TV

Mad Men
6x09 The Better Half

Up the Women
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vicious
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

The Bourne Legacy (2012)
[#55 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

I'll write a full review of this on 100 Films in due course (hopefully by the end of the week, as it's on Sky Movies Premiere from Friday and I do like to tie in to things); but for now I'll say that it's massively disappointing. It puts all my criticism of Ultimatum yesterday in the shade, because (as I said) that's only a smidgen off the other Bourne films, while this is leagues apart. For much of the running time it's not even good as a generic action-thriller, because it's quite spectacularly dull.

Ironically, this is the first Bourne film that leaves the storyline truly open-ended. The other sequels found threads to pick up on, true, but if the series had stopped after either Identity or Supremacy, you had a complete tale (and Ultimatum too, of course). This closes on basically a cliffhanger. And I say that's ironic because it's also the first time that I have no desire to see a follow-up.

I believe they could have continued this series without the character of Jason Bourne -- there's potential in some of the ideas here. But this version just doesn't work, as a compelling film or worthy successor.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
8x18 Weekend at Barney's
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Ripper Street
1x03 The King Came Calling

Films

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
[2nd watch]

Here we go, then: the most uber-praised of all the Bourne movies, which I haven't seen since it reached DVD in late 2007.

And I still think it's overrated.

Really, I'm talking relative to the other two films. In and of itself, it's a great action-thriller, rattling along with both story and action, pushing boundaries in entertaining fashion. But it feels like the series is retreading old ground -- oh look, another shady CIA conspiracy, even higher up than the last two! And oh look, a twist where an agent who seemed newly assigned actually had an ulterior motive to be after Bourne all along! And so on.

And then there's the final act, which feels like too pat a conclusion. Bourne finds out everything (including stuff I'm sure we'd well guessed); all sorts of stuff gets publicly exposed and people are brought to justice; etc etc.

There are some great sequences along the way -- the Waterloo bit is amongst the series' very finest, the New York car chase rivals Supremacy's (though I still think Identity's Mini tops both), and the Tangier sequence, while being thoroughly silly (how the hell can all these people chase each other across all those rooftops and tiny side streets?), is still pretty great.

But overall, I find it slightly less enjoyable than the previous two... though if Identity is 5/5, perhaps Supremacy is 4.9/5 and Ultimatum is 4.8/5. Something like that.

Fiction

Bill, the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison
Book Two, Chapters 6-8
Book Three, Chapters 1-5
Envoi [the end]

Well, that was rather good. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi with a comical, satirical edge. It's not as laugh-out-loud funny as something like Hitchhiker's, but it has a point (or points) to make, and a set of organisations and world views to criticise, and it tackles both entertainingly.

For a lot more about the novel -- including an interview with Harrison, details on the BBC radio and comic book adaptations, and the numerous sequels -- have a look here.

TV

The Voice UK
2x11 The Knockouts 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
7x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
[3rd watch]

The second Bourne film attracted much controversy and debate when it was first released, mainly to do with director Paul Greengrass' style of up-close, fast-cut, handheld photography. Watched nine years on, it doesn't look anything like as radical -- this style has become fairly standard. It's one I think works better on a small screen than in the cinema, I think. A wall-sized picture moving around at such a dizzying rate can be confusing and troublesome, but a smaller TV context makes it more followable.

As for the film itself, it's a worthy sequel. On IMDb the first one has the user voters' edge by something like 0.3 out of 10, and I'm inclined to agree -- they've both great (I'd rate both several higher than the IMDb averages, incidentally), and both have a lot to offer in slightly different ways, but overall the first one edges it.

Fiction

Bill, the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison
Chapters 6-8
Book Two, Chapters 1-5

Just to clarify, there is no "Book One" -- it's chapters 1 to 8, then Book Two (and, later, Book Three).

this week on 100 Films

You may have noticed that it's now June, so we begin this week's update by looking back at May. It's a bumper post this month, including some results from my Harry Potter poll and a top five of movie car chases, as well as the usual list and analysis of what I've been watching.

Alongside that, two brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)

Designed to launch Monty Python to a US audience who wouldn’t have seen the TV series, And Now For contains around 40 sketches [from the TV series]...

Ironically, US reviews were mixed and the film did little business at the box office, while in the UK it was popular enough to turn a profit, despite the fact it contained nothing new for British fans — “indeed many were disappointed that the film seemed to belie its title.”

Read more here.


The Lost Weekend (1945)

Directed by the inestimable Billy Wilder, winner of the Grand Prix at the first Cannes, winner of the Best Picture Oscar, and also Best Actor, Director, and Screenplay, it's a wonder that The Lost Weekend isn't better known...

Read more here.


And finally, new to the new blog...


Million Dollar Baby (2004)

it’s an incredibly anti-boxing movie. No good character’s life isn’t in some way ruined by the ‘sport’: Meg is paralysed and ultimately loses her life, not to mention realising how awful her family are; Morgan Freeman’s lost the sight in one eye and is reduced to cleaning up a run-down gym; ‘Danger’ gets beat-up; and Frankie’s lost his daughter, gets screwed over by his protégé, and ultimately loses Meg too. In no way is this a cheery depiction of boxing.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Have I Got News For You
45x08 (24/5/2013 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Not Going Out
6x08 Boat [season finale]
In every interview, Lee Mack seemed to build up the will-they-won't-they angle, and then in the last episode... barely a mention. Hey-ho.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Voice UK
2x10 The Knockouts 1
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

The Bourne Identity (2002)
[4th watch]

The last time I watched a Bourne film was when I saw The Bourne Ultimatum for the first and (to date) last time way back in December 2007, which means it's somewhere in the region of six or seven years since I last saw this. And it's 11 years old now! Crikey! Still feels quite fresh though, and I think its influence is still apparent on cinema -- just look at Euro-thrillers like the year-before-last's Unknown, for example.

The latest Bourne film, Legacy, is on Sky Movies Premiere from next Friday. I've had it on Blu-ray for a while now, intending to do a full series re-watch in the lead up to it (what with it being so long since I last saw any of them), so now's finally the time. If all goes to plan, expect to see Supremacy here tomorrow, Ultimatum on Monday, and Legacy on Tuesday, with a 100 Films review to follow before it's on TV (hopefully!)

Articles

Matt Smith to leave after Christmas Special
by Chuck Foster (from Doctor Who News)

Well, there you go. I do like Smith, but I can't help but feel this is one in the eye for all those smug whatnots who misread his comments months ago and assumed he'd already confirmed he was in series 8.

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

This week, I got the two '60s Dalek movies on Blu-ray, replacing my old DVD. Aside from a calculation error on the number of films, that's it.

Number of titles in collection: 1,565 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,162 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 403 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,908 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,678 [down 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,765 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
13x08 (24/5/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Not Going Out
6x07 Magic
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x50 (22/5/12 edition)

TV

The Good Life
4x02 The Green Door

Veronica Mars
1x21 A Trip to the Dentist
1x22 Leave It to Beaver [season finale]
Ah-ha, the mystery is solved! But ooh, a cliffhanger too...

Films

The Seventh Seal (1957)
[#54 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Articles

Doctor Who: 11 thoughts on Series 7
by Rob Smedley (from Cult Box)

Some pretty fair points about "maybe the most divisive run yet since the show’s 2005 revival".

TV

Mad Men
6x08 The Crash

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Watson and Oliver
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Once Upon a Time
2x03 The Lady of the Lake
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Veronica Mars
1x20 M.A.D.

Would I Lie To You?
7x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2012)
[#53 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]