Nemo: The Roses of Berlin by Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill
Holy moly, it's six years since I read a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen-connected book. That's partly my own fault, because two volumes of Nemo have been out for almost all of that time; but between July 2018 and July 2019 they published the final League adventure, which I've recently purchased in its collected hardback form, so I'm catching up on those two remaining spin-offs before I dive into that. And then maybe a re-read of the entire series, because it's been a very, very long time since I read the first two volumes (I don't know how long exactly, but looking at my blog archives I can see I read the third book, Black Dossier, in the middle of 2008!)
As for The Roses of Berlin, it's a fun adventure, though it made for a somewhat halting read because of the amount that's in German. Maybe us English readers are meant to just skim past that, but I felt the need to translate it just in case, and so read the whole book accompanied by Jess Nevins’ annotations — interesting and insightful, but reading them alongside the book makes for a rather stop-start experience. I’m sure there’s an argument for authenticity in having the German characters speak German, but it would make for a smoother read if they didn’t. One other thing: there are clearly some plot elements of this that do make it a sequel to the first Nemo book, not just a standalone second adventure, and there are tie-ins to other League stories too, so it was a shame it’s been so long since I read those. As I said, I should re-read all of the League-universe books in a more condensed timespan.
Friday, 22 May 2020
Thursday, 21 May 2020
TV
The Great British Bake Off
9x01 Biscuits
Catching up on the 2018 series.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Lucifer
4x02 Somebody's Been Reading Dante's Inferno
[Watch season 4 (again) on Netflix.]
The Rookie
1x16 Greenlight
9x01 Biscuits
Catching up on the 2018 series.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Lucifer
4x02 Somebody's Been Reading Dante's Inferno
[Watch season 4 (again) on Netflix.]
The Rookie
1x16 Greenlight
Wednesday, 20 May 2020
TV
Lucifer
4x01 Everything's Okay
[Watch season 4 (again) on Netflix.]
The Twilight Zone
2x25 The Mind and the Matter
5x33 The Brain Center at Whipple's
5x34 Come Wander with Me
4x01 Everything's Okay
[Watch season 4 (again) on Netflix.]
The Twilight Zone
2x25 The Mind and the Matter
5x33 The Brain Center at Whipple's
5x34 Come Wander with Me
Tuesday, 19 May 2020
TV
The Twilight Zone
4x07 Jess-Belle
+ the audio commentary by the episode's writer, Earl Hamner, and TZ expert Marc Scott Zicree, where they nonstop sing its praises. My consensus ranking places it 146th out of 156 episodes.
4x07 Jess-Belle
+ the audio commentary by the episode's writer, Earl Hamner, and TZ expert Marc Scott Zicree, where they nonstop sing its praises. My consensus ranking places it 146th out of 156 episodes.
Monday, 18 May 2020
TV
The Twilight Zone
3x06 The Mirror
3x11 Still Valley
3x20 Showdown with Rance McGrew
Setting out towards a third "worst of" selection for my 100 Films TV column. I'm aiming to include the next seven worst-regarded episodes, and these are all three season 3 episodes that feature in that list.
3x06 The Mirror
3x11 Still Valley
3x20 Showdown with Rance McGrew
Setting out towards a third "worst of" selection for my 100 Films TV column. I'm aiming to include the next seven worst-regarded episodes, and these are all three season 3 episodes that feature in that list.
Films
Batman (1989)
[5th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #22. In 4K Ultra HD, which looked superb. There's a link to my 100 Films review from 2012 above, plus some new comments on Letterboxd here. Intending to give it the full "Guide To" treatment at some point, alongside the other Batman films I haven't covered yet.
[5th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #22. In 4K Ultra HD, which looked superb. There's a link to my 100 Films review from 2012 above, plus some new comments on Letterboxd here. Intending to give it the full "Guide To" treatment at some point, alongside the other Batman films I haven't covered yet.
Sunday, 17 May 2020
this week on 100 Films
The schedule for my "monthly" TV column at 100 Films in a Year is all over the place these days, but I published one this week...
There was also 1 new film review...
The Head Hunter (2018)
More next Sunday.
There was also 1 new film review...
The Head Hunter (2018)
a low-budget independent fantasy/horror movie. Such a description might conjure up images of fancy-dress-like costumes, plastic props, locations that venture no further than a mate’s back garden and a nearby bit of forest, cinematography with all the hallmarks of digital video, and some embarrassingly basic and boxy CGI. None of this is true of The Head Hunter, which marries some impressive production design to an understanding of its limits — its low budget shows only in its small scale, rather than uncomfortably forcing its reach to exceed its grasp.Read more here.
More next Sunday.
Saturday, 16 May 2020
TV
Doctor Who
2x39 Checkmate [season finale]
aka The Time Meddler Part 4. This is a great episode, and almost single-handedly explains why the serial is so well-regarded. Indeed, there's a great two- or even three-parter in here, it just takes a while to get to the point.
+ listened to the audio commentary on the full story, which was entertaining and informative in places, but understandably suffers at times from the participants trying to remember something they made over 40 years earlier.
Eurovision: Come Together
The full contest was cancelled this year, so instead the BBC aired this special show of iconic performances...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light
...and this official replacement broadcast, which had its moments.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2x39 Checkmate [season finale]
aka The Time Meddler Part 4. This is a great episode, and almost single-handedly explains why the serial is so well-regarded. Indeed, there's a great two- or even three-parter in here, it just takes a while to get to the point.
+ listened to the audio commentary on the full story, which was entertaining and informative in places, but understandably suffers at times from the participants trying to remember something they made over 40 years earlier.
Eurovision: Come Together
The full contest was cancelled this year, so instead the BBC aired this special show of iconic performances...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light
...and this official replacement broadcast, which had its moments.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Another eight new additions this week (one day I'll slow down again). But in addition to that, I'm currently adding my collection to a list on Letterboxd, a process which has led me to notice some more alternate cuts and short films that I hadn't counted before. Makes me wonder how many more are hiding in there... It's probably not that many in the grand scheme of things, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are a handful more still lurking.
Number of titles in collection: 2,370 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,103 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,267 [up 8]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 58 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 6,133 [up 11]
Number of films: 2,654 [up 9]
Number of additional cuts: 172 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 8,887 [no change]
Number of short films: 733 [up 11]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Another eight new additions this week (one day I'll slow down again). But in addition to that, I'm currently adding my collection to a list on Letterboxd, a process which has led me to notice some more alternate cuts and short films that I hadn't counted before. Makes me wonder how many more are hiding in there... It's probably not that many in the grand scheme of things, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are a handful more still lurking.
Number of titles in collection: 2,370 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,103 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,267 [up 8]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 58 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 6,133 [up 11]
Number of films: 2,654 [up 9]
Number of additional cuts: 172 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes: 8,887 [no change]
Number of short films: 733 [up 11]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 15 May 2020
TV
Doctor Who
2x38 A Battle of Wits
aka The Time Meddler Part 3. Surely one of the series' greatest-ever cliffhangers. Less impactful today, of course, especially as most people watching will know the Monk's secret, but at the time it must've been huge. (Well, let's be honest, Doctor Who didn't have the same obsessive following then that it does now, nor were there ways to communicate like the internet; but I bet regular viewers had plenty to say about it in the school playground on Monday morning.)
2x38 A Battle of Wits
aka The Time Meddler Part 3. Surely one of the series' greatest-ever cliffhangers. Less impactful today, of course, especially as most people watching will know the Monk's secret, but at the time it must've been huge. (Well, let's be honest, Doctor Who didn't have the same obsessive following then that it does now, nor were there ways to communicate like the internet; but I bet regular viewers had plenty to say about it in the school playground on Monday morning.)
Films
127 Hours (2010)
[#116 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
A Bug's Life (1998)
[#115 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
A fun either-side-of-midnight double-bill with Phase IV. (If you don't know what they're about... look it up.)
[#116 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
A Bug's Life (1998)
[#115 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
A fun either-side-of-midnight double-bill with Phase IV. (If you don't know what they're about... look it up.)
Thursday, 14 May 2020
Films
Misbehaviour FilmBath Live Q&A
with the film's director, editor, and screenwriter. I believe you can still watch it at the above link.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
[5th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #21. Doesn't feel like it can be my 5th watch of this, but if that's what my records say... This time it was on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and it looked fantastic.
Phase IV (1974)
[#114 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ director Saul Bass's original ending, which adds a couple of lines of dialogue and an abstract psychedelic nightmare to the finale
with the film's director, editor, and screenwriter. I believe you can still watch it at the above link.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
[5th watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #21. Doesn't feel like it can be my 5th watch of this, but if that's what my records say... This time it was on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and it looked fantastic.
Phase IV (1974)
[#114 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ director Saul Bass's original ending, which adds a couple of lines of dialogue and an abstract psychedelic nightmare to the finale
Wednesday, 13 May 2020
TV
Doctor Who
2x36 The Watcher
aka The Time Meddler Part 1. Taking a break from watching animated missing episodes to check out the story that recently came a surprising (to me) second place in Doctor Who Magazine’s “First Doctor World Cup” Twitter poll.
2x36 The Watcher
aka The Time Meddler Part 1. Taking a break from watching animated missing episodes to check out the story that recently came a surprising (to me) second place in Doctor Who Magazine’s “First Doctor World Cup” Twitter poll.
Films
Misbehaviour (2020)
[#113 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Ready to watch the FilmBath Q&A tomorrow evening.
Stuber (2019)
[#112 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
[#111 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
[#113 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Ready to watch the FilmBath Q&A tomorrow evening.
Stuber (2019)
[#112 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
[#111 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
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