Collection Count

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

After last week's massive update (6 films! 61 discs! 188 episodes of TV!), this couldn't be more different: absolutely nothing to report! More next week though, guaranteed.

Number of titles in collection: 2,145 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,154 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 991 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,508 [no change]
Number of films: 2,394 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,293 [no change]
Number of short films: 624 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Jack Ryan
1x06 Sources and Methods
1x07 The Boy
1x08 Inshallah [season finale]
Despite how this looks, I didn't burn through almost half the season just to get it done for Iron Fist. Well, obviously I watched all these episodes within 24 hours, but I didn't sit and watch them back to back. (Just so we're clear on this important information.)
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]

Upstart Crow
3x01 Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

April and the Extraordinary World (2015)
[#191 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Fiction

Zorro by Isabel Allende (translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)
Part 1 (pages 49-55)

TV

The Imitation Game
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Jack Ryan
1x05 End of Honor
I'd hoped to have this finished by today, because Iron Fist season 2 is out tomorrow. Oh well. (It's good, I just haven't had the time.)
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]

Fiction

Zorro by Isabel Allende (translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)
Part 1 (pages 32-49)

TV

Reported Missing
2x01 Episode 1
Not normally my kind of programme, but the write-up in the Radio Times was too intriguing: a dad reports his five-year-old son missing, having not seen him for two years after a custody dispute with the mother; but when the police track her down, she says the boy doesn't exist and she doesn't even know the man who made the report. To say much more would spoil the twists and turns as the case unfolds...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Skyline (2010)
[#190 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Fiction

Zorro by Isabel Allende (translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)
Part 1 (pages 13-32)

Films

Avengers: Infinity War 3D (2018)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #34

Fiction

Zorro by Isabel Allende (translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)
Part 1 (pages 1-12)

I bought this novel about 13 years ago and never read it (where does time go, seriously?) It was seeing it in a box the other day that (perhaps subconsciously) inspired me to watch Zorro, and enjoying that inspired me to dig this out and finally start it.

TV

Hang Ups
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Jack Ryan
1x03 Black 22
1x04 The Wolf
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]

Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema
1x04 Science Fiction
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Lost in Space (1998)
[#189 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Darkman (1990)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #33

Sartana's Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin (1970)
[#188 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

Yesterday saw the start of a new month, meaning it was time for 100 Films in a Year to look back at the old one...





Plus, the past week also saw the latest TV review column...





And in regular activities, 3 brand-new reviews were also published...


The Hunt for Red October (1990)

they don’t make big-budget spy thrillers like this anymore, but maybe they should, because Red October’s qualities stand the test of time: its story is driven by well-drawn, interesting characters and an overall sense of suspense, rather than elaborate stunts or computer-generated effects. I like the latter too, but there’s room for variety in the cinematic landscape.

Read more here.


Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

What plays out is a solid plot, smattered with decent action sequences. Frankly, it’s nothing incredible, and you’d have reason to expect more distinctive work from a director of the calibre of Edward Zwick, but it’s still a good action-thriller.

Read more here.


Seoul Station (2016)

Before he made zombie masterpiece Train to Busan, director Yeon Sang-ho was an animation director with several features to his name. So perhaps it’s not surprising that, to accompany his aforementioned live-action debut, he also helmed this animated prequel. [...] Like Train to Busan, Seoul Station revolves around a struggling father-daughter relationship — though this one’s of a very different sort. That’s apparent from the off, but to say too much more would be a last-act spoiler. Suffice to say, it all comes to a very dark, grim ending, with none of the redemption or hopefulness of the main film.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Jack Ryan
1x02 French Connection
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]

Films

The Elephant Man (1980)
[#187 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #8

Music

The 2nd Law by Muse
[2nd listen]

As I just realised, I listened to this once when it came out six years ago... and then never again! (Aside from two tracks that I listened to a lot.) Until today, when I listened to the whole thing again. It's mostly okay, with a couple of great tracks (Supremacy, Panic Station).

Collection Count

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

This week: a BD-to-BD upgrade that changes nothing on the stats, two DVD-to-BD "upgrades" that don't replace my DVD copies, and a trilogy box set that doesn't replace the copy of the first film I already own. Plus: a 47-disc 173-episode complete series box set. And I'm supposed to be thinking about slimming down my collection...

Number of titles in collection: 2,145 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,154 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 991 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 5,508 [up 61]
Number of films: 2,394 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes: 8,293 [up 188]
Number of short films: 624 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Jack Ryan
1x01 Pilot
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]

Films

Zorro (1975)
[#186 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Hang Ups
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Magic for Humans
1x03 Terrifying Tech
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

The Most Unknown (2018)
[#185 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Disenchantment
1x08 The Limits of Immortality
1x09 To Thine Own Elf Be True
1x10 Dreamland Falls [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

The Hunt for Red October (1990)
[2nd watch]
+ the Blu-ray's special features; primarily, a decent half-hour making-of.

Seoul Station (2016)
[#184 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Ready Player One 3D (2018)
[#183 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Disenchantment
1x07 Love's Tender Rampage
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Magic for Humans
1x02 Express Yourself
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Kidnapped (1917)

Kidnapped may not be an unheralded classic begging for rediscovery, but it’s a fun jaunt nonetheless. Proof, if it were needed, that there’s often worth to be discovered by digging into the more forgotten and esoteric corners of film history.

Read more here.


Conquest Program No.9

For her DVD release of the 1917 feature Kidnapped, Fritzi Kramer of Movies Silently was able to source the four short films that were bundled with it as part of “Conquest Program No.9”. The Conquest Programs were the idea of distributor George Kleine and created by Thomas Edison’s film company. Eleven were created in all, each one bundling together a feature film and a mix of shorts to create a complete bill of wholesome entertainment. By specifically recreating Program No.9, the Kidnapped DVD doesn’t just offer an approximation of what a night at the movies in 1917 might’ve been a bit like, but rather a genuine was-definitely-shown-in-theatres programme from the time.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Darkest Hour (2017)
[#182 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

There were a total of 9 new additions to my collection this week... but one of those was a 2D-to-3D Blu-ray upgrade, adding a single disc, and three more were DVD-to-BD upgrades, with one of those alone replacing three former titles and reducing five discs to three. And if that wasn't enough, a further two were Blu-ray upgrades of films I own on DVD but I can't ditch the DVD copies because they're in box sets with other stuff!

Anyhow, you can see the fallout of all that below. You can also see what effect all those upgrading shenanigans had on the monthly running time update...

Number of titles in collection: 2,140 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [down 5]
Of which Blu-rays: 987 [up 8]

Number of discs in collection: 5,447 [up 3]
Number of films: 2,388 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes: 8,105 [up 1]
Number of short films: 624 [up 5]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
401 days and 29 minutes.
(Up 18 hours and 8 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Comedy Lineup
1x08 Tim Dillon [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Disenchantment
1x05 Faster, Princess! Kill! Kill!
1x06 Swamp and Circumstance
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Edinburgh Nights
2018 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965)
[#181 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

The Comedy Lineup
1x02 Ian Karmel
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

I've got a miserable cold, so all this comedy seemed like a good way to while away some time...

The Comedy Lineup
1x05 Phil Wang
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Dana Carvey: Straight White Male, 60
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Disenchantment
1x04 Castle Party Massacre
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Friends
1x20 The One with the Evil Orthodontist [goodness-knows-what-th watch]
A random episode courtesy of Comedy Central.

Jimmy Carr: Funny Business
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Magic for Humans
1x01 Self-Control
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Disenchantment
1x01 A Princess, an Elf, and a Demon Walk Into a Bar
1x02 For Whom the Pig Oinks
1x03 The Princess of Darkness
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Hang Ups
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Christopher Robin (2018)

There have been many Winnie the Pooh adaptations down the years, as well as original movies and TV series featuring the same characters, so rather than remake any of those, here Disney have set about telling another brand-new story (although it begins with an adaptation of one of A.A. Milne’s very best Pooh stories, which is nice). This new tale justifies its live-action form by moving beyond the confines of the Hundred Acre Wood; and it also, smartly, trades on our own childhood nostalgia for the silly old bear.

Read more here.


A Quiet Place (2018)

Its USP is the “must stay quiet” aspect, which reportedly led to less chatter and popcorn-munching during cinema screenings. If only all moviegoing experiences were so blessed. Of course, a similar conceit was only recently deployed in Don’t Breathe, but here the threat level is upped by the almost supernatural enemy. The film’s PG-13 rating in the US means it occasionally pulls its punches on going all-out terrifying, but, as the UK 15 certificate may indicate, it’s still loaded with sequences of tension and suspense.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Podcasts

The Empire Film Podcast
Mission: Impossible – Fallout Spoiler Special
Part 1 ft. Christopher McQuarrie
Part 2 ft. Team Empire

If you thought Empire's Rogue Nation podcast was long, well, Chrises Hewitt and McQuarrie have really outdone themselves here: Part One alone beats it, and Part Three (which I've barely started) is even longer again. In between, Part Two sees the Empire team chat about the film for a brief 48 minutes.

TV

Edinburgh Nights
2018 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience
8x03 Airline Cabin Crew
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Live Comedy

Hal Cruttenden: Chubster
at Pleasance Courtyard

Mark Simmons: One-Linererer
at The Banshee Labyrinth

Films

Christopher Robin (2018)
[#180 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Live Comedy

AAA Batteries (Not Included)
at Just the Tonic

Shaken Not Stirred
at Just the Tonic

Dinner

The Kitchin

Last time I was in Edinburgh, we went to The Kitchin. This time... well, it was good!

(Looking that up made me realise I've been thoroughly inconsistent at logging this kind of activity -- mainly by, er, not.)

Films

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #31. This time in IMAX. It was rather awesome.

Films

Skyfall (2012)
[3rd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #30

Apparently I haven't watched this in five-and-a-half years (or, at least, haven't watched it in full -- I feel like I must've seen some of it in that time, surely). In fact, I didn't even watch all of it tonight -- I caught it on TV once it was already a little way in. Maybe I'll rewatch it 'properly' sometime soon.

Music

Synthesis by Evanescence

Only just found out about this album. I used to be a big fan of Evanescence back in the day. Now... well, I quite liked this. I wasn't sure the first time, but I've already listened to it a couple of times and it grew on me.

this week on 100 Films

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


When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

Written by the queen of the romcom, Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally is almost a deconstruction of the genre: its titular protagonists are just friends, but (the film asks) can a man and a woman ever be ‘just friends’? It perhaps feels like a dated question today, when almost 30 more years of gender equality have pushed heavily towards the answer being “yes, of course”, but that doesn’t matter for two very good reasons: first, the film still stands as an insight into the nature of relationships in the ’80s and ’90s; and second, it’s just a really good film.

Read more here.


Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (1965)

The eleventh film in the Zatoichi series is perhaps the first one that could legitimately be described as bad. It’s not outright terrible, but the plot doesn’t hold together very well, and there are only a couple of redeeming scenes.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Opera

Saul
at Glyndebourne

Collection Count

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

Despite what I said last week, this turns out to be a regular-ish-sized update -- stuff took longer than expect to arrive, basically. I'm also away from home currently, so it'll be a bit longer still before they get added.

Number of titles in collection: 2,137 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,158 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 979 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,444 [up 3]
Number of films: 2,383 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,104 [no change]
Number of short films: 619 [no change]

See you in a fortnight, faithful reader.

TV

Hang Ups
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
[#179 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Lupin the 3rd: Part IV
1x07 Until the Full Moon Passes

Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema
1x03 Coming of Age
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Quiet Earth (1985)
[#178 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
+ most of the Blu-ray's extras, including a visual essay, a gallery, and the theatrical trailer (which, much like the original poster, conspires to give away the ending!)

A Quiet Place (2018)
[#177 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 11 (pages 192-197)

this week on 100 Films

It's monthly progress report time at 100 Films in a Year!





Plus, 5 brand-new reviews...


Killing Gunther (2017)

As a comedy, I thought it was funny. Not always super original or absolutely hilarious, but ticking enough. As an action movie, some of the single-take assassination scenes are done quite well. It was clearly produced on a low budget, so the action sequences don’t really fulfil on an adrenaline-junkie level, but they work decently in context.

Read more here.


Train to Busan (2016)

shunts aside any tiredness you may feel about zombie flicks to demonstrate that, however overdone a genre may seem, there’s almost always room for fresh voices and creativity to produce remarkable work

Read more here.


Review Roundup: 15-Rated Comedies

You don’t have to be an adult to like today’s reviewed movies, but… you do have to be a teenager. Still being a teenager would probably help you enjoy them, too.

In this roundup: Airplane II: The Sequel, Hot Tub Time Machine, and Sausage Party.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Strangers on a Train (1951)
[#176 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
Blindspot 2018 #8

Collection Count

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

Three additions this week, all US imports, oddly enough. There should be a lot more next week... provided it turns up before I go away for a bit. Most of those are going to be US imports too -- even more than this week. Funny how things pan out sometimes.

Number of titles in collection: 2,135 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,158 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 977 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,441 [up 5]
Number of films: 2,381 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 8,104 [no change]
Number of short films: 619 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
[#175 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Lupin the 3rd: Part IV
1x06 Venice of the Dead

Films

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
[#174 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 11 (pages 178-192)

Films

Ant-Man 3D (2015)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #29

The Way of the Gun (2000)
[#173 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Paul (2011)
[#172 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
[#171 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 11 (pages 170-178)

Films

The Garden of Words (2013)
[#170 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death (1969)
[#169 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Articles

Mission: Impossible – Fallout Director Christopher McQuarrie Breaks Down the HALO Jump Sequence
by Jack Giroux (from /Film)

Fallout's HALO sequence is impressive as it is, but gets even more so when you read how much work it was to achieve.

TV

Lupin the 3rd: Part IV
1x05 The Magician's Left Hand

Films

Body of Lies (2008)
[#168 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 11 (pages 162-170)

this week on 100 Films

Time for the monthly TV roundup at 100 Films in a Year...





Plus 5 brand-new film reviews too...


The Great Wall (2016)

the 3D is spectacular. Although it’s a post-conversion, the film definitely seems to have been shot with it in mind. The massive scale of the wall allows for both deep scenery shots and extreme height, especially when we follow the class of warriors who dive off the wall to fight while abseiling down it. Then there are the arrows, throwing axes, leaping monsters, exploding monsters…

Read more here.


The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)

It’s good in places, most of it ticking along at a level of passable entertainment — but it ticks along for too long, it’s not funny enough, and it can’t bring it all together in the way the other two films did. It suffers most of all from those comparisons, because it’s simply not a patch on the other two LEGO movies.

Read more here.


Mission: Impossible III (2006)

whenever I watch M:i:III I end up loving it more than I think I will — it’s an incredibly proficient, entertaining action-thriller. That I’d still rank it near the bottom of the franchise says more about the quality of the other instalments than it does the film itself.

Read more here.


Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Living up to the hype seemed like an impossible mission all of its own. Well, if there’s one thing Ethan Hunt and his IMF teammates can pull off, it’s… a rubber mask. But if there’s another, it’s the impossible — and how!

...the real point of the movie; the thing the trailers and posters and behind-the-scenes videos have all sold it on: the action sequences. Simply, they’re incredible. Cruise’s dedication to giving the audience something new and exciting and awe-inspiring to watch is second to none.

Read more here.


The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988)

If the plot sounds like an adventure movie but also a bit, well, weird, then you’ve probably got a handle on The Navigator already. It’s a men-on-a-mission time travel adventure quest filtered through an arthouse sensibility... So, on the one hand, it can play as a straightforward heroic quest, but the sometimes slow pace and occasional presence of symbolism suggest, on the other, a film with greater depths.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

The LEGO Ninjago Movie 3D (2017)
[#167 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

This week, it's time for the monthly running time update. This month, the total crosses 400 days. Not a particularly auspicious number, aside from being a helluva lot.

Number of titles in collection: 2,132 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,157 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 975 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,436 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,378 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,104 [no change]
Number of short films: 619 [up 1]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
400 days, 6 hours, and 21 minutes.
(Up 23 hours and 43 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Lupin the 3rd: Part IV
1x04 With a Gun in My Hand

Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema
1x02 The Heist
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Wind River (2017)
[#166 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 156-161)

TV

Lupin the 3rd: Part IV
1x03 0.2% Chance of Survival

Films

Full Metal Jacket (1987)
[#165 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #7

+ the half-hour making-of on the Blu-ray, Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil, which is insightful.

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 10 (pages 144-155)

Films

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
[#164 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
[#163 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Podcasts

The Empire Film Podcast
Christopher McQuarrie Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Special

Empire's legendary near-three-hour chat with writer-director Christopher McQuarrie about Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. That's longer than the film itself, fact fans. And I could happily have listened to a couple of hours more. Looking forward to the one they've recorded for Fallout.

Non-Fiction

Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who - Volume 2: 1990-2013 by Paul Kirkley
Chapter 10 (pages 135-144)

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)