TV

Gotham
1x01 Pilot
This received a lot of mixed reviews, but I liked it. The cop show/superhero show mash-up does mean it doesn't really feel like either, but it also means it doesn't feel quite like anything else either -- and that's a good thing. It looks gorgeous too, with great production design and cinematography. Overall: not perfect, but has promise.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

The Great British Bake Off
5x11 The Class of 2013 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Have I Got News For You
48x02 (10/10/2014 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Whose Line is it Anyway?
2x06 (22/12/89 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Doctor Who
13x12 Pyramids of Mars Part Four [2nd watch]

Forever
1x02 Look Before You Leap

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
3x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Whose Line is it Anyway?
2x05 (15/12/89 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Doctor Who
13x11 Pyramids of Mars Part Three [2nd watch]

Pioneers of Television
2x03 Crime Dramas

Pointless Celebrities
6x19 (11/10/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Doctor Who
13x10 Pyramids of Mars Part Two [2nd watch]
aka "The One Where the Doctor Takes Sarah Jane to an Alternate 1980". Excellent story, this.

Mock the Week
13x11 (9/10/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Scott & Bailey
4x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

The Tourist (2010)
[#101 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

TV

Doctor Who
13x09 Pyramids of Mars Part One [2nd watch]
After the Doctor faced down a Mummy on Saturday, what better choice for this week's tie-in classic story than the last time he faced such a creature? Bit different, these ones, though...

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
2x06 Episode 6

this week on 100 Films

Two brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...


Darkman (1990)

Before he made the insanely successful Spider-Man trilogy, horror auteur Sam Raimi helmed this cinema-original superhero-esque fable, about a scientist caught in the crossfire between a corrupt developer and the mob who sets out for revenge.

Read more here.


The Tournament (2009)

the kind of film where its relative quality is entirely dependent on what you want from a movie. Is it original? Not terribly. Is it clever? Not really. Is it action-packed and kinda fun? Yessir.

Read more here.


Plus six were new to the new blog...


24: Redemption (Extended Edition) (2008)

Everything you need to know for this story is contained herein... On the other hand, it fails as a standalone movie. While the main plot — Jack defends school — is kicked off and wrapped up in the space between the title and the credits, there are several US-based plot threads that aren’t even close to being resolved. These are clearly designed to flow on into season seven

Read more here.


The Condemned (2007)

one keeps expecting it to degenerate into rubbish, but it never quite does. This is partly due to lowered expectations, true, and I’m not claiming it’s a piece of philosophical art — it’s still essentially a straight-up action movie — but there’s more to the story and its inherent issues than one has any reason to expect.

Read more here.


Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)

the main point is clearly the action, which is pretty spectacular. If you can bear the dense, plot-heavy first half (which does also contain several good sequences), the second is non-stop action, only occasionally marred by overactive camerawork.

Read more here.


I Am Legend (2007)

Things go very well for the first half. It’s nicely paced, concentrating on a depiction of one man’s loneliness taken to the extreme. The script, and Smith’s acting, handle the material well... Sadly, things begin to go down hill...

Read more here.


The Kite Runner (2007)

it feels like it’s part biography (though it’s fiction) and part moral fable. By the end, we’re presumably meant to leave with the feeling that some justice has been done at last. But while one boy has been saved from the horrors of his captors... there are hundreds left behind with the still-active villain.

Read more here.


Stand By Me (1986)

Irrespective of age, generation, or being able to remember the kinds of experiences suggested by the film, Stand By Me is still an effective and affecting little film. The level of enjoyment for some may depend on how much they can stomach child actors, though as kids go they’re mostly very good.

Read more here.



More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
34x08 Mummy on the Orient Express
Really enjoyed that, which makes a good few in a row for me now. Opinion seems very divided on this season: my Twitter feed is full of hatred for it, comments sections on websites see plenty of others declaring it the best run ever, and commenters regularly disagreeing with reviewers about which episodes are great and which are weak. There's a range of opinions on everything, of course, and especially Who, but it feels more pronounced this year.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who Extra
1x08 Mummy on the Orient Express
The series rarely builds extensive sets (as far as I'm aware), more often using location filming, so it would've been nice to learn a bit more about the process behind the Orient Express. Still, between the impressive monster, a big-name guest star and a big-name cameo, I guess there was more than enough to discuss.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Panel-show-tastic!

Have I Got News For You
48x01 (3/10/2014 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Whose Line is it Anyway?
2x04 (8/12/89 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Would I Lie To You?
8x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Doctor Who
21x16 Planet of Fire Part Four

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
28x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Whose Line is it Anyway?
2x03 (24/11/89 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Doctor Who
21x15 Planet of Fire Part Three
This seems to have turned into a fairly aimless runaround, but at least the cliffhanger was good.

Grantchester
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Great British Bake Off
5x10 The Final
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
13x10 (2/10/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Spanking the Monkey (1994)
[#100 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

Aaaand that's 100! Now, how far will I get...

TV

Doctor Who
21x14 Planet of Fire Part Two

Forever
1x01 Pilot
Welshman Ioan Gruffudd is a 200-year-old Englishman who can't die in this new American procedural -- hey, when there are so many cop shows on TV, you need a good twist. On the evidence of this opener it's not an exceptional show, but it is above-average and pretty entertaining, with enough amusing bits to make up for the rote elements. The writers could have done with a healthy dose of "show don't tell" instead of the mass of voiceover, though.

Whose Line is it Anyway?
2x01 (10/11/89 edition)
2x02 (17/11/89 edition)
Following "most fans"' advice, I decided to jump ahead to series two. The format is the same -- indeed, many of the rounds are exactly the same -- and yet instead of being a little awkward and occasionally amusing, it's now frequently hilarious. Not sure how or why that's changed, but hooray.
[Watch 2x01 and 2x02 (again) on 4oD.]

Would I Lie To You?
8x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Go Ahead, Get Excited for the New Twin Peaks. Even If It Turns Out Awful.
by James Poniewozik (from TIME)

Why it's OK to stop being cynical and start being excited for something -- in this case, new Twin Peaks.

TV

Doctor Who
21x13 Planet of Fire Part One
This week's Who serial was one of the first I locked in for our tied-to-the-new-episodes classic viewing. For Saturday's episode, they shot in Lanzarote doubling for the Moon; in this serial, they shot in Lanzarote doubling for the planet Sarn... and also Lanzarote. It looks incredible, actually -- a great use of location in both episodes. I guess there's not the budget to do it more often, but going overseas is probably the best way to find a genuinely alien-looking landscape.
Also, this is The One With Peri's Bikini, lest we forget (as if).

Gilmore Girls
2x14 It Should've Been Lorelai [2nd watch]
The first episode to feature Mädchen Amick as Christopher's new lady -- on the same day as the Twin Peaks news! Complete coincidence.

Scott & Bailey
4x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Whose Line is it Anyway?
1x01 (23/9/88 edition)
1x03 (7/10/88 edition)
Remember years ago I caught and liked some random episodes of WLIIA on Dave? Well, I stumbled across the whole darn thing on 4oD and thought I'd start at the start. It's remarkable how slow and kind of awkward it is -- and very obvious that the improvisation is genuinely completely improvised. How things have changed in the intervening 26 years! The first episode wasn't much cop, to be honest, but a quality line-up helped the next one I tried. Apparently "most fans feel that the show was at its best from Series 2-6, with Series 1 being too smart and low-budget," so maybe I should skip ahead in future.
[Watch 1x01 and 1x03 (again) on 4oD.]

Articles

Twin Peaks to return with new episodes in 2016
by Morgan Jeffery (from Digital Spy)

Best TV revival news since 2003!

Massively excited for this. Two years seems such a long time off... but as all I've actually seen of Twin Peaks is the first season, and that was many years ago, I've actually got a season one re-watch and first time viewing of the much-longer second season and the movie to fill (some of) that time.

Co-creator Mark Frost has been doing a ton of interviews, but some choice ones I read include those at TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter and HitFix.

TV

Crimes of Passion
1x06 Tragedy in a Country Churchyard [season finale]
This hasn't been to everyone's taste (there was at least one moany letter in the Radio Times, not to mention a 'pick of the day' review for this episode by a writer who even said they hadn't watched most of the series), but I've enjoyed it and hope to see more.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
[#99 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

this week on 100 Films

This week saw the start of October, meaning it was time for the regular 100 Films in a Year monthly update...




As well as that, three brand-new reviews were published this week...


A Beautiful Mind (2001)

There’s a Big Twist that they skilfully kept out of the advertising, and which many people have done a fair job of keeping quiet for the past 13 years; but, unlike most Big Twists, this one isn’t at the end of the film — in fact, it’s pretty early on, and the bulk of the movie is spent dealing with its fall-out.

Read more here.


Clear and Present Danger (1994)

The plot isn’t exactly inspiring, sadly, but it does allow for a few more memorable sequences: an alleyway ambush on an American convoy, with Ryan in the thick of the action, which is apparently still used to train real troops; and, in a very modern twist, a sequence where Ryan hacks into a corrupt colleague’s computer, while the colleague tries to delete the files Ryan is looking for.

Read more here.


Patriot Games (1992)

a sprawling tale. Although most of the major characters start off connected by a failed assassination, they soon splinter to go about their business in unconnected sequences, which finally come back together towards the end. To describe it as “novelistic” might be obvious, but it’s not been streamlined for the big screen.

Read more here.


Finally, this week's archive re-posts had a bit of a one-track mind...


David Fincher Week

With Fincher's latest in cinemas this week, it seems a good time to repost my 2011 'week'. Starting with this somewhat-self-indulgent introduction...

Read more here.


The end of David Fincher Week

...and continuing with my summary post from the week's end.

Read more here.


Se7en (1995)

The quality of a crime thriller is often so tied to its mystery that the film can only sustain so many viewings — sometimes, only one — before you know it too well. I have seen Se7en at least seven times now, which for me is a lot — a helluva lot, even — and yet I still get something from it every time. That’s a rarity, that’s a reason to love it, and that is why it may well be my favourite film.

Read more here.


Fight Club (1999)

At one point consensus seemed to have it that Fight Club was easily Fincher’s best movie, a generation-defining statement, “the first great film of the 21st Century” despite being released in 1999... I’ve always preferred Se7en myself. I still do. But Fight Club is nonetheless an exceptional film.

Read more here.


Panic Room (2002)

stands out as (arguably) Fincher’s most atypical film. Whereas his others are all epic, in one way or another, this is the exact opposite. It’s very contained, virtually the entire running time spent on one night in one house, alleviated only by brief outside bookends and a guided tour of the house at the start. Fortunately, it’s still an outstanding little thriller.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
34x07 Kill the Moon
This may well be the first classic of the Capaldi era. Not everyone on Twitter agreed though, so we'll see... but it felt great to me.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who Extra
1x07 Kill the Moon
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless Celebrities
6x18 (4/10/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]