TV

Death in Paradise
11x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x97 Week 22: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Death in Paradise
11x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x95 Week 21: Friday
6x96 Week 22: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x93 Week 21: Wednesday
6x94 Week 21: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Leverage
5x11 The Low Low Price Job

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x91 Week 21: Monday
6x92 Week 21: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Death in Paradise
11x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x89 Week 20: Thursday
6x90 Week 20: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Leverage
5x10 The Frame-Up Job

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x88 Week 20: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Best Sellers (2011)

TV

Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra
[2nd watch]
This is one of those things that's not really TV (though it has been shown on TV) but is not really a film either (it's a filmed live show, which I watched on Blu-ray), so where should I list it? Well, it's here now; and whatever it is, it's very good.

Leverage
5x09 The Rundown Job
This is listed as episode 10 on IMDb, but comes up as episode 9 on Amazon Prime. Seems the pair were originally broadcast on the same night, with this one first, so it's IMDb that's wrong in this case.

More interestingly, it felt like a backdoor pilot for a spinoff, or possibly a new direction in season 6: Nate and Sophie not only don't appear, they aren't even mentioned; while Eliot becomes team leader due to his military connections as he, Hardison and Parker take down a would-be terrorist. It's more like a low-budget 24 or something than a regular heist-based episode of Leverage. I was fully expecting to check the IMDb trivia and learn it was intended as such a relaunch, but there's nothing there — which is almost weirder.

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x87 Week 20: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Jigsaw Man (1983)

Marriage of Convenience (1960)
[#61 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Collection Count

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

Three new additions this week, between them representing my regular kinds of purchases: a newly released title (in 4K); a preorder direct from the label that's turned up a couple of weeks early; and a cheap catalogue title.

Number of titles in collection: 3,138 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,110 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 278 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,674 [up 4]
Number of films: 3,847 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 338 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,624 [up 6]
Number of short films: 1,067 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x86 Week 20: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Fiction

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Chapters 33–53

Didn't mean to leave it so long since I last read any of this, and now, of course, I'm struggling to remember what's been happening and who some of the minor characters are. Dammit. This keeps happening. I need to find a way to be more consistent with my reading.

Anyway, today I have reached the end of Part One. I didn't realise I was reading a Part One, so either I accidentally turned past the page where it said that back when I started, or I just forgot. Anyway, always nice to reach a milestone.

Comics

2000 AD #2341

Films

Santo vs. the Zombies (1962)
[#60 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Collection Count

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

A whole pile of new additions this week, just in time for a new monthly running time update — which is why this post is days late, because I've had a busy time at the ol' day job and haven't had time to input it all until now.

Contributing to this week's bumper selection are: a bunch of titles from Vinegar Syndrome's recent sale, and with them a couple of new releases; another pair of new releases from Eureka (turning up two full weeks before their release date!); another pair of titles from Indicator, including their second box set (also almost two weeks before their scheduled date); and a Kickstarter of a silent film serial. It means nearly every category sees an increase (I've counted the serial's episodes under "TV episodes", which isn't truly accurate, but nor would it be to count them as either 1 or 7 films). Only poor old DVD misses out. Such is life.

Number of titles in collection: 3,135 [up 12]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,107 [up 12]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 275 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 7,670 [up 18]
Number of films: 3,845 [up 13]
Number of additional cuts: 338 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 9,618 [up 7]
Number of short films: 1,067 [up 5]

Plus, as I mentioned, it's time again for a running time update...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
544 days, 7 hours, and 37 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 7 hours, and 24 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Diplomat
1x07 Keep Your Enemies Closer
1x08 The James Bond Clause [season finale]
Really enjoyed this series overall, but it fell into multiple streaming series pitfalls — primarily, that it doesn't conclude its story; it just ends in a great big "hope we get recommissioned cliffhanger". It's particularly disappointing because there's enough going on here, and enough potential, that they could've wrapped up one narrative as a "story of the season" kind of plot and that would've still left various threads dangling for future seasons. On the bright side, at least it has been recommissioned. Would've been doubly shit if it hadn't.

Poker Face
1x10 The Hook [season finale]
This, on the other hand, does it all right: wraps up the ongoing plot that kicked off in episode one, but sets things up to continue. A great show all round — I've loved every episode. So glad this is coming back, too.

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x85 Week 19: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

An Irish Goodbye (2022)
This year's Oscar winner for Best Short Film, currently available in the UK on iPlayer.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Poker Face
1x09 Escape from Shit Mountain

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x83 Week 19: Wednesday
6x84 Week 19: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Leverage
5x08 The Broken Wing Job

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x82 Week 19: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Not Going Out
13x07 Football [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x80 Week 18: Friday
6x81 Week 19: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Not Going Out
13x06 Beep
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x78 Week 18: Wednesday
6x79 Week 18: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Diplomat
1x05 The Dogcatcher
1x06 Some Lusty Tornado

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x77 Week 18: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Diplomat
1x03 Lambs in the Dark
1x04 He Bought a Hat

Not Going Out
13x05 Train
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x76 Week 18: Monday
Weeks 16 and 17 were the two weeks of festive specials, which I watched (appropriately) back in December (and, technically, January).
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Not Going Out
13x04 Coffin
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poker Face
1x08 The Orpheus Syndrome

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x75 Week 15: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Georgetown (2019)

The Imitation Game (2014)
[2nd watch]
[#59 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

this week on 100Films.co.uk

I ought to start calling these post "this month on 100Films.co.uk", because that's how often I've been posting updates for most of 2023 so far.

That's because my reviewing has collapsed into nothingness, so there's nothing to report most weeks. But, once a month, there's the monthly review — like this one for July...





And, at the same time, the list of things I failed to watch in the past month...





And that's it, most months. I usually sign off with "more next Sunday", but let's be honest, it's more likely to be "more next month".

Though, you never know...

TV

The Diplomat
1x01 The Cinderella Thing
1x02 Don't Call It a Kidnapping

Leverage
5x07 The Real Fake Car Job

Not Going Out
13x03 Hospital
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poker Face
1x07 The Future of the Sport

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x74 Week 15: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Enigma (2001)

Collection Count

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

I've been placing lots of expensive orders this week (the last Evangelion movie for £50; importing an Australian release of the Dune miniseries (with a LEGO set!) for a little over £100; amongst others), but only one title has actually arrived to bolster my collection (that being Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, which looks like a ton of fun).

Number of titles in collection: 3,123 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,095 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 271 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,652 [up 1]
Number of films: 3,832 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 335 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,611 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,062 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader, when there'll definitely be more — I've got a big-ish sale order from the US arriving Wednesday. And that's just in time for the monthly running time update, too. Exciting times.

TV

Not Going Out
13x02 Hospital
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poker Face
1x06 Exit Stage Death

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x73 Week 15: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x72 Week 15: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Black Dynamite (2009)
[2nd watch]
[#58 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Films

Beau Travail (1999)
[#57 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
Blindspot 2023 #7

Comics

2000 AD #2339–2340

Collection Count

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

As mentioned at the end of last week's update, I wasn't expecting anything new for this week. That can always change, of course — I do have a habit of ordering stuff on a whim. But not this week, with my money instead going into other things (comics, books, CDs) and preorders (it used to be all preorders were charged at the point of dispatch; these days, unless you're ordering from Amazon, most seem to be charged when you order. Gotta say, I dislike that — it means I need the money now, rather than knowing I've got an expensive month coming up and being able to prepare).

Anyway, on with the stats... which are, in fact, slightly different from last week. Having looked through all the special features of the Bruce Lee sets I own on DVD, Blu-ray, and now 4K, I found I could definitely sell... one DVD. So that's gone.

Number of titles in collection: 3,122 [down 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,094 [no change]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 270 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 7,651 [down 1]
Number of films: 3,831 [down 1]
Number of additional cuts: 335 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,611 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,062 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Other

Brick America: An Adventure in LEGO Bricks
at American Museum & Gardens

I don't use categories like "Museums" often. Mainly because I don't have call to often; and so, when I do, sometimes I forget. But this I remembered, because it was fun. It runs until the end of the year and is worth a visit if you're local and/or LEGO is your kinda thing.

Films

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
[#56 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2023 #7

Films

Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
aka Lift to the Scaffold

Films

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
[#55 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2023 #6

Films

Night and the City (1950)
[#54 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2023 #5

Films

The Calm (2003)
A BMW short film, produced as "an homage" to their great short film series, The Hire. It's not as good as any of those were, but it's not bad. You can watch it here.

Podcasts

Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast
2x02 How Simon Pegg Ended Up in Mission: Impossible
2x03 Hayley Atwell Graces Us with Her Presence

Comics

2000 AD #2337–2338
Skipping #2336 for now because it's another Regened prog. But I'm almost caught up (next Wednesday's prog (which, as a subscriber, I received yesterday) is #2342), so it won't be long before I'm tackling the small pile of Regeneds I've built up.

TV

The 1% Club
2x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on ITVX.]

Films

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
[2nd watch]
Well, I say "second"... Yeah, like Sully last week, I'm not really sure this counts. More thoughts in that vein on Letterboxd.

Living (2022)
[#53 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Comics

2000 AD #2334–2335

Articles

Mission Impossible Director Chris McQuarrie on Stunts, VFX, COVID
by Iain Blair (from postPerspective)

Maybe these kinds of interviews happen all the time and I just don’t see them, I dunno; but across various articles & podcasts, it feels like McQ is the filmmaker who’s most open and detailed in his discussion of the actual process of making movies. This is a fantastic piece in that vein if you're intested in how the Missions are done.

Collection Count

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

This week's major addition is Arrow's 4K box set of Bruce Lee films. I've owned most of these on DVD for over a decade, which I've never watched; and I bought the similar Criterion Blu-ray box set a couple of years ago, which I think is still unopened; and yet the promise of all-new transfers, plus a raft of versions and new extras... well, I couldn't resist! I should probably sell those DVDs, and maybe the Criterion set too, but I need to work out if they've got any unique special features worth keeping first. Either way, they're never likely to grace my player — why would they when I've got these Arrow versions now? (Well, for the special features, obviously; but, actually, I rarely watch those. So I should just sell them. But... Yeah, I'm hopeless.)

So, while that set only adds one title (and one Blu-ray and one UHD Blu-ray), it ratchets up numbers in the second half: across ten discs (a mix of UHD and regular BD), there are eight films, plus 13 further alternate cuts — six of the films have at least one alternate version, with one having five or six (depending what you count as an alternate cut and what as a special feature curio).

The only other newcomer this week was also an Arrow release, upgrading Dario Argento's debut film, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, from regualr BD to 4K. All that really does is take away one disc (because the BD also had a DVD copy, whereas the 4K doesn't have a BD copy).

Number of titles in collection: 3,123 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,029 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,094 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 270 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 7,652 [up 9]
Number of films: 3,832 [up 8]
Number of additional cuts: 335 [up 13]
Number of TV episodes: 9,611 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,062 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader, when I am currently expecting... nothing. Gasp!

Films

Oppenheimer (2023)
[#52 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

TV

University Challenge
2023/24 Episode 1
A new era begins, with Amol Rajan starting as only the third host since the show began 60-odd years ago.

...but that wasn't why I watched. I only saw it because I was at my parents' house and they watch regularly.

[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Santo vs. Infernal Men (1961)
[#51 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Podcasts

Light the Fuse - The Official Mission: Impossible Podcast
2x01 When in Rome with Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie

Former fan podcast Light the Fuse is now the official M:I podcast, just in time for the release of Dead Reckoning Part One. That's not why I've finally got round to actually listening to it... but I guess it kinda is.

Comics

2000 AD #2331,2332,2333

TV

The 1% Club
2x05 Episode 5
2x06 Episode 6
[Watch the whole series (again) on ITVX.]

Films

Sully: Miracle on the Hudson (2016)
[2nd watch]
...well, sort of. As I wrote on Letterboxd, I caught roughly the second half of this on BBC One this evening after turning it on by chance and getting sucked in. I'm never sure if I should count viewings like that (not that they happen often), because while I didn’t watch the whole film, I did watch a significant chunk; including, in this case, the best bit. At present, I've decided to note it here and on Letterboxd, and probably on 100 Films' Recently Watched page, but not allow it to count towards the 100 Films Challenge.

Comics

2000 AD #2329–2330

Articles

Henry Czerny On The Return of Kittridge In Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
by Mike Ryan (from Uproxx)

I actually read this a few days ago but forgot to share it. It's a great read for fans of the M:I series.

Collection Count

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

Seven additions this week, include a trio of new releases (one in 4K; two arriving early), a trio of Arrow sales purchases (one in 4K, and also an upgrade from Arrow's regular BD), and one from Amazon's Prime Day offers (the third season of anime Attack on Titan. I've not actually got round to watching seasons one and two yet, which did make buying season three feel a bit silly, but while it was on offer I couldn't resist. Now I've just got to resist completing my collection with the parts of season four, in the hope they bundle them into a complete set eventually (as I've got complete series sets for the seasons so far).)

Number of titles in collection: 3,122 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,029 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,093 [up 6]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 268 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 7,643 [up 10]
Number of films: 3,824 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 322 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,611 [up 22]
Number of short films: 1,062 [up 6]

Plus, it's once again time for the monthly running time update...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
543 days and 13 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 6 hours, and 35 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x71 Week 15: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Fiction

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Chapters 21–32

Films

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
[#50 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Films

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
[#49 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
My first trip to the cinema since Dune: Part One in October 2021! But I had to go for Indy. (And, soon, for Mission #7.)

Films

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
[#48 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Santo vs. Evil Brain (1961)
If it weren’t for the strange confluence of MST3K piquing my interest and then Indicator releasing a box set, I’m not sure I’d have ever seen this movie. I’m not yet wholly sure whether that’s a good or indifferent thing, but at least it’s not bad.

Comics

2000 AD #2328

Collection Count

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

Four new titles this week, including that rarest of sightings: an addition to my DVD collection! That was the Ian McKellen / Judi Dench Macbeth (shot for TV in the 1970s, so never likely to see a Blu-ray release). I don't know why I'd not bought it before, really, as I've wanted to rewatch it for years (having last seen it at school, presumably off a VHS, while studying the play for the first time, and so being less enamoured of it than I am now).

The other three titles are all new (or new-ish) releases from Radiance, including their first box set — which shipped with two corrected discs outside the box. Well, at least I don't have to sign up for some replacement programme and wait for them.

Number of titles in collection: 3,116 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,029 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,087 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 266 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 7,633 [up 6]
Number of films: 3,818 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 321 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,589 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,056 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Have I Got News for You
65x10 (16/6/2023 edition; extended repeat) [season finale]
I think that's the first time I've ever wanted to buy the guest publication...
[Watch the extended episode (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Only Murders in the Building
2x09 Sparring Partners
2x10 I Know Who Did It [season finale]

Poker Face
1x05 Time of the Monkey

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x70 Week 14: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Only Murders in the Building
2x07 Flipping the Pieces
2x08 Hello, Darkness

Poker Face
1x04 Rest in Metal

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x68 Week 14: Wednesday
6x69 Week 14: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100Films.co.uk

June was the fourth month in a row where I didn't publish any new reviews to 100Films.co.uk. Oh dear. Hopefully I'll restart again soon.

In the meantime, July has begun, and so that means it's time for the usual lookbacks at last month. First, the general review of the month...





And second, a bunch of stuff I didn't watch last month...





Perhaps there'll be more next Sunday. If not, see you in August!

TV

Leverage
5x06 The D.B. Cooper Job

Only Murders in the Building
2x05 The Tell
2x06 Performance Review

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x66 Week 14: Monday
6x67 Week 14: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Lady in the Van (2015)

TV

Not Going Out
13x01 Italian Lessons
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Only Murders in the Building
2x02 Framed
2x03 The Last Day of Bunny Folger
2x04 Here's Looking at You

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x65 Week 13: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical (2022)
[#47 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

Collection Count

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

This week brings a heady mix of new releases (Avatar 2 in 3D; anime Pompo the Cinephile; '70s Japanese action in the Game trilogy from Arrow); a belated pickup from earlier in the year (Park Chan-wook's Decision to Leave); and a pile of titles from US label Vinegar Syndrome, including three in 4K. An eclectic bunch, to be sure, but that's half the fun.

Number of titles in collection: 3,112 [up 8]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,084 [up 8]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 266 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 7,627 [up 18]
Number of films: 3,812 [up 10]
Number of additional cuts: 320 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 9,589 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,055 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Only Murders in the Building
2x01 Persons of Interest

Poker Face
1x03 The Stall

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x63 Week 13: Wednesday
6x64 Week 13: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Leverage
5x05 The Gimme a K Street Job

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x62 Week 13: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Fiction

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Chapters 5–20

Comics

2000 AD #2327
Once I finally catch up on 2000 AD, I've got a massive pile of American comics I've been buying for, like, the past year to catch up on too. Looking forward to that 'n' all.

TV

The 1% Club
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on ITVX.]

Glastonbury 2023
Elton John
Farewell (again), Elton. A pretty spectacular send-off it was, too.
[Find the BBC's complete Glastonbury TV coverage on iPlayer.]

Mystery Science Theater 3000
13x09 The Million Eyes of Sumuru
So much for watching MST3K more regularly (it's been almost four months), but, hey, there's no season 14 in sight (yet), so I'll get there eventually (only four more to go now).

Fiction

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Chapters 1–4

I've been meaning to read this since everyone really started talking about it, which I guess was sometime after the paperback came out, which was in mid-2021, i.e. over two years ago. But I had other books to read and finish first, and so here I am, finally, with there now being three of the things (and a fourth imminent). Anyway, it's off to a fun and promising start.

Comics

2000 AD #2326

Skipping another Regened Prog, for the time being.

Incidentally, the 'end' of my catchup period is beginning to feel in sight now. When I started, I was five months behind, and for a long while I was only managing to more-or-less maintain that. But now, I've got it down to less than three months; only ten issues. And the gap continues to narrow — hurrah!

Films

Au hasard Balthazar (1966)
[#46 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
Blindspot 2023 #6

Comics

2000 AD #2323–2324

Collection Count

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

Another smaller week by my standards, with two brand-new releases (arriving early, of course), and one slightly older title I bought to get free postage (also because it had been recommended).

Number of titles in collection: 3,104 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,076 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 263 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,609 [up 3]
Number of films: 3,802 [up 3]
Number of additional cuts: 318 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 9,589 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,055 [up 1]

Next week might be a slightly bigger one (back up towards my average levels), and should include my first 3D title from a major studio in a while (because those releases are a massive rarity these days, sadly).

See you then, faithful reader.

TV

Glastonbury 2023
Foo Fighters
As everyone had deduced, mystery act The Churnups actually turned out to be Foo Fighters. Imagine being whiny li'l Royal Blood and having to follow them (I didn't watch that, obv).
[Find the BBC's complete Glastonbury TV coverage on iPlayer.]

Comics

2000 AD #2322

Films

Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
[#45 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
Blindspot 2023 #5

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x61 Week 13: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Poker Face
1x02 The Night Shift

Staged
3x05 Future
3x06 Knock Knock [series finale]
3x07 Staged Unseen
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

TV

Poker Face
1x01 Dead Man's Hand

Staged
3x02 Who's Playing Who
3x03 Past
3x04 Present
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Le Week-End (2013)

Collection Count

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

A trio of brand-new releases this week, including John Wick 4 on 4K and two Japanese Masters of Cinema titles that arrived a whole week early. Always feels nice getting stuff early, but it rarely means I actually watch them early anymore, so kinda doesn't matter.

Also this week, it's once again time for for the monthly running time update. It's actually been a fairly quiet few weeks (well below my average that I was on about... I thought recently, but turns out it was 8 months ago), with no big purchase (no many-film box sets or entire TV series; no TV series at all, in fact), so it's only a modest increase — it doesn't even get into days!

Number of titles in collection: 3,101 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,028 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,073 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 262 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 7,606 [up 5]
Number of films: 3,799 [up 3]
Number of additional cuts: 316 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,589 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,054 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
540 days, 17 hours, and 38 minutes.
(Up 18 hours and 33 minutes from last month.)

I do the running time update every four weeks (as opposed to literally monthly), which I always think means they should come at the end or start of a month, and yet the fact most months aren't actually four weeks means they gradually drift until, like right now, they're happening mid-month. Maybe I should change how I do them? I mean, no one actually cares, do they?

Anyway, see you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x60 Week 12: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

Staged
3x01 A Version of This
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Glass Onion (2022)
[2nd watch]
[#44 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]

TV

Leverage
5x04 The French Connection Job

Richard Osman's House of Games
6x59 Week 12: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Have I Got News for You
65x09 (9/6/2023 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended episode (again) on iPlayer.]

Taskmaster
4x07 No Stars for Naughty Boys
[Watch it (again) on Channel 4.]

Films

In a Lonely Place (1950)
[#43 in The All-New 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2023]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2023 #4

Fiction

On His Majesty's Secret Service by Charlie Higson
Chapters 5–6 [the end]

Overall, this was a really fun read. It's just long enough to feel substantial (rather than the simple brief tie-in it seems they originally intended), but short enough to move like a whipcrack throughout. It's also packed with fun little nods to real-life events (there's some particularly enjoyable stuff about Charles's pen in the final chapter). Some reviews online complain about the political content, but I thought it was fine... mostly because I agree with it, I guess! I presume the people who object are more on the villain's side than Bond's, and that's their problem.

Now, just let Higson write some full-length adult Bond novels, please.

Comics

2000 AD #2320–2321