.

Horrible Histories
4x01 Episode 1
New series! On five times a week! (Imagine me here muttering something about kids having no attention span these days.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
4x19 Pink Champagne on Ice
I'm not sure the title of this episode even refers to anything in it.
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Friday 27th April. Probably.]

Once Upon a Time
1x02 The Thing You Love Most
This is... surprisingly cheap. The CGI looks about 10 years old. Maleficent seems to be based on Dolly Parton. The whole feel of its fantasy-world scenes is like a cheap-American-pulp-fantasy version of quality European fairty tales. I could go on, but I'll save something for future episodes.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Onion News Network
2x07 Sex in America

Pointless
4x13 (30/3/11 edition)

Collection Count

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

This week, I've finally added the first two volumes of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones to my DVD collection (I've wanted them since they were first released nearly four years ago), thanks to Amazon.co.uk's Deals of the Week. They're still available there at under £15 each. The third and final volume isn't included, presumably because it's currently out of stock, but it can also be ordered for under £15 (which I have done too, naturally).

Each set contains seven or eight feature-length episodes, with so many special features (all about the real historical events, nothing about the making of the series itself) that some individual episodes are effectively two-disc sets, one for the film and another for its extras. That's some impressive work (and why these cost so much when they were first released).

Number of titles in collection: 1,461 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,151 [up 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 310 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,637 [up 21]
Number of films in collection: 1,548 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,464 [up 15]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Castle
2x07 Famous Last Words
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

House
8x16 Gut Check

Just a Minute [2012]
1x10 Episode 10 [season finale]
This has been brilliant. I hope they do more for the telly.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Sarah Millican Television Programme
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

William Boyd to Write the Next James Bond Novel!
by John Cox (from The Book Bond)
Completely out of the blue, IFP have announced a new James Bond novel! It'll be published in autumn 2013 and be written by William Boyd, and it'll take Bond back to the '60s. So much for the modern-day reboot. Will it follow or ignore Devil May Care? Only time will tell.

TV

Fry and Laurie Reunited
I've had this recorded since whenever it first aired (sometime in 2010!), so it was nice to finally watch it. It was good, too, though a bit repetitiously structured -- too much "previously"/"coming up" stuff around the ad breaks. It had a 90-minute slot, but I dread to think how short it would be if you removed the ads and cut out all the needless fluff.

The Matt Lucas Awards
1x01 Episode 1
Not as much fun as I hoped it'd be. But there's promise. Big improvement would be making it a bit tighter -- trim just five minutes (to make it a regular 30 instead of 35) and it would probably feel less leaden.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
4x12 (29/3/11 edition)