TV

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

The Flash
1x23 Fast Enough [season finale]

Game of Thrones
5x09 The Dance of Dragons

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
8x01 Eurovision Special
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Forever
1x22 The Last Death of Henry Morgan [series finale]
Cancelled before its time, perhaps, but at least it wrapped up most of the mysteries.

Have I Got News For You
49x07 (22/5/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Now You See Me (2013)
[#79 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Vicious
2x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

Ladyhawke (1985)
[#78 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

A new month began during this week on 100 Films in a Year, so we begin with a look back at... wait a minute! I forgot to post the look-back at April! Right then:



And now, May too:




After all that, six brand-new reviews were published this week...


The Black Cauldron (1985)

an intriguing footnote in the history of Disney animation. Their 25th ‘official’ film, it was the first with no songs, the first to earn a PG, and flopped so badly they disowned it for over a decade. Fully-animated sequences were cut after disastrous test screenings for parents, and famed exec Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly ordered 12 minutes cut, muddling the film’s story.

Read more here.


Hancock (Extended Version) (2008)

If you’ve only seen the humour-focused trailers, seeing Hancock described as a comedy-drama might come as a surprise. There’s a whole behind-the-scenes story here, it would seem... [they] thought they were making a character drama superhero movie, while studio executives were more interested in it being a superhero action-comedy... While the marketing went all-out on the comedy angle, the film itself is torn between these two pillars, leaving viewers with mismanaged expectations

Read more here.


Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

The first of Summer 2013’s “Die Hard in the White House” movies... The remarkable thing, watching both movies, is just how many plot beats are so similar. Even when they’re not exactly the same, they’re functionally identical. For example, a plane shoots up Washington merely as a distraction to get the President sent to the White House’s bunker; in White House Down, an explosion at the Capitol is staged merely as a distraction to get the President sent to the White House’s bunker.

Read more here.


Room 237 (2012)

Possibly-crazy people offer definitely-crazy theories on the subtextual meaning of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining in this controversial film analysis documentary.

Read more here.


Violet & Daisy (2011)

plays like Tarantino with a metric tonne of Quirk slathered over it. On the bright side, it’s sort of entertaining, albeit fundamentally derivative with a sheen of left-field try-hard wacky-uniqueness.

Read more here.


White House Down (2013)

where your opinion is likely to land is most succinctly summed up in Film4’s review by Rebecca Davis: “Whether or not you enjoy this film depends entirely on whether you judge it to be po-faced or parody. If you believe it’s the former, you’ll probably hate it. If you believe it’s the latter, you’ll have an absolute blast.” I definitely judge it to be a parody... not an out-and-out Airplane-style parody, but very much a self-aware retro-styled tongue-in-cheek Action Movie.

Read more here.


Finally, there were six archive reviews republished too...


Capote (2005)

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Oscar-winning lead performance dominates this movie... in and around the mechanics of the murder investigation and Capote’s work process, it’s the character of the man, and how it’s affected, that is really revealed to the viewer

Read more here.


Catfish (2010)

a documentary (probably -- we'll come to that) in which 20-something Nev falls in love with a girl somewhere else in America over the internet. He and his friends become suspicious that she's not who she claims and set off to find out The Truth. ...reflects our current relationship with social networking technology... how these tools are and can be used, and what effects this can have on human relations.

Read more here.


The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Wordy political intrigue tries to coexist with broad comedy which is squashed against swashbuckling adventure. The latter two could co-exist, but the film feels like it wants to be the former and so suffers for it. The comedy jars too much to be effective... It should at least be able to swash buckles effectively, but entirely fails to achieve this until the climax.

Read more here.


The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

If some later Disney ventures have lost sight of the correct spirit for Pooh’s adventures, at least this original is a great adaptation. Bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, and, above all, fun fun fun fun fun.

Read more here.


The Naked City (1948)

Police procedural film noir, shot entirely on location in New York... The story is quite straightforward -- girl is murdered, police investigate -- but it exists mainly as a structure on which to hang perspectives of the city, its criminals and its law enforcement

Read more here.


New York Stories (1989)

Anthology of three shorts, connected only by the New York setting, directed by Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Elementary
3x22 The Best Way Out is Always Through

Pointless Celebrities
7x05 British Film
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Expendables 3 (Extended Version) (2014)
[#77 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

A nice big five additions this week. (Current prediction for the next six weeks: 0. Well, we'll see...)

Number of titles in collection: 1,772 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 564 [up 5]

Number of discs in collection: 4,394 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,911 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,508 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
[#76 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x04 (29/5/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Car Share
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
Ending with one of the funniest episodes -- brilliant! Really hope they make more. The ratings were strong, so I guess it's just down to Peter Kay and co. And to think I wasn't going to even bother with it...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Game of Thrones
5x08 Hardhome

Films

Changing Lanes (2002)
[#75 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

Pursuit to Algiers (1945)
[#74 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

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


Bullet to the Head (2012)

At times, you get the impression that director Walter Hill wants this to be a noir tale: there’s a hardboiled voiceover, a story mired in corrupt officials, twists about who to trust, and so on. But these elements are only fleeting, never building a consistency where you could plausibly claim it as any kind of neo-noir. Instead, it’s more of a buddy movie in the ’80s mould.

Read more here.


Feast (2014)

This year’s Best Animated Short Oscar winner is a charming little tale of a dog and his owner. I absolutely adored it

Read more here.


Seven Psychopaths (2012)

The writer-director and star of In Bruges re-team for the former’s sophomore feature; and if that doesn’t sound oddball enough for you, the lead cast is rounded out by Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken. Zaniness is sure to ensue.

Read more here.


Shutter Island (2010)

One of the things Lehane set out to do in his novel was write “a gothic”, and Scorsese and co have taken that ball and run with it. It’s overflowing with a fantastic atmosphere: unsettling, creepy, chilling, horror-movie scary when needed (some sequences are properly hair-raising); truly gothic-feeling.

Read more here.


Plus eight archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Almost Famous (2000)

Crowe’s autobiographical screenplay is a good one, with plenty of amusing and dramatic moments to keep it ticking over — the most memorable, on a crashing plane, manages both with aplomb. Likewise, his direction is rarely flashy but always works. The music, costumes, design and cinematography evoke the period well

Read more here.


Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

John Cusack spends the entire film doing a blatant and middling impression of writer/director Woody Allen. But he nonetheless does OK, and the rest of the cast are note-perfect, the script pacy and funny, the photography gorgeous, and the long takes never more appropriate

Read more here.


Goodfellas (1990)

In the lead role, Ray Liotta seems to have been underrated, lost behind the top billing of De Niro and the award-winning craziness of Joe Pesci. He carries the film, with a performance that isn't showy but is perfectly pitched.

Read more here.


A Good Woman (2004)

reviewers like to pounce on the US cast members. Scarlett Johansson is neither here nor there, as per usual, but I thought Helen Hunt was quite good. It's undoubtable that they're overshadowed by British thesps like Tom Wilkinson and Stephen Campbell Moore however, but that's just par for the course.

Read more here.


Road to Singapore (1940)

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby star as a pair of young(ish) playboy sailors who run away from responsibility and family expectations in this comedy that launched the perennially popular Road to… series, which would spawn six sequels over the next 22 years.

Read more here.


Road to Morocco (1942)

Gentle, silly humour abound in this comedy, the third in the Road to… series. If you remember those plays that Morecambe & Wise used to do you’ll have a fair idea what this feels like

Read more here.


Road to Rio (1947)

If you’ve seen one Road to film then you’ve a fair idea what to expect from any other: lots of comedy, a few songs, a bit of romance, as well as some general hijinks. The differences, in all of these aspects, lie in the specifics: which songs, which gags, and so on... One might say it’s a variety show with a framing device, though there is a little more to the narrative than that.

Read more here.


Some Like It Hot (1959)

enjoying it again, didn’t want to skip the chance of handing it five stars in this pathetically brief review... it’s a very funny film even 50 years on. It rattles from situation to situation at an occasionally surprising pace, literally without a dull moment.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Star Wars: Clone Wars
Volume Two

The second (or third) and final season of the 2D-animated Star Wars spin-off, presented on DVD as a one-hour movie.

This season was designed specifically to tie in with the then-imminent third/sixth live-action Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith (which I'll be watching this weekend as part of my Star Wars re-view) -- the last episode takes place just minutes before the opening scene of Episode III, and the rest of the season details (in part) adventures alluded to in the movie.

There are pros and cons, compared to Volume One. The episodes here were three or four times as long, meaning they didn't have to focus quite so heavily on action and could dwell on character a bit more. At times that works; at others they seem to have forgotten the episodes were longer, so only afforded them the same amount of plot -- the individual action scenes just go on longer.

The Battle of Coruscant (which we see the end of in Episode III) is good, but because Anakin and Obi-Wan aren't allowed to turn up until the end, they have a subplot where they're off on some Outer Rim world saving a Native American-esque people (who also kinda look like Avatar's Na'vi) from nasty mutation. It's a bit "so what?" given everything else going on, but at least there's Mace Windu, Yoda, and some minor Jedi kicking ass on Coruscant to keep the mood up.

As with the first volume, a surprisingly-thorough episode-by-episode guide (though, when the episodes are 12-15 minutes long, it seems a bit less ridiculous) can be found on Wookieepedia

Posters for each season, which reflect Anakin's shift to the dark side.
(Wish I had them bigger/higher quality...)

Collection Count

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

A new release and a DVD-to-BD upgrade this week, which may explain some of the funny (non-)changes.

Number of titles in collection: 1,768 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,209 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 559 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,390 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,907 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,508 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Shutter Island (2010)
[#73 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Star Wars: Clone Wars
Volume One

Not to be confused with Star Wars: The Clone Wars (either the film or the TV series), this is the 2D-animated series that originally bridged the gap between Episodes II and III.

Originally released as 20 three-minute shorts across two seasons (though it's clearly one work -- presumably there was a gap halfway for production reasons), on DVD it's edited together into an hour-long movie. Its origins show through in just how action-packed and fast-moving it is, though that's no bad thing. The story is relatively slight, but it's beautifully animated, put together with a great amount of skill and creativity.

For the really interested, there's a ludicrously thorough episode guide (as in, each of the three-minute segments has its own entire page) available on Wookieepedia -- here's season one (chapters 1-10), and season two (chapters 11-20). All things considered, there's a surprising amount of detail there.

TV

Game of Thrones
5x07 The Gift

Films

Seven Psychopaths (2012)
[#72 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

Building Empire (2006)
[#71 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Fan documentary on the making of Empire Strikes Back (see also: Star Wars Begins). You can watch it on Vimeo.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x03 (22/5/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Alois Nebel (2011)

A Czech noir animation, set around Christmas 1989 to the backdrop of the country’s Velvet Revolution. Eponymous character Alois Nebel is a train station guard whose flashbacks to an event at the end of World War 2 see him sectioned... [There's] the mystery of what happened in World War 2… sort of. I mean, there is a mystery, but what that mystery is isn’t fully elucidated, it goes AWOL during the middle segment of the film, and it remains pretty easy to guess the outcome.

Read more here.


Empire of the Sun (1987)

At two-and-a-half hours and with a plot that spans a good chunk of the war, Spielberg crafted a certifiable epic here — not his first, and most certainly not his last. Even then, swathes of material reportedly ended up on the cutting room floor, with top-billed cast members like Miranda Richardson reduced to extended cameos.

Read more here.


Robot & Frank (2012)

Ostensibly a science-fiction movie, complete with futuristic-looking cars, a casual robotic presence, and glass-like tablets and smartphones, Robot & Frank is really a drama about, amongst other things, old age. The SF elements provide an interesting angle, of course, but the film's joys and illuminations lie outside the sci-fi elements.

Read more here.


Plus four archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


The Cat's Meow (2001)

Possibly-true ‘murder mystery’ set in 1920s Hollywood. As with the similar Gosford Park, the point lies less in plot and more in characterisation — there are some good performances, especially from Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley and Edward Herrmann

Read more here.


Culloden (1964)

the story of the 1746 battle — famously, the last fought on British soil — and the events that followed it, as if it were covered by a modern TV news report (albeit a feature-length one). This adopted style — a first — makes for an effective presentation

Read more here.


Ocean's Eleven (1960)

“Remakes are not as good as the original” is one of the rules of filmmaking... Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded 2001 remake of Vegas-set Rat Pack vehicle Ocean’s Eleven is widely seen as a rarity in bucking this trend. And that opinion is right.

Read more here.


Southland Tales (2006)

i thought, with respect to the film’s crazy half-constructed mess of half-ideas, i’d copy&paste my notes rather than a normal review. so at least that’s one answer at the end for you.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

There was quite a bit to cover last week. This week: just one. (Soon: some more.)

Number of titles in collection: 1,767 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 557 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,390 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,906 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,508 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Eurovision Song Contest: Vienna 2015

I was away for last year's Eurovision, so downloaded it from iPlayer, but never got round to watching it. It's a bit odd if you don't watch on the night. (Though apparently I caught the voting live. Completely forgot that.) I've still got it, though it'd be even odder to watch over a year later...

Anyway, this year's was good, if not because of the songs (which were largely OK but nothing to write home about) the because of the uncommonly-tight voting. Hurrah for some actual drama during that part of the show.

[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Bullet to the Head (2012)
[#70 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]


Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002/2011)
[3rd or so watch]

You were expecting the Jedi to return? Well, fairly last minute, we decided to follow the so-called "Machete Order". We'll see how well it works when we get to the end, but so far it's OK. Apart from the film itself being pretty poor, that is.

TV

Car Share
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Forever
1x21 The Night in Question

Have I Got News For You
49x06 (15/5/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
[#69 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2015 #3

I've been pretty lax with WDYMYHS this year (I should be on #5 by now), so hopefully this is the start of getting it back on track.

TV

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

The Flash
1x22 Rogue Air

Person of Interest
3x09 The Crossing
Channel 5 have decided to take a mid-season break after the last episode, showing how much they hate their viewers -- there's unresolved stuff at the end of this one, but it feels like the big end to a two-parter, whereas the last was just halfway through. Anyway, they do this every season at some point, so, as per usual, I have found other ways to continue.

Films

Behind the Candelabra (2013)
[#68 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Car Share
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Critical
1x13 Episode 13 [season finale]
This has massively grown on me over the course of the season. Hopefully it'll get recommissioned.

Elementary
3x21 Under My Skin

Films

Hummingbird (2013)
[#67 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Forever
1x20 Best Foot Forward

Game of Thrones
5x06 Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken

Outnumbered
5x01 Rites of Passage [2nd watch]

Films

Robot & Frank (2012)
[#66 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x02 (15/5/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Car Share
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
7x14 Person to Person [series finale]
Well.

Person of Interest
3x08 Endgame
Maybe HR will finally be done with in the next episode! (I live in eternal hope.)
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Mad Men
7x13 The Milk and Honey Route
The last ever episode is on in the US tonight and the UK on Thursday. I imagine I shall watch it somewhere between those two times. What will happen? Nobody knows!

Pointless Celebrities
7x04 Game Shows
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)
[#65 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]


Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980/2011)
[goodness-knows-what-th watch]

Continuing my Star Wars HD re-watch with the movie that was previously #82a in 100 Films 2007.

this week on 100 Films

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


Mad Max 2 (1981)

The most memorable part, however, is the climax... An almighty action sequence, a speeding battle through the outback. It feels wrong to just call it “an action sequence”, like that’s selling it short. You get the sense that this is why the movie exists; that co-writer/director George Miller’s goal with the entire rest of the film has been to get us to this point. It’s not just “the climax”, it’s “the third act”, and it’s stunning

Read more here.


Tarzan (1999)

Disney's '80s/'90s renaissance more-or-less came to an end with this adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough's jungle hero... The animated medium is put to excellent use in thrillingly fluid jungle-swinging action scenes (normally the purview of CGI, but here peerless in 2D)

Read more here.


Time Lapse (2014)

Shallow Grave meets Primer in this indie thriller that sees three housemates discover a camera that takes photos 24 hours into the future. They initially use it to their financial advantage, but soon Things Go Wrong™... a sci-fi setup, but it’s a film driven by its characters rather than its high concept.

Read more here.


Tropic Thunder: Director's Cut (2008)

A bunch of obstreperous actors are too much to handle for the director of a Vietnam war movie, so he dumps them in the jungle to shoot it with hidden cameras. Things go awry; hilarity ensues.

Read more here.


Plus nine archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Brigadoon (1954)

“Oh dear,” is surely the initial reaction to Brigadoon. The Scottish accents are appalling, the costumes and setting gratingly twee, the Highlands recreated entirely on a soundstage... But, importantly — and thankfully — it does grow on you as it goes on. The ill-conceived cast, costumes and studio-bound setting begin to pale under the charm of Gene Kelly and the machinations of the plot.

Read more here.


The Day of the Locust (1975)

a slightly scrappy film about the seedy underside of Hollywood’s golden age. The plot is neither here nor there in many respects — the film is about the grotesques who are attracted to Hollywood, and that being exactly what it feeds on. The bizarre, surreal ending definitely makes more sense if you’re already thinking about the film in this way.

Read more here.


Death Wish (1974)

Paul’s encounters aren’t all easily won; he gets injured; his crimes create a media storm, on which public opinion is divided... There are still unrealistic bits, certainly, but by employing enough believability and leaving aside certain rules of the revenge thriller — for one thing, he never actually gets revenge — Death Wish manages to rise a little above the “heroic vigilante” sub-genre.

Read more here.


The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

Disney's 40th (canonical) animated film had a very troubled production, which, from what I can tell, turned it from a derivative riff on The Prince and the Pauper into this load of tosh.

Read more here.


Juno (2007)

The most discussed aspect is Diablo Cody’s screenplay, with its idiosyncratic slang-laden dialogue and accusations that every character speaks the same. The first is true, the latter is rubbish, and one has to wonder if whoever thinks it watched beyond the first ten minutes. Most of the film’s teenage characters speak similarly… in that they use the same bits of slang, have similar speech patterns, employ a similar sense of humour — you know, like groups of teenagers tend to.

Read more here.


Manhatta (1921)

Another ’20s city film, showing off (as you might guess from the title) parts of New York. The focus appears to be industrial — skyscrapers under construction, finished architecture, tug boats, trains near the docks; the people of the city only crop up at the start and close, and then only in faceless crowds.

Read more here.


À propos de Nice (1930)

Short film about the French city of Nice, mixing documentary-style footage of people with shots of the architecture, as well as clearly staged scenes (a man getting sunburnt, for example).

Read more here.


Skyscraper Symphony (1929)

It’s probably hard to ‘appreciate’ this without getting a little pretentious; certainly, it’s much more aimed at creating the feeling of a city, or a visual representation of it, or something like that, than it is with, say, showing pretty views of New York’s buildings.

Read more here.


Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

our bed-ridden heroine overhears a threat on someone’s life and begins to wonder if it’s actually about her... Barbara Stanwyck portrays a not-very-sympathetic lead character, which makes the viewer question how we feel about her possibly being murdered. We should be against it, but she’s not nice, but she is ill…

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,766 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 556 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,388 [up 7]
Number of films in collection: 1,905 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,508 [up 26]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

Plus this week it's time for a running time update, so...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
316 days, 21 hours, and 59 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 2 hours, and 32 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Arrow
3x23 My Name is Oliver Queen [season finale]

Car Share
1x02 Episode 2 [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Critical
1x12 Episode 12

Films

Red Sonja (1985)
[#64 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x18 Captain Peralta
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Have I Got News For You
49x05 (8/5/2015 edition; extended repeat)
aka Have I Got Election News For You, allegedly.
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
7x13 White Orchids [series finale]
Cheerio, The Mentalist! It may be past its best, but I'll still miss it.
[Watch episodes 12 and 13 (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Star Wars Begins (2011)
[#63 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Watch it on Vimeo.

TV

Episodes
4x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Flash
1x21 Grodd Lives
Rather overstretched their CGI capabilities with the giant gorilla, there.

Mad Men
7x12 Lost Horizon

Films

21 Jump Street (2012)
[#62 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Arrow
3x22 This is Your Sword
He's good! He's bad! He's winning! He's losing! He is! He isn't! Deja vu!

Car Share
1x01 Episode 1 [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
7x12 Brown Shag Carpet
[Watch episodes 12 and 13 (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Forty Guns (1957)
[#61 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Elementary
3x20 A Stitch in Time

The Flash
1x20 The Trap

Game of Thrones
5x05 Kill the Boy

This is the 6,000th post on here. Crikey.

TV

Forever
1x19 Punk is Dead

Person of Interest
3x07 The Perfect Mark
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Pointless Celebrities
7x03 Outdoors
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Batman: The Brave and the Bold
1x19 Legends of the Dark Mite!
3x01 Joker: The Vile and the Villainous!
Two more recommended episodes. Only slightly further down the list I compiled, but already feeling noticeably less good -- not bad, just 'average'. Aside from the show's very best turns, I wonder if my initial view was right after all...

The British Academy Television Awards 2015
[Watch it (again) soon on iPlayer.]

Films

Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope (1977/2011)
[goodness-knows-what-th watch]

This was #81a way back in 100 Films 2007, which was the last time I watched it. First time I've watched it in HD on Blu-ray though, which is what makes this the 2011 edition, thanks to even further tweaks after those already made for the 1997 and 2004 releases(!)

this week on 100 Films

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


Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher (2014)

Anime take on Marvel properties... A clichéd, heavy-handed screenplay and stilted line delivery tell a rote story through talky exposition scenes and uninspired action sequences

Read more here.


Killing Them Softly (2012)

Dominik uses news audio about the financial crisis to comment on the plot, an inclusion somewhere between neat dramatic irony and heavy-handed affectation. He gets better mileage from the mundane mechanics and economics of organised crime, but it's small consolation among flabby storytelling

Read more here.


Plus three archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Cathy Come Home (1966)

a powerful piece of work... As an important and timely history lesson, a challenge to prejudices that some of us may hold, and a reminder of how close most of us are to such a fate — especially right now — it remains essential viewing

Read more here.


Doctor Faustus (1967)

stylistically reminiscent of a Gothic Hammer Horror, which is either wholly inappropriate or an ingenious genre mash-up... There are repulsively horrific corpses, a harem of naked ladies, an array of special effects, plus a medieval-styled gothic atmosphere to all the sets and costumes, though the scene where Faustus mucks about with the Pope feels more Carry On.

Read more here.


Telling Lies (2001)

A simple idea, very well executed: as we listen to a series of phone conversations, the speakers' dialogue appears on screen... except instead of transcribing their exact words, it reveals their true thoughts.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Have I Got News For You
49x04 (1/5/2015 edition; extended repeat)
Not the post-election episode that aired yesterday -- there's an extended version of that on Monday, as per usual -- just last week's episode.
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
5x00 The Sick Party [Christmas special; 2nd watch]

Person of Interest
3x06 Mors Praematura
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

The Eagle (2011)
[#60 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,764 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,209 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 555 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,381 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,905 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,482 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x17 Boyle-Linetti Wedding
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Critical
1x11 Episode 11

TV

Mad Men
7x11 Time & Life

Films

Fitzcarraldo (1982)
[1st hour]

Couldn't keep my eyes open for any more. Not yet sure if I'll return to it, start it again, or just give up on it for Another Day (hence why there's no 100 Films number yet).

TV

Arrow
3x21 Al Sah-Him
He's good! He's bad! He's dead! He's not! He is! He isn't! This season has gone round in circles far too many times. At least we're nearly at the end. I hope next year is better plotted-out, though.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold
2x17 The Mask of Matches Malone!
2x23 The Knights of Tomorrow!
The next two episodes flagged as the best by my survey. I enjoyed the first (an episode so risqué it wasn't actually aired in the US), and while the second wasn't bad I didn't love it as much as some seem to (note the very high score on at TV.com).

Forever
1x18 Dead Men Tell Long Tales

Films

Telling Lies (2001)
[2nd watch]

Brilliant short animation, #127a in 100 Films 2007, which you can nowadays watch online (for free) here.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x01 (3/5/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Elementary
3x19 One Watson, One Holmes

The Flash
1x19 Who is Harrison Wells?

Game of Thrones
5x04 Sons of the Harpy

Outnumbered
4x07 The Broken Santa [Christmas special; 2nd watch]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x16 The Wednesday Incident
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Critical
1x10 Episode 10

Have I Got News For You
49x03 (24/4/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Vera
5x04 Shadows in the Sky [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

this week on 100 Films

You may have noticed it's a new month, but I'm currently away and so the 100 Films in a Year April update will have to keep until next week.


Nonetheless, two brand-new reviews were still published this week...


The Sugarland Express (1974)

Largely overlooked these days, I guess because it doesn’t obviously fit with Spielberg’s renowned sci-fi, adventure, and worthy-historical pictures, The Sugarland Express merits more attention. Tonally, and in terms of the level of directorial skill it exhibits, it fits right amongst the pack of his better-remembered works.

Read more here.


Valkyrie (2008)

There's no point beating about the bush: they don't succeed [in killing Hitler]. We all know that. The film's marvel, really, is in making us believe they might... Singer has crafted a proper thriller here, replete with scenes of edge-of-your-seat tension. Many a filmmaker can't manage that with a fictional storyline, never mind one where we know exactly how it turns out.

Read more here.


Additionally, I added five archive reviews to the new blog...


Ghost Town (2008)

It's a gently amusing affair, with little that's especially memorable but is absolutely fine while it goes about its business. Many scenes may raise a smile or a giggle, but little more than that.

Read more here.


The Great Dictator (1940)

one of Chaplin's most widely-known films thanks to setting its sights on the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler in particular... the real-world targets make his work satirical as well. I'm sure this made for great propaganda when it was released just a year into the war, but Chaplin's skill and accuracy mean it works beyond that: like all good impersonations or spoofs it doesn't make its objects silly for no reason, but instead takes what's inherently laughable about them and exploits it.

Read more here.


Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

adaptation of Patrick Süskind's popular novel, often considered unfilmable because of its focus on the sense of smell. Tykwer covers for that with strong cinematography, with sumptuously rich visuals and a judicious use of close-ups to evoke beauty or disgust as appropriate

Read more here.


Superhero Movie (2008)

Superhero Movie is mainly a spoof of Spider-Man... a film that [at the time of making was] six years old. Unfortunately, this means that most of the best jokes have already been done in numerous other sketch-length spoofs... Superhero Movie takes all this sketchery to the next level, however, crafting its story simply by reworking the first Spider-Man film almost scene by scene, inserting jokes (and, more often, 'jokes') where it can -- which is about once per scene.

Read more here.


Wilde (1997)

Stephen Fry is perfectly cast as Wilde and Jude Law is suitably horrid as the spoilt, stroppy and thoroughly dislikeable Bosie, whose selfishness brings about Wilde's downfall. Also worthy of note is the ever-excellent Michael Sheen in a smaller but vital role

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

This week: nowt.

Number of titles in collection: 1,762 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 554 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,378 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,903 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,482 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Car Share
1x02 Episode 2
Even funnier than the first. Glad I've bothered now.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Car Share
1x01 Episode 1
I wasn't going to watch this. Then I did, and it was actually quite good.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Game of Thrones
5x03 High Sparrow

The Mentalist
7x11 Byzantium
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Pointless Celebrities
7x02 Morning TV
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher (1959)
[#59 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x15 Windbreaker City
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Daredevil
1x12 The Ones We Leave Behind
1x13 Daredevil [season finale]
The MCU may have offered us several well-liked films at this point, but I think this is my favourite thing that shared universe has produced so far. Ever so glad it's got a second season, and I can't wait to see what the other Marvel/Netflix series have to offer.

Gotham
1x17 Red Hood
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Person of Interest
3x05 Razgovor
Ugh, HR. When will they let that crap die?
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Daredevil
1x11 The Path of the Righteous
Great final scene, even if I'm gutted to have that character leave the show.

Vera
5x03 Muddy Waters
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Bernie (2011)

Richard Linklater tells this story in a docu-drama style, mixing talking head interviews with dramatic recreations. Many (most) of the interviewees are real-life Carthage residents, presumably giving their real recollections and opinions. It fits this narrative to a T, lending veracity to the unbelievable-if-it-weren’t-true story.

Read more here.


Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

the sense that enough of the truth remains keeps the film inherently captivating. That’s handy for the film, which almost leans on the “it’s all true!” angle as a crutch to help the viewer through its own production. Eastwood’s direction might kindly be described as “workmanlike” — it’s strikingly unremarkable. Cusack is as blank as he ever seems to be

Read more here.


Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008)

there’s the son of Captain America and Black Widow; the daughter of Thor and Sif; the son of Hank Pym and Wasp; the son of Hawkeye and Mockingbird; and the son of Black Panther. These kids must work with the still-living members of the original Avengers to fight… Ultron, the villain of this summer’s Live-Action Avengers 2! (Do you ever feel like the Marvel universe goes round in circles?)

Read more here.


Pain & Gain (2013)

For his first non-sci-fi movie in a decade, divisive action director Michael Bay channels Tarantino (kinda) for this based-on-a-true-story crime comedy. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg and Anthony “The Falcon” Mackie star as a gang of dimwitted Florida bodybuilders who come up with a ‘foolproof’ plan to rob a rich gym client.

Read more here.


Plus five archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


The Big Heat (1953)

It’s rather grim and very violent, to be blunt. Even if most of the violence is off screen, it’s still described in fair detail — and most of it’s against women too. Lang adds intensity to this mix, a quiet sort of tension. It becomes clear that this is a tale where anything could — and does — happen; where it is, for once, genuinely true that no one is safe.

Read more here.


Roman Holiday (1953)

the cast work well together. The film is often painted as a Peck/Hepburn two-hander — easier to sell the romance angle that way — and I’m sure it would work as that, but Albert’s in it enough to qualify for attention, and is fairly essential to what makes it quite so likeable in my opinion. He and Peck carry much of the humour while Hepburn charms as a sweet girl finally allowed to be herself.

Read more here.


Snake Eyes (1998)

Let's start with the opening take. It's a fake (there are eight cuts), which is pretty obvious, but it's still a nifty way of starting the film... it sets up nearly everything we need to know for the rest of the film. Almost every element of the conspiracy is tucked away in there somewhere, from the blatantly obvious to the tiniest detail we won't even notice.

Read more here.


Ultimate Avengers (2006)

The primary problem is balance. [It] spends the entire first half assembling the team, the story crawling along at a snail’s pace; consequently, there’s nothing like enough time to do the remaining plot justice, leaving much of it to feel rushed. However, the tale itself retains an appropriately comic-book feel

Read more here.


Ultimate Avengers II (2006)

yes, it’s a modern genre sequel, so yes, it’s ‘darker’. In this case that means “more adult”, touching on issues you might not expect in superhero animation with such a low certificate — marital problems, survivor’s guilt, political isolationism, even vague allusions to alcoholism. None are dealt with in any great depth I should add, but it will likely please adult fans wishing for something more “grown-up”.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Arrow
3x20 The Fallen

Daredevil
1x10 Nelson v. Murdock

Elementary
3x18 The View from Olympus

Outnumbered
4x06 The Exchange Student [season finale; 2nd watch]
Some people say Outnumbered lost it as it went on, but this is a really great episode. The "kids say the funniest things" element definitely faded a bit with time, but the writing and plot construction could still be sharp. The titular German kid is the best bit of the episode, too.

Films

Blitz (2011)
[#58 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

After the crazy month, just one addition this week. There are very few pre-orders on the horizon right now, actually, so any additions in the immediate future will be spur-of-the-moment purchases.

Number of titles in collection: 1,762 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 554 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,378 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,903 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,482 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Daredevil
1x09 Speak of the Devil

Have I Got News For You
49x02 (17/4/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
7x10 The Forecast