TV

The Great Model Railway Challenge
1x04 Heat Four: Fire and Ice
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

Films

Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)
[#228 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
+ the 46 minutes of deleted scenes included on the Blu-ray. Some were interesting and could've been kept in the film. Others... less so.

TV

Batman: The Animated Series
1x14 Heart of Ice
2x19 Deep Freeze
The complete series was released on Blu-ray in the UK today, and now I own it -- hurrah! So why am I starting with this random selection of episodes? Well, the box set also includes the two films that are canon with the TV series, Mask of the Phantasm (which I watched relatively recently*) and SubZero (which I've never seen). The SubZero disc also includes four TV episodes to present the whole story of Mr Freeze in chronological order. I decided to inaugurate my set by watching SubZero, because I've been meaning to get round to it for years, but it seemed to make sense to watch all the lead-up episodes first. As well as these two, there's the New Batman Adventures one and the Batman Beyond one (see below!), which are both set after SubZero. I'll watch all of these again when I reach their respective places in the series proper... whenever I get round to watching that (goodness knows when that'll be!)

Batman Beyond (aka Batman of the Future)
1x05 Meltdown
I've arranged everything in alphabetical order here as normal, and SubZero is of course in a separate post, so here's the order they actually go in (and the order I watched them in): Heart of Ice, Deep Freeze, SubZero, Cold Comfort, Meltdown. Sorted.

Great News
1x01 Pilot
1x02 Bear Attack
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

The New Batman Adventures
1x03 Cold Comfort
This is counted as season three of B:TAS by the box set, but everywhere online (well, Wikipedia and IMDb, at least) count it as a separate series, for various reasons I won't go into here. On the evidence of this episode, it's not as good as the prior series.

* It turns out "relatively recently" here means "a whole year ago this week"! Where does time go?!

Films

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)
[#227 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
[#226 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

+ a 40-minute documentary about how The Other Side of the Wind was finally put together, A Final Cut for Orson: 40 Years in the Making, which is hidden under the "trailers" tab on Netflix and is definitely worth a look.

TV

Doctor Who
37x05 The Tsuranga Conundrum
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
12x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 3D (2018)
[#225 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

This week, 100 Films in a Year looked back at October...





...and there was 1 brand-new review too...


The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011)

for all the terribleness, I sort of feel I can’t hate it, because the rubbish bits are too funny, and the mad bits too bonkers (for a movie that is primarily aimed at romantically-inclined teenage girls, at least). While I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, it was entertaining to sit through — kind of like The Room, for example, only still not quite as transcendently appalling.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Going for Golden Eye (2017)
[#224 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Jurassic World 3D (2015)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #42

Articles

Nudity on screen matters, so why are we afraid of it?
by Abby Robinson (from Digital Spy)

Shockingly, it turns out Digital Spy is still capable of decent writing sometimes, with this article presenting an interesting discussion of the topic.

Collection Count

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

Two new titles this week. Should've been more, but something seems to have been lost in the post.

Number of titles in collection: 2,165 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,012 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 4 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,545 [up 4]
Number of films: 2,418 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,294 [no change]
Number of short films: 639 [up 3]

Next week: a big box set turns up... but it's a Blu-ray upgrade from DVD, so it might actually push some numbers down. See you then, faithful reader.

TV

Doctor Who
37x04 Arachnids in the UK [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Their Finest (2016)
[#223 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Doctor Who
37x02 The Ghost Monument [2nd watch]
37x03 Rosa [2nd watch]
[Watch The Ghost Monument and Rosa (again) on iPlayer.]

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
7x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

TV

Doctor Who
37x01 The Woman Who Fell to Earth [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
12x03 Episode 3 [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Great Model Railway Challenge
1x03 Heat Three: Globetrotting
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

Would I Lie To You?
12x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #41

Films

Face/Off (1997)
[3rd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #40. I included this in my "100 favourite films" series back in 2016, but didn't actually rewatch it first. Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't've included it had I done that rewatch, but I don't think I'd've given it the full five stars.

TV

Doctor Who
37x04 Arachnids in the UK
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Inside No. 9
5x00 Dead Line [live Halloween special]
Never watched Inside No. 9 before, but always meant to catch up. As this episode was going out live, though, it seemed a good idea to watch it when it was on... and, for all the tomfoolery and playing with form, I think it was. Nonetheless, you can still:
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Strictly Come Dancing
16x12 Week 6 Results (aka Halloween)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Batman Ninja (2018)

“This is madness,” exclaims Batman at one point relatively early on in this anime interpretation of the DC superhero. He could be speaking on behalf of us viewers... although, at that point, he — and we — don’t even know the half of it…

Read more here.


Hitchcock (2012)

I’ve no idea how true it is, but the setup — the acclaimed Master of Suspense who’s so established that people are judging him over the hill, determined to do a striking new project no one else believes in to prove he’s still got it — is a good’un. It’s especially effective precisely because it’s about Hitchcock and Psycho: it’s the film that defines him for many people now; so, yes, we know the ending, but that lends dramatic irony — how do we get from that starting point to the acclaimed classic we all know?

Read more here.


Phantom Thread (2017)

if there’s one thing writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s film is not, it’s histrionic. It’s plot may be that of a Gothic melodrama, and if it were a novel perhaps we’d class it as one, but Anderson hasn’t taken on the skin of a Tim Burton or Guillermo del Toro here — in the quiet but forceful and precise way it plays out, Phantom Thread is as stringently produced as one of Reynolds’ gowns.

Read more here.


The Purge (2013)

When this first came out, I ignored it because its premise was inherently daft. Then they made some sequels, which I ignored because the premise was still inherently daft. Then two things happened: one, some people who I think are worth listening to said some decent things about it; and two, Trump came to power, and suddenly that daft premise doesn’t feel so far outside the confines of what’s possible.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Daredevil
3x12 One Last Shot
3x13 A New Napkin [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Strictly Come Dancing
16x11 Week 6 (aka Halloween)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Jennifer's Body (2009)
[#222 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

It's a busy one this week: four sale acquisitions, one new release, and three (three!) titles that are actually out next week. Whew! That doubles the size of my 4K Blu-ray collection, too.

Number of titles in collection: 2,163 [up 8]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,010 [up 8]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 4 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,541 [up 14]
Number of films: 2,416 [up 12]
Number of TV episodes: 8,294 [no change]
Number of short films: 636 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Daredevil
3x10 Karen
3x11 Reunion
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Phantom Thread (2017)
[#221 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Daredevil
3x08 Upstairs/Downstairs
3x09 Revelations
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Would I Lie To You?
12x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Lives of Others (2006)
[#220 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #10

TV

Derren Brown: Sacrifice
This is Derren Brown's third Netflix special... except the first two were just a Channel 4 special slightly re-edited, and a filmed stage show that I think had already aired on C4 (though I missed it then, so, er, I should watch that too). This is his first genuinely-original Netflix Original, though, and it's... not bad. Not his best special (it feels like a recombination of previous techniques to an ending that's only new in its specifics), but not a bad one either.
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Upstart Crow
3x06 Go On and I Will Follow [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Daredevil
3x07 Aftermath
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
[#218 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Unsane (2018)
[#219 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Daredevil
3x05 The Perfect Game
3x06 The Devil You Know
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Rocky Balboa (2006)
[#217 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
+ the audio commentary by writer/director/star Sylvester Stallone

TV

Daredevil
3x04 Blindsided
Including an impressive 11½-minute single-take fight scene, the creation of which is discussed in this article.
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Doctor Who
37x03 Rosa
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Producers (1967)
[#216 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

It was already time for another TV roundup at 100 Films in a Year this week...





Plus, there were 6 brand-new film reviews...


Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)

enough cool costumes and bursts of ultra-violence to cut together a trailer that looks like a kinda-typical anime action-fest, but that’s really hiding a thoughtful, complicated (oh so complicated) drama about an unlikely romance and military conspiracies. If that sounds like a bizarre mix… well, it is. This is a film that likes to pull tricks on its audience, and one of the tricks it plays is to constantly wrongfoot you about what kind of movie it’s meant to be.

Read more here.


Mary and Max (2009)

It has an empathy for people who are disadvantaged and troubled, and for the importance of finding some measure of happiness in life, however small or awkward, that is quite touching. The heavily stylised designs, desaturated colour scheme, and stop-motion animation method suit the material well — there’s a lot of bleakness here, as both Mary and Max are battered by life, which juxtaposes effectively with the “kids’ picture book” visual aesthetic.

Read more here.


The Night Comes for Us (2018)

The whole storyline is quite perfunctory and rather something-and-nothing (and, considering that, gets a bit too much screen time), but it’s a sideshow because the real star is, of course, the action choreography. That’s as relentless and barmy as you’d expect given the pedigree of the cast and crew

Read more here.


Rocky V (1990)

I don’t quite see why Rocky V gets so reviled. It’s certainly not the best movie in the series — indeed, it’s probably the lowest point, lacking the realism of the early films, the entertaining ridiculousness of its immediate predecessors, and the feel-good zero-to-hero arc seen in all of those — but it’s a passable-enough drama in its own right.

Read more here.


Sartana’s Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin (1970)

The third official Sartana movie is to this series what On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is to the Bond films: its one-shot leading man isn’t as good as the regular fella, but the film around him is a cut above.

Read more here.


Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966)

the action is the lesser element here, with some of it feeling almost perfunctory alongside the interesting ideas presented by the plot. It engages on multiple fronts. Firstly, there’s the young boy Taichi and Ichi’s potential influence on him. [...] Connected to this is the blind priest, a wise man who seems to see into Ichi’s very soul, and advises him on his interactions with the boy and, well, his lifestyle in general. [...] While both of these characters and their associated views of Ichi’s methods provide food for thought, perhaps my favourite part of the film is the subplot about a prostitute, Ocho, a kindhearted woman who’s revealed to have a tragic backstory

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Daredevil
3x03 No Good Deed
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

The Night Comes for Us (2018)
[#215 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Podcasts

The Empire Film Podcast
Mission: Impossible – Fallout Spoiler Special Part 3 ft. Christopher McQuarrie

Following on from parts one and two, another three hours of McQuarrie's priceless insights into the moviemaking process. Can't believe it's taken me this long to get round to finishing it, because it's so good.

Articles

Netflix Pulls The Plug On Luke Cage, No Season 3 For Marvel’s Harlem Hero
by Dominic Patten & Nellie Andrea (from Deadline)

Well, this is an unusual story. It's not like Iron Fist, which was cancelled presumably because of low ratings -- they've been working on Cage season 3 for months, apparently with the whole season plotted, half of it in detail, but creative disagreements between Marvel and Netflix have led to the latter just pulling the plug. Makes you wonder if a revival on Disney's forthcoming streaming service is on the cards, and also what the fate of the other Marvel/Netflix shows will be after their already-filming seasons are released.

Collection Count

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

A couple of new additions this week. Plus, it's once again that time of the month: the running time update! After the hu-uge one last month, it's only a lickle one this time; in fact, it's the smallest one since March.

Number of titles in collection: 2,155 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,002 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 2 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,527 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,404 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,294 [no change]
Number of short films: 636 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
408 days, 14 hours, and 8 minutes.
(Up 13 hours (exactly) from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Daredevil
3x01 Resurrection
3x02 Please
Two-and-a-half years since the end of season two, Daredevil's back! Of course, in between we've had The Defenders, which had a pretty significant impact on Daredevil -- any viewers who decided to skip that are gonna be confused!
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Upstart Crow
3x05 The Most Unkindest Cut of All
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Zatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966)
[#214 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

School of Rock (2003)
[3rd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #39. According to my records this was my third watch of School of Rock, which is weird because I only remember seeing it once. Are my records wrong, or my memory? Probably I saw it twice fairly close together or something. Anyhow, I've decided to trust past-me's record keeping.

TV

The Great Model Railway Challenge
1x01 Heat One: Classic Movies
1x02 Heat Two: British TV Shows
[Watch episodes one and two (again) on My5.]

Would I Lie To You?
12x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Matinee (1993)
[#213 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)
[#212 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Articles

LFF Review: They Shall Not Grow Old Honours Veterans But Not The Archive
by PH (from Silent London)
An interesting perspective on Peter Jackson's new World War I documentary, which is being positively talked-up most places.

TV

The Imitation Game
1x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Suspiria (1977)
[#211 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
Blindspot 2018 #10

TV

Doctor Who
37x02 The Ghost Monument
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

TiMER (2009)
[#210 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

After a landmark occasion last week (1,000 Blu-rays! My first 4K discs!), this week has nothing to report. So I've added a new stat to track my 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays. I've counted them as a subset of Blu-rays because, well, they are (plus most/all UHD releases contain a regular Blu-ray copy anyhow). It's listed as "no change" because, of course, I actually bought them last week.

Number of titles in collection: 2,153 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,000 [no change]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 2 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,525 [no change]
Number of films: 2,402 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,294 [no change]
Number of short films: 636 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Have I Got News For You
56x02 (12/10/18 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Upstart Crow
3x04 Sigh No More
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Exclusive: Christopher McQuarrie Goes Deep on Fallout, Mission 7, Hollywood, and More
and
Exclusive: Christopher McQuarrie on the Fallout Score, Action Sequences, Superhero Movies and More
by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub (from Collider)

I don't think I'll ever have had enough of Christopher McQuarrie talking about how he made Mission: Impossible. This two-part interview, transcribed from a Q&A after a screening of the film, sees him on as fine form as ever.

TV

Pointless
20x29 (10/10/18 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Pointless
20x28 (9/10/18 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Doctor Who
37x01 The Woman Who Fell to Earth
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Strictly Come Dancing
16x06 Week 3 Results (aka Movies Week)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

It was nearly a whole week ago so maybe you've forgotten, but the new month actually started this week, and so 100 Films in a Year took a look back at the last one -- which had a pretty noteworthy occurrence...





As well as that, 3 brand-new reviews were published this week...


Behind-the-Scenes Comedy Review Roundup

Featuring:
- Mindhorn
- In & Out
- Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Jonathan Ross Show
13x06 (6/10/18 edition)
I can't remember the last time I watched Wossy's show (this blog tells me it was over 6½ years ago, in February 2012), but sometimes you just catch stuff on TV…
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Strictly Come Dancing
16x05 Week 3 (aka Movies Week)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

This week, I reached exactly 1,000 Blu-rays -- crikey! And, as if to mark the occasion, this week's purchases included my first-ever 4K UHD Blu-rays! Now I just need a new Blu-ray player so I can actually watch them...

Number of titles in collection: 2,153 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,000 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,525 [up 9]
Number of films: 2,402 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 8,294 [up 1]
Number of short films: 636 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Imitation Game
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Pls Like
2x03 Most Views
2x04 Kids
Happened to catch a double bill of this BBC Three show on BBC One. A spoof of YouTubers, it was quite funny.
[Watch it (again) on the iPlayer.]

Films

Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)
[#209 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Maniac
Part 9 Utangatta
Part 10 Option C [finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Maniac
Part 7 Ceci N'est Pas Une Drill
Part 8 The Lake of the Clouds
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Prevenge (2016)
[#208 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Maniac
Part 5 Exactly Like You
Part 6 Larger Structural Issues
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011)
[#207 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

I've been watching one Twilight a year for the past few years, normally at the end of October, but they're about to be removed from Amazon Prime so this one's coming up a little early. Except I just discovered the whole series is scheduled to turn up on Netflix the day after it leaves Amazon. Ah well, you never know -- sometimes sites say that and the films don't appear. Maybe I'll 'risk' leaving Part 2 until then. They did originally release Parts 1 and 2 a whole year apart, so I could once again wait until this time next year, but I'm not sure I want to drag this out for another 12 months...

TV

Maniac
Part 4 Furs by Sebastian
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Rocky V (1990)
[#206 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Maniac
Part 3 Having a Day
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Before Midnight (2013)
[#205 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

+ half-hour behind-the-scenes documentary After Before

this week on 100 Films

It was time for another TV column this week over at 100 Films in a Year...





Plus, 2 brand-new film reviews...


Happy Death Day (2017)

a high-concept slasher movie that could be described as Groundhog Day meets Scream via Legally Blonde. Normally those kind of “X meets Y” descriptions give a general sense of tone or some coincidental similarities, but if you could put those three films in a blender, Happy Death Day is almost certainly what would come out. But while there’s no doubt that it is derivative, that doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining.

Read more here.


What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

a mix of overwrought melodrama, plausible real-life horror, and mature psychological thriller. It’s really driven by the acting of the two leads. Joan Crawford gets a less showy role, having to play it straight as the reasonable, sensible older sister... Bette Davis, on the other hand, is allowed to cut loose. She starts the film batty and only gets less mentally stable from there. It’s quite an extraordinary performance

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Maniac
Part 1 The Chosen One!
Part 2 Windmills
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
[2nd watch]
Did not realise it'd been a whole year since I last watched this. I guess it makes sense when I think about it, but oof, time flies!

Step Brothers (2008)
[#204 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

Just one new addition this week. There'll be a bunch more next time, though I don't expect this month to hit the same kinda levels as last month!

Number of titles in collection: 2,150 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 997 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,516 [up 1]
Number of films: 2,399 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,293 [no change]
Number of short films: 636 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Before Sunset (2004)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #37

TV

The Imitation Game
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Ran (1985)
[#203 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #9

+ the restoration featurette among the Blu-ray's (insanely extensive) special features, to see how they justified the bizarre teal-tinged colour balance. "This is how it was always meant to look," allegedly...

Films

Before Sunrise (1995)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #36

Films

Mary and Max (2009)
[#202 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Magic for Humans
1x06 Love [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Network (1976)
[#201 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

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

Films

Sholay (1975)
[#200 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

200 films in a year!

this week on 100 Films

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


Gods of Egypt (2016)

it is kind of a terrible film… but if you embrace it, it’s also campy fun. It’s a film where the men are burly, the women are breasty, and the CGI is blurry, but there’s a certain irreverence that stops it from being stodgy, and a light-hearted tone to the dialogue that occasionally hits home. For all the whizzy video game-ish visuals, it’s an old-fashioned adventure quest at heart, capable of pulling off the occasional thrilling sequence or amusing verbal exchange.

Read more here.


The Post (2017)

Perhaps the timeliest historical movie ever made, The Post is, in its plot, about the publication of the ‘Pentagon Papers’, a leaked report that examined decades of US government decisions about the Vietnam war; but, thematically, it’s about press oversight of a government lying to its people to cover up their own wrongdoing, including trying to forcibly stop the press from performing that role — sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Read more here.


Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965)

Even if Chess Expert doesn’t thrill as much as some of the other movies, nor differ from the formula as thoroughly as some others, it does have its own charms for those prepared to indulge a somewhat more contemplative and chewy Ichi tale... For me, it doesn’t crack the very top tier of Ichi flicks, but is still an above-average adventure for everyone’s favourite blind masseur swordmaster.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Bodyguard
1x04 Episode 4
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch episodes four and five (again) on iPlayer.]

Upstart Crow
3x03 If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed?
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Solo: A Star Wars Story 3D (2018)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #35

Fiction

Zorro by Isabel Allende (translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)
Part 1 (pages 69-90)

Collection Count

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

Two new additions this week, though I also got rid of one title and found a couple of filing errors, so the changes are a bit bumpy.

In more exciting news, it's time for the running time update. It's a big'un: just over 7 whole days -- a week of solid viewing! That's the biggest increase since November 2015, when 246 episodes of TV saw it jump by almost 11 days. This month, it's thanks to "just" 173 episodes of TV: the complete Mission: Impossible set that I acquired at the start of the month, which alone accounts for almost 5 days & 18 hours.

Number of titles in collection: 2,149 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 996 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,515 [up 3]
Number of films: 2,398 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,293 [no change]
Number of short films: 636 [up 10]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
408 days, 1 hour, and 8 minutes.
(Up 7 days and 39 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Bodyguard
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Imitation Game
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Magic for Humans
1x05 Guilt Trip
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966)
[#199 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Articles

The Walking Dead studio Telltale hit with devastating layoffs as part of a ‘majority studio closure’
by Megan Farokhmanesh (from The Verge)

Well, this sucks -- Telltale always seemed to represent a possible renaissance for the kind of games I love: adventure games like Monkey Island. But it seems things haven't been right there for a while, as the next article explains:

Toxic Management Cost an Award-Winning Game Studio Its Best Developers
by Megan Farokhmanesh (from The Verge)

TV

Bodyguard
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Upstart Crow
3x02 Wild Laughter in the Throat of Death
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Gods of Egypt 3D (2016)
[#198 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Daniel Sloss: Jigsaw
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Bodyguard
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Simpsons
13x11 The Bart Wants What It Wants
Can't remember the last time I watched an episode of The Simpsons (I was going to say "not in the lifetime of this blog", but then I found this and this), but I happened across this on TV and for some reason stuck with it. It was quite good.

Films

Courage Under Fire (1996)
[#197 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Heathers (1988)
[#196 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Daniel Sloss: Dark
The first of two live shows bundled together on Netflix as Daniel Sloss: Live Shows (does what it says on the tin, I guess). This show lives up to its title, but it's also very clever and hilariously funny.
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Iron Fist
2x09 War Without End
2x10 A Duel of Iron [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Iron Fist
2x08 Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Who Do You Think You Are? [USA]
9x01 Courteney Cox
Didn't set out to watch this, but caught the start and was surprisingly engrossed -- more by the story from British history than anything to do with Courteney Cox, to be honest.

this week on 100 Films

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


All the Money in the World (2017)

All the Money in the World does not star Kevin Spacey. But I expect you knew that. Indeed, if you only know one thing about the film, I expect that is what you know. Spacey’s firing, and his speedy replacement by Christopher Plummer, was such a big news story that it instantly became what the movie was most famous for — and, I suspect, is what it will always be most famous for, because the film itself isn’t good enough to transcend its own reputation.

Read more here.


The Tree of Life (2011)

Whether you love it or hate it — and there are certainly plenty of perfectly reasonable people at both extremes — it’s definitely an Experience; one every person who considers themselves serious about film appreciation needs to have.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 2,148 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,154 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 994 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,512 [up 4]
Number of films: 2,398 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 8,293 [no change]
Number of short films: 626 [up 2]

See you next week, faithful reader.