TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x12 (31/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Great British Bake Off
6x01 Cake
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Last Leg
7x04 (17/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Mock the Week
14x06 (16/7/15 edition) [mid-season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Ripper Street
3x07 Live Free, Live True
[Watch it now on Amazon Instant Video, or on BBC One (edited) in a few weeks.]

Yonderland
2x02 The Winging Detective

Films

Shallow Grave (1994)
[#105 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

The Last Leg
7x03 (10/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Person of Interest
3x16 RAM
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Two Tribes
2x37 (23/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Thing (2011)
[#104 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Mock the Week
14x05 (9/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Ripper Street
3x06 The Incontrovertible Truth
[Watch it now on Amazon Instant Video, or on BBC One (heavily edited) in a few weeks.]

Films

Inside Man (2006)
[2nd watch]

Space Station 76 (2014)
[#103 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

August started yesterday, so it's time for the 100 Films in a Year monthly update, looking back at July:




Also this week, two brand-new reviews were published. They were...


Gone Girl (2014)

“Horrible people do horrible things to each other” is the Post-it Note summary of this dark drama-thriller from director David Fincher, adapted by screenwriter Gillian Flynn from her own novel, which is short on heroes and overloaded with villains. An alternative brief summation is, “modern society is shit.”

Read more here.


Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

With Bond going “real world” and gadget free in the Daniel Craig era, and the Bourne series having blazed a trail of “we shot it all handheld and shaky and grainy so it must be real” veracity, it seems the task of providing audiences with a contemporary version of the spy action, just-ahead-of-reality gadgets, and larger-than-life spectacle that the Bond movies specialised in during the ’60s and ’70s, has fallen upon the Mission: Impossible franchise. For my money, it’s taken the baton with aplomb.

Read more here.


Finally, three archive reviews were reposted...


1945-1998 (2003)

Is 1945-1998 actually a film? Or is it a piece of video Art? Or just another online video? Its setup is quite simple: it charts every nuclear explosion between the titular years; the total, by-the-way, is 2,053. These explosions play out as flashing dots on a world map; different colours indicate which country was responsible for the explosion, accompanied by running totals.

Read more here.


Easy Virtue (2008)

it’s frequently hilariously funny. You’d expect nothing less from a work taken from Noel Coward, I suppose... There’s a decidedly wicked streak to the humour at times (a subplot about the fate of the family Chihuahua; lots of double entendres), which is welcome. The overall tone is light, largely, but not light in the head.

Read more here.


Fargo (1996)

the latest film to have been inducted into the United States National Film Registry, donchaknow. It’s also 105th on the IMDb Top 250 [it’s now 153rd], and the 21st film from the 1990s. So it’s pretty much a modern classic then.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Episodes
4x09 Episode 9 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
3x15 Last Call
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Would I Lie To You?
9x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

This week, nothing. Next week, hopefully something.

Number of titles in collection: 1,782 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 574 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,436 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,926 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,632 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Ripper Street
3x05 Heavy Boots
[Watch it now on Amazon Instant Video, or on BBC One (edited) in a few weeks.]

Two Tribes
2x36 (22/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Yonderland
2x01 Panic in the Streets of Yonderland

TV

The Last Leg
7x02 (3/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Mock the Week
14x04 (2/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
8x08 (18/7/15 edition) [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

RED 2 (2013)
[#102 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Salvation Boulevard (2011)
[#101 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Episodes
4x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Ripper Street
3x04 Your Father. My Friend
[Watch it now on Amazon Instant Video, or on BBC One (edited) soon.]

Two Tribes
2x31 (21/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Brazil (1985)
[#100 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2015 #6

There's oh so much to say about reaching #100 this early... and say it I shall on Saturday, in the monthly update.

TV

Gotham
1x22 All Happy Families Are Alike [season finale]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
8x07 (11/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x11 (24/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Mock the Week
14x03 (25/06/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
3x14 Provenance
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Two Tribes
2x30 (20/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

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


Before Dawn (2012)

Directed by Emmerdale actor and zombie aficionado Dominic Brunt (who also stars), from a screenplay by Emmerdale writer Mark Illis based on a story by Brunt’s wife, Joanne Mitchell (who also co-stars), Before Dawn is a mash-up between remote-farmhouse zombie horror and kitchen-sink relationship drama.

Read more here.


The General (1926)

Poorly reviewed and a box office flop on its release, Buster Keaton’s The General has undergone a stark re-evaluation since: the United States National Film Registry deemed it so “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” that it was added to the registry in its first year... these days, it rates on both public-voted popular lists (the IMDb Top 250 at #133) and critics’ polls (34th on Sight & Sound’s 2012 poll).

Read more here.


Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Despite strong and relatively mature thematic notes, it doesn’t quite break free of the family-movie trappings to achieve the kind of insight or age-group transcendence that, say, Pixar movies routinely manage. For kids, though, especially ones who are feeling like misunderstood outsiders, there might be a lot to take from it.

Read more here.


Superman vs. The Elite (2012)

How much humanity is humanity willing to sacrifice in the pursuit of conflict resolution? Are Superman’s high morals a thing of the past? You might not expect such moral quandaries from a superhero narrative, but, well, that’s what flashy blockbusters will do to your impressions — comic books have long tackled more complex themes and debates, just wrapped in the veneer of colourful costumes and abundant fights. That’s transported to the realm of animation here, to an extent.

Read more here.


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


Chocolat (2000)

Judi Dench once again revels in playing an old lady who can say what she likes, in this pleasant adaptation of Joanne Harris’ novel.

Read more here.


Inside-Out (1999)

This charming little short stars Simon McBurney as a hapless market researcher on a busy London street, failing to get a single passerby to complete his survey -- perhaps the film's greatest achievement is making a market researcher sympathetic. Anyway, he's quietly observed by a woman, played by Lena Heady... She notices his failed attempts, which amuse her; he notices her laughing, and begins to muck around to entertain her.

Read more here.


Madagascar (2005)

the humour is above average. Large laughs may be sporadic but are there, particularly in a few moments that nicely spoof other films. Standouts include Planet of the Apes and American Beauty — clearly aimed at the adult audience who have been dragged along by the kids

Read more here.


Pixels (2010)

characters and graphics from old 8-bit computer games escape and run riot over New York City. We’re talking Space Invaders firing on real streets, Tetris blocks crashing onto buildings, Donkey Kong hurling barrels from the top of the Empire State Building, Frogger hopping across a road of real traffic… For people of A Certain Age it’s an explosion of nostalgia

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Ripper Street
3x03 Ashes and Diamonds
[Watch it now on Amazon Instant Video, or on BBC One (edited) soon.]

Two Tribes
2x29 (14/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

A few more additions this week -- including an entire TV series. That'll boost the running time update next month...

Number of titles in collection: 1,782 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,208 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 574 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,436 [up 25]
Number of films in collection: 1,926 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,632 [up 124]
Number of short films in collection: 448 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.