TV

The Great British Bake Off
8x01 Cake Week
Considered not watching, but you can't resist Bake Off for long.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
4x01 Episode 1
Amazing how just an extra few minutes (about seven or eight) makes this feel so much less rushed.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
6x01 Episode 1

The Musketeers
3x05 To Play the King

Theatre

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Parts One and Two

this week on 100 Films

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


Musical Review Roundup

My blog is alive with the sound of music, courtesy of…
- Sing Street (2016)
- Jersey Boys (2014)
- Sing (2016)
- Into the Woods (2014)

Read more here.


The Is It Future or Is It Past Week on TV #23

Reviewing Twin Peaks season 3 episodes 17-18 (the finale).

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Other

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
The Making of Harry Potter

Collection Count

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

Nothing to report this week! How weird. Next week: almost certainly something.

Number of titles in collection: 2,023 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,172 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 851 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,193 [no change]
Number of films: 2,253 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 7,925 [no change]
Number of short films: 588 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Jumanji (1995)
[3rd(?) watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #29

Articles

‘Peaks’ TV: If This Was The End Of Twin Peaks, How Do We Feel About The Return?
by Alan Sepinwall & Keith Phipps (from Uproxx)

I spent about three hours this evening reading articles about the Twin Peaks finale. This is one of the better ones, because it's a discussion between someone who loved it and someone who doesn't. It also links to several of the others I read, if you're interested.

TV

Twin Peaks
3x17 The Return Part 17
3x18 The Return Part 18 [series finale]

Films

Vintage Tomorrows (2015)
[#120 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

this week on 100 Films

A new month means it was time to look back at the last one on 100 Films in a Year this week, although it was a rather underwhelming August...





In part that was because it was a big week for TV, with The Defenders finally arriving on Netflix and the feature-length Game of Thrones finale too...





As well as that, 3 brand-new reviews were posted...


21 (2008)

The true story has been mashed broadly into the heist movie template. Setting aside the veracity and treating it purely as an entertainment, this has pros and cons. Whenever it’s whizzing around in Vegas it’s kinda fun, with flashy camerawork and a slick feel for the excitement of being a successful high-roller. But when it puts that aside to get stuck into the characters’ thinly-drawn personal lives, it gets kinda dull.

Read more here.


Death Note (2017)

Despite that reimagining status, it’s still understandably shackled to the broad shape of the original work. Consequently, it glosses over some of the more interesting implications of the premise in its rush to make Kira famous and introduce L. Partly that’s what happens when you condense so much story into just 100 minutes, but it’s also because it’s beholden to bringing in L and starting his cat-and-mouse game with Light.

Read more here.


Jaws (1975)

It’s easy to start discussing Jaws in terms of it being the first summer blockbuster, or its troubled production, or the effect it had on audiences’ desire to go swimming. But divorced from all that, as a film in its own right, it’s a thrilling adventure movie — a man vs. a shark, when it comes down to it.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Antz (1998)
[#119 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Collection Count

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

Having said last week that it looked like there'd be nothing this time, I then went and ordered a bunch of things in Bank Holiday sales. Such is (my) life.

Number of titles in collection: 2,023 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,172 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 851 [up 5]

Number of discs in collection: 5,193 [up 6]
Number of films: 2,253 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 7,925 [up 15]
Number of short films: 588 [up 4]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Into the Woods (2014)
[#118 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Non-Fiction

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
Chapters 29-32 [the end]

Non-Fiction

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
Chapters 23-28

TV

Twin Peaks
3x16 The Return Part 16

Films

Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008)
[#117 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Designated Survivor
1x21 Brace for Impact [season finale]

Twin Peaks
3x15 The Return Part 15

Non-Fiction

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
Chapters 18-22

TV

Designated Survivor
1x19 Misalliance
1x20 Bombshell

Game of Thrones
7x07 The Dragon and the Wolf [season finale]

Non-Fiction

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
Chapters 11-17

TV

Designated Survivor
1x18 Lazarus

Films

Eddie the Eagle (2016)
[#116 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Non-Fiction

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
Chapters 8-10

this week on 100 Films

Just 2 brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...


Death Note (2006)

the Death Note is so all-powerful that there’s little drama in Light using it, especially as he isn’t morally conflicted himself — he’s sure he’s doing the right thing, despite people around him voicing their disagreement with Kira. The story therefore comes to focus on the battle between Light and L, a pair of self-proclaimed geniuses who work to constantly outwit each other. This is where the film begins to falter, because a lot of their supposed intelligence comes from leaps of logic designed to make them look clever.

Read more here.


Death Note: The Last Name (2006)

Fundamentally, The Last Name resumes Light and L’s cat-and-mouse game in the same style as the first movie — in case you didn’t get it, near the start of the film their figurative chess game is represented by a literal chess game. This time there are the added complications of Light being on L’s team and the second Death Note being in play, which at least adds some variety.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Designated Survivor
1x16 Party Lines
1x17 The Ninth Seat

Who Dares Wins
10x09 (26/8/17 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Death Note (2017)
[#115 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Non-Fiction

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
Chapters 1-7

The book that inspired the film 21, which I watched the other day. Apparently the film was heavily fictionalised, so I was curious to read the real story. What's kind of interesting is that the book apparently takes quite a few liberties with the truth as well. It also reads more like a novel than a work of non-fiction. Thus far, it's actually fairly similar to the film; as similar as most fiction-to-movie adaptations are, at least. Presumably it deviates more later.

Articles

Interview: Steven Soderbergh
by Amy Taubin (from Film Comment)
An interesting interview, primarily about Soderbergh's new film, Logan Lucky, but, him being him, there are lots of interesting tangents too.

Netflix is Using The Defenders to Understand Its Audience
by Angela Watercutter (from Wired)
Another interesting piece (hence why I'm sharing them both!), this one about both how Netflix compiles data on what it's users watch, and how The Defenders provides a unique opportunity in that regard.

Collection Count

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

A couple of late arrivals to add this week ("late" as in "part of an order that mostly arrived last week"). Next week: looking like nothing. Gasp!

Number of titles in collection: 2,019 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,173 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 846 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,187 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,249 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 7,910 [no change]
Number of short films: 584 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Designated Survivor
1x14 Commander-in-Chief
1x15 One Hundred Days

Films

21 (2008)
[#114 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Designated Survivor
1x13 Backfire

The Persuaders!
1x20 That's Me Over There

TV

The Defenders
1x07 Fish in the Jailhouse
1x08 The Defenders [season finale]

Designated Survivor
1x10 The Oath
1x11 Warriors
1x12 The End of the Beginning

TV

The Defenders
1x05 Take Shelter
1x06 Ashes, Ashes

Designated Survivor
1x07 The Traitor
1x08 The Results
1x09 The Blueprint

Rick and Morty
1x01 Pilot
People keep going on about this so I've decided to try at least a couple of episodes. This one isn't that promising, but we'll see.

TV

Game of Thrones
7x06 Beyond the Wall

TV

The Defenders
1x03 Worst Behavior
1x04 Royal Dragon

Designated Survivor
1x05 The Mission
1x06 The Interrogation

this week on 100 Films

Not that much to report this week from 100 Films in a Year, though the two things I did post were quite lengthy.

First, my latest TV review roundup, including Game of Thrones, Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders, Top of the Lake: China Girl, Twin Peaks, and more...





Secondly (and finally), another film review roundup, including quick thoughts on Headshot, Money Monster, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Big Screen Edition...





More next Sunday.

TV

The Defenders
1x01 The H Word
1x02 Mean Right Hook

Designated Survivor
1x03 The Confession
1x04 The Enemy

Collection Count

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

There wasn't much to say this week, but then a bunch of stuff turned up surprisingly early on Saturday, and instead of one title with one film there was... well, all of this...

Number of titles in collection: 2,017 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,173 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 844 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 5,185 [up 9]
Number of films: 2,247 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes: 7,910 [no change]
Number of short films: 584 [up 1]

Also, it's time for another running time update! Hurrah!

Total running time of collection (approx.):
386 days, 4 hours, and 16 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 13 hours, and 38 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Designated Survivor
1x01 Pilot
1x02 The First Day

TV

The Musketeers
3x04 The Queen's Diamonds

The Persuaders!
1x19 A Home of One's Own

TV

The Bletchley Circle
2x03 Uncustomed Goods Part 1
2x04 Uncustomed Goods Part 2 [series finale]

TV

The Bletchley Circle
2x01 Blood on Their Hands Part 1
2x02 Blood on Their Hands Part 2

TV

Game of Thrones
7x05 Eastwatch

Twin Peaks
3x14 The Return Part 14

Films

The Girl on the Train (2016)
[#113 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Films

Death Note 2: The Last Name (2006)
[#112 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]
aka Desu nôto: The last name

My plan to watch loads of films this weekend has, uh, not gone to plan.

this week on 100 Films

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


Arrival (2016)

An intelligent sci-fi movie released by a major studio? What madness is this? A good kind of madness, because Arrival is one of the best — and, importantly, most humane — science fiction movies for years.

Read more here.


Free Fire (2016)

If an hour-long gunfight doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, maybe Free Fire isn’t the movie for you. Conversely, this isn’t a Jason Statham flick: instead of an hour of highly-choreographed gunplay, most of the participants get injured early on and end up seeking cover around the rubble-strewn floor of an abandoned factory, occasionally taking potshots at each other. Most action movies are defined by their characters sprinting about — in this one, they crawl.

Read more here.


The Fugitive (1993)

Once upon a time this was a blockbuster; nowadays it’d be a mid-budget thriller… and probably wouldn’t get made because Hollywood doesn’t do those anymore. It’s a pleasingly ’90s manhunt movie — they can’t just track his mobile phone or zoom in with a satellite or what have you — but, aside from the nostalgia kick, the quality is a bit wobbly at times. It has strong performances, a breakneck pace (at least early on), and some stunning sequences, but the behind-the-scenes story of many, many drafts and a rushed schedule occasionally leave their mark on the screen

Read more here.


Shin Godzilla (2016)

Written and directed by Hideaki Anno of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame, Shin Godzilla is not just a film about a giant beastie stomping on things. Most obviously, it pitches itself as a kind of political thriller, as an intrepid gang of semi-outsiders battle establishment red tape to get anything done. In this respect it’s something of a satire, though not an overtly comedic one. It also seems to be taking on Japanese society, with the in-built deference to age or rank being an obstacle to problem-solving when it's the young who have the outside-the-box ideas

Read more here.


Suicide Squad (2016)

That there were editing tussles becomes evident almost immediately: the way it introduces Deadshot and Harley before cutting to Waller pitching her plan is a little clunky, surely a re-ordering to get the big-name characters on screen ASAP... However, it really goes awry when Waller’s pitch and introduction of the Enchantress is immediately followed by another meeting where Waller makes her pitch and introduces the Enchantress. Maybe the screenplay was that clunkingly constructed to begin with, or maybe they just made a ham-fisted job of the restructuring.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Jaws (1975)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2017 #28

Nashville (1975)
[#111 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]
Blindspot 2017 #8

Collection Count

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

Not a great deal to report this week. Well, four new additions, which would be a lot to most people, but things get crazy around here sometimes, and they arrived in two batches almost a whole week apart so it didn't feel like so many.

Anyway...

Number of titles in collection: 2,014 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,174 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 840 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 5,176 [up 6]
Number of films: 2,242 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes: 7,910 [no change]
Number of short films: 583 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Arrival (2016)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2017 #27
+ all the UK Blu-ray's special features, and the Eternal Recurrence: The Score featurette the left off it.

Death Note (2006)
[#110 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]
aka Desu nôto

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x03 (19/8/16 edition)

I used to watch this regularly, back when it started, because it's silly and funny but sometimes kinda clever. Then it took off and they started making far too much of it, so I stopped. That was almost two years ago. But I was at a loose end this evening and caught this one on 4seven.

[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

TV

The Bletchley Circle
1x02 Cracking a Killer's Code Part 2
1x03 Cracking a Killer's Code Part 3 [season finale]

Films

Ghost in the Shell 3D (2017)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2017 #26

My full review from when I watched this at the cinema is here, and I left a short comment on Letterboxd about this rewatch.

TV

The Bletchley Circle
1x01 Cracking a Killer's Code Part 1

The Persuaders!
1x18 The Long Goodbye

Twin Peaks
3x13 The Return Part 13

TV

Game of Thrones
7x04 The Spoils of War

The Musketeers
3x03 Brothers in Arms

Peaky Blinders
2x06 Episode 6 [season finale]

TV

Peaky Blinders
2x05 Episode 5

Films

The Fugitive (1993)
[2nd or so watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #25

+ the Blu-ray's special features (bar the commentary)

this week on 100 Films

It was a brand-new month back on Tuesday, meaning it's time for 100 Films in a Year to look back at the month before...





There was also just 1 brand-new reviews published this week...


22 Jump Street (2014)

they’ve taken one of the most memorable and likeable bits of the first movie — the meta-jokes at the expense of the film itself — and ramped them up to 11. And it works. Or, at least, it did for me. Is this the most meta comedy ever? I dunno, but I can’t think of another that so relentlessly riffs off both the expected tropes of its genre and its own status as a sequel.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Peaky Blinders
2x03 Episode 3
2x04 Episode 4

Films

This is the End (2013)
[#109 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Collection Count

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

Ten new acquisitions this week, but the net change is just +5 thanks to various upgrades -- some DVD to Blu-ray, some 2D to 3D, and one collating several individual DVDs into a single Blu-ray set. The total of actual new-to-my-collection titles? Five. Well, I guess that's kinda appropriate then.

Number of titles in collection: 2,010 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,174 [down 4]
Of which Blu-rays: 836 [up 9]

Number of discs in collection: 5,170 [up 9]
Number of films: 2,237 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes: 7,910 [no change]
Number of short films: 582 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Peaky Blinders
2x02 Episode 2

The Persuaders!
1x17 The Time and the Place

TV

Peaky Blinders
2x01 Episode 1

Who Dares Wins
10x08 (29/7/17 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Shin Godzilla (2016)
[#108 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

The Musketeers
3x02 The Hunger

Twin Peaks
3x12 The Return Part 12

TV

Game of Thrones
7x03 The Queen's Justice

Top of the Lake: China Girl
Part 5 Who's Your Daddy?
Part 6 The Battle of the Mothers [season finale]
[Watch Who's Your Daddy? and The Battle of the Mothers (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Top of the Lake: China Girl
Part 3 Surrogate
Part 4 Birthday
[Watch Surrogate and Birthday (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Sing 3D (2016)
[#107 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

this week on 100 Films

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


Finding Nemo (2003)

it’s packed to the gills with engaging characters, memorable lines, funny ideas, colourful designs, and a couple of strong moral messages. It’s a true family movie.

Read more here.


Kong: Skull Island (2017)

a monster B-movie realised with a modern blockbuster budget and a dose of class from director Jordan Vogt-Roberts. Its major thrills come from the dust-ups between humans and giant beasties, or giant beasties and other giant beasties, but these are executed with a verve and enthusiasm that renders them a constant delight. Vogt-Roberts unleashes his skill with a palpable sense of excitement for the material, never seeming to hold back as he fills the entire movie with cool imagery and vibrant colours.

Read more here.


Moana (2016)

The songs are a toe-tapping treat too, with Moana’s big number, How Far I’ll Go, a more likeable earworm than certain other Disney songs about going; a David Bowie-inspired villain’s song, Shiny; and, my personal favourite, a comedy number sung by the Rock called You’re Welcome (with some 2D-that-looks-fab-in-3D animation).

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Top of the Lake: China Girl
Part 2 The Loved One
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Drive (2011)
[#106 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2017 #7

+ the UK Blu-ray's special features

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 2,005 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,178 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 827 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,161 [up 5]
Number of films: 2,230 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 7,910 [no change]
Number of short films: 582 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Musketeers
3x01 Spoils of War

Top of the Lake: China Girl
Part 1 China Girl
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Free Fire (2016)
[#105 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

+ the Blu-ray's special feature (a short but interesting making-of) and the first half-hour of the audio commentary

TV

Sherlock
1x00 A Study in Pink [unaired pilot]
Finally got round to watching this, after having it on Blu-ray for years (it's included as a special feature on series one). It's not actually all that bad -- I'd always assumed that it must look terribly cheap or something, but while it's undoubtedly not as slick as the finished version, it's perfectly fine. And the acting, dialogue, pace, etc, was all there right from the get-go -- that survived pretty much intact.

Films

Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #24

TV

Wallander [British]
4x03 The Troubled Man [series finale]

Films

Get Out (2017)
[#104 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Twin Peaks
3x11 The Return Part 11

Wallander [British]
4x02 A Lesson in Love

TV

Game of Thrones
7x02 Stormborn

Films

Lion (2016)
[#103 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

The Persuaders!
1x16 Anyone Can Play

Pitch Battle
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

This week on 100 Films in a Year, this month's second 'monthly' TV review...





Also, 2 brand-new reviews...


Dunkirk (2017)

the main effect Nolan was aiming for is intensity. Not of war, so much, but of survival. That this is a PG-13 war movie caused some to balk — how can you depict war nowadays without blood and gore? But this isn’t a war movie per se, it’s an escape movie. It’s not about the reality of someone getting their arm or head blown off, it’s about escaping a sinking ship, or running out of fuel, or keeping going when the odds are against you. Couple this with the aforementioned visual spectacle, and a thunderous sound mix, and Dunkirk is definitely an Experience.

Read more here.


Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Apparently Soderbergh said that he saw this as an opportunity to give audiences “pleasure from beginning to end… a movie that you just surrender to, without embarrassment and without regret.” Well, he nailed it. It’s a film packed with likeable characters, memorable lines, snazzy direction, cool music cues, and the raison d’être of a heist movie: a final act that pulls the wool over the audience’s eyes.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Line of Duty
3x06 Episode 6 [season finale]

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 2,002 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,178 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 824 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,156 [up 24]
Number of films: 2,227 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 7,910 [up 111]
Number of short films: 582 [up 1]

Since the last running time update I've added 34 films and 126 episodes of TV, which means quite a bump this month...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
384 days, 14 hours, and 38 minutes.
(Up 6 days, 20 hours, and 28 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Line of Duty
3x05 Episode 5

Films

The Driver (1978)
[#101 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Dunkirk (2017)
[#102 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Line of Duty
3x04 Episode 4

TV

Line of Duty
3x03 Episode 3

Films

Ocean's Twelve (2004)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #23

TV

Line of Duty
3x02 Episode 2

Twin Peaks
3x10 The Return Part 10

Films

Finding Nemo 3D (2003)
[3rd watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #22

TV

Game of Thrones
7x01 Dragonstone

Line of Duty
3x01 Episode 1

TV

The Persuaders!
1x15 Someone Waiting

+

Films

Joining the likes of Citizen Kane, Lawrence of Arabia, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in my #100 club, it's...

City of God (2002)
[#100 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

this week on 100 Films

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


Contact (1997)

Contact is 20 years old this week. I don’t remember it going down particularly well on its release (Rotten Tomatoes backs me up on that: it scores just 62%) and I’ve largely paid it no heed, other than it still comes up now and then. I can’t remember what gave me a sudden urge to watch it last month, but doing so was a bit of a “where have you been all my life?!” experience.

Read more here.


Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Although the story is black as night, it’s a beautifully constructed film — as you might expect from someone with a background in design like writer-director Tom Ford. It’s not just the visually appealing work of cinematographer Seamus McGarvey or the film’s various designers that is so striking, though. The three narrative strands are expertly handled. There’s never any doubt about which is which, even when Ford at times intercuts between all three in one sequence, but he hasn’t resorted to simplistic tricks (like vastly different colour grading, say) to pull that off. It’s subtler, and more effective, than that.

Read more here.


Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

As everyone well knows by now (thanks to it being repeated ad infinitum in the previous Spidey movies), the catchphrase of the Spider-Man franchise is “with great power comes great responsibility”. However, it’s not said once in this film. Instead, it’s threaded through the very core of the film’s story and character arcs. It’s the lesson everyone comes to learn. It’s what Stark is trying to teach Peter by giving him a fancy suit with a lot of its special features disabled, and by discouraging him from biting off more than he can chew. When Peter gets himself in too deep, as he does repeatedly, it always comes close to costing innocent lives. It’s a lesson Stark learns too, though.

Read more here.


War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

This is not a war movie in the sense of it being two hours of epic battles. There’s a set-to at the start (one which reminded me of the opening of Saving Private Ryan without in any meaningful way being a rip off of it), and a big battle forms the backdrop to the climax, but in between the film is something else. Or, rather, somethings else: there are multiple genres one could cite as an influence on the film as it transitions betweens phases of its story. There’s a bit of the “men on a mission” thing going on, with an edge of the Western in there, before it turns into a POW camp movie of sorts, with a healthy dose of Apocalypse Now for good measure.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Pitch Battle
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Wallander [British]
4x01 The White Lioness
So, it's over a year since this was on and five years since I watched the last series. Where does time go?! Anyway, this was a particularly good one, with absolutely stunning location photography in South Africa.

Collection Count

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

This week, my collection lands on exactly 2,000 titles. Crikey. When I started this weekly update, almost 8 years ago, I'd only fairly recently crossed 1,000. (I say "fairly recently" -- that first edition counts 1,057 titles, which, based on my acquisition rate over the last 8 years, means I actually passed 1,000 around 5 or 6 months earlier.)

What interests me is how much things have increased -- not just the plain number, but on a percentage basis. For instance, I assumed there would be way more discs in the newer 1,000 titles, due to the proliferation of DVD copies in Blu-ray releases and probably buying more box sets, but that's not completely the case: the number of films and TV episodes have both more than doubled, but the number of discs hasn't. That said, where there was an average of 2.475 discs per title back in 2009, now the average is 2.566, so it has gone up on the whole.

Anyway, here are the actual stats, with the percentage increase since that first edition also included. (I didn't count shorts until later, so no increase stat there.)

Number of titles in collection: 2,000 [up 4] [up 89.21% since 2009]
Of which DVDs: 1,178 [no change] [up 15.04% since 2009]
Of which Blu-rays: 822 [up 4] [up 2,390.91% since 2009]

Number of discs in collection: 5,132 [up 16] [up 96.18% since 2009]
Number of films: 2,225 [up 10] [up 103.38% since 2009]
Number of TV episodes: 7,799 [no change] [up 113.55% since 2009]
Number of short films: 582 [up 1]

Look at that Blu-ray percentage! Mad.

Anyway -- see you next week, faithful reader.