Collection Count

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

It's a super, heroic update this week, with new additions Wonder Woman and X-Men TV spin-off Legion. Also, the running time update, which has done fairly well for itself this past month.

Number of titles in collection: 2,039 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,171 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 868 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,227 [up 4]
Number of films: 2,271 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 7,945 [up 8]
Number of short films: 593 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
388 days, 17 hours, and 13 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 7 hours, and 6 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Castle
8x01 XY
8x02 XX

The Great British Bake Off
8x07 Italian Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Manchester by the Sea (2016)
[#134 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

The Persuaders!
1x22 Nuisance Value

TV

Peaky Blinders
3x01 Episode 1

Upstart Crow
2x02 I Know Thee Not, Old Man
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Straight Story (1999)
[#133 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
4x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

The Musketeers
3x07 Fool's Gold

Films

Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
[4th watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #39

TV

Doctor Foster
2x05 Episode 5 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off
8x06 Pastry Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
[4th watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #38

TV

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

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
6x06 Episode 6

Films

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
[5th watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #37

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new review was published to 100 Films in a Year this week, though it covered three (short) films...


Blade Runner 2022-2048 (2017)

You’ve probably heard that three short films have been released as part of the promotion for sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049. More than just trailers, these shorts go some way to bridging the 30-year gap between 2049 and the original Blade Runner. They were released out of sequence over the past couple of months, but here they’re reviewed in chronological order.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

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

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
4x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Upstart Crow
2x01 The Green-Eyed Monster
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

A box set and two new individual-film releases this week, the latter two both in 3D. I'm building up quite a 3D collection now -- I might start adding that to the stats...

Number of titles in collection: 2,037 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,171 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 866 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,223 [up 10]
Number of films: 2,270 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes: 7,937 [no change]
Number of short films: 593 [up 3]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

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

The Great British Bake Off
8x05 Pudding Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982/2007)
[4th watch]
Only my second time seeing The Final Cut (the first was way back in 2009), but my records tell me this is my fourth viewing of the film overall. Watched it last night, before...

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
[#132 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Doctor Foster
2x01 Episode 1
Bingeing now it's finished. (Also, quite surprised to realise it's over a year since I watched series one.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
6x05 Episode 5

Films

Perfect Sense (2011)
[#131 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

+ three short prequels to Blade Runner 2049...

Blade Runner: Black Out 2022 (2017)
[#130a in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

2036: Nexus Dawn (2017)
[#130b in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

2048: Nowhere to Run (2017)
[#130c in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

The Great British Bake Off
8x04 Caramel Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
4x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Public Access (1993)
[#130 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Films

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
[#129 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Wayne's World 2 (1993)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2017 #35

Articles

DC Rethinks Its Universe
by Abraham Riesman (from Vulture)
A longish, interesting piece on how DC are managing (or hoping to manage) the negative reception their movies have mostly received so far.

TV Series Budgets Hit the Breaking Point as Costs Skyrocket in Peak TV Era
by Maureen Ryan & Cynthia Littleton (from Variety)
Another lengthy but very interesting behind-the-scenes piece, this one on the spiralling cost of high-end TV shows -- why it's happening, what effect it's having, and how it might change going forward. All quite insider-y stuff, but if that's your thing then, as I said, super-interesting.

this week on 100 Films

2017 heads into its final third today, as October begins. As ever, a new month means it's time to look back at the one just past on 100 Films in a Year...





The monthly updates and my TV column don't usually coincide, but this week they do for the second month in a row. Last time it was because I was publishing TV reviews at increased frequency to cover the volume of stuff I was watching. This time it's because I haven't watched much so delayed the column a week. Funny old life, ain't it?





Finally, in regular business, 2 brand-new reviews were also posted this week...


A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

Watching Yojimbo and this back to back, you can’t miss how similar they are — no wonder they settled the legal case, they wouldn’t’ve had a leg to stand on. Yojimbo is the classier handling of the material, giving the whole scenario a weightiness that has gone astray here. Fistful has its own charms, of course, as director Sergio Leone merrily reinvents the Western genre before our eyes

Read more here.


Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

Critics, eh? There’s a lot you could say about them, both individually and en masse, but right now I’m concerned with the fact they’ve given Kingsman: The Golden Circle a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 50%. More than that, many have gone further: I’ve read one-star reviews from several major outlets. Audiences disagree. On IMDb it’s got a very respectable 7.4 (just a few points down from the much better-received Wonder Woman, for comparison) and it topped the box office this past weekend, beating the latest LEGO movie in the US and almost doubling the first film’s opening weekend in the UK. Well, I’m definitely an audience member rather than a critic. In fact, I’m still weighing up the possibility that The Golden Circle might be even better than its predecessor.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Wayne's World (1992)
[3rd watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #34

Collection Count

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

A few new acquisitions this week. Next week: a few more. Then: a quiet spell. Well, we'll see.

Number of titles in collection: 2,034 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,171 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 863 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,213 [up 5]
Number of films: 2,265 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 7,937 [no change]
Number of short films: 590 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Black Swan (2010)
[#128 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2017 #8

TV

Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year
4x01 Cabins, Summerhouses & Not a Shed?
Featuring a cinema 'shed' that is amazing. So, so jealous.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #33

TV

Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year
4x02 Pubs and Entertainment & Unexpected Sheds
Featuring a TARDIS shed!
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)
[#127 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
4x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

The Musketeers
3x06 Death of a Hero

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
6x04 Episode 4

Films

Yojimbo (1961)
[#126 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Blindspot 2017 #9

+ all of the Criterion DVD's special features

this week on 100 Films

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


The Accountant (2016)

if you’re thinking, “finally a film that makes accounting exciting!”, I’m sorry to disappoint you but Chris’ maths skills are really just a MacGuffin to get the ball rolling. What it does deliver is a decent thriller plot, with a couple of twists to keep things lively. It’s also a pretty satisfying narrative — I’m not sure there’s ever been another movie that so thoroughly tied up everything into nice neat little bows. I suppose that’s at least kind of appropriate given the hero’s condition.

Read more here.


The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

The second big-screen outing for the Muppets sees casts Kermit, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo as reporters who travel to England to investigate a jewel theft. Of course, this being a Muppet movie, the plot is less important than the crazy comical antics.

Read more here.


The Muppet Movie (1979)

“The Muppets Begin” in their big-screen debut, which seems Kermit going on a road trip where he encounters most of the key Muppets one by one, while being chased by a businessman who wants Kermie to be the poster-frog for his frog legs restaurant.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Great British Bake Off
8x03 Bread Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Collection Count

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

I got a new DVD this week! A rare occurrence nowadays, that. But then I upgraded something else from DVD to Blu-ray, so the DVD number stays the same. Hey-ho.

Number of titles in collection: 2,031 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,171 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 860 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,208 [up 6]
Number of films: 2,262 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 7,937 [up 12]
Number of short films: 590 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Persuaders!
1x21 Read and Destroy

Unforgotten
2x06 Episode 6 [season finale]

Films

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2017 #32

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
[#125 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Unforgotten
2x05 Episode 5

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
6x03 Episode 3

Films

T2 Trainspotting (2017)
[#124 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

The Great British Bake Off
8x02 Biscuit Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
4x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Life (2017)
[#123 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
6x02 Episode 2

Unforgotten
2x04 Episode 4

TV

Unforgotten
2x03 Episode 3

Films

Guardians (2017)
[#122 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Trainspotting (1996)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2017 #31 (previously 2007's #29)

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new post on 100 Films in a Year this week...


The Mid-Month Update for the Middle of September 2017

you may have noticed it’s been a tad quiet here of late. (Or maybe you haven’t. That’s OK, I don’t blame you.) There’s no grand or exciting reason for that, I’m afraid — September’s just turned out to be a busier-than-average month ’round these parts, leaving precious little spare time for blogging.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Unforgotten
2x02 Episode 2

Who Dares Wins
10x10 (16/9/17 edition) [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Godzilla (1998)
[2nd watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #30

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 2,028 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,171 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 857 [up 6]

Number of discs in collection: 5,202 [up 9]
Number of films: 2,258 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes: 7,925 [no change]
Number of short films: 590 [up 2]

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

Total running time of collection (approx.):
387 days, 10 hours, and 7 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 5 hours, and 51 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Comedy Playhouse
18x01 Tim Vine Travels in Time
So very silly. I hope it gets a series.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Unforgotten
2x01 Episode 1

Films

Lions for Lambs (2007)
[#121 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

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]