The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
[2nd watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #35. Disney seemed to have officially retitled this in the UK as of it being on Disney+, but it'll always be Basil the Great Mouse Detective to me.
Wednesday, 12 August 2020
Tuesday, 11 August 2020
TV
Red Dwarf: The First Three Million Years
1x01 Boys from the Dwarf
Three-part history of the show currently airing on Dave. I imagine it covers a lot of the same ground as the extensive documentary series they made for the DVDs, albeit with new talking head interviews recorded now (but presumably the heads' memories are the same!) Of course, those DVD docs will only have been seen by relatively die-hard fans, whereas this series is being broadcast on a popular TV channel, so fair enough (especially nowadays, what with physical media sales being what they are). Presumably this'll get a DVD release eventually, thereby completing the circle! (The series was originally supposed to air alongside The Promised Land back in April (it was delayed by (what else) the pandemic), so I guess it would've been a special feature on that disc if all had gone to plan. Whether or not it'll still be remembered by the time Series XIV rolls around...)
[Watch it (again) on UKTV Play.]
1x01 Boys from the Dwarf
Three-part history of the show currently airing on Dave. I imagine it covers a lot of the same ground as the extensive documentary series they made for the DVDs, albeit with new talking head interviews recorded now (but presumably the heads' memories are the same!) Of course, those DVD docs will only have been seen by relatively die-hard fans, whereas this series is being broadcast on a popular TV channel, so fair enough (especially nowadays, what with physical media sales being what they are). Presumably this'll get a DVD release eventually, thereby completing the circle! (The series was originally supposed to air alongside The Promised Land back in April (it was delayed by (what else) the pandemic), so I guess it would've been a special feature on that disc if all had gone to plan. Whether or not it'll still be remembered by the time Series XIV rolls around...)
[Watch it (again) on UKTV Play.]
Films
The Stunt Double (2020)
[#186a in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Short film by Damien "La La Land" Chazelle, designed to show off shooting on the iPhone 11 Pro and a vertical aspect ratio. It is of mixed success. You can watch it here.
[#186a in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Short film by Damien "La La Land" Chazelle, designed to show off shooting on the iPhone 11 Pro and a vertical aspect ratio. It is of mixed success. You can watch it here.
Fiction
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1 The Adventure of Silver Blaze
Expanding on that 1999 poll I mentioned yesterday, the guy who ran it has a website about it with lots of additional facts and stuff -- more than I'm personally interested in, to be honest. But one thing he's done is produce a table that compiles the results from major Sherlockian polls run in 1944, 1954, 1959, 1989, and his 1999 poll, giving a sort of "poll of polls" ranking of all 56 short stories. I'm not necessarily using this as a slavish guide for which stories to read next, but it's nice to have the info.
On this ranking, The Speckled Band and The Red-Headed League remain first and second, with A Scandal in Bohemia third, and Silver Blaze fourth. It's not a favourite of the Pocket Essentials guy (who scores it 3 out of 5, describing the plot as "rather on the dull side"), thereby justifying my search for a more objective ranking!
1 The Adventure of Silver Blaze
Expanding on that 1999 poll I mentioned yesterday, the guy who ran it has a website about it with lots of additional facts and stuff -- more than I'm personally interested in, to be honest. But one thing he's done is produce a table that compiles the results from major Sherlockian polls run in 1944, 1954, 1959, 1989, and his 1999 poll, giving a sort of "poll of polls" ranking of all 56 short stories. I'm not necessarily using this as a slavish guide for which stories to read next, but it's nice to have the info.
On this ranking, The Speckled Band and The Red-Headed League remain first and second, with A Scandal in Bohemia third, and Silver Blaze fourth. It's not a favourite of the Pocket Essentials guy (who scores it 3 out of 5, describing the plot as "rather on the dull side"), thereby justifying my search for a more objective ranking!
Monday, 10 August 2020
Fiction
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2 The Red-Headed League
Yesterday I expressed a desire to find a more 'definitive' ranking of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Well, I've not got one yet, but I did discover an international poll from 1999 that generated a readers' top 12. First place went to The Speckled Band, which I read yesterday, and second to The Red-Headed League, hence today's reading. Incidentally, those were also the first and second stories in Doyle's own list of favourites. (I presume these rankings were limited to the short stories, because neither includes a single one of the novels, which I find unlikely.)
2 The Red-Headed League
Yesterday I expressed a desire to find a more 'definitive' ranking of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Well, I've not got one yet, but I did discover an international poll from 1999 that generated a readers' top 12. First place went to The Speckled Band, which I read yesterday, and second to The Red-Headed League, hence today's reading. Incidentally, those were also the first and second stories in Doyle's own list of favourites. (I presume these rankings were limited to the short stories, because neither includes a single one of the novels, which I find unlikely.)
Sunday, 9 August 2020
Fiction
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
6 The Man with the Twisted Lip
8 The Adventure of the Speckled Band
I've never read all of the Sherlock Holmes canon, and I always intend to read more of it but never actually do (the last time was a single story in 2016; before that, a few in 2014). Anyway, here's an attempt to change that. I decided to start with some of the best-regarded stories according to the Pocket Essential Sherlock Holmes -- which is just one author's opinion, so maybe I should look for a more definitive ranking! That said, Doyle once named The Speckled Band as his overall favourite Holmes story, so that's some recommendation.
6 The Man with the Twisted Lip
8 The Adventure of the Speckled Band
I've never read all of the Sherlock Holmes canon, and I always intend to read more of it but never actually do (the last time was a single story in 2016; before that, a few in 2014). Anyway, here's an attempt to change that. I decided to start with some of the best-regarded stories according to the Pocket Essential Sherlock Holmes -- which is just one author's opinion, so maybe I should look for a more definitive ranking! That said, Doyle once named The Speckled Band as his overall favourite Holmes story, so that's some recommendation.
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Another big pile of additions this week -- not quite as many as last week, but more than the week before; though it's led me to delay posting this until Sunday again, so...
The most significant package was a bunch of purchases spurred by the latest Barnes & Noble Criterion sale, including their new Bruce Lee box set (which should probably replace my copy of the old Hong Kong Legends DVD set, but I rather like that, so it stays for now) and several titles I've been itching to own, including Come and See, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
No upgrades this week (well, there's the Bruce Lee set, as mentioned, and Criterion's Notorious trumps a DVD I own, but that's part of a box set), so the numbers below are the full account for once. That said, a minor point of order was provoked by the 1966 War and Peace, which was originally released in four parts but now gets considered as one film. I looked at how I've counted previous films of this nature (Dr Mabuse der Spieler; the 1934 Les Misérables) and consequently counted it as four.
Number of titles in collection: 2,428 [up 10]
Of which DVDs: 1,088 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,340 [up 10]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 68 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 6,243 [up 17]
Number of films: 2,731 [up 19]
Number of additional cuts: 178 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,935 [no change]
Number of short films: 759 [up 1]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Another big pile of additions this week -- not quite as many as last week, but more than the week before; though it's led me to delay posting this until Sunday again, so...
The most significant package was a bunch of purchases spurred by the latest Barnes & Noble Criterion sale, including their new Bruce Lee box set (which should probably replace my copy of the old Hong Kong Legends DVD set, but I rather like that, so it stays for now) and several titles I've been itching to own, including Come and See, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
No upgrades this week (well, there's the Bruce Lee set, as mentioned, and Criterion's Notorious trumps a DVD I own, but that's part of a box set), so the numbers below are the full account for once. That said, a minor point of order was provoked by the 1966 War and Peace, which was originally released in four parts but now gets considered as one film. I looked at how I've counted previous films of this nature (Dr Mabuse der Spieler; the 1934 Les Misérables) and consequently counted it as four.
Number of titles in collection: 2,428 [up 10]
Of which DVDs: 1,088 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,340 [up 10]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 68 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 6,243 [up 17]
Number of films: 2,731 [up 19]
Number of additional cuts: 178 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 8,935 [no change]
Number of short films: 759 [up 1]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Saturday, 8 August 2020
TV
The Great British Bake Off
10x05 The Roaring Twenties
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
6x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
The Rookie
2x08 Clean Cut
10x05 The Roaring Twenties
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
6x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
The Rookie
2x08 Clean Cut
Friday, 7 August 2020
TV
Agatha Raisin
3x03 Love from Hell
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
6x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
4x00 Satan's Chimney [Christmas special; 2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
2x06 Fallout
2x06 Safety
3x03 Love from Hell
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
6x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
4x00 Satan's Chimney [Christmas special; 2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
2x06 Fallout
2x06 Safety
Thursday, 6 August 2020
TV
The Great British Bake Off
10x04 Dairy Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
3x06 The Three Gamblers [season finale; 2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
2x05 Tough Love
10x04 Dairy Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
3x06 The Three Gamblers [season finale; 2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
2x05 Tough Love
Wednesday, 5 August 2020
TV
The Crown
2x09 Paterfamilias
2x10 Mystery Man [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The Rookie
2x04 Warriors and Guardians
2x09 Paterfamilias
2x10 Mystery Man [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The Rookie
2x04 Warriors and Guardians
Tuesday, 4 August 2020
TV
The Crown
2x07 Matrimonium
2x08 Dear Mrs Kennedy
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
6x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
3x05 Miracle in Crooked Lane [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2x07 Matrimonium
2x08 Dear Mrs Kennedy
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
6x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
3x05 Miracle in Crooked Lane [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Monday, 3 August 2020
TV
The Crown
2x05 Marionettes
2x06 Vergangenheit
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The Great British Bake Off
10x03 Bread Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
The Rookie
2x03 The Bet
2x05 Marionettes
2x06 Vergangenheit
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The Great British Bake Off
10x03 Bread Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
The Rookie
2x03 The Bet
Sunday, 2 August 2020
TV
The Crown
2x03 Lisbon
2x04 Beryl
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
6x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
3x04 Ghost's Forge [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
2x02 The Night General
2x03 Lisbon
2x04 Beryl
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
6x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
3x04 Ghost's Forge [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
2x02 The Night General
this week on 100 Films
A new month means another monthly review on 100 Films in a Year...
Plus, 1 new review...
Split Second (1992)
More next Sunday.
Plus, 1 new review...
Split Second (1992)
Rutger Hauer chomps cigars, chocolate, and scenery as Harley Stone, a badass rogue cop on the hunt for the serial killer who murdered his partner... It starts out almost like budget Blade Runner — it’s the future (so we’re told); it’s night; it’s raining; a hardbitten cop visits a seedy nightclub; etc. But then we get Stone’s first line of dialogue, which comes after a guard dog barks at him. He flashes his warrant card — at the dog — and says “police, dickhead.” To the dog. It’s hilariously terrible and awesome in one fell swoop.Read more here.
More next Sunday.
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
There were 13 new additions this week, a pile of them arriving last-minute, hence this delayed update -- especially as many weren't just simple additions.
For example, I bought two Hitchcock films on Blu-ray that I already own on DVD as part of a box set. That set is of six films, five of which I now own on Blu-ray. The sixth film isn't available on Blu, so I can't just upgrade the whole set. Normally I'd either have to lose that sixth film or keep the entire box set. But, fortunately, the films are in individual cases and, uncommonly, have individual barcodes, so I can split up the set and sell five of the six. So, in this case, the Blu-ray count goes up, the DVD count stays the same, but the film count goes down, and so does the disc count.
Anyway, with all the various other changes also accounted for, here are the new numbers...
Number of titles in collection: 2,418 [up 9]
Of which DVDs: 1,088 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,330 [up 10]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 68 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 6,226 [up 10]
Number of films: 2,712 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 176 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,935 [no change]
Number of short films: 758 [up 2]
See you next week, faithful reader.
There were 13 new additions this week, a pile of them arriving last-minute, hence this delayed update -- especially as many weren't just simple additions.
For example, I bought two Hitchcock films on Blu-ray that I already own on DVD as part of a box set. That set is of six films, five of which I now own on Blu-ray. The sixth film isn't available on Blu, so I can't just upgrade the whole set. Normally I'd either have to lose that sixth film or keep the entire box set. But, fortunately, the films are in individual cases and, uncommonly, have individual barcodes, so I can split up the set and sell five of the six. So, in this case, the Blu-ray count goes up, the DVD count stays the same, but the film count goes down, and so does the disc count.
Anyway, with all the various other changes also accounted for, here are the new numbers...
Number of titles in collection: 2,418 [up 9]
Of which DVDs: 1,088 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,330 [up 10]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 68 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 6,226 [up 10]
Number of films: 2,712 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 176 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,935 [no change]
Number of short films: 758 [up 2]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Saturday, 1 August 2020
TV
Agatha Raisin
3x02 The Deadly Dance
The Great British Bake Off
10x02 Biscuit Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
3x03 The Omega Man [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
2x01 Impact
3x02 The Deadly Dance
The Great British Bake Off
10x02 Biscuit Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]
Jonathan Creek
3x03 The Omega Man [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
2x01 Impact
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