TV

Castle
4x18 A Dance with Death
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Wednesday 25th February.]

The Mentalist
7x01 Nothing But Blue Skies
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Time Lapse (2014)
[#25 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)
[#26 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

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


Byzantium (2012)

The most effective part of the movie isn’t so much its plot or its mythology, though, but its atmosphere. Vampire movies take place in castles or drawing rooms, or high schools in more modern iterations. They are grand and sensuous. Any glamour in Byzantium is discarded and decrepit, like the titular hotel that Clara reshapes as a whorehouse; faded and left to ruin.

Read more here.


Knights of Badassdom (2013)

perhaps best known for its behind-the-scenes wrangles, which saw it taken out of director Joe Lynch’s hands and re-edited... by the time it was released Stateside in early 2014, reception was poor. A lot of this was put down to it not being Lynch’s cut, but I disagree for two reasons: one, I thought this version was good fun; and two, based on what I’ve read, I’m not convinced Lynch’s preferred cut would help any of the elements that might need helping.

Read more here.


The Last Days on Mars (2013)

it plays a bit like an R-rated, traditional-zombie-emphasised remake of Doctor Who adventure The Waters of Mars... the award-winning Who episode concerns the first manned mission to Mars battling a previously-undiscovered alien menace that mysteriously turns them into zombie-like creatures and prevents them leaving the planet. And the similarities go further than that

Read more here.


Series 7: The Contenders (2001)

Another entry in the Battle Royale, etc. subgenre, it sees six randomly-selected people forced by law to participate in a kill-or-be-killed reality TV contest. More grounded than most of its genre compatriots thanks to its filler-TV visual aesthetic and middle-America setting

Read more here.


Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

As incidental as the case may be, it’s a pretty good one — the solution to the jockey’s murder is a particularly neat change of pace, and while the culprit is deducible using the series’ regular “the least-likely person did it for a reason we’ll cook up at the end” formula, if you play by the rules it’s a trickier spot.

Read more here.


Plus seven archive reviews were reposted, including two past Oscar Best Picture winners -- all of the coming week's reposts will be past winners, in honour of next weekend's ceremony.


An American in Paris (1951)

it’s got a Gershwin score, and I always like that; particularly memorable is I Got Rhythm being performed by Gene Kelly and a group of young kids who can’t speak English. It’s a different take on a familiar number that’s thoroughly entertaining.

Read more here.


The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

The most striking thing about the film is that, for about the first 40 minutes, it takes place almost entirely within the head of Jean-Do... From the opening shot we literally see through his his eyes, blurry and limited as that is, and hear his thoughts, which brings us a lot closer to him than any character in the film can be... Jean-Do’s situation is obviously far from everyday, so this device makes for a highly effective — and, indeed, affective — form of identification.

Read more here.


The Met Ball (2010)

Depending on your level of generosity, this could be described facetiously as either “The September Issue 2” or “a deleted scene from The September Issue”. It’s sort of both.

Read more here.


Secretary (2002)

attempts to depict a realistic and sympathetic dominant/submissive relationship. Unfortunately this seems to come a bit unstuck with the feeling that the relationship is initially based in an emotionally (and physically) abusive act against a clearly vulnerable character

Read more here.


The September Issue (2009)

surprisingly enjoyable. Is it illuminating? I’m not sure, though some bits are occasionally fascinating — director R.J. Cutler’s handful of interview snippets with Wintour are well-chosen; brief but potentially revealing, even as she does her best to given nothing away.

Read more here.


Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)

often listed as the first Film Noir [yet] so imbued with the recognisable calling cards of noir in its cinematography, characters and plot points that it feels more like an entry in a well-established genre than a formative inclusion.

Read more here.


West Side Story (1961)

underneath the song and dance numbers (some impressive, some embarrassing), the Shakespearian romance story, and the vibrant and beautiful cinematography, beats the heart of a gritty, political, social drama about gangs, racism, immigration, and more

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

The Great Comic Relief Bake Off
2x01 Episode 1 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Voice UK
4x06 The Blind Auditions 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Hairspray (2007)
[3rd watch]
This was #53 in 100 Films 2008 and is reviewed here.
It's the 3rd time I've watched it, 3 years and 3 months since the last time, which was 3 years and 3 months after the first time.

Tropic Thunder: Director's Cut (2008)
[#24 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,735 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 527 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,332 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,873 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,464 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 441 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x05 The Mole
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Outnumbered
3x02 The Internet [2nd watch]

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
3x02 The Ties That Bind [series finale]

Films

Runner Runner (2013)
[#23 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Castle
4x17 Once Upon a Crime
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Wednesday 18th February.]

Outnumbered
3x01 The Family Outing [3rd watch]
(Skipping the 2009 Christmas special as we only watched it two months ago.)

Films

The Last Days on Mars (2013)
[#22 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
2x06 Country File
[Watch it (again) on Dave OD.]

The Flash
1x10 Revenge of the Rogues

The Last Leg
6x05 (6/2/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Death in Paradise
4x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Wolf Hall
Part 2 Entirely Beloved
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Byzantium (2012)
[#21 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Broadchurch
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Top Gear
22x01 (25/1/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
[#20 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

The British Academy Film Awards 2015
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Castle
4x16 Linchpin
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Wednesday 11th February.]

Films

Song of the Thin Man (1947)
[#19 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

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


Another Thin Man (1939)

Husband-and-wife detective duo Nick and Nora Charles — now with a baby in tow — are once again coerced into investigating a crime when the manager of Nora’s estate fears a dismissed employee is plotting murder.

Read more here.


Cockneys vs Zombies (2012)

It’s genuinely laugh-out-loud funny in places, buoyed by a quality cast that includes the likes of Honor Blackman and Richard Briers, the latter of whom stars in a genius “why has no one thought of this before?!” moment

Read more here.


The Tourist (2010)

Much maligned on its release, I thought The Tourist was actually a decently entertaining light thriller.

Read more here.


Transcendence (2014)

best known for the massive negative reaction it received on release, from critics and viewers alike. To be frank, I don’t really know why. Some say it’s too slow — well, I thought it moved like the clappers. What I thought was going to be the story was done in under an hour, from which point it spiralled off in new and interesting directions.

Read more here.


The Wall (2012) aka Die Wand

It’s adapted from an enduringly popular Austrian novel, one of those many books labelled “unfilmable”. Unfortunately the solution seems to have been an over-reliance on voiceover narration, meaning at times it feels more like a prettily-illustrated audiobook than a proper film.

Read more here.


Plus nine archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


4 short films

Featuring...
The End (2005)
Bus Stop (2004)
Park (2005)
Nine 1/2 Minutes (2002)

Read more here.


Cinderella (1965)

This clearly made-for-TV adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is a rather weak affair, easily demonstrating why no one seems to remember it... The musical numbers are quite entertaining, if mostly insipid, not that any approach R&H’s best anyway.

Read more here.


Fist of Legend (1994)

I’m no expert on martial arts, but I do like a good fight (on film) and Fist of Legend serves up plenty of those. In fact, there’s approximately one every five minutes, an impressively high ratio that consciously — and very pleasingly — fulfills what you want from this kind of film. This quantity doesn’t seem to have damaged quality either

Read more here.


Get Smart (2008)

mostly quite good fun. Not all the jokes hit home, but enough do to keep it amusing — which is better than some comedies manage. Even after three Austin Powers films it seems there’s enough left to do with the spy genre to keep a comedy rolling along

Read more here.


Nirvana (1997)

Most sci-fi we see is of the American variety... that tends to mean tonnes of CGI, a fast pace and action sequences up to the eyeballs. Nirvana is more stereotypically European, however: it’s clearly a Deep and Meaningful film, though unlike many examples of Thoughtful cinema it at least has a slightly thriller-ish plot and a hefty dose of cyberpunk styling for us plebs to pick up on.

Read more here.


Romance & Cigarettes (2005)

The characters occasionally sing along to some popular songs (and sometimes to ones you’ve never heard in your life), and sometimes do fun dance routines. This sits at odds with the gritty-ish melodrama of the plot, but that’s the fun.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
8x05 (6/2/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2x04 Halloween II
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Room 101
15x04 Episode 4

The Voice UK
4x05 The Blind Auditions 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,734 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 526 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,331 [up 2]
Number of films in collection: 1,872 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,464 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 441 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.