TV

The Graham Norton Show
22x09 (1/12/17 edition)
I only really watch this nowadays when I'm at my parents' and they bung it on.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Michael McIntyre's Big Show
3x01 (18/11/17 edition)
Same as above for this (as well as a few other random shows that I didn't really pay attention to).
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
[#164 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Despite the mixed-to-poor reviews, I rather enjoyed this. It's also now made over $210 million worldwide, nearly quadruple its budget, so I guess we'll be getting the rumoured sequel.

this week on 100 Films

I'm sure you can't have failed to notice that it's now December (nearly Christmas!), which means it was time to look back at November on 100 Films in a Year...





There were also 4 brand-new reviews published in the last week...


Rurouni Kenshin (2012)

As promised, the action sequences are excitingly staged, full of quick choreography and slick stunts. Couple their impressiveness with the large cast and varied period locations, and it gives the whole thing a glossy, big-budget feel.

Read more here.


Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (2014)

one of those sequels that benefits from the its predecessor establishing the world of the story and the characters that inhabit it, meaning it can launch off on its own grander scale. Partly we see this in a material sense: it looks even more expensive than the first one... but it’s also in the scope of the story and the way it stretches the characters, both old and new.

Read more here.


Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

It’s probably a bit too barmy — a bit too European, even — for mainstream US tastes, but there’s a lot to like here for those who are so inclined. The main selling point is the imagery. Simply put, it’s incredible. There’s so much going on, all the time. There’s background detail galore. It whizzes through worlds that could be the entire setting for some other story. There are dozens, probably hundreds, of alien species thrown around. It’s so casually inventive, as if it’s got imagination to spare. And it’s mostly vibrantly colourful too

Read more here.


Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)

the best part of the film is the final 20 minutes, a tour de force of emotion and action that sees Ichi surrounded and, enraged into action, taking down an army that stands between him and vengeance. Said vengeance comes in the form of a one-on-one sword duel, of course. Obviously we know our hero will triumph, but it’s still a tense scene, especially as it seems to be a rare occasion when Ichi’s been out-fought. This third act elevates the whole movie

Read more here.


The third and final (so far) Rurouni Kenshin will be reviewed tomorrow, and therefore feature in next Sunday's roundup.

Collection Count

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

Just one new-release addition this week. A whole load of stuff is out on Monday, but that's all still in the post.

Number of titles in collection: 2,054 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,168 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 886 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,272 [up 2]
Number of films: 2,288 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 7,980 [no change]
Number of short films: 594 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Armchair Detectives
1x01 Watercolour Crime
I like the general concept behind this show (three contestants attempt to solve a TV-drama-style murder mystery), but being a daytime quiz show the 'drama' bits leave something to be desired. I might give it a few more episodes to see.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Bounty Hunters
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
I was wondering how there could be a second season of this. Turns out "by not exactly wrapping everything up" was the answer. Cheats.

The Good Place
1x09 ...Someone Like Me as a Member

TV

Castle
8x12 The Blame Game

Insert Name Here
3x02 Lou
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Punisher
1x13 Memento Mori [season finale]

Films

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
[#163 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Blindspot 2017 #11

+ some of the Blu-ray's special features, including visual essay You Must Become Caligari. I need to watch/read more before I attempt to review this...

TV

Bounty Hunters
1x05 Episode 5

The Good Place
1x08 Most Improved Player

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
6x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

The Punisher
1x12 Home

Films

Men in Black II (2002)
[3rd watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #45

TV

The Good Place
1x07 The Eternal Shriek

The Musketeers
3x10 We Are the Garrison [series finale]

The Punisher
1x11 Danger Close

Would I Lie To You?
11x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Men in Black (1997)
[3rd watch]

Rewatchathon 2017 #44

TV

Bounty Hunters
1x04 Episode 4

Castle
8x11 Dead Red

The Good Place
1x06 What We Owe to Each Other

Films

Saludos Amigos (1942)
[#161 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Tea for Two (1950)
[#162 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

this week on 100 Films

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


Another Earth (2011)

I’ve seen it decried for not ditching the sci-fi stuff to focus on the characters’ emotional situation and relationship, and the same for not ditching the emotional stuff to focus on the sci-fi concepts. Personally, I think the film is doing exactly what it sets out to do: using aspects of each genre to comment on, reflect, and influence the other.

Read more here.


Hail, Caesar! (2016)

maybe there are indeed hidden depths here, but I think I’d prefer it as just a zany caper centred on Josh Brolin’s character, surrounded by the game all-star supporting cast, rather than having lengthy asides where a room of kinda-recognisable supporting actors discuss economics and communist philosophies and that kind of thing.

Read more here.


Napoleon (1927)

At 5½ hours, Napoleon is rather like a miniseries from the silent era — a comparison that feels more apt than ever in this age of binge-watching... Yet despite that length, the film doesn’t even reach the Napoleonic Wars. No wonder Gance wanted to do six movies — or six seasons, as we might interpret it today. (In the end, he went over-schedule and over-budget on this first film, covering just two-thirds of the story he’d intended and spending the budget for the entire series. I imagine I’d outrage some silent film fans/scholars if I called him the Peter Jackson of his day…)

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Arrow
6x03 Next of Kin

Detectorists
3x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Punisher
1x10 Virtue of the Vicious

Films

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 3D (2017)
[#160 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

Collection Count

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

This week, I picked up the 40th anniversary Blu-ray of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, replacing both an old DVD and an old Blu-ray. With one new release purchased as well, the net result is very little change.

Number of titles in collection: 2,053 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,168 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 885 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 5,270 [no change]
Number of films: 2,287 [down 2]
Number of TV episodes: 7,980 [no change]
Number of short films: 594 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Insert Name Here
3x01 Tom
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Musketeers
3x09 The Prize

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
6x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on the ITV Hub.]

The Punisher
1x09 Front Toward Enemy

Films

Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)
[#159 in 100 Films in a Year 2017]

TV

The Punisher
1x08 Cold Steel