Films

The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)
[#162 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
+ the Blu-ray's extras & booklet

Superman III (1983)
[#161 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 10 (pages 128-134)

TV

Legion
1x08 Chapter 8 [season finale]

Films

Iron Monkey (1993)
[#160 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 10 (pages 117-127)

this week on 100 Films

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


Despicable Me 2 (2013)

This is a film that rambles around a lot in the telling, presumably out of fear that it might ever become boring to hyperactive youngsters. Unfortunately, it almost had the opposite effect on me. The main plot just felt like a shape on which to hang the romantic and Minion subplots, but those subplots just felt like a constant distraction from the main plot. The end result is a film that’s narratively unsatisfying on all fronts.

Read more here.


Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)

The 31st official Godzilla film from Japan’s Toho studio is the second part of their anime trilogy. Released theatrically in Japan, it’s a Netflix exclusive in the rest of the world — which is probably for the best, because it means we don’t have to pay money specifically for this shite.

Read more here.


If You Meet Sartana… Pray for Your Death (1968)

in contrast to the rough, dusty Spaghetti Western heroes we’re used to, Sartana cuts quite the dash, smartly dressed in a black suit replete with red-lined cape. He may be an out-for-himself money-centric gunslinger just like the rest, but he’s also a cardsharp for variety, which is revealed in a fun sequence when he joins a poker game shortly after arriving in town. Him pulling a fast one on the other players leads to a stand-off and shoot-out, because what doesn’t in this movie?

Read more here.


Rocky III (1982)

much more action orientated than the first two films. Those were almost social dramas that happen to be about someone who boxes, while this is a sports movie through and through. Stallone once confessed he’d run out of ideas after the first two films, which is why this and Rocky IV focus so much on the fights and training. [Nonetheless,] the action and montages are slick and exciting, making this perhaps the most adrenally satisfying of the series to date.

Read more here.


Zatoichi's Revenge (1965)

Repetitious or not, there’s a lot of really great stuff in Zatoichi’s Revenge to mark it out as another superb entry in the series. I feel like I say something along those lines in almost every review, but the series is on a real winning streak at this point

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Legion
1x07 Chapter 7

Films

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #28

So. Good. And Fallout's meant to be even better? Can't wait.

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 2,130 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 973 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,434 [up 5]
Number of films: 2,376 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 8,104 [no change]
Number of short films: 618 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Lupin the 3rd: Part IV
1x02 The Fake Fantasista

Films

Free Enterprise (1998)
[#158 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Kidnapped (1917)
[#159 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
Preceded by the shorts Friends, Romans and Leo, Little Red Riding Hood, Quaint Provincetown, and Microscopic Pond Life.

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 10 (pages 109-116)

TV

Legion
1x06 Chapter 6

Films

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)
[#156 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (1965)
[#157 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 10 (pages 100-108)

TV

Legion
1x05 Chapter 5

Films

Cash on Demand (1961)
[#154 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Despicable Me 2 3D (2013)
[#155 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 10 (pages 90-99)

TV

Legion
1x04 Chapter 4

Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema
1x01 The Rom-Com
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
[#153 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 10 (pages 82-90)

TV

Legion
1x03 Chapter 3

Films

Rocky IV (1985)
[#152 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Rocky VI (1986)
[#152a in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
No, I didn't accidentally skip one (the sixth film is called Rocky Balboa anyhow) -- this is a parody of Rocky IV, with the Roman numerals inverted for comedic effect. Or something. I dunno. It's not very funny, anyhow -- Rocky IV is a better parody of itself.

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 10 (pages 73-81)

TV

Films

RoboCop (2014)
[#151 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

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


Mission: Impossible (1996)

it’s funny that people used to regard it as unfollowably complex. I’m not saying the plot is straightforward, but if you pay attention then it’s all there. Obviously it can’t be that there were no complicated movies made before 1996, but I guess because at the time it was a summer blockbuster (not enough CGI or superpowers for that nowadays, of course) people didn’t expect to have to think about the story. Arguably it displays the kind of intricacy and complexity we specifically praise in spy thrillers, meaning the film has actually aged very well indeed.

Read more here.


Paddington 2 (2017)

Famous for its untarnished 100% Rotten Tomatoes score after almost 200 reviews (the best critical record of any film ever), Paddington 2 consequently comes with an awful lot of hype attached — perhaps too much for a movie that is, at heart, just a kind-hearted bit of fun about a marmalade-loving bear. But then, in our current climate, such a film is less barely necessary (unlike many sequels) and more a bear necessity.

Read more here.


Red Sparrow (2018)

the whole movie is sort of… seedy, but without owning it. It wants to be about sex and to somehow be honest about that, while also trying not to titillate in any way. It wants to be realistically violent, while merely being nasty in just one or two scenes. Conversely, it also wants to be a grown-up, labyrinthine Le Carré-esque thriller, but it’s so busy trying to repeatedly fool you that it forgets to properly engage you.

Read more here.


“Christmas in July” Review Roundup

for people who live in places where 25th December falls in summery weather, all the trappings of the festival don’t feel so appropriate. Hence at some point someone conceived of “Christmas in July”. I don’t think it’s celebrated on a specific date, but it turns out there is a “Christmas in July” in London — a great big marketing event... Well, what could be more Christmassy than massive commercialisation? [It] seemed as good a point as any to post this selection of leftover reviews from the festive viewing I enjoyed seven months ago, including...
- Elf (2003)
- Scrooged (1988)
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

2018 World Cup
Third Place Play-off Belgium v England
I watched the first half, and it was so monumentally dull I then went off to do something else. I guess I'm over The Football, then... but I'll be watching tomorrow for the Doctor Who trailer.
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Legion
1x01 Chapter 1
1x02 Chapter 2
I'm finally starting this critically acclaimed X-Men spin-off TV series, which first aired almost 18 months ago and recently finished a just-as-praised second season. It's certainly an... interesting start. I'll reserve full judgement until I've seen more -- there's a lot going on here!

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 9 (pages 54-72)

Collection Count

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

As mentioned last time, a bunch more new titles. Five new additions, one of which teams up with one of last week's to replace a box set, hence the low count of film additions.

Number of titles in collection: 2,127 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 970 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 5,429 [up 7]
Number of films: 2,373 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,104 [up 22]
Number of short films: 618 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

True Romance (1993)
[#150 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
Blindspot 2018 #7

+ the alternate ending, both commentaries on it (neither of which is close to covering the whole scene, so they could’ve edited them onto one), and about half-an-hour of Quentin Tarantino's commentary on the film itself.

Films

The Incredibles (2004)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #27

TV

2018 World Cup
Semi-Final Croatia v England
Turns out it's not coming home after all.
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

TV

2018 World Cup
Semi-Final France v Belgium
When I said I was watching The Football now, I didn't expect it to be all the football. Well, I actually only watched most of the second half, so...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Attack on Skull Island
by Max Marshall (from GQ)

The mad, true story of how Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts was attacked by gang members in a Vietnam nightclub, and how he tracked them down despite warnings not to go after them.

Films

Never Say Never Again (1983)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #26

this week on 100 Films

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


Dudes & Dragons (2015)

the gag rate is alarmingly low. The exposition scenes are balanced on a knife edge where you can’t tell if the actors are playing it tongue-in-cheek because it’s supposed to be humorous, or if it’s because they’re reaching for a florid style that they think is correct for a serious High Fantasy movie. Put another way: take those joke-less scenes out of context and you might think they were just am-dram Fantasy.

Read more here.


Manchester by the Sea (2016)

This is not a plot-driven movie. There’s still a story, obviously, but it’s more of a character study about people coping with grief — not in the wailing, all-consuming way you might typically associate with grief being depicted on screen, but in a more subdued, naturalistic manner. In harmony with that, there’s an element to it which is, not irreverent, but certainly mundane — like making calls to funeral directors over breakfast, for instance — and scattered with darkly comic realities.

Read more here.


Passengers (2016)

Sometime in the future, shortly after mankind has begun to colonise other worlds, the spaceship Avalon is on a 120-year journey to a new planet with thousands of colonist-to-be in hibernation onboard. Just 30 years into the trip, the Avalon strikes an asteroid field, causing a malfunction that wakes up just two passengers: Jim (Chris Pratt), a mechanical engineer, and Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence), a journalist. Faced with the prospect of never reaching the destination they’d set out for, the pair begin to develop a relationship. Or so the trailer would have you believe (and this is where the spoilers come)

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

2018 World Cup
Quarter-Final Sweden v England
Guess I'm watching The Football now...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

This was going to be a relatively large update, but then most stuff didn't turn up as soon as I expected, meaning it'll be counted next week instead, spreading things out a bit. So that's nice.

Number of titles in collection: 2,123 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 966 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,422 [up 4]
Number of films: 2,371 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 8,082 [no change]
Number of short films: 618 [up 4]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 9 (pages 47-54)

Films

Galaxy Quest (1999)
[3rd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #25

TV

Lupin the 3rd: Part IV
1x01 The Wedding of Lupin the Third

Films

Blade of the Immortal (2017)
[#148 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Red Sparrow (2018)
[#149 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 9 (pages 40-46)

Films

Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
[#147 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Articles

10 secrets about movie trailers – from the people who make them
by Thomas Ling (from Radio Times)

An interesting "behind the scenes" type piece about the reality of how movie trailers are made, and why they are the way they are.

Films

Batman Ninja (2018)
[#146 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Dudes & Dragons (2015)
[#145 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
aka Dragon Warriors

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 8 (pages 27-39)

this week on 100 Films

Pinch, punch, it's the first of the month, meaning it's time for 100 Films in a Year to look back at June...





Also this past week, a TV review covering Luke Cage season two and the Westworld finale...





And in normal business, there were 5 brand-new reviews...


Call Me by My Name (2017)

It’s an effective and truthful depiction of young love — falteringly, unassured, but driven by powerful emotions and burning lust. Although Oliver initially seems hyper-confident, as he opens up to Elio it becomes clear that this is new for him too, and of course Elio’s only young, inexperienced even with girls at the film’s start, so of course love is a new thing to him. So, in some respects it doesn’t matter that the film’s about a gay relationship — the feeling it conjures of young love is universal. Of course, there are many reasons why it matters immensely that it’s about a gay relationship, but those concerns are largely external to the film itself.

Read more here.


Game Night (2018)

It’s the kind of film where I don’t want to say much more than I already have, because obviously the joy lies in the jokes (and jokes are a lot less funny if you spoil them) and the plot developments. At the risk of just reeling off a list of superlatives, I’ll say that what unfolds is fast, inventive, clever, and, above all, hilariously funny. There are more laughs in its opening montage than many modern comedies manage in a whole film.

Read more here.


Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (2008)

The key to my enjoyment was watching it in 3D, in which it plays more like a theme park attraction than a movie: from the very beginning it has loads of those “sticking stuff out into the audience” hijinks that no one bothers with anymore (indeed, after watching a dozen other 3D movies on my TV, I don’t think I’ve seen anything poke out before). Gimmicky and in your face (literally) though it may be, the effect works, it’s uncomplicatedly fun, and it makes the movie better just because it’s trying.

Read more here.


Perfect Sense (2011)

there’s more emotional power in the montages about senses and what was being lost — the ideas-y stuff — than there is in the character- and relationship-based bits. Those are actually surprisingly clunky at first, with even McGregor and Green — both actors I like a good deal — struggling to make them work. Things do smooth out in that regard, but the romance plot proceeds to conform to a pretty standard shape. Was the sci-fi crisis meant to reflect the relationship, or is the relationship a down-to-earth framework on which to hang a big sci-fi story? I suspect the latter, because it’s the end-of-the-world theatrics that prove more interesting.

Read more here.


The Snowman (2017)

It’s like the whole thing has been almost-correctly-but-not-quite translated from another language. I’m not just talking about the dialogue (though that’s sometimes that way too), but the very essence of the movie — the character arcs, the storylines, even the construction of individual scenes. Like many a Google Translate offering, you can kinda tell what it’s meant to be, but it doesn’t actually make sense in itself.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Becoming Bond (2017)
[#144 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
More fun than a docudrama should be. And it made me really want to rewatch On Her Majesty's Secret Service, too... so...

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
[4th or so watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #24

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 8 (pages 22-25)

Collection Count

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

This week's additions include the first release in what's being branded as Doctor Who: The Collection, a season-by-season re-release of classic-era Who on Blu-ray, with upscaled episodes and new special features. Hopefully it'll sell well enough that they'll continue to do all 26 seasons, a) because I want them all, but b) so I can replace more of my DVDs. Y'see, I intended for this set to replace my DVD copies of the five stories in it, but I own three of them in box sets with other stories, so I've got to keep those for now, and of the remaining two stories, one of the DVDs has a special feature I'm interested in that's been moved to another (theoretical) Blu-ray set, i.e. it'll only be released again if they complete the range. So, for now, of the five DVDs I should've been able to replace, only one actually can be!

Oh, and it's the monthly running time update this week too. Excitement overload!

Number of titles in collection: 2,120 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,156 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 964 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,418 [up 11]
Number of films: 2,368 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes: 8,082 [up 16]
Number of short films: 614 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
399 days, 6 hours, and 38 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 6 hours, and 40 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Luke Cage
2x13 They Reminisce Over You [season finale]

Films

Amadeus: Director's Cut (1984/2002)
[#142 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #6

If You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death (1968)
[#143 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Introduction
Previously on Space Helmet for a Cow...
Chapter 8 (pages 7-21)

Picking up where volume one left off (including the chapter numbering), I wondered how Space Helmet was going to continue its "warts and all" behind-the-scenes narrative into New Who, which is still so recent that one suspects the full behind-the-scenes truth has yet to come out (aside from a few titbits, anyway). Well, the introduction addresses this head on: it notes that it's too soon for people involved to have come clean about everything, and expressly mentions the rumours and hearsay that have been reported by the likes of Private Eye, saying it won't cover them unless they've been verified. Which is fair enough, but surely means Vol.2 can't be to New Who what Vol.1 was to the classic era. I guess we'll have to wait another couple of decades for that book.

TV

Luke Cage
2x11 The Creator
2x12 Can't Front On Me

Films

Swingers (1996)
[#141 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 7 (pages 249-267) [the end]

That was a really good read -- a fun, comprehensive history of the delightfully barmy history of Doctor Who's production, accompanied by reviews of every single TV story for good measure. I liked it so much, I've already bought volume two so I can just go straight on.

TV

Luke Cage
2x09 For Pete's Sake
2x10 The Main Ingredient

Films

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
[#140 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 7 (pages 245-248)

TV

Luke Cage
2x08 If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right

Films

Sanjuro (1962)
[#139 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

The sequel to Yojimbo, released just nine months later -- and how long ago did I watch Yojimbo for the first time? Nine months! (Genuinely, that's a coincidence.)

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 7 (pages 230-244)

TV

Luke Cage
2x06 The Basement
2x07 On and On

Westworld
2x10 The Passenger [season finale]

Films

Rocky III (1982)
[#138 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 6 (pages 218-229)

TV

Luke Cage
2x04 I Get Physical
2x05 All Souled Out

Films

A Thousand and One Nights (1969)
[#137 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 6 (pages 204-217)

this week on 100 Films

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


The Death of Stalin (2017)

I’m sure some viewers must find the irreverence with which the film treats serious matters to be a turn-off. Personally, I think its perspective is more profound: these are silly men playing silly power games, but the end results are often unthinkable and horrific. You only have to look at the recent news headlines to see similar situations playing out to this day.

Read more here.


Rocky II (1979)

this is as much an underdog fairytale as the first movie was, and so events transpire to finally give Rocky his motivation, culminating in a triumphant revisit to the first film’s famous running-up-the-steps bit. The finale is, naturally, the big boxing rematch, where Stallone really shows off his directing chops: it’s a tense, drag-out duel that easily exceeds the first film’s for visceral impact.

Read more here.


Victoria & Abdul (2017)

I read someone else assess that it’s not as good as its individual parts, and I think that’s fair. Most of the scenes, moments, and performances are strong — there are notably funny bits, dramatic bits, emotional bits; even unexpected complications in how it handles some of the characters — but when it’s all put together, it doesn’t quite coalesce.

Read more here.


Yojimbo (1961)

Alexander Sesonske argues that Kurosawa is actually combining “two typically American genres”. So we have “a classic Western setting, with dust and leaves blowing across the wide, empty street that runs the length of a village, a lone stranger passes as frightened faces peer from behind shutters”, mixed with the morals (or lack thereof) of a gangster movie, with everyone a crook hoping to merely outgun the others. That all comes wrapped in the milieu of a samurai movie, meaning instead of pistol duels or scattershot machine-gun fire we get flashing blades.

Read more here.


Review Roundup

Quick reviews of:
'71
That's Entertainment!
and Russia's answer to The Avengers, Guardians.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Luke Cage
2x02 Straighten It Out
2x03 Wig Out

Westworld
2x09 Vanishing Point

Films

The Florida Project (2017)
[#136 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 5

Collection Count

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

Three new titles this week include a complete TV series (Steven Soderbergh's The Knick) and a pair of anime movies that complete the Animerama series (A Thousand & One Nights and Cleopatra, with the third, Belladonna of Sadness, previously released).

Number of titles in collection: 2,118 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 961 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,407 [up 10]
Number of films: 2,362 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,066 [up 20]
Number of short films: 614 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Luke Cage
2x01 Soul Brother #1

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 4 (pages 162-176)

Films

Not quite sure where the past few days have gone, but now I'm back culturally experiencing stuff.

Zatoichi's Revenge (1965)
[#135 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 4 (pages 143-162)

TV

Classic BRIT Awards 2018
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Lupin the Third: The Secret of Mamo (1978)

One of the major inspirations behind Lupin the 3rd’s creation was James Bond, and so, appropriately enough, this is a globetrotting adventure that takes in Transylvania, Egypt, France, Spain, the Caribbean, and Colombia. Similarly, it also showcases some great action scenes, particularly an extended car chase through Paris and then the mountains. Unlike Bond, there’s a definite cartoonishness to many of the antics, and the third act takes a turn into outright science-fiction that gets a bit crazy.

Read more here.


Almost Oscar-Worthy Review Roundup

Each of these films was nominated for multiple Oscars… but failed to win a single one. Featuring Big, Frost/Nixon, and Lion.

Read more here.


Gangster Review Roundup

Featuring City of God, RocknRolla, and Scarface.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #23

Collection Count

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

This week: absolutely nothing to report.

Number of titles in collection: 2,115 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 958 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,397 [no change]
Number of films: 2,360 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,046 [no change]
Number of short films: 614 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #22

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 4 (pages 117-142)

Films

Gaslight (1944)
[#134 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 4 (pages 105-116)

A chapter longer than those on the First and Second Doctors combined, and almost twice as long as the Third Doctor's — which makes sense, really, given how long Tom Baker was in the role. But that's why I've only read a fraction of it so far.

Articles

David Lynch Refuses To Explain Twin Peaks: The Return: “Ideas Came, And This Is What They Presented”
by Damon Wise (from Deadline)

Pulling Triple-Duty For Twin Peaks Revival, Kyle MacLachlan On The Prospect Of Another Return
by Damon Wise (from Deadline)

I wasn't sure why these interviews were popping up, but I think it's a US awards season thing. Whatever, it's always good to hear more about Twin Peaks.

TV

Westworld
2x08 Kiksuya

Films

Doubt (2008)
[#133 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 3

Films

Shrek Forever After (2010)
[#132 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 1: 1963-1989 by Paul Kirkley
Chapters 1-2

Possibly the only book to give a comprehensive narrative history of Doctor Who's production. Each chapter takes a different Doctor's era (so this reading covers all of Hartnell and Troughton, aka the '60s), which is as good a way to break it up as any. It's written in a relatively light and lively manner, taking a gently comic tone rather than a dry and serious one, which makes it very readable. Kirkley also briefly reviews every single story as he reaches it, which is a nice touch.

Films

Rocky II (1979)
[#131 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

One of the greatest TV series of all time reached its end on UK TV this past week, so I brought forward 100 Films in a Year's monthly TV column to review it. That, of course, was The Americans...





As well as that, 8 brand-new film reviews were published this week...


Adventures of Zatoichi (1964)

Everyone else seems to rate Adventures of Zatoichi somewhat poorly... Conversely, I thought it was rather brilliant. It has a nice, clear, well-connected narrative (something I haven’t always found in previous instalments). There’s a great cast of supporting characters, lots of small roles who all make their mark... Tonally the film displays an effective mix of humour, action, drama, and emotion, making for an all-round entertainment.

Read more here.


Babe: Pig in the City (1998)

In some ways it feels like a kids’ movie made for adults. Sure, it’s about cute talking animals, but a lot of the jokes are squarely aimed at knowing grown-ups, as is some of the emotional stuff, such as a scene where the Jack Russell is clearly running off to Heaven, which probably (hopefully, even) goes over younger children’s heads. As that may suggest, it’s also a very dark movie. Most of the darkness is eventually undercut, subverted, or rescued, but not always immediately

Read more here.


The Conversation (1974)

Harry Caul is a professional eavesdropper — people pay him to record what other people are saying in private. When Coppola conceived the film, this was just an interesting world to play around in. By the time it was produced and released, Watergate had recently happened, and the film could not have been more timely. Nonetheless, the end result is not merely an espionage mystery, but also a character study about what kind of man would perform this work.

Read more here.


It (2017)

Plenty of people will line up to tell you It isn’t actually all that scary, which is to watching horror movies as boasting who can eat the hottest curry is to dining. Obviously, everyone’s mileage will vary. I found some of it to be suitably unsettling and disturbing, and the “any time, any place” aspect keeps you alert and on edge. Its downside is that, for the first chunk of the movie, it just seems to be a series of unsettling scenes without much of a plot.

Read more here.


Men in Black 3 (2012)

MIB2 was a kind of typical first sequel: memorable-but-small characters get massively increased roles; things are referenced just for the sake of referencing them; jokes are repeated or amped up. MIB3 is more like the typical belated sequel: it stands somewhat divorced from the first two, with the minor stuff all gone, and some more significant changes necessitated by the passing of time.

Read more here.


Vehicular Review Roundup

Get in Vehicle 19 to go for a Drive with The Driver in this automobile-related review roundup.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Black Panther 3D (2018)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #21. On Blu-ray, with some lovely bits of IMAX-ratio stuff.

Collection Count

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

Two big anime box sets this week, with 15 discs, 78 episodes, and 3 movies between them... but one of those replaced a bunch of individual DVD versions, and there were a couple of other new additions too (four titles total), so the numbers are all jumbly.

Number of titles in collection: 2,115 [down 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 958 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,397 [no change]
Number of films: 2,360 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,046 [up 26]
Number of short films: 614 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
[#130 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Blindspot 2018 #6

Films

A Monster Calls (2016)
[#129 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]