TV

Episodes
4x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Ripper Street
3x04 Your Father. My Friend
[Watch it now on Amazon Instant Video, or on BBC One (edited) soon.]

Two Tribes
2x31 (21/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Brazil (1985)
[#100 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2015 #6

There's oh so much to say about reaching #100 this early... and say it I shall on Saturday, in the monthly update.

TV

Gotham
1x22 All Happy Families Are Alike [season finale]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
8x07 (11/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x11 (24/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Mock the Week
14x03 (25/06/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
3x14 Provenance
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Two Tribes
2x30 (20/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Before Dawn (2012)

Directed by Emmerdale actor and zombie aficionado Dominic Brunt (who also stars), from a screenplay by Emmerdale writer Mark Illis based on a story by Brunt’s wife, Joanne Mitchell (who also co-stars), Before Dawn is a mash-up between remote-farmhouse zombie horror and kitchen-sink relationship drama.

Read more here.


The General (1926)

Poorly reviewed and a box office flop on its release, Buster Keaton’s The General has undergone a stark re-evaluation since: the United States National Film Registry deemed it so “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” that it was added to the registry in its first year... these days, it rates on both public-voted popular lists (the IMDb Top 250 at #133) and critics’ polls (34th on Sight & Sound’s 2012 poll).

Read more here.


Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Despite strong and relatively mature thematic notes, it doesn’t quite break free of the family-movie trappings to achieve the kind of insight or age-group transcendence that, say, Pixar movies routinely manage. For kids, though, especially ones who are feeling like misunderstood outsiders, there might be a lot to take from it.

Read more here.


Superman vs. The Elite (2012)

How much humanity is humanity willing to sacrifice in the pursuit of conflict resolution? Are Superman’s high morals a thing of the past? You might not expect such moral quandaries from a superhero narrative, but, well, that’s what flashy blockbusters will do to your impressions — comic books have long tackled more complex themes and debates, just wrapped in the veneer of colourful costumes and abundant fights. That’s transported to the realm of animation here, to an extent.

Read more here.


Plus four archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Chocolat (2000)

Judi Dench once again revels in playing an old lady who can say what she likes, in this pleasant adaptation of Joanne Harris’ novel.

Read more here.


Inside-Out (1999)

This charming little short stars Simon McBurney as a hapless market researcher on a busy London street, failing to get a single passerby to complete his survey -- perhaps the film's greatest achievement is making a market researcher sympathetic. Anyway, he's quietly observed by a woman, played by Lena Heady... She notices his failed attempts, which amuse her; he notices her laughing, and begins to muck around to entertain her.

Read more here.


Madagascar (2005)

the humour is above average. Large laughs may be sporadic but are there, particularly in a few moments that nicely spoof other films. Standouts include Planet of the Apes and American Beauty — clearly aimed at the adult audience who have been dragged along by the kids

Read more here.


Pixels (2010)

characters and graphics from old 8-bit computer games escape and run riot over New York City. We’re talking Space Invaders firing on real streets, Tetris blocks crashing onto buildings, Donkey Kong hurling barrels from the top of the Empire State Building, Frogger hopping across a road of real traffic… For people of A Certain Age it’s an explosion of nostalgia

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Ripper Street
3x03 Ashes and Diamonds
[Watch it now on Amazon Instant Video, or on BBC One (edited) soon.]

Two Tribes
2x29 (14/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

A few more additions this week -- including an entire TV series. That'll boost the running time update next month...

Number of titles in collection: 1,782 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 574 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,436 [up 25]
Number of films in collection: 1,926 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,632 [up 124]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Gotham
1x21 The Anvil or the Hammer

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
8x06 (27/6/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x23 Johnny and Dora [season finale]

Person of Interest
3x13 4C
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

TV

Episodes
4x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vicious
2x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

TMNT (2007)
[#99 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x10 (17/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition) (2003/2004)
[3rd or so watch]

Consensus marks this as the best of the trilogy. For me, Fellowship still edges it, but this is nonetheless a great finale.

Films

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition) (2002/2003)
[3rd or so watch]

I've warmed to The Two Towers down the years... or rather I had, because this time I found it a bit of a slog again. It's the only one of the three where I'd entertain an argument that the Extended Edition makes it worse.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x22 The Chopper

Gotham
1x20 Under the Knife

Mock the Week
14x02 (18/06/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Lilo & Stitch (2002)
[#98 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

First things first, this week 100 Films in a Year was nominated for a Liebster Award. More on that here:




Relatedly, I dragged this interview from 2011 out of the archive:




In regular business, three brand-new reviews were published this week...


The Rocketeer (1991)

the first act drags and unbalances the film, which picks up considerably (though gradually) after the Rocketeer himself finally turns up. It would feel a much better film, and perhaps be better regarded, if it didn’t dilly-dally for so long before getting to the meat of the plot and action. It doesn’t help that it has ambition ahead of its era when it comes to special effects.

Read more here.


The Voices (2014)

The Voices isn’t your usual kind of film — obviously. In the special features, everyone’s very keen to talk about how it exists outside of genre, and they’re right. From some of the premise (his pets talk!) and marketing, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just a comedy. It is a comedy, but a very black one. A very, very black one. A total-absence-of-light black one.

Read more here.


X-Men: Days of Future Past - The Rogue Cut (2014/2015)

So is this cut better? Well, no. Is it worse? Well, not really. It’s just different. On the one hand, here we have some extra fleshing out of Raven and Hank’s characters, more action for future-Magneto and Iceman, and a more decent role for Rogue... On the other hand, it makes for a slightly less streamlined film

Read more here.


Plus three archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Manhattan (1979)

for me, the best bit of the entire film is the opening three-and-a-half minutes, in which the beautiful images, Allen’s narration and Gershwin’s music combine in a tribute to what must be the most genuinely loved of all cities.

Read more here.


The Right Stuff (1983)

it’s nice to actually get some coverage of these earlier, vital missions, though such an in-depth knowledge of what was to follow has its problems for The Right Stuff’s narrative, just as knowing the facts always does for a historical movie. Equally, it gives the emotional resonance a helping hand

Read more here.


Verity (2010)

The short’s tagline — “men, bitches and Daleks” — sums up its thematic concerns: Verity Lambert argues with the man who hired her, faces animosity from other female members of staff, and saves the day by forcing the Daleks into [Doctor Who] despite Sydney Newman’s forbiddance.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) (2001/2002)
[3rd or so watch]

Has it really been five years since I last watched Lord of the Rings?! Bloody hell! And it was only the theatricals then, so I haven't seen these extended ones for... God only knows. At least seven or eight years, I'd wager. That's insane. Must start watching them more often again.


The Thing (1982)
[#97 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2015 #5

Collection Count

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

Multiple new acquisitions this week, though as several of them were upgrades from DVDs it threw the maths into a bit of a tizzy. Basically, I replaced my individual DVDs of the first three Mission: Impossible films, totalling five discs, with a single four-disc Blu-ray box set.

Such kinks have been largely eradicated from the final result by a last-minute new DVD arrivals.

Number of titles in collection: 1,779 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,207 [down 3]
Of which Blu-rays: 572 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,411 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,924 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,508 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Coldplay + Game of Thrones: The Musical for Red Nose Day
Sketch for Red Nose Day USA that I finally got round to watching. It had its moments.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
8x05 (20/6/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]