TV

Gilmore Girls
5x18 To Live and Let Diorama [2nd watch]

Grantchester
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Warrior (2011)
[#71 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Gilmore Girls
5x17 Pulp Friction [2nd watch]

The Night Manager
Part 2 (of 6)

Films

Cool World (1992)
[#70 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Daredevil
2x13 A Cold Day in Hell's Kitchen [season finale]
Awesome stuff. After those cliffhangers, I wonder if we'll get a third season before The Defenders? With Jessica Jones season two and first seasons for Luke Cage and Iron Fist also on the way, I guess not... but you never know...

Films

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
[#69 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Of Human Bondage (1934)
[#68 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

It's April, which means it's time to look back at March on 100 Films in a Year...




5 brand-new reviews were also published this week...


Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Despite being a sequel to Man of Steel and featuring a Superman-heavy supporting cast (from Batman’s world we have Alfred; from Superman’s we have Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Lex Luthor, Martha Kent, and (spoiler for something that was in the trailer) Doomsday), Batman v Superman is really a Batman movie.

Read more here.


Bridge of Spies (2015)

it’s a mature, equanimous work. It would be easy to take a tale like this, fraught with issues of patriotism and the threat of foreign agents operating on domestic soil (which therefore screams “topical relevance!”), and give in to the same histrionics that some of the supporting character demonstrate. Indeed, a director like Spielberg — oft criticised for the vein of sentimentality that is ever-present, and sometimes dominating, in his movies — might be expected to err in that direction, even if it was only slightly. The film itself manages to maintain the same calm demeanour as its two headline performances, however.

Read more here.


The Five Venoms (1978)

Some say The Five Venoms is one of the very best martial arts films ever made. Some say it’s the best. I’m afraid I have to disagree. Strongly.

Read more here.


Lincoln (2012)

Daniel Day-Lewis allegedly stars in this account of the final months of President Abraham Lincoln’s life, which might more pertinently be called The 13th Amendment due to where its focus lies. I say “allegedly” because I’m not convinced they didn’t find a way to resurrect Lincoln to appear as himself, then just pretended it was Day-Lewis acting.

Read more here.


Turbo Kid (2015)

the point is not the storyline, but the genre and era elements that have been used to build it, and the stylistic elements that have been cribbed to execute it. I can't cite many specific points of reference, because I’m not au fait enough with the kind of cheapo, grindhouse-y, watched-on-video-by-’80s-kids genre films that the film’s trio of writer-directors are riffing off... but the general feel of those kind of films is certainly evoked.

Read more here.


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


Dogma (1999)

it will let you turn a more satirical eye to the absurdities of the modern church bureaucracy and hopefully make you laugh a little bit about how ridiculous some of this shit is. It’s okay to have faith in a higher power, but getting too extreme with your ideals can make you an asshole.

Read more here.


Dogville (2003)

The famous bare set — a black soundstage with chalk markings on the floor to represent the houses, and minimal other features or props — was inspired by the theatre of Bertolt Brecht; as was the film’s plot, so it’s rather apt. The set (or lack thereof) seems like a very “art house” idea, and a distancing one for the viewer, but it’s surprising how quickly you forget and accept it.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Daredevil
2x11 .380
2x12 The Dark at the End of the Tunnel

Gilmore Girls
5x15 Jews and Chinese Food [2nd watch]
5x16 So... Good Talk [2nd watch]

The Voice UK
5x14 The Semi-Final
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

The one-per-week pre-orders end this week... but a bunch of Easter sale stuff has stepped into the breach to bolster numbers further. Next week should have some more, too.

Number of titles in collection: 1,853 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 1,210 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 643 [up 5]

Number of discs in collection: 4,743 [up 9]
Number of films in collection: 2,026 [up 6]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 7,197 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 472 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Daredevil
2x09 Seven Minutes in Heaven
2x10 The Man in the Box
More tempting cliffhangers! And I once again had to resist.

Gilmore Girls
5x13 Wedding Bell Blues [2nd watch]
5x14 Say Something [2nd watch]

The Night Manager
Part 1 (of 6)
Finally making a start on this. Excellent opening episode, indeed.

TV

Loads more superheroes!

Arrow
4x13 Sins of the Father

Daredevil
2x07 Semper Fidelis
2x08 Guilty as Sin
"Oh, that's quite a cliffhanger -- I'll just watch one more." ... "Oh no, an even bigger cliffhanger! But it is late and that shall have to wait."

DC's Legends of Tomorrow
1x04 White Knights

Gilmore Girls
5x12 Come Home [2nd watch]

Films

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
[#67 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...? 2016 #3

TV

The Flash
2x13 Welcome to Earth-2

Gilmore Girls
5x11 Women Of Questionable Morals [2nd watch]

Person of Interest
4x11 If-Then-Else
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

Films

The Color Purple (1985)
[#66 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

DC's Legends of Tomorrow
1x03 Blood Ties

Gilmore Girls
5x10 But Not as Cute as Pushkin [2nd watch]

Grantchester
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

Films

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
[#65 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Turbo Kid (2015)
[#64 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]


Along with Legends of Tomorrow, a very superheroic day.

TV

Arrow
4x12 Unchained

Films

Brooklyn (2015)
[#63 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

Lincoln (2012)
[#62 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

TV

Elementary
4x15 Up to Heaven and Down to Hell

The Flash
2x12 Fast Lane

Gilmore Girls
5x09 Emily Says "Hello" [2nd watch]

this week on 100 Films

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


The Hangover (2009)

The high-concept plot is neat, though not as cleverly executed as it could be. The humour is straightforward, perhaps best exemplified by an Asian guy saying “motherfucker” in a silly high-pitched voice

Read more here.


Home (2015)

Home’s biggest problems are all in its most fundamental aspect: the story. It doesn’t just have plot holes — the whole premise and inciting incident don’t even hang together. I don’t believe this is just a movie for little kids, I reckon it was written by them too. That’s surely the only way to explain its absence of plausible logic.

Read more here.


Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

As irreverent and cameo-filled as ever (so many famous people, you won’t even know who some are!), something just doesn’t work this time — it’s neither as funny nor as charming as their last outing.

Read more here.


One-Armed Swordsman (1967)

not a fight-a-minute actioner like some of its genre stablemates, but it doesn’t need to be. When action does explode onto the screen, it’s fantastically done, with a fair few smaller tussles along the way before it reaches an almighty climax... However, for me the film also worked very well as a drama, and even sometimes as a romantic drama.

Read more here.


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


Cube (1997)

everyone interested in the more intelligent end of the sci-fi spectrum should see Cube... Throw a mismatched group of characters into a confined, mysterious setting and, hey presto, instant drama.

Read more here.


Die Hard (1988)

Smart, witty, and thoroughly ruthless, Alan Rickman’s big-screen debut is a flawless turn that defined thriller villains (British-accented terrorists with a secret plan) for at least the next half-decade. No one does it better, though.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.