Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,550 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,160 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 390 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,881 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,666 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,754 [up 8]
Number of short films in collection: 377 [no change]

Despite what the numbers would seem to tell you, I didn't get an eight-part TV series on a four-disc Blu-ray set this week. No, I upgraded my Schindler's List DVD to Blu-ray (same number of films, same number of discs), and bought The Kingdom I&II on DVD (new title, four discs, eight episodes). So, DVDs actually go down one and then up one again, while Blu-rays just go up one.

Fascinating, right?

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
13x01 (5/4/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


How I Met Your Mother
8x11 The Final Page Part 1

Apparently this originally aired as a one-hour episode in the US. Which is interesting, because in no way whatsoever does this feel like it's only the first half of something. Indeed, HIMYM has had definitely-standalone episodes that were less self-contained than this.

But the answer comes halfway down the Wikipedia page: "episodes 11 and 12 were not planned to be shown together as a two part, one hour combined episode. But the decision was made to present them together after the show was preempted because of Hurricane Sandy." So there you go.

Also, "Before the two episodes were combined, episode 11 was entitled The Silence of the Jinx and episode 12 was entitled The Robin." Why they felt the need to ditch those titles, goodness only knows.

[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]


Veronica Mars
1x06 Return of the Kane

TV

Elementary
1x19 Snow Angels
After yonks away, Elementary's back with a pretty good episode. It seems to have found a better groove as the season progresses, being less of a regular cop show and moving (slightly) more in the direction of "adventures" for its leads, which is what Sherlock Holmes should have really. It's still no Sherlock, but it's getting good enough on its own feet.
Unfortunately, it's now another fortnight 'til the next episode. Silly Americans and their silly scheduling.

The Matt Lucas Awards
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
6x03 (6/4/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Not Going Out
6x01 Rabbit
There seem to have been a fair few articles slagging off Not Going Out to accompany its return for a sixth run, either explicitly or by association. Well, tosh and piffle. I like it, and I found this a particularly amusing episode. I laughed out loud several times, and that happens too rarely in so many 'acclaimed' 'comedies'.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Plebs
1x03 The Erotic Vase
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Non-Fiction

JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Preface
Chapter 1

You may have heard of this -- I mentioned SFX's review a month ago, and more recently it caused a stir that led to the front page of a couple of tabloids... just as SFX predicted! According to the publisher's site it's not out yet, but they sent out a bunch of copies already (mine arrived today, and based on twitter I've received it a few days later than a lot of people!), so... yeah.

Not read much of it yet, as you can see, but it's a solid opening. The really interesting stuff -- the Doctor Who years, and all the controversy -- is still to come.

Additionally, today I've also spotted a few reviews of the book that exceed the mere critical appraisal to become worthwhile reading in their own right. There's Matthew Sweet's for the Guardian, Brian J. Robb's for Sci-Fi Bulletin, and Anthony Weight's for Doctor Who News. The last includes this particularly insightful, truthful comment near the end:

I think [Nathan-Turner] would have been pleased that he’ll be remembered, and that’s where the curse of Doctor Who is at least paying him something back. [The BBC1 controller when Who was axed in 1989,] Jonathan Powell – refreshingly honest as an interviewee here – may well have been a far superior drama producer to Nathan-Turner, with a track record the latter couldn’t hope to match. He’s produced several BAFTA-winning productions of high quality. But he’ll never have a biography written about him. Nobody will ever research his life in detail, track down and speak to his teachers and schoolfriends. Trace the progress of his career in television, from the studio floor to the producer’s chair. When he dies, it will be little-noted outside of his friends and family.

Doctor Who can destroy careers. But Doctor Who fans remember.

TV

The Great British Sewing Bee
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Have I Got News For You
45x01 (5/4/2013 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
1x05 You Think You Know Somebody

DVD Extras

Secrets Revealed! Quidditch
Secrets Revealed! Hagrid
The Harry Potters You Never Met
(from the Harry Potter Wizard's Collection Bonus Disc)

A series off 11-minute (ish) featurettes that are exclusively found on the aforementioned bonus disc. The most interesting is the Hagrid one, showing how they went about making the 6-foot Robbie Coltrane appear like a giant across the eight films. To be honest, I thought they'd given up after the first few, but nooo, they really hadn't -- and it's quite remarkable how it was all done.

The third featurette is about the lead cast's stunt doubles, many of whom remained the same throughout the series. An ominous note creeps in early on when they discuss how Daniel Radcliffe became great mates with the guy who doubled for him on "six of the eight films". Why not all? The featurette reveals what can happen when stunts go wrong...

Finally, the Quidditch featurette is also fairly good, skipping the standard "what blue screen is" stuff that we all know now in favour of the particular challenges of making people fly on brooms, and how they evolved and changed that down the films.

TV

Anna & Katy
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Broadchurch
Part 6 (of 8)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Heading Out
1x06 Episode 6 [series finale]
Apparently this has gone down really badly with both critics and audiences, so I guess it's not coming back. I rather liked it though.

It's Kevin
1x01 Episode 1
A mixed bag, as sketch shows always are. Can't actually tell if I liked it or not.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
5x16 There Will Be Blood
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Game of Thrones
2x10 Valar Morghulis [season finale]

After Blackwater I was slightly concerned the season finale would be a let down, but nope, it was everything but. Shows how incredible GoT is, really. One of the best bits is that, yeah, there's a cliffhanger, but the real cliffhangers (plural) are the unresolved plot threads; all the storylines left dangling where you just want to know what happens next.

It really is one big long story that has to be divided up to be told, and one day, when it's all over, it might be fun to watch the entire thing back to back (not in one sitting -- it should be over 80 hours long by then), ignoring the season divides, to see the scope of it as a single tale.


The Good Life
2x06 Home Sweet Home

It's amazing how often classic TV series do plots mid-season that would definitely be finale material these days; and then, of course, just have "another episode" at the end. I wonder when the concept of a big climax became de rigueur for series television -- it seems so obvious, structurally.


Mad Men
6x01 The Doorway Part 1
6x02 The Doorway Part 2

Another double-length episode / two-parter (depending how you look at it) to kick off a season of Mad Men. I felt it was missing a certain something... and not just the last seven minutes that my hastily-uploaded copy didn't have. (I shall catch them tomorrow, when I've downloaded a fuller copy.)

For those waiting for it to come to Sky Atlantic, it begins on Wednesday at 10pm. Enjoy the wait.


Veronica Mars
1x04 The Wrath of Con

TV

Arrow
1x17 The Huntress Returns

Game of Thrones
2x09 Blackwater
This episode has been hyped since I-don't-know-when; certainly, long before season two even began airing. But it lives up to all expectations, because it's phenomenal. The action is quite incredible, but also the drama within the city's walls. It's a shame it cost them so much (a bonus on top of the season's regular budget) that we're not likely to see it repeated, because they can clearly pull off a battle incredibly well given the money.

Films

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: Extended Version (2001/2004)
[#38a in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
[3rd watch]

Beginning a re-watch of the Harry Potter series, which will hopefully continue weekly for the next couple of months.

This will be the first time I've seen most of the films for years -- this blog kicked off in the middle of 2008, and since then I've only watched the last four; and 100 Films started at the beginning of 2007, and I've only watched the final four since then too.

By my reckoning, it's at least 8 years since I last watched Philosopher's Stone. The view count therefore is a guess; but I can say with certainty that it's the first time I've seen the extended version. It's around 7 minutes longer, but, even though much of the film was incredibly familiar, after so many years I have no idea where those new minutes were.

this week on 100 Films

You may have noticed that it's been April for the past month, which means it's time for 100 Films in a Year to look back at March.

This month's top five list is "favourite fantasy films" -- what are yours?


Additionally, one new review was published this week...


The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

It may lack the epic world-changing grandeur of Lord of the Rings, but as an epically-scaled action-adventure fantasy I found if to be most entertaining. It treads a tricky path mixing action, humour, world-building, politicking, legend, and plot... For me, the balance worked.

Read more here.



Nextly, premiering on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm is...


The King's Speech (2010)

Even if directorially and cinematographically The King’s Speech isn’t the triumph a film lover might like their Oscar winners to be, it’s more than made up for by an exceptional screenplay and an array of highest-quality performances.

Read more here.



And finally, also new to the new blog were reviews of...


A Bunch of Amateurs (2008)

It’s thoroughly predictable — most viewers could probably map out the plot before the film even begins, so it’s certainly easy to guess what’s coming next as it trots along — but there’s also something reassuring about that predictability — it’s exactly the sort of Quaint British Movie you expect it to be.

Read more here.


Dark City (1998)

Reposted in memory of the great Roger Ebert, this was a film he championed and I adored.

Read more here.


Insomnia (1997)

It’s generally taken as a rule that an original film is better than the remake, particularly so if that original is in a language other than English and the remake is American. But there’ll always be something to buck the trend, and in my view that’s Insomnia.

Read more here.


Insomnia (2002)

this is not a “whodunnit”: the killer’s identity is revealed around the halfway mark (assuming you haven’t already guessed it from the opening credits) and from then on the film gradually moves into murky moral territory, quickly leaving behind those early trappings for a set of more complex noir-ish moral conundrums.

Read more here.


Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)

when the director of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park says something is “one of the greatest adventure movies of all time”, one really ought to listen.

Read more here.



More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
33x08 The Rings of Akhaten

Well that was disappointing. The concept had some potential, and I quite liked the early stuff exploring the alien world, but it all went off-piste...

I like Doctor Who to feel like you're getting a novel in 45 minutes (or, of course, 90 when it's a two-parter); something that could conceivably fill a Target novelisation, if they still did those. Most of the time it manages that, or something approaching it. The Rings of Akhaten was resolutely a short story. And, even then, not a particularly good one, with all the singing saving the world kind of nonsense, and a damp squib of a villain, and a giant head for big monster...

Shame.

[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


Game of Thrones
2x07 A Man Without Honor
2x08 The Prince of Winterfell

Both of these episodes are of such tip-top quality that either one would suffice (as per what I was saying the other day)… but next up is Blackwater, which I've been anticipating for ever so long now, and what a splendiferous idea to be able to watch that on Saturday night. (I appreciate this post is going out on Saturday night, but that's because I wind up watching these a little after midnight.)


How I Met Your Mother
8x10 The Over-Correction
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]


The Voice UK
2x02 The Blind Auditions 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

LucasArts nostalgia: Remembering The Secret of Monkey Island
by Alex Hudson (from BBC News Magazine)

BBC News commemorate the end of LucasArts not with a look back at its obsessively endless production of Star Wars games, but with a bona fide classic, one of the greatest games of all time.

Collection Count

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

Last week there was a minor increase thanks to a Tom Baker Doctor Who DVD; this week, there's another. (Next week, there won't be. Unless I order another one, so, y'know, never say never.)

Also, in today's post, George A. Romero's Knightriders from Arrow Video. It's not officially out until the 22nd, so I really ought to try to watch and review it by then...

Number of titles in collection: 1,549 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,160 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 389 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,877 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,666 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,746 [up 4]
Number of short films in collection: 377 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Game of Thrones
2x05 The Ghost of Harrenhal
2x06 The Old Gods and the New
Passing the halfway point -- I'll be done by the end of the weekend at this rate.
Despite my observation yesterday, The Ghost of Harrenhal is a rather important episode. Ho hum.

The Graham Norton Show
11x07 (25/5/12 edition)

The Great British Sewing Bee
1x01 Episode 1
It's OK, but it's no Bake Off.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Scott & Bailey
3x01 Episode 1
At the end of last series I said I "hope we get more of this", but now it seems to certifiably be a big hit, so there's no danger of not. It's mostly very good as ever, but a very abrupt ending for no good reason. Structural faux pas there.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Game of Thrones
2x04 Garden of Bones
Sometimes, you can't resist racing on to find out the result of a cliffhanger; and sometimes, an episode's so good it seems wrong to sully it by going straight on to another. This is definitely a case of the latter. It feels like some things must be coming to a head next episode, but it's the only one of the entire season without a commentary track -- if it is pivotal, what an odd choice to skip it.

The Last Leg
2x09 (29/3/13 edition) [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Pointless
6x46 (16/5/12 edition)
Yeah, if I watch a daily game show fortnightly, I'll catch up in no time!

Veronica Mars
1x03 Meet John Smith
I liked the first two episodes, but this one really clicked for me.

Articles

Roger Ebert dies at 70 after battle with cancer
by Neil Steinberg (from Chicago Sun-Times)

Thorough obituary from his paper.


Roger Ebert Hails Human Existence As 'A Triumph'
(from The Onion)

Sweet but still funny, possibly the best thing The Onion has ever run.


Vale Roger Ebert: your greatest crime was loving movies too much
by Luke Buckmaster (from Cinetology at Crikey)

Ebert’s passion for cinema can serve as a reminder that it is always OK to love, like or enjoy a film no matter what it is or what anybody else says.

Finally,

I do not fear death
by Roger Ebert (from Salon)

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
2x06 Episode 6

Game of Thrones
2x02 The Night Lands
2x03 What is Dead May Never Die
I try to pace myself with Game of Thrones, but it's ever so tempting to just watch it in one great big nine-hour chunk. Still, two isn't too indulgent, especially when The Night Lands ends with the kind of cliffhanger that demands you find out what happens ASAP.

Starlings
1x08 Episode Eight [season finale]
It only took 8½ months, but I got there in the end. Weirdly, it sets up a number of will-they-won't-they-season-finale-ish dilemmas... only to completely forget about them. At least it's coming back.

Veronica Mars
1x02 Credit Where Credit's Due

TV

Broadchurch
Part 5 (of 8)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Game of Thrones
2x01 The North Remembers
Well, I said I'd leave "a bit of a break" before starting season two, and here I am a year later! As season three gets underway on the tellybox, the end of my Sky Movies subscription means I'm finally (as in "after having it for a couple of weeks") turning to my season two box set to get caught up. It's good to be back in Westeros, even if my commitment to watching it legally in full Blu-ray quality means I'm a year behind everyone else. (Well, I say "everyone else" -- the relatively small number of people who have HBO or Sky Atlantic.)

Veronica Mars
1x01 Pilot
I've been very vaguely aware of this for years, but the recent interest provoked by the Kickstarter made me decide it was finally time to give it a go. Hard to tell from episode one -- it's an awful lot of establishing stuff -- but it definitely has promise.

TV

Arrow
1x16 Dead to Rights

The Great British Bake Off
Easter Masterclass
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Heading Out
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
6x02 (30/3/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
[#38 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Much to my surprise, all 3 hours and 40 minutes of it in one go. It didn't feel that long.

TV

The Good Life
2x05 Mutiny

The Mentalist
5x15 Red Lacquer Nail Polish
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

The Debt (2010)
[#37 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Or The Debt (2011), depending on your source. Why can no one agree on these things any more?

this week on 100 Films

One new review was published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Prometheus (2012)

Ridley Scott’s not-an-Alien-prequel-honest Alien prequel is nothing if not divisive, with critics and fans alike declaring it to be a revelatory masterpiece, irredeemable faux-profound slop, and every point on the spectrum in between... It’s not a good film, but it’s kind of a fascinating one.

Read more here.



Also this week, a relatively massive 7 reviews were re-posted to the new blog...


Bringing Up Baby (1938)

it’s a little awkward to start with while one warms to Hepburn’s anarchic character, and it drags its heels a little through the middle, but by the time we reach the final act — when an array of characters and situations collide in a manic run-about too intricate to describe here — it all pays off marvellously.

Read more here.


My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

It doesn’t whack you round the head with its impressiveness, but instead sneaks up on you with the realisation that it’s a beautiful work.

Read more here.


Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

This used to be IMDb's 43rd best film ever. Now it's 112th. Even back in 2007 I thought it was a bit buzz-y...

Read more here.


Son of Rambow (2007)

The two pre-pubescent boys have to carry the film, but thankfully are up to the task (even if their names being Bill nd Will and one of the characters being called Will (the one that’s played by Bill) make remembering them outside of the film a bit of a minefield).

Read more here.


Tales of the Black Freighter (2009)

The story itself is a bit slight. It barely runs 20 minutes once you take off credits at either end, and even at this length feels a little drawn out.

Read more here.


Watchmen (2009)

incredibly faithful to its source material (some notable tweaks and omissions aside), but while some have loved it for this, others have viewed it as weak or pointless. Perhaps some of the complaints about faithfulness stem from the fact that we’re actually unused to seeing faithful superhero adaptations

Read more here.


Watchmen: Director's Cut (2009)

Whatever you thought of Watchmen after the theatrical cut, this extended version is likely to change your opinion no more than any other re-viewing would. That said... this is the superior cut of the film.

Read more here.



More next Sunday.

TV

Anna & Katy
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]


Doctor Who
33x07 The Bells of Saint John

So, here we go -- eight episodes of who the hell is Clara? And what's the Great Intelligence plotting? And who gave Clara the number of the police box? Well, that's going to be River, isn't it. This is Moffat-era Doctor Who -- it's always River.

Other than that, a good fun episode. Celia Imrie makes for a great villainess, of course, and there were plentiful exciting bits. The antigrav bike up the side of the Shard was particularly nice. The single-shot into-the-TARDIS-out-onto-the-plane was a nice idea that seemed quite poorly executed from a technical standpoint, like they didn't take quite enough time to get all the shots properly lined up, which was a shame because it was a really nice idea that could've been a defining moment.

Oh, and the title... why? I mean, I know why -- the phone ringing, the St John's sticker on the TARDIS -- but why is it the title? Hardly that central to the episode. Unless it comes back later. Which, with the River-I-presume thing, I suppose it might.

[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


Plebs
1x01 The Orgy
1x02 The Gladiator
Wasn't sure about this at first, but it grew on me. And episode two has the bonus of featuring Danny Dyer being decapitated, so there's that.
[Watch The Orgy and The Gladiator (again) on ITV Player.]


Pointless Celebrities
3x04 (10/11/12 edition)


The Voice UK
2x01 The Blind Auditions 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,547 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,159 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 388 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,873 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,664 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,742 [up 4]
Number of short films in collection: 377 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Broadchurch
Part 4 (of 8)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Doctor Who
33x06a The Bells of Saint John: A Prequel
Clearly someone really likes these prequels as they keep doing them. I mean, they're fine, but they're too short to really do much, and they're so inessential -- if they mattered, they'd be in the episode. There's another one about Strax, but it's currently US exclusive and BBC Worldwide have been quite thorough about blocking versions on YouTube, etc.
Ah, that British show Doctor Who...

How I Met Your Mother
8x09 Lobster Crawl
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Last Leg
2x08 (22/3/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

Flightplan (2005)
[#36 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Magazines

Entertainment Weekly #1252

With a Doctor Who cover feature, hence why I bothered to get hold of a copy. You can find most of the pertinent quotes re-reported online, though it was nice to read Peter Jackson's tribute in full. There were also a few other interesting features in the issue (one on Arrow, for instance), which was a bonus.

If you're in the UK and want a copy, I don't know how easy it is to get generally, but here's a handy site that sell it. Issue in question is the 29/03/2013 one.

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
2x05 Episode 5

The Good Life
2x04 The Day Peace Broke Out

The Matt Lucas Awards
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Starlings
1x07 Episode Seven

TV

The Hour
2x06 Episode 6 [series finale]
Shame they canned this, I think it had improved this series (and I liked the first).

Podcasts

Nerd Poker: Dungeons and Dragons with Brian Posehn & Friends
Episode 5 Shipwrecked

TV

Arrow
1x15 Dodger

Heading Out
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Hour
2x05 Episode 5

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
6x01 (23/3/13 edition)
A National Lottery game show that's lasted six series! I believe, statistically, they've done well if they get a second, so that's testament to how simply addictive and play-along-at-home-able this format is.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Broken Arrow (1996)
[#35 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

Anna & Katy
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Broadchurch
Part 3 (of 8)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Pointless Celebrities
4x02 Doctor Who Special
I only got four the answers on the Torchwood question, despite the fact I used to love that sketch show. Which goes to show how good Driftwood was as a sketch, I guess.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Xcalibur
1x01 The Sword of Justice

Magazines

Bleeding Cool Magazine #3

TV

The Lady Vanishes (2013)
I've never seen Hitchcock's film and I've managed to go this long without finding out the solution. Which I guess is blown now. Rather curious to see how this material was handled in the '30s though.

The Mentalist
5x14 Red in Tooth and Claw
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness (2012)
[#33 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

The Italian Job (2003)
[#34 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Collection Count

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

Apologies for this week's delayed post. I'm sure you were all terribly cut up about it.

While there's only one new DVD to count, there is at least the monthly running time update, so stick around for that.

Number of titles in collection: 1,545 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,158 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 387 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,871 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,663 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,738 [up 1]
Number of short films in collection: 377 [no change]

And the monthly running time update tells us that...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
279 days, 4 hours, and 13 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 5 hours, and 46 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

this week on 100 Films

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


Conan the Barbarian (1982)

I watched the film in two halves, and while the first almost bored me (to be blunt, I fell asleep halfway through; though it wasn’t wholly the film’s fault), the second was more entertaining. The first is episodic, a series of near-disconnected sequences telling Conan’s life story. Towards the middle, the last few of these coalesce into a series of events that drive the film into a proper narrative

Read more here.


Meet the Parents (2000)

Some may find it too cruel, but there’s a requisite soppy ending… though I can’t be alone wishing Stiller abandoned Polo and her awkward family.

Read more here.


The Raven (2012)

Dark and gruesome with the killer having a clear line to follow in his murders? Wannabe Se7en, see. Unfortunately, it doesn’t follow up on that notion too well. Screenwriters Hannah Shakespeare and Ben Livingston don’t seem to know what to do with Poe’s tales, so there’s no rhyme nor reason to the killings

Read more here.



No old reviews new to the new blog this week, so see you next Sunday.

TV

Pointless Celebrities
3x03 (3/11/12 edition)
There was a Doctor Who special on tonight. It wasn't up on iPlayer quickly enough, so instead I get... a soap star special. Wow.

Podcasts

Nerd Poker: Dungeons and Dragons with Brian Posehn & Friends
Episode 4 Let’s Get Ready To Rumble

TV

The Good Life
2x03 Mr Fix-It

The Graham Norton Show
11x06 (18/5/12 edition)
Now that Graham's off on a break, it's time to catch up on the big pile of old episodes I have downloaded. This one, as you can see, is from last May... so nearly a year ago now. 11 more to go (plus the rest of his Comic Relief one).

Podcasts

Nerd Poker: Dungeons and Dragons with Brian Posehn & Friends
Episode 3 In Search of Gear

TV

The Hour
2x04 Episode 4

How I Met Your Mother
8x08 Twelve Horny Women
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Matt Lucas Awards
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x45 (15/5/12 edition)

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
2x04 Episode 4

Arrow
1x14 The Odyssey

The Good Life
2x02 The Guru of Surbiton

Pointless Celebrities
3x01 (20/10/12 edition)

Podcasts

Nerd Poker: Dungeons and Dragons with Brian Posehn & Friends
Episode 2 Roll For Your Fate

TV

Elementary
1x18 Deja Vu All Over Again

Heading Out
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Hour
2x03 Episode 3

Podcasts

Nerd Poker: Dungeons and Dragons with Brian Posehn & Friends
Episode 1 Let the Game Begin!

I don't normally do podcasts, but this was recommended (by a couple of tweets) and sounded interesting. And it was indeed good fun. If you've ever been curious about the world of playing D&D, this is definitely something to check out: it's mostly newbie friendly (designed as such) and is frequently funny and entertaining rather than dry and po-faced. There's a fair chance it'll make you want to have a go.

If you want to find the podcast on iTunes, it's here.

TV

Arrow
1x13 Betrayal

Broadchurch
Part 2 (of 8)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Pointless Celebrities
Children in Need 2012

Room 101: Extra Storage
13x08 Episode 8 [season finale]

Magazines

Bleeding Cool Magazine #2

TV

How I Met Your Mother
8x07 The Stamp Tramp
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Mentalist
5x13 The Red Barn
No mention of Volker; back to Red John. Guess it is over then.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Pointless Celebrities
2x08 (16/6/12 edition)
I currently have 161 never-seen episodes of Pointless and Pointless Celebrities downloaded from iPlayer. Which is pretty mad. Or insane. (And I missed a few during series seven too.)

Films

Conan the Barbarian (1982)
[#31 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

My Week with Marilyn (2011)
[#32 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Comics

2000 AD #1792
Featuring...
• Judge Dredd Debris, Part One, by Michael Carroll & PJ Holden
• The Red Seas Beautiful Freak, Part 1, by Ian Edginton & Steve Yeowell
• Aquila Blood of the Iceni, Part One, by Gordon Rennie & Leigh Gallagher
• The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael Manhunt, Part Four, by Rob Williams & Dom Reardon
• Lenny Zero Zero's 7, Part 1, by Andy Diggle & Ben Willsher

this week on 100 Films

One new review was published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Garfield (2004)

Offering little in the way of laughs, the film’s main success is the cute (real) dog who co-stars as Garfield’s competriot, Odie. The real wonder is how they got him to interact with the CGI cat.

Read more here.



But also, new to the new blog were...


Elektra (2005)

The plot starts out as sub-Leon assassin nonsense, before turning into sub-X-Men superhero nonsense.

Read more here.


Genevieve (1953)

According to IMDb, “the film ran into censorship problems in the US… because of the moment when Wendy asks for a coin so she can ‘spend a penny’. References to toilets were specially taboo in the US at that time.” Bless.

Read more here.


Salt: Director's Cut (2010)

The UK TV premiere of Angelina Jolie-starring sleeper agent action-thriller Salt is on Channel 4 today at 9pm.

On Blu-ray (and/or DVD) it comes in three different versions, and my review helpfully compares them all. I imagine it's the theatrical one on TV, and unfortunately that's not the best...

Read more here.


There Will Be Blood (2007)

It makes minimal concessions to its audience from the very start, beginning with an extended montage that covers relatively vast tracts of time with virtually no dialogue, before segueing into a story that introduces and discards characters and events with little hint of their relevance, and eventually makes a huge leap forward for an equally impenetrable ending

Read more here.


The Wizard of Oz (1939)

one of those films whose reputation unavoidably precedes it. Considering it’s nearly 70 years old now, that’s a reputation long in the making. The biggest problem with this is that, coming to it for the first time as an adult, one knows just about everything that’s going to happen.

Read more here.



More next Sunday.

TV

The Good Life
2x01 Just My Bill

Shetland
Part 1 (of 2)
Part 2 (of 2)
Adaptation of Ann Cleeves' novel Red Bones. Thought it was very good, very Scandi / Nordic Noir. There are three other novels so I hope they make more.
[Watch parts one and two (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Comics

2000 AD #1789-1791

Featuring...

• Judge Dredd The Days After, by John Wagner & Henry Flint
• Judge Dredd The Bean Counter, by Al Ewing & Nick Dyer
• Judge Dredd The Rich Cabaret, by Al Ewing & Andrew Currie
• Durham Red The 'Nobody Wants This Job' Job, Parts 5-6, by Alan Grant & Carlos Ezquerra
• Tharg's 3rillers Present 1947, Parts One - Three, by Kek-W & Michael Dowling
• The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael Manhunt, Parts One - Three, by Rob Williams & Dom Reardon
• Nikolai Dante Sympathy for the Devil, Parts 4-6, by Robbie Morrison & Simon Fraser
• Future Shocks Other People's Machines, by David Baillie & Mark Simmons

The longest Dredd epic ever (so I'm told) comes to an end here, setting up a different status quo for 2000 AD's biggest character. Al Ewing's run gets off to a good start, particularly in the intriguing Rich Cabaret, which comes with great art from Andrew Currie.

1947 is a solid self-contained little story, much better than another lacklustre Future Shock from writer David Baillie. Ichabod Azrael -- or, to give it its full title, The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael (and the Dead Left in His Wake) -- is a funny one, where I feel I may've preferred the original series (handily summarised by Tharg in his intro that Prog, thank goodness).

And Nikolai Dante comes to its final conclusion, with an open-ended finale that I don't imagine pleased everybody. I ought to go look up some reaction really…

Next Prog: all part ones (bar Ichabod). Neat.

Collection Count

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

You may remember (but probably won't) that back in September I decided to have a rethink about what I count as a film for the purposes of this tally, dropping the total by 79 as I (at least temporarily) removed concert films and the like. Well, after six months or not really coming to any other conclusion, I've begun to reinstate at least some of them -- hence the huge jump below. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but I don't fancy a fourth count (alongside films, TV episodes and shorts), so other than not counting them at all (which, when some run well over two hours, doesn't seem right), they go back. Most return to the Films column, but a couple go in Shorts or TV episodes depending on their length or content. The total added back was 50. I know I allowed one or two things to slide by with nothing counted, but where all 29 others have gone, God only knows...

Anyway, stuff I actually added this week includes the already-hard-to-come-by limited edition of The Man Who Wasn't There, '90s TV 'hoax' Ghostwatch, and the newly-released fan-produced documentary, Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains. All DVDs! What is the world coming to...

Number of titles in collection: 1,544 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [up 3]
Of which Blu-rays: 387 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,870 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,663 [up 45]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,737 [up 5]
Number of short films in collection: 377 [up 3]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Anna & Katy
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Comic Relief 2013
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Raven (2012)
[#30 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Comics

2000 AD #1786-1788

Featuring...

• Judge Dredd Day of Chaos: Wot I Did During the Worst Dissaster in Mega-City History & Chaos Day, Parts One - Two by John Wagner & Henry Flint
• Durham Red The 'Nobody Wants This Job' Job, Parts 2-4 by Alan Grant & Carlos Ezquerra
• Grey Area One of Our Own, Parts 2-4 by Dan Abnett & Lee Carter
• Nikolai Dante Sympathy for the Devil, Parts 1-3 by Robbie Morrison & Simon Fraser
• Future Shocks A Guide for Prisoners Arriving from the Year 2149 by David Baillie & Warren Pleece
• Future Shocks Silent Running by David Baillie & Anthony Williams
• Future Shocks Downloan by David Baillie & Nick Dyer

PJ Maybe vs the Dark Judges? Great. The two-part Chaos Day feels inaptly named, though -- after all the build-up and disaster, not much occurs on the day itself. Grey Area substitutes endlessly re-explaining its own premise with a predictable 'twist' ending. It remains promising at least. I didn't like -- or really get -- any of the Future Shocks. Shame.

Articles

Joss Whedon On Kickstarter And Firefly: "It Doesn't Just Open The Floodgates."
by Adam B. Vary (from BuzzFeed)

After the phenomenal success of the Veronica Mars Kickstarter (that link is a good in-depth article about it, by-the-by; also this), naturally fans have begun to ask, "what's next?" And it'll come as no surprise to anyone that top of the most-asked list is some kind of continuation for Firefly/Serenity. Realising that if he didn't answer the question he'd be asked non-stop, here Whedon reveals what the chances are. In short: he's a bit busy right now.

TV

The Hour
2x02 Episode 2
Picking this one back up. Apparently the series ends on a cliffhanger, even though it's been cancelled. Shame.

The Last Leg
2x07 (8/3/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Only Connect
Comic Relief Special: Neuromantics vs Muppets
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stella
2x10 Episode 10 [season finale]
Unlike The Hour, this feels like it could be the last-ever episode, but it'll be back for a third run. Ironic.

Weekly comics? Since 1977.

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
2x03 Episode 3

Comic Relief's Big Chat with Graham Norton
Part 1 (of 4)
6 or 7 hours of live chat? Yeah, I've iPlayered it to watch in chunks, beginning with the first hour-and-a-half. So far, too much back stage suff with some idiot off Radio 1. More Graham with guests, please -- that's what this is meant to be after all.
[Watch it all (again) on iPlayer.]

The Matt Lucas Awards
2x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
19x07 Africa Special Part 2 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Elementary
1x17 Possibility Two

Heading Out
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
8x06 Splitsville
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Stella
2x09 Episode 9

Films

Meet the Parents (2000)
[#29 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask
2x02 Episode 2
Missed episode one. That's what happens with stuff on Dave. I imagine it'll be on again...

Anna & Katy
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Broadchurch
Part 1 (of 8)
ITV's much-lauded new thriller. Solid start, clearly plenty of untugged threads to fill the remaining seven episodes.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

Haywire (2011)
[#28 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Comics

2000 AD #1785

Featuring...

• Judge Dredd Day of Chaos: Tea For Two by John Wagner & Edmund Bagwell
• Flesh Midnight Cowboys, Part Twelve by Pat Mills & James McKay
• Durham Red The 'Nobody Wants This Job' Job, Part 1 by Alan Grant & Carlos Ezquerra
• Grey Area One of Our Own, Part 1 by Dan Abnett & Lee Carter
• Cadet Anderson: Psi-Division Algol, Part Six by Alan Grant & Steve Yeowell

Flesh limps to an end... well, an 'end', because it's all a big setup for the next arc. Can't say as I care. Cadet Anderson also goes away, taking Yeowell's sketches with it. Durham Red is set in the character's past, taking a really dangerous job. Might she die then?! In her past? Oh, the palpable lack of tension.

Dredd was a nice aside and Grey Area still has promise though, so there's that.

Articles

Joss Whedon Q&A On Eve Of SXSW
by Jan Yamato (from Deadline)

Joss chats about Much Ado, Avengers 2, S.H.I.E.L.D., and various other things in that vein.

Films

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
[#27 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]


(I also finished Battleship, in case you were wondering.)

Magazines

Bleeding Cool Magazine #1

Articles

JN-T: The Life And Scandalous Times Of John Nathan-Turner REVIEW
by Ian Berriman (from SFX)

This sounds very much like a must-read, I must say.

this week on 100 Films

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


Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

early in Batman’s career Bruce falls in love and finds happiness, causing him to question whether to continue down the path he’s already dedicated his life to. The scene where he talks to his parents’ grave, expressing his guilt at potentially finding happiness after so much mourning, is one of the most powerful, emotional moments in all of Batman’s many iterations.

Read more here.


Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

It may not match the TV series in places, in my subjective opinion, but in its own right it shines. Gary Oldman does the impossible and offers a Smiley that is neither an imitation of Guinness’ nor a deliberate counterpoint, but stands apart as an equally proficient rendering of the character.

Read more here.



And new to the new blog...


The Happening (2008)

Shyamalan’s worst film to date. [Written before The Last Airbender.]

Read more here.


Hitman: Unrated (2007)

Hitman seems to be doing its best to blend in and go unnoticed — much like a good hired assassin would do, you’d imagine. Except in this film, all the assassins are bald and have barcodes tattooed on the back of their head — not at all conspicuous.

Read more here.


In Bruges (2008)

hilariously funny... The easily-offended might disagree, and some jokes are a tad too obvious, but it’s nice to genuinely laugh at a film rather than force the odd smirk so as to at least get something from an otherwise wasted 90 minutes

Read more here.


Ocean's Twelve (2004)

This all-star sequel to the 2001 Rat Pack re-make received a thorough slating from critics on release... it’s still a pretty enjoyable film. But it’s true that the first is better.

Read more here.


Ocean's Thirteen (2007)

Thirteen is Twelve with Eleven’s sheen. Its critical success relative to its immediate predecessor is, I think, another of the gang’s expertly executed cons.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.