this week on 100 Films

Onebrand-new review was published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and it was...


Wallander: The Troubled Man (2013)

Krister Henriksson returns as the Swedish detective for a third and final series of mysteries, starting with this final theatrically-released episode, based on the final Wallander novel. Yes, there is a sense of finality here — albeit one not reached just yet.

Read more here.


Plus, new to the new blog...


The International (2009)

A lot of scenes involve people explaining the plot to each other, or discoursing in clichés about why they’re going to be thrown off the case or justice is an illusion or whatever. In a rare moment of something approaching innovation, we don’t have to suffer a romance between the two leads because she’s happily married, as we’re briefly shown early on. It should be something of a concern when one of a film’s high points is something it doesn’t do.

Read more here.


Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)

The humour is a mixture of schoolboy toilet gags, general silliness/quirkiness, and rock/culture references — undoubtedly, therefore, your mental age will dictate which bits (if any) you laugh at.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Troy (2004)
[#18 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
[3rd watch]

Not the whole thing, and I didn't mean to watch it! I was flicking to see what was on, thought "that's a slightly odd advert"... and it turned out to be Troy. I remember liking it (see my review of the Director's Cut), but today it struck me as quite poor in almost every regard: the script, the acting, the direction and production values -- more Hallmark mini-series than big-budget all-star blockbuster. Game of Thrones looks more expensive, and that's not just down to 10 years of technical improvements.

Still, I got suckered in, and it does have good stuff -- the battles and fights are really well staged, if nothing else. And I watched it to the end from when I joined (a good 2½-3 hours, with ad breaks), so there's clearly something there.

Collection Count

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

All the neat, fairly-rounded numbers of last week (1680, 1200, 480...) go flying this week -- as they all inevitably do -- with two new Blu-rays.

Number of titles in collection: 1,682 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,200 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 482 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,178 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,807 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,147 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 414 [up 4]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
1x05 Jarvis Cocker's BritPop Herd [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Dave OD.]

TV

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
1x04 Until I'm Married or You're Dead
That was good. Wish I'd watched the rest of the series now.
[Watch it (again) on Dave OD.]

Films

Sightseers (2012)
[#52 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

TV

Penny Dreadful
1x01 Night Work
With Game of Thrones over for another year, here's what I'm hoping can be televisual methadone: much-anticipated, good-looking series from the creators of Skyfall (writer John Logan, who creates and writes, and director Sam Mendes, who exec produces) set in Victorian England about Dracula and Frankenstein and all that kind of stuff existing together. Interesting first episode, but it's clearly only just getting going, so we'll see. It would help if the direction didn't use some of the same tricks multiple times...

TV

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1x07 The Employment Exchange [season finale]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
6x02 (13/6/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Game of Thrones
4x10 The Children [season finale]
And that's it for another year! As usual, some satisfying conclusions (of a sort), while other stuff is left brazenly hanging. It's almost enough to make you want to dive straight into the books... were it not for the fact that at this point they've deviated so much there's no choice but to read the whole darn thing, not just start with Book 4. (I do want to read the books, mind, but no one's getting straight to 'new' stuff if they're only starting now!)

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1x06 The Psychiatrist

TV

How I Met Your Mother
9x19 Vesuvius
OK, I have no idea what the episode titles mean at this point.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

Journey into Fear (1943)
[#51 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

Fiction

Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross
Part Two: Chapter 1



The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling by Ted Chiang

Fourth Hugo Best Novelette nominee.

It's another first-person letter "like it's a real historical document... about the future!" one, a style that has increasingly grated with me as my Hugo reading has gone on. Perhaps that means I'm judging this one unfairly, but as it also did the "two apparently unconnected story threads unfolding at the same time... that come together at the end!" thing again; and it had pretty much the same primary SF idea as an episode of Black Mirror, which I felt did it better. Add all that together and I didn't warm to it at all!

Nonetheless, you can read it at the above link.

So that's not a good hit rate for the novelettes, I'm afraid. I'm not even going to bother with the fifth, because I've not heard a single person have anything good to say about it. The Lady Astronaut of Mars is definitely my top pick, and I'll have to debate amongst myself which (if any) I rank below it, and in what order.

this week on 100 Films

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


Elysium (2013)

Elysium is a parable; one related to current hot-button topics (in the US especially) like immigration and access to healthcare for the poor. I’m sure some would therefore characterise it as Left Wing, for good or ill, but I think its underlying message is more fundamental than that: it’s just humanitarian.

Read more here.


Ghost Rider (2007)

The MacGuffin storyline feels ripped from Constantine, but here executed via a screenplay written in Dairylea on a block of Stilton, shot on Camembert film with Cheddar cameras.

Read more here.


Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

it’s a difficult film to digest in one viewing, because there’s so much there... it’s packed with incident, and shaped in a non-traditional narrative structure. A first viewing is an exercise in following what’s going on, what connects to what else, why things are happening in such an order. It fairly begs, “get a handle on it this time, you can analyse it when you watch it again”.

Read more here.


The Punisher (2004)

This is the second of three live-action Punishers, all unconnected. Now the rights are back with Marvel, how long before another reboot?

Read more here.


Additionally, new to the new blog was...


Boogie Nights (1997)

I didn’t fall for it in the same way I did for Magnolia... One I may get a better feel for when I see it again some day.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Celebrity Fifteen to One
1x02 (13/6/2014 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1x05 The Hospital Visit
With Sarah Jane Smith!

Films

Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008)
[#50 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

Plus the DVD's special features, which included a short EPK-y "making of", an even shorter overview of teen teams in Marvel comics, and some extended trailers for the Hulk Vs shorts that made them look so good I went and ordered the Blu-ray (a US import only £2 dearer than buying the UK DVD).

Fiction

The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Third Hugo Best Novelette nominee. It's a really great story, in an alternate-history SF setting, but about people and characters in that world (which is quickly, effectively sketched) rather than the world itself. It's overall quality is a light year beyond the other two, in my estimation.

You can read it online at the above link.

Collection Count

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

This week, the two '60s Thunderbirds movies on US Blu; two cuts of Oliver Stone's Alexander, one of them superseding The Final Cut; and an upgrade for Atonement.

Also this week, a running time update (hurrah!)

Number of titles in collection: 1,680 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,200 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 480 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,176 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,805 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,147 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 410 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
299 days, 10 hours, and 58 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 2 hours, and 41 minutes from last month.)

That'll be over 300 days next month, most likely!

But before that... see you next week, faithful reader.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
6x01 (6/6/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Episodes
3x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
7x04 The Monolith

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1x04 Have a Break, Take a Husband

Fiction

Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross
Part One: Chapter 8
Interlude

TV

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1x03 Love Thy Neighbour

Vera
4x04 Death of a Family Man [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

Elysium (2013)
[#49 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

TV

Goodness Gracious Me
Reunion Special

Have I Got News For You
47x08 (23/5/2014 edition; extended repeat)

Law & Order: UK
8x07 Hard Stop
Well that felt very finale-ish, which considering there's one more episode to come -- and it's now the last-ever -- is kinda odd.

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1x02 George's House

Films

Night of the Big Heat (1967)
[#48 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
1x21 Unsolvable
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Game of Thrones
4x09 The Watchers of the Wall
Awesome, in a very literal sense!

Mad Men
7x03 Field Trip

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1x01 The Job Interview
Thought I'd seen the first few episode of this before, but I don't remember this one in the slightest. We'll see later, then. Anyway, it's still very funny, which isn't always true of old sitcoms, even popular ones, or so I find.

TV

Cowboy Bebop
1x12 Jupiter Jazz Part 1
1x13 Jupiter Jazz Part 2
Disadvantage of my accidental gap: I only had a vague recollection of the events these episodes called back to.
Advantage of our modern internet-enabled era: I could just read up on episode five online.

Gavin & Stacey
3x06 Episode 6 [series finale; 2nd watch]

Law & Order: UK
8x06 Bad Romance

Fiction

Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross
Part One: Chapters 6-7

Yep, decided to continue with this. It's still a mite too obsessed with explanations of arcane future economics, but I'll trust on the concurrent narrative for a little longer.



The Waiting Stars by Aliette de Bodard

Second Hugo-nominated novelette, which won the same award at the Nebulas last month.

Considerably better-written than yesterday's, but I'm not sure how I feel about it in itself. I guessed the 'twist' before the halfway point, though it's not just concerned with pulling the rug from under you -- there's questions of imperialism and colonialism here, with neither 'side' being presented as the villain, instead alluding to both the positives and shortcomings of each.

But, in my opinion, it's not long enough to pull off the emotional punch I think it's (in part) going for -- unless you unreservedly buy into these characters at lightning speed, you need a much longer work to feel for them, and to feel for how the change effects them at the end.

Probably won't get my #1 place on the ballot, then, but it's not bad. It can be read for free at the above link.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
9x18 Rally
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

The Secret of Kells (2009)
[#47 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

Fiction

The Exchange Officers by Brad R. Torgersen

Starting reading for the Hugo Best Novelette award -- essentially, a long short story.

Not too impressed by this one. The dialogue is hilariously poor, loaded with clunky exposition, as is some of the prose. Otherwise, it's essentially about a space fight between The Right And Good US Of A, who are unnarmed because they're just in space for nice exploration, and The Evil Chinese, who are kinda armed because they're Evil gorrammit. The other nominees will have to be pretty poor for this to end up highly-ranked on my ballot.

Not available to read for free online, but apparently included in this podcast.



The Ink Readers of Doi Saket by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

The last nominee for the Best Short Story award... and my favourite, too. Interestingly, all the nominees are "magical realist"-type stories rather than obvious SF/F, which I wouldn't have expected (especially given the more 'obvious' style of the nominees in other categories).

This one is set in Thailand, apparently by a Dutch writer and then translated into English. Which doesn't really mean anything, it's just unusual.

Read it online for free at the above link.

Comics

The Bunker #3 by Joshua Hale Fialkov & Joe Infurnari

Growing on me.

this week on 100 Films

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


Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013)

That The Day of the Doctor delivers — and how — is part miracle and part relief, and all joy for the viewer. [And] for the majority it wasn't just a success, it was a triumph. Evidence? The record-breaking global audience; it was the most-watched drama in the UK in 2013; its theatrical release reached #2 at the US box office; it won the audience-voted Radio Times BAFTA for last year's best TV programme; and, last week, a poll of Doctor Who Magazine readers asserted it was better than the 240 other Who TV stories to crown it the greatest ever made.

Read more here.


Also, new to the new blog were...


Atonement (2007)

even more astounding is 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan as Briony, wise beyond her years as the over-imaginative girl who causes so much misery. In many ways she's the lead character, but as she shares the role with two other, older actresses, it's no surprise she's up for Best Supporting Actress... She's certainly one to watch...

Read more here.


The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

The visuals in general may be Benjamin Button’s strongpoint, holding up a variety of era-evoking colour palettes and other design elements as it passes throughout the 20th Century... For a director who has a reputation in some corners for exhibiting excessive flair with swish shots and effects, Fincher shows steady restraint here — as he did in Zodiac, and Se7en, and all the moments in his other films where it was appropriate.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Celebrity Fifteen to One
1x01 (6/6/2014 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Episodes
3x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Gavin & Stacey
3x05 Episode 5 [2nd watch]

Have I Got News For You
47x07 (16/5/2014 edition; extended repeat)

Films

The Tournament (2009)
[#46 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

Fiction

Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross
Part One: Chapters 3-5

Every time this threatened to get interesting, it slipped into a history or economics lesson about this fictional far-future -- ugh. I was on the verge of giving up... then decided to give it to a fifth of the way through, the end of chapter 4, and it suddenly got interesting, with a chapter-ending cliffhanger and everything. By the end of chapter 5, it's almost downright exciting.

Unfortunately, this is where the free extract provided for Hugo voters runs out. Now I'm debating whether to bank on this new-found good-ness continuing and read more, or assume it will fall back on its old ways and give up anyway.



If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love by Rachel Swirsky

Selkie Stories Are for Losers by Sofia Samatar

The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere by John Chu

Three of the four Hugo nominees for Best Short Story. All are about real-world things with an SF/F twist. If You Were a Dinosaur is clearly the best, The Water That Falls is good but perhaps ends before the end (though perhaps not), and I have no idea what Selkie Stories Are for Losers is really meant to be about.

You can read them all online for free at the links above.

Collection Count

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

This week, a Blu-ray upgrade for V for Vendetta, thanks to the hard-to-come-by Zavvi-exclusive Steelbook. Even though my DVD is a fairly nice limited edition too, there's no point hanging on to it, which is why some numbers go down.

Number of titles in collection: 1,678 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,201 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 477 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,173 [down 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,801 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,147 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 410 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Cowboy Bebop
1x11 Toys in the Attic

Gavin & Stacey
3x04 Episode 4 [2nd watch]

Wallander [Swedish]
3x02 Försvunnen (aka Missing)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
1x20 Fancy Brugdom
The internet can't agree if it's "Brudgom" or "Brugdom" -- but then, neither can the show itself.

[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Gavin & Stacey
3x03 Episode 3 [2nd watch]

Person of Interest
2x22 God Mode [season finale]
Well that was inconclusive...

Films

Ghost Rider (2007)
[#45 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

TV

Cowboy Bebop
1x09 Jamming with Edward
1x10 Ganymede Elegy
Crikey, has it really been 7½ months since I last watched Cowboy Bebop?! (Yes.) Oops. Anyway, let's try to make this a more regular thing, eh?

Gavin & Stacey
3x02 Episode 2 [2nd watch]

The Guess List
1x05 Episode 5

Person of Interest
2x21 Zero Day
So, I've been wrapping up all my already-on-going series from the TV season just passed (UK time, anyway -- the past TV season in the US had PoI season three). Which means soon I shall dig into a bunch of stuff I have saved up from earlier this year: The Americans season two, Ripper Street season two, The Musketeers season one, Peaky Blinders season one... and probably more, too. Exciting.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Fiction

Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross
Part One: Chapter 2

Improving, a little. We'll see.

TV

Game of Thrones
4x08 The Mountain and the Viper
Well, someone did say there'd be several more significant deaths before the season was out. I believe next week is a Blackwater-style single-location battle-focused episode, so I guess this one serves as the penultimate part for every other storyline -- and it felt like it!

Gavin & Stacey
3x01 Episode 1 [2nd watch]

Mad Men
7x02 A Day's Work
The fact the "previously on" mostly recapped last season is rather damning about how little happened in episode one! Things are very much underway now, though. Good good.

TV

Gavin & Stacey
3x00 Christmas Special [3rd watch]
It's nearly six years since this first aired. Six years! Where does time go...

Person of Interest
2x20 In Extremis
Featuring a major guest character with my name! Weeeeiiiird.

Fiction

Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross
Part One: Chapter 1

I know I seem to have a predilection for giving up on books by accident, but I haven't abandoned Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (even though it's been a while). So why start this? Well, I'll be voting for the 2014 Hugo Awards, and this is one of the nominees, which I feel I should at least make some effort to read.

So far, it's not really my cup of tea. I confess I didn't even read all of this review, but the first four or so paragraphs give a good enough idea -- both of the novel, and why I'm not keen: "the real business of the novel [is] interstellar economics." Wow! Couple that with its dense hard-science-fiction style and it's all a bit much.

Not sure how long I'll stick with it, then. The advice someone offered -- that you should read all the nominated works, but only until you've had enough of each (which therefore shows you can't think that much of one if you don't want to finish it) -- seems good to me! And also practical, when there's so much to read.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
9x17 Sunrise
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Vera
4x03 The Deer Hunters
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

12 Angry Men (1957)
[#44 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2014 #5

this week on 100 Films

It's June today (right now!), which means it's time to look back at how 100 Films in a Year fared in May 2014. Not too shabbily, as it turns out, though it was far from exceptional.

This month, there's also a look at the five men who've played Swedish detective Kurt Wallander. Yep, five.


Elsewhere, just one new review was published this week...


Mad Max (1979)

A pursuit opens the film in style. It's a surprisingly-lengthy white-knuckle sequence that introduces us not only to Max, but to what director George Miller is capable of. Even 35 years on it remains a mightily effective set piece, with more punch than the average over-choreographed CGI-addled chases of the last decade-and-a-half of moviemaking.

Read more here.


...but there was also one new to the new blog:


Beowulf: Director's Cut (2007)

I like animated films; I have absolutely no problem with animated films for adults; but the issue here is that most of the characters (especially the 'extras') seem of about the same quality as humans in Shrek. So while the battle scenes are often very violent, it becomes hard to take them seriously because it's all too cartoony.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Episodes
3x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Gavin & Stacey
2x07 Episode 7 [season finale; 2nd watch]

The Mentalist
6x22 Blue Bird [season finale]
That would've worked perfectly well as a last-ever episode... which, considering how late their renewal came, may well have been the intention. Hurrah for one more season to find out what happens next, though.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Backfire (1950)
[#43 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

Comics

The Bunker #2 by Joshua Hale Fialkov & Joe Infurnari
The first issue, originally published online in small chunks, rattled through a ton of story. Given a full issue at full-issue pace, this seems to slow down. Shame. Remains intriguing, but a shame.

Pretty Deadly #4 by Kelly Sue DeConnick & Emma Rios
Golly this is good. No offence to comics as a medium, but I'd love to see it as a film -- a truly faithful, put-the-panels-on-screen movie. That would be awesome.

Wolverine #5 by Paul Cornell & Gerardo Sandoval
In which Wolverine gets a tattoo. No, really. He has a fight with Thor too, for no real reason, but that's about it. Except for giving some voiceover to the book's only real female character, and giving her some awareness and impetuous and -- as the buzzword seems to go these days -- "agency". Which is the least we should expect from a writer obsessed with things like panel parity, I think.

Collection Count

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

A few anime BDs push up the TV episodes, especially, this week.

Number of titles in collection: 1,678 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 476 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,174 [up 6]
Number of films in collection: 1,801 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,147 [up 21]
Number of short films in collection: 410 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Doctor Who
33x15 The Day of the Doctor [50th anniversary special; 2nd watch]
In 3D! OK, only anaglyph 3D, but amber-blue rather than the old-fashioned red-green -- the depth isn't as striking, but the colours are better rendered; though pure white has a tendency to go wrong. But anyway, that's not the point. The point is, I put it on to try out the 3D a bit, and ended up watching the whole thing. Brilliant episode. The best ever? Well, dunno... but it does deserve to be up there.

Gavin & Stacey
2x06 Episode 6 [2nd watch]

The Mentalist
6x21 Black Hearts
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Person of Interest
2x19 Trojan Horse

TV

Gavin & Stacey
2x05 Episode 5 [2nd watch]

Law & Order: UK
8x05 Customs

Films

In Your Eyes (2014)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

You can rent this Joss Whedon-penned film on Vimeo (and any of its associated apps) for $5 (~£3). And if you do, you might get a little something in the post, too. I'd recommend it (not just for the potential for awesome free stuff.)

Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine #474

After Empire's huge movie poll yesterday, today it's DWM's turn. To mark the 50th anniversary, they asked fans to rate every Doctor Who story ever (right up to Matt Smith's Christmas regeneration), and this issue is dedicated to the results (which therefore replace the previously-defintive poll held in 2009 when the series reached 200 stories).

Lots of new entries (41 full-length stories have been produced since then), lots of changes, lots of things to agree and disagree with. But I won't spoil any of that here, go buy it for yourself (which you can on iTunes as well as in print, if you're so inclined).

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
1x19 Tactical Village
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Gavin & Stacey
2x04 Episode 4 [2nd watch]

The Mentalist
6x20 Il Tavolo Bianco

Magazines

Empire #301

Featuring the 301 Greatest Movies of All Time, the magazine's first reader-voted poll since the renowned 500 Greatest Movies of All Time back in 2008.

As with any list of this ilk, it's chock-full of stuff to completely disagree with, including a ludicrous number of recent films (13 from last year; even two from this year). But I'm sure someone, somewhere, will think it's bang-on. Law of averages and all that...

TV

Gavin & Stacey
2x03 Episode 3 [2nd watch]

The Guess List
1x06 Episode 6 [season fins;e]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
2x18 All In
Oh great, HR are back. I'd completely forgotten about them, and it was blissful. Props to the show for having multiple unconnected back stories and on-going threads (like real life), and for ending them at different times and in different ways (also like real life), but this HR business is one I was glad to see the back of the first time round. Here's hoping it gets gone quickly -- and thoroughly this time.

Comics

The Bunker #1 by Joshua Hale Fialkov & Joe Infurnari

Collecting the entire (unfinished) run of the digital comic in a double-sized issue, which continues in regularly-scaled chunks (which, therefore, are half as good value, price-wise) from #2. Intriguing enough to have me on board for now, but I can't help but feel it has the potential to get irritating and go nowhere fast.


Pretty Deadly #3 by Kelly Sue DeConnick & Emma Rios

So much for "hold off on it a little" -- again, it's now four months later. Really good stuff, though.


Wolverine #1-4 by Paul Cornell & Ryan Stegman

This isn't the Wolverine #1 I read in April, nor the Wolverine #1 I read in February (should've saved this for June, eh), nor any of the Wolverine #1s published between these two. No, this is the latest Wolverine #1, from a few months ago, when writer Paul Cornell re-re-launched the title having re-launched it just 11 months previously. Got that?

Thus far, not the greatest Wolverine story ever told, but maybe it's going somewhere good... maybe...

TV

Gavin & Stacey
2x02 Episode 2 [2nd watch]


Wallander [Swedish]
3x01 Den orolige mannen (aka The Troubled Man)
[#41 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

The final series of Wallander is finally making its way to British TV, four years since the last. Hurrah! Plus, as this first feature-length episode was released in cinemas in Sweden, it counts towards 100 Films (just as three episodes from season one and one from season two did as well).

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

TV

Game of Thrones
4x06 The Laws of Gods and Men
4x07 Mockingbird

I've been trying to pace my viewing of GoT season 4 -- as you may remember, I started late, spurred on by spoilers and the attempt to avoid them; but I didn't want to catch up too fast -- how annoying would it be to watch three or four or five episodes in quick succession and then have to wait a full week between each further one?! And that worked...

...until now, because The Laws of Gods and Men -- and in particular its ending -- were so damn good that I couldn't resist ploughing straight on into last week's episode. While that didn't exactly tackle the things one might've expected it to, it had more than enough quality in its own right. GoT is always a great show, but it seems to be particularly on point this season.

So now I am at last fully caught up, and with exceptional timing: while all other TV-pace GoT fans are in the middle of a fortnight with no new episode, I'll only have a regular week-long break until the next. Huzzah!



Have I Got News For You
47x06 (9/5/2014 edition; extended repeat) [2nd watch]
I really noticed the extensions, which was nice.


Vera
4x02 Protected
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Comics

Coffin Hill
#4-6 by Caitlin Kittredge & Inaki Miranda
#7 by Caitlin Kittredge & Stephen Sadowksi

I think serialised comics should make like serialised TV shows, and come with "previously on" sections as standard. Picking this back up after four months, I really struggled to remember what was going on, and I still don't think I have it fully. OK, that's partly my fault for leaving it so long (I didn't realise it had been so long -- God, time flies), but it also means that the series didn't grip or engage me fully, so I won't bother continuing with it.

this week on 100 Films

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


The Wolverine: Extended Cut (2013)

refreshingly different to other superhero movies. That’s largely thanks to its Japanese setting and supporting cast... Those might sound like superficial differences, but the change of faces, scenery and culture seems to have infused the film’s attitude. Couple that with a plot that is more of a thriller than one of the usual three Superhero Movie storylines, and the end result is a moderately unique movie.

Read more here.


Plus one more new to the new blog...


A Cock and Bull Story (2005)

I forget which British paper described this as “the best film ever, ever, ever”. It may’ve been The Guardian. They’re not right, of course, but it has its moments

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Gavin & Stacey
2x01 Episode 1 [2nd watch]

How I Met Your Mother
9x16 How Your Mother Met Me
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Person of Interest
2x17 Proteus
As various series reach the end of their seasons, it's time to resume some others and, soon, start some new ones. Which is good, because there's a big pile of stuff I've had saved up for months.

Films

Punisher: War Zone (2008)
[#40 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

Comics

The New 52: Futures End #0 by Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens, Keith Giffen, Ethan Van Sciver, Patrick Zircher, Aaron Lopresti & Jesus Merino

Yes, that's right: DC's contribution to FCBD 2014 has four credited writers and five credited pencillers! (If you only counted eight above, you're right: Dan Jurgens has a credit for both.) And for all that, it's not a story that's piqued my interest to read the full series, which started earlier this month.

Collection Count

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

This week, a couple of new BDs push my film total over the 1,800 mark. Based on the two years that I've done "since last year" increase tallies (2013 and 2011), I'll probably cross the 2,000 mark in July 2015. Unless I finally start reducing my collection, of course...

Number of titles in collection: 1,675 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 473 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,168 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,801 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,126 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 409 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Arrow
2x23 Unthinkable [season finale]
They seemed to pile everything on extra thick for the finale -- not only the epic action, but also the cheese. S'all good fun though.

Elementary
2x24 The Grand Experiment [season finale]
Pretty sure there's no experiment in this, grand or otherwise.

Episodes
3x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Gavin & Stacey
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale; 2nd watch]

Films

Doctor Who: Celebrating 50 Years of Fandom

A Kickstarted Who documentary, due for release to mark the 50th anniversary but which finally turned up in the past month or so. It's a somewhat unfocused affair, with a random grab-bag of interviewees sharing their Who-related stories.

When it does hone in on a topic, like the appeal of conventions, or the effect of the revived series, or the gender of fans, it often raises interesting ideas but then fails to explore them further. There are several almost-throwaway remarks from interviewees which have the most potential for genuine interest here, but there never followed up on. It's a shame the filmmakers didn't put that extra effort into their film's construction.

There's a good documentary to be made exploring the details of fandom -- the story of it, the whys of it, the ways in which it's changed, the good and the bad of it -- but, sadly, this only skims the surface.

If you still fancy seeing the documentary, you can buy it on DVD, Blu-ray or HD download here, or stream it for £2.49 from here.

Comics

Rocket Raccoon: Free Comic Book Day by Joe Caramagna, Adam Archer & Ty Templeton

Marvel are very obviously pitching Rocket to be the break-out star of their late summer blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy: there's already tonnes of merchandise announced featuring him, there's a new on-going comic coming up, and he was the star of their FCBD offering this year.

In two short 10-page tales (one a reprint), Caramagna demonstrates that it's perfectly possible to tell a decent, self-contained story -- and if he can do it in ten, why the hell can't most comic book writers do it in 20?! OK, so these are simple, fun, all-ages quickies, not the grown-up in-depth tales most comic book fans expect nowadays, but I think the point stands -- it can be done.

Articles

Edgar Wright Departs Ant-Man
by James White (from Empire)

Well here's something no one saw coming! Wright's been working on an Ant-Man movie since before the MCU began (with Iron Man in 2008), and had recently cast it and got deep into pre-production. Bet there must be a juicy behind-the-scenes story there...

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
1x18 The Apartment
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Gavin & Stacey
1x04 Episode 4 [2nd watch]
1x05 Episode 5 [2nd watch]

Comics

Batman Eternal #6 by Ray Fawkes & Trevor McCarthy with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, John Layman & Tim Seeley

Apparently the team are setting a bunch of story lines in motion over four or five issues at this point (starting with #4, though that was tied to the main story (or what was apparently the main story) so it was less obvious). The problem with that style of storytelling is nothing seems to be moving forward, and you have to keep track of a ton of things all at once. (I'm certainly not the only one feeling this.)

This issue feels particularly slight, not helped by its style: out of 20 story pages, a ridiculous six are splash pages. Only one or two of those are earned, meaning the rest just pad out an overly-short story.

After an exciting and promising opening salvo, Eternal is losing its way right now. Fingers crossed they can pull it back.

TV

Arrow
2x21 City of Blood
2x22 Streets of Fire
I happened to read some of a review that said City of Blood felt very much like "Part 1 of 2". The advantage to being a couple of weeks behind is I was able to watch both of these back to back. Unfortunately, it was actually "Part 1 of 3". On the bright side, the finale is on tomorrow -- not too long to wait.

Elementary
2x23 Art in the Blood

Gavin & Stacey
1x03 Episode 3 [2nd watch]

Films

A Beautiful Mind (2001)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

LOVEFiLM didn't bother to send me a replacement disc, so I watched the remaining 90 minutes via an HD download.

Articles

Batman vs Superman movie named Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
by Greg Laing (from Digital Spy)

If everyone's been calling your film Batman vs Superman, why would you title it Batman v Superman?! It's a silly little difference that just draws attention to itself, as evidenced by the abundance of headlines and tweets like this one.

TV

Castle
3x24 Knockout [season finale]
I knew they were going somewhere with Montgomery, the way they'd been building him up through the last few episodes.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Game of Thrones
4x05 First of His Name
Bit of a "move the pieces into place" episode, but hey-ho, you need those sometimes.

Gavin & Stacey
1x02 Episode 2 [2nd watch]

The Mentalist
6x19 Brown Eyed Girls

TV

24
8x23 2:00PM - 3:00PM
8x24 3:00PM - 4:00PM [series finale]

Here's a philosophical question for you: if something is made as a last-ever episode -- a series finale -- but then later they bring the series back, is it still a series finale? And does it make a difference if the revival is under a slightly different name?

That shouldn't really be my main concern after an Exciting Two-Hour 24 Finale, really, should it; but the episodes themselves were a little silly, and poorly paced, and the ending saw both the villains vanquished and Jack proved right and Jack having to go on the run because he did wrong. Does that even make sense? Not convinced. Having your cake and eating it, etc. This is what happens when you're desperate to leave things open-ended for the movie you're hoping to make.


Gavin & Stacey
1x01 Episode 1 [3rd watch]

Here's my latest comedy re-watch, then.

Comics

Kill Shakespeare #1 by Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col & Andy Belanger

Another give-it-a-go cut-price #1 reprint. Didn't care for this as much, though; though not as little as some people did.

TV

24
8x22 1:00PM - 2:00PM
"There's two episodes left?! Aw crap, we jumped the gun! Right, new big bad..."

The British Academy Television Awards 2014
Hooray Doctor Who!
[Watch it (again) soon on iPlayer.]

Have I Got News For You
47x05 (2/5/2014 edition; extended repeat)

Films

A Beautiful Mind (2001)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

The first 45 minutes (which is exactly (exactly) the first third of the movie), before my rental disc gave up the ghost. Feels like that's been happening a lot recently...

Comics

American Vampire #1 by Scott Snyder & Rafael Albuquerque

American Vampire's been going for a few years, lots of people seem to love it, it's by Scott Snyder (who writes an incredible Batman), so when they republished issue 1 for $1* as part of the 'Vertigo Essentials' thing I thought I'd give it a go.

And it is really good. Which means now I want the graphic novel(s), of which there are already five volumes and counting. Eh.


* which somehow ends up being £1 here. C'est la vie.

Articles

Twin Peaks - 'The Entire Mystery' Blu-ray Set: Every Episode, The Movie, New Extras!
by David Lambert (from TVShowsOnDVD.com)

O. M. G.

OK, so I've had the Gold Box for years and I've not watched it (I saw the pilot and season one years ago), but this is so awesome, so full of features, many of them long-awaited, that I'll have to jump on it day one. Feels like a waste, like I should mission through the previous edition now... but if I do that, I won't want to watch the BDs immediately... and oh, all that lovely HD quality...!

Ah well, at least the Gold Box was a present.

this week on 100 Films

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


Visions of Light (1992)

Initially a whistlestop history of film photography, it segues into analysis of movies the interviewed DPs had shot. Unfortunately, casual film fans may judge it monotopical, while hardened cineastes may find it a haphazard, Hollywood-centric overview.

Read more here.


Plus, new to the new blog...


Monsters (2010)

Expecting an epic SF-action movie where soldiers kitted out with futuristic weaponry battle an alien menace? You might be disappointed. Indeed, the relatively low IMDb rating suggests people have been. Monsters isn’t an action movie. It’s barely a sci-fi movie. And that’s not a bad thing.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

24
8x21 12:00PM - 1:00PM

Elementary
2x22 Paint It Black

The Guess List
1x04 Episode 4

Comics

Batman Eternal #5 by James Tynion IV & Andy Clarke with Scott Snyder, Ray Fawkes, John Layman & Tim Seeley

I'm having to pay slightly over what I normally would to keep up with this as a weekly rather than wait for it as part of my monthly subscription bundle; but as I felt like I'd skipped an issue after just an 11 day gap since I read the last two, I think I'm right to want to keep on top of it.

Engrossing as it is, references to 'recent events' in the Bat-world remind me I really should catch up on the massive pile of backlogged comics I have. (If only I had genuinely kept them all in one convenient pile that I could easily dive in to...)

Collection Count

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

This week, a couple of new-release BDs and sale DVDs give this month's running time a last-minute boost...

Number of titles in collection: 1,673 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [up 3]
Of which Blu-rays: 471 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,166 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,799 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,126 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 409 [no change]

And that monthly running time update...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
298 days, 8 hours, and 17 minutes.
(Up 16 hours and 1 minute from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

24
8x20 11:00AM - 12:00PM

Castle
3x23 Pretty Dead
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Episodes
3x01 Episode 1
The hardest programme to find in my blog's archive returns after nearly two years away. And it's still very good, so that's nice.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

24
8x19 10:00AM - 11:00AM

Arrow
2x20 Seeing Red
Seeing Filler, more like. Aside from a Very Dramatic ending, they could've done without this episode.

Elementary
2x21 The Man with the Twisted Lip

How I Met Your Mother
9x15 Unpause
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

Darkman (1990)
[#38 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]