Films

Love & Friendship (2016)
[#173 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

Another (very) late update thanks to there being a massive load of additions and changes this time, including both DVD-to-Blu-ray upgrades and Blu-ray-to-Blu-ray upgrades to muddy the numerical waters. In all, eleven new titles were acquired, one of which will be somehow integrated into another,* and three titles were removed.**

On the bright side, all of this kerfuffle ended up arriving just inside this week (hence the delay), rather than tipping over to next as I had expected -- so it should be an all-round quieter time next week.

Number of titles in collection: 1,903 [up 7]
Of which DVDs: 1,196 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 709 [up 9]

Number of discs in collection: 4,897 [up 13]
Number of films in collection: 2,104 [up 10]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,467 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 500 [up 4]

See you next week, faithful reader.


* I bought the Spider-Man Trilogy Blu-ray, which doesn't include the Spider-Man 3 bonus disc; so I also bought the original 2-disc release of Spider-Man 3 to get that disc. Now I have to work out how exactly to sell the duplicate, because... oh, it's quite boring, I'll stop there. Point is: I bought the Spider-Man Trilogy and Spider-Man 3 (2 titles), but because I'll put the latter in the former it goes into my collection as 1 title.

** Talking of Spider-Man, I should really be removing my DVDs of the trilogy now. But the DVD releases of Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 2.1 each have over half-an-hour of special features not duplicated on the Blu-ray; the first film has a few bits & bobs not carried over, as well as being a DVD dear to my heart; and by that point, well, it'd be kinda weird to get rid of Spider-Man 3 (and I have it in an Amazon-exclusive special sleeve to boot). So, for now, they all stay. For now.

TV

Castle
7x08 Kill Switch

this week on 100 Films

This week on 100 Films in a Year began(-ish) with a look back at last month...




Then, just 2 brand-new reviews were published...


Cool World (1992)

It’s not a fundamentally bad story at a conceptual level, but its execution is a jumble, and the twisted Cool World is an unpleasant place to have to spend time. The darkness of the story is actually toned down from Bakshi’s original concept... but only so much: it’s still full of sex, references to sex, and general depraved behaviour.

Read more here.


The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)

It’s even worse than the first one, because it’s boring. Some bits and bobs may actually be improved (some of the direction is slicker; Bella’s terrible voice over is reduced), but goddamn, it’s so dull. So little actually happens. It feels like it’s probably setting things in place for whatever’s to come next for an entire movie.

Read more here.


And The Guest made its UK TV premiere, so I wrote about that...




And finally, my 100 Favourites series continued, also with 2 more posts...


Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Spider-Man! Spider-Man does whatever a spider can — spins a web any size, catches thieves just like flies. Is he strong? Listen bud, he’s got genetically-modified blood. Wealth and fame he’s ignored, action is his reward… though he’s having doubts about if it’s worth it. With great power comes great responsibility, and neither sit well with a kid who wants a normal life.

Read more here.


Spy Game (2001)

“You don’t just trade these people like they’re baseball cards! It’s not a game!”
“Oh, yes it is. It’s exactly what it is. And it’s no kid’s game either. This is a whole other game. And it’s serious and it’s dangerous. And it’s not one you want to lose.”

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
9x03 (5/11/16 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
7x07 Once Upon a Time in the West

Would I Lie To You?
10x09 The Unseen Bits [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Bridesmaids (2011)
[#172 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Castle
7x06 The Time of Our Lives

TV

Arrow
5x01 Legacy

The Great British Bake Off
7x11 Class of 2015 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stranger Things
1x08 Chapter Eight: The Upside Down [season finale]

Films

The Witch (2015)
[#171 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

aka The VVitch: A New-England Folktale

TV

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
3x10 Episode 10 [series finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
9x02 (29/10/16 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stranger Things
1x06 Chapter Six: The Monster
1x07 Chapter Seven: The Bathtub

TV

Class
1x03 Nightvisiting
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stranger Things
1x04 Chapter Four: The Body
1x05 Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat

Would I Lie To You?
10x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

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


The Big Short (2015)

The narrative is laden with concepts that are so complicated even people within the industry don’t properly understand all of them (however did the market fail?!), but the movie nonetheless attempts to explain them in an accessible way. It’s half successful: you kind of understand them at the time, about enough to follow along, but the chances of remembering them later are next to naught.

Read more here.


Christine (1983)

about as scary as… well, I was trying to think of something soft and fluffy that hasn’t ever been used in a horror movie, but that list is increasingly short. But you get my point: it’s not scary. Its 18 certificate is earned by an abundance of very strong language — which, according to screenwriter Bill Phillips, was added for that exact purpose

Read more here.


Cover Girl (1944)

Gene Kelly... provides two decent dance numbers: the first alongside Rita Hayworth and Phil Silvers, the second alongside himself, double exposure allowing his shop-window reflection to leap into the street. Otherwise the songs are forgettable, despite the fact it won an Oscar for its score

Read more here.


Doctor Strange (2016)

the story is familiar — but you can say that about most superhero movies, especially origin films. It’s only a problem if you think movies are entirely about their plot. What Strange offers to accompany this through-the-motions narrative is its visuals, and oh, what visuals they are. You’ve likely seen some of it in the trailers — the folding cities, which look like Inception run through a kaleidoscope. Certainly, their complicated detail and intricacy leaves Nolan’s movie in the shade.

Read more here.


The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again (2016)

If you suffered through The Rocky Horror Glee Show, as I did, you’ll know it was a travesty. Is this even worse? Well, that’s a bit like someone forcing you to eat a dog shit and a cat shit before asking you which tasted nicer. That’s a little unfair: the Glee version was meritless; this one has a couple of minor plus points — so maybe it’s like someone making you eat a very small shit while occasionally showing you a picture of a sexy half-naked person. But unless someone forces you to choose between only this and Glee, there’s no earthly reason to do this particular Time Warp again.

Read more here.


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


Sideways (2004)

“If anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving. I am not drinking any fucking Merlot!”

Read more here.


The Sixth Sense (1999)

M. Night Shyamalan gets such a bad rep these days, it’s easy to forget how great his breakthrough movie was... even before that ending, it manages to mix plausible emotional drama with scenes of chilling everyday horror, crafting something that is undoubtedly a genre movie but also not out of place in a list of Best Picture nominees.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Slightly delayed again this week thanks to a big set turning up on Saturday afternoon that I then had to include.

Of note this week: I've hit exactly 700 Blu-rays. Next week: I'll probably pass 1,900 overall titles.

Also, it's the monthly running time update. Yay!

Number of titles in collection: 1,896 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,198 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 700 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,884 [up 12]
Number of films in collection: 2,094 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,467 [up 15]
Number of short films in collection: 496 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
361 days, 11 hours, and 11 minutes.
(Up 18 hours and 16 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
9x01 (22/10/16 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
[#170 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Castle
7x05 Meme is Murder

The Flash
3x01 Flashpoint

TV

The Musketeers
2x08 The Prodigal Father

Red Dwarf
11x05 Krysis

Stranger Things
1x03 Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly

Would I Lie To You?
10x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Class
1x02 The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off
7x10 The Final
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stranger Things
1x02 Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street

Films

Doctor Strange (2016)
[#169 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]