TV

Children in Need 2020
I didn't really intend to watch this (I haven't for years), I just wanted to catch up with certain parts later (like the Goes Wrong Show sketch); but I had nothing else to do at the time it started, so I bunged it on and ended up leaving it on in the background throughout. It wasn't bad. Maybe it helps that it was only 3 hours this year — so much less filler.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Coded Bias (2020)
[#243 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

An Impossible Project (2020)
[#242 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ the Q&A that followed the film on AMPLIFY!, which you can also watch on YouTube

A double-bill of two very different tech documentaries: An Impossible Project is about trying to keep analogue alive; Coded Bias is all about algorithms dictating our lives (you can't get much more digital than that!)

Films

Falling (2020)
[#241 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

this week on 100 Films

3 new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Luxor (2020)

part gentle romantic drama, part tourism video. There are multiple scenes of Hana leisurely roaming around ancient monuments, soaking in the atmosphere and history... There’s a lot going on internally for these characters — a lot of stuff we’re not privy to — which will work for some viewers and wholly turn off others. I found Hana’s mental state to be infectious, to a degree. There’s evident nostalgia for her previous time there, tinged with a certain amount of melancholy.

Read more here.


The Mole Agent (2020)

sound like the setup for a comedy: it’s about a doddery 83-year-old who must learn to be a spy. And, indeed, there are scene where the film is very amusing; particularly early on, when the octogenarian in question, Sergio Chamy, struggles to get to grips with the technology he’ll need to use... [But] it’s ultimately a powerfully affecting experience. It’s a film that intrigues you with its laughable premise, then swings round to punch you in the emotions with a crystal-clear message.

Read more here.


Rose Plays Julie (2019)

Long Lost Family meets rape revenge thriller in this Irish drama… Between its heavy issues and unwaveringly doom-laden tone, Rose Plays Julie is not a light viewing experience. If you like the idea of slow-burn dramatic thriller that spends a lot of time focused on people's still faces as they process information silently and internally, and leaves you with a lot to chew over when it's done, this is a film for you. If you think that sounds inscrutable or dull, steer clear.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

Once again, a mass of stuff only turned up on Saturday morning; and once again, I was busy with other stuff all day (what could possibly be more important than updating my DVD/Blu-ray count?!)

There are 9 additions, all told (one BD-to-4K upgrade is 'hidden' in the count); 6 of those turned up today. Among them were 16 films and a further 5 additional cuts. That's due to there being three chunky box sets: two Hammer collections from Indicator (thanks to a sale), and the long-awaited 4K set of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (one film, tonnes of discs, and several alternate cuts). Tis a beauty. I suppose it ougth to replace my old copy, Arrow's Blu-ray from years ago; but as there are no 1080p film discs in the new set, I also kinda feel like hanging onto it. I'll probably do that "for now" and then just forget about it...

Number of titles in collection: 2,464 [up 8]
Of which DVDs: 1,086 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,378 [up 8]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 83 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 6,359 [up 21]
Number of films: 2,826 [up 16]
Number of additional cuts: 193 [up 5]
Number of TV episodes: 8,976 [up 1]
Number of short films: 771 [no change]

Incidentally, ever since the days of DVD, when an HD format was but a twinkle in someone's imagination, I've not counted CD discs in this tally (because it was a list of my DVDs, not CDs, duh!) That comes to mind because the Dawn of the Dead set includes a trio of soundtrack CDs, which would almost double its contribution to the discs count. I don't even know how many other bonus CDs I have buried away in my film collection. Maybe I should add another stat for it...

See you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Showrunners (2014)
[#240 in 100 Films in a Year 2020] aka Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show

Films

Rose Plays Julie (2019)
[#239 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

Hot Fuzz (2007)
[3rd watch]
Rewatchathon 2020 #42. Considering how much I enjoyed this (and how often it's on ITV2), it's kind of remarkable that I've only watched it once since seeing it at the cinema back in 2007; and, according to my records, that was around when it came out on DVD, in late '07 or early '08 — so I haven't rewatched it in over 12 years. This is a long-overdue rectification of that. (Don't get me started on Shaun…)

Straight afterwards, I watched the audio commentary by director Edgar Wright and his mate, Quentin Tarantino. I only intended to listen to the first couple of minutes, but got sucked in for the full two hours. It’s a very laidback, chatty track; not great for learning about the film itself, but for anecdotes and surrounding inspirations, it’s not uninteresting. It does feel like just hanging out with two movie buff friends having a natter.

Films

An American Werewolf in London (1981)
[#237 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
Blindspot 2020 #10. This was supposed to be October's Blindspot film, for Halloween, but I messed up. But hey, it's only one day late!

Robolove (2019)
[#238 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

this week on 100 Films

It's that time of the month again, folks: 100 Films in a Year's monthly review...





Also this week, 5 new film reviews...


Vampires Suck (2010)

there are plenty of cheap, uninspired, crass, and rip-off gags, but some of it also made me laugh, so it’s not a total washout. It’s never as funny as the real thing at it’s funniest (Face Punch forever!), but it wasn’t as uninspired as I expected.

Read more here.


The 100-Week Roundup XIV

Featuring...
- It’s Such a Beautiful Day
- The Lives of Others
- Jennifer’s Body
- Going for Golden Eye

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

Films

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
[#236 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Collection Count

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

This week's updates include a couple of new titles — biggest among them, Indicator's Fu Manchu box set — but (as mooted last week) I've removed the set of eight classic Universal monster movies, so a couple of stats still go down. And then, when tallying up, I discovered I'd forgotten something I bought earlier in the month was actually a DVD-to-BD upgrade, so even more stats drop or stay the same!

Regarding the Indicator set, it contains alternative presentations of several of the films, but I've only counted one as a true alternate cut. That one has a whole different prologue, whereas the others are just alternate title sequences, which I personally consider to be be a curio rather than a genuine additional cut.

Number of titles in collection: 2,456 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,086 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,370 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 80 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 6,338 [down 3]
Number of films: 2,810 [down 2]
Number of additional cuts: 188 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 8,975 [no change]
Number of short films: 771 [up 5]

Also this week, it's time for the monthly running time update. With several box sets rocking up this month (including that huge Universal one last week), does that mean an uncommonly large jump here?

Total running time of collection (approx.):
460 days, 9 hours, and 45 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 19 hours, and 45 minutes from last month.)

Well, I don't actually know what the average monthly increase is. This one doesn't challenge several of the ultra-big jumps I've had this year, but it's not paltry either.

Anyway, see you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Tim's Vermeer (2013)
[#235 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)
[#234 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]
+ from Indicator's new box set, the introduction by BFI curator Vic Pratt, and the first hour of the audio commentary by experts Stephen Jones and Kim Newman (it's not that I got bored and quit; quite the opposite: I'd only intended to listen to the first few minutes, then got sucked in for just over an hour!)

Films

Vampires Suck (2010)
[#233 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Waxworks (1924)
[#232 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

Films

Misery (1990)
[#230 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

The Mole Agent (2020)
[#231 in 100 Films in a Year 2020]

TV

Demetri Martin: The Overthinker
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice
7x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

this week on 100 Films

No new reviews at 100 Films in a Year this week — indeed, the only new post was about why that was...


FilmBath + AMPLIFY!

In a mirror of this post from last year, I’m here again to blame my recent blogging quietness on FilmBath Festival. Yes, even in these Covid-struck days, we are putting on a film festival. It’s different — smaller, for one thing, with just nine films over five days... But, as if to make up for that, we have a New Thing… AMPLIFY! is an online virtual film festival — which, in short, means you can enjoy it if you live anywhere in the UK.

Read more here.


Hopefully, more reviews next Sunday.

Collection Count

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

A later-than-normal update again, because a bunch of stuff turned up on Saturday morning (that's why I set this to normally post at 3pm on Saturday, but it's no good if lots turns up when I'm busy with something else). By "lots" I primarily mean "something to think about": three shiny new titles, that's easy; but I picked up the Universal Classic Monsters 30-film Blu-ray set (which contains 31 films) in Amazon's Prime Day sale and that causes dilemmas. Does it replace my existing 8-film 'highlights' Blu-ray set? Does it also replace my similar DVD set? You might think "duh, of course", but the DVD set comes with some physical extras I'd like to keep.

For now, I've just added it as a brand-new title. Long-term, I suspect the 8-film set will go, but the DVDs won't — I've no need for those discs anymore, so I could sell them and keep the physical extras; but as that wouldn't save me any space (and the DVDs would only make a pittance), what's the point?

Number of titles in collection: 2,456 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,087 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,369 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 80 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 6,341 [up 28]
Number of films: 2,812 [up 34]
Number of additional cuts: 187 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 8,975 [no change]
Number of short films: 766 [up 1]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Great British Bake Off
11x04 Chocolate Week
[Watch it (again) on All 4.]

Jonathan Creek
5x04 Daemons' Roost [Christmas special; series finale]
It's been almost four years since this episode aired — not as long as the longest gap in the series' history (just under five years between the series four finale and The Grinning Man), but you can see why websites have decided this is probably the final-ever instalment (it certainly is for now, at least). If that's the case, it's not a bad one to go out on: a lot better than other recent episodes, and with some nice nods to the series' history.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]