Films

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
[#251 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

FilmBath Shorts
[#250j–v in 100 Films in a Year 2020] And that's the last thing I'll be watching from AMPLIFY! as the festival is now well and truly over (although I do still have some screeners knocking about...)

Films

CINECITY Open Shorts
[#250a–i in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

My Mexican Bretzel (2019)
[#250 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ the Q&A that followed the film on AMPLIFY!, which you can also watch on YouTube.

Plus, I finally got round to watching some of the festival's shorts programmes. Across these I watched 26 short films today, so I'll list the programmes rather than every individual short...

Cornwall Film Festival South West Regional Shorts
[#249a–k in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Cornwall Film Festival International Shorts
[#249l–s in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

New Voices Shorts
[#249t–z in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

this week on 100 Films

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


The IMDb New Filmmaker Award 2020

Why would you watch an awards show after its happened? Well, in this case, you get to hear the judges’ musings on what makes a good film — and when those judges are BAFTA-nominated director Coky Giedroyc, Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning producer Amanda Posey, and the CEO of IMDb, Col Needham, those are opinions worth listening to. Even better, you get to watch the five nominated shorts in full, and they’re good a bunch. But don’t just take my word for it: take my, er, word for it, in the form of these reviews…

Read more here.


Some Beasts (2019)

Sometimes, one thing can ruin an entire movie. Depending on how harsh a critic you are, I’d say that’s quite rare. Unless it’s threaded throughout the entire film (like, say, a terrible lead performance, or a consistently poor cinematography decision), a small constituent part would have to be truly horrendous to take the entire rest of the movie down with it. Some Beasts is one of those films. The problem arrives in the final 20 minutes, which makes it a massive plot spoiler. Out of some lingering respect for storytellers, I provide this spoiler warning; others would argue content of this nature doesn’t deserve such courtesy.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

I went a bit crazy with orders from the US recently (thanks to Barnes & Noble's Criterion sale being price-matched by Amazon.com), and that's bearing fruit now as they start to arrive. Every title is a Blu-ray, but it's a real mix of upgrade types (including DVD-to-BD, DVD-to-4K, BD-to-4K, BD-to-BD, and BD-but-I'm-keeping-the-DVD-too), as well as plain ol' new acquisitions. Consequently, the net title increase doesn't tell the whole story -- though even that's higher than normal. I really need to learn some self control...

Number of titles in collection: 2,478 [up 9]
Of which DVDs: 1,082 [down 3]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,396 [up 12]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 87 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 6,388 [up 14]
Number of films: 2,843 [up 10]
Number of additional cuts: 197 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 8,982 [no change]
Number of short films: 771 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Fisherman's Friends (2019)
[2nd watch] Rewatchathon 2020 #43

Films

Influence (2020)
[#248 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ the Q&A that followed the film on AMPLIFY!, which you can also watch on YouTube.

I also watched tonight's live Q&A about You Will Die at Twenty (having watched the film itself yesterday, of course).

Films

You Will Die at Twenty (2019)
[#248 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

The IMDb New Filmmaker Award 2020
Including the 5 nominated shorts, which become 100 Films in a Year 2020 #247a—e.
[Watch the ceremony and shorts (again) on AMPLIFY!]

Films

The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
[#247 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

TV

Small Axe
Mangrove
[#246 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Should this count as Film or TV? It's a series of five thematically-linked feature-length episodes, directed by filmmaker Steve McQueen, and this first one was the opening night film at the London Film Festival. So it's a film... but it's a TV series... but it's a series of films... that most people will watch on TV, one per week... though in the US, the promos don't call it "a series" or "miniseries", but "a collection of five films"... but... Oh, the line is so blurry now!
Anyway, I've listed it as TV, because that's where I watched it, but I'm also going to count it for 100 Films.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Lie (2018)
[#245 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

See also: today's TV post

this week on 100 Films

4 new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Jojo Rabbit (2019)

some people really took against the film. Others, less vitriolic, thought it didn’t measure up to writer-director Taika Waititi’s high standard. I don’t think it’s as good as Hunt for the Wilderpeople or What We Do in the Shadows (both modern classics, more or less), but I did like it a lot. When it hit the mark with its humour, it was very, very funny; but it balances this with emotional and hard-hitting bits.

Read more here.


Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)

the film’s tension crushes in all the time, throughout. Or perhaps not tension, exactly, but worry; uncertainty; anxiety. What’s going to happen? What’s going to go wrong? How are they going to deal with this, that, and the other? Horribly, this is probably what it’s like to be a young woman a lot of the time, especially in America. That’s the film’s power: it takes a real-life experience lived by so many, and it doesn’t just show it to us, it makes us feel it.

Read more here.


Patrick (2019)

To sum this up as “Agatha Christie meets the Coen brothers in a nudist camp” doesn’t feel too wide of the mark. Okay, there’s no murder, so perhaps mystery-genre fans could think of a better author than Christie to sub in. But the fact remains that the missing hammer isn’t just a story hook to hang something else on: it’s a solid mystery narrative, with clues and red herrings and twists. Conversely, it’s not just a mystery... It’s very much a comedy-drama, in that it’s not out-and-out seeking to provoke laughs, but it’s frequently absurd to the point of being laughable

Read more here.


Waxworks (1924)

Often billed as the first portmanteau horror movie, Waxworks only fits the bill in the loosest sense: its “three stories” are actually two stories and a dream sequence, the first (and longest) of which is, if anything, a swashbuckling farce... It’s a welcome watch for fans of silent cinema or early horror (with caveats about its “horror” content duly noted), and there are enough good parts to recommend it, but I wouldn’t argue it’s a classic in any enduring sense

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
[#244 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Normally I try to leave Christmas movies 'til December, but when you've got multiple family members to keep happy... Maybe I'll let this open the floodgates for 2020 early (I really want to watch Klaus, and Christmas Chronicles 2 is out in something like 10 days).

Collection Count

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

A couple of hours after I posted last week's count, I realised I'd accidentally left out an entire release. Oops! That was a 4K upgrade for the Three Colours Cornetto trilogy, with one box set replacing my three individual editions (a mix of DVD and BD copies). So that's factored in this week now, alongside eight brand-new acquisitions.

Number of titles in collection: 2,469 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,085 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,384 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 85 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 6,374 [up 15]
Number of films: 2,833 [up 7]
Number of additional cuts: 194 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,982 [up 6]
Number of short films: 771 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Children in Need 2020
I didn't really intend to watch this (I haven't for years), I just wanted to catch up with certain parts later (like the Goes Wrong Show sketch); but I had nothing else to do at the time it started, so I bunged it on and ended up leaving it on in the background throughout. It wasn't bad. Maybe it helps that it was only 3 hours this year — so much less filler.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Coded Bias (2020)
[#243 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

An Impossible Project (2020)
[#242 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ the Q&A that followed the film on AMPLIFY!, which you can also watch on YouTube

A double-bill of two very different tech documentaries: An Impossible Project is about trying to keep analogue alive; Coded Bias is all about algorithms dictating our lives (you can't get much more digital than that!)

Films

Falling (2020)
[#241 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

this week on 100 Films

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


Luxor (2020)

part gentle romantic drama, part tourism video. There are multiple scenes of Hana leisurely roaming around ancient monuments, soaking in the atmosphere and history... There’s a lot going on internally for these characters — a lot of stuff we’re not privy to — which will work for some viewers and wholly turn off others. I found Hana’s mental state to be infectious, to a degree. There’s evident nostalgia for her previous time there, tinged with a certain amount of melancholy.

Read more here.


The Mole Agent (2020)

sound like the setup for a comedy: it’s about a doddery 83-year-old who must learn to be a spy. And, indeed, there are scene where the film is very amusing; particularly early on, when the octogenarian in question, Sergio Chamy, struggles to get to grips with the technology he’ll need to use... [But] it’s ultimately a powerfully affecting experience. It’s a film that intrigues you with its laughable premise, then swings round to punch you in the emotions with a crystal-clear message.

Read more here.


Rose Plays Julie (2019)

Long Lost Family meets rape revenge thriller in this Irish drama… Between its heavy issues and unwaveringly doom-laden tone, Rose Plays Julie is not a light viewing experience. If you like the idea of slow-burn dramatic thriller that spends a lot of time focused on people's still faces as they process information silently and internally, and leaves you with a lot to chew over when it's done, this is a film for you. If you think that sounds inscrutable or dull, steer clear.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Once again, a mass of stuff only turned up on Saturday morning; and once again, I was busy with other stuff all day (what could possibly be more important than updating my DVD/Blu-ray count?!)

There are 9 additions, all told (one BD-to-4K upgrade is 'hidden' in the count); 6 of those turned up today. Among them were 16 films and a further 5 additional cuts. That's due to there being three chunky box sets: two Hammer collections from Indicator (thanks to a sale), and the long-awaited 4K set of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (one film, tonnes of discs, and several alternate cuts). Tis a beauty. I suppose it ougth to replace my old copy, Arrow's Blu-ray from years ago; but as there are no 1080p film discs in the new set, I also kinda feel like hanging onto it. I'll probably do that "for now" and then just forget about it...

Number of titles in collection: 2,464 [up 8]
Of which DVDs: 1,086 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,378 [up 8]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 83 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 6,359 [up 21]
Number of films: 2,826 [up 16]
Number of additional cuts: 193 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes: 8,976 [up 1]
Number of short films: 771 [no change]

Incidentally, ever since the days of DVD, when an HD format was but a twinkle in someone's imagination, I've not counted CD discs in this tally (because it was a list of my DVDs, not CDs, duh!) That comes to mind because the Dawn of the Dead set includes a trio of soundtrack CDs, which would almost double its contribution to the discs count. I don't even know how many other bonus CDs I have buried away in my film collection. Maybe I should add another stat for it...

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Showrunners (2014)
[#240 in 100 Films in a Year 2020] aka Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show

Films

Rose Plays Julie (2019)
[#239 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

Hot Fuzz (2007)
[3rd watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #42. Considering how much I enjoyed this (and how often it's on ITV2), it's kind of remarkable that I've only watched it once since seeing it at the cinema back in 2007; and, according to my records, that was around when it came out on DVD, in late '07 or early '08 — so I haven't rewatched it in over 12 years. This is a long-overdue rectification of that. (Don't get me started on Shaun…)

Straight afterwards, I watched the audio commentary by director Edgar Wright and his mate, Quentin Tarantino. I only intended to listen to the first couple of minutes, but got sucked in for the full two hours. It’s a very laidback, chatty track; not great for learning about the film itself, but for anecdotes and surrounding inspirations, it’s not uninteresting. It does feel like just hanging out with two movie buff friends having a natter.

Films

An American Werewolf in London (1981)
[#237 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Blindspot 2020 #10. This was supposed to be October's Blindspot film, for Halloween, but I messed up. But hey, it's only one day late!

Robolove (2019)
[#238 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

this week on 100 Films

It's that time of the month again, folks: 100 Films in a Year's monthly review...





Also this week, 5 new film reviews...


Vampires Suck (2010)

there are plenty of cheap, uninspired, crass, and rip-off gags, but some of it also made me laugh, so it’s not a total washout. It’s never as funny as the real thing at it’s funniest (Face Punch forever!), but it wasn’t as uninspired as I expected.

Read more here.


The 100-Week Roundup XIV

Featuring...
- It’s Such a Beautiful Day
- The Lives of Others
- Jennifer’s Body
- Going for Golden Eye

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
[#236 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Collection Count

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

This week's updates include a couple of new titles — biggest among them, Indicator's Fu Manchu box set — but (as mooted last week) I've removed the set of eight classic Universal monster movies, so a couple of stats still go down. And then, when tallying up, I discovered I'd forgotten something I bought earlier in the month was actually a DVD-to-BD upgrade, so even more stats drop or stay the same!

Regarding the Indicator set, it contains alternative presentations of several of the films, but I've only counted one as a true alternate cut. That one has a whole different prologue, whereas the others are just alternate title sequences, which I personally consider to be be a curio rather than a genuine additional cut.

Number of titles in collection: 2,456 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,086 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,370 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 80 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 6,338 [down 3]
Number of films: 2,810 [down 2]
Number of additional cuts: 188 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,975 [no change]
Number of short films: 771 [up 5]

Also this week, it's time for the monthly running time update. With several box sets rocking up this month (including that huge Universal one last week), does that mean an uncommonly large jump here?

Total running time of collection (approx.):
460 days, 9 hours, and 45 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 19 hours, and 45 minutes from last month.)

Well, I don't actually know what the average monthly increase is. This one doesn't challenge several of the ultra-big jumps I've had this year, but it's not paltry either.

Anyway, see you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Tim's Vermeer (2013)
[#235 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)
[#234 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ from Indicator's new box set, the introduction by BFI curator Vic Pratt, and the first hour of the audio commentary by experts Stephen Jones and Kim Newman (it's not that I got bored and quit; quite the opposite: I'd only intended to listen to the first few minutes, then got sucked in for just over an hour!)

Films

Vampires Suck (2010)
[#233 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Waxworks (1924)
[#232 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

Misery (1990)
[#230 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

The Mole Agent (2020)
[#231 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

TV

Demetri Martin: The Overthinker
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
7x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

this week on 100 Films

No new reviews at 100 Films in a Year this week — indeed, the only new post was about why that was...


FilmBath + AMPLIFY!

In a mirror of this post from last year, I’m here again to blame my recent blogging quietness on FilmBath Festival. Yes, even in these Covid-struck days, we are putting on a film festival. It’s different — smaller, for one thing, with just nine films over five days... But, as if to make up for that, we have a New Thing… AMPLIFY! is an online virtual film festival — which, in short, means you can enjoy it if you live anywhere in the UK.

Read more here.


Hopefully, more reviews next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

A later-than-normal update again, because a bunch of stuff turned up on Saturday morning (that's why I set this to normally post at 3pm on Saturday, but it's no good if lots turns up when I'm busy with something else). By "lots" I primarily mean "something to think about": three shiny new titles, that's easy; but I picked up the Universal Classic Monsters 30-film Blu-ray set (which contains 31 films) in Amazon's Prime Day sale and that causes dilemmas. Does it replace my existing 8-film 'highlights' Blu-ray set? Does it also replace my similar DVD set? You might think "duh, of course", but the DVD set comes with some physical extras I'd like to keep.

For now, I've just added it as a brand-new title. Long-term, I suspect the 8-film set will go, but the DVDs won't — I've no need for those discs anymore, so I could sell them and keep the physical extras; but as that wouldn't save me any space (and the DVDs would only make a pittance), what's the point?

Number of titles in collection: 2,456 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,087 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,369 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 80 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 6,341 [up 28]
Number of films: 2,812 [up 34]
Number of additional cuts: 187 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,975 [no change]
Number of short films: 766 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Great British Bake Off
11x04 Chocolate Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Jonathan Creek
5x04 Daemons' Roost [Christmas special; series finale]
It's been almost four years since this episode aired — not as long as the longest gap in the series' history (just under five years between the series four finale and The Grinning Man), but you can see why websites have decided this is probably the final-ever instalment (it certainly is for now, at least). If that's the case, it's not a bad one to go out on: a lot better than other recent episodes, and with some nice nods to the series' history.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Down with Love (2003)
[#228 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Puzzle (2018)
[#229 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

TV

Elementary
7x08 Miss Understood

Who Dares Wins
12x05 (27/7/19 edition)

Young Wallander
1x06 Bomb [season finale]
Well, that was... less than great. "Bomb" indeed. Full review in my next 100 Films TV column.
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Ghosts
1x01 Who Do You Think You Are? [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
7x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Young Wallander
1x05 Billionaire's Black Tie
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Elementary
7x07 From Russia with Drugs

The Great British Bake Off
11x03 Bread Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Young Wallander
1x04 Assassination Closed?
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Jonathan Creek
5x03 The Curse of the Bronze Lamp [season finale]
An array of terrible subplots make you wish this episode was considerably shorter (it’s only an hour but feels like two), but its mystery is still the nearest these latter-day Creeks have come to its heyday highs.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Young Wallander
1x03 Mona & Munck Connection
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Elementary
7x06 Command: Delete

Who Dares Wins
12x04 (20/7/19 edition)

Young Wallander
1x02 Nightclub Smugglers
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Elementary
7x05 Into the Woods

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
7x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

The American President (1995)
[#227 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Collection Count

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

As mentioned last week, this update brings Back to the Future in 4K, and with it uncertainty what to do with my old Blu-ray copy. I bought the tin edition with lots of bits & bobs in it. I'd like to keep those, but I don't need the discs anymore. Maybe I could sell the actual Blu-ray set and keep the tin & tat... but it's likely to be worth so little (it sells new for less than £15, probably even lower now there's a new edition) that, if I'm keeping the big ol' tin anyway, is there any point selling some of its contents?

Anyway, while I continue to ponder that into the future, here's this week's overall changes...

Number of titles in collection: 2,452 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,087 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,365 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 80 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 6,313 [up 14]
Number of films: 2,778 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 187 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,975 [up 11]
Number of short films: 765 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

this week on 100 Films

This week on 100 Films in a Year began with another lengthy TV column...





And there was 1 new film review, too...


A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

If it all sounds a bit predictable, director Marielle Heller dodges that with some indie-movie-esque flourishes. There’s a touch of Wes Anderson to how she uses Mr Rogers’ TV show, switching into Academy ratio to demarcate us entering a different ‘world’ — not just literally clips from the show, but bookend narration, dream sequences, location transitions, and so on.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Great British Bake Off
11x02 Biscuit Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Jonathan Creek
5x02 The Sinner and the Sandman
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Young Wallander
1x01 Anti Immigration at Home
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

TV

Anthony Jeselnik: Thoughts and Prayers
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Mystery Men (1999)
[3rd watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #41

Films

Luxor (2020)
[#226 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
[#224 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Some Beasts (2019)
[#225 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

TV

Monty Python Conquers America
Hour-long documentary (available on Netflix) about the unlikely-but-true story of how Monty Python came to be so popular in the US.

this week on 100 Films

5 new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Bloodshot (2020)

Like those half-arsed efforts of old, Bloodshot is, when taken as a brain-off sci-fi actioner, mostly adequate. That’s about the best that can be said for it. I was going to say that it’s probably bland enough to scrape a passing grade, but, the further I get from it, the more it lessens in my memory.

Read more here.


The 100-Week Roundup XIII

Featuring...
- TiMER
- Suspiria (1977)
- Matinee
- The Producers (1967)

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Anthony Jeselnik: Fire in the Maternity Ward
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

The Good Liar (2019)
[#223 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Collection Count

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

Just two new titles this week: one regular ol' Blu-ray and one BD-to-4K upgrade.

Number of titles in collection: 2,449 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,088 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,361 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 78 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 6,299 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,774 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 187 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,964 [no change]
Number of short films: 765 [up 1]

Next week will hopefully bring Back to the Future in 4K, and another dilemma about whether to keep or sell my old Blu-ray copy. See you then, faithful reader.

TV

Marc Maron: End Times Fun
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)
[#222 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

Patrick (2019)
[#221 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
[#220 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Live and Let Die (1973)
[4th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #40. It was James Bond day today, so it seemed only right to watch a Bond film. The date marks the release of the first Bond film, but I watched the first Roger Moore one instead because, well, that's where I'm at in my rewatch (which has been going on since this anniversary in 2012. Eight films in eight years? That's not deliberate, I've just accidentally been horrendously tardy. But I better pick up the pace, otherwise it's going to take until 2036 just to get to Spectre again…)

Films

Lancelot du Lac (1974)
[#219 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

this week on 100 Films

A new month meant a new monthly review over at 100 Films in a Year this week...





And there was 1 new film review, too...


Enola Holmes (2020)

As a story set in the world of Sherlock Holmes, Enola Holmes is… well… um… but then, it’s not really about him. While I don’t imagine Sherlockians will be inducting this into their favourite screen iterations of the Great Detective, it works as a female-led YA mystery-adventure.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Demetri Martin: Live (At the Time)
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Collection Count

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

Finally, as promised, the much-delayed monthly running time update!

Before I get to that, I also removed those titles I mentioned last week. That would've sent several stats down (in reality, it should've just been fewer increases last week rather than decreases this week), but I also bought some new stuff (of course), so there are actually some increases instead.

Number of titles in collection: 2,448 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,088 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,360 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 77 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 6,297 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,773 [up 5]
Number of additional cuts: 187 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,964 [no change]
Number of short films: 764 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
457 days and 14 hours exactly.
(Up 1 day, 9 hours, and 17 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

Music

Mouth Dreams by Neil Cicierega

So, recently, apropos of nothing, I started listening to my favourite tracks from Neil Cicierega's Mouth albums again, for the first time in ages (here's when I first discovered them, a little over two years ago). After a few days of that, I decided I should look to see if he'd ever done a fourth one... only to find it just came out a couple of days ago! Life is weird. Anyway, of course I had to play it immediately.

You can listen to it for free here.

Films

Lost in La Mancha (2002)
[#217 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

He Dreams of Giants (2019)
[#218 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Completing a triple-bill with yesterday's film. (For those who don't know, Lost in La Mancha is about Terry Gilliam's failed attempt to film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, while He Dreams of Giants documents his success in making it almost 20 years later.)

Films

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
[#216 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

Fanny and Alexander (1982)
[#215 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Blindspot 2020 #9

Films

Mission: Impossible II (2000)
[6th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #39. Continuing the 4K M:I rewatch that I started back in May. Didn't necessarily intend for them to be so spread out, but there's no rush either.

TV

Jonathan Creek
5x01 The Letters of Septimus Noone
What an odd episode! We see the murder happen when it happens, leaving Jonathan to solve a mystery we already know the solution to. It’s like it was written and/or directed and/or edited by people who’ve never seen a murder mystery before. No wonder it’s the series’ lowest-rated episode on IMDb.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Enola Holmes (2020)
[#214 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

The Hippopotamus (2017)
[#213 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Collection Count

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

I promised one of those stats this week would be the delayed monthly running time update, but I've been too busy to sort that out; not to mention that this week's additions include some uncertainties.

How so? Well, I upgraded a DVD to Blu-ray, but I'm not sure if I'm keeping the DVD too; and I upgraded a pair of Blu-rays to a 4K box set, but I'm not sure if I'm keeping the Blu-rays too. I should probably get rid of them all (my collection can't keep expanding indefinitely!), but, I don't know, it's some kind of sentimental attachment, I guess.

For now, I've just added the additions and made no subtractions. My plan is to make decisions (hopefully "get rid of"!) by next week, in time for the very-delayed-but-definitely-going-to-happen 'monthly' running time update.

Number of titles in collection: 2,447 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,089 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,358 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 74 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 6,295 [up 10]
Number of films: 2,768 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 187 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,964 [no change]
Number of short films: 764 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Criminal: United Kingdom
2x04 Sandeep [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Elementary
7x04 Red Light, Green Light

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
7x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

TV

Criminal: United Kingdom
2x03 Danielle
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Elementary
7x03 The Price of Admission

The Great British Bake Off
11x01 Cake Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

TV

Elementary
7x02 Gutshot

Jonathan Creek
5x00c The Clue of the Savant's Thumb [Easter special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Who Dares Wins
12x03 (13/7/19 edition)

TV

Criminal: United Kingdom
2x02 Alex
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Elementary
7x01 The Further Adventures

Strike
3x04 Lethal White Part 4 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Rookie
2x19 The Q Word
2x20 The Hunt [season finale]

Strike
3x03 Lethal White Part 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Who Dares Wins
12x02 (11/5/19 edition)

TV

Criminal: United Kingdom
2x01 Julia
Remember how this was originally made by four different countries doing the same format? Only the UK one seems to have been recommissioned, and in all the press pushing this second season (of which there's been a surprising amount) I don't think I've seen a single mention of the original multi-country setup. Considering that was a selling point first time round, you'd think it'd at least warrant a mention...
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Friday Night Dinner
6x06 The Females [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Insert Name Here
4x08 Rob [series finale]

Strike
3x02 Lethal White Part 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Out of Africa (1985)
[#212 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

this week on 100 Films

9 new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Bait (2019)

The past and the present — the old ways and the new — clash head-on in Mark Jenkin’s Bait, both in its storyline and its production... It was shot on 16mm black-and-white stock with a wind-up camera, with all the sound post-synced... it’s actually a wonderful marriage of form and content; the earthy, hand-hewn visuals reflect the film’s themes.

Read more here.


Bill & Ted’s Double-Bill

As Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) slightly belatedly face the music in UK cinemas, now seemed a good time to review their first excellent adventure and second bogus journey…

Read more here.


Safety Last! (1923)

The first two-thirds of the film are a very solid 4-out-of-5 farce, but the final act mixes laughs with thrills in a perfectly executed, constantly escalating sequence that is a 6-out-of-5-level climax.

Read more here.


Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

“I’ll be back,” the Terminator famously said in The Terminator, and he has been proven right — again and again. And again. This may be a franchise about time travel, but it’s us who seem to be stuck in some kind of time loop, because this is now the third attempt at creating a direct sequel to Terminator 2... As well as being the third Terminator 3, Dark Fate is also the third attempt to start a new trilogy, and is now the third to see those plans aborted after poor box office.

Read more here.


The 100-Week Roundup XII

Featuring...
- Bridget Jones's Baby
- Network
- Prevenge
- Ran

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Insert Name Here
4x06 Liz
4x07 Jules

The Rookie
2x18 Under the Gun

Strike
3x01 Lethal White Part 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Waking Ned (1998)
[#211 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Collection Count

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

Two new additions this week, one a box set, so plenty of bits & bobs to add.

Number of titles in collection: 2,444 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,089 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,355 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 72 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 6,285 [up 7]
Number of films: 2,764 [up 5]
Number of additional cuts: 186 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,964 [up 6]
Number of short films: 764 [up 2]

It's also meant to be the running time update this week, but I've been too busy to get that ready to go, unfortunately. Hopefully I'll get it sorted in time for next week, but it may even have to get pushed to the week after.

Either way, see you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2019/2020 Episode 6 (of 10)

Friday Night Dinner
6x05 The Cage
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Jonathan Creek
5x00b The Judas Tree [Easter special; 2nd watch]
When I first watched this in 2010, I commented it wasn't "vintage Creek". It's far-fetched even by the series' own standards, and whether it all really hangs together is certainly debatable.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Twilight Zone
5x13 Ring-a-Ding Girl
5x30 Stopover in a Quiet Town
And that completes my "best of" selection! From now on they're just "episodes" (until I do another "worst of", anyway).

Music

Under Stars by Amy Macdonald

TV

The Twilight Zone
4x13 The New Exhibit
+ audio commentary by TZ expert Marc Scott Zicree and Bill Warren, author of a book about classic sci-fi films.

I'm almost at the end of my "best of" picks here, which represent the top 33% of the series (according to the average of various ranking lists), and this is the second and last episode included from season 4. It really is a widely disliked season. On the commentary, even the usually praise-full Zicree is mostly quite critical of this episode!

Films

Blind Fury (1989)
[#210 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

TV

Hannah Gadsby: Douglas
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

The Twilight Zone
1x02 One for the Angels
2x05 The Howling Man
2x23 A Hundred Yards Over the Rim
3x19 The Hunt
Starting on my 10th (and final) "best of" selection.
+ the commentary on The Hunt by the episode's writer, Earl Hamner, and TZ expert Marc Scott Zicree

Films

Guinevere (1994)
[#209 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
[#207 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

For the Love of Spock (2016)
[#208 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Music

A Curious Thing by Amy Macdonald

Life in a Beautiful Light by Amy Macdonald

I can't post listen counts for these older Amy MacDonald albums, because for some reason iTunes has lost that information; but it has been over seven years since I listened to any of them. They all feel very familiar, though, because they were listened to a lot and they're good. (Next up: the one I only just bought.)

this week on 100 Films

8 new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Before Midnight (2013)

The first two films are marked by an unreserved romanticism. Midnight is notably different, abandoning that lovey-dovey-ness and replacing it with a powerful examination of the tension in a long-term relationship. In some respects, it’s all the better for it. That’s in no way a criticism of the previous films, but it’s realistic that, as time goes on, people change. They can’t be young-spirited and full of the joys of first love forever.

Read more here.


Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)

the crazy story of how a director of surrealist Mexican art-films came this close to making an epic space opera out of one of the most acclaimed science-fiction novels ever written, but, in his failure, accidentally helped give birth to Star Wars (sort of), Alien (indirectly), and possibly the entire history of screen science-fiction that did actually get made in the ensuing 40 years. Sounds like a bit of a stretch? Um, well, yeah… but that doesn’t stop some of this documentary’s contributors from asserting it, and they do kind of have evidence.

Read more here.


Le Mans ’66 (2019) (2019)

It might look like a film for car nuts, and I’m sure they’ll get a lot out of it... but the rest of us are by no means left out, thanks to involving characters and exciting race scenes, even if some plot beats border on clichéd. Le Mans ’66 may not reinvent the wheel, but it works hard at refining it.

Read more here.


Love on a Leash (2011)

how do you rate a film like this? As an exercise in moviemaking, it’s a 1. The storyline is borderline nonsensical; it’s shot like an amateur using a camcorder for the first time; the sound mix is so unfinished I’m not sure it was ever started… And yet it’s constantly enjoyable, partly through a “so bad it’s good” hilarity (see the aforementioned terrible filmmaking), but also for the barminess with which it conducts itself, the relentless forward momentum of the storyline leading us in unpredictable narrative directions.

Read more here.


Memories of Murder (2003)

Loosely based on the true story of Korea’s first serial murders, and taking a procedural approach to the crime thriller genre, Memories of Murder invites comparison to David Fincher’s Zodiac for its methodical, realistic narrative style and plot that follows obsessed investigators chasing unsolved murders in the past. Zodiac is one of my favourite films, so it’s a tall order to be pitched against it. Fortunately, Memories of Murder is strong enough to withstand the comparison.

Read more here.


The 100-Week Roundup XI

Featuring...
- Compulsion
- Courage Under Fire
- Heathers

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)
[#205 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Vice (2018)
[#206 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
With this, I've finally seen every Oscar Best Picture nominee from the last five years. Next stop: the last ten years (got ten more films to see before I've managed that, though).

Collection Count

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

Just two new additions this week, one a BD-to-4K upgrade, so it looks like just one. There's a few things currently in the post though, which should arrive just in time for next week's monthly running time update.

Number of titles in collection: 2,442 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,089 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,353 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 72 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 6,278 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,759 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 185 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,958 [no change]
Number of short films: 762 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Cobra Kai
1x10 Mercy [season finale]
This show is so good, fyi.
[Watch seasons 1&2 (again) on Netflix.]

Fiction

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
6 The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual
Another of the top-ranked Holmes stories. Not my favourite, but it has its clever points.

TV

Cobra Kai
1x08 Molting
1x09 Different but Same
[Watch seasons 1&2 (again) on Netflix.]

Films

All About Eve (1950)
[#204 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
As part of Blindspot 2020, a leftover from WDYMYHS 2019.

Music

This Is the Life by Amy Macdonald

Amy Macdonald has a new album on the way; and, like the Killers recently, this made me realise I'd never bought her last one, and hadn't listened to any of it for years. So, similar to the Killers, here I go again, relistening to the back catalogue before getting to the unheard ones.