Fiction

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
7 The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

Thought I ought to read the one canonical Christmas adventure before getting stuck into the pastiches.

TV

Alan Carr's 12 Stars of Christmas
Episode 2 (of 5)
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Castle
7x23 Hollander's Woods [season finale]
Someone clearly thought they might get cancelled... and so carved this episode from a block of cheese, apparently.

Junior Bake Off
4x11 First Quarter-Final
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Fiction

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part V: Christmas Adventures edited by David Marcum

For them that don't know, this is an on-going collection of traditional Sherlock Holmes stories in support of Undershaw, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's former home that has recently been restored to serve as a school. Originally it was a three-volume set, which I supported on Kickstarter back in 2015, but that proved so popular they're continuing it at a rate of two volumes per year. I never actually got round to reading the first three so skipped the fourth, but I was tempted back in by this fifth due to its seasonal nature -- which is also why I'm endeavouring to read it now. Thus far, I have read... the introductions. Well, it's a start (literally).

TV

Alan Carr's 12 Stars of Christmas
Episode 1 (of 5)
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
5x06 Episode 6

TV

Class
1x08 The Lost [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Junior Bake Off
4x10 Heat Ten
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
7x22 Dead From New York

The Grand Tour
1x03 Opera, Arts and Donuts
[Watch it (again) on Amazon Prime Video.]

this fortnight on 100 Films

I forgot to schedule a 100 Films in a Year update for last week (while I was away) so instead here's a look back at the last fortnight.

First up, the 1 brand-new review published in that time...


Midnight Special (2016)

The story’s style has made a comparison to Spielberg the go-to, not only for reviewers but for the writer-director himself, who’s labelled the film an homage to E.T. and Close Encounters. You can see that influence, certainly, but it lacks the effortless charm that Spielberg brings to his movies. If this is Spielberg, it’s by way of more indie arthouse fare.

Read more here.


The meat of my posting this month comes from my 100 Favourites series, which this fortnight continued with 4 more posts...


V for Vendetta (2005)

Although dressed up as part of an entertaining action movie, the story’s real topic is the rights and wrongs of government, and our attitudes and responsibilities towards it as citizens. That message feels as relevant as ever after the events of this year. Perhaps it always will — like George Orwell’s 1984, an enduring warning against things going too far.

Read more here.


Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

while the technical achievement remains impressive today (bearing in mind the limitations of the time) it’s all in service of the characters and the story. Even as you marvel at the visuals, you’re engrossed by the mystery and kept amused by the gags, including clever and witty references to cartoons and film noir.

Read more here.


X-Men (2000)

Its significance to the current movie landscape is hard to underestimate: it took the superhero subgenre... and made it respectable blockbuster fodder, which leads directly to where we are today. And the reason it sparked all that is because it’s a quality entertainment in its own right, mixing superpowered action with weighty themes and top-drawer performances from a cast who are almost all better than this, elevating the material rather than besmirching themselves with it.

Read more here.


X2 (2003)

one trend in the modern superhero era... sequels that are better than their predecessor, upending the accepted order of things. And as with so many things in the current superhero epoch, it started with the X-Men. Personally I’ve always slightly preferred the first movie, but X2 does polish up the action sequences, engages with the series’ thematic subtexts in an effective manner, and adds significantly to the ongoing mystery of Wolverine’s past.

Read more here.


More next Sunday. For real this time.

Films

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
[#187 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

Not many reviews this week on 100 Films in a Year, but it's a busy one nonetheless. First, as it's now December, a look back at — you guessed it — November:




Then, because I'm away for most of December, an earlier-than-usual TV review:




Now it's on to the reviews, of which there were — once again — 2:


Jason Bourne (2016)

Action sequences ensue, shot with all the ShakyCam you’d expect from Greengrass... I think it’s considerably less bamboozling than when it made its debut in Supremacy 12 years ago — it’s been so copied that we’re more used to seeing it. I think Greengrass has a better handle on the purpose of the style than many of his imitators, however. I’d also argue that the cinematography in Jason Bourne is a smidgen more stable, with shots held a few frames longer, so that it’s even less seasickness-inducing than before. In fact, some shots — even in the quick-cut action montages — are downright pretty.

Read more here.


The Transporter Refuelled (2015)

the action is pretty good, with some impressive car stunts and some neatly choreographed punch-ups. That’s all I expect or want from a movie like this, really, and even though it may not be an exceptional example of the form, the fisticuffs entertained me. I’ve certainly seen far worse. It helps that the over-reliance on CGI seen in the second two Statham instalments has been tempered... all the flips and crashes look to have been done for real.

Read more here.


And finally, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more entries:


The Transporter (2002)

The Transporter is neither big nor clever. In terms of the former, it’s a relatively small-scale, low-key action movie, not some Hollywood extravaganza; and in terms of the latter, it’s a relatively small-scale, low-key action movie, so of course it’s not been pumped full of brains. Instead it’s pumped full of adrenaline

Read more here.


Unbreakable (2000)

Some people view Unbreakable as the start of M. Night Shyamalan’s inexorable quality slide after the debut peak of The Sixth Sense (not that it was his debut). Those people are wrong. Partly because that degeneration doesn’t really start until the final act of The Village; partly because Unbreakable is Shyamalan’s best film. We’ve now had countless big-screen takes on superhero mythology, but none are quite like this.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Wizardhood (2016)
[#186 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

All eight Harry Potter films, edited into a single 78-minute film.

Holiday

As you read this, I am leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again... except I do know: it's Saturday 17th.

Until then, updates may be sporadic and/or delayed. Not that anyone's likely to care, but I thought I'd point it out just in case.

Films

Come Together (2016)
[#185a in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

The Wes Anderson-directed Christmas short-cum-advert for H&M. Watch it on YouTube here.

TV

Arrow
5x05 Human Target

Castle
7x21 In Plane Sight

TV

Castle
7x20 Sleeper

The Flash
3x05 Monster

Junior Bake Off
4x09 Heat Nine
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Live at the Apollo
12x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
7x19 Habeas Corpse

Junior Bake Off
4x08 Heat Eight
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Arrow
5x04 Penance

Crisis in Six Scenes
Episode 1 (of 6)
Episode 2 (of 6)
Episode 3 (of 6)
Episode 4 (of 6)
Episode 5 (of 6)
Episode 6 (of 6)
Woody Allen's TV series is basically a long Woody Allen film chopped up into six segments.
[Watch it all (again) on Amazon Prime Video.]

this week on 100 Films

Just 2 brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year again this week, and they were...


The Good Dinosaur (2015)

While it may take a while to warm up, The Good Dinosaur is ultimately a very affecting entry in Pixar’s canon. It’s by no means a perfect movie, but I do think it’s an underrated one. And, in all honesty, I enjoyed it more than Inside Out.

Read more here.


The Sting (1973)

Although often billed as a caper, sometimes even as a comedy, it actually has more of an edge. I mean, it’s not The Godfather, but it’s not Ocean’s Eleven either. The star power and chemistry of Redford and Newman are what give the movie a buoyancy to overcome the storyline’s inherent darkness, though I wouldn’t say that reaches far enough to regard the film as a romp

Read more here.


At least my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Toy Story (1995)

Pixar didn’t strike gold with Toy Story just because computer animation was New. It’s the likeable characters, how they develop and learn, the amusing situations they’re put in, plus some heartwarming messages about friendship. There’s more emotion and character development in these wooden-and-plastic toys generated with pixels in a computer than many a film can achieve with real human beings

Read more here.


Toy Story 2 (1999)

a sequel that is slicker, funnier, more exciting, and more emotional than its forebear. Even if it’s happening more often now, good sequels are still hard to do — trust Pixar to have got there ahead of the pack.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Class
1x07 The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Grand Tour
1x02 Operation Desert Stumble
[Watch it (again) on Amazon Prime Video.]

Films

Jason Bourne (2016)
[#185 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Collection Count

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

A whole bunch of titles this week leads to some relatively big boosts. It's that time of year -- lots of big releases in the run-up to Christmas. Speaking of which, this will be the last update until deep in December, because I'm going away. The next update may even be post-Christmas, so there'll surely be plenty to mention.

Coincidentally, it's also time for a running time update.

Number of titles in collection: 1,913 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,197 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 718 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 4,915 [up 8]
Number of films in collection: 2,113 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,483 [up 6]
Number of short films in collection: 500 [no change]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
363 days, 13 hours, and 47 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 2 hours, and 36 minutes from last month.)

See you next month, faithful reader.