Tuesday, 17 January 2023

TV

Our Flag Means Death
1x02 A Damned Man
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
16x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Sunday, 15 January 2023

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x26 Week 6: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

A Spy Among Friends
Part 6 No Man's Land [finale]
I wasn’t sure about this at the start — it all seemed a little too cut and dried; where was six episodes of drama supposed to come from? — but it developed nicely, with all the plots, counterplots, and twists of a Le CarrĂ©, but with the added frisson of knowing it was (based on) truth. A must-see for fans of Cold War spy tales.
[Watch the series (again) on ITVX.]

this week on 100Films.co.uk

We may be over a fortnight into the new year now, but 2023 finally got underway on 100Films.co.uk this week. First, with the introduction of this year's version of my 100 Films Challenge...





Then, as part of that, I announced the 12 films that make up my Blindspot list for this year...





And finally, the 12 films in my "What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" sub-challenge...





Maybe next Sunday I'll actually have some reviews to share...

Saturday, 14 January 2023

TV

A Spy Among Friends
Part 2 The Admiral's Glass
Part 3 Allegory of the Catholic Faith
Part 4 Vodka
Part 5 Snow
[Watch the series (again) on ITVX.]

Collection Count

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

So, in a surprise development, my long-awaited order from the US finally turned up out of the blue ("out of the blue" here meaning "the tracking hadn't changed for over a month, then suddenly it was being delivered that day"). So it's finally factored in this week, right? Wrong. I'm away for the weekend, so the parcel is currently with my neighbour. Assuming no further unforeseeable problems, it'll all finally be counted next week.

In the meantime, the January sales are beginning to get to me. This week's update includes five sales purchases (one a BD-to-4K upgrade, so you can't really see any trace of it in the numbers below), and there are more on the way. My willpower is poor...

Number of titles in collection: 2,997 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,037 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,960 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 227 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 7,415 [up 8]
Number of films: 3,662 [up 5]
Number of additional cuts: 298 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,508 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,025 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday, 13 January 2023

TV

Death in Paradise
11x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Ghosts
4x05 Poached Guests
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x25 Week 5: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

A Spy Among Friends
Part 1 Boom-Ooh-Yatatatah
[Watch it (again) on ITVX.]

Thursday, 12 January 2023

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x23 Week 5: Wednesday
6x24 Week 5: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Radio

Desert Island Discs
Steven Spielberg, director
I've been meaning to listen to this ever since it was broadcast back in December; and, in typical me fashion, I've left it until it's only got a couple of days left on catchup.
[Listen to it (again) on BBC Sounds.]

Wednesday, 11 January 2023

TV

Jon & Lucy's Party of the Year
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

The Wheel
3x07 Christmas Special
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Tuesday, 10 January 2023

TV

Would I Lie To You?
16x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Sunday, 8 January 2023

this week on 100Films.co.uk

No reviews were published to 100Films.co.uk this week, because it was time for a thorough lookback at 2022. Hopefully the titles in the below images explain what's what...











Next Sunday, 2023 begins.

Saturday, 7 January 2023

Collection Count

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

Finally, some of those orders I've been talking about for a month or two are coming through — though one major one is outstanding. Hopefully soon.

Anyway, this week there's a six-film box set that replaces a handful of existing DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as new titles for my collection, so the numbers jump around all over the place.

Number of titles in collection: 2,993 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,037 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,956 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 223 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,407 [up 10]
Number of films: 3,657 [up 8]
Number of additional cuts: 298 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 9,508 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,025 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Thursday, 5 January 2023

TV

Our Flag Means Death
1x01 Pilot
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Wednesday, 4 January 2023

Monday, 2 January 2023

TV

Gogglebox
20x16 Festive Special
Put this on because I wanted to watch something but felt the need for it to be as easy and inconsequential as possible. Boy, did this fit the bill. To say I watched it is half a lie — I semi paid attention while also scrolling Twitter. Sometimes it's funny, but so much of it is thoroughly inane. Surely the point of showing clips from what they're watching is to allow us to understand their jokey observations — we don't need to watch a clip then have them explain what happened in the clip! Hey-ho, it mostly served the purpose I wanted it to.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Sunday, 1 January 2023

TV

Antiques Roadshow
Toys and Childhood [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Ghosts
4x04 Gone Gone
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Happy New Year Live!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games
1x09 Week 2: Thursday
1x10 Week 2: Friday [season finale]
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x21 Week 5: Monday
6x22 Week 5: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

The Rookie
4x16 Real Crime
4x17 Coding

Sam Ryder Rocks New Year's Eve
Part 2 (of 2)
[Watch it all (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
16x00 At Christmas
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100Films.co.uk

It's a Happy New Year from 100Films.co.uk today! That means things are only just getting underway with my review of last year, but there are still a couple of posts to share.

The main one this week is the final monthly review of 2022...





Also, a new addition to my review-of-the-year regulars, thanks to my newly-formated Challenge...

100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022: Final Standing
As the challenge tracker page will soon be replaced with a version keeping tabs on 2023’s effort, here’s an archive of how it looked at the very end of 2022 — sadly incomplete, after I chose to abandon it. Hopefully I’ll fare better in 2023.
Read more here.


More looks back at 2022 — and maybe even the start of 2023's content — next Sunday.

Saturday, 31 December 2022

TV

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Counting this as a short film, so I'll review it on 100 Films at some point. In the meantime, a couple of thoughts on Letterboxd.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and Me
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

His Dark Materials
3x07 The Clouded Mountain
3x08 The Botanic Garden [series finale]
I thought that was pretty great overall. Especially going to miss the theme music, which I came to love. Maybe I'll watch it all over again someday.
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Sam Ryder Rocks New Year's Eve
Part 1 (of 2)
[Watch it all (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

And this is the last update of the year, so I've got the usual end-of-year change totals too.

As for new addtions this week, there's a couple of Christmas presents and a couple of other things, though my big orders from the US and Australia still haven't arrived, despite being dispatched before Christmas. Hey-ho, I guess that's international postage at this time of year. Hopefully they'll turn up before long (and haven't gone missing).

Meanwhile, here's the usual totals and changes, along with the changes in the past year. Plus there's the 'monthly' running time update, also with its year-on-year increase...

Number of titles in collection: 2,991 [up 4 this week; up 241 in 2022]
Of which DVDs: 1,039 [no change this week; down 16 in 2022]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,952 [up 4 this week; up 257 in 2022]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 222 [up 1 this week; up 81 in 2022]

I didn't quite hit 3,000 titles in the end this year (though I would have sailed past it if some of those orders that are still in the post had arrived in a more timely fashion!), but the increase of 241 is only one higher than 2021's, which was a bit higher than 2020's 234, all of which are ludicrous compared to 2019's 154.

Despite the fact I did buy a few DVDs this year, the total still decreases. If this continues, it might dip below 1,000 in about 2025. UHD discs, on the other hand, continue to increase their increases: up from 48 last year to 81 this year. The number of overall new Blu-rays was down slightly, too, so that's an even greater percentage in 4K. No surprise, really, especially as most of the boutique labels have now joined in.

Number of discs in collection: 7,397 [up 5 this week; up 492 in 2022]
Number of films: 3,649 [up 5 this week; up 385 in 2022]
Number of additional cuts: 296 [no change this week; up 49 in 2022]
Number of TV episodes: 9,508 [no change this week; up 282 in 2022]
Number of short films: 1,025 [no change this week; up 95 in 2022]

That disc increase is higher than last year, but lower than the year before, so... Considering how many older Blu-rays I have with useless DVDs included, and now 4Ks with not-truly-necessary BDs, there's an awful lot of coasters in my collection. The other numbers in this block are broadly similar to last year, although all up slightly — even TV episodes, which surprised me a little, seeing as less and less new TV gets disc releases.

Total running time of collection (approx.):
527 days, 23 hours, and 46 minutes.
(Up 4 days, 14 hours, and 3 minutes from last month.)
(Up 30 days, 18 hours, and 26 minutes from last year.)

Over four-and-a-half days in a single month! I said that Edgar Wallace collection would have quite the impact. The year-on-year increase is roughly in line with last year's, though, although that's above the all-time average. I ought to slow down...

...but I probably won't. See you next week for more, faithful reader!

Friday, 30 December 2022

TV

Detectorists
4x00 Special
Detectorists is such a consistently lovely series that any revisit is almost a worry — what if it breaks the spell? Thankfully, this special is as magnificently low-key funny, heartwarming, and fundamentally nice as ever, while also managing to tell a story worthy of the “Detectorists: The Movie” route they did-but-didn’t-quite go down with it.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

His Dark Materials
3x06 The Abyss
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Father
1x08 The Perfect Shot

The Play What I Wrote
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games
1x08 Week 2: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Thursday, 29 December 2022

TV

His Dark Materials
3x05 No Way Out
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games
1x07 Week 2: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

The Snowman: The Film That Changed Christmas
A nice mix of making-of history and retrospective about the film’s impact and enduring appeal.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Tim Minchin: Back (2022)
Not strictly "a film" — it's a comedy special... except it's not really a "comedy special", because what Minchin does isn't standup or even just "funny songs"... so, cabaret? Feels reductive. Anyway, whatever it is, this particular recording of this particular show did, in fact, get a theatrical release, so that makes it "a film" in that sense.

More review-like thoughts on Letterboxd.

Wednesday, 28 December 2022

TV

Ghosts
4x03 The Hardest Word
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

His Dark Materials
3x04 Lyra and Her Death
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Only Connect
18s02 Mystery: Endeavours v Whodunnits
Appropriate viewing the same day as Knives Out. And I actually got more than one question right! Wonders will never cease.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games
1x06 Week 2: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Knives Out (2019)
[3rd watch]

In my experience, most murder mysteries struggle to stand up to repeat viewings, or even remakes; and that applies to some of the greats. Once you know who did it and how, watching it again and again is just an exercise in ever-diminishing returns. Not so Knives Out. If anything, I’ve enjoyed it more each time I’ve watched it, catching all the little bits of fun dialogue and neat nuances in the performances. Remarkable.

Also, finally showed it to my partner, a big murder mystery fan (reads tonnes of them, watches tonnes of them, etc, but for whatever reason we’ve just not found the right time for this one until now), and she thought it was great too. Hurrah!

Tuesday, 27 December 2022

TV

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2022
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium
[Watch it (again) on Disney+.]

His Dark Materials
3x03 The Intention Craft
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games
1x05 Week 1: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Monday, 26 December 2022

TV

Ghosts
4x02 Speak as Ye Choose
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off
13x11 The Great Christmas Bake Off 2022
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

His Dark Materials
3x02 The Break
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games
1x04 Week 1: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

The Rookie
4x15 Hit List

Sunday, 25 December 2022

TV

Blankety Blank
2x10 Christmas Special [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Christmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy (2022)
They did one of these last year, and on ITVX there's no way to differentiate between the two (other than reading the full blurb, which lists the guests; and then to know whether you're watching 2021's or 2022's, you'd have to know who appeared on each). In other words: ITVX still has some work to do.
[Watch it (again) on ITVX.]

Luke Evans: Showtime
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Only Connect
18s01 Christmas: Polyhymnians v Channel Islanders
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games
1x03 Week 1: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Wonderland: The Story of Christmas

this week on 100Films.co.uk

Firstly, as it's Christmas Day, a short seasonal message from 100Films.co.uk...




Aside from that, the big news this week was that I've officially given up on the eponymous challenge for this year. More on that here...


Abandoning the 100 Films Challenge 2022
Why? When I’m so close and it seems so possible, why? Well, it may look doable on paper, but it isn’t in real life. Not this particular real life, for me, here in 2022. Not for any grand or scary reason; just simple scheduling.
Read more here.


Aside from that, 5 new reviews were posted...


2022 | Week 35
Featuring...
- Mona Lisa (1986)
- Mirror (1975)
- Clerks (1995)
- Persuasion (2022)
- He Walked by Night (1948)
Read more here.


More next Sunday... although, as that's New Year's Day, maybe not.

Saturday, 24 December 2022

TV

Blankety Blank
2x09 Episode 9
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

A Ghost Story for Christmas
Count Magnus
Not a bad little spooky tale, but I made the mistake of watching it right after the Inside No. 9 special, which was so excellent and clever and well-made that, I’m sorry to say, it made this look lesser is every respect by comparison.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

His Dark Materials
3x01 The Enchanted Sleeper
Doesn't feel like two whole years since the last season of this. It took me a few minutes to settle back into some elements of the story, and it feels a bit like this episode was scene-setting for where future instalments will go, but it also promises some interesting things. And I love the theme music. Great to have it back; going to be sad when it ends.
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
30x09 Christmas Special

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games
1x02 Week 1: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

This Cultural Life
2x03 Tim Minchin
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Normally this week would also have the next monthly running time update, but as next week's post will be on (or just after) December 31st, I'm going to leave it until then, to include all the end-of-year increases too.

As for normal business... some of my long-delayed orders finally turned up, just before the pre-Christmas post cutoff! Hurrah! There's a good few packages of stuff still stuck somewhere, but I guess that's to be expected (especially as several of them are coming from the US). So long as they turn up eventually, that's all that really matters.

In terms of what did arrive, it's enough to make for an above-average week in most stats, and a blazer of an increase in one figure in particular. Y'see, this week's single biggest addition is also an oddity: a new DVD! (But the DVD count stays the same because I upgraded something else to 4K.) It's Network's box set of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series of British '60s B-movies. The 47-film complete series set adds 20 discs and 54 films to my tallies (because it includes seven bonus films made around the same time). Not many single sets are so large. With a running time of over two solid days, it'll certainly have a significant impact on next week's update...

Number of titles in collection: 2,987 [up 10]
Of which DVDs: 1,039 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,948 [up 10]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 221 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 7,392 [up 33]
Number of films: 3,644 [up 62]
Number of additional cuts: 296 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,508 [up 10]
Number of short films: 1,025 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday, 23 December 2022

TV

Blankety Blank
2x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Ghosts
4x01 Happy Holiday
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Father
1x07 Rivka Rebel

Inside No. 9
8x01 The Bones of St. Nicholas [Christmas special]
Only the second episode of Inside No. 9 I've watched, and I thought it was fantastic — a proper spooky ghost story for Christmas. I really should go back and catch up on the whole series.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's Festive House of Games
1x01 Week 1: Monday
The regular House of Games (as opposed to the prime time version, right? But this isn't really a third version...) gets a Christmassy makeover for the next two weeks. And the modifications go slightly beyond slapping sleigh bells over the theme and a tree in the corner, so that's nice.
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

The Rookie
4x14 Long Shot

Thursday, 22 December 2022

TV

Cunk on Christmas
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Wednesday, 21 December 2022

TV

House of the Dragon
1x10 The Black Queen [season finale]
I've been too busy trying to finish my 100 Films Challenge to get round to this finale; but having abandoned that, well, now I have time. And it was worth the wait — which will hopefully be true of season two, too, because I really want to know what happens next but that's a couple of years away.

Tuesday, 20 December 2022

TV

Live at the Apollo
17x01 Christmas Special
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mystery Science Theater 3000
Jackbox Holiday Showdown: Hosts vs Mads
I haven't watched any MST3K since September (oops), leaving me with almost half (6 out of 13) of the current season still to watch (oops). And the finale is a Christmas special, too, so by the time I get round to that in, like, June it'll be thoroughly out of date. Or maybe it'll take me all of 2023 to get caught up and I'll just watch it a year late, who knows? Anyway, this isn't an episode, either, but a livestream special in which the cast compete at Christmas-themed party games. Fun times.
[Watch it (for free) on the Gizmoplex.]

QI
20x09 Toys, Tinsel, and Turkeys (XL version) [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Sunday, 18 December 2022

TV

The Morecambe & Wise Show
6x07 Christmas Show 1971
I'm sure I saw various Morecambe and Wise Christmas specials when I was growing up in the '90s, but I have no idea which ones specifically; and, of course, there are routines in this one (not least "Andrew Preview") that have been repeated on numerous clip shows, so I've definitely seen them there. Anyway, whether I've seen this before or not, I didn't intend to watch it this evening, but got sucked in because it's so good — the comedy is timeless. Funny to think, though: when Shirley Bassey turns up and sings Diamonds Are Forever, she's not perfoming some old classic from her back catalogue (what we now know it as), but her then-recent single. Weird.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Russell Howard Hour
6x13 Christmas Special
Not the whole show, just the bit with Garth Marenghi. Worth it.

Scouting for Toys
1x09 Karl Lagerfeld
1x10 Barbie [season finale]
[Watch the series (again) on UKTV Play.]

Saturday, 17 December 2022

Collection Count

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

At this point I've thoroughly lost count of how much stuff I'm expecting by when — some has arrived; lots hasn't; some has arrived but had to go back, or wait for a replacement; new stuff has been ordered, and arrived, or not...! I am keeping track of it all, order by order, just to make sure stuff arrives (or that I'm chasing stuff that hasn't), but I've lost track of what the total is in terms of the number I've been citing in these updates.

In the end, just two new titles did turn up this week (with around 17 more that I seriously thought might but didn't, and more still in the post that will take some time to get here (a trio from Australia that were only dispatched yesterday, for example)). One of those was a BD-to-4K upgrade, too; so despite the fact that I'm expecting an absolute tonne of stuff (and have been expecting some of it for three weeks or more now), this week's update is rather meagre...

Number of titles in collection: 2,977 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,039 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,938 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 218 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,359 [up 2]
Number of films: 3,582 [no change]
Number of additional cuts: 296 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,498 [up 7]
Number of short films: 1,024 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday, 16 December 2022

Wednesday, 14 December 2022

Films

Jackass 3D (2010)
[#88 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]
Like Saw 3D, although I watched this in 2D, it's still called Jackass 3D. (It's never had a true-3D disc release. I thought I'd found a copy to download, but it turned out to be faked.)

Tuesday, 13 December 2022

TV

Mock the Week
20x10 (2/12/2021 edition)
20x11 (9/12/2021 edition)
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

University Challenge
2022/23 Episode 16
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

The Wheel
3x06 Episode 6
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Saturday, 10 December 2022

TV

The Wheel
3x05 Episode 5
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Avatar (2009)
[2nd watch]
[#86 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]
First time seeing it since the cinema, almost exactly 13 years ago. It's quite good, donchaknow.

Radio

The Confessional
1x00 The Confession of David Tennant
Read about the new series of this in the Radio Times and, the BBC being what it is nowadays, was able to jump back in time to listen to this old episode (the pilot, I guess) with David Tennant, because it's always nice to hear him being interviewed.
[Listen to it (again) on BBC Sounds.]

Collection Count

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

Thanks mainly to postal delays, I had a mindbogglingly ginormous 31 titles on my list of things that might arrive this week — a mix of delayed stuff (some of which should've arrived two or even three weeks ago), stuff that was due now (things arriving on time seemed doubtful, all things considered), and stuff which might've turned up a little early (seems laughable now, but under normal circumstances...) In the end, the actual number of titles I received was 11 — a more-than-solid (certainly above average) number in isolation, but it does mean there were 20 titles that didn't arrive.

One that did was the second season of classic Doctor Who on Blu-ray. The nine-story box set should replace six DVD releases (a couple of them are two-story box sets), but, due to special features being joggled around (so I'm keeping DVDs until the extras turn up elsewhere), in my collection it only replaces... one. Ha! We're very nearly halfway through the Blu-ray range now, and I'm still hanging on to loads of DVDs for the odd extra here and there. I imagine, as we get into the second half, it's eventually going to swing the other way — you know, a six-story set will actully knock out eight or nine DVDs due to finally including missing extras, that kind of thing. I hope so, anyway...

Another upgrade this week was Casablanca to 4K. I was unsure about getting it, because the Blu-ray copy I have is already suitably lavish, there were no new special features, and the jump in picture quality didn't look that huge. But then Amazon had it on a time-limited offer and, well, I caved. I got the 3-disc "ultimate edition" with exclusive bonus disc so that it could replace my current copy (which also has that bonus disc)... but that one is so nicely presented — mainly thanks to a large-format 64-page art book — that, for now at least, I'm keeping both. Which means I could've saved a few quid and just got the regular 4K edition, as it's only the 4K disc I need if I'm keeping both. I should've reminded myself how nice my current copy was before I hit that "buy" button...

Number of titles in collection: 2,976 [up 9]
Of which DVDs: 1,039 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,937 [up 9]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 217 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 7,357 [up 21]
Number of films: 3,582 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 296 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,491 [up 46]
Number of short films: 1,024 [up 5]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Friday, 9 December 2022

TV

Mock the Week
20x07 (4/11/2021 edition)
20x08 (11/11/2021 edition)
20x09 (25/11/2021 edition)
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Cyber City Oedo 808
by Jonathan Clements (from All the Anime Blog)

So, I'm selling my copy of Cyber City Oedo 808 to buy the newly remastered version that's out in March. Sadly, the new edition loses the 50-page booklet (in favour of some art cards — yawn! It also loses the soundtrack CD, but I've already ripped that), so I've read it before selling it off. There's an interview with John Wolskel, who wrote the series' UK scripts, and Rory McFarlane, who composed new music for the UK dubs. Both quite interesting. The main piece is a history/analysis article, which is available in full online — linked above, obv.

It's a shame the new edition doesn't include the booklet — much more to my interest than some sodding art cards (which most boutique label releases seem to come with nowadays; they must be cheap to produce). But at least I've read it once; and, to be honest, most of my Blu-ray booklets don't even get read that often.

Thursday, 8 December 2022

Films

Les Enfants du Paradis (1945)
[#85 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]
Blindspot 2022 #11

Considering I often struggle to watch any kind of film on a work night nowadays, attempting a 3-hour-10-minute one might seem foolhardy. The secret ingredient: it's in two parts, so I could stop halfway if needed. I also made sure to start with plenty of time, just in case — and I'm glad I did, because I watched the whole thing in one sitting (well, okay, I did have a little break at the intermission) because it's brilliant.

Wednesday, 7 December 2022

Tuesday, 6 December 2022

TV

Mock the Week
21x04 (14/10/2022 edition)
21x05 (21/10/2022 edition) [2nd watch]
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Sunday, 4 December 2022

TV

Mock the Week
21x03 (7/10/2022 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Staged
3x00 Happy New Year from David Tennant & Michael Sheen
Somehow I missed that this short seasonal special existed when it came out last year. Better late than never, eh? Plus I'm intending to catch the third series on BritBox over Christmas, so now's as good a time to catch up as any.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube.]

Films

Quatermass 2 (1957)
[#83 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]

I'd been thinking about watching one of the three-hour films I have left on my Blindspot list today. In the end, I only had time for one of the shortest films I could find on my "series I'm in the middle of" list. Ho hum.

this week on 100Films.co.uk

Would you Adam and Eve it, we're already into the final month of the year! And that means it was time for 100Films.co.uk's usual look backs at last month, starting with the general November review...





...and concluding with the list of films I failed to watch last month:





Additionally, on Thursday the results of the new once-a-decade Sight & Sound poll were revealed, so I wrote up a piece about that (to accompany the 2012 one from a couple of weeks ago)...





And I even published some reviews, too...

2022 | Week 34
Featuring...
- The Winter Guest (1997)
- Repeat Performance (1947)
- Carousel (1956)
Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Saturday, 3 December 2022

TV

Pointless Celebrities
16x01 BBC Centenary Special
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Wheel
3x01 Episode 1
3x02 Episode 2
3x03 Episode 3
3x04 Episode 4
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Podcasts

The Stack
537 ‘Sight & Sound’s greatest films of all time
Really interesting interview with Mike Williams, the editor of Sight & Sound, about the 2022 edition of their once-a-decade poll.
[Listen to it (again) on Monocle.]

Collection Count

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

I should've had loads to report this week, but a combination of postal strikes and their resultant strain on courier services seems to be holding up almost all of my (many) deliveries. Under normal circumstances, I think I'd've been talking about there being 15 new titles this week; instead, there's only three — including a DVD-to-4K upgrade for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, meaning the overall increase is just two.

No matter. At some point these delayed orders are probably going to pour in all at once, possibly with other stuff that hasn't even shipped yet. Any huge leaps aren't cancelled, merely delayed. Or possibly spread thin. We'll see.

Number of titles in collection: 2,967 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,039 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,928 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 214 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 7,336 [up 4]
Number of films: 3,576 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 295 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,445 [up 13]
Number of short films: 1,019 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Tuesday, 29 November 2022

Films

Manhunter (1986)
[#80 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2022 #10

Collection Count

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

Titles continue to filter in from that list of 15 — though they've not all turned up yet (the post is being weird at the minute, and not just because of strikes), and I'm ordering more stuff, plus more stuff I preordered is coming out, so it's getting diluted/increased. Anyway, there are four additions to report this week, including a couple of multi-film sets that make for some big increases...

Number of titles in collection: 2,965 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,040 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,925 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 212 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 7,332 [up 13]
Number of films: 3,575 [up 18]
Number of additional cuts: 294 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 9,432 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,019 [up 2]

Also, last week I pushed the monthly running time update back to this week. It still took me time to figure it all out, though, which is why this post is several days later than normal. For what it's worth, it still only counts as far as last Saturday, with stuff that turned up since being held back for the next count.

Total running time of collection (approx.):
523 days, 9 hours, and 43 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 10 hours, and 22 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

Monday, 28 November 2022

Sunday, 27 November 2022

TV

Blankety Blank
2x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x20 Week 4: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

The Rookie
4x12 The Knock
4x13 Fight or Flight

Films

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)
[2nd watch]
[#79 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]

It didn't count the first time because there was no category it qualified in, but this rewatch can count. Does this kind of thing mean my rules are too complicated now? Or is it just because I'm prone to finding ways to circumvent/use them cleverly? Not sure...

this week on 100Films.co.uk

3 new reviews were published to 100Films.co.uk this week...


2022 | Weeks 29–32
Featuring...
- 45 Years (2015)
- The Bucket List (2007)
- Tintin and the Lake of Sharks (1972)
Read more here.


More next Sunday, including the penultimate monthly review of 2022!

Saturday, 26 November 2022

Friday, 25 November 2022

Thursday, 24 November 2022

Monday, 21 November 2022

TV

Blankety Blank
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
1x01 A Shadow of the Past
1x02 Adrift
Off to a promising start, I thought. And it certainly looks the part — the budget may be phenomenally huge, but it looks like it's all on screen.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
30x07 Episode 7

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x11 Week 3: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

The Rookie
4x07 Fire Fight

Sunday, 20 November 2022

TV

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
30x06 Episode 6

The Rookie
4x06 Poetic Justice

Tim Minchin: So F**king Rock
[2nd watch]
I reckon Not Perfect might still be Minchin’s best song.

Saturday, 19 November 2022

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x09 Week 2: Thursday
6x10 Week 2: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Blues Brothers (1980)
[2nd watch]
[#78 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]

Collection Count

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

After zero new titles last week, there's something to report this time — although, as I also mentioned last week, exactly how much has been subject to manufacturers and retailers hitting release dates and/or shipping stock early. And so, out of a list of 15 titles that might've turned up in time for this update, I actually received... six. Hopefully the rest will be here in time for next week.

This was also supposed to be the monthly running time up date, but I just haven't had time to work that out, so that's bumped to next time too.

Number of titles in collection: 2,961 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,040 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,921 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 210 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,319 [up 9]
Number of films: 3,557 [up 7]
Number of additional cuts: 290 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,432 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,017 [up 4]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Thursday, 17 November 2022

Wednesday, 16 November 2022

TV

Doctor Who
Shada Episode Six [finale]
Picked up considerably as it went on. Maybe not quite the “lost classic” its reputation would have had us believe, but that seems to be an inevitable consequence for half of Who that goes unfinished or missing. On the bright side, it means we now have multiple competing versions of it to mess around with canon (always fun). It’s just a shame this version wasn’t fully animated, because then it would be that bit more official as another ‘visual’ McGann adventure to go alongside the TVM and Night of the Doctor. Oh well.

Have I Got News for You
64x07 (4/11/2022 edition; extended repeat) [season finale]
[Watch the extended episode (again) on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
21x01 (23/9/2022 edition)
21x02 (30/9/2022 edition)
21x07 The History of... Part 2 [series finale]
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Tuesday, 15 November 2022

Films

The Killing (1956)
[#77 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]
Obviously this isn't how I run my challenge anymore, but still worth noting that this is the 100th new (to me) film I've seen in 2022.

Monday, 14 November 2022

Films

Killer's Kiss (1955)
[#76 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]
+ the extras on Criterion's Blu-ray: an original trailer, and a nine-minute analysis by Geoffrey O’Brien

Articles

‘We’ve forgotten how to be innocent’: Tim Minchin on comedy, music and the joy of Matilda
by Eva Wiseman (from The Guardian)

Thought this was a typically insightful interview with Minchin. Not much about Matilda in it, though I am looking forward to that very much.

Sunday, 13 November 2022

TV

Doctor Who
Shada Episode Five

Films

Howard the Duck (1986)
[#75 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2022 #9

this week on 100Films.co.uk

No new reviews on 100Films.co.uk this week, but I did finally start a series of posts I'd promised back in January. This first one takes a look at Sight & Sound's 2012 poll to find the 100 Greatest Films of All Time...





More next Sunday.

Saturday, 12 November 2022

TV

Doctor Who
Shada Episode Four
For a story written in 1979 and designed to go out to general audiences on BBC One, all the stuff about Time Lord tech and history does feel remarkably fanwanky. It seems much more at home as a BBCi webcast from 2003.

Films

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

Collection Count

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

In what regular readers will know is a rarity, there's nothing at all to report this week! Well, except that I noticed something in my collection actually had three short films where previously I'd counted none, so that stat goes up all by itself.

Number of titles in collection: 2,956 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,041 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,915 [no change]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 209 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 7,310 [no change]
Number of films: 3,550 [no change]
Number of additional cuts: 290 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,432 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,013 [up 3]

See you next week, faithful reader, when there should definitely be some new additions — although just how many is at the whims of distributors getting titles out on time...

Wednesday, 9 November 2022

TV

Doctor Who
Shada Episode Three

Films

Absence (2015)
Short film from the guys behind lockdown hit Host. I actually watched it twice, because it's so short (under 3 minutes), having read the director's notes in between, and I found it more interesting the second time with those in mind. Also, if you're going to watch it, do so on Vimeo rather than YouTube — the film has a very specific visual texture that the latter's heavyhanded compression absolutely wrecks.

Come and See (1985)
[#72 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2022]
Blindspot 2022 #9
+ the special feature on Criterion's Blu-ray where cinematographer Roger Deakins talks about the film's quality for ten minutes

Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine #584

I rarely bother to mention it (the last time was in 2016), but I buy DWM every month, and usually read at least some of it. This is a special issue, though, because it's packed with info about the forthcoming era — "forthcoming" as in "doesn't start for a whole year", and yet already we're learning about it. That's a level of marketing I can get behind.

Also of particular note: the comic strip this issue picks up directly where The Power of the Doctor left off, beginning a 13-part tale (which will unfurl monthly until the first 60th anniversary special airs, this time (ish) next year) that's the official first adventure for the 14th Doctor. The comic strip's never been allowed to do something so vital before. Exciting times.

Tuesday, 8 November 2022

Monday, 7 November 2022

TV

Doctor Who
Shada Episode One

Being the 2003 BBCi webcast version starring Paul McGann, also known (retrospectively) as Return to Shada. Yes, it's taken me almost 20 years to get round to this. (20 years! Where does time go?)

It's always nice to hear McGann as the Doctor, but this first episode is a bit slow going, fuelled by too little plot and too few instances of Douglas Adams' brilliant wit (although there are, thankfully, a couple of examples). I hope things pick up in future episodes…

Sunday, 6 November 2022

TV

Inside Man
Part 4 (of 4)
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Louis Theroux Interviews
1x02 Dame Judi Dench
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Lost City (2022)

this week on 100Films.co.uk

It was a week of roundups on 100Films.co.uk this week, with the usual "new month" stuff plus a compilation of last week's Scream reviews.

We'll come to that in a minute, because first it's the overall review of October...





And that was accompanied by the usual overview of films I failed to watch last month...





Finally, as I mentioned at the start, that roundup of my Scream coverage...





More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Four new additions this week, although it really doesn't look like it. Yes, I've been upgrading again. This time it's Highlander, from Blu-ray to 4K. I also bought Arrow's red Giallo Essentials box set, from which I already owned one of the films, so the box set replaces that. Then Indicator's Universal Noir #1 set turned up several weeks earlier than expected, and that single-handedly accounts for most of the increases below.

Number of titles in collection: 2,956 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,041 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,915 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 209 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,310 [up 10]
Number of films: 3,550 [up 9]
Number of additional cuts: 290 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,432 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,010 [up 3]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Saturday, 5 November 2022

Friday, 4 November 2022

TV

Blankety Blank
2x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Inside Man
Part 1 (of 4)
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
30x04 Episode 4

Thursday, 3 November 2022