TV

Arrow
4x08 Legends of Yesterday
Part 2 of 2

The Flash
2x08 Legends of Today
Part 1 of 2

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

Begin Again (2013)
[#188 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Tomorrowland: A World Beyond (2015)
[#187 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

As the 100 Films in a Year advent calendar continues, brand-new reviews of 14 films were published this week. They were...


The Babadook (2014)

Perhaps it’s best to not say too much about what’s going on, because the film does a fantastic job blurring the lines between reality and dreams, facts and imaginings, whether it’s all happening or is all in Amelia’s head. For the majority of the film you’ll wonder: is this real? Is she being pranked? By who? A stalker? Her kid? Is she going insane and imagining it all?

Read more here.


Blue Ruin (2013)

Its guiding principle is neat: a semi-comedic version of what would actually happen if an Ordinary Joe tried to enact violent vengeance on murderous criminals.

Read more here.


Circle (2015)

The way the characters interact and the decisions they make are rooted in human nature, and the film keeps you engrossed by exposing their prejudices and how that affects their decision making... This is more of a “what would I do?” kind of film, though; a high-concept thriller, rather than a true character exposé.

Read more here.


A Clockwork Orange (1971)

writer-director Stanley Kubrick adapts Anthony Burgess’ novel into a film so controversially violent the director himself eventually banned it from release in the UK for decades. Almost 45 years on, it’s testament to the film’s power that it is still in parts shocking.

Read more here.


Coherence (2013)

It’s a more gentle kind of sci-fi, though; more domestic. It’s about how these particular people react to the strange situation, rather than being about the situation itself

Read more here.


The Dark Crystal (1982)

there’s fantastic puppetry and strong design… but the story and the manner of its telling — the dialogue, structure, and characters — alternate between boring, annoying, and laughable.

Read more here.


The Decoy Bride (2011)

it’s a standard rom-com, of the form we’ve seen dozens of times, but it’s no worse than most and better than plenty.

Read more here.


The Grandmaster (2013)

As a Western viewer, if you know anything about Ip Man beyond “he’s the chap who trained Bruce Lee”, it’s probably thanks to the pair of eponymous biopics starring Donnie Yen. Heck, if you know that much there’s a fair chance it’s due to those films. This take on the man, directed and co-written by Wong Kar Wai and starring Tony Leung as Ip, is tonally very different

Read more here.


Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

This melancholic apocalyptic comedy wasn’t too well received, which is a shame because I thought it was absolutely brilliant.

Read more here.


sex, lies, and videotape (1989)

Four acquaintances partake in duplicitous relationships and candid sexual discourse in writer-director Steven Soderbergh’s debut drama.

Read more here.


Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)

Aardman’s stop-motion silent comedy will certainly lose to Inside Out across the board come awards season (apart from at the BAFTAs, perhaps), but it’s the more inventive, amusing, innovative, accomplished, and impressive achievement. Delightful.

Read more here.


Stranger by the Lake (2013)

It’s the arthouse gay sex thriller! I’m just going to mention that before it comes the elephant in the room: this movie features lots of ultra-explicit gay sex... it’s worth getting past the initial titillation, because pornography isn’t the point. Rather, it’s an intriguing dramatic thriller about what we’re prepared to accept, risk, or ignore in the name of attraction

Read more here.


They Live (1988)

the meat is satire. Thirty years on, it remains thematically relevant; perhaps even more so. That no one’s actively considering a remake suggests how Hollywood has lost its political teeth.

Read more here.


You're Next (2011)

a horror-thriller that’s really a dark comedy. Murderous home invaders get a surprise when one of their targets is a secret badass.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

A Most Wanted Man (2014)
[#186 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Terminator Genisys (2015)
[#185 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

Not the final pre-Christmas update, but the final one that's likely to have anything to report. Probably. I also suspect it'll be a small Christmas for this Collection Count -- possibly even nonexistent, in fact. But we'll see in a fortnight. For now:

Number of titles in collection: 1,823 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,211 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 612 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,660 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,992 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,051 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Castle
5x23 The Human Factor

Detectorists
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Jessica Jones
1x12 AKA Take a Bloody Number
1x13 AKA Smile [season finale]

TV

Elementary
4x01 The Past is Parent

TV

Castle
5x22 Still

Live at the Apollo
11x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Arrow
4x07 Brotherhood

Films

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
[#184 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x21 The Squab and the Quail

The Flash
2x07 Gorilla Warfare

Articles

Ranking all 9 series of Doctor Who (and the specials) from 2005 to 2015
by Morgan Jeffery (from Digital Spy)

This starts off with an act of pure stupidity (no way series one is the worst), but then pretty quickly gets pretty accurate. Not necessarily the exact order I'd put them in, but not bad.

TV

Castle
5x20 The Fast and the Furriest

Detectorists
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who
35x12 Hell Bent [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Jessica Jones
1x10 AKA 1,000 Cuts
1x11 AKA I've Got the Blues

this week on 100 Films

Lots to cover on 100 Films in a Year this week!

Firstly, it's a new month, so here's a look back at the old one:




Then, my 2015 advent calendar kicked off. Read all about that here:




As you'll learn if you read that, my plan is to post two reviews a day throughout advent. So that means, this week, 12 new reviews were posted(!) They were:


Ant-Man (2015)

Marvel are currently fond of mixing “superhero” with “another genre” to produce their movies — which makes sense, given the standard two-or-three superhero narratives were already becoming played out by the time Iron Man came along, never mind in the raft of movies Marvel Studios have released since. Here, “superhero” is mixed with “heist movie”; more specifically, “heist comedy”. It’s superheroes by way of Ocean’s Eleven, basically.

Read more here.


L'Atalante (1934)

my view hews closer to the original reception. Reportedly a French distributor called it “a confused, incoherent, wilfully absurd, long, dull, commercially worthless film,” while critics called it “amateurish, self-indulgent and morbid.” OK, maybe it’s not that bad, but there are nuggets of truth in there.

Read more here.


Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

I didn’t expect to care for this all that much… but I actually thought it was really fun. It’s not the funniest movie ever, nor does it have the most thrilling action, or the most engrossing or surprising plot, but it does all those things — well, the first two — well, maybe just the first one — well enough. It’s sort of incessantly likeable.

Read more here.


Brazil (1985)

It’s clever, it’s funny, it’s massively imaginative in both its visuals and its storytelling, and its influences on the 30 years of dystopian fiction that have followed is… well, fairly clear, because it also has influences of its own, so whether future works are influenced by the original influence or whether the influencee has become the influencer is an over-complex matter for over-complex people to discuss ad infinitum.

Read more here.


End of Watch (2012)

Ah, found footage. Some despise it. I’m not sure anyone loves it. I don’t mind it, so long as it’s used appropriately. Here, the found footage aspect is abandoned literally as soon as it’s introduced, rendering it absolutely pointless.

Read more here.


Europa Report (2013)

Astronauts head to a Saturnian moon to examine its water in this scientifically-accurate drama. The voluminous “special thanks” to space-related organisations shows how seriously the filmmakers took that accuracy, and it pays off in the exploration of some neat ideas.

Read more here.


The Fifth Estate (2013)

It’s The Julian Assange Movie, in which Benedict Cumberbatch dons a lanky white wig and an Australian accent to portray one of the most significant figures of our times, whether you like it or not.

Read more here.


Force Majeure (2014)

At its best, writer-director Ruben Östlund’s YouTube-inspired film is a droll dark comedy. Told in wisely-deployed long takes that benefit the cast, there’s also gorgeous photography and a dramatic score

Read more here.


Go (1999)

When people call 1999’s Fight Club “the first film of the 21st Century”, it sounds a bit clever-clever. When you watch 1999’s Go, you see what they mean. Fincher forged forward; Liman encapsulated “just been” — indeed, it’s been called the most ’90s movie ever made.

Read more here.


Life Itself (2014)

Roger Ebert was an influential, respected, beloved critic for decades, and one with an interesting life: he began in old-school newspaper journalism, defined TV movie criticism, and eventually spearheaded the profession’s move online. So it merits recounting in this documentary

Read more here.


The Swimmer (1968)

A strange air means this quickly begins to feel like a Twilight Zone-esque mystery, but it’s actually something else entirely… though to reveal too many secrets would spoil it.

Read more here.


Tank Girl (1995)

Critically derided, this anarchic adaptation of the rebellious comic has become a cult fave. You can see why: a ramshackle plot allows for plenty of outré zaniness, including a big musical number to a punky Cole Porter cover, and surely no one predicted the bizarre truth about the Rippers!

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
[#183 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's madness, just one addition... of a ten-film box set.

Number of titles in collection: 1,821 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,211 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 610 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,657 [up 12]
Number of films in collection: 1,990 [up 10]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,051 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Castle
5x19 The Lives of Others

Have I Got News For You
50x08 (27/11/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Jessica Jones
1x08 AKA WWJD?
1x09 AKA Sin Bin

TV

Arrow
4x06 Lost Souls

Live at the Apollo
11x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
5x18 The Wild Rover

Detectorists
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Jessica Jones
1x06 AKA You're a Winner!
1x07 AKA Top Shelf Perverts

TV

Castle
5x17 Scared to Death

The Flash
2x06 Enter Zoom

Films

Ant-Man (2015)
[#181 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Paddington (2014)
[#182 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Doctor Who
35x11 Heaven Sent
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

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


An inside out pair of shorts

Pixar’s latest opus, Inside Out, was naturally accompanied by a short film in cinemas. On Blu-ray, it’s accompanied by two. These are they -- Lava and Riley's First Date? -- reviewed in nice quick drabbles.

Read more here.


Jupiter Ascending (2015)

best known (as far as I’m aware) for provoking speculation it would cost Eddie Redmayne the Oscar for Theory of Everything because it came out during voting season and he was so gosh darn bad in it. And it’s also known for being just generally dreadful and universally disdained. [But] the universal disdain wasn’t actually universal — I have actually seen some people praise this film. I know, right? Sadly, I still thought it was awful.

Read more here.


Murder by Death (1976)

A gaggle of famed detectives are summoned to a remote mansion to solve a murder in this detective spoof by playwright Neil Simon. The twist is, all the characters are spoofs of famous literary/film/TV ‘tecs. Also, that the murder hasn’t happened yet. And also, that the person inviting them is Truman Capote. Not “someone playing Truman Capote”, but “Truman Capote playing someone”.

Read more here.


Plus, it's the last-ever archive reposts!


2010: The Full List

I did it! After last year’s slight shortfall, that’s the big news this year... So, here’s the list of all I saw. Slight change this year: the list is in numerical order, aka order viewed... [And] after the lists comes the usual array of fascinating statistics.

Read more here.


2010 In Retrospect

This final look back has my usual mix of features: a ‘Bottom Five’, a ‘Top Ten’, some ‘Also Ran’s, and ‘Didn’t Run’s too.

Read more here.


More -- though only new posts (hurrah!) -- next Sunday.

Films

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Extended Edition) (2014/2015)
[#180a in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Was this really only out last Monday? Feels like it's been sat on my shelf for weeks! Anyway, it's my third Hobbit film this year (after Part 2 Extended and Part 3 Theatrical back in March).

Collection Count

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

A delayed update this week, because not only was there loads to add, but it all arrived on Saturday afternoon. I thought most of it would arrive next week, but here it is just in time for the last running time update before the post-Christmas end-of-the-year one. That would've been an utter monster if this lot had been there too! As it is, I think it'll now really struggle to beat this... or even come close...

Number of titles in collection: 1,820 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,211 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 609 [up 7]

Number of discs in collection: 4,645 [up 78]
Number of films in collection: 1,980 [up 9]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,051 [up 246]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [up 3]

Yes, 246 episodes of TV. I imagine that'll make quite a difference to the...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
339 days, 1 hour, and 43 minutes.
(Up 10 days, 22 hours, and 18 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Jessica Jones
1x05 AKA The Sandwich Saved Me

TV

Castle
5x15 Target
5x16 Hunt
aka Castle Does Taken, Parts One and Two. Despite the obviousness of that influence, and some very poor green screen shots of a certain foreign city, it was a very good two-parter.

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

TV

Castle
5x14 Reality Star Struck

Have I Got News For You
50x07 (20/11/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Arrow
4x05 Haunted

Live at the Apollo
11x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
5x13 Recoil

Detectorists
2x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Flash
2x05 The Darkness and the Light

Jessica Jones
1x04 AKA 99 Friends

TV

Jessica Jones
1x03 AKA It's Called Whiskey

this week on 100 Films

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


Inside Out (2015)

Pixar haven’t had the greatest start to the second decade of the 21st Century... This might go some way towards explaining why their release for this year has attracted such acclaim, despite it offering a pretty rote storyline dressed up in some fancy ‘original idea’ clothing (not that it is a truly original idea) and a modicum of genuine emotional resonance.

Read more here.


The Machine (2013)

maybe James, in only his second feature, is trying to show his full range and use the film as a calling card. After all, it does attempt human drama, an exploration of sci-fi ideas, a touch of conspiracy thriller, and an all-action climax. Unfortunately he’s delivered quite a clunky screenplay, which lingers on inexplicable scenes one moment before rushing over vital things the next

Read more here.


One-Eyed Monster (2008)

For the innocents among you… well, maybe you should stop reading now. For the slightly-less-innocent, “one-eyed monster” is a euphemism for a (whisper it) penis. It also contains the word “monster”, like, y’know, a horror movie. What if you made a horror movie where some chap’s one-eyed monster was a monster?!

Read more here.


Turtle Power (2014)

The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ... This informative documentary uses interviews with all the key players to tell the story of how a small indie comic, created incidentally and published almost on a whim, became a true cultural phenomenon.

Read more here.


Plus two archive reposts...


2009: The Full List

So, 2009… the first year I failed to reach my stated goal. Still, I saw 94 new films and bothered to review several others — and here’s a full alphabetical list of the lot of ’em!

Read more here.


2009 In Retrospect

It’s been a somewhat inauspicious year for 100 Films, actually, failing to make the titular target for the first time and not necessarily seeing a great many classic films along the way. 2007’s Top Ten held undeniable classics like Brief Encounter and Citizen Kane, while 2008’s managed the likes of Rashomon [and] Notorious... I don’t mean to spoil this year’s lot, but it looks kinda tame and modern (70% come from the last three years) by comparison.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x10 Face the Raven
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Jessica Jones
1x01 AKA Ladies Night
1x02 AKA Crush Syndrome

Collection Count

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

Quite a few additions this week, relatively, which means I sail past 600 Blu-rays without landing neatly on it. Ah well, it's not that interesting a number anyway. Should keep next week's running time update lively, though.

Number of titles in collection: 1,815 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,213 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 602 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,567 [up 22]
Number of films in collection: 1,971 [up 9]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,805 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 462 [up 3]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Have I Got News For You
50x06 (6/11/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Articles

Peter Jackson: 'I didn’t know what the hell I was doing' when I made The Hobbit
by Ben Child (from the Guardian)

With quotes culled from the behind-the-scenes video on the forthcoming Battle of the Five Armies extended DVD, director Peter Jackson candidly admits how he rushed The Hobbit films.


Why Star Wars: The Force Awakens Not Screening for Critics Might Be a Good Thing
by Sam Adams (from Criticwire)

Interesting thoughts on the place for and relevance of movie criticism.

TV

Arrow
4x04 Beyond Redemption

Live at the Apollo
11x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Premium Bond with Mark Gatiss and Matthew Sweet
Sweet and Gatiss offer an appreciation of the whole Bond series, by gently critically analysing them. So, so much better than a vacuous "weren't they all great" puff piece. Hurrah for BBC Four!
[Watch it (again) in full on iPlayer, or in Bond-by-Bond chunks here.]

Films

Tank Girl (1995)
[#180 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

The Flash
2x04 The Fury of Firestorm

Have I Got News For You
50x05 (30/10/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

No new reviews on 100 Films in a Year this week (I was away most of the week), but there were two archive re-posts...


2008: The Full List

This year hasn’t been quite as successful as last, at least in terms of film viewing. As the year neared its end I didn’t think I’d make it to 100, and was all prepared to settle for 90 around Christmas time, but a final push saw me make it in the nick of time. Hurrah!

Read more here.


2008 In Retrospect

And so 2008 is finally at an end (really this time)... first up, my five Worst Films, in no particular order; then, my ten Best Films, in a lovely countdown.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x09 Sleep No More
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Inside Out (2015)
[#179 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Lava (2014)
[#179b in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Riley's First Date? (2015)
[#179a 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: 1,811 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,212 [up 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 599 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,545 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,962 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,805 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 459 [up 2]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Frank Skinner On Demand With...
Lee Mack
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Come Drink with Me (1966)
[#178 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
3x02 Thirty Five Quid For This...
[Watch it (again) on Dave OD.]

Arrow
4x03 Restoration

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

The Flash
2x03 Family of Rogues

Have I Got News For You
50x04 (23/10/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Live at the Apollo
11x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Lucky VII: Superfan J.J. Abrams on Directing The Force Awakens.
by Scott Dadich (from Wired)

Nice, detailed interview with the director of Star Wars Episode VII.

Films

Enchanted (2007)
[3rd watch]
This was #80 on 100 Films way back in 2008.

TV

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
3x01 I've Been Fingered By Captain Kirk
[Watch it (again) on Dave OD.]

Films

The Little Mermaid (1989)
[4th or so watch]

this week on 100 Films

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


Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)

there are too many characters, and the film doesn’t always seem to know what to do with all of them. The array of cameos in minor roles is fine, and sure to please thoroughly-versed comic book readers, but it’s the main characters who are sometimes sidelined. In some cases, literally: Wonder Woman disappears off to her island after two scenes; the Flash retires early on; Superman gets sunk in the ocean at the start of the climax.

Read more here.


Spooks: The Greater Good (2015)

you don’t need to have seen the TV series to follow the plot, which is standalone in every aspect that seriously matters... However, a familiarity might help manage your expectations: The Greater Good feels like a wider-screen, (slightly-)bigger-budgeted version of the show, for good or ill. “Good” because, well, it should really, otherwise why call it Spooks? “Ill” because anyone expecting an action-packed thriller to rival Bond, Bourne, or Mission: Impossible will come away disappointed.

Read more here.


The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

the film really comes alive for its final hour... Here’s where the film’s real adventure lies, as we whizz through multiple fantasy landscapes, the thief battling monsters as he goes... This is also where most of the film’s famed special effects are to be found. So groundbreaking that they were analysed in scientific magazines at the time, they still have the power to enchant viewers the best part of a century later.

Read more here.


Plus two archive posts recapping 100 Films Year 1...


2007 In Retrospect

Read on for my five least-favourite films I’ve seen this year, and (more interestingly, I’m sure) my top ten — in a lovely countdown and all!

Read more here.


2007: The Full List

And so the end is here. Yes, finally this time! ... as we’ve reached the end, here’s the full alphabetical list of everything I saw, followed by some intensely interesting statistical whatsits.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x08 The Zygon Inversion
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Lone Ranger (2013)
[#177 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: 1,808 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 598 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,540 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,959 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,805 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 457 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
[#176 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Articles

John Lewis Christmas advert: who is Moon Hitler?
by Stuart Heritage (from the Guardian)

Perfectly skewering John Lewis' annual mawkishness-fest.

TV

Arrow
4x02 The Candidate

Have I Got News For You
50x03 (16/10/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Flash
2x02 Flash of Two Worlds

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
[#175 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
5x12 Death Gone Crazy

Films

Force Majeure (2014)
[#174 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Have I Got News For You
50x02 (9/10/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
14x12 (highlights/out-takes)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Horns (2013)
[#173 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
3x07 Episode 7

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x02 Episode 2

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.]