James Acaster: Repertoire
Part 3 Reset
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
Sunday, 12 July 2020
this week on 100 Films
A whopping 11 new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...
The Equalizer 2 (2018)
Greyhound (2020)
It Chapter Two (2019)
The Old Guard (2020)
The 100-Week Roundup VII
The 100-Week Roundup VIII
More next Sunday.
The Equalizer 2 (2018)
It isn’t a terrible film, but it is quite a boring one. Not just slow paced — genuinely boring. A raft of subplots don’t really go anywhere or serve any purpose, the main story is incredibly thin, and the limited action sequences do little to balance the books.Read more here.
Greyhound (2020)
The threat of the U-boats is ever present, a constant danger that leaves our men pinging from one crisis to the next... Combined with the brief running time, it feels like the film doesn’t let up. This isn’t some stately drama about men at sea who are occasionally forced to take potshots at an unseen enemy, but an action movie; only instead of men clashing with kung fu or guns, its boats and subs fighting with torpedos and, um, trigonometry. The result is tight, tense, and thrilling.Read more here.
It Chapter Two (2019)
I think I liked the film it wanted to be (using the horror genre as an analogy/examination of growing up and moving on, or not, and how the past differs from our memories even as it defines us) more than the film it actually is (kind of that, but not in enough depth, and with a bunch of unnecessary business thrown in).Read more here.
The Old Guard (2020)
the concept has fundamental similarities to another recent big-budget Netflix actioner, Michael Bay’s 6 Underground. Whereas that was about a band of off-the-grid mercenaries working in secret to try to influence the course of human history for the better by going around shooting bad guys, The Old Guard is about a band of people who can’t die working in secret to try to influence the course of human history for the better by going around shooting bad guys. ... The Old Guard is more blandly acceptable than 6 Underground. And yet it never swings as big as Bay’s films — for all his many faults, his “go big or go home” style has its merits as blockbuster entertainment. Nothing here is going to stick in the memory as much as 6 Underground’s opening car chaseRead more here.
The 100-Week Roundup VII
Featuring...Read more here.
- The Garden of Words
- The Secret in Their Eyes
- Paul
- The Way of the Gun
The 100-Week Roundup VIII
Featuring...Read more here.
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes
- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
- The Quiet Earth
More next Sunday.
Saturday, 11 July 2020
Films
Greyhound (2020)
[#164 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ the two short featurettes accompanying it, which are more like trailers with interviews really
Palm Springs (2020)
[#163 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
[#164 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ the two short featurettes accompanying it, which are more like trailers with interviews really
Palm Springs (2020)
[#163 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Two box sets this week, with three discs apiece, one with three films, one with just one. Ah, the whims of disc producers...
Number of titles in collection: 2,396 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,090 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,306 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 63 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 6,198 [up 6]
Number of films: 2,693 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 174 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,935 [no change]
Number of short films: 754 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Two box sets this week, with three discs apiece, one with three films, one with just one. Ah, the whims of disc producers...
Number of titles in collection: 2,396 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,090 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,306 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 63 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 6,198 [up 6]
Number of films: 2,693 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 174 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,935 [no change]
Number of short films: 754 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 10 July 2020
Thursday, 9 July 2020
TV
Hamilton's America
A documentary that aired on PBS in the US after the Hamilton phenomenon and truly taken hold. Part making-of, part history lesson, it’s full of insight into both, so it's a shame Disney+ couldn't get this (or didn't try, I dunno) to accompany the film -- I think a lot of people who’ve enjoyed the film would enjoy this as a chaser. Definitely worth a watch if you can track it down.
Star Trek: Picard
1x09 Et in Arcadia Ego Part 1
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]
A documentary that aired on PBS in the US after the Hamilton phenomenon and truly taken hold. Part making-of, part history lesson, it’s full of insight into both, so it's a shame Disney+ couldn't get this (or didn't try, I dunno) to accompany the film -- I think a lot of people who’ve enjoyed the film would enjoy this as a chaser. Definitely worth a watch if you can track it down.
Star Trek: Picard
1x09 Et in Arcadia Ego Part 1
[Watch it (again) on Prime Video.]
Wednesday, 8 July 2020
Tuesday, 7 July 2020
Films
Make Mine Music (1946)
[#160 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Plus...
David Lynch Cooks Quinoa (2007)
[#159a in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
"Shia LaBeouf" Live
[Watch it (again) on YouTube]
Both of these are counted as short films on this list on Letterboxd, but I'd argue the Shia LaBeouf one is actually a comedy skit and/or music video. The Lynch one is originally a DVD special feature, but I'm gonna let it count, as much as anything with the purpose of writing about the weirdness of that list on 100 Films.
[#160 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Plus...
David Lynch Cooks Quinoa (2007)
[#159a in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
"Shia LaBeouf" Live
[Watch it (again) on YouTube]
Both of these are counted as short films on this list on Letterboxd, but I'd argue the Shia LaBeouf one is actually a comedy skit and/or music video. The Lynch one is originally a DVD special feature, but I'm gonna let it count, as much as anything with the purpose of writing about the weirdness of that list on 100 Films.
Monday, 6 July 2020
Films
A Dog's Will (2000)
[#159 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
The 8th greatest film of all time according to Letterboxd users.
[#159 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
The 8th greatest film of all time according to Letterboxd users.
Sunday, 5 July 2020
TV
Celebrity Mastermind
2019/2020 Episode 5 (of 10)
Elementary
6x20 Fit to Be Tied
6x21 Whatever Remains, However Improbable [season finale]
Jonathan Creek
2x06 Mother Redcap [season finale; 2nd or so watch]
Regarding my ongoing dilemma about how many times I've seen these episodes, the more of the series I watch, the more I suspect I had the first series on VHS and watched it more than once, but only saw the second series onwards when it aired. (Not that this matters to anyone besides me and my weird completism for counting rewatches!)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2019/2020 Episode 5 (of 10)
Elementary
6x20 Fit to Be Tied
6x21 Whatever Remains, However Improbable [season finale]
Jonathan Creek
2x06 Mother Redcap [season finale; 2nd or so watch]
Regarding my ongoing dilemma about how many times I've seen these episodes, the more of the series I watch, the more I suspect I had the first series on VHS and watched it more than once, but only saw the second series onwards when it aired. (Not that this matters to anyone besides me and my weird completism for counting rewatches!)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
this week on 100 Films
Just 1 new review on 100 Films in a Year this week, but it was a big one...
Hamilton (2020)
It was also the start of a new month, so there was my usual review of the old one...
More next Sunday.
Hamilton (2020)
it doesn’t feel like a mere stopgap until they film it ‘properly’, nor a “that’ll do” stand-in for a real theatrical performance, but instead like a legitimate experience in its own right. Hamilton is a masterpiece, and getting to see it performed by the original cast in its original staging via a film so carefully and lovingly crafted is an absolute thrill.Read more here.
It was also the start of a new month, so there was my usual review of the old one...
More next Sunday.
Saturday, 4 July 2020
TV
Agatha Raisin
3x01 The Haunted House
Celebrity Mastermind
2019/2020 Episode 3 (of 10)
Elementary
6x19 The Geek Interpreter
3x01 The Haunted House
Celebrity Mastermind
2019/2020 Episode 3 (of 10)
Elementary
6x19 The Geek Interpreter
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
This week's only new addition is that missing Red Dwarf series from last week, which means I now own the complete show on Blu-ray. Hurrah. Now just to watch it...
Number of titles in collection: 2,394 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,090 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,304 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 63 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 6,192 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,689 [no change]
Number of additional cuts: 174 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,935 [up 6]
Number of short films: 754 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
This week's only new addition is that missing Red Dwarf series from last week, which means I now own the complete show on Blu-ray. Hurrah. Now just to watch it...
Number of titles in collection: 2,394 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,090 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,304 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 63 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 6,192 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,689 [no change]
Number of additional cuts: 174 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,935 [up 6]
Number of short films: 754 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 3 July 2020
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