Fiction

Zorro by Isabel Allende (translated by Margaret Sayers Peden)
Part 1 (pages 1-12)

I bought this novel about 13 years ago and never read it (where does time go, seriously?) It was seeing it in a box the other day that (perhaps subconsciously) inspired me to watch Zorro, and enjoying that inspired me to dig this out and finally start it.

TV

Hang Ups
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Jack Ryan
1x03 Black 22
1x04 The Wolf
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]

Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema
1x04 Science Fiction
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Lost in Space (1998)
[#189 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Darkman (1990)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2018 #33

Sartana's Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin (1970)
[#188 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

this week on 100 Films

Yesterday saw the start of a new month, meaning it was time for 100 Films in a Year to look back at the old one...





Plus, the past week also saw the latest TV review column...





And in regular activities, 3 brand-new reviews were also published...


The Hunt for Red October (1990)

they don’t make big-budget spy thrillers like this anymore, but maybe they should, because Red October’s qualities stand the test of time: its story is driven by well-drawn, interesting characters and an overall sense of suspense, rather than elaborate stunts or computer-generated effects. I like the latter too, but there’s room for variety in the cinematic landscape.

Read more here.


Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

What plays out is a solid plot, smattered with decent action sequences. Frankly, it’s nothing incredible, and you’d have reason to expect more distinctive work from a director of the calibre of Edward Zwick, but it’s still a good action-thriller.

Read more here.


Seoul Station (2016)

Before he made zombie masterpiece Train to Busan, director Yeon Sang-ho was an animation director with several features to his name. So perhaps it’s not surprising that, to accompany his aforementioned live-action debut, he also helmed this animated prequel. [...] Like Train to Busan, Seoul Station revolves around a struggling father-daughter relationship — though this one’s of a very different sort. That’s apparent from the off, but to say too much more would be a last-act spoiler. Suffice to say, it all comes to a very dark, grim ending, with none of the redemption or hopefulness of the main film.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Jack Ryan
1x02 French Connection
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]

Films

The Elephant Man (1980)
[#187 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]
What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2018 #8

Music

The 2nd Law by Muse
[2nd listen]

As I just realised, I listened to this once when it came out six years ago... and then never again! (Aside from two tracks that I listened to a lot.) Until today, when I listened to the whole thing again. It's mostly okay, with a couple of great tracks (Supremacy, Panic Station).

Collection Count

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

This week: a BD-to-BD upgrade that changes nothing on the stats, two DVD-to-BD "upgrades" that don't replace my DVD copies, and a trilogy box set that doesn't replace the copy of the first film I already own. Plus: a 47-disc 173-episode complete series box set. And I'm supposed to be thinking about slimming down my collection...

Number of titles in collection: 2,145 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,154 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 991 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 5,508 [up 61]
Number of films: 2,394 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes: 8,293 [up 188]
Number of short films: 624 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Jack Ryan
1x01 Pilot
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]

Films

Zorro (1975)
[#186 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Hang Ups
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Magic for Humans
1x03 Terrifying Tech
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

The Most Unknown (2018)
[#185 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Disenchantment
1x08 The Limits of Immortality
1x09 To Thine Own Elf Be True
1x10 Dreamland Falls [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Films

The Hunt for Red October (1990)
[2nd watch]
+ the Blu-ray's special features; primarily, a decent half-hour making-of.

Seoul Station (2016)
[#184 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Films

Ready Player One 3D (2018)
[#183 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

TV

Disenchantment
1x07 Love's Tender Rampage
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

Magic for Humans
1x02 Express Yourself
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Kidnapped (1917)

Kidnapped may not be an unheralded classic begging for rediscovery, but it’s a fun jaunt nonetheless. Proof, if it were needed, that there’s often worth to be discovered by digging into the more forgotten and esoteric corners of film history.

Read more here.


Conquest Program No.9

For her DVD release of the 1917 feature Kidnapped, Fritzi Kramer of Movies Silently was able to source the four short films that were bundled with it as part of “Conquest Program No.9”. The Conquest Programs were the idea of distributor George Kleine and created by Thomas Edison’s film company. Eleven were created in all, each one bundling together a feature film and a mix of shorts to create a complete bill of wholesome entertainment. By specifically recreating Program No.9, the Kidnapped DVD doesn’t just offer an approximation of what a night at the movies in 1917 might’ve been a bit like, but rather a genuine was-definitely-shown-in-theatres programme from the time.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Darkest Hour (2017)
[#182 in 100 Films in a Year 2018]

Collection Count

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

There were a total of 9 new additions to my collection this week... but one of those was a 2D-to-3D Blu-ray upgrade, adding a single disc, and three more were DVD-to-BD upgrades, with one of those alone replacing three former titles and reducing five discs to three. And if that wasn't enough, a further two were Blu-ray upgrades of films I own on DVD but I can't ditch the DVD copies because they're in box sets with other stuff!

Anyhow, you can see the fallout of all that below. You can also see what effect all those upgrading shenanigans had on the monthly running time update...

Number of titles in collection: 2,140 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,153 [down 5]
Of which Blu-rays: 987 [up 8]

Number of discs in collection: 5,447 [up 3]
Number of films: 2,388 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes: 8,105 [up 1]
Number of short films: 624 [up 5]

Total running time of collection (approx.):
401 days and 29 minutes.
(Up 18 hours and 8 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.