DVD Extras

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create - Sanjuro
As I watched all of Yojimbo's extras when I watched the film (apart from the audio commentary), here I am settling up with Sanjuro's. Yes, I've been meaning to watch this since I watched that film 9 months ago -- where does time go?!

TV

Deadwood
2x05 Complications (Formerly "Difficulties")
+ the audio commentary by exec producer, and director of this episode, Gregg Fienberg.

The Twilight Zone
1x22 The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
With a new revival on the way, Screen Crush published a ranking of all 156 episodes of the original series. I've always meant to watch some, so now seemed like a good time. This was their #1 pick. It was good, though it felt like a familiar analogy I've seen before. Maybe everyone was copying this.

Films

You Were Never Really Here (2017)
[#45 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Deadwood
2x04 Requiem for a Gleet

+ the audio commentary on episode three by creator David Milch, which includes a chunk where he explains the thinking behind a scene from the pilot!

TV

Deadwood
2x03 New Money

+ the commentary on episode one by Molly Parker and Anna Gunn. Several episodes this season have more than one commentary, so I'm going to be a bit out of sync with those at times.

Films

Upgrade (2018)
[#44 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Deadwood
2x01 A Lie Agreed Upon Part I [2nd watch]
2x02 A Lie Agreed Upon Part II

I always find it fascinating when series that are one long narrative decide to label a pair of episodes a two-parter, because why? Why are these two episodes deemed halves of a whole when every episode is one sliver of the bigger whole? Often it feels like there’s no compelling reason why those two episodes are titled to imply they should be considered as one (though I can’t think of any specific examples right now). As for this two-parter, at the end of the first half it seemed to confirm my suspicion that was the case again, but as part two took shape it became clear it was indeed still dealing with the specific events of part one, rather than things that shape the overall season. So, fair enough.

Plus I listened to the audio commentary on Part I by Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane. Early on, Olyphant notes he’s received letters complaining that their commentary on season one was not informative enough, and so the pair resolve to make this commentary... even less informative. I'd say they succeed, but it's funny along the way.

Films

Brigsby Bear (2017)
[#43 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Samaritan Zatoichi (1968)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Deadwood
1x12 Sold Under Sin [season finale; 2nd watch]

+ the audio commentary by stars Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane, which is perhaps the least genuinely informative of the season, but once they warm up it is quite irreverently fun.

this week on 100 Films

You could say this is the "last fortnight on 100 Films in a Year" because I didn't post an update last week, but that's because there was nothing to report! In the last week, though, there have been 6 new reviews...


Deadpool 2: Super Duper $@%!#& Cut (2018)

It runs almost 15 minutes longer than the theatrical cut... The Blu-ray’s scene selection menu offers an indication of which chapters feature new material, and the answer is “most of them” — those 15 minutes are spread relatively thinly throughout almost the entire film. There are a handful of wholly new scenes (as many as ten, depending how you count it), most of them quite short (one is under nine seconds), a couple of extended fight sequences, and then lots of added lines here and there. Plus there’s a smattering of gags that have been changed for alternatives.

Read more here.


Free Solo (2018)

“Anyone can be happy and cosy. Nothing good happens in the world by being happy and cosy.” So says Alex Honnold, the subject of this documentary, when discussing the different approaches to life of his girlfriend, who he thinks wants to be “happy and cosy”, and himself, who seeks perfection in extreme endeavour. It’s as succinct a summation of his attitude to life as any in this Oscar-winning documentary.

Read more here.


Mandy (2018)

Mandy is today’s premiere on Sky Cinema, which feels like an ill fit to me. Maybe I’m being unfair, but I always feel like Sky Cinema (and by extension its viewer base) is much more focused around mainstream blockbuster kind of movies, especially for a Saturday premiere. Instead, it feels like Mandy should be making its TV debut on Film4 at about 11pm in the middle of the week. I can see some tuning in expecting a violent revenge action-thriller and giving up after a few minutes of its particular weirdness. For those on its wavelength, however, it’s an experience (and it’s definitely an experience) that’s thrilling in very a different way.

Read more here.


Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Princess Mononoke's original Japanese trailers emphasise that it’s “13 years after Nausicaä”, which intrigued me, because director Hayao Miyazaki had made plenty of other films in between. But, having watched the earlier movie, the connection and similarities become clear: Nausicaä features an ecological message, a threat from nature that isn’t, industrial humans (with a female general) being the actual villains, innocent townsfolk that need saving, a princess who’s the only one who understands, and a boy from a different kingdom who helps her. They’re not identical, of course, but there’s a lot of overlap…

Read more here.


Princess Mononoke (1997)

Miyazaki has imagined a very lyrical and meaningful story, about nature vs industry, and their possible coexistence. The theme isn’t exactly subtle in the film, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t well portrayed. He’s populated the narrative with interesting characters, too. There’s little easy right or wrong here, with those on all sides coming across as nuanced individuals, with complicated relationships.

Read more here.


Triple Frontier (2019)

It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but I think some of the commentary dismissing it as mere standard fare has done it some disservice. As a heist/action movie it’s more than competent, with some turns and developments that keep it surprising and fresh, and visuals that reward seeing it on the best-quality screen you can.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Deadwood
1x11 Jewel's Boot is Made for Walking [2nd watch]

Films

Downsizing (2017)
[#41 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

The Italian Job (1969)
[#40 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

The Italian Job (2003)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #11

The original Italian Job is so gloriously '60s — irreverent, mischievous, anarchic — but I do enjoy the blockbuster slickness of the remake as well.

Collection Count

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

This week's additions include the latest Doctor Who: The Collection box set release, covering season 18. For the first time in this range, it allows me to ditch the DVD copies of every story in the season (as they go about these re-releases they're moving some of the old special features around, so I'm hanging on to some DVDs just in case they never finish the project and I still want those extras). For similar reasons, it also allows me to get rid of a DVD that was rereleased in a different Blu-ray box set, meaning the net total of TV episodes actually goes down a little.

I also acquired two new film Blu-rays, which altogether sends the numbers into the following tizzy of varying ups and downs...

Number of titles in collection: 2,193 [down 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,135 [down 4]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,058 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 22 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,690 [up 3]
Number of films: 2,512 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,423 [down 3]
Number of short films: 654 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Deadwood
1x10 Mister Wu [2nd watch]

TV

Deadwood
1x09 No Other Sons or Daughters [2nd watch]

Films

Deadpool 2: Super Duper $@%!#& Cut (2018)
[#39a in 100 Films in a Year 2019]
You could say "2nd watch", because I'd already seen the theatrical cut.

TV

Deadwood
1x08 Suffer the Little Children [2nd watch]

Films

Holmes & Watson (2018)
[#38 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Triple Frontier (2019)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Deadwood
1x07 Bullock Returns to the Camp [2nd watch]

Films

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
[3rd watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #10

TV

Deadwood
1x06 Plague [2nd watch]

Films

Free Solo (2018)
[#36 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Shaft (2000)
[#37 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]
Would it've been cool if they'd gone ahead and called this Shaft 2000? I feel like it would've. Maybe by the year 2000 the idea that sticking 2000 on a title would make it cool was over, I dunno, but I feel like it would've worked. (And because they didn't, by this summer we'll have three movies called simply Shaft that all actually exist in the same continuity. Madness.)

TV

Deadwood
1x05 The Trial of Jack McCall [2nd watch]

+ the audio commentary by actors Brad Dourif and Robin Weigert. It was only sporadically illuminating again, bit I kind of feel I've committed myself to watching them now.

Films

Crocodile Dundee (1986)
[2nd or so watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #9

Skyscraper 3D (2018)
[#35 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Deadwood
1x04 Here Was a Man [2nd watch]

+ the audio commentary by actors Molly Parker and Keith Carradine. It starts off even more reticent than Milch’s on the pilot, but there are a couple of interesting nuggets.

Films

Mandy (2018)
[#34 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 2,194 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,139 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,055 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 22 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,687 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,510 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,426 [no change]
Number of short films: 654 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Deadwood
1x03 Reconnoitering the Rim [2nd watch]

Films

Life is Beautiful (1997)
[#33 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2019 #3

TV

Deadwood
1x02 Deep Water [2nd watch]

Films

Bruce Almighty (2003)
[#31 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Isle of Dogs (2018)
[#32 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Deadwood
1x01 Deadwood [2nd watch]

With a continuation movie finally on the way sometime soon ("spring" is the official date and, well, it's already March), it's about time I did something I've been meaning to do for a very, very long time: finish Deadwood -- which begins by rewatching what I'd seen before, i.e. season one and the first episode or two of season two. Frankly, I thought it got off to a bit of a slow start, and it's remarkable how dated it looks (it is almost 15 years old, mind), but we'll see.

I also listened to the audio commentary on this episode by creator & episode writer David Milch, which was sometimes interesting but rather patchy. It was also riddled with spoilers for later in the season, some of which I fortunately remembered from my previous viewing, some of which I didn't. Oh well.

Films

The Matrix (1999)
[5th watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #8. I can't remember when I last watched The Matrix, but it's not logged on here, so it's been at least 11 years. It still holds up, of course.

Films

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
[#30 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

this week on 100 Films

After a few fairly quiet weeks at 100 Films in a Year, it's kind of a busy one! Firstly, now that it's March, my look back at February...





There was also my monthly TV review...





And 2 new film reviews were published too...


Green Book (2018)

White people tell black people all about racism (again) in this year’s surprise Best Picture victor... The reaction to Green Book has been an odd one. It was initially well received, winning the People’s Choice Award after its premiere at TIFF, and racking up acclaim from both critics (a Certified Fresh 79% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (8.3 on IMDb, which places it 128th on their Top 250 list). But the more widely it’s been seen and discussed, the more the tide has turned, especially as a more diverse audience has come to it.

Read more here.


Serenity (2019)

Sorry, Browncoats — this has nothing to do with Joss Whedon’s sci-fi classic. But if you’re instead worried this might supplant that in the general consciousness, never fear: despite coming with the pedigree of a cast headlined by Oscar winners Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway (plus Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, and Diane Lane), and a quality writer-director in Steven Knight (the man behind Locke and Peaky Blinders), this Serenity is a dud of epic proportions. I mean, the fact that, even with those names involved, it’s being dumped in the UK as a Sky Cinema Original should tell you something…

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Friends
1x01 The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate [many-th watch]

Can't believe it's over five years since I last started a watch-through of Friends! And this isn't even that, just an episode watched at random by accident. May need to do a full rewatch soon, though...

Films

Swimming with Men (2018)
[#29 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Collection Count

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

This week, a trilogy box set gets upgraded from Blu-ray to UHD, which would normally mean more discs, but my previous set is so old it has digital copies on discs, one per film, so the UHD discs just replace those in the count. On the other hand, another trilogy box set gets upgraded from Blu-ray to UHD, adding both UHD discs and special features discs in the process. With two brand-new regular Blu-rays and a DVD-to-Blu-ray upgrade as well, the number of new titles is five, but the final count looks like this...

Number of titles in collection: 2,193 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,139 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,054 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 21 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 5,685 [up 11]
Number of films: 2,509 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,426 [no change]
Number of short films: 655 [up 1]

Oh, and it's already time for a monthly running time update! Feels like only the other day I was doing the last one of these...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
418 days, 10 hours, and 2 minutes.
(Up 23 hours and 34 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley
1x03 The Jewel in the Crown [series finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Insert Name Here
4x05 Harry
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
16x13 Phenomenal
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Predator (2018)
[#28 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Insert Name Here
4x04 Emma
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Punisher
2x13 The Whirlwind [series finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

The Punisher
2x12 Collision Course
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Serenity (2019)
[#27 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

The 91st Annual Academy Awards
aka the Oscars. Hurrah for Olivia Colman and Spider-Verse! As for the controversial Best Picture winner, well, it's certainly not the year's best film, I'll say that.

Films

Green Book (2018)
[#26 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Great News
2x13 Early Retirement [series finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Live from the Red Carpet: Oscars 2019

Films

Roma (2018)
[#25 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]
Will this win Best Picture? We'll find out in just a few hours' time...

this week on 100 Films

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


Ocean's Eight (2018)

Eight works as breezy entertainment. It’s not as perfectly slick and polished as Eleven — but then, that would’ve been asking a lot. It’s not as boundary-pushing as Twelve (a seemingly muddled film that gets interesting the more you think/read about it), but nor is it as aimless and derivative as I found Thirteen.

Read more here.


Roma (2018)

Drawn from writer-director Alfonso Cuarón’s memories of growing up in the Colonia Roma neighbourhood of Mexico City, Roma is the story of what happens to a middle-class family’s housemaid, Cleo (played by newcomer Yalitza Aparicio), over the course of ten months in 1970 and 1971. It’s also one of the best-reviewed films of the year, winner of BAFTA’s Best Film award (amongst others), and a frontrunner for the same at tonight’s Oscars. No pressure, then.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Punisher
2x11 The Abyss
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Rope (1948)
[#24 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]
Blindspot 2019 #2

Collection Count

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

Just one addition this week, which is nice because I thought there were going to be none. I suppose I shouldn't buy new stuff every week, really...

Number of titles in collection: 2,191 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,140 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,051 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 19 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,674 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,507 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,426 [no change]
Number of short films: 654 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Great News
2x12 The Fast Track
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

The Punisher
2x10 The Dark Hearts of Men
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Ocean's Eight (2018)
[#23 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Great News
2x11 Competing Offer
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema
1x07 Oscar Winners [special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Punisher
2x09 Flustercluck
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Would I Lie To You?
12x10 The Unseen Bits
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Sherlock Gnomes (2018)
[#22 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Great News
2x10 Catfight
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Music

Hamilton - Original Broadway Cast Recording

Obviously everyone's been talking about Hamilton for years, and I've head large chunks of the soundtrack in bits and pieces, now and then, but this is the first time I've listened to it properly from beginning to end, really paying attention. It's rather good, isn't it?

TV

The Punisher
2x07 One Bad Day
2x08 My Brother's Keeper
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Attack the Block (2011)

Despite my reservations about the characters, the film is a great calling card for writer-director Joe Cornish. Although tonal similarities between the movies invite comparisons to what Shaun of the Dead did for Edgar Wright (especially as he’s friends with Cornish and an executive producer here), I feel like Wright’s breakout film was even more assured. Instead I think of something like Guy Ritchie and Lock Stock: an imperfect film in itself, but which suggests a lot of potential from the man behind the camera.

Read more here.


Hereditary (2018)

As a horror movie, it’s one of the most genuinely unsettling I’ve seen for some time, with imagery that makes my hair stand on end just remembering it. It’s all the more effective for the way it grounds itself in real-life tragedy, with a powerhouse performance from Collette that, yes, if it were in a straightforward indie drama would surely be a frontrunner this awards season.

Read more here.


Zatoichi Challenged (1967)

It’s a kinda boring Zatoichi adventure on the whole, with a thin, recycled plot and a first half-hour that’s almost a total aside from the actual story. It’s saved by the climax, one of the best sequences in any Zatoichi film, which single-handedly makes the movie worth a watch.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #7

Collection Count

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

More 4K additions this week. Last time I bulked up my collection with multi-buy offers, this week it's vouchers and new releases. Now, I must try to not get too carried away and keep doing this every week...

There's one new regular Blu-ray, too. That's the remake of Suspiria, which hasn't been released on 4K; indeed, it's not been scheduled for release in the UK at all, so I've imported the US disc.

Number of titles in collection: 2,190 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,140 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,050 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 19 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 5,672 [up 15]
Number of films: 2,505 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes: 8,426 [no change]
Number of short films: 654 [up 2]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Mastermind
2018/2019 Episode 17 (of 31)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Fences (2016)
[#21 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Inception: The Cobol Job (2010)
[#20a in 100 Films in a Year 2019]
Shorted animated comic prequel to Inception.

Inception (2010)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #6. Yes, this is the first time I've seen Inception since the cinema. On the bright side, that wait meant I got to return to it on 4K Blu-ray, which looks superb and sounds even better.

TV

The Punisher
2x06 Nakazat
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968)
[#20 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Great News
2x09 Love is Dead
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Insert Name Here
4x03 Mark
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Les Misérables
Part 6 (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Hereditary (2018)
[#19 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Films

Leave No Trace (2018)
[#18 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Les Misérables
Part 5 (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Punisher
2x05 One-Eyed Jacks
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Would I Lie To You?
12x09 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
[#17 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

The British Academy Film Awards 2019
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Gods and Monsters (1998)
[#16 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

this week on 100 Films

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


High Flying Bird (2019)

it took less than two minutes for High Flying Bird to leave me feeling lost and confused, as it dives into an “inside baseball” (as the saying goes) depiction of basketball right from the off. It felt like watching a French movie without subtitles, except here the language isn’t French, it’s basketball.

Read more here.


Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Despite being adapted from a kids’ picture book, and resolutely rated PG, it didn’t strike me as a kids’ movie at all. It’s glum, depressing, and surely only understandable when filtered through an adult perspective.

Read more here.


The Ragtag Review Roundup

A real mixed back of films that have basically nothing in common. In today’s roundup:
- American Psycho (2000)
- Logan Lucky (2017)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Memories of Murder (2003)
[#15 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2019 #2

Collection Count

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

Having last week promised more 4K UHD discs soon, that's all I have to add this week! There were six of them, almost all upgrades: two from other Blu-rays, two from DVDs (now that's a quality jump!), and one where I'm also keeping the previous edition (for now, at least); plus one brand-new title, too.

All of which works out like this:

Number of titles in collection: 2,186 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,140 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,046 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 16 [up 6]

Number of discs in collection: 5,657 [up 11]
Number of films: 2,499 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,426 [up 1]
Number of short films: 652 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Russian Doll
1x07 The Way Out
1x08 Ariadne [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

High Flying Bird (2019)
[#14 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Russian Doll
1x05 Superiority Complex
1x06 Reflection
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Would I Lie To You?
12x08 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Punisher
2x04 Scar Tissue
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Russian Doll
1x03 A Warm Body
1x04 Alan's Routine
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Insert Name Here
4x02 Mo

Podcasts

David Tennant Does a Podcast with…
1 Olivia Colman
2 Whoopi Goldberg

I don't have a specific category for podcasts -- maybe I should add one? I'm more likely to listen to those than regular radio nowadays.

Anyway, this one does what it says on the tin, and it's a lovely way to spend a bit of time with some friends nattering.

TV

Hanna
1x01 Forest
Amazon's TV adaptation of the 2011 movie is actually released in March, but they made the first episode available for 24 hours following the Super Bowl. If you're quick it might still be there...
[Watch it (again), if you're quick, on Amazon Prime.]

Films

First Reformed (2017)
[#13 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

Les Misérables
Part 4 (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

It's a new month, which means it was time for 100 Films in a Year's first progress report of 2019...





Also this week, 2 new reviews were published...


Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

The team behind neo-noir modern classic Nightcrawler (writer-director Dan Gilroy, stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo, cinematographer Robert Elswit, among others) reunite for this direct-to-Netflix genre mash-up — it’s part art-world satire, part mystery-thriller, part horror. The Verge described it as “Robert Altman’s Final Destination”, and that so succinctly articulates what the film reminded me of that I decided to just lift it. Well, just pilfering someone else’s work is in-keeping with the film’s themes, at least.

Read more here.


Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967)

The sixteenth Zatoichi movie begins by boldly declaring it’s “the first feature by Katsu Productions”, the production company of series star Shintaro Katsu. While the change isn’t radical — this is still the Zatoichi we know and love — there does seem to be a different style and tone about this particular instalment.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

I say "every week" -- I missed last week, for various dull reasons, so this week's count includes a fortnight of updates, plus a "monthly" running time update that actually counts five weeks. Ah well.

Of note: a new 4K UHD title, which turned up just yesterday. There'll be even more of those coming soon...

Number of titles in collection: 2,184 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,142 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,042 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 10 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,646 [up 16]
Number of films: 2,497 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes: 8,425 [up 47]
Number of short films: 653 [up 2]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
417 days, 10 hours, and 28 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 11 hours, and 5 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Russian Doll
1x01 Nothing in This World Is Easy
1x02 The Great Escape
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
[#12 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

TV

The Punisher
2x03 Trouble the Water
Didn't mean to leave it 11 days between episodes of this, but I've been away and busy.
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
[#11 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Films

Zatoichi Challenged (1967)
[#10 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Films

The Happytime Murders (2018)
[#9 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Films

The Player (1992)
[#8 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]
Blindspot 2019 #1

TV

Grantchester
4x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Midsomer Murders
19x04 Red in Tooth & Claw
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Poirot
5x05 The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new review was published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Unsane (2018)

Probably the best-known thing about Unsane is that Steven Soderbergh shot it on an iPhone. Well, he’s not the first person to shoot a feature on a phone, nor will he be the last, but I guess he must’ve been the most high-profile. It’s a shame that’s all people seemed to talk about, though, because the content of the film is worth a look too.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Death in Paradise
8x03 Caught Off Camera
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poirot
5x04 The Case of the Missing Will
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

TV

Death in Paradise
8x02 The Poison Dart Gun
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poirot
5x03 The Yellow Iris
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

TV

Nailed It!
2x01 High Society
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Les Misérables (2012)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #5. Next to the current BBC adaptation, this just feels like one massive abridged montage. Not to mention the new one is relatively subtle, whereas here everyone sings all the subtext out loud.

TV

Death in Paradise
8x01 Murder on the Honore Express
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who
37x11 Resolution [New Year's Day special; 2nd watch]
Here's the review I wrote on my other blog, FYI.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]