TV

Castle
5x15 Target
5x16 Hunt
aka Castle Does Taken, Parts One and Two. Despite the obviousness of that influence, and some very poor green screen shots of a certain foreign city, it was a very good two-parter.

Detectorists
2x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
5x14 Reality Star Struck

Have I Got News For You
50x07 (20/11/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Arrow
4x05 Haunted

Live at the Apollo
11x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Castle
5x13 Recoil

Detectorists
2x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Flash
2x05 The Darkness and the Light

Jessica Jones
1x04 AKA 99 Friends

TV

Jessica Jones
1x03 AKA It's Called Whiskey

this week on 100 Films

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


Inside Out (2015)

Pixar haven’t had the greatest start to the second decade of the 21st Century... This might go some way towards explaining why their release for this year has attracted such acclaim, despite it offering a pretty rote storyline dressed up in some fancy ‘original idea’ clothing (not that it is a truly original idea) and a modicum of genuine emotional resonance.

Read more here.


The Machine (2013)

maybe James, in only his second feature, is trying to show his full range and use the film as a calling card. After all, it does attempt human drama, an exploration of sci-fi ideas, a touch of conspiracy thriller, and an all-action climax. Unfortunately he’s delivered quite a clunky screenplay, which lingers on inexplicable scenes one moment before rushing over vital things the next

Read more here.


One-Eyed Monster (2008)

For the innocents among you… well, maybe you should stop reading now. For the slightly-less-innocent, “one-eyed monster” is a euphemism for a (whisper it) penis. It also contains the word “monster”, like, y’know, a horror movie. What if you made a horror movie where some chap’s one-eyed monster was a monster?!

Read more here.


Turtle Power (2014)

The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ... This informative documentary uses interviews with all the key players to tell the story of how a small indie comic, created incidentally and published almost on a whim, became a true cultural phenomenon.

Read more here.


Plus two archive reposts...


2009: The Full List

So, 2009… the first year I failed to reach my stated goal. Still, I saw 94 new films and bothered to review several others — and here’s a full alphabetical list of the lot of ’em!

Read more here.


2009 In Retrospect

It’s been a somewhat inauspicious year for 100 Films, actually, failing to make the titular target for the first time and not necessarily seeing a great many classic films along the way. 2007’s Top Ten held undeniable classics like Brief Encounter and Citizen Kane, while 2008’s managed the likes of Rashomon [and] Notorious... I don’t mean to spoil this year’s lot, but it looks kinda tame and modern (70% come from the last three years) by comparison.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x10 Face the Raven
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Jessica Jones
1x01 AKA Ladies Night
1x02 AKA Crush Syndrome

Collection Count

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

Quite a few additions this week, relatively, which means I sail past 600 Blu-rays without landing neatly on it. Ah well, it's not that interesting a number anyway. Should keep next week's running time update lively, though.

Number of titles in collection: 1,815 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,213 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 602 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,567 [up 22]
Number of films in collection: 1,971 [up 9]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,805 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 462 [up 3]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Have I Got News For You
50x06 (6/11/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Articles

Peter Jackson: 'I didn’t know what the hell I was doing' when I made The Hobbit
by Ben Child (from the Guardian)

With quotes culled from the behind-the-scenes video on the forthcoming Battle of the Five Armies extended DVD, director Peter Jackson candidly admits how he rushed The Hobbit films.


Why Star Wars: The Force Awakens Not Screening for Critics Might Be a Good Thing
by Sam Adams (from Criticwire)

Interesting thoughts on the place for and relevance of movie criticism.

TV

Arrow
4x04 Beyond Redemption

Live at the Apollo
11x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Premium Bond with Mark Gatiss and Matthew Sweet
Sweet and Gatiss offer an appreciation of the whole Bond series, by gently critically analysing them. So, so much better than a vacuous "weren't they all great" puff piece. Hurrah for BBC Four!
[Watch it (again) in full on iPlayer, or in Bond-by-Bond chunks here.]

Films

Tank Girl (1995)
[#180 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

The Flash
2x04 The Fury of Firestorm

Have I Got News For You
50x05 (30/10/2015 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

No new reviews on 100 Films in a Year this week (I was away most of the week), but there were two archive re-posts...


2008: The Full List

This year hasn’t been quite as successful as last, at least in terms of film viewing. As the year neared its end I didn’t think I’d make it to 100, and was all prepared to settle for 90 around Christmas time, but a final push saw me make it in the nick of time. Hurrah!

Read more here.


2008 In Retrospect

And so 2008 is finally at an end (really this time)... first up, my five Worst Films, in no particular order; then, my ten Best Films, in a lovely countdown.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
35x09 Sleep No More
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Inside Out (2015)
[#179 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Lava (2014)
[#179b in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Riley's First Date? (2015)
[#179a 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: 1,811 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,212 [up 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 599 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 4,545 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,962 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,805 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 459 [up 2]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Frank Skinner On Demand With...
Lee Mack
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Come Drink with Me (1966)
[#178 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
3x02 Thirty Five Quid For This...
[Watch it (again) on Dave OD.]

Arrow
4x03 Restoration

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
4x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]