TV

Oscars 2016: Nominations Special

Oscars 2016: Preview Live

Films

Cinderella (2015)
[#43 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo. (2012/2013)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

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


AfterDeath (2015)

A low-budget British single-location thriller with a mostly unknown cast... mainly trades on the mystery established by its situation. The characters are quickly sketched and somewhat archetypal, and the twists in their storylines aren’t all that surprising, but combined with the relatively brisk running time this means they crack on with trying to solve what’s going on.

Read more here.


Heaven Can Wait (1943)

It starts brilliantly: the bookend scenes are excellent, and the early parts of the plot are buoyed by consistent wit and enjoyable characters, particularly Charles Coburn as a slyly raucous grandfather. As it heads into its second half, it loses momentum and focus

Read more here.


Paddington (2014)

a fine example of why you can’t judge a film by its marketing, because the critics were right: this is a joyous, funny movie; a delight for all ages. It also shows that sometimes euphemistic PR phrases like “creative differences” or “we agreed he wasn’t right for the part” aren’t actually euphemistic at all: Firth would’ve been all wrong for Paddington [...] Whishaw, on the other hand, nails it

Read more here.


Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

at this point, one or two other people on the internet have written the odd word about The Force Awakens — you have to really go looking, but trust me, there are some articles out there. [So,] for an angle of moderate uniqueness, I’ll talk about the five elements of the film that have been singled out for recognition by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Bloody Sunday (2002)

The British Army don’t come across in the best light, with Tim Piggot-Smith’s Major General Robert Ford issuing hostile orders, and the troops eager for a fight. The depiction is tempered by Nicholas Farrell as Brigadier Patrick MacLellan, battling his conscious even as he must carry out his orders.

Read more here.


The Bourne Identity (2002)

Perhaps the Paul Greengrass-helmed sequels have been even more influential... but for me this first film is still the best of the bunch: an engaging mystery-thriller adrenalised by excellent action sequences.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Gilmore Girls
4x01 Ballrooms and Biscotti [2nd watch]

The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
1x02 The Run of His Life
So, turns out this is a comedy (I guess)...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Voice UK
5x08 The Battles 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The X Files
10x03 Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster
This is definitely a comedy. And so good for it.
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

Collection Count

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

As I mentioned a while ago, I'm currently getting one new release a week. This week: next week's arrives early.

Number of titles in collection: 1,842 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 632 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 4,719 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 2,016 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,173 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 465 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Gilmore Girls
3x22 Those Are Strings, Pinocchio [season finale; 2nd watch]

Room 101
5x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vera
6x04 The Sea Glass [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance. (2009/2010)
[2nd watch]

This was #65 in 100 Films 2011. As with 1.11, re-watched in preparation for the release of 3.33, my copy of which is in the post as I type.

I also watched all of the special features this time. Some interesting deleted scenes, but crikey do they have a lot of near-identical trailers.

TV

Dickensian
1x17 Episode 17
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x21 Here Comes the Son [2nd watch]

The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
3x04 Episode 4 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
3x09 The Swedes
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Gilmore Girls
3x20 Say Goodnight, Gracie [2nd watch]

Films

Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone. (2007/2009)
[2nd watch]

This was #41 in 100 Films 2010. Re-watched in preparation for the long-awaited release of Evangelion 3.33 within the next week.

Articles

The man who made 'the worst video game in history'
by Richard Hooper (from BBC News Magazine)

Interesting profile about the guy who programmed the infamous E.T. game in 1982.

TV

Death in Paradise
5x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dickensian
1x16 Episode 16
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x18 Happy Birthday, Baby [2nd watch]
3x19 Keg! Max! [2nd watch]

Films

Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
[#41 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Gilmore Girls
3x16 The Big One [2nd watch]
3x17 A Tale of Poes and Fire [2nd watch]

Ripper Street
4x05 No Wolves in Whitechapel
[Watch it exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video.]

Films

Big Eyes (2014)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

The Hangover (2009)
[#40 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Dickensian
1x15 Episode 15
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x15 Face-Off [2nd watch]

Vera
6x03 The Moth Catcher
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

The Equalizer (2014)
[#37 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)
[#38 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

First up, a new feature I launched this week on 100 Films in a Year: a monthly TV review. Read more here:




In regular business, 2 brand-new reviews were published this week...


The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Extended Edition (2014/2015)

What, if anything, does extending the last one by 19½ minutes bring to the table? ... Most obvious, and most discussed, is the dwarves’ war chariot action scene, whose bloody decapitations saw the film earn an R in the US and 15 over here. A seven-minute action sequence in the middle of the battle, it’s by far the largest single addition, and is mainly notable for all that blood and its use of the word “jambags”.

Read more here.


Spectre (2015)

Regular readers will remember I shared my spoiler-free thoughts on Spectre when it came out. Consequently, this review contains major spoilers, of the “if you read this you will know every twist that happens in the movie” variety.

Read more here.


Finally, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Blade (1998)

the story is pretty standard, and the dialogue is laughable or worse. But creative cinematography and non-stop, decently choreographed gratuitous violence make watching this comic-book movie (Blade is a minor, almost-forgotten Marvel comic) entertaining.

Read more here.


Blade Runner: The Director's Cut (1982/1992)

Visually, Blade Runner is a non-stop marvel: the noir cinematography, the vehicle and set design, the lived-in world, the believable effects… The entire thing is imaginatively conceived and magnificently realised with unwavering plausibility.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Dickensian
1x14 Episode 14
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
3x13 Dear Emily and Richard [2nd watch]
3x14 Swan Song [2nd watch]

The Voice UK
5x07 The Blind Auditions 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Noah (2014)
[#36 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]