The Power of the Dog (2021)
[#66 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
Saturday, 9 August 2025
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Seven new titles this week, including the delayed Arrow 4K UHD release of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which replaces both the previous 4K release I'd imported from the States, and — by completing the "Dollars" trilogy in 4K — also supplants my old box set. As always with such things, it does some slightly funny things to the numbers, albeit masked by the six other brand-new acquisitions.
Number of titles in collection: 3,593 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 986 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,607 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 451 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,633 [up 7]
Number of films: 4,557 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 454 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,172 [up 12]
Number of short films: 1,266 [up 7]
And all of that was just in time for the monthly running time update...
Total running time of collection (approx.):
605 days, 3 hours, and 20 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 22 hours, and 3 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
Seven new titles this week, including the delayed Arrow 4K UHD release of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which replaces both the previous 4K release I'd imported from the States, and — by completing the "Dollars" trilogy in 4K — also supplants my old box set. As always with such things, it does some slightly funny things to the numbers, albeit masked by the six other brand-new acquisitions.
Number of titles in collection: 3,593 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 986 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,607 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 451 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,633 [up 7]
Number of films: 4,557 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 454 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,172 [up 12]
Number of short films: 1,266 [up 7]
And all of that was just in time for the monthly running time update...
Total running time of collection (approx.):
605 days, 3 hours, and 20 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 22 hours, and 3 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 8 August 2025
TV
Critical Role
2x111 New Homes and Old Friends [3rd hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#147 Discussing Up to 'New Homes and Old Friends' (with Liam & Ashley)
#148 Discussing up to 'New Homes and Old Friends' (with Marisha & Taliesin)
"We're all kinda used to talking to each other on Zoom so much that this is, sorta, just like one of those things, except that, um, this one lives on the internet forever." Well, it would have done… Except, of course, it still does, just in different, less official places, so I guess he was still correct. (Similarly, when Liam jokes about a restraining order... oof! I swear half the reason they took these down is not just because BWF's present, but because of all the jokes they make about how bad he is.)
Anyway: two episodes — whaaaat? Yeah, at this point Talks was supposed to be fortnightly (i.e. one after every other episode of CR), but, for reasons I haven't been able to unearth, between episodes 111 and 112 there were two episodes of Talks (I guess CR had to take an unexpected longer break? Maybe they mention it at the start of 112, because they didn't at the end of 111). Plus, from this point they seem to have abandoned the idea that episodes of the chat show are about an hour long. So, whereas pre-Covid there would've been c. one hour of Talks between episodes 111 and 112, in our reality there were three-and-a-quarter hours. And I watched it all today. Fun times.
[Watch #147 and #148 (again) on Internet Archive.]
2x111 New Homes and Old Friends [3rd hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#147 Discussing Up to 'New Homes and Old Friends' (with Liam & Ashley)
#148 Discussing up to 'New Homes and Old Friends' (with Marisha & Taliesin)
"We're all kinda used to talking to each other on Zoom so much that this is, sorta, just like one of those things, except that, um, this one lives on the internet forever." Well, it would have done… Except, of course, it still does, just in different, less official places, so I guess he was still correct. (Similarly, when Liam jokes about a restraining order... oof! I swear half the reason they took these down is not just because BWF's present, but because of all the jokes they make about how bad he is.)
Anyway: two episodes — whaaaat? Yeah, at this point Talks was supposed to be fortnightly (i.e. one after every other episode of CR), but, for reasons I haven't been able to unearth, between episodes 111 and 112 there were two episodes of Talks (I guess CR had to take an unexpected longer break? Maybe they mention it at the start of 112, because they didn't at the end of 111). Plus, from this point they seem to have abandoned the idea that episodes of the chat show are about an hour long. So, whereas pre-Covid there would've been c. one hour of Talks between episodes 111 and 112, in our reality there were three-and-a-quarter hours. And I watched it all today. Fun times.
[Watch #147 and #148 (again) on Internet Archive.]
Thursday, 7 August 2025
TV
Critical Role
2x111 New Homes and Old Friends [2nd hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x111 New Homes and Old Friends [2nd hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Games
Dungeons of Hinterberg
Got new batteries, played for two-and-a-half hours — yeah, I guess I'm enjoying it.
I say "guess" because in all that time I only actually played one dungeon, and the rest of the time indulged in exploring the overworld and town of Hinterberg. That's definitely part of the game too, but I guess it's also my point-and-click-adventure nature coming out: I mostly want to look around the locales and talk to people, not just solve button-pushing puzzles and fight monsters (although there are still semi-random fights outside of the dungeons, some of which would have proved fatal if I didn't have those difficulty-lowering options on — all games should have that for people like me!) I guess I'll go back into the actual dungeons at some point, still.
Got new batteries, played for two-and-a-half hours — yeah, I guess I'm enjoying it.
I say "guess" because in all that time I only actually played one dungeon, and the rest of the time indulged in exploring the overworld and town of Hinterberg. That's definitely part of the game too, but I guess it's also my point-and-click-adventure nature coming out: I mostly want to look around the locales and talk to people, not just solve button-pushing puzzles and fight monsters (although there are still semi-random fights outside of the dungeons, some of which would have proved fatal if I didn't have those difficulty-lowering options on — all games should have that for people like me!) I guess I'll go back into the actual dungeons at some point, still.
Wednesday, 6 August 2025
TV
Critical Role
2x111 New Homes and Old Friends [1st half]
“Well, that’s the easiest hour I’ve ever had to Dungeon Master.”
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x111 New Homes and Old Friends [1st half]
“Well, that’s the easiest hour I’ve ever had to Dungeon Master.”
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Games
Dungeons of Hinterberg
Because what I really needed was to start playing another game. Also: so many games I’ve bought and ought to get round to, but I keep going for free ones! Well, I say “free”: it’s free to Amazon Prime members (which I do pay for) via Luna, where it’s time-limited (until the start of next month), so we’ll see if I like it enough to stick at it and complete it by then.
I will say: I played for a little over an hour, and only stopped because my Luna controller ran out of batteries (and the spares I put in were actually flat), so that’s got to be a good sign. Especially as I’m not the greatest at this kind of game, in part because I’ve never really played a lot of them (and certainly not recently), but I gave this a go because I liked the art style and the setting/story piqued my interest.
Fortunately for me, it has a “story mode” which makes fights easier and means you can’t actually die (other than by running off a cliff or something, at which point it reloads where you left off), both of which are big plus points for me. I guess some people object to easy modes and the like because it’s not as challenging, but I don’t actually play games to be challenged — I find them entertaining in other ways — so nowadays I’m happy to plump for an easy setting. (Unless it’s a point-and-click adventure where a higher difficulty adds puzzles or something. That’s different.)
Because what I really needed was to start playing another game. Also: so many games I’ve bought and ought to get round to, but I keep going for free ones! Well, I say “free”: it’s free to Amazon Prime members (which I do pay for) via Luna, where it’s time-limited (until the start of next month), so we’ll see if I like it enough to stick at it and complete it by then.
I will say: I played for a little over an hour, and only stopped because my Luna controller ran out of batteries (and the spares I put in were actually flat), so that’s got to be a good sign. Especially as I’m not the greatest at this kind of game, in part because I’ve never really played a lot of them (and certainly not recently), but I gave this a go because I liked the art style and the setting/story piqued my interest.
Fortunately for me, it has a “story mode” which makes fights easier and means you can’t actually die (other than by running off a cliff or something, at which point it reloads where you left off), both of which are big plus points for me. I guess some people object to easy modes and the like because it’s not as challenging, but I don’t actually play games to be challenged — I find them entertaining in other ways — so nowadays I’m happy to plump for an easy setting. (Unless it’s a point-and-click adventure where a higher difficulty adds puzzles or something. That’s different.)
Tuesday, 5 August 2025
TV
Critical Role
2x110 Dinner with the Devil [2nd half]
“I wish for you, in the future, to find someone who will mourn you when you are gone.” Gotta be one of the coldest putdowns in the history of... everything.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x110 Dinner with the Devil [2nd half]
“I wish for you, in the future, to find someone who will mourn you when you are gone.” Gotta be one of the coldest putdowns in the history of... everything.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Monday, 4 August 2025
TV
Critical Role
2x110 Dinner with the Devil [1st half]
Following the announcement at the weekend, there's just 59 days until the start of Campaign IV. Once upon a time, me completing C2 by the start of October wouldn't have seemed impossible; but I've been a bit sluggish the last couple of months, including allowing time for Age of Umbra (and I've still got half of that to go) — at this point, I'd have to watch something like 2½ hours every single day to get through what I need to in time for the beginning of C4... and then I'd probably be left bereft because I'd bump right down to one episode a week! So, there may well be some intermingling come October.
(Not that literally anyone cares about this but me. But then, I don't believe anyone but me looks at this site, so it's ok.)
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Friends
9x09 The One with Rachel's Phone Number [6th or so watch]
2x110 Dinner with the Devil [1st half]
Following the announcement at the weekend, there's just 59 days until the start of Campaign IV. Once upon a time, me completing C2 by the start of October wouldn't have seemed impossible; but I've been a bit sluggish the last couple of months, including allowing time for Age of Umbra (and I've still got half of that to go) — at this point, I'd have to watch something like 2½ hours every single day to get through what I need to in time for the beginning of C4... and then I'd probably be left bereft because I'd bump right down to one episode a week! So, there may well be some intermingling come October.
(Not that literally anyone cares about this but me. But then, I don't believe anyone but me looks at this site, so it's ok.)
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Friends
9x09 The One with Rachel's Phone Number [6th or so watch]
Sunday, 3 August 2025
this week on 100Films.co.uk
Another month is over. What, already?! Yes, already! It feels like only the other day I was sharing the June reviews on 100Films.co.uk — in fact, I thought it was just last month that they'd been split across two weeks, but that was May's! — and now we have the July ones.
As usual, they begin with the overview of the whole month...
...and continue/conclude with a selection of my "failures"...
More next... Sunday? Probably not. Next month? For sure.
As usual, they begin with the overview of the whole month...
...and continue/conclude with a selection of my "failures"...
More next... Sunday? Probably not. Next month? For sure.
Saturday, 2 August 2025
TV
Friends
9x05 The One with Phoebe's Birthday Dinner [6th or so watch]
9x06 The One with the Male Nanny [6th or so watch]
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
2x08 Shadow and Flame [season finale]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x33 Week 7: Wednesday
8x34 Week 7: Thursday
8x35 Week 7: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
9x05 The One with Phoebe's Birthday Dinner [6th or so watch]
9x06 The One with the Male Nanny [6th or so watch]
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
2x08 Shadow and Flame [season finale]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x33 Week 7: Wednesday
8x34 Week 7: Thursday
8x35 Week 7: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Four brand-new titles this week — yes, I managed to avoid any sale purchases!
...apart from the stuff I've purchased in sales that should turn up next week, that is. Ah well.
Three of the four are 4K (yay!), and two are upgrades — one directly, so it replaces my older BD, but the other is Hearts of Darkness, the Apocalypse Now making-of that's included in the Apocalypse Now release. A new standalone 4K edition seemed indulgent for that reason but, in addition to the feature being restored in 4K, it comes with a copy of Eleanor Coppola's behind-the-scenes book Notes, and on disc there's a fairly large selection of special features, including (I believe) Eleanor's complete documentary filmography. Neat. On the bright side, it does replace an old DVD copy I was also hanging on to for special features, so that's a bonus.
Number of titles in collection: 3,588 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 986 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,602 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 451 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 8,626 [up 6]
Number of films: 4,553 [up 3]
Number of additional cuts: 451 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,160 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,259 [up 9]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Four brand-new titles this week — yes, I managed to avoid any sale purchases!
...apart from the stuff I've purchased in sales that should turn up next week, that is. Ah well.
Three of the four are 4K (yay!), and two are upgrades — one directly, so it replaces my older BD, but the other is Hearts of Darkness, the Apocalypse Now making-of that's included in the Apocalypse Now release. A new standalone 4K edition seemed indulgent for that reason but, in addition to the feature being restored in 4K, it comes with a copy of Eleanor Coppola's behind-the-scenes book Notes, and on disc there's a fairly large selection of special features, including (I believe) Eleanor's complete documentary filmography. Neat. On the bright side, it does replace an old DVD copy I was also hanging on to for special features, so that's a bonus.
Number of titles in collection: 3,588 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 986 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,602 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 451 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 8,626 [up 6]
Number of films: 4,553 [up 3]
Number of additional cuts: 451 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,160 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,259 [up 9]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 1 August 2025
TV
Friends
9x03 The One with the Pediatrician [6th or so watch]
9x04 The One with the Sharks [6th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x31 Week 7: Monday
8x32 Week 7: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
9x03 The One with the Pediatrician [6th or so watch]
9x04 The One with the Sharks [6th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x31 Week 7: Monday
8x32 Week 7: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Games
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Trick-Taking Game
Continuing our post-'campaign' game. It works pretty well; it's certainly welcome that the game remains playable without having to totally reset it and just play through 'story mode' again.
Continuing our post-'campaign' game. It works pretty well; it's certainly welcome that the game remains playable without having to totally reset it and just play through 'story mode' again.
Thursday, 31 July 2025
Games
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Trick-Taking Game
Chapter 18 Group 2
That completes the 'adventure'/'campaign' portion of the game, but it also provides rules to continue playing (basically by creating your own 'chapter' via a random selection of different card types), so we also started a game following those principles.
Chapter 18 Group 2
That completes the 'adventure'/'campaign' portion of the game, but it also provides rules to continue playing (basically by creating your own 'chapter' via a random selection of different card types), so we also started a game following those principles.
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