TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2013-14 Episode 9 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Elementary
2x11 Internal Audit

Friends
7x10 The One with the Holiday Armadillo [5th or so watch]

Veronica Mars
3x09 Spit & Eggs

Fiction

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Volume I: Mr Norrell, Chapters 6-11

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2013-14 Episode 10 (of 10)
Accidentally skipped episode 9. Oops. But then, according to the BBC Programmes page, this isn't on until Friday, whereas it was available on Virgin Media's iPlayer. Perhaps it wasn't my fault, then.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Friends
7x08 The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs [5th or so watch]
7x09 The One with All the Candy [5th or so watch]
aka The One with the 50 States Game and The One Where Rachel Writes a Silly Version of Tag's Personnel Assessment That He Nonetheless Sends to Human Resources.

Veronica Mars
3x08 Lord of the π's

Films

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
[#2 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

DVD Extras

No Time to Lose: The Making of Pelham 123

In several regards more interesting than the film itself, this half-hour making-of shows the extraordinary amount of research, planning, and complex filming that went into the production of what is, ultimately, quite a straightforward thriller. Waste of good effort? Maybe...

Fiction

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Volume I: Mr Norrell, Chapter 5

Articles

The Magnificent Forty-Seven
by Stephen Turnbull (from Manga)

A professor of Japanese Studies (and the film's historical advisor) on why 47 Ronin has been unfairly maligned by reviewers. "It must be a hard life being a film critic when you can’t just have fun!"

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
5x02 (10/1/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Sherlock
3x03 His Last Vow [season finale]
Well well well, that was neat: "ah, there's the cliffhanger... oh no, there's the cliffhanger... no, THERE'S the cliffhanger!"
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
3x07 Of Vice and Men

Fiction

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Volume I: Mr Norrell, Chapters 1-4

Been meaning to read this for years (I have a nice box set of the novel in its three volumes as individual paperbacks (apparently 'worth' over £450!) which is from 2005, so about 9 years to be precise), and the TV version that's on the way has inspired me to get started.

I'm only 61 pages into its 1,004-page length, but it's great so far -- enticing, intriguing, and surprisingly funny and witty, in a very dry way. The adaptation has a lot to live up to already, but if it can it will be very exciting.

this week on 100 Films

Firstly, this week on 100 Films in a Year saw me announce a new year of What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?, my challenge-within-a-challenge to watch a film a month that I really should have seen by now.

You can learn about this year's selection here, including what the 12 films are, as well as the ridiculous process used to select them.


Otherwise, only archive reviews were (re-)published this week, but there were three of those...


Let the Right One In (2008)

Let the Right One In isn’t your typical vampire movie. If you’ve somehow managed to avoid hearing anything about it in that time, I encourage you to watch it before reading more — it’s hard to discuss any of it without spoiling at least some. Knowing it’s a vampire movie is too much, to be frank — it’d be grand to be able to see this completely cold.

Read more here.


Let Me In (2010)

it’s so much the same that one’s thoughts naturally gravitate to the occasions where it does differ. This may be doing the film a disservice, but I’m tempted to say “serves them right” for remaking it so damn fast and making it so damn similar. Some have asserted that it’s the same film for those who can’t handle reading subtitles. It’s not that bad, but you can see where they’re coming from.

Read more here.


Make/Remake: Let the Right Me In

The most recent example of this speedy-remake phenomenon is Swedish vampire drama Let the Right One In, remade by the recently-relaunched Hammer Films as Let Me In. Or, if you prefer, “re-adapted”, as they’re both based on a 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. A film of a Swedish novel produced by a British company set in America with a US cast & crew? Globalised indeed.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Friends
7x07 The One with Ross's Library Book [5th or so watch]

Veronica Mars
3x06 Hi, Infidelity

The Voice UK
3x01 The Blind Auditions 1
I've never disliked The Voice, but I think this line-up of coaches has clicked much better than the old one. It certainly felt more fun to me, anyway.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Fiction

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
7 The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton

This short story is said to be a key inspiration for tomorrow's final episode of Sherlock, for reasons beyond just the name of the villain. So I thought I'd read it.

You can read it, too, on Wikisource (and I'm sure other places, if you prefer).


His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
8 His Last Bow: The War Service of Sherlock Holmes [the end]

This short story is also said to be a key inspiration for tomorrow's episode, for reasons beyond just the title. So I thought I'd read it too. It's harder to see what they'll have used from it, but that's half the fun.

And, of course, you can read a version of it on Wikisource (I happened to notice it's in American, as I'd wager Charles Augustus Milverton is as well).

Collection Count

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

This week, a few post-Christmas treats -- i.e. things I wanted and didn't get, or sale bargains. Coming soon (i.e. in the next week or two): 2014 new releases.

That's "new releases for the year 2014", not "I've ordered 2,014 new releases".

Number of titles in collection: 1,648 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,198 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 450 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,124 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,776 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,098 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 406 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2013-14 Episode 8 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
7x01 (4/1/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
3x05 President Evil

Articles

Steven Moffat on Sherlock movie: "How does it make it better?"
by Morgan Jeffery (from Digital Spy)

"The Doctor Who special we did, The Day of the Doctor, we put in the cinemas and on that weekend it came number two at the American box office," Moffat said.

"That's a TV programme - number two at the American box office for the weekend it came out, with limited distribution. That's television handing cinema its own arse!"

Veronica Mars Is on the Case in the First Poster Reveal
by Bryan Enk (from Yahoo! Movies)

Click to enlarge.

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2013-14 Episode 7 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Friends
7x06 The One with the Nap Partners [5th or so watch]

Veronica Mars
3x04 Charlie Don't Surf

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2013-14 Episode 6 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
3x03 Wichita Linebacker
Guest starring the Lone Ranger!

Yonderland
1x05 Closing the Portal
"I'm going to leave this world forever!" No you're not, there's three more episodes left. Why do shows do that?!

Films

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
[#1 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

Here we go again...

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2013-14 Episode 5 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Friends
7x05 The One with the Engagement Picture [4th or so watch]

The Sarah Millican Slightly Longer Television Programme
3x07 Christmas Special
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
3x02 My Big Fat Greek Rush Week

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
5x01 (3/1/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Celebrity Mastermind
2013-14 Episode 4 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Friends
7x03 The One with Phoebe's Cookies [4th or so watch]
7x04 The One with Rachel's Assistant [4th or so watch]

Veronica Mars
3x01 Welcome Wagon
With the movie out in March, it seemed like it was time to crack on with the third (and final) season.

TV

Doctor Who
33x16 The Time of the Doctor [Christmas special; 2nd watch]

This definitely plays better second time round, I felt, when you're not racing to keep up with all the tiny little throwaway details and work out what the blazes is going on. It has some funny bits, some exciting bits, and most of all some emotional bits: the death of Handles, Clara's grandmother's anecdote, and, a little to my surprise, because I only felt it on second viewing, the Eleventh Doctor's final moments.

That said, it's still an almighty mess in other areas. Things we've been wondering about for years are "explained" with half a line of, "that theory you had? Yeah, that's probably it" -- or, to put it another way, not really explained at all. Kovarian & co blew up the TARDIS? OK, thought as much... but how? And when, exactly? And how was it stopped again? Then there was all the stuff in the episode itself, which was a flood of ideas rushed through without due weight or attention, at times.

And don't get me started on the 13th regeneration explanation. There was such potential for story there, and yet Moffat introduces it as a needless obstacle about halfway through, and then around 20 minutes later solves it with a hand wave. It didn't need to be resolved now, it could've waited -- could've waited for someone who had a decent story based around it -- but no, Moffat must manage and control Who's canon, and so he must engineer a way in which he can sort out the 12 regenerations limit a whole two lives early. Grr.

A mixed bag, then. Hopefully Capaldi's reign will signal a fresh start and a return to a more consistent high standard.


Sherlock
3x02 The Sign of Three

I enjoyed that a lot. Seems there were some complaints online about it going nowhere and being unfocused... but it all came together at the end, which is a lesson in watching something through rather than judging it based on the first 20 minutes. Morons. I imagine some will still have objected to the lighter-than-usual tone, but I thought it was both fun and funny, and had a clever reveal at the end too. Top stuff.

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

this week on 100 Films

No new reviews this week -- but a load of posts nonetheless, because the start of 2014 means it's time to look back on the seventh year of 100 Films in a Year!

As ever, multiple posts make up my review of the year just passed; and as per last year, there are now four of them. So in order we have:


2013 in Review, Part 1

WordPress have produced my annual report... Once you’ve read that, the following will make sense: It wasn’t just new posts that grew the archive of the blog: 141 reposts from 2007-2011 helped increase the tally from last year’s 249.

Read more here.


December 2013

Having set out with the goal of watching one super-acclaimed film per month, I somehow ended up with three to get through come December. That didn’t quite go to plan then. Undeterred, I shall be attempting this again in 2014… even though I wound up only seeing 11 of the 12 films I was supposed to. So what were the final two? Well...

Read more here.


2013: The Full List

Containing:
2013 As It Happened — links to 2013’s monthly updates, with the chronological list of my viewing;
The List — the full alphabetical list of my viewing;
The Statistics — where I really overanalyse what I’ve watched

Read more here.


2013 In Retrospect

With 2013 completed, listed, and analysed, all that remains is a final bit of reflection: of the 110 films I watched, which were the best? Which were the worst? And what new releases did I miss? Plus, this year you can vote for your favourite of my top ten.

Read more here.


Oh, and I said there were no new reviews, but there was an archive one new to the new blog...


Wild at Heart (1990)

it’s filled with mannered performances that can seem cheaper than those in daytime soaps (I presume this is deliberate); characters and plot threads that meander off and seem pointless; plus it lacks the opaqueness that many seem to hold as the key worthy feature of Lynch’s work.

Read more here.


So that's 2013 done! Aside from the 20 reviews I still have to post, that is. Hopefully, more of them next Sunday.

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2013-14 Episode 3 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Elementary
2x10 Tremors

Friends
7x02 The One with Rachel's Book [4th or so watch]

Articles

How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood
by Alexis C. Madrigal (from The Atlantic)

A long but fascinating article on the technology used at Netflix to predict exactly what sorts of films a user likes, to a degree so maddening that their computer probably knows you better than you know yourself.

Plus, the Perry Mason bit at the end is engrossingly bizarre.

Collection Count

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

After the big Christmas update last time, just one straggler from the very end of last year. We'll see if the next few weeks turn into a post-Christmas lull or a post-Christmas buy-up-everything-I-didn't-get fest.

Number of titles in collection: 1,645 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,197 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 448 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,120 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,773 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,098 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 406 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2013-14 Episode 2 (of 10)
Missed episode one. Oops.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Friends
7x01 The One with Monica's Thunder [4th or so watch]
We got the Friends Blu-rays for Christmas, and this is the point we've chosen to switch to them. It does look rather extraordinary -- the D is certainly H.

Yonderland
1x04 The Ultimate Prize

TV

Agatha Christie's Marple
6x03 Endless Night [season finale]
Well, I found that to be a bit... slow. OK, by that I mean dull. It's not a Marple story originally, so she was somewhat shoehorned in; and the plot wasn't that engrossing -- there wasn't even a mystery until about an hour in! "Endless night" indeed.
There are rumours this will be the last-ever episode. Let's hope not. The post-millenial iteration of Miss Marple has never been up to the high standards of the Suchet Poirot, but it deserves more than this.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

QI
11x04 Knits & Knots (XL edition)

TV

Gangsta Granny
Every bit as good as last year's excellent Mr Stink. Keep the Walliams adaptations coming, I say!
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
12x13 Christmas Special
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Sherlock
3x01 The Empty Hearse
Well... hm.
Based on Twitter, some loved it and some hated it; others were just disappointed. I'm somewhere between all three. I thought it indulged too much in soap opera elements at times, letting character rule story; but it was largely funny and entertaining, and at times clever, so I can let some of the off bits slide. Not the series' best episode, by any means, but equally far from its worst.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2013
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Friends
6x23 The One with the Ring [4th or so watch]
6x24 The One with the Proposal Part 1 [5th or so watch]
6x25 The One with the Proposal Part 2 [season finale; 5th or so watch]

Hebburn
2x07 Sleep in Hebburnly Peace [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

New Year's Eve Fireworks
Normally I like the fireworks, but this year I thought they were uninspired. Start as you mean to go on...?
(And the title's inaccurate, because the fireworks don't begin until midnight, making them New Year's Day Fireworks. Tsk.)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Seven Samurai (1954)
[#110 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Second half (see yesterday).

TV

Arrow
2x09 Three Ghosts

Atlantis
1x12 Touched by the Gods Part One
1x13 Touched by the Gods Part Two [season finale]
Seems a shame a lot of people gave up on Atlantis so quickly -- it's grown into itself and become not bad. Considering Merlin had a similarly shaky start, this could well continue to improve if it's given the chance (which it will have in at least one more season).
[Watch Touched by the Gods Parts One & Two (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Friends
6x21 The One Where Ross Meets Elizabeth's Dad [4th or so watch]
6x22 The One Where Paul's the Man [5th or so watch]
Bruce Willis!

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
27x12 Buzzcocks: The Hunt for the Missing Episode - A Documentary with Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Films

Seven Samurai (1954)
[#110 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

The first half thereof, anyway -- it's another long film with a handy intermission. I was aiming to watch it all in one go (which is demonstrably not impossible), but I was beginning to nod off before even the halfway point (no fault of the film), so it seemed daft to try to force through over 90+ minutes more. I'll watch that tomorrow.

TV

Death Comes to Pemberley
Part 3 (of 3)
Never read the novel, but I thought that was an engrossing and well-performed drama in its own right.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Elementary
2x09 On the Line

Friends
6x19 The One with Joey's Fridge [4th or so watch]
6x20 The One with Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. [5th or so watch]
Clips shows are clips shows... but Friends clips shows are a cut above the average. I mean, The One with Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. has a proper storyline through it -- one I remember well and had forgotten was bolstered with all those montages. And actually, they're pretty good montages.

Have I Got News For You
46x10 (13/12/2013 edition; extended repeat)
The last proper episode -- #11 is a highlights show that I shan't bother with (but the extended version is still on iPlayer if you want).

Hebburn
2x06 Gas and Air [season finale]
Felt like a series finale... but there's a Christmas special to come, at least.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

With Christmas been and gone, the 100 Films Advent Calendar has to come to a close for another year. But if you've not been keeping up daily, that means there's still three new reviews for you to read...


Arthur Christmas (2011)

a breathless global knockabout — it rattles along so fast, an hour in you’ll think it must be nearly over. Aside from a few longueurs that give you pause to think such thoughts, it’s an entertaining ride, perfect for the family at Christmas.

Read more here.


Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

Kick-Ass joins up with a superhero team trying to do good, the M***********r gradually assembles his own team of villains, and Mindy tries to fit in as a regular high school girl... Whereas the first film riffed on archetypal characters and plots from regular superhero movies, as such providing an entertaining deconstruction of the genre, the sequel doesn’t feel as focussed.

Read more here.


Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Unfortunately, despite the rarely-filmed milieu of video games, it’s all a bit predictable — it basically does with video game characters what Toy Story did with toys, both in terms of the story and its themes of acceptance.

Read more here.


Plus, one new to the new blog...


Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides [3D] (2011)

The film burns through ideas and plot points at a rate of knots. While I’m all for not stretching ideas thin, here the opposite is true, with not enough time devoted to explaining things, to characterisation, to making us give a damn about what’s going on or why it’s going on.

Read more here.


With 2013 nearly at a close, I'll be sharing my usual series of wrap-up articles soon. Keep an eye on 100 Films for that, or check back here for more next Sunday.

TV

Death Comes to Pemberley
Part 2 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Friends
6x17 The One with Unagi [5th or so watch]
6x18 The One Where Ross Dates a Student [5th or so watch]
Or, The One with Joey's Twin ("How you dooo-iiin!"), and... no, the second one's good.

Not Going Out
7x01 The House [Christmas special]
Weird for a one-off Christmas special to be the first episode of a series that isn't immediately following it (because it's a one-off, innit). But that's what the episode guide says, so there you go. Either way, I thought it was good fun, and suitably Christmassy in that ghost story tradition... with plenty of laughs too, of course.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Vicious
2x00 Christmas Special
More laughs! It may be a little blunt and old fashioned, but I like Vicious.
[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 update includes my Christmas haul, which this year contained just four Blu-rays... and as one of them replaces three I already had, and the another upgrades (and expands) on a DVD I had, some of the changes look even more sedate. And others look huge, because one of those was a 25-film box set.

(Also this week, I noticed that I accidentally wiped out Damages -- I added it correctly here, but on the next update must have mucked up copying & pasting and 'lost' the disc and episode numbers. Rather than go back and correct three previous updates, I've just re-added them here. If I get bored later I may fix them after all and remove this paragraph, we'll see.)

Plus, this is the final update of the year! See how much my collection has grown in the last 12 months too...

Number of titles in collection: 1,644 [no change this week; up 123 in 2013]
Of which DVDs: 1,197 [down 1 this week; up 51 in 2013]
Of which Blu-rays: 447 [up 1 this week; up 72 in 2013]

Number of discs in collection: 4,119 [up 40 this week; up 285 in 2013]
Number of films in collection: 1,772 [up 23 this week; up 172 in 2013]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,098 [up 46 this week; up 398 in 2013]
Number of short films in collection: 406 [no change this week; up 32 in 2013]

Plus the year-end running time update...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
295 days, 18 hours, and 50 minutes.

(Up 1 day, 23 hours, and 20 minutes from last month.)
(Up 18 days, 23 hours, and 53 minutes from last year.)

See you next year, faithful reader!

TV

Hebburn
2x05 Stairway to Hebburn
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Miranda
3x03 The Dinner Party [2nd watch]
I'd forgotten this series of Miranda was only on at the start of this year -- feels much longer ago. Anyway, great episode.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
7x10 At Christmas [special; 2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Death Comes to Pemberley
Part 1 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
at Christmas [2013]
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Still Open All Hours
[2nd half]
Turned it on halfway through; won't be bothering to go back for the first half.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
[2nd half; 3rd or so watch]

Turned this on as something easy to watch. Ought to re-watch the whole saga at some point really...

TV

Doctor Who
33x16 The Time of the Doctor [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

John Bishop's Christmas Show
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Mrs Brown's Boys
Buckin' Mammy [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
7x10 At Christmas [special]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

QI
11x14 Kris Kringle (XL edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Sherlock
3x00 Many Happy Returns
A seven-minute mini-episode released as a prequel/teaser to the third series, which begins on New Year's Day. Inessential but fun.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

QI
11x13 Kitchen Sink (XL edition)

Ruth Watson Means Business!
1x15 The Bridge Tea Rooms
In my little home town!
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

University Challenge
Christmas 2013, Episode 3 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The 12 Drinks of Christmas
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Only Connect
8x08 Oenophiles v Bakers
First two times I've ever watched non-celebrity Only Connect, and by some weird fluke all four of these teams will make the semifinals, and both losing teams in these episodes will be the finalists!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

It's the final full week of the 100 Films Advent Calendar 2013, and the means seven brand-new reviews...


A Field in England (2013)

if you’re searching for any kind of mass acceptance you don’t do it with a black-and-white film about a few blokes in period dress running around a field doing weird, inexplicable things. Though you might top it off with a shoot-out that is arguably one of the year’s best action sequences, something Wheatley and co do do.

Read more here.


The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

it's directed by a woman, the first noir to be so. We live in an age where a woman has only recently managed to win the Best Director Oscar... Katherine Bigelow received additional praise in some quarters for taking said award while playing in the "men's world" of the action/war movie, but that's also what Lupino did here.

Read more here.


Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

O’Toole carries us through all this with the skill of a seasoned pro, and yet this was his first major role. No wonder it made him a star over night. He makes every tweak in Lawrence’s attitude plausible; sells both the supreme self-confidence and crushing tumbles to inadequacy. Whatever else is going on, he draws your attention

Read more here.


The Seventh Seal (1957)

A black and white Swedish movie in which a knight ponders the existence of God while playing chess with Death? Yep, here we have the stereotype of arthouse cinema. Let’s be honest, it lives up to most of those expectations.

Read more here.


Shanghai Noon (2000)

There are two reasons we come to a film like this: action and comedy. Some of Chan’s contributions to the former are entertaining, but they’re by no means his best work. Sadly, the latter isn’t that great either. The film works better for both its leads when they’re apart, and that defeats the object.

Read more here.


Shanghai Knights (2003)

as ever, it’s Chan’s action scenes that are the highlight. They’re inventive, exciting, funny, and the speed and dexterity with which they’re performed is often astounding. Those are definitely the reason to watch.

Read more here.


Sharknado (2013)

a defining film of 2013. The volume of conversation it generated, which achieved the near-impossibility of higher viewing figures for its repeats, is exceptional. So I was determined to give it its due in a full-length review. But I can’t be bothered — it doesn’t merit such attention.

Read more here.


That's all for now. More next Sunday.

TV

Only Connect
8x07 Lasletts v Board Gamers
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

University Challenge
Christmas 2013, Episode 1 (of 10)
Christmas 2013, Episode 2 (of 10)
[Watch episodes one and two (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

As predicted, no new additions this week. Next week, though... that should be good.

Number of titles in collection: 1,644 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,198 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 446 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,079 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,749 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,052 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 406 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Friends
6x15 The One That Could Have Been Part 1 [4th or so watch]
6x16 The One That Could Have Been Part 2 [4th or so watch]

Hebburn
2x04 Stairway to Hebburn
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Matt Lucas Awards
3x00 The Matt Lucas Christmas Awards
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
2x09 C.O.D.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Poetry

Wenceslas: A Christmas Poem by Carol Ann Duffy,
illustrated by Stuart Kolakovic

Not convinced about the poem, but Kolakovic's illustrations are beautiful.

(You can read the poem, sans illustrations, on the Guardian's website.)

TV

Castle
3x12 Poof! You're Dead
About magic, not homosexuals.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Friends
6x14 The One Where Chandler Can't Cry [4th or so watch]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
27x13 Christmas Show [season finale]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
[#109 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

This is coming to Sky Movies/Now TV on Christmas Eve, so I intend to have a review up then.

Fiction

The Best of Times by Michael Morpurgo,
illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

A Christmassy tale.

TV

Friends
6x13 The One with Rachel's Sister [4th or so watch]

Live at the Apollo
9x04 Episode 4
Apparently the broadcasts of Live at the Apollo have all been knocked back a week due to the Nelson Mandela tribute shown on Friday 6th... but they keep putting the ones that would have been on up on iPlayer, so I'm 'ahead'. Weird.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
2x08 'Til Death
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)
[#108 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

Elementary
2x08 Blood is Thicker

Friends
6x12 The One with the Joke [4th or so watch]

TV

Arrow
2x08 The Scientist
Spin-off setup alert! I thought they did a pretty good job, though, and clearly it's a fairly slow-build setup rather than a backdoor pilot (that said, one of those was due later in the season, so...)

Have I Got News For You
46x09 (6/12/2013 edition; extended repeat)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
27x11 Episode 11

TV

The British Comedy Awards 2013
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Friends
6x11 The One with the Apothecary Table [4th or so watch]

this week on 100 Films

The 100 Films Advent Calendar marches on this week, leading to seven new reviews again...


Fast & Furious (2009)

Some say this is the worst of the series, and I think I agree. 2 Fast 2 Furious has a stupid name and Tokyo Drift is almost a direct-to-DVD cheapo, but they embrace their trashy roots and are kinda fun. #4 takes itself too seriously as a revenge/drug-smuggling thriller.

Read more here.


Flight (2012)

After a decade locked away in motion-capture madness, Robert Zemeckis returned to the realms of the real with this Oscar-nominated drama... Cue a film that attempts a grown-up account of addiction, but fumbles it, in the process missing the more interesting story of the crash investigation.

Read more here.


G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

If Team America: World Police had been made for children, it would be a lot like this.

If The Asylum made blockbusters instead of mockbusters, they would be a lot like this.

If Michael Bay were a less skilled director, his movies would be a lot like this.

Read more here.


Jack Reacher (2012)

an enthralling action-thriller with an unusual-these-days emphasis on the thriller part. There’s still a well-executed car chase, an epic punchy-shooty climax, and the odd spot of running and fighting along the way, but primarily this is a mystery that our heroes must wind their way through.

Read more here.


Lady of Deceit (1947) aka Born to Kill

Even today, it’s quite a nasty little work, although tastes have evolved to the point where “discriminating people” are likely to be attracted to it — though not purely for the violence. You’d imagine that would pale by today’s standards, but even now the opening double homicide is quite shocking

Read more here.


Real Steel (2011)

Once upon a time, Real Steel would have been rated PG, been aimed at 7- to 10-year-old boys, and would probably have been quite the success. In the current Hollywood moviemaking climate, however, it’s rated PG-13, consequently aimed at teenage boys and grown men who still have the tastes of teenage boys, and seems to be regularly slated in online comment sections. That’s a shame because, despite some corny and cheesy bits, it generally works.

Read more here.


Wolf (1994)

It’s about werewolves. But don’t go thinking this is like An American Werewolf in London or The Wolfman, and certainly don’t attach it to the modern Twilight-type werewolf saga — this is a supernatural movie For Adults. Not in the sense of there being excessive violence or sex or swearing or what have you, but, rather, because of the characters and their situations.

Read more here.


Plus, new to the new blog...


Friday the 13th Part III [3D] (1982)

They have a whale of a time shoving stuff out into the audience for almost no reason — just like the stereotype of 3D films, of course. That’s part of the fun of trashy 3D movies so I’m not criticising it, but what sadly doesn’t work is the ColorCode 3D system... It provides lovely depth to normal scenes, but as soon as something’s attempting to come out at you it fails.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Atlantis
1x11 Hunger Pangs
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Derren Brown: The Great Art Robbery
Well that was super. You know Derren's always going to have a few extra tricks up his sleeve, but then there are a couple more even beyond that...
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Friends
6x10 The One with the Routine [5th or so watch]
Sometimes Friends titles pick on a bizarrely minor point; and sometimes, they're bang on.

Yonderland
1x03 Reformation

Collection Count

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

As noted last week, I was expecting one new addition this week and one next. But the freakishly slow Christmastime post seems to have suddenly sprung back to life, and next week's parcel dropped today... along with something else I ordered that should have taken until next week, making a grand total of three!

There'll be nothing next week, now. Well, almost certainly nothing...

Number of titles in collection: 1,644 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,198 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 446 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,079 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,749 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,052 [up 22]
Number of short films in collection: 406 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Friends
6x09 The One Where Ross Got High [4th or so watch]

The Graham Norton Show
14x08 (6/12/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Hebburn
2x03 Knocking About
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Live at the Apollo
9x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
3x11 Nikki Heat
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Friends
6x08 The One with Ross's Teeth [4th or so watch]

TV

Friends
6x06 The One on the Last Night [5th or so watch]
6x07 The One Where Phoebe Runs [4th or so watch]

The Graham Norton Show
14x07 (29/11/13 edition)

Suburgatory
2x14 T-Ball & Sympathy

Yonderland
1x02 Wizard Bradley

Films

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
[#107 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Articles

Axed BBC drama Ripper Street could be revived by LOVEFiLM for third series
by Ben Dowell (from Radio Times)

I was disappointed when they cancelled Ripper Street (even though I haven't started season two yet, I enjoyed the first), but this has come as a right surprise nonetheless. Hope it comes to pass.

TV

Elementary
2x07 The Marchioness

Friends
6x05 The One with Joey's Porsche [4th or so watch]

The Happenings
1x01 Alien Invasion
Usually-comedic (and gory) magicians Barry and Stuart get their own series on Watch "from the makers of Derren Brown", in which they string together a selection of magic tricks posing as supernatural events in order to convince a community that something paranormal is happening. Here, it's a small British town that they try to make believe is being observed by aliens. Some of the tricks are quite familiar if you watch enough magic -- they're still impressive in their own right, just increasingly seen -- while others feel fresher. All are suitably baffling. I'm not sure how well the "convince a whole town" element works, though. But maybe.
[Watch it (again) on Watch's website.]

Person of Interest
2x07 Critical
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Arrow
2x07 State v. Queen
Did they re-cast the Count with a worse actor just to (spoilers!) kill him off? Or was it actually the same guy but I remembered him being not quite so bad?

Have I Got News For You
46x08 (29/11/2013 edition; extended repeat)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
27x10 Episode 10

Films

Kick-Ass (2010)
[2nd watch]

This was #39 in 100 Films 2010. I haven't seen it since that first viewing, but the sequel is out on DVD & Blu-ray today so I watched this last night in preparation. Sadly my copy of said follow-up didn't arrive today, but expect it to turn up here just as soon as it does.

TV

Castle
3x10 Last Call
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited
1x11 The Eleventh Doctor [final episode]

Friends
6x04 The One Where Joey Loses His Insurance [4th or so watch]
Behind that so-dull-it-sounds-like-a-spoof title lies one of Friends' funniest episodes.

Hebburn
2x02 Easy Tiger
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Yonderland
1x01 The Chosen Mum
The Horrible Histories gang do fantasy in this new Sky1 comedy (which has almost finished on the actual telly, so I've got some catching up to do). Like so many genre series, episode one is all about setting up the premise. Still funny though, so hopefully the rest will be even better.

Films

Hanna (2011)
[#106 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
Read my drabble review here.

DVD Extras

Special Features on Hanna

An alternate ending that was thankfully unused, and some near-pointless deleted scenes; a handful of featurettes looking at the fights, the fairytale inspirations, the music, and the military escape scene; and some promo stuff.

Plus I listened to a couple of short snippets of the commentary, which sounded interesting but also a bit quiet at times.

this week on 100 Films

The second 100 Films Advent Calendar is well and truly underway now, meaning that 7 new reviews were published this week.

First, on Channel 4 tonight at 10pm:


Hanna (2011)

There’s the genre’s typical globetrotting, fistfighting thrills; but also an allegorical coming-of-age indie drama; plus a surreal, fairytale tone that drifts across proceedings like a pleasant morning mist.

Read more here.


And the rest:


Black Death (2010)

Though not entirely devoid of gore or jumps, this is more a creeping horror; a tale of the supernatural where an uncanny mood is more important than visceral thrills. I don’t think it’s too lofty to suggest comparison to The Wicker Man rather than an historical Saw.

Read more here.


The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

There’s no shortage of ambition in the rendering on screen, but the film sadly comes up short on occasion. Despite director Michael Apted’s experienced hand on the wheel, the course strays into Syfy Channel TV movie territory at times, with a kind of cheapness that won’t please anyone

Read more here.


Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Extended Cut) (2013)

Having heard only bad things, I expected a soul-crushing dud of Van Helsing proportions. Actually, it’s a lot of fun.

Read more here.


LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite (2013)

I’ve seen a couple of the LEGO Star Wars TV specials and found them to be quite fun, but LEGO Batman can’t reach their level. It’s not just that it’s almost four times as long as one of those, it’s that the humour it does contain doesn’t hit home in the same way. It’s often too juvenile, too “that’ll do”

Read more here.


Side by Side (2012)

a documentary on camera technology. No, wait, come back! It’s much more interesting than that sounds. Side by Side is, primarily, about the debate between those who prefer the old film ways and those who embrace the digital future...

Read more here.


Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

In an ethnically diverse and equal future, white American Kirk and white Vulcan-American Spock are commanded by white American Pike and white American Marcus to lead their crew to capture a Starfleet-targeting terrorist: John Harrison, a white Englishman

Read more here.


And one related review was new to the new blog too...


The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

The epic final battle comes as close to rivalling Helm’s Deep as anything I can think of, albeit — in typical Narnia style — in broad daylight on a big field. It has a real story to it, with specific moves being made by each side in the name of an overall strategy, rather than just A Lot Of Good Guys charging at A Lot Of Bad Guys and hacking away ’til one side wins, the apparent battle tactic in most other such large encounters on film.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Atlantis
1x10 The Price of Hope
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Friends
6x03 The One with Ross's Denial [4th or so watch]

Was It Something I Said
1x08 Episode 8 (extended repeat) [season finale]
[Watch only the shorter version on 4oD.]

Films

Arthur Christmas (2011)
[#105 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Collection Count

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

You might think my collection has stopped growing as I await Christmas, but oh no! There's one new slightly-random impulse-buy this week (a film called Dimensions that looks potentially fascinating); Kick-Ass 2 is in the post; and The Long Goodbye is on pre-order for the 16th. Should be something to update with every week even before The Big Day, then.

Number of titles in collection: 1,641 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,198 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 443 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,074 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,747 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,030 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 406 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.