this week on 100 Films

It's the 1st of a new month, so my round up of what was posted over on 100 Films in a Year this week naturally begins with the October round-up. It's a big'un -- the biggest ever, in fact!




Phew! Now then, there were also six brand-new reviews published this week. They were...


Birdman (2014)

Michael Keaton is an actor who once played a superhero in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Well, to clarify, Michael Keaton plays an actor, Riggan Thomson, who once played a superhero in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Decades later, he’s trying to be taken seriously by starring in a play on Broadway… which he’s also written… and is directing… and has sunk his personal finances into. So it’s probably not a good thing that one of his cast can’t act, his personal life is all over the place, the critics hate him before the play’s even opened, and he’s hallucinating superpowers.

Read more here.


Spectre (2015)

I saw Spectre days after the eager-beavers but still before some people, so here are my spoiler-free thoughts... Chances are, if you’re interested in a review of the 24th Bond movie you’ve already read one. Several, probably. Nonetheless... I’m compelled to throw some of my initial spoiler-free thoughts out there. Plus, in places, commentary on those other reviews.

Read more here.


Stoker (2013)

Stoker isn’t all about its mystery and its twists — it’s at least as much about its carefully constructed Gothic mood; but part of that is the mystery, so, y’know. Indeed, it’s so moody and atmospheric that it seems to turn some viewers off. It’s certainly not thrill-a-minute, and it has a very particular pace and tone.

Read more here.


Superbad (2007)

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s semi-autobiographical comedy sets Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) (see what they did there?) on a quest to obtain booze for a party where they hope to copulate. Or, “every American teen comedy.”

Read more here.


Twilight (2008)

For Halloween, I decided to review one of the most notorious supernatural films of recent times. A movie so horrific, it sent critics cowering behind their sofas. A film so evil, it’s perverted the minds of children — and some adults — the world over. A movie so renowned, it strikes fear into the hearts of even hardened movie lovers. I speak, of course, of Twilight.

Read more here.


Wings (1927)

part rom-com, part war-action movie. On the ground, Jack and David’s interactions with Mary and Sylvia (the latter of whom barely features) are based around misunderstandings and almost-slapstick drunkenness. In the air, the picture comes alive in thrilling battle scenes, performed by fearless stuntmen and shot by bold cameramen.

Read more here.


Finally, six archive posts were reposted too...


July 2011

Every year of 100 Films seems to see at least one shockingly weak month for my film viewing. Last year it was April (three films); the year before February (two) and July (none); and so on. This year I’d done pretty well — my monthly totals so far run at 12, 13, 13, 9, 11 and 9 — but I have finally crumbled: July 2011 scores a lowly four.

Read more here.


August 2011

[The following was all irrelevant soon after I posted it, never mind now in 2015. But hey-ho, the repostathon rolls on…]

Read more here.


September 2011

By the end of September 2010 I’d made it to my goal of 100 films. This year? Not a chance. Of course I haven’t. I ended last month on 77 — even at my best, 23 films in a month is madness. [How times have changed!]

Read more here.


October 2011

Still not at 100. I think I would have made it to 90 though, or possibly even a bit further, but I re-watched X-Men: First Class on Blu-ray last Friday night and got a burning desire to re-watch the rest of the X-Men films in chronological order

Read more here.


November 2011

This year’s 100 Films is turning into a race for the finish line — always kinda fun, if not record-breaking... now — as I enter the final stretch — I find myself just one ahead of target. To put it plainly: there’s eight films to go to my goal.

Read more here.


December 2011

But did I make it to 100 in time? ... I did! Just. Three films in the final 24 hours of the year, the last of them finishing just an hour before midnight, see me reach 100 exactly this year. Phew!

Read more here.


So nearly done with the reposts now!

More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x07 The Zygon Invasion
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Babadook (2014)
[#170 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Blue Ruin (2013)
[#171 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

You're Next (2011)
[#172 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: 1,807 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 597 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,538 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,958 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,805 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 457 [no change]

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

Total running time of collection (approx.):
328 days, 3 hours, and 25 minutes.
(Up 19 hours and 34 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Jupiter Ascending (2015)
[#169 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Arrow
4x01 Green Arrow

James Bond's Spectre with Jonathan Ross
The 10 minutes they spent actually talking about Spectre were good...
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Mock the Week
14x11 (8/10/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Machine (2013)
[#167 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Spectre (2015)
[#168 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
3x06 Episode 6

The Flash
2x01 The Man Who Saved Central City

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

Life Itself (2014)
[#166 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

Mr. Holmes (2015)
[#165 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Outnumbered
5x06 Spartacus The Musical [series finale; 2nd watch]

Films

Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
[#164 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...


Back in Time (2015)

Wednesday just passed was “Back to the Future Day”, the exact date Marty McFly and Doc Brown (and Marty’s girlfriend) travel forward to in Back to the Future Part II. As one of the many, many (many) things that went on to mark the occasion, Netflix debuted this crowdfunded documentary worldwide. Apparently it began life as a film just about DeLorean owners, but then expanded to include Back to the Future fans in general, and ultimately includes many of the trilogy’s cast and crew talking about the movies themselves, too.

Read more here.


The Falling (2014)

it does have a distinctly unnerving air a lot of the time, and there are definite references to and hints about some kind of mysticism playing a role. It’s often incredibly atmospheric, with some beautiful cinematography courtesy of DP Agnès Godard and effective editing by Chris Wyatt.

Read more here.


Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)

like two films playing at once: the dramatic/romantic story of President FDR’s (Bill Murray) burgeoning affair with his distant cousin Daisy (Laura Linney), and the comedy-drama of his meeting with King George VI (aka “the one Colin Firth played in The King’s Speech”; here, Samuel West) and Queen Elizabeth 1.5 (Olivia Colman) in the build up to World War 2

Read more here.


Ladyhawke (1985)

Ladyhawke is an ’80s medieval fantasy, though relatively light on the fantasy — it’s not Conan the Barbarian. It’s more like an old romance, in the “classical literature” sense rather than the “movie genre” one.

Read more here.


Plus six archive posts were reposted on the new blog...


January 2011

Following the success of 2010, 2011’s off to a good start. For one thing I’ve got every review from last year posted... More pertinently, though, the film-watching is off and running. Though I started later than ever this year, I’m suitably far ahead as January closes.

Read more here.


February 2011

Another month down sees the year reach ½ of ⅓ complete (or, to put it another way, “one sixth” — but they don’t do a little symbol for that). Last month I watched 12 films and talked about continuing at that rate; this month I’ve watched 13, so that’s grand — and sees me quarterway toward my goal already.

Read more here.


March 2011

March saw me reach the 500th feature film to be reviewed on this blog. Not #500, mind you (that’ll be later this year), because I’ve also reviewed a variety of films that don’t count — hardly-different alternate cuts, a couple I’d just seen before, that kind of thing. About 25 of those, as it turns out. But still, 500 reviews — that’s a lot!

Read more here.


April 2011

This month I watched nine feature films I’d never seen before (plus one short). That looks a bit weak compared to previous months this year, which averaged out at (just under) 13 each. I blame TV — lots on this month

Read more here.


May 2011

Much of watching 100 films is the long, sometimes slow, slog of getting through so many films. Oh I know some people watch far more than that in a year, but I think most would agree getting to such a number is a marathon rather than a sprint. If you watched one a day, it would still take over three months. Sometimes, though, it's broken up by my arrival at key points. And this month, I reached not one but two milestones.

Read more here.


June 2011

It’s no news that being halfway through the calendar year sees me more than halfway through my annual goal (because that happened last month), but it’s always a good time to stop and take stock. As you’ll see shortly, this point finds me at 67 films.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x06 The Woman Who Lived
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
5x05 Communication Skills [2nd watch]

Films

The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920)
[#163 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: 1,804 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,209 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 595 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,534 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,955 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,805 [up 4]
Number of short films in collection: 457 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Stoker (2013)
[#162 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

Back in Time (2015)
[#161 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

The Grandmaster (2013)
[#160 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

Europa Report (2013)
[#158 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
[#159 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

Circle (2015)
[#157 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Coherence (2013)
[#156 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

The Decoy Bride (2011)
[#155 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Jurassic World (2015)
[#154 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

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


The Crying of Lot 49 (2007)

it appears to be a student short, possibly only made for some school project. It adapts the entire novel in just seven minutes, solely through meaningful images and music — there are no actors, no dialogue, no voiceover. A solid knowledge of the book is essential to understand what’s going

Read more here.


Dreams of a Life (2011)

In 2006, the body of 38-year-old Joyce Vincent was found in her London bedsit, surrounded by Christmas presents and with the TV still on. Sad, but largely unremarkable, were it not for the fact that she’d been dead for three years. Carol Morley’s documentary attempts to uncover the story of Joyce’s life, and how it reached a point where no one noticed she’d been gone for so long.

Read more here.


Parabellum (2015)

Alfred Hitchcock once said said that “movies are real life with the boring parts cut out.” Valenta Rinner’s movie is the opposite of this in every respect: it isn’t real life, which is fine, but he only left the boring parts in, which isn’t.

Read more here.


Supermen of Malegaon (2008)

It’s an incredible, one-of-a-kind film; more powerful and life-affirming than it perhaps has any right to be. But then the filmmakers of Malegaon don’t really care about such things. They make movies because they want to, whether they ‘should’ or not; they make them better than you might expect; and it enriches their lives. Their story may do the same for you. In my opinion, it’s an essential film; a true must-see.

Read more here.


Terror by Night (1946)

For what is the shortest film in the series, screenwriter Frank Gruber and regular director/producer Roy William Neill have constructed a contained, almost claustrophobic version of a Holmes tale. There are definite pros to this: it’s effectively a locked room mystery, with an element of howdunnit closely tied to the whodunnit.

Read more here.


Just five archive posts were reposted this week, finishing off 2010. Next week, 2011 begins.


August 2010

At this exact point last year, as we head into the year's final third, I was 22 films behind The Target -- i.e. the rate of film-watching that would get me to exactly 100 films by December 31st at a regular, consistent pace. This year, I'm 23 films ahead. I'm having a little party. By myself. Nibbles?

Read more here.


September 2010

And lo, in the 9th month of the 10th year, I didst see 11 new films, and one of them was Number One-Hundred! Excuse me while I do a little victory dance.

Read more here.


October 2010

October last year was something of a tipping point, when I finally stopped falling behind and actually began catching up. This year, I’m just forging ahead...

Read more here.


November 2010

After doing so well for most of the year — including last month, where I made appropriate headway toward my new goal of 130 films — it’s rather slipped in November. Just four new films (and a couple of others I’ll review, but that don’t count in the slightest). I blame TV.

Read more here.


December 2010

So here we are, the final few new films I watched in 2010... And, as you’ll see in just a few lines, I sadly didn’t beat my previous record of 129 films. Hey ho — I made it to 100 (and comfortably over it), and after failing last year and barely scraping through the year before, I’m more than happy with that.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x05 The Girl Who Died
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
5x04 Into the Wilderness [2nd watch]

Films

Wings (1927)
[#153 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

One early-arrival new release this week. Been a long time since that happened, but HMV are back selling online and it seems they're as premature with pre-orders as ever -- hurrah! There's a few more new releases in the next couple of weeks, so that'll be even more exciting. As exciting as this ever gets, anyway.

Number of titles in collection: 1,802 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 594 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,531 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,954 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,801 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 456 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

A Clockwork Orange (1971)
[#152 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2015 #8

TV

Top Coppers
1x06 The Passion of the Chris [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Inside Netflix's $12-Million, Oscar-Seeking Gamble on Beasts of No Nation
by Nicole LaPorte (from Fast Company)

An interesting piece on the strategy behind Netflix's release of a prestige, awards-baiting film, and what it might mean for the future of filmed entertainment.

TV

Top Coppers
1x05 The Escape of Vince Rust
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Dreams of a Life (2011)
[#151 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

The Crying of Lot 49 (2007)
[#149a in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Parabellum (2015)
[#150 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Supermen of Malegaon (2008)
[#149 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]
My review will be up here in the morning.

Films

Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)
[#148 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

sex, lies, and videotape (1989)
[#147 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x11 Under the Influence

Doctor Who
35x04 Before the Flood
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
5x03 House of Hormones [2nd watch]

Films

Ender's Game (2013)
[#146 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

Just two brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Rush (2013)

Appropriately, the racing sequences are the best part. Those were the days when F1 was a little wild and uncontrolled, which the film does a good job of conveying, and also of using to its advantage to create tense and exciting set pieces. Kudos to every element of production here, not only the brilliant camerawork and editing, and the array of special effects required to tie it together, but also the production design that makes the one or two tracks they filmed on look like circuits all around the world.

Read more here.


Shallow Grave (1994)

it concerns three ultra-chummy flatmates in contemporary Edinburgh who take in a fourth lodger, who promptly dies, leaving behind an insane amount of cash. Rather than report it, they dispose of the corpse and keep the cash. You don’t get much further from Merchant-Ivory than that.

Read more here.


Meanwhile, my archive posts are well into 2010 now, with 11 more reposted this week...


A final push...!

So today is the final day of 2008, and so the final day of this blog's second year. And have I made it to 100? Not yet.

Read more here.


Another dismal January

It seems like barely a couple of months since I was posting about a dismal January; but, of course, it was a year ago -- and I've just had another equally mediocre month.

Read more here.


Sit-rep (or, ‘In want of a better title’)

The start of April marks the end of the year’s first quarter in just about every way possible (meaning in months, weeks and days). Unfortunately, it looks unlikely that the same will be said for this year’s attempt at 100 films.

Read more here.


July 2009

one month on from my last post, and at around 58% of the way through 2009 I find the actions toward my titular aim floundering this year — never mind the last post, it’s been over a month since I actually watched a film.

Read more here.


It’s halfway through 2009!

“But it’s September!” I hear you cry in response to my patently ludicrous title. “That’s not halfway through the year by any reasonable measure!” No, it isn’t — but it is (if you haven’t already guessed) the point at which I’ve seen 50 new films in 2009 (at last!)

Read more here.


The end is nigh…

this is simply an observation (and little more than that, I’m afraid) that there are a mere 31 days of 2009 left. Indeed, 31 days of this decade. Cripes.

Read more here.


Another year over, or: Third time unlucky

“Another year over,” sang John Lennon, “and what have you done?” (Well, if you re-arrange the lyrics he did.) Failed to reach 100 films, that’s what. Well… There’s a first time for everything. It had to happen sooner or later.

Read more here.


A ¼ through 2010

Pat on the back over, it’s back to actually watching films. 25 in two months — 150 by the end of December? Well, we’ll see..

Read more here.


May 2010

I’ve decided to start putting these little lists up every month as a way of keeping the blog current and offering myself a chance to reflect on How Things Are Going. Having switched to longer reviews in the blog’s second year, and ultimately abandoned posting them in order too, I feel I’ve lost this side of things a little. And without it, the whole exercise becomes just a random selection of films.

Read more here.


June 2010

The start of July is, perhaps obviously, halfway through the year. In terms of film-viewing, then, I should have reached 50, obviously. As attentive regular readers will be aware, I actually reached 50 last month. It’s nice to be well ahead of schedule after last year’s failure

Read more here.


July 2010

July last year was when I didn’t watch a single film, so while I’ve not watched a great many this month (compared to the rest of the year so far), I’ve done a bang-up job compared to 2009.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Great British Bake Off
6x10 Class of 2014
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Have I Got News For You
50x01 (2/10/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Twilight (2008)
[#145 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Yep.

Comics

Marvel's Jessica Jones #1 by Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Gaydos

Short prequel to Netflix's second Marvel TV series (available from November 20th) by the character's original creators. Features a cameo from Daredevil for good measure.

Articles

Daniel Craig's 'secret plan' to save James Bond
by Robbie Collin (from the Telegraph)

A good feature on how the current run of Bond films have served to rejuvenate the franchise.

Collection Count

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

This week: two new releases, and a double-film catalogue title replacing a single-film DVD. Number-changing fun!

Number of titles in collection: 1,801 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 593 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,529 [up 7]
Number of films in collection: 1,953 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,801 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 456 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
2x10 Episode 10 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Fifth Estate (2013)
[#144 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x10 Significant Others

Outnumbered
5x02 K for Victory [3rd watch]

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
3x05 Episode 5

The Great British Bake Off
6x11 The Final [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Wrestler (2008)
[#143 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x09 Secret Santa

Films

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
[#142 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x08 After Hours

Mock the Week
14x10 (1/10/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
5x07 Swan Song

Doctor Who
35x03 Under the Lake
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
3x04 Episode 4

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
2x09 Episode 9
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

First up from 100 Films in a Year this week, it's a new month, so here's a look back at the last one -- which was rather special...




Elsewise, two brand-new reviews were published this week...


Filmed in Supermarionation (2014)

This documentary about the behind-the-scenes story of those iconic shows is an absolute nostalgia-fest, then; but it’s also more than that: a story of British endeavour, ambition and inventiveness, which perfected an art form and, in the process, revolutionised television and film. And all by a bunch of young Brits working out of a poky little industrial unit in Slough to make children’s TV programmes using puppets.

Read more here.


Foxcatcher (2014)

In a rare dramatic role, and lumbered with a hefty prosthetic noise, Carrell’s John Du Pont almost feels like a caricature rather than a plausible human being… but apparently the film has actually toned down how odd the man was, so what are you gonna do? It’s a memorable performance none the less.

Read more here.


And finally, ten archive posts were reposted too...


2007 | Weeks 43-45

It’s goodbye to October and hello to November, as the year moves into its final sixth. It’ll be over before you know it — and with it, my final total of new films this year. How exciting!

Read more here.


2007 | Weeks 46-48

being the dedicated student that I am, I’ve watched all the suggested viewing for a seminar in which my group had to pose the questions. The seminar was on “Urban Rhythms”… but in film-viewing terms that translates to four Scorseses, four Woody Allens, and an anthology featuring shorts by both of them and Francis Ford Coppola

Read more here.


2007 | Weeks 49-50 (2008 Preview)

in the past two weeks I’ve only watched… well, NO films! Yet there is still an entry. Why? Well, I resolved that, regardless of how many films I watched, I’d post double-week entries for both this one and the next. And I haven’t watched any films, so there’s none here. A silly resolution, obviously... So instead of film reviews, but in light of the fact I’m posting this anyway, I’ve decided to share with you some of the changes I have planned for 2008. I’m sure there’s nothing mind-blowingly exciting here, but maybe it’ll be of vague interest.

Read more here.


2007 | Weeks 50-52

After the emptiness of my last entry, I have actually watched some films this time. Three of them, in fact — my final three films of the year! And one short too.

Read more here.


Here we go again…

With 2007 finally finished, it’s time to begin all over again for 2008.

Read more here.


A dismal January

This new year of film watching has hardly got off to an auspicious start, with only five new films seen in January. For those who haven’t already done the maths, that rate sees me just reaching 60 by the end of the year — a tad short of 100!

Read more here.


100 Days

the 100th day of 2008! As it’s just over a quarter of the way through the year, and also a nice round number in its own right, and as I did a similar thing at roughly this point last year, it seems an appropriate time for a statisticstastic look at how things are going so far.

Read more here.


What May has been

Ah May! The start of summer! Not that I like summer, personally, as I’m rather adverse to all that heat. But it’s been miserable weather for the most part so far, so I’m all the happier. As is my film viewing, it must be said. Happier, that is, not miserable.

Read more here.


Two-thirds done

With August now behind us, 2008 is two-thirds complete. And so, as I missed halfway, now seems like a moderately appropriate time to reflect on how well my aim of watching 100 new films is going in 2008.

Read more here.


Eternal laziness of the dreamless blogger

11 months down, 1 to go… 81 films down — it should’ve been at least 92. It’s fair to say 100 Films hasn’t gone quite as smoothly this year as it did last

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Only one new title this week... but it's also the monthly running time update -- and, as promised, it's a big'un. Biggest increase ever? To be honest, I can't remember (and I've been doing this for years now, so I'm not going to go check), but surely it's up there.

Number of titles in collection: 1,799 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,209 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 590 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,522 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,947 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,801 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 455 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
327 days, 7 hours, and 51 minutes.
(Up 6 days and 5 hours (precisely) from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

A Fine Romance
3x02 The Hotel
Episode guides for this series are remarkably inconsistent, but this is the episode number the Radio Times said was on (even if their plot description doesn't match), so...

TV

The Great British Bake Off
6x09 Chocolate
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
14x09 (24/9/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Falling (2014)
[#141 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x05 Probable Cause
5x06 The Final Frontier

Films

Terror by Night (1946)
[#140 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

The 13th, and penultimate, film starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. After years of 'work', I've very nearly finished the series!

TV

Would I Lie To You?
9x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

L'Atalante (1934)
[#138 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2015 #7


Spooks: The Greater Good (2015)
[#139 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x04 Murder He Wrote

Mock the Week
14x08 (17/9/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Boyz n the Hood (1991)
[#137 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...


American Sniper (2014)

an adequately-made film. Eastwood’s direction is at best workmanlike, at worst laughably clichéd. Jason Hall’s screenplay rehashes better movies’ insights into the mental effects of war on combatants. Neither elicit much excitement from a half-arsed sniper-vs-sniper storyline.

Read more here.


High Noon (1952)

No one will stand with Will. Interpreted by the American left as an analogy for people being afraid to stand up to McCarthy’s HUAC witch-hunt, some on the right were less impressed: John Wayne and Howard Hawks made Rio Bravo as a direct riposte. Both are regarded as classic Westerns, so in that respect there’s no ‘winner’ there.

Read more here.


Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

the end result feels a bit like two different movies stuck together: the very Mad Max-y first part in Bartertown awkwardly transitions into the society-of-kids segment, before the two clash for a Mad Max 2-emulating chase-through-the-desert climax. It might not make for the smoothest through line... but at least it exposes us to a different facet of the series’ post-apocalyptic Australia.

Read more here.


Raging Bull (1980)

the boxing scenes were some of the bits I liked the most — they’re very well done; immensely effective. Unfortunately, they make up barely ten minutes of the running time, and it was the rest I didn’t care for.

Read more here.


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


Week 31

This is the first single-week entry since week 14. As well as a concerted effort (such as three films on the Friday), it’s helped by a lessening in the amount of TV I’ve been watching — last entry’s list of 19 on-going programmes has shrunk to 13 by the end of this week. Some might say I watch too much TV…

Read more here.


Week 32

Some might say I’ve been generous with the five-star ratings of late — four in the last two weeks, compared to a total of six in the 29 weeks before it. Maybe I have. There aren’t any to be seen this week, though that doesn’t mean I haven’t seen any good films. In fact, some only fall slightly short.

Read more here.


Week 33

The biggest news this week: I've passed 90. 90! Only ten films to go 'til I hit the final aim -- I think I can manage that in 19 weeks, to be honest.

Read more here.


Week 34

several over-long reviews this week — I appear to be losing my self control on that front. They’ll have multiple paragraphs before long, you mark my words!

Read more here.


Week 35

the four I have watched leave me only two short of the long awaited number 100! But that’s for next week. So, here are those four films, each from a different decade, across almost 60 years no less.

Read more here.


Week 36

This week is an unusually short one. Normally I’d just carry it over into the next entry, but one very important thing stops me…

I’ve reached 100!

Read more here.


Weeks 37-40

It’s an all-action extravaganza this entry, with no less than four films with a distinctly violent centre. But don’t think it’s all the same, oh no no — between them they cover several continents, even more countries, and spread out from the ancient past to the distant (or, at least, alternate) future, via the present day of course. There are spears, swords, guns and fists causing pain left, right and centre… and a few more unusual objects too. If you thought “action movie” meant endless bullets and slow motion… well, it does tend to involve at least one of those… but still, have a look and see that there is room for some variety.

Read more here.


Weeks 41-42

I do feel a tad arty this week, actually. Of the six films listed below, two are French, one German, one Japanese, two are shorts, and five are between 77 and 94 years old. That’s two weeks at the start of a University film module for you!

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x02 The Witch's Familiar
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
2x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Foxcatcher (2014)
[#136 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 last week, which had increases across the board -- and some of them huge -- this week there's nothing to report. There's a pre-order in the post for next week, though; and it's also the running time update, which should be a big'un.

Number of titles in collection: 1,798 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,209 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 589 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,521 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,946 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,801 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 455 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Filmed in Supermarionation (2014)
[#135 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

The Great British Bake Off
6x08 Patisserie
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Ed Wood (1994)
[#134 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

The Informant! (2009)
[#133 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
3x03 Episode 3

Mock the Week
14x07 (10/9/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Yonderland
2x08 Careful What You Wish For [season finale]

Films

Willow (1988)
[#132 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...


How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

Part of its success stems from being bold with the concept. Rather than just rehashing the first film’s story, or taking it in only a slightly different direction, returning writer-director Dean DeBlois jumps the story forward five years, in the process changing the status quo of the film’s world enough to keep it fresh.

Read more here.


The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)

If you’re not au fait with the first two Hunger Games movies, there’s nothing for you here... Even for those of us who are, Mockingjay Part 1 throws us in at the deep end, starting a little while after the end of the last film and challenging us to keep up. It’s a little frustrating at times — if you’ve not watched the previous movies into the ground, there are points where you wonder if you’ve forgotten something or just not been told it yet — but ultimately helps make for an engrossing, mature movie.

Read more here.


John Wick (2014)

John Wick is an action movie. I know you know that, but what I mean is, that’s kind of all it is. There’s no transcendent deeper meaning here; no attempt to explore the real life of a hired killer. If anything, this is an ultra-heightened universe, where the criminal underworld has an entire society and set of rules unto itself, including a raft of familiar faces in cameo-sized roles.

Read more here.


North West Frontier (1959)

I caught a few seconds and thought it looked fabulously shot — I confess, that’s the only reason I’d got hold of a copy. I’m so glad I did though, because it’s excellent stuff — a rollicking, action-packed, old-fashioned (in the good sense) adventure, full of peril, derring-do, chases and shoot-outs.

Read more here.


Plus 11 archive reposts begin the story of 2007, the blog's first year...


Weeks 1-7

The aim of the original idea from which this blog is adapted is to read 50 books this year and list them here. There’s no way I’d manage that, to be honest. Yes, I’m an English Lit student — that doesn’t mean I read! So my version is to try to watch 100 films this year... we begin here, covering weeks one to seven of this year.

Read more here.


Week 8

Number of films per week required to achieve 100: 1.93. Current average number of films seen per week: 2.63. More than on target. Excellent.

Read more here.


Weeks 9-11

I’m not doing too badly — not yet a quarter of the way through the year and I’ve passed the quarter point in my total. There is hope yet!

Read more here.


Weeks 12-13 (Statistics)

The end of the second week here marks the exact quarter-way point of my filmic quest (in time terms anyway) and so it seems an appropriate point to reflect a little on my quest so far. So here are some numbers, all totalled up to the end of week thirteen

Read more here.


Week 14

this week I’ve hit an exact average of three films per week — if that were to continue I’d easily pass 150 films by the end of the year! It’s really beginning to seem that 100 is a rather easy mark to cross, while 150 would be more realistic… though only if I kept this rate up, and if I slipped I would fail. That’s never fun.

Read more here.


Weeks 15-18

After a glut of movies during the middle of the holiday things have slowed down a tad again. I say “a tad” — you can see how much by the sheer volume of weeks included in this entry and the relatively sparse number of films! (To be technical, the average-films-per-week in this entry is 1.75, compared to 2.72 overall and 6 (yes, 6!) last time.)

Read more here.


Weeks 19-20

In which I don’t see Spider-Man 3, because I don’t care enough to brave the huge opening weekend crowds (and it’s not meant to be very good anyway).

Read more here.


Weeks 21-23

This time I do see Spider-Man 3!

Read more here.


Weeks 24-26

I’m halfway through! For anyone who can’t remember how many weeks there are in a year… well, there’s 52; and half of 52 is 26; and the week of June 25th is week 26 of 2007, meaning that July 1st is just about halfway through the year (though, to be precise, there’s actually 52 weeks and one day in a year… well, actually, 52 weeks, one day and a quarter day… anyway…)

Read more here.


Weeks 27-28

I've done really pathetically in the last couple of months -- my average number of films per week has dropped from 2.7 for weeks 1 to 18 to just 1.5 for weeks 19 to 26! I ain't gonna get to the end that way... Actually, I'd hit exactly 100 by the end of the year if I carried on that way. But still, reaching 'only' 100 when I was more on track to hit 150 does seem like a slight disappointment.

Read more here.


Weeks 29-30

Another two week stretch on my quest to see 100 new films by the end of the year. I'm just not seeing enough films per week to warrant entries that often, it would seem. This time round I blame TV -- so many new things have started, as well as continuing shows, that I spend most of my time keeping up! During these two weeks I've been watching...

Read the list here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x00b Prologue
35x00c The Doctor's Meditation
35x01 The Magician's Apprentice
Two short 'prequels' (viewable at the above links, and via various services like Amazon Instant Video) and the season premiere proper. I enjoyed it on the whole, though as with all two-parters, you can't judge it properly until next week's conclusion.
[Watch The Magician's Apprentice (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
2x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

American Sniper (2014)
[#131 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

Last week I mentioned that a complete TV series box set would provide a numbers boost this week. It did... and then I bought another one (both were thanks to great offer prices), and so the number of TV episodes gets a massive boost. As does the number of discs, of course.

The running time update in a couple of weeks should be pretty hefty 'n' all...

Number of titles in collection: 1,798 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,209 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 589 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,521 [up 58]
Number of films in collection: 1,946 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,801 [up 167]
Number of short films in collection: 455 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Top Coppers
1x03 The Venom of Dr Schafer
1x04 The Twist of the French Nicker
[Watch The Venom of Dr Schafer and The Twist of the French Nicker (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
3x02 Episode 2

The Last Leg
7x09 (21/8/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Castle
5x03 Secret's Safe With Me

The Great British Bake Off
6x07 Victorian
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Coppers
1x01 The Chill of the Cockney Freezer
1x02 The Girdle of Randall Rodgers
[Watch The Chill of the Cockney Freezer and The Girdle of Randall Rodgers (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
3x01 Episode 1

Films

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
[#130 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x02 Cloudy with a Chance of Murder

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
2x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
9x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

What Dreams May Come (1998)
[#129 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

Superbad (2007)
[#2015 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

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


Contagion (2011)

Director Steven Soderbergh takes the methodology he used to depict the drug trade in Traffic — an ensemble cast divided among a portmanteau of colour-coded storylines to examine different aspects of the theme — and applies it to the outbreak of a devastating global pandemic.

Read more here.


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

If you’ve read or seen a previous version then you know the story, which hasn’t succumbed to a massive reworking for this American remake — it’s still set in Sweden, even. If you don’t... The novel’s original title translates as Men Who Hate Women, and that’s a pretty succinct summary of the grim, violent, nasty places the stories take us.

Read more here.


Shivers (1975)

The first commercial (i.e. non-student) feature by horror maestro-to-be David Cronenberg, Shivers depicts the sexually-charged chaos that erupts after the spread of a man-made sexually-transmitted parasite in an isolated hyper-modern tower block.

Read more here.


Plus six archive posts were reposted on the new blog...


Audrey Hepburn, er, ‘Week’…

Channel 4 attempted a week of Audrey Hepburn films. Except for some reason they didn’t schedule one for Monday. And then Friday’s, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, was replaced by delayed horse racing. And for my part, I forgot to record Thursday’s film, Funny Face. So following Valentine’s Day, Channel 4 showed a pair of Audrey Hepburn films

Read more here.


Hercules’ New Groove

Hercules and The Emperor’s New Groove are connected by two things: firstly, they’re among the first Disney films I didn’t see because I’d Grown Up; secondly, I’m not sure I’d’ve wanted to see them anyway because I always thought they looked rubbish... Finally seeing this pair now, I find that my expectations were surprisingly flouted in one case, and sadly vindicated in another.

Read more here.


A pair of comedies — one with snow!

It’s Christmas Eve!... As I have no Christmassy films stacked up in my big pile of things I need to get round to reviewing, I’ve decided the nearest I can offer to the Christmas spirit is a pair of British comedies (comedies being kinda jolly, see), one of which has snow, which is always Christmassy. Except when it’s just at the North Pole. Like in this film. Oh shh, it’s the best I could do.

Read more here.


Robin Hood, without the realism

By the vagaries of chance, I wound up watching two classic (read: old) Robin Hood-related films around the time Ridley Scott’s new realistic (read: still all made-up, but ‘gritty’) film was in cinemas. So for those who felt Scott's Robin Hood lacked the necessary swashing of buckles, what about this pair?

Read more here.


A week of vengeance

Each day this week I’ll be posting a new review of a film about vengeance... The films I’ve picked out are British thriller Harry Brown, flop comic book Western Jonah Hex, classic ’70s Western High Plains Drifter, and violent action-thriller Law Abiding Citizen.

Read more here.


What price a 'Definitive Cut'?

The question of a ‘definitive version’ comes in the multitude of Director’s Cuts, Extended Cuts, Harder Cuts, Extreme Cuts — whatever label the marketing boys & girls slap on them, Longer Versions You Didn’t See In The Cinema is what they are. But are they better? Or more definitive? Does it matter?

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)
[#127 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

North West Frontier (1959)
[#126 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]
Known in the US as Flame Over India and in Australia as Empress of India.

Collection Count

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

A couple of movies this week. Next week, a big whole-TV-series box set -- should make the next running time update (in a few weeks) a big'un.

Number of titles in collection: 1,795 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 587 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,463 [up 6]
Number of films in collection: 1,944 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,634 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 454 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

'80s Day! (Not deliberately.)

The Dark Crystal (1982)
[#124 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
[#125 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

They Live (1988)
[#123 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Films

The Swimmer (1968)
[#122 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Cowboy Bebop
1x16 Black Dog Serenade
An episode or two once a month may not be "a reasonable timeframe", but at least it's better than it was before!

The Great British Bake Off
6x06 Pastry
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Last Leg
7x08 (14/8/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

One-Eyed Monster (2008)
[#121 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]