Films

Amistad (1997)
[#16 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Death in Paradise
5x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Two Faces of January (2014)
[#15 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Films

Starman (1984)
[#14 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

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


About Time (2013)

Ostensibly another of Curtis’ oh-so-British rom-coms, it plays that way for a while, but long before it’s done develops into something deeper: Tim gets the girl (Rachel McAdams), then learns about life, family, and what you might really want to do with such power.

Read more here.


Dreamgirls (2006)

Oscar-winning adaptation of the stage musical that doesn’t tell the story of the Supremes in fictionalised form, no sir.

Read more here.


Ender's Game (2013)

you can actually believe Ender is learning to be a better leader. Normally when a movie features “an excellent military strategist” we’re told that and never shown it, but here we see how Ender’s skills as a strategist develop and are exhibited.

Read more here.


Lady of Burlesque (1943)

Stanwyck carries the film, both on stage and off. Her “will they/won’t they (of course they will)” romance with Michael O’Shea’s comic is kept aloft by her biting ripostes to his advances, and when a comedy sketch is interrupted by backstage noises she saves the day by breaking into song, doing the splits, a cartwheel, and the Cossack dance in quick succession. Not bad for a 36-year-old!

Read more here.


The Lone Ranger (2013)

Hated by Americans and loved (well, ok, “liked”) by everyone else (well, ok, “by lots, but by no means all, of people who reside outside America”), Disney’s attempt to pull a Pirates of the Caribbean on Western adventure IP The Lone Ranger is by no means as successful as the first instalment in their piratical franchise, but is at least the equal of its sequels — and, in some cases, their better.

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Apollo 13 (1995)

NASA Director: “This could be the worst disaster NASA’s ever faced.”
Gene Kranz: “With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour.”

Read more here.


Back to the Future (1985)

To some, the DeLorean is a failed automobile. To a generation (and, probably, every generation since) it’s one of the most iconic movie cars of all time. “Are you telling me that you built a time machine… out of a DeLorean?” “The way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?” Genius.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Voice UK
5x03 The Blind Auditions 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Return to the 36th Chamber (1980)
[#13 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

After a couple of quiet weeks, a few additions this time... and many, many more to come next week! Then a regular drip throughout February, too. Exciting times.

Number of titles in collection: 1,829 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,212 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 617 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,672 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,999 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,064 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

Plus this week it's time for a running time update, so...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
340 days, 22 hours, and 19 minutes.
(Up 10 hours and 12 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Insert Name Here
1x03 Kate
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

King Boxer (1972)
[#12 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]
aka Five Fingers of Death

White God (2014)
[#11 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x04 The Oolong Slayer
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Films

Hercules (Extended Cut) (2014)
[#10 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

The Graham Norton Show
18x14 (15/1/16 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Five Venoms (1978)
[#9 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

aka Five Deadly Venoms

TV

Dickensian
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
[#8 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Super 8 (2011)
[#7 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

Firstly on 100 Films in a Year this week, a tribute to Alan Rickman:




Elsewise, 3 brand-new reviews were published:


The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)

Widely regard as one of (if not the) greatest kung fu movies ever made... The chambers take the form of challenges, which San Te must overcome by either puzzling them out or developing some kind of physical or mental acuity. Their content is varied and innovative, which makes them engrossing to watch even as they make the film episodic

Read more here.


Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996)

It’ll come as no surprise that the biggest and best [bit] is Williams reprising his iconic performance, and consequently being responsible for most of the film’s humour. There are a couple of fun nods to some of Williams’ other best-remembered roles, and plenty to other Disney films too. The rest of the film offers a fast-paced, action-packed narrative, with a few musical numbers to boot.

Read more here.


What Dreams May Come (1998)

Director Vincent Ward and his team have created a rich, engrossing visual space here. It’s not just the Oscar-winning visual effects either, which create Chris’ initial realisation of Heaven as a kind of living painting, but also the locations, their decorations, and some fantastic sets. The design work is brilliant

Read more here.


Finally, as will hopefully be the case every week for the rest of 2016, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts:


Alien (1979)

Being a great of one genre is an achievement, but to be great in two at the same time (horror and sci-fi, of course) is something else.

Read more here.


Apocalypse Now Redux (1979/2001)

Adding some 49 minutes of footage to the praised theatrical version, Redux divides viewers and critics on whether the extensions make a classic even better or just dilute it. If there’s a consensus, it’s that in either version this is a great movie.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x03 Boyle's Hunch
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

The Voice UK
5x02 The Blind Auditions 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Nowt this week. Lots on order, though, so soon...

Number of titles in collection: 1,826 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,212 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 614 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,667 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,993 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,064 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Derren Brown: Pushed to the Edge
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Ripper Street
4x01 The Strangers' Home
2 hours 11 minutes long and in 2.35:1? Why, it's Ripper Street: The Movie! It isn't, obviously, but it certainly feels different at that length and ratio. And, of course, it's really good.
[Watch it exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

Would I Lie To You?
9x09 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]