TV

The Force
Episode 2 (of 3)
The second episode of this excellent documentary series takes a look at the UK's first dedicated rape unit outside London, an "experiment" given six months to prove itself as a concept that should be rolled out nationwide. As stated near the start, rape is second only to murder in seriousness in the opinion of the British public, but is one of the hardest crimes to prove and consequently has one of the lowest conviction rates. Ultimately, the unit is shut down -- though it's given a last minute reprieve, once most of its staff have already been reassigned. Effectively, it's deemed as not cost effective despite impressive statistics, though just about allowed to continue... for the time being.
All in, it makes for an engrossing documentary on the way rape is and could be investigated, and commentary on the (perhaps hypocritical) difference between the opinion of rape in general, i.e. second only to murder, and the opinion on specific cases, i.e. unsolvable -- something the work of this unit categorically disproves. To date, no other force has established a similar unit, while last year 15,000 rapes were reported in the UK, leading to just 955 convictions.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

It's Only a Theory
1x08 Episode 8
Marcus Chown, again! And yet they still pretend they don't know him. Come on guys, treat your viewers with some intelligence!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
23x08 (18/11/09 edition)
Yes, last week's.
Martin Freeman does a good job in the guest host chair, though I couldn't see him doing it regularly (should they return to that route). One of the great things about the Buzzcocks guest hosts, incidentally, is that most of them seem to be having a whale of a time; unlike on HIGNFY, where they mostly seem nervous as hell.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Magazines

Radio Times 30 November - 6 December 2009

Christmas must be getting close -- here, RT have their (first of several, I'm sure) preview of what's to come over the Christmas holiday, while the next issue is out on Saturday (rather than the usual Tuesday), a schedule change that only happens in the run up to making way for the double-length Christmas issue.

Of course, the Big Day itself is just one month from today...

TV

How I Met Your Mother
3x04 Little Boys

Mastermind
for Children in Need [2009 special]
In which Mark Watson scored the highest (celebrity?) score ever... only to have it beaten within a few minutes by Lucy Porter. Poor Mark.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Misfits
1x02 Episode Two
Continues to be surprisingly good, applying a welcome sci-fi twist to any of the Skins-like drama it feels the need (or the budget constraints) to include.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Russell Howard's Good News
1x04 (12/11/09 edition, extended repeat)
[You can only see the shorter version on iPlayer.]

new reviews at 100 Films

Three reviews of the films in Channel 4's 3D Week, went up at 100 Films the other day. They were:

Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)

The best thing about the extra dimension is that it provides some genuinely impressive visuals throughout, and not in the gimmicky, thrust-stuff-into-the-audience way — naturally there are some of those shots, but… there are also shots that demonstrate why 3D could be genuinely valuable, to visuals if not necessarily to storytelling.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

They have a whale of a time shoving stuff out into the audience for almost no reason — just like the stereotype of 3D films, of course. That’s part of the fun of trashy 3D movies so I’m not criticising it, but what sadly doesn’t work is the ColorCode 3D system chosen by C4.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008)

The only real exception is the 3D — being a very recent production, that was flawless.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

There are currently 19 feature films and one short in the review pipeline at 100 Films. As ever, updates here as and when they're posted.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
6x07 (16/11/09 edition)
Yes, last week's.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Greatest Ever 3D Moments
The centrepiece of Channel 4's 3D Week purports to countdown the top 10 3D moments of all time. In reality, it uses the list format to recount the history of 3D, albeit in jumbled-up fashion thanks to this countdown structure. And it seems as if the top moments were dictated as much by what clips could be found and/or licenced as what is genuinely good 3D. And they were of course discussed by not-very-funny wannabe-famous specialist-knowledge-lacking young comedians, though thankfully the odd expert did show their face. Not a total waste, then, but it was a good idea that couldn't quite be pulled off. Like a lot of 3D week, as it turned out. Or 3D in general.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

Friday the 13th Part III in 3D (1982)
[#77 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
Once again courtesy of Channel 4's 3D week. Lots of fun 3D silliness in this, which is good because the rest of it is by-the-numbers slasher flick tosh.

Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in 3D (2008)
[#78 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
Ugh. The only thing worse than Hannah/Miley is the Jonas Brothers, who unfortunately turn up for a song or two.

Wanted (2008)
[2nd watch]
This was #46 in 100 Films 2008, where I gave it a fairly harsh write-up in reference to the trailer containing all the best bits. 16 months on, I find myself able to enjoy it in its own right. Distanced from said ubiquitous trailer, all the cool bits that gave away are fresher again, making it easier to appreciate the other great things about the film, such as it's wonderful sense of humour. If I wasn't about 20 reviews behind I'd consider re-evaluating it.

Watchmen: Director's Cut (2009)
[#79 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
Ahead of the UK Blu-ray release in 8 days (I'll try to have a review up before then), and while the Ultimate Cut is winging its way to me across the Atlantic, it's more than time I got round to watching Zack Snyder's definitive version of this year's most-talked-about superhero movie. The theatrical cut, incidentally, was #9.

DVD Extras

Alternate Opening on Wanted (Blu-ray)
This is a rather impressive sequence, which would've added to the mythic quality the film refers to but doesn't really embrace. It also clearly involved a lot of time, effort and, to be blunt, money, which makes it almost amazing it was cut. But it would've been information overload at the start of the film, particularly as it's relatively unrelated to what follows, and so cutting it out seems a wise decision. By itself it's great though, so hurrah for the age of DVD/Blu-ray that allows us to see it.

TV

Children in Need 2009
Being the post-midnight stretch, which as ever included a lot of repeats from earlier in the evening. A few new things too though, including musical numbers and an amusing (despite never having seen either show) Rebus/Taggart team-up/piss-take.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comedy Showcase
2x01 Campus
Being "from the creators of Green Wing" inspired me to watch this episode of C4's series of comedy pilots. Three of the six from the first season went to full series; so far, one from this batch has already been commissioned. Not this one though. Probably because it's not that good. Some funny bits, to be fair, but some's just crass for the sake of it. (What else is new, eh?)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Harper's Island
1x13 Sigh [series finale]
Nearly everyone's killed and everything's brought together and explained as the series-length slasher movie reaches its conclusion. It's been a fun ride -- not always the best-written show on TV (well, never the best written, but you know what I mean), it's kept itself rattling along with fun deaths and copious suspense. Shame more people didn't get on board its slightly unusual style ("unusual" being a euphemism for "not always that well-written", really), not that there'd've been a second series anyway.
Still hoping for a Blu-ray. Not all of the series looked as good as episode one, but that alone would be worth it.

Harper's Island Solved
Effectively 'Part Two' of BBC Three's episode eleven accompanier Harper's Island Unsolved (see what they did there?), looking at the final reveal of the killer -- he was always the case for the writers, apparently, and the actor knew since episode eight -- as well as the deaths in the final few episodes, including everyone's most-memorable, Cal and Chloe's. Despite Fearne Cotton's slightly irritating BBC Three-styled narration, it's a surprisingly interesting and information-filled documentary. Well done BBC.

Films

Flesh for Frankenstein in 3D (1973)
[#75 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
Courtesy of Channel 4's 3D week, though it's films like this that demonstrate why 3D has never taken off before.

Jumper (2008)
[#76 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]

TV

Children in Need 2009
Highlight of the night is unquestionably the Doctor Who clip from The End of Time, Part One -- can't wait for that.
More CiN tomorrow, of course.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Derren Brown Presents The 3D Magic Spectacular
Read my thoughts on this programme here.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Harper's Island
1x12 Gasp
Having finally got my hands on both of the final episodes in HD, I can finally finish watching this (it's six weeks since I watched ep11).
So, good twist at the end of this episode... though I guessed it about halfway through the series, but that was mainly because I thought it'd be a good twist.

Articles

The 10 Worst SF & Fantasy TV Shows Of The Decade by Dave Golder
(from SFX)
I'm sure there've been worse shows than some of these... But then, everything has its fans, so...

[Doctor Who Christmas Special] Title Revealed!
(from Doctor Who official site)
oh.

Review of The Twilight Saga: New Moon by Roger Ebert
(from rogerebert.com)
Ebert lays into the latest bit of drivel to disgrace our cinema screens.

Royal flush: five of the best play Queen in new film by Tim Lusher
(from guardian.co.uk)
But there were only four people in the band.
Oh, wait, that Queen...

Webby Awards name top 10 Internet moments of the decade
(from Yahoo! Tech)
Interesting and generally correct, I think, though the inclusion of Craigslist shows something of a US bias -- the rest are global (even the US election, as that sadly effects all of us), but Craigslist has only really taken off in the US.

Collection Count

We're into the fifth week of Collection Count now, which tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics.

I've made the wholly arbitrary decision that, once a month, the Statistic of the Week will be the same -- namely, the running time of the collection -- thereby providing a sporadic look at one of the more interesting things (relatively speaking, of course) I actually have to share in these posts. ("Once a month" in this case means "every four entries".)

Number of titles in collection: 1,084 [up 6]
Of which DVDs: 1,047 [up 4]
Of which Blu-rays: 37 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 2,660 [up 11]
Number of films in collection: 1,125 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 3,716 [up 20]

Statistic of the week:

Total running time of collection (approx.):
183 days, 2 hours, and 50 minutes.
(Up 3 days, 9 hours, and 57 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

new review at 100 Films

Ripley's Game (2002)

Roger Ebert saw fit to include it in his Great Movies list, though other critics are less favourable (the Radio Times, for one handy example, rate it just three out of five). While Ebert is in my opinion overselling the film by including it in a list of the best films ever made ever, it’s certainly an above average, consummately made and constantly entertaining Euro-thriller.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

There are currently 17 feature films and one short in the review pipeline at 100 Films. As ever, updates here as and when they're posted.

Channel 4's 3D Week - initial impressions

Having finally got hold of some appropriate 3D specs, I can finally begin to watch the bits of Channel 4's 3D week that I've been recording. This up first: Derren Brown Presents The 3D Magic Spectacular, a selection of (quelle surprise) magic tricks and illusions. Some are presented in 3D for good reason, others... well, just cos. Most are spectacular in one way or another, others impressive in themselves but rather obscured by the weak 3D effect (in particular, the man-escaping-from-a-sky-diving-cage one). As for a pair of 'play along at home' tricks (a pair of genuine ones, that is -- Derren's doesn't count), one thoroughly failed on me. Ho hum.

As for the 3D system chosen by C4... well, it's an anaglyph one, so of course it's far from perfect, but I also feel I've seen better examples -- I've watched a bit of Coraline in 3D on Blu-ray, for example, which uses a different system, and it seemed superior. The glasses I've got are also rather dark (they're not ones issued by C4 via Sainsbury's, though they are of the right type (ColorCode 3D), so their own might be better... but I wouldn't bet on it); luckily, I can whack up the backlight on my TV to compensate a bit.

Anyway -- this just goes to prove why anaglyph-based 3D films and TV have never really taken off. It remains to be seen if the new wave of supposedly-more-effective 3D that's on the way over the next few years (and already all over cinemas, of course) finally has any staying power.

TV

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
17x11 (13/11/09 edition)
This! Is! Wossy!
*ahem*
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
3x03 Third Wheel

The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson
1x02 Episode 2
I hope this is doing well in the ratings, because it deserves to be a success.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Chris Addison records part in Skins by Mayer Nissim
(from Digital Spy)
"You are always aware when watching it that it's Not Meant For You."
FACT.

Ferrell named Hollywood's most overpaid star by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
"Will Ferrell is Hollywood's most overpaid actor"
DOUBLE FACT.

TV

Generation Kill
Part 7 Bomb in the Garden [final episode]
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Have I Got News For You
38x05 (13/11/09 edition; uncut repeat).
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

It's Only a Theory
1x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
23x07 (11/11/09 edition)
Yes, last week's, with Tim Minchin -- yay! Not nearly enough of him though. And as I think I've 'reviewed' every guest host this series, let me say that Mark Watson was definitely an above-average one, which is super.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Wallander [Swedish]
1x02 Byfånen (aka The Village Idiot)

new review at 100 Films

Wallander: Before the Frost (2005)

Kurt is something of a guest star in the first episode of his own series, but we still see enough of Henriksson to get a feel for his Wallander. Where Branagh is soul-searching, constantly staring silently into the distance, occasionally with a few tears for company, Henriksson is just a guy trying to do his job; struggling to be a good dad and maybe struggling with his health, but still a regular guy. Maybe the introspection and crying come later.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

There are currently 18 feature films and one short in the review pipeline at 100 Films. As ever, updates here as and when they're posted.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
3x02 We're Not From Here

Misfits
1x01 Episode One
You don't get much more E4 than this: Heroes meets Skins -- with extra ASBOs. Naturally, this being E4, you'd expect it to err towards the latter two elements, thus making it distinctly less... how shall I put this... good. Surprisingly, however, there's a pleasantly strong dash of the former. In fairness, this may just be because it's the first episode, meaning extra time is devoted to the setup, but we can keep our fingers crossed it continues in this vein. It's also genuinely funny, rather than the usual funny-if-you-have-no-brain level 'humour' churned out for this intended audience. A nice surprise; one worth keeping an eye on.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Wallander [Swedish]
1x01 Innan Frosten (aka Before the Frost)
BBC Four have been showing the original Swedish series of Wallander for a while now. It's rather different to the British version: more normal drama, less slow-paced coldly-shot faux-Swedish. There's also a greater focus on his daughter -- based on this episode alone, she seems to be more the main character than he is! Different, then, but still good.
[Due to its original theatrical release, this also counts as #74 in 100 Films in a Year 2009. Read my full review here.]

TV

FlashForward
1x07 The Gift
FlashForward in good episode shocker! Finally, an answer... of sorts. Still had more than its fair share of dodgy moments though.
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

House
6x07 Known Unknowns
Sky1 catches up with the US showings this week, apparently, so I guess we're headed for a Christmas break too now. Which just reminds me that 24 Day 8 must be starting in January, and I've still not seen Day 7. Oops.