this week on 100 Films

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


Avengers Assemble (2012)

aka The Avengers / Marvel's The Avengers / Marvel Avengers Assemble / Marvel's Avengers Assemble... the film that represented the culmination of Marvel's uber-successful Phase One cinematic experiment: the disappointing Avengers Assemble.

Yeah, I said "disappointing".

Read more here.


Everything or Nothing (2012)

Eschewing intrusive, dogmatic voiceover narration, Riley instead tells the story through interviews (both new talking-head pieces and archive-drawn audio), illustrative clips, behind-the-scenes photos and film snippets, and music. The latter elements are taken almost exclusively from the Bond franchise itself

Read more here.


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

The climactic Battle of Hogwarts takes up much of the film. A glut of combat and cameos, most surviving characters return. Many get their moment to shine, with particular gratification from Matthew Lewis’ Neville, Julie Walters’ Mrs Weasley, and Maggie Smith’s Professor McGonagall.

Read more here.


Thor (2011)

Director Kenneth Branagh brings all his Shakespearean know-how to one of the most innately successful of Marvel’s recent superhero movies, spinning a yarn of gods and mortals, humility and responsibility, without stinting on action or humour.

Read more here.



And new to the new blog...


Max Payne: Harder Cut (2008)

The reportedly awful A Good Day to Die Hard is in cinemas now. It’s directed by John Moore, whose last film earnt a rare 1-star review from me…

Read more here.


Night at the Museum (2006)

the easily-impressed will love it, the highly cynical will probably despise it, and the rest of us can sit in the middle, being adequately entertained while the film plays but require nothing else from it ever again.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
8x03 Nannies
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Let's Dance for Comic Relief 2013
Episode 1 (of 4)
It's the fifth series of this comedy Strictly now -- I don't think they've managed to make one of these celebs-be-silly-for-charity formats last so long before. But hey, it works. I swear the routines are getting longer though... or maybe they just feel it. And who the hell is Olivia Lee?!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
19x03 (10/2/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Comics

2000 AD #1755-1757

Featuring, in order of first appearance...

• Judge Dredd Day of Chaos: Elusive, Parts 3-5 by John Wagner & Henry Flint
• Ampney Crucis Investigates... The English Assassin, Parts Six - Eight by Ian Edginton & Simon Davis
• Bob Byrne's Twisted Tales Tale #13 by Bob Byrne
• Angel Zero Parts 5-7 by Kek-W & John Burns
• Low Life The Deal, Parts 6-8 by Rob Williams & D'Israeli
• Indigo Prime Anthropocalypse, Parts One - Two by John Smith & Edmund Bagwell

A few months ago I said I was trying to get back into my 2000 AD reading. That failed to subsequently materialise. So now I'm really, really trying -- picking up where I left off in November 2011. 15 months ago. No wonder I struggled to remember what was going on in a couple of stories. Still, off to a solid start… though the latest Prog (with subscribers now, in shops on Wednesday) is #1820, so…

Anyway, particular highlights here come in Prog.1755, with an awesome cover -- well, a great pun -- and a top Bob Byrne's Twisted Tale inside. 1756 takes the wind out by reintroducing the woeful Indigo Prime, but at least there's Low Life to sustain a suitable level of awesome.

Collection Count

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

This week's sole addition: Witness for the Prosecution, apparently the first time it's been released on DVD in the UK.

Number of titles in collection: 1,534 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,152 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 382 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,851 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,610 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,722 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 374 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Dexter
6x06 Just Let Go
Halfway!

The Graham Norton Show
12x16 (8/2/13 edition)
Mark Wahlberg's behaviour caused quite a stir, and... yeah, it was distinctly odd. People speculated he was drunk -- considering he began the show going on about how bad it was they offered the guests drink, I'd say it's pretty darn certain that was the problem.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Last Leg
2x03 (8/2/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Room 101: Extra Storage
13x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

I Think I Invented Netflix, So Where's My Money?
by Stephen Gallagher (from Hauling Like a Brooligan)

with TV... I believe the pirates have set up a genuine model for the future... Broadcast TV is only good for soaps, news and reality now - background stuff... Drama, being immersive in its nature, struggles to thrive in that environment... no one wants to settle in for that long, or focus that much, at a time that doesn't necessarily suit them. There's always going to be an appetite for TV drama, but people have definitely lost their taste for being scheduled.

I had to really chop up a few paragraphs to get the main point across succinctly. But go read the whole thing, it's full of correctitude.

TV

Dexter
6x05 The Angel of Death

Food and Drink
1x02 Mary Berry - Baking
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Stella
2x05 Episode 5

TV

Death in Paradise
2x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Dexter
6x04 A Horse of a Different Color

TV

Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe
1x02 (7/2/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Elementary
1x11 Dirty Laundry

Yes, Prime Minister [2013]
1x05 Scot Free
Talk about drawing a plot out. I know they've introduced other stuff (this episode, Scotland and independence), but the old Yes PM would've dealt with Kumranistan in one episode and been all the better for it.

TV

Arrow
1x07 Muse of Fire

Dexter
6x03 Smokey and the Bandit

Films

Animalympics (1980)
[#16 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Articles

Doctor Who 50th anniversary special to be filmed in 3D
by Morgan Jeffery (from Digital Spy)

Considering the low take-up of 3D TVs, it might've been nice if the BBC had spent the money (because I don't imagine it'll be cheap) on something the majority of its viewers could actually see.

TV

The British Academy Film Awards 2013
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dexter
6x02 Once Upon a Time...

QI
9x19 The Immortal Bard (XL edition) [Shakespeare special]
Watched the regular edition in April 2012. This only aired a few weeks later, hence why I've had it lying around 'til now.

Films

The Pearl of Death (1944)
[#15 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

this week on 100 Films

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


The Artist (2011)

Some have said The Artist is not a patch on any of the real silent films it seeks to emulate. I take umbrage with that. While it may not be to the level of the very best the silent era has to offer, they churned ‘em out in those days, and I’d wager it is more than equal to the period’s average output.

Read more here.


The Lady Eve (1941)

In the interests of completing my backlog of 2012 reviews, I’ve decided to post some ‘drabble reviews’ of the stuff I watched longest ago. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a drabble is a complete piece of writing exactly 100 words long. So, the first of these ‘drabble reviews’ is…

Read more here.


Scre4m (2011)

One of the hallmarks of the original films is that they featured characters who were very aware of the rules of the horror movie. That’s not gone in Scre4m, which sets its sights on the US horror predilections that have followed since; mainly remakes and reboots. Sadly, there’s probably more on-the-nose exposition about the poor quality of remakes than actually integrating such criticism into the film

Read more here.



And new to the new blog...


Monkey Business (1952)

The plot sees a married couple accidentally take a youth serum the husband has been developing, causing them to inexplicably start acting younger — much younger. But in terms of the story, we see a happily married couple wind up happily married having been through no real strain.

Read more here.


Nanny McPhee (2005)

Nanny McPhee is brilliant. But to expand more directly on that sentence would be a conclusion, and so, before that, I present a collection of thoughts on bits I liked. Let’s call it “a review”.

Read more here.


Nanny McPhee & the Big Bang (2010)

Thompson treats the audience with respect in relation to the first film, playing on expectations and speeding through parts of the story we know. You don’t need to have seen it, but you’ll get a bit more if you have. Also as with the first film, there’s a perhaps surprising undercurrent of genuine emotion and serious issues.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Britain's Brightest
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dexter
6x01 Those Kinds of Things
Rather behind on Dexter now (season eight starts Stateside in a few months), so time to crack on with catching up. And it's as good as ever, with a nice theme of religious hypocrisy kicking off this season.

Elementary
1x10 The Leviathan
Did they replace someone high-up on Elementary after a few episodes, because I think it's continuing to improve...

Room 101: Extra Storage
13x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Everything or Nothing (2012)
[#14 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Collection Count

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

A couple of small things this week... which should continue for the next couple of weeks, actually, with a moderately steady stream of pre-orders. So that's nice then.

Number of titles in collection: 1,533 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,151 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 382 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,850 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,609 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,722 [up 4]
Number of short films in collection: 374 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Britain's Brightest
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Graham Norton Show
12x15 (1/2/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Stella
2x04 Episode 4

Top Gear
19x02 (3/2/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Arrow
1x06 Legacies

Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe
1x01 (31/1/13 edition)

How I Met Your Mother
8x02 The Pre-Nup
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Last Leg
2x02 (1/2/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Articles

From Sunderland to Australia – message in a bottle makes it Down Under
(from Sunderland Echo)

A boy who dispatched a message-in-a-bottle (written on a Doctor Who postcard) from the UK in August 2011 had a reply informing him it had reached Australia in January 2013! Quite incredible, really.

TV

Death in Paradise
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x44 (14/5/12 edition)
Last time I watched this series of Pointless was September! And yet I have (almost) all the episodes since just ready to be watched. This is what happens when you find software that lets you download from iPlayer.

The Sarah Millican Television Programme
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

The Artist (2011)
[#12 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Black Death (2010)
[#13 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

Britain's Brightest
1x03 Episode 3

Stella
2x03 Episode 3

Yes, Prime Minister [2013]
1x04 A Diplomatic Dilemma

TV

Elementary
1x09 You Do It To Yourself
Another better than average episode, I thought. Probably because it was at least in some part inspired by an original Conan Doyle story. But still, s'all good.

Person of Interest
1x23 Firewall [season finale]
Ah, the season one finale... which leaves me in an odd limbo between Channel 5 (who just re-started and are way back in the middle of the season) and the US (who are halfway through season two now). Plough ahead or wait to be caught up? I dunno, I think I'll just go back to several-seasons-behind Dexter.

Pointless Celebrities
2x07 (2/6/12 edition)

The Sarah Millican Television Programme
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Blandings
1x03 Company for Gertrude
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
[#11 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

this week on 100 Films

Firstly, the UK TV premiere of Duncan Jones' second film, Source Code, is on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm. It's rather good, and my archive review (new to the new blog) is at the end of this post. You could just scroll to it, or you could keep reading...

Secondly, it's February, which means the new-look update for January is available to read. I've revamped it to make it more interesting (I hope), including a Top 5 list to debate and discuss (not that anyone has), so do take a look.

Thirdly, in the last week I announced a new challenge for myself. Full details at the link, of course.

Fourthly, just one new review was published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)

The film finds itself with a 12 certificate in the UK, and that age might be the perfect target audience. There’s dinosaurs and mummies, car chases and fireballs, derring do brushing up against irreverent humour, and even some boobies.

Read more here.



And finally, new to the new blog...


Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009)

from the title and blatant Hammer Horror references, critics and viewers presumed they were set for a Shaun of the Dead-style ready-made-cult-classic horror homage. Instead, it takes widely recognised Hammer tropes and aims the rest of its content at a Nuts-reading audience.

Read more here.


Source Code (2011)

The efficiency of storytelling is to the credit of both Jones and screenwriter Ben Ripley: rather than emphasise the Groundhog Day element of the plot, he finds the bomb on his second trip and makes significant headway with each recurring one. All sorts of parts of that could have been stretched out, but rather than padding we’re left with something that’s quite taut.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Person of Interest
1x22 No Good Deed

Splash!
1x05 Final
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Top Gear
19x01 (27/1/13 edition)
After an abnormally long time away (barring the Top-Gear-in-name-only Bond special), it's great fun to have this back on our screens. I know people seem to despise it in equal measure to the huge viewing figures it gets for BBC Two, but never mind them, because it's funny.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

A pile of post this Saturday morning sees the statistics jump at the last second. Six new acquisitions, with one being a near-like-for-like BD upgrade. But ooh, pretty book.

Number of titles in collection: 1,531 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,150 [up 3]
Of which Blu-rays: 381 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 3,848 [up 6]
Number of films in collection: 1,608 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,718 [up 6]
Number of short films in collection: 374 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Britain's Brightest
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Graham Norton Show
12x14 (25/1/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
8x01 Farhampton
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Room 101: Extra Storage
13x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Doctor Who
1x41 A Bargain of Necessity
1x42 Prisoners of Conciergerie [season finale]

Being parts five and six of The Reign of Terror, released on DVD this week. Like yesterday's The Tyrant of France, A Bargain of Necessity no longer exist in the archives and has been animated for the DVD. For my thoughts on the animation, see yesterday's TV post.

It makes for a fast-paced end to the serial, particularly the last episode. And it's also the end of Who's first season. We think of season finales being quite a modern, US-derived concept -- and, indeed, in the way we know them today they are -- but The Reign of Terror certainly ends on a note of awareness that the series is about to take an extended break... even if there is a "Next Time" card.


The Last Leg
2x01 (25/1/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]


Yes, Prime Minister [2013]
1x03 Gentlemen's Agreement

TV

Death in Paradise
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


Doctor Who
1x39 A Change of Identity
1x40 The Tyrant of France

Being parts three and four of six-parter The Reign of Terror, released on DVD this week. Two of the serial's middle episodes, The Tyrant of France and A Bargain of Necessity (which I'll be watching tomorrow), no longer exist in the archives, so for the DVD have been animated to fan-made recordings of the full soundtrack. I'm all for the idea of animating missing episodes of Doctor Who -- the chances of many (or any) more being recovered are remote, so why not plug the gap in this way? It's only a shame it's so expensive and can't be done for all 106 lost episodes.

That said, I wouldn't want to see any more done in this style. You don't have to slavishly emulate the static wide shots used in '60s Doctor Who -- indeed, one may well argue you explicitly shouldn't -- but this seems to have been edited by a child with ADHD who has no concept of the purpose of specific shots. It jumps around between close-ups, extreme close-ups, high-angles, and more, sometimes at lightning speed, most of the time to little or no effect. It's a real shame, because the actual art and underlying animation is good enough, but the choice of camera angles and the whip-fast way they're cut between not only jars with the '60s soundtrack and style of the remaining four episodes, it's also plain amateurish in and of itself.

Recently they rejected Ian Levine's animated reconstruction of Shada. I'm not entirely sure why (I don't know if it was made public), but one mooted reason was the animation wasn't professional enough. Well, the screenshots you can see from a quick Googling look alright, but that's not motion. Either the full thing must be really dreadful quality, or I'm not sure the commissioners at 2entertain have much taste...


The Great Comic Relief Bake Off
Episode 4 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


John Bishop's Only Joking
1x03 Episode 3

DVD Extras

Audio commentary on Doctor Who: A Bargain of Necessity

Or The Reign of Terror part five. This is one of two episodes in the serial missing from the archive which has been animated for the DVD (more here), but the animation wasn't complete when the commentaries were recorded, so they had to come up with something different. For this episode, fan/journalist/comedian Toby Hadoke interviews missing episode hunters Philip Morris and Paul Vanezis for 25 minutes.

TV

Doctor Who
1x37 A Land of Fear
1x38 Guests of Madame Guillotine
Being parts one and two of The Reign of Terror, released on DVD yesterday. It's been a while since I watched any first Doctor adventures, so I'd forgotten quite how often they go off on tangents for no particular reason. I wonder just how many six-parters are actually four-parters with the odd episode-filling aside thrown in... Still, it's all good fun. And, as the last story of the series' first season, feels particularly season-finale-like, with lots of references to previous adventures and whatnot.

The Great Comic Relief Bake Off
Episode 3 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Sarah Millican Television Programme
2x02 Episode 2

Articles

David Bradley to play William Hartnell in Celebration of Doctor Who
(from Doctor Who official site)

Announcing the cast for Mark Gatiss' birth-of-Doctor-Who drama.

Hartnell was 55 when Doctor Who started; Bradley is 70. Just an observation.

TV

The Great Comic Relief Bake Off
Episode 2 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Miranda
3x06 A Brief Encounter [season finale]
Over so quickly! Well, at least there has to be a fourth series -- with that cliffhanger and those ratings, how can there not be?
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Stella
2x02 Episode 2

Films

City Lights (1931)
[#10 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

QI
10x15 Jolly (XL edition)

Films

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)
[#9 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

This is on Film4 on Friday, so I shall endeavour to have a full review up by then. But I will say that it's an awful lot of fun.

this week on 100 Films

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


Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part II (2013)

two big battles form the cruxes around which the story works: Batman vs the Joker, and Batman vs Superman. I won’t spoil the outcomes for those who’ve not read the book, but both are excellently realised on screen... I’d go so far as to say the Superman fight improves on the novel’s version

Read more here.


Repo Chick (2009)

the second of director Alex Cox's “microfeatures”: films shot for a budget below the Screen Actors Guild cut-off of $200,000. By shooting his actors quickly (in ten days) on green screen, then putting in sets made from toys, Cox made the entire film for closer to $180,000. It’s not going to work for every film, but perhaps there’s some lessons big over-expensive Hollywood productions could learn…

Read more here.


Room on the Broom (2012)

It’s a simple story with simple rhyme for little kids, of course, but that’s where its joy lies. Pre-schoolers are treated to far better poetry (because, ultimately, that’s what it is) than the dreary stuff us adults are meant to engage with.

Read more here.


Special (2006)

If you’re looking for comparisons, Special is more in line with Super than Kick-Ass. It doesn’t quite have James Gunn’s crazy surreal touch, but it shares the low-budget realist aesthetic and a surprisingly recognisable cast (albeit with smaller, TV-er faces here).

Read more here.



And new to the new blog...


Ashes of Time Redux (1994/2008)

Reviews talk about it being a confusingly-plotted art film — and those are the positive ones — which, coupled with my relative dislike of Chungking Express, meant I didn’t really expect to like it a great deal. But I found myself surprised, because I really enjoyed it.

Read more here.


The Hurt Locker (2008)

The Hurt Locker is episodic, moving from one bomb-based set-piece to the next. But this is surely a realistic depiction of the environment and this job: they’re not going to end up on the tail of some master bombmaker, or single-handedly end the war in Iraq

Read more here.


Panic in the Streets (1950)

not a particularly film noir-y film noir [but] there’s still a criminal underworld, a (slightly) downtrodden hero, criminal wrongdoings, some shadow-drenched photography, and a smattering of other traits that do place it within the genre, but it’s not a textbook example.

Read more here.


The Seeker: The Dark is Rising (2007)

allegedly based on Susan Cooper’s five-volume fantasy series... Changes from book to screen abound, however... Fan-baiting changes aren’t the only things wrong with the film, though. For much of the first half I was almost considering a scene-by-scene account of the irritations and weaknesses, but that would mean watching it again.

Read more here.


Son of Paleface (1952)

It slowly morphs into a live-action cartoon, in the process becoming a lot funnier and, in recreating the style of cartoons, technically impressive too. The comedy is genuinely entertaining when it finally reaches these sections

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Weirdly, exactly the same as last Sunday. The things this blog makes me notice...

Blandings
1x02 The Go-Getter
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Room 101: Extra Storage
13x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Splash!
1x04 Semi-Final
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Collection Count

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

Just one new title this week, a film, but I also spotted some TV episodes I missed, so that number gets corrected. And it's the running time update! Thrills.

Number of titles in collection: 1,526 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,147 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 379 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,842 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,604 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,712 [up 2]
Number of short films in collection: 374 [no change]

And the running time update comes to...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
277 days, 5 hours, and 51 minutes.
(Up 10 hours and 54 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Great Comic Relief Bake Off
Episode 1 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Skyfall becomes tenth highest-grossing film of all time
by Emma Dibdin (from Digital Spy)

It is predicted that Skyfall will ultimately climb to number seven in the list, bumping The Dark Knight Rises down to eighth place

Awesome.

TV

Britain's Brightest
1x02 Episode 2
So, to be Britain's brightest, you have to be prepared for them to change the rules mid-round without letting you know? Right.

Death in Paradise
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Armored Car Robbery (1950)
[#8 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

Yes, Prime Minister [2013]
1x02 The Poisoned Chalice
Feels particularly pertinent, given today's news.

Films

You Only Live Twice (1967)
[5th or so watch]

My latest go at "Bond from the Beginning" stalled in October and ground to a halt in November, but I'm picking it up again now, hopefully with a concerted effort.

So, I'll be reviewing this as #7a in 100 Films 2013, alongside the other '60s Bond films, at a later date.

TV

John Bishop's Only Joking
1x02 Episode 2

The Sarah Millican Television Programme
2x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Spies of Warsaw
Part 2 (of 2)
Felt like there was more incident in this part. Maybe the first just needed a little more oomph, or something.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Miranda
3x05 Three Little Words
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Non-Fiction

Bond on Bond by Roger Moore (with Gareth Owen)
Bond on Screen
Bond on Films [the end]

I'll again echo my thoughts on the first half. Though it's a shame the last chapter is just a list of main credits and box office stats -- it might've been nice to hear Moore's thoughts on the films themselves, as opposed to elements of them. Though asking an 85-year-old man to distinguish between 22 broadly similar features would probably have been a bit much...

TV

Blandings
1x01 Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey!
Well, that was broader than I was expecting. Funny in parts though.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Room 101: Extra Storage
13x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Splash!
1x03 Heat 3
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Non-Fiction

Bond on Bond by Roger Moore (with Gareth Owen)
Bond on Style
Bond on Location
Bond on Bonds
Bond Behind the Scenes

My thoughts on the first half still apply.

this week on 100 Films

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


Django (1966)

Much of the film plays as an action movie. There’s a lot of atmospheric ponderousness at the start, but once things kick off they rarely let up... It’s practically a definition of bang for your buck, which I’m sure goes a long way to explaining its popularity.

Read more here.


Moonfleet (1955)

What you’d call a curio. It’s a colour CinemaScope Hollywood adventure movie from a director best known for epic German silents or dark film noirs; it’s not been passed by the BBFC since its original release in the ’50s; I believe it’s also unavailable in the US; yet a poll in France’s Cahiers du cinéma ranked it the 32nd “most essential film”

Read more here.


And new to the new blog...


Chinatown (1974)

It’s often held up as an example of a perfectly structured screenplay... packed with imagery and subtext for those who want it, but if that’s not your thing it still makes for a darn good thriller with a few neat twists.

Read more here.


Hellboy: Director's Cut (2004)

A surprise hit on release, this live action adaptation of the cult comic book is an exciting and entertaining, though flawed, mix of pulp fantasy, gothic style and action.

Read more here.


Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

del Toro’s creation seems to overflow — the laying of plot threads for a further film is even more overt than it was in the first film — which makes it even more unfortunate that the director’s long term commitment to about half a dozen projects makes a proposed trilogy-closer seem increasingly unlikely.

Read more here.


Sense and Sensibility (1995)

A host of familiar British faces turn up in this Oscar-winning adaptation of the Austen-novel-with-the-name-like-Pride-and-Prejudice-only-not. Fans of any of the following will love this film: Jane Austen, costume drama in general, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Kate Winslet.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part II (2013)
[#7 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

I liked Part 1, but this was excellent. And I got it early: it's not officially out in the US until the 29th. No UK date set yet, but they released Part 1 so I assume it'll follow at some point.

Non-Fiction

Bond on Bond by Roger Moore (with Gareth Owen)
Introduction
Bond on Beginnings
Bond on Villains
Bond on Girls
Bond on Gadgets
Bond on Cars

(or, pretty much exactly half the book)

The suavest Bond of them all, Sir Roger Moore, is our inimitable guide (well, ghostwritten by Gareth Owen) for this lavishly illustrated whistle-stop overview of the entire Bond film series, occasioned by its 50th anniversary last year.

Organised thematically-then-chronologically (rather than the usual guidebook style of chronologically-then-thematically), Moore shares his thoughts on (most of) the series' villains, girls, gadgets, and more. Naturally the strongest memories come from the seven films he starred in, and it is a quick and idiosyncratic tour -- while some topics are afforded lengthy recollections, others get a cursory line or two, while still others get no mention at all.

But it doesn't aim to be a thorough, all-inclusive guide -- it's not written by a fan or an academic who's devoted decades to cataloguing the films' minutiae -- these are Moore's personal memories and opinions; like having a genial chat with the man himself, I shouldn't wonder. For his anecdotes and many of the pictures, that makes it an essential read for fans.

Comics

Star Wars #1 by Brian Wood & Carlos D'Anda

Dark Horse have published dozens -- probably hundreds -- of Star Wars tie-in books down the years, but this is the first simply entitled Star Wars. (So people keep saying, but it isn't. Still, that was 10 years ago.)

Set immediately after the end of A New Hope, it's the further adventures of Luke, Leia, Han and Darth Vader (and the rest). Despite opening with a slightly dull three-page dialogue scene, the rest of the issue is content-packed and largely entertaining. A promising start.


The Superior Spider-Man #1 by Dan Slott & Ryan Stegman

So the controversial new era of Spider-Man begins… and I thought it was really good. So there. Great twist at the end too.

Collection Count

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

This week, I upgraded my Jaws DVD (to the BD digibook, mmm), acquired Dredd, finally got the Doctor Who Legacy Collection box set, and received Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 nearly two weeks before its US release date.

Only a handful of changes mean the numbers look... completely normal, though weirder things happened before the Who set and Batman turned up. Ho hum.

Number of titles in collection: 1,525 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,146 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 379 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 3,841 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,603 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,710 [up 10]
Number of short films in collection: 374 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Romanzo Criminale
2x09 Episode 9
2x10 Episode 10 [series finale]
It's the second -- and very much final -- Romanzo Crimifinale! And these make for a neat two-parter of an ending. In the first, the gang are finally brought to trial, and we see how that pans out for everyone. Then in the second, it's years later and we discover everyone's ultimate fates -- including who the old man was in the pre-titles of series one episode one. Grand.

Yes, Prime Minister [2013]
1x01 Crisis at the Summit
Gold's reboot, from the original writers but with a new cast and set in the present day, and based (in part or whole, I don't know) on the 2010 stage play. It's a little odd, with the characters falling somewhere between impression and re-interpretation, but it is still funny. May just take a bit of time to bed in.

Yes, Prime Minister: Re-elected
A tribute-ish programme to the original and mini behind-the-scenes on the reboot, including interviews with fans, the writers, politicians, Whitehall staff, and so on. Actually very good, aside from the repetitious reminders that there's a new series on Gold, donchaknow.

TV

Romanzo Criminale
2x07 Episode 7
2x08 Episode 8

Non-Fiction

Bond on Set - Filming Skyfall by Greg Williams

The fourth Bond on Set book of behind-the-scenes photos by Williams, one of the series' set photographers. Not for everyone -- the only text comes in tiny scene-setting script extracts and picture credits -- but a great visual record of the film's production.

An interview with Williams for the official 007 website can be read here. One thing you learn in it is that "the first version of the book... 800 pages and it’s now 208 pages." Considering some are half empty (for artistic reasons, no doubt), you do feel that with some judicious re-arranging they could've fit more in if they'd wanted.

Comics

The Amazing Spider-Man #699.1 by Joe Keatinge (with Dan Slott), Valentine De Landro & Marco Checchetto

Entirely about Morbius the Living Vampire, entirely setup for the new Morbius: The Living Vampire series that began a couple of weeks ago, and so entirely a pointless aside as far as I'm concerned. Ho hum.


The Amazing Spider-Man #700 by Dan Slott & Humberto Ramos

The final ever issue! Until they inevitably relaunch it at some point, of course. And it's a bumper-length 104 pages! Finally, a comic that really feels worth their cover price... except because it's longer they've doubled that, naturally. But the whole thing is more than double the length of your regular comic (more like four or five times as long, in fact), so it still feels value for money. Why can't they do this every month?

(Incidentally, this was out December 26th. I actually received it a few days early but have only just got round to it. Why I'm bothering providing my views and summary three weeks late I don't really know, but hey-ho, keeps me happy.)

The contents kick off with a 52-page main story (that's about 2½ regular issues' worth). Here, Slott wraps up stuff he's been building for a very, very long time -- and in the process, justifies (in-story at least) why this is the final issue and why it's being (well, been) replaced by The Superior Spider-Man. This whole storyline has been remarkably controversial, often without justification, but this finale does warrant it. A bit, anyway -- I mean, it's just a story. And it's comics -- nothing's permanent. Still, I can see why some were aggrieved. Personally, I enjoyed it. Also good,, Ramos' cartoony art is a perfect fit for a book like Spidey. Hope the guy doing Superior is as good.

Following the main story, the issue has all sorts of other wonders up its sleeve. There's a whole 'nother issue's worth of back-ups: Spider-Dreams by J.M. DeMatteis and Giuseppe Camuncoli (a neatly constructed, fun tribute to the entire Spider-Man legacy) and Date Night by Jen Van Meter and Stephanie Buscema (retro-styled humorousness). There are galleries of #700's variant covers (there are lots) and the main covers for all 700 issues of the title (packed 100 to a page). There's a brief preview of all the Spidey books coming up, and a whopping seven pages of letters.

Bumper indeed.


Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 by Chris Yost & Paco Medina

Following on immediately from the end of ASM 700, this reads rather as you'd expect issue one of Superior to. I guess it's designed as a bridge, then, allowing the first issue of the new book to be completely new-reader friendly -- always the point of a #1 in the comics world.

TV

Charley Boorman's South African Adventure
Episode 1 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Death in Paradise
2x02 Episode 2
Death in Paradise feels like the kind of series that should have nice punny episode titles -- Nun's the Word or something. But no, it's just the UK-standard episode numbers. How dull.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Elementary
1x08 The Long Fuse
Some good twists in this episode. Better than your average Elementary.

Romanzo Criminale
2x06 Episode 6
There may still be four episodes left, but it definitely feels like the series is moving its pieces into position for the endgame -- because, equally, there are only four episodes left.

Articles

Why companies fail - the rise and fall of HMV
by Philip Beeching (from Philip Beeching: Social Marketing and Advertising Insight)

This was actually written last August, but is even more pertinent in light of recent events. It's also a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes from the man who "worked on the HMV advertising account for over 25 years".

My two favourite bits:

I said, "The three greatest threats to HMV are, online retailers, downloadable music and supermarkets discounting loss leader product". Suddenly I realised the MD had stopped the meeting and was visibly angry. "I have never heard such rubbish", he said, "I accept that supermarkets are a thorn in our side but not for the serious music, games or film buyer and as for the other two, I don't ever see them being a real threat, downloadable music is just a fad"

Oh dear. Also,

I got to know two young entrepreneurs from Jersey, Richard Goulding and Simon Perree who started the highly successful online games, music and video retailer, Play.com in 1998, and I remember them saying to me, "We were just waiting for HMV to turn their big guns on us but we just kept on going and getting bigger and bigger, and thinking they must be going to get their act together soon and come after us but they never did". I think this comment says it all.

Indeed it does.

TV

Spies of Warsaw
Part 1 (of 2)
I don't mind a (shall we say) thoughtfully paced spy thriller -- indeed, I loved Tinker Tailor (both versions) and, more recently, Restless -- but this one pushed it a bit, especially near the start. It's three hours across its two episodes, and one feels like two-and-a-half might've been a better length… but then how do you split that for TV? Just two might've been rushed. Though I suppose one can only know once you see the second half.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Yes, Prime Minister
2x08 The Tangled Web [series finale]
Finishing the old one just in time for the new reboot, which started this evening on Gold.

Films

Dredd (2012)
[#6 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

John Bishop's Only Joking
1x01 Episode 1

Miranda
3x04 Je Regret Nothing
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
1x21 Many Happy Returns

Romanzo Criminale
2x04 Episode 4
2x05 Episode 5
Halfway...

TV

Romanzo Criminale
2x02 Episode 2
2x03 Episode 3

Stella
2x01 Episode 1
Is it really a year to the day since I started the first series? Time flies.

Films

Underdog (2007)
[#5 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

this week on 100 Films

My attempt to wrap up 2012 has begun, with two new reviews published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Dirty Laundry (2012)

Considering it breaks both Marvel/Disney’s character copyright and WB’s music copyright, and thanks to starring Proper Actors & That it’s been relatively high-profile, it’s a miracle it’s still on YouTube after all this time. It’s a fairly effective depiction of a fan-favourite character, though, so long may it remain.

Read more here.


Rules of Engagement (2000)

most of the time it feels less like the film is aiming for ambiguity and more like it doesn’t know how to guide us well enough in what to feel. Important points aren’t appropriately established, others aren’t appropriately dealt with, and Mark Isham’s score toddles on regardless while important moments slip by.

Read more here.


Plus, new to the new blog...


Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

a great Christmastime film, requisitely magical and heart-warming. The court case finale (or "second half", more or less) is particularly enjoyable, not least The Bit With The Post Bags. I do like a good court room victory.

Read more here.


Stay (2005)

writer David Benioff sold the screenplay for $1.5 million, and it would be nice to agree with that buyer — there’s a good cast, a good director, some good ideas — but ultimately it’s 85 minutes that seem retrospectively pointless when the final ten do so little with them

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Arrow
1x05 Damaged

British Legends of Stage and Screen
1x08 Sir Ian McKellen [season finale]
I watched the one of these with Christopher Lee back in September (was it really so long ago?!), and they're very good profiles/autobiographical interviews. Apparently they're doing more, so that's nice.

Splash!
1x02 Heat 2
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Yes, Prime Minister
2x07 The National Education Service

Films

Django (1966)
[#4 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

With Tarantino's Django Unchained hitting UK cinemas next week, it seemed a good time to finally watch the '60s original, which I've had in my collection for a good 18 months or so. There's a UK BD of it out in just over a week, which I hope (for the sake of everyone who buys it) has a better transfer than this. If it does, I may even upgrade.

Articles

This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For
by Paul Shawcross (from We the People)

The witty yet educational official response from the White House to a petition requesting they "secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016."

Collection Count

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

I should've had three new things this week. Not a one has turned up. That's mainly down to Hut Group companies, as ever.

So:

Number of titles in collection: 1,522 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,146 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 376 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,836 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,601 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,700 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 374 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Elementary
1x07 One Way to Get Off


The Graham Norton Show
12x11 (4/1/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


Live at the Apollo
8x03 Episode 3


Romanzo Criminale
2x01 Episode 1

I watched most of Romanzo Criminale's first series over a single week back in June. It shows how good it was that I'm shocked to find I watched it all so quickly -- it's a sprawling crime epic that in my memory goes on much longer than just one week. There's something in that about significance vs. actuality when it comes to memory.

Anyway, Sky Arts embarked on a repeat run of the second season last Saturday, and considering I've had the whole lot sat on my V+ box since it first aired months ago -- plus that it's seven months since I finished the first series -- it seemed like I really ought to get round to it.

Articles

Orwell, covered up
by Mark Sinclair (from Creative Review)

Penguin are re-releasing six George Orwell novels with new covers. The most interesting is Nineteen Eighty-Four, and this is a quick article about its creation (and the other five for good measure).

The new editions are out now -- here's the new 1984 on Amazon, for instance.

TV

Person of Interest
1x20 Matsya Nyaya

Room 101: Extra Storage
13x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Death in Paradise
2x01 Episode 1
Hurrah for the return of DiP, and in an even-better post-Christmas slot -- just when people need cheering up, rather than when they're all prepared for and happy about the winter months. Not that I ever feel the urge for sun & sand, but some do, so hopefully this second run of the light, fun detective drama will be even more successful.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]