Collection Count

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

This week was going to be completely devoid of new additions... until a huge sale-acquired title turned up this morning, and the following happened...

Number of titles in collection: 1,883 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 681 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,861 [up 24]
Number of films in collection: 2,075 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,422 [up 98]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

24: Live Another Day
9x12 10:00PM - 11:00AM [series finale]

Films

Duel (1971)
[#140 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

24: Live Another Day
9x10 8:00PM - 9:00PM
9x11 9:00PM - 10:00PM

Miranda
4x02 The Final Curtain [series finale; 2nd watch]

TV

24: Live Another Day
9x09 7:00PM - 8:00PM

Miranda
4x01 I Do, But to Who? [2nd watch]

The Musketeers
2x04 Emilie

The Tick
Pilot
Was underwhelmed by this, unfortunately. Will write more in the next 100 Films TV round-up.
[Watch it (again) on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

TV

Britain’s Favourite Dogs

Films

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
[#139 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

24: Live Another Day
9x07 5:00PM - 6:00PM
9x08 6:00PM - 7:00PM

Miranda
3x06 A Brief Encounter [season finale; 2nd watch]
You know, I think Miranda is a good demonstration of why so many British sitcoms tap out after two series. That's not to say the third is bad -- there are some great bits, even whole episodes -- but at times it leans too heavily on the catchphrases, or just runs round in circles (this episode is particularly guilty of that).

Films

Deep Blue Sea (1999)
[#138 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

24: Live Another Day
9x06 4:00PM - 5:00PM

Friday Night Dinner
4x05 The Funeral
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Miranda
3x05 Three Little Words [2nd watch]

this week on 100 Films

Lots of exciting TV covered in 100 Films in a Year's monthly round-up...




3 brand-new reviews were also published this week...


The Bank Job (2008)

Inspired by a real 1971 robbery, plus a host of other issues that were in the news around that time, The Bank Job is a rich stew of fact, supposition, and wild imagination. Apparently the filmmakers claimed it was very much based on a true story, including new information from an inside source, though eventually admitted some of it (including a major character) was wholly fiction.

Read more here.


Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)

it’s visually sumptuous and impressively mounted, with well-imagined semi-plausible versions of the tale’s fantastical elements. However, despite the epic length (and four screenwriters), it never gets inside characters’ heads — they’re just going through motions dictated centuries ago.

Read more here.


Scotland, Pa. (2001)

Shakespeare gets transposed to 1970s Pennsylvania in this blackly comedic reimagining of Macbeth, which converts the Thane of Glamis into a diner chef and the Scottish throne into ownership of a new concept: drive-thru.

Read more here.


And my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Much Ado About Nothing (1993)

The plot hinges on the romance of Claudio and Hero, and the machinations of Don John to disrupt it, but the central characters are Beatrice and Benedick and the witty verbal sparring that characterises their love-hate relationship [which] at its best, plays like a period screwball comedy.

Read more here.


Mystery Men (1999)

it’s an undervalued comedy. The ensemble cast are all perfect... the material they have to deliver is both witty and suitably silly, and it incorporates superhero tropes and references without relying on them. In the sub-subgenre of superhero comedies, all others are number two, or lower.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

24: Live Another Day
9x05 3:00PM - 4:00PM

Miranda
3x04 Je Regret Nothing [2nd watch]

Films

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
[#137 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

Thanks to sales and offers from the past few weeks all turning up at once, there are six new additions this week (one of them an upgrade from a previous Blu-ray), featuring a mass of films and TV episodes.

Number of titles in collection: 1,882 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 680 [up 5]

Number of discs in collection: 4,837 [up 12]
Number of films in collection: 2,075 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,324 [up 16]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

24: Live Another Day
9x04 2:00PM - 3:00PM

TV

24: Live Another Day
9x03 1:00PM - 2:00PM

Friday Night Dinner
4x04 The Pyjamas
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Miranda
3x03 The Dinner Party [3rd watch]

TV

24: Live Another Day
9x01 11:00AM - 12:00PM
9x02 12:00PM - 1:00PM
With the new spin-off on the horizon, finally getting round to the last go-round of the original-flavour series: this "event series" (rather than a full season 9, at least officially) from 2014 (which is when I finally got round to watching season 8!) Despite the supposed distance, it's very much the same 24 it was towards the end of its regular run.

Miranda
3x02 What a Surprise [2nd watch]

Films

Enemy (2013)
[#136 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Friday Night Dinner
4x03 Congratulations
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Miranda
3x01 It Was Panning [3rd watch]

Films

Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
[#135 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Cowboy Bebop
1x19 Wild Horses
1x20 Pierrot Le Fou

Miranda
2x06 The Perfect Christmas [season finale; 3rd watch]

this week on 100 Films

A whopping 7 brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week! They were...


Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)

it’s dark, and to do it justice the makers needed to make it R-rated [and] they’ve done just that. So here we have a very faithful adaptation of the graphic novel… but it’s a bit short, so there’s a 28-minute prologue stuck on the front. Designed to ameliorate some of the issues people have with the original book, it’s actually only made things worse, containing brand-new controversial elements all of its own. Oh dear.

Read more here.


Blackhat (2015)

The great Michael Mann, who once helmed genre-defining crime movies with expertly-directed sequences, here delivers a movie that looks like an amateur cheapie by a film student who’s watched too many Paul Greengrass movies without learning anything meaningful from them.

Read more here.


Brooklyn (2015)

Guiding us through this, the film’s heart in every respect, is Saoirse Ronan’s leading performance. I will watch Ronan in essentially anything at this point, both because she seems to choose good material and because, even when she doesn’t, she’s great in it. This is probably her first really mature performance, convincing as a somewhat shy young woman who makes her way out into the world, in the process realising all the confidence she should have in herself.

Read more here.


Chappie (2015)

Neill Blomkamp seems to be on M. Night Shyamalan’s career path: a massively-praised Oscar-nominated breakthrough genre movie, followed by a series of increasingly maligned follow-ups.

Read more here.


Lucy (2014)

After years producing movies in the Taken stable, Luc Besson directs one himself. Unfortunately it’s a poor effort — not a bad movie, exactly, but a deeply silly one.

Read more here.


Pan (2015)

this is an exciting and enjoyable fantasy adventure, best commended for its inventive, well-realised visuals and colourful design, which when it really clicks can be quite incredible. I suppose that might not be enough to overcome a familiar plot for some viewers, but it eases the way in this particular example.

Read more here.


The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

It’s easy to dismiss films like this as twee vehicles chasing the so-called ‘grey pound’, but, in this instance at least, that would do it a disservice. When a film is as amusing and emotional as this one, while also exploring an increasingly relevant aspect of life... then its audience should reach far wider than the age bracket of its principal characters.

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Mission: Impossible II (2000)

M:i-2, as we used to call it, is pretty much everyone’s least-favourite Mission movie, a place only cemented by the two excellent instalments that have been released during this blog’s lifetime. To be honest, I’ve never really been sure why. It’s very much a John Woo movie, all overblown action and melodramatic stakes, and I’d be tempted to say that turns people off were it not for the love Face/Off receives. Personally I like his style

Read more here.


Moulin Rouge! (2001)

These days there are plenty of musicals appearing on the big screen, and they’re often contending for the top gongs come awards season. This wasn’t the case back in 2001 — Moulin Rouge, divisive as it is, changed all that. Baz Luhrmann’s injection of modern MTV style gave the genre a kick up the arse, which isn’t necessarily to the taste of classic musical fans but certainly brought the genre renewed mainstream attention.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
[#134 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,877 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 675 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,825 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 2,070 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,308 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Armageddon (1998)
[#133 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Preacher
1x09 Finish the Song
1x10 Call and Response [season finale]
[Watch Finish the Song and Call and Response (again) on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

Talking Preacher
1x02 Talking Preacher on Call and Response [season finale]
Considering how much there could be to say about adapting Preacher for TV (why they made all the changes they made, the thought processes involved in making those decisions, etc), this is incredibly lightweight. I mean, I guess it's kind of designed to be, but a proper in-depth discussion would be great. Maybe there'll be something on the Blu-ray...
[Watch it (again) on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

Films

Road Games (1981)
[#132 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Preacher
1x07 He Gone
1x08 El Valero
[Watch He Gone and El Valero (again) on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

TV

Miranda
2x05 Just Act Normal [3rd watch]

Films

The Good Dinosaur (2015)
[#130 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Pride (2014)
[#131 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

It's been August for exactly a week today, which means my look back at July on 100 Films in a Year may seem old news but... well, maybe it is, but it's still time to post it here:




In other news, 4 brand-new reviews were published this week...


Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition (2016)

As someone who genuinely enjoyed Batman v Superman’s theatrical cut, it’s hard to say how much better the Ultimate Edition is for viewers who were less convinced. However, I do think it’s a question of “how much better” rather than “is it better”, because this is certainly a superior version of the film — the fact it’s now over three hours long notwithstanding. The new cut won’t ‘fix’ the movie for viewers who object to the inherent tone and style of the piece, but if you’re open to that, this cut does improves the storytelling and character arcs for a smoother experience overall.

Read more here.


Big Eyes (2014)

It’s certainly a bizarre tale, and given even more of an otherworldly edge in Burton’s hands. He’s reined in here compared to his more fantastical leaps, but even when he does the real world it’s not quite our world (see also: Ed Wood). Nonetheless, it makes what could have been a slight tale more interesting than it would’ve been as a straight-up clean-cut biopic

Read more here.


The Lobster (2015)

the kind of odd movie that critics adore (90% on Rotten Tomatoes) and then, I always feel, spend some of their time looking down their noses at regular folk who don’t get it. In my experience, you have a 50/50 chance of such movies actually being any good. For me, The Lobster straddles that divide.

Read more here.


Sicario (2015)

Any viewers seeking simple action thrills will not be satisfied with the sequences offered here, but the way the scenes rely on suspense rather than bullet choreography makes for a supremely tense movie; one that can grip you like a vice and only occasionally let up, letting you catch your breath before it doubles down.

Read more here.


Finally, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


The Matrix (1999)

There are some movies where their significance almost outstrips the ability to judge them independently — Citizen Kane, for the most obvious example. I don’t know if The Matrix now appears that way to newcomers, but it could, because it’s hard to understate the impact it had on action/sci-fi movies (and other media) for the next decade or more.

Read more here.


Minority Report (2002)

it mixes exciting, propulsive plot and action sequences with thematic concerns that use science-fiction ideas to explore real-world issues, both tangible (the prevalence of state control and policing) and metaphysical (free will vs determinism). It makes for a rounded, thrilling movie.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Miranda
2x04 A New Low [2nd watch]

Films

Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
[#129 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

Three additions this week more than double the number of new titles since the last running time update -- yep, it's that time of the month again.

Number of titles in collection: 1,874 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 672 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,822 [up 11]
Number of films in collection: 2,067 [up 7]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,308 [up 2]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
353 days, 14 hours, and 29 minutes.
(Up 13 hours and 52 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Americans
4x12 A Roy Rogers in Franconia
4x13 Persona Non Grata [season finale]

Miranda
2x03 Let's Do It [2nd watch]

TV

The Americans
4x11 Dinner for Seven

Miranda
2x02 Before I Die [2nd watch]

TV

The Americans
4x10 Munchkins

Miranda
2x01 The New Me [2nd watch]

The Musketeers
2x03 The Good Traitor

TV

The Americans
4x09 The Day After

Miranda
1x06 Dog [season finale; 3rd watch]
DVD title: What a Dog.

The Musketeers
2x02 An Ordinary Man

Films

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition (2016)
[#128 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

I watched the theatrical version when it came out, of course, but this merits a new number because it's a whole 20% longer and the storytelling is much smoother.

TV

The Americans
4x08 The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears

Friday Night Dinner
4x02 The Carpet Cleaner
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Miranda
1x05 Excuse [4th watch]
DVD title: Let It Out.

Preacher
1x06 Sundowner
[Watch it (again) on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

TV

The Americans
4x07 Travel Agents

Miranda
1x04 Holiday [5th watch]
Remarkable difference in number of views compared to the last one, eh. On the DVD this is called Mum's the Word, which is probably the worst change of the lot.

The Musketeers
2x01 Keep Your Friends Close
Thought it was about time we got on with this (it's only been two years since we last watched it, after all). I'd forgotten how catchy the title music was.

Films

The Sting (1973)
[#127 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2016 #7

this week on 100 Films

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


Barry Lyndon (1975)

This is not a simple, narrow-focused, cause-and-effect kind of story, but a fictional biopic, that ranges across Europe and across time to… what effect? It’s a Kubrick film, so the ultimate goal of the tale, the message(s) it may be trying to impart, are debatable. You could see a story of the pitfalls of hubris. You could see an exploration of how a certain class lived in this time period. You could just see a man who led an adventurous life.

Read more here.


The Imitation Game (2014)

This Turing is surely somewhere on the autistic spectrum, which at best has speculative historical basis, but Cumberbatch embodies well that social awkwardness with hidden inner genius. It would've been easy for him to slip into familiar traits from that other antisocial clever-clogs he plays, Sherlock Holmes, but at worst there are only vague and infrequent nudges to our memory of that performance. Rather, I'd argue he fully subsumes himself into this role.

Read more here.


Noah (2014)

The director of The Fountain tackles the Biblical tale of the flood as if it were also a science-fiction/fantasy adventure — familiarity with the story leads us to assume it’s set in the past, but watch without baggage and the setting looks like a post-apocalyptic future.

Read more here.


Zootropolis (2016), aka Zootopia

There’s a quote on the cover of Zootropolis’ US Blu-ray that calls it the best Disney movie in 20 years. As much as I liked Bolt and Tangled, and Mulan and The Princess and the Frog, and, yes, even Frozen, I think Zootropolis is at the very least a contender for that crown.

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Mary Poppins (1964)

When I was little, the whole part of the film around the bank, Feed the Birds, etc, was The Boring Bit between the fun and the return of the fun. Now, I still think most of Feed the Birds is a little insipid, but the instrumental reprise as Mr Banks walks slowly back to the bank, his world and everything he knows torn asunder, his humiliation imminent… It’s heartbreaking, and the music is most of the reason why.

Read more here.


The Mask of Zorro (1998)

The key to most good swashbucklers is the sword-fighting, and The Mask of Zorro is up to scratch. Banderas was trained by Bob Anderson, a legendary sword master — he also worked on Highlander, The Princess Bride, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and many more. Not least, he coached Errol Flynn of all people — and Anderson reckoned Antonio Banderas was the best swordsman he’d worked with since Flynn.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Americans
4x06 The Rat
If I didn't know better, I'd swear The Americans was heading towards its final ending this season. Thank goodness it isn't, because it's awesome.

Miranda
1x03 Job [2nd watch]
I'm certain this can't be just the second time I've seen this episode, but that's what this blog's records tell me. Maybe I stumbled across it halfway through one time and so didn't note it... Its DVD title is Just the Job, by-the-by.

Person of Interest
5x13 return 0 [series finale]
So, that's that. I guess they really didn't think they were coming back... although it was still open to the possibility. Anyway, not a bad ending, all things considered.

Films

Sicario (2015)
[#126 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

Nowt this week! Plenty of stuff on the way though, so exciting weeks to come.

Number of titles in collection: 1,871 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 669 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,811 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 2,060 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,306 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Americans
4x05 Clark's Place

Miranda
1x02 Teacher [3rd watch]
For some reason the first series has different episode titles on the DVD. The first episode's changed from Date to It's a Date, while this one's become In the Mood.

Person of Interest
5x12 .exe

Films

The Imitation Game (2014)
[#125 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Agatha Raisin
1x08 Murderous Marriage [season finale]
This series was good fun, on the whole. Hope they do more.

The Americans
4x04 Chloramphenicol

Miranda
1x01 Date [3rd watch]
Beginning a full re-watch. Have to say, I thought I'd seen this episode more. Maybe I forgot to log it.

Person of Interest
5x11 Synecdoche

TV

Agatha Raisin
1x07 Witch of Wyckhadden

The Americans
4x03 Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow

Person of Interest
5x10 The Day the World Went Away

Films

The Visit (2015)
[#124 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Agatha Raisin
1x06 The Day the Floods Came

The Americans
4x02 Pastor Tim

Friday Night Dinner
4x01 The Two Tonys
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Person of Interest
5x09 Sotto Voce

Films

High-Rise (2015)
[#123 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Agatha Raisin
1x05 Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet

The Americans
4x01 Glanders

Person of Interest
5x08 Reassortment

TV

Gilmore Girls
7x22 Bon Voyage [series finale]
Series finale, season finale; potayto, potahto...

Person of Interest
5x07 QSO

Films

Pride and Prejudice (1940)
[#122 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Zoolander (2001)
[#121 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

It may seem a while ago now, but the stunning final two episodes of Game of Thrones aired within the past month -- which makes them the centrepiece of 100 Films in a Year's TV review this month:




Elsewhere, 2 brand-new reviews were published this week...


Just Friends (2005)

Just Friends spends a long time feeling like a morally bankrupt movie. It’s unclear if it’s praising or condemning Chris’ frivolous lifestyle, if he needs saving by coming home, or if he deserves revenge on the people who mistreated him. We know what the standard Hollywood perspective on these things is, so kudos to some degree for dodging it, but it doesn’t commit to the other direction either.

Read more here.


White God (2014)

The film’s third act can pithily be described as Rise of the Planet of the Dogs: having seen the abuses of humans, an impounded Hagen leads a canine uprising that seeks to… well, they don’t speak (they’re dogs, remember, and this isn’t Disney), so who knows what their precise aims are? “Revenge” would be too cruel, but they definitely seeking some retribution.

Read more here.


Finally, my 100 Favourites series continued with 3 more posts...


The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

in the same way J.R.R. Tolkien considered it one long novel that had to be split up for the sake of publication, so too the movies work well — best, one could even argue — as a single 11½-hour experience. Having inducted the trilogy’s individual instalments into my 100 Favourites series [last week], I’ve covered most aspects of this epic moviemaking endeavour pretty thoroughly already, so here are links to each of my previous entries

Read more here.


Lost in Translation (2003)

the quality of the BAFTA-winning performances of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson [create] a cross-generational pairing of two lost souls that feels real and touching, rather than tipping into some creepy love affair thing. Nonetheless, through to its ending the film plays with variations on melancholy — a difficult feeling to evoke in movies, in my opinion, but a level writer-director Sofia Coppola here hits with impressive consistency.

Read more here.


Man on Fire (2004)

Memorable Quote #1: “Creasy’s art is death. He’s about to paint his masterpiece.” — Rayburn
Memorable Quote #2: “Forgiveness is between them and God. It’s my job to arrange the meeting.” — Creasy

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Ten Little Indians (1974)
[#120 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]
aka And Then There Were None

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,871 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 669 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,811 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 2,060 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,306 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Agatha Raisin
1x04 Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener

Person of Interest
5x06 A More Perfect Union

TV

Agatha Raisin
1x03 Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death

Gilmore Girls
7x21 Unto the Breach

Person of Interest
5x05 ShotSeeker

TV

Gilmore Girls
7x20 Lorelai? Lorelai?

Person of Interest
5x04 6,741

TV

Agatha Raisin
1x02 Hell's Bells

Films

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[2nd watch]
This was #92 in 100 Films 2008.

TV

Agatha Raisin
1x01 Walkers of Dembley
Following on from the one-off they did a couple of years ago, Sky have produced a full series of these light and fluffy murder mysteries. It seems each episode adapts a whole novel in 45 minutes, which means either they must've cut a lot or those novels are really slight...

Gilmore Girls
7x19 It's Just Like Riding a Bike

Opera

Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)
at Glyndebourne

this week on 100 Films

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


Cinderella (2015)

Disney’s animated classic is re-imagined in live-action, losing the songs but expanding the story. The latter serves to find a little more realism in the setup (how Cinders became a servant to her stepmother, etc), as well as in the characters’ motivations and actions.

Read more here.


Crimson Peak (2015)

If you’ve not at least heard of The Castle of Otranto then there’s a chance your expectations of Crimson Peak may be misaligned. Which is not to say you won’t like it, especially if you’re of an open-minded disposition, but if having heard it’s “Gothic” and a “horror movie” has conjured up something Hammer-esque in your mind, then you are indeed off base. [It's] a Gothic Romance, which is as distinct from “horror” as it is from “romance”.

Read more here.


Spy (Extended Cut) (2015)

Apparently [writer-director Paul] Feig is a fan of James Bond and developed, wrote, produced, and directed Spy because he knew no one would ever let him do a real Bond movie. I guess that explains why some of it does work passably well as a genuine action/thriller.

Read more here.


Superman Returns (2006)

Sitting down to Superman Returns cold, it feels like you’re watching a sequel — and in many respects, that’s what it is. Singer loves the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, quite rightly, and when offered the chance to make a new movie with the character essentially set out to make Superman III... What was daft was making a sequel to a 26-year-old movie and assuming that the audience would be instantly familiar with the whole setup.

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Although he’s covered by CGI in the final film, it’s Andy Serkis that really brings Gollum — and his alter ego, Sméagol — to life. It may have led to Serkis becoming the go-to expert in performance capture, but it’s also a great acting performance, full of light and shade, and creating sympathy for an ultimately villainous character.

Read more here.


The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

made infinitely better by its extended cut, which does clock in at a whopping four and a half hours. It’s a wonderful end to one of the most epic tales in all of fiction (and if I hear anything about the “five million endings” I’ll reach through your screen and slap you unless you can tell me how you would have ended an 11 hour film better).

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: 1,870 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 668 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,810 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 2,059 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,306 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Gilmore Girls
7x18 Hay Bale Maze

Person of Interest
5x03 Truth Be Told

Poldark
1x08 Episode 8 [season finale]

Films

American Ultra (2015)
[#119 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Cowboy Bebop
1x17 Mushroom Samba
1x18 Speak Like a Child
Right, let's try this again (again).

Gilmore Girls
7x17 Gilmore Girls Only

Person of Interest
5x02 Snafu

Poldark
1x07 Episode 7

Preacher
1x05 South Will Rise Again
[Watch it (again) on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

TV

Gilmore Girls
7x16 Will You Be My Lorelai Gilmore?
One of the few genuinely good episodes in the otherwise fairly dismal seventh season.

Person of Interest
5x01 B.S.O.D.
I think this final season has already ended in the US. Goodness knows when Channel 5 will show it here, so we're just getting on with it by... other means.

Poldark
1x06 Episode 6

Films

Cold in July (2014)
[#118 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Gilmore Girls
7x15 I'm a Kayak, Hear Me Roar

Poldark
1x05 Episode 5
The new series seems to be imminent, so finally getting on with finishing the first (only 1¼ years since I left off!)

Films

Superman Returns (2006)
[#117 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

The South Bank Show [Sky Arts]
5x03 Russell T Davies

this week on 100 Films

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


Ghosts of Mars (2001)

There are a good number of well-regarded John Carpenter films I’ve not seen that I could spend my time on, but I chose to expend it on this critically-mauled sci-fi-horror-Western from the first year of the current millennium. But sometimes watching poorly-regarded films pays off, because while Ghosts of Mars is no classic, it is actually pretty entertaining.

Read more here.


Grand Piano (2013)

Running under 80 minutes before the credits roll, Grand Piano is a brisk thriller that barely has time to be anything less than engrossing. It relies on keeping you entertained with its series of quick reveals, twists, and sequences of tension

Read more here.


Pillow Talk (1959)

The “they hate each other, will they get together?” storyline is, of course, obvious, but that’s beside the point. The leads spark off each other wonderfully, director Michael Gordon finds enjoyably inventive uses for split-screen and voiceover, and the Eastmancolor cinematography looks gorgeous in HD.

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


The Lion King (1994)

Big romantic number Can You Feel the Love Tonight won the Oscar, and there were nominations for epic opener Circle of Life and quotable comedy hit Hakuna Matata, and you shouldn’t overlook the fun and impressive choreography of I Just Can’t Wait to Be King, but for me the best number is Scar’s Be Prepared. I do love a good villain’s song.

Read more here.


The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Now that it’s fêted as one of the greatest film trilogies ever made, it’s easy to forget what a gamble a three-film, $300 million adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s unfilmable novel seemed back when production started in the late ’90s; especially as it was to be made by a director whose track record was low-budget horror films, with a cast mostly without star names, filmed on the other side of the planet, where little news leaked out to the wider world, and with all three films shot at once... [But] the quality of the work is unquestionable: this is exciting, funny, emotional, transportive, epic filmmaking of the highest order.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Zootropolis (2016)
[#116 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

aka Zootopia

Collection Count

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

Just one addition this week... but it's a 23-disc, 92-episode TV box set. Big boosts for those updates, then -- and it comes just in time for the monthly running time update, too.

Number of titles in collection: 1,869 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 667 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,809 [up 23]
Number of films in collection: 2,058 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,306 [up 92]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
353 days and 37 minutes.
(Up 3 days, 6 hours, and 12 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Preacher
1x04 Monster Swamp
[Watch it (again) on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

Articles

Warcraft Wasn't Made For You: Alienated Viewers and Disengaged Critics
by Richard Newby (from Audiences Everywhere)

Great piece on the abundance of poorly-reviewed films this year being more to do with bad criticism than bad movies.

this week on 100 Films

It's a new month, which means this update begins with a look back at June on 100 Films in a Year...




Also this week, my 100 Favourites project passed the halfway mark. Here's a post marking that occasion:




With those goings on, just 1 brand-new review was published this week...


Adam (2009)

Star Hugh Dancy worked with with writer-director Max Mayer for a month before filming began to develop the character, and spoke with individuals affected by Aspergers to learn about their feelings, sensory issues, and interests. It clearly paid off: I imagine it must be tricky to pull off a character like that without taking it too far, but Dancy is great in the role.

Read more here.


Finally, there were 2 new regular 100 Favourites posts...


Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

it’s a clever, witty, gothic adventure… for kids! Jim Carrey is on fine form as the evil Count Olaf, there’s quality support from some recognisable thesps in guest-star-level roles, the kids are a likeable bunch, and baby Sunny’s subtitled observations are frequently the highlight. Some reviews describe it as “superficial” or a “pantomime”, but even if it is, it’s devilishly entertaining.

Read more here.


Léon (1994)

Besson brews the grittily realistic with something far more fantastical to create a film that is, perhaps, a little too unique for some to get a handle on... For the majority, however, Léon is a gripping, characterful, rewatchable masterpiece.

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, I picked up the Tarantino XX Blu-ray box set in a sale. It replaces 6 DVDs and 1 Blu-ray (and there's one other film in the set which I'm keeping my individual copy of, just for the packaging). So, that's how I've gone down 6 titles but only down 1 disc and yet somehow up 1 film.

Number of titles in collection: 1,868 [down 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [down 6]
Of which Blu-rays: 666 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,786 [down 1]
Number of films in collection: 2,058 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,214 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Pan (2015)
[#115 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Game of Thrones
6x10 The Winds of Winter [season finale]

Films

The Lobster (2015)
[#114 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

DC's Legends of Tomorrow
1x15 Destiny
1x16 Legendary [season finale]

Films

The Present (2014)
[#113a in 100 Films in a Year 2016]
Magnificent animated short. Watch it online here.

this week on 100 Films

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


The Boxer from Shantung (1972)

displays a greater focus on plot and character than is perhaps typical for a Shaw Bros movie, but doesn’t exactly stint on action either — the sequences are a little more spread out than usual, and it results in a just-over-two-hours runtime that isn’t typical for these films. Fortunately, it’s an engrossing enough story that this isn’t a problem, even if the narrative has a rise-and-fall kind of shape that is fairly familiar in the gangster genre.

Read more here.


The Descendants (2011)

Though marred by heavy-handed voice-over exposition (it baffles me that it won a Best Screenplay Oscar), it’s lifted by strong performances from the daughters (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller) and Clooney, inverting his usual confident demeanour.

Read more here.


Independence Day (Special Edition) (1996/1998)

This was the first time I’d watched Independence Day's extended Special Edition cut, and I’d advise not bothering. It adds around 8½ minutes of new material, but the scenes don’t add all that much, and some of them are so awkwardly rammed in that it’s almost irritating

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Our Hero: The Bride, aka Black Mamba, aka [bleep], is a deadly assassin out for revenge against the gang of former associates who tried to murder her, in particular their leader, Dave. No, wait, that’s not right. What was his name? Anyway…

Read more here.


Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

The film's best quality is probably its humorous dialogue... Downey Jr is hilarious, of course, but even he's outmatched by Val Kilmer as sarky investigator Gay Perry. Even more impressively, love interest Michelle Monaghan holds her own against them both. The plot may be so confusing it's easily forgotten, but the whodunnit reveal is beside the point when the journey there is so entertaining.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Nowt to report this week. More next week? Probably not... but you never know.

Number of titles in collection: 1,874 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 666 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,787 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 2,057 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,214 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

The Bank Job (2008)
[#113 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Films

Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973)
[#112 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

aka Иван Васильевич меняет профессию
aka Ivan Vasilyevich menyayet professiyu
aka Ivan Vasilievich Changes Profession

TV

Game of Thrones
6x09 Battle of the Bastards
Wow.

TV

Upstart Crow
1x06 The Quality of Mercy [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Barry Lyndon (1975)
[#111 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2016 #6

this week on 100 Films

It's that time of the month at 100 Films in a Year: the TV review! Spoiler-free coverage of Game of Thrones, Preacher, and more...




As well as that, the blog's raison d'être continued with 4 brand-new reviews...


Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969)

Why is this film notable? In fact, is it notable? Well, it was voted in to The 50 Greatest Cartoons by some of 1,000 animation professionals, so there’s clearly something there... Maybe it’s the subversiveness that makes it significant? It comes from an era when that must have been a factor, surely — there’s a certain Monty Python-ness to it, and it was made the same year Flying Circus first aired.

Read more here.


Deadpool (2016)

it’s a pretty standard superhero origin plot. But the devil is in the details, and it’s how Deadpool tells its story that matters — the narrative is just a framework on which to hang the gags. The immediate point of comparison on a superhero comedy is surely Kick-Ass, and it doesn’t take deep analysis to see that Deadpool isn’t as subversive as that movie. Where Kick-Ass comments on, at times even deconstructs, the superhero genre, Deadpool takes its rules as a given and throws a shedload of humour on top of it. Is that a problem? It depends what you’re looking for.

Read more here.


Hercules (Extended Cut) (2014)

The answer to the question, “Hey, remember Brett Ratner? Whatever happened to him?”, Hercules stars Dwayne Johnson in full The Rock mode as the eponymous demigod. In this comic book adaptation, we’re introduced to Hercules at a point in his life after the famous labours but before he’d passed into legend, when he’s just a mercenary… or maybe he’s always just been a mercenary, and the legends are a tall tale to help him and his band of warriors sell their wares.

Read more here.


Ip Man 3 (2015)

Early bouts are not bad, though surprisingly underwhelming, but things really pick up later on. An elevator fight between Ip and a Thai boxer is the absolute high point, an incredible close-quarters action scene that spills out into a stairwell, but Donnie Yen vs Mike Tyson is a very good sequence also, and the climax ain’t half bad.

Read more here.


Finally, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

‘Product placement’ is when companies pay for their products to be featured in a film. I’m clarifying this because it’s important to know that Josie spoofs (rather than features) product placement relentlessly... The great irony of the film’s critical reception is that this spoofing of product placement is kinda on-the-nose, and yet swathes of oh-so-clever critics completely missed that. Rotten Tomatoes even use half of their Critical Consensus summary to say that “the constant appearance of product placement seems rather hypocritical.” Point, missed.

Read more here.


Jurassic Park (1993)

For a certain generation, Star Wars is undeniably the defining cinematic experience. For a more recent one, I guess it’s Harry Potter or something. In between, you have my lot — and as became quite clear with the unexpectedly phenomenal response to Jurassic World this time last year, we have Jurassic Park. It was the first film I ever saw at the cinema, and much of it has been lodged in my memory every since. That it’s beloved shouldn’t be such a surprise, really: it was huge back in 1993, and is one of only ten films that can lay claim to ever having been The Highest Grossing Movie Of All Time.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Have I Got News For You
51x08 (27/5/2016 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Fantastic Four (2015)
[#110 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

After a busy few weeks, just one newbie this time.

Number of titles in collection: 1,874 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 666 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,787 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 2,057 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,214 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 473 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Steve Jobs (2015)
[#109 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]