Cowboy Bebop
1x09 Jamming with Edward
1x10 Ganymede Elegy
Crikey, has it really been 7½ months since I last watched Cowboy Bebop?! (Yes.) Oops. Anyway, let's try to make this a more regular thing, eh?
Gavin & Stacey
3x02 Episode 2 [2nd watch]
The Guess List
1x05 Episode 5
Person of Interest
2x21 Zero Day
So, I've been wrapping up all my already-on-going series from the TV season just passed (UK time, anyway -- the past TV season in the US had PoI season three). Which means soon I shall dig into a bunch of stuff I have saved up from earlier this year: The Americans season two, Ripper Street season two, The Musketeers season one, Peaky Blinders season one... and probably more, too. Exciting.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
TV
Game of Thrones
4x08 The Mountain and the Viper
Well, someone did say there'd be several more significant deaths before the season was out. I believe next week is a Blackwater-style single-location battle-focused episode, so I guess this one serves as the penultimate part for every other storyline -- and it felt like it!
Gavin & Stacey
3x01 Episode 1 [2nd watch]
Mad Men
7x02 A Day's Work
The fact the "previously on" mostly recapped last season is rather damning about how little happened in episode one! Things are very much underway now, though. Good good.
4x08 The Mountain and the Viper
Well, someone did say there'd be several more significant deaths before the season was out. I believe next week is a Blackwater-style single-location battle-focused episode, so I guess this one serves as the penultimate part for every other storyline -- and it felt like it!
Gavin & Stacey
3x01 Episode 1 [2nd watch]
Mad Men
7x02 A Day's Work
The fact the "previously on" mostly recapped last season is rather damning about how little happened in episode one! Things are very much underway now, though. Good good.
Monday, 2 June 2014
TV
Gavin & Stacey
3x00 Christmas Special [3rd watch]
It's nearly six years since this first aired. Six years! Where does time go...
Person of Interest
2x20 In Extremis
Featuring a major guest character with my name! Weeeeiiiird.
3x00 Christmas Special [3rd watch]
It's nearly six years since this first aired. Six years! Where does time go...
Person of Interest
2x20 In Extremis
Featuring a major guest character with my name! Weeeeiiiird.
Fiction
Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross
Part One: Chapter 1
I know I seem to have a predilection for giving up on books by accident, but I haven't abandoned Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (even though it's been a while). So why start this? Well, I'll be voting for the 2014 Hugo Awards, and this is one of the nominees, which I feel I should at least make some effort to read.
So far, it's not really my cup of tea. I confess I didn't even read all of this review, but the first four or so paragraphs give a good enough idea -- both of the novel, and why I'm not keen: "the real business of the novel [is] interstellar economics." Wow! Couple that with its dense hard-science-fiction style and it's all a bit much.
Not sure how long I'll stick with it, then. The advice someone offered -- that you should read all the nominated works, but only until you've had enough of each (which therefore shows you can't think that much of one if you don't want to finish it) -- seems good to me! And also practical, when there's so much to read.
Part One: Chapter 1
I know I seem to have a predilection for giving up on books by accident, but I haven't abandoned Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (even though it's been a while). So why start this? Well, I'll be voting for the 2014 Hugo Awards, and this is one of the nominees, which I feel I should at least make some effort to read.
So far, it's not really my cup of tea. I confess I didn't even read all of this review, but the first four or so paragraphs give a good enough idea -- both of the novel, and why I'm not keen: "the real business of the novel [is] interstellar economics." Wow! Couple that with its dense hard-science-fiction style and it's all a bit much.
Not sure how long I'll stick with it, then. The advice someone offered -- that you should read all the nominated works, but only until you've had enough of each (which therefore shows you can't think that much of one if you don't want to finish it) -- seems good to me! And also practical, when there's so much to read.
Sunday, 1 June 2014
TV
How I Met Your Mother
9x17 Sunrise
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Vera
4x03 The Deer Hunters
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
9x17 Sunrise
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Vera
4x03 The Deer Hunters
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
this week on 100 Films
It's June today (right now!), which means it's time to look back at how 100 Films in a Year fared in May 2014. Not too shabbily, as it turns out, though it was far from exceptional.
This month, there's also a look at the five men who've played Swedish detective Kurt Wallander. Yep, five.
Elsewhere, just one new review was published this week...
Mad Max (1979)
...but there was also one new to the new blog:
Beowulf: Director's Cut (2007)
More next Sunday.
This month, there's also a look at the five men who've played Swedish detective Kurt Wallander. Yep, five.
Elsewhere, just one new review was published this week...
Mad Max (1979)
A pursuit opens the film in style. It's a surprisingly-lengthy white-knuckle sequence that introduces us not only to Max, but to what director George Miller is capable of. Even 35 years on it remains a mightily effective set piece, with more punch than the average over-choreographed CGI-addled chases of the last decade-and-a-half of moviemaking.Read more here.
...but there was also one new to the new blog:
Beowulf: Director's Cut (2007)
I like animated films; I have absolutely no problem with animated films for adults; but the issue here is that most of the characters (especially the 'extras') seem of about the same quality as humans in Shrek. So while the battle scenes are often very violent, it becomes hard to take them seriously because it's all too cartoony.Read more here.
More next Sunday.
Saturday, 31 May 2014
TV
Episodes
3x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Gavin & Stacey
2x07 Episode 7 [season finale; 2nd watch]
The Mentalist
6x22 Blue Bird [season finale]
That would've worked perfectly well as a last-ever episode... which, considering how late their renewal came, may well have been the intention. Hurrah for one more season to find out what happens next, though.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]
3x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Gavin & Stacey
2x07 Episode 7 [season finale; 2nd watch]
The Mentalist
6x22 Blue Bird [season finale]
That would've worked perfectly well as a last-ever episode... which, considering how late their renewal came, may well have been the intention. Hurrah for one more season to find out what happens next, though.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]
Comics
The Bunker #2 by Joshua Hale Fialkov & Joe Infurnari
The first issue, originally published online in small chunks, rattled through a ton of story. Given a full issue at full-issue pace, this seems to slow down. Shame. Remains intriguing, but a shame.
Pretty Deadly #4 by Kelly Sue DeConnick & Emma Rios
Golly this is good. No offence to comics as a medium, but I'd love to see it as a film -- a truly faithful, put-the-panels-on-screen movie. That would be awesome.
Wolverine #5 by Paul Cornell & Gerardo Sandoval
In which Wolverine gets a tattoo. No, really. He has a fight with Thor too, for no real reason, but that's about it. Except for giving some voiceover to the book's only real female character, and giving her some awareness and impetuous and -- as the buzzword seems to go these days -- "agency". Which is the least we should expect from a writer obsessed with things like panel parity, I think.
The first issue, originally published online in small chunks, rattled through a ton of story. Given a full issue at full-issue pace, this seems to slow down. Shame. Remains intriguing, but a shame.
Pretty Deadly #4 by Kelly Sue DeConnick & Emma Rios
Golly this is good. No offence to comics as a medium, but I'd love to see it as a film -- a truly faithful, put-the-panels-on-screen movie. That would be awesome.
Wolverine #5 by Paul Cornell & Gerardo Sandoval
In which Wolverine gets a tattoo. No, really. He has a fight with Thor too, for no real reason, but that's about it. Except for giving some voiceover to the book's only real female character, and giving her some awareness and impetuous and -- as the buzzword seems to go these days -- "agency". Which is the least we should expect from a writer obsessed with things like panel parity, I think.
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
A few anime BDs push up the TV episodes, especially, this week.
Number of titles in collection: 1,678 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 476 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 4,174 [up 6]
Number of films in collection: 1,801 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,147 [up 21]
Number of short films in collection: 410 [up 1]
See you next week, faithful reader.
A few anime BDs push up the TV episodes, especially, this week.
Number of titles in collection: 1,678 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,202 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 476 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 4,174 [up 6]
Number of films in collection: 1,801 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,147 [up 21]
Number of short films in collection: 410 [up 1]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 30 May 2014
TV
Doctor Who
33x15 The Day of the Doctor [50th anniversary special; 2nd watch]
In 3D! OK, only anaglyph 3D, but amber-blue rather than the old-fashioned red-green -- the depth isn't as striking, but the colours are better rendered; though pure white has a tendency to go wrong. But anyway, that's not the point. The point is, I put it on to try out the 3D a bit, and ended up watching the whole thing. Brilliant episode. The best ever? Well, dunno... but it does deserve to be up there.
Gavin & Stacey
2x06 Episode 6 [2nd watch]
The Mentalist
6x21 Black Hearts
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]
Person of Interest
2x19 Trojan Horse
33x15 The Day of the Doctor [50th anniversary special; 2nd watch]
In 3D! OK, only anaglyph 3D, but amber-blue rather than the old-fashioned red-green -- the depth isn't as striking, but the colours are better rendered; though pure white has a tendency to go wrong. But anyway, that's not the point. The point is, I put it on to try out the 3D a bit, and ended up watching the whole thing. Brilliant episode. The best ever? Well, dunno... but it does deserve to be up there.
Gavin & Stacey
2x06 Episode 6 [2nd watch]
The Mentalist
6x21 Black Hearts
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]
Person of Interest
2x19 Trojan Horse
Thursday, 29 May 2014
Films
In Your Eyes (2014)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]
You can rent this Joss Whedon-penned film on Vimeo (and any of its associated apps) for $5 (~£3). And if you do, you might get a little something in the post, too. I'd recommend it (not just for the potential for awesome free stuff.)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]
You can rent this Joss Whedon-penned film on Vimeo (and any of its associated apps) for $5 (~£3). And if you do, you might get a little something in the post, too. I'd recommend it (not just for the potential for awesome free stuff.)
Magazines
Doctor Who Magazine #474
After Empire's huge movie poll yesterday, today it's DWM's turn. To mark the 50th anniversary, they asked fans to rate every Doctor Who story ever (right up to Matt Smith's Christmas regeneration), and this issue is dedicated to the results (which therefore replace the previously-defintive poll held in 2009 when the series reached 200 stories).
Lots of new entries (41 full-length stories have been produced since then), lots of changes, lots of things to agree and disagree with. But I won't spoil any of that here, go buy it for yourself (which you can on iTunes as well as in print, if you're so inclined).
After Empire's huge movie poll yesterday, today it's DWM's turn. To mark the 50th anniversary, they asked fans to rate every Doctor Who story ever (right up to Matt Smith's Christmas regeneration), and this issue is dedicated to the results (which therefore replace the previously-defintive poll held in 2009 when the series reached 200 stories).
Lots of new entries (41 full-length stories have been produced since then), lots of changes, lots of things to agree and disagree with. But I won't spoil any of that here, go buy it for yourself (which you can on iTunes as well as in print, if you're so inclined).
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
TV
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
1x19 Tactical Village
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Gavin & Stacey
2x04 Episode 4 [2nd watch]
The Mentalist
6x20 Il Tavolo Bianco
1x19 Tactical Village
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Gavin & Stacey
2x04 Episode 4 [2nd watch]
The Mentalist
6x20 Il Tavolo Bianco
Magazines
Empire #301
Featuring the 301 Greatest Movies of All Time, the magazine's first reader-voted poll since the renowned 500 Greatest Movies of All Time back in 2008.
As with any list of this ilk, it's chock-full of stuff to completely disagree with, including a ludicrous number of recent films (13 from last year; even two from this year). But I'm sure someone, somewhere, will think it's bang-on. Law of averages and all that...
Featuring the 301 Greatest Movies of All Time, the magazine's first reader-voted poll since the renowned 500 Greatest Movies of All Time back in 2008.
As with any list of this ilk, it's chock-full of stuff to completely disagree with, including a ludicrous number of recent films (13 from last year; even two from this year). But I'm sure someone, somewhere, will think it's bang-on. Law of averages and all that...
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
TV
Gavin & Stacey
2x03 Episode 3 [2nd watch]
The Guess List
1x06 Episode 6 [season fins;e]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Person of Interest
2x18 All In
Oh great, HR are back. I'd completely forgotten about them, and it was blissful. Props to the show for having multiple unconnected back stories and on-going threads (like real life), and for ending them at different times and in different ways (also like real life), but this HR business is one I was glad to see the back of the first time round. Here's hoping it gets gone quickly -- and thoroughly this time.
2x03 Episode 3 [2nd watch]
The Guess List
1x06 Episode 6 [season fins;e]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Person of Interest
2x18 All In
Oh great, HR are back. I'd completely forgotten about them, and it was blissful. Props to the show for having multiple unconnected back stories and on-going threads (like real life), and for ending them at different times and in different ways (also like real life), but this HR business is one I was glad to see the back of the first time round. Here's hoping it gets gone quickly -- and thoroughly this time.
Comics
The Bunker #1 by Joshua Hale Fialkov & Joe Infurnari
Collecting the entire (unfinished) run of the digital comic in a double-sized issue, which continues in regularly-scaled chunks (which, therefore, are half as good value, price-wise) from #2. Intriguing enough to have me on board for now, but I can't help but feel it has the potential to get irritating and go nowhere fast.
Pretty Deadly #3 by Kelly Sue DeConnick & Emma Rios
So much for "hold off on it a little" -- again, it's now four months later. Really good stuff, though.
Wolverine #1-4 by Paul Cornell & Ryan Stegman
This isn't the Wolverine #1 I read in April, nor the Wolverine #1 I read in February (should've saved this for June, eh), nor any of the Wolverine #1s published between these two. No, this is the latest Wolverine #1, from a few months ago, when writer Paul Cornell re-re-launched the title having re-launched it just 11 months previously. Got that?
Thus far, not the greatest Wolverine story ever told, but maybe it's going somewhere good... maybe...
Collecting the entire (unfinished) run of the digital comic in a double-sized issue, which continues in regularly-scaled chunks (which, therefore, are half as good value, price-wise) from #2. Intriguing enough to have me on board for now, but I can't help but feel it has the potential to get irritating and go nowhere fast.
Pretty Deadly #3 by Kelly Sue DeConnick & Emma Rios
So much for "hold off on it a little" -- again, it's now four months later. Really good stuff, though.
Wolverine #1-4 by Paul Cornell & Ryan Stegman
This isn't the Wolverine #1 I read in April, nor the Wolverine #1 I read in February (should've saved this for June, eh), nor any of the Wolverine #1s published between these two. No, this is the latest Wolverine #1, from a few months ago, when writer Paul Cornell re-re-launched the title having re-launched it just 11 months previously. Got that?
Thus far, not the greatest Wolverine story ever told, but maybe it's going somewhere good... maybe...
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