Film

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)
[#78 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Gilmore Girls
6x01 New and Improved Lorelai

The Night Manager
Part 5 (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Caesar Must Die (2012)
[#77 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]
aka Cesare deve morire

TV

Gilmore Girls
5x22 A House is Not a Home [season finale]

The Night Manager
Part 4 (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
1x04 100% Not Guilty

TV

Gilmore Girls
5x21 Blame Booze and Melville

Person of Interest
4x13 M.I.A.
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

Films

Ghosts of Mars (2001)
[#76 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...


The East (2013)

In this atypical espionage thriller, Brit Marling is a private security employee sent to infiltrate an underground activist group who are exposing the illegal activities of mega-corporations. Faced with the group’s honourable intentions vs. her employers’ indifference, will she go native?

Read more here.


King Boxer (1972)

Released in the US as Five Fingers of Death, this popularised kung fu Stateside… there’s a good level of action (the primary reason to watch any kung fu movie worth its salt, surely), and a particularly stunning, casually inventive, multi-fight climax.

Read more here.


The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

the contentious parts are its strengths: it humanises Jesus, as he shows uncertainty about his God-given role and the earthly concerns that tempt him. Willem Dafoe makes Christ a plausible human, but Harvey Keitel’s Brooklyn-accented Judas feels like a spoof.

Read more here.


Of Human Bondage (1934)

When Bette Davis is off screen, it feels like the film is waiting for her to return. Her arc aside, it’s a take-it-or-leave-it damp squib of a drama — there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not all that engaging.

Read more here.


Starman (1984)

The film is an oddity on director John Carpenter’s CV, [but his] horror roots are on display: there are stalking POV shots as the alien arrives at Karen Allen’s house, and then it grows a human body, a sequence in which the ugliest (prosthetic) baby you’ve ever seen stretches and creaks as it grows into an adult in mere minutes. It’s pretty freaky. Indeed, as per the BBFC, Starman “contains mild language, sex, violence and sci-fi horror”, but is rated PG. Ah, the good old days!

Read more here.


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


Donnie Darko (2001)

The film makes strong use of contemporary pop music. It all seems to sit perfectly, which is a little ironic as a good number of tracks were changed because they couldn’t afford the rights on such a low budget. The director’s cut restores some of the original choices, which was a mistake.

Read more here.


The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

R2-D2 is the best supporting character in every Star Wars film, but in this one we are introduced to Yoda. Looks like a Muppet, as cheeky as a Muppet, much wiser than a Muppet. Probably. It’s hard to be certain.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Gilmore Girls
5x20 How Many Kropogs to Cape Cod?

Person of Interest
4x12 Control-Alt-Delete
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

Films

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984)
[#75 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Election (1999)
[#74 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,854 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 644 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,747 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 2,027 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,197 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 472 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
[#73 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Gilmore Girls
5x19 But I'm a Gilmore! [2nd watch]
My Gilmore re-watch is officially over — I'm back where I was seven years ago! So I guess from next episode it's just a "Gilmore watch".

The Night Manager
Part 3 (of 6)

The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
1x03 The Dream Team
I didn't give up on this, as you might've thought if you noticed I haven't watched it for nearly 6 weeks. I just got distracted by other things, like Daredevil, which is now done, so I'm back on the Juice.

Films

The Limey (1999)
[#72 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Gilmore Girls
5x18 To Live and Let Diorama [2nd watch]

Grantchester
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Warrior (2011)
[#71 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Gilmore Girls
5x17 Pulp Friction [2nd watch]

The Night Manager
Part 2 (of 6)

Films

Cool World (1992)
[#70 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Daredevil
2x13 A Cold Day in Hell's Kitchen [season finale]
Awesome stuff. After those cliffhangers, I wonder if we'll get a third season before The Defenders? With Jessica Jones season two and first seasons for Luke Cage and Iron Fist also on the way, I guess not... but you never know...

Films

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
[#69 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Of Human Bondage (1934)
[#68 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

It's April, which means it's time to look back at March on 100 Films in a Year...




5 brand-new reviews were also published this week...


Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Despite being a sequel to Man of Steel and featuring a Superman-heavy supporting cast (from Batman’s world we have Alfred; from Superman’s we have Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Lex Luthor, Martha Kent, and (spoiler for something that was in the trailer) Doomsday), Batman v Superman is really a Batman movie.

Read more here.


Bridge of Spies (2015)

it’s a mature, equanimous work. It would be easy to take a tale like this, fraught with issues of patriotism and the threat of foreign agents operating on domestic soil (which therefore screams “topical relevance!”), and give in to the same histrionics that some of the supporting character demonstrate. Indeed, a director like Spielberg — oft criticised for the vein of sentimentality that is ever-present, and sometimes dominating, in his movies — might be expected to err in that direction, even if it was only slightly. The film itself manages to maintain the same calm demeanour as its two headline performances, however.

Read more here.


The Five Venoms (1978)

Some say The Five Venoms is one of the very best martial arts films ever made. Some say it’s the best. I’m afraid I have to disagree. Strongly.

Read more here.


Lincoln (2012)

Daniel Day-Lewis allegedly stars in this account of the final months of President Abraham Lincoln’s life, which might more pertinently be called The 13th Amendment due to where its focus lies. I say “allegedly” because I’m not convinced they didn’t find a way to resurrect Lincoln to appear as himself, then just pretended it was Day-Lewis acting.

Read more here.


Turbo Kid (2015)

the point is not the storyline, but the genre and era elements that have been used to build it, and the stylistic elements that have been cribbed to execute it. I can't cite many specific points of reference, because I’m not au fait enough with the kind of cheapo, grindhouse-y, watched-on-video-by-’80s-kids genre films that the film’s trio of writer-directors are riffing off... but the general feel of those kind of films is certainly evoked.

Read more here.


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


Dogma (1999)

it will let you turn a more satirical eye to the absurdities of the modern church bureaucracy and hopefully make you laugh a little bit about how ridiculous some of this shit is. It’s okay to have faith in a higher power, but getting too extreme with your ideals can make you an asshole.

Read more here.


Dogville (2003)

The famous bare set — a black soundstage with chalk markings on the floor to represent the houses, and minimal other features or props — was inspired by the theatre of Bertolt Brecht; as was the film’s plot, so it’s rather apt. The set (or lack thereof) seems like a very “art house” idea, and a distancing one for the viewer, but it’s surprising how quickly you forget and accept it.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.