TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2015/2016 Episode 6 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2015/2016 Episode 5 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

A new year means it's also a new month, so it was time to look back at December over at 100 Films in a Year this week:




Also, it's time to look back on the entire year. So, first up, my full list -- and the exciting statistics!




The final year-end post, featuring my top ten and bottom five, is imminent. Other than that, there was just 1 brand-new review published...


Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (2016)

the latest episode of the BBC’s modern-day Sherlock Holmes series is actually a standalone adventure set in the character’s original Victorian time period... if you’re someone who’s a Sherlock Holmes fan but not keen on Sherlock and are wondering if the changed temporal setting means this special might be of interest to you, then I think it’s fair to say it won’t.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Bruce's Hall of Fame with Alexander Armstrong
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Celebrity Mastermind
2015/2016 Episode 4 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Elementary
4x04 All My Exes Live in Essex

The Flash
2x09 Running to Stand Still

Collection Count

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

Nothing to add in the short time between Christmas and the New Year. Ho hum.

Number of titles in collection: 1,825 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,212 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 613 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,665 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,993 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,063 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Celebrity Mastermind
2015/2016 Episode 3 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Sherlock
4x00 The Abominable Bride [special]
I may count this as 100 Films 2016 #1, owing to its simultaneous cinema release. I'm undecided at the moment, though.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2015
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

It'll Be Alright on the Night
(30/12/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Top Gear
From A-Z Part 2 (of 2)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
at Christmas [2015]
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Dressed to Kill (1946)
[#200 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Slow West (2015)
[#199 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

200!

TV

And Then There Were None
Part 3 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Miranda Hart: My, What I Call, Live Show
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
From A-Z Part 1 (of 2)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

University Challenge
Christmas 2015 Exeter v Magdalen, Oxford
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

AfterDeath (2015)
[#197 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Heaven Can Wait (1943)
[#198 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

And Then There Were None
Part 2 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Celebrity Mastermind
2015/2016 Episode 2 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Detectorists
2x07 Christmas Special
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

A Gert Lush Christmas
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Nation's Favourite Disney Song
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Peter and Wendy
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996)
[#196 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

And Then There Were None
Part 1 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Britain's Favourite Children's Books
Read the full list of 100 titles here.
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Celebrity Mastermind
2015/2016 Episode 1 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless Celebrities
8x14 Christmas Special
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Dreamgirls (2006)
[#195 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Collection Count

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

Not many additions this Christmas, but here they are nonetheless -- including how things have changed in the past year.

Number of titles in collection: 1,825 [up 2 this week; up 106 in 2015]
Of which DVDs: 1,212 [up 1 this week; up 7 in 2015]
Of which Blu-rays: 613 [up 1 this week; up 99 in 2015]

Number of discs in collection: 4,665 [up 5 this week; up 362 in 2015]
Number of films: 1,993 [up 1 this week; up 141 in 2015]
Number of TV episodes: 7,063 [up 12 this week; up 611 in 2015]
Number of short films: 465 [no change this week; up 27 in 2015]

Plus it's time for the final running time update of the year...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
340 days, 12 hours, and 7 minutes.

(Up 1 day, 10 hours, and 24 minutes from last month.)
(Up 29 days, 5 hours, and 8 minutes from last year.)

Last year the year-on-year increase was 15½ days, the year before it was 19 days, and now it's over 29 days! Madness! Though in 2014 I only added 75 titles and 354 episodes of TV, so several of this year's numbers are much bigger.

See you next week, faithful reader.

this week on 100 Films

7 brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

In terms of consumer advice, you’re not going to watch this sequel without having seen the first, and therefore “more of the same (more or less)” will suffice for a review. In terms of a more analytical mindset… well, what is there to analyse, really? I’m not sure this movie has anything to say.

Read more here.


Boyz n the Hood (1991)

John Singleton became the first African-American Best Director Oscar nominee, as well as the youngest, for this debut. 23 years on, his story of the lives and troubles of young black men in L.A. remains sadly pertinent.

Read more here.


Horns (2013)

Did Daniel Radcliffe murder his girlfriend? Sprouting devilish horns doesn’t help his case… Ostensibly a fantasy-horror murder-mystery, in execution this is mostly black comedy

Read more here.


Jurassic World (2015)

the plot is fundamentally a rehash of the first movie, but the devil is in the details, and in my book Jurassic World does enough new to shrug off any kind of “stealth remake” allegations. What it does definitely retain is a faithfulness to the Spielbergian tone of the first movie — a stated goal of director/co-writer Colin Trevorrow, and one I feel he’s absolutely pulled off. There’s adventure, humour, a sense of scale and wonder.

Read more here.


Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

You can certainly watch Fury Road as just a two-hour chase and (presuming you like action antics) get something out of it. The volume of action, the style with which it’s executed, and the impressive audacity of the stuntwork, all mean the film functions on a purely visceral level.

Read more here.


Terminator Genisys (2015)

some people will already be predisposed to hate the film. Why mess with a classic, etc. I can see where they’re coming from; at the same time, it’s an interesting idea. Time travel is a key part of the Terminator series, and John grows up with the knowledge that one day he will send Reese back to 1984 to save his mother — but what if Skynet knew that too?

Read more here.


The Wrestler (2008)

Mickey Rourke’s Oscar-robbed performance is the primary draw of this drama about a washed-up pro wrestler struggling to make ends meet.

Read more here.



Plus, Merry Christmas!




More next Sunday.

TV

Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
14x13 Christmas Special
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Happy Feet Two (2011)
[#193 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

Morning Glory (2010)
[#194 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

TV

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
3x06 Salmon Mousse and Bullshit [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) on Dave OD.]

Doctor Who
35x13 The Husbands of River Song [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

John Bishop's Christmas Show 2015
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Not Going Out
8x00 Christmas Shopping [special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
13x11 Merriment (XL edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stick Man
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
9x08 At Christmas [special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]