Well, there goes June. Wish I could say the same about Covid 19 but that sucker’s sticking around like Nicholas Cage and Dominc Cummings, two blokes I’d be quite happy never seeing or hearing of again. At least they stopped that strange daily late-afternoon serial about politics and viruses and horrible statistics, although I’m mildly concerned we’ll be getting a reboot or surprise second series.
Moving away from television (although I did manage two series and a three-part drama) I went back to basics this month with a return to watching movies, and eleven of those were black and white, a result of consciously leaning towards films of the 1940s/1950s. Tellingly, on the whole those older films were better than the newer, more recent films (although honourable mention to Spring there, which was great (and still due a Blu-ray release in September, just hope they include the extras from the international release)) – as usual, the new films may be more colourful and more spectacular, but they often lack stuff like powerful drama and demanding performances thanks to their lacklustre, often suspiciously ticking-the-boxes scripts that give actors little to do other than join us in gawping at the visual effects. Yeah, Gemini Man. I spent so much time gawping at the awesome CGI creation of a young Will Smith that I found myself missing the important plot-points (only to realise later that there were no important plot points, and little by way of plot, really). I’d post a review of that one if I could think of something to write about other than those effects.
So what sent me scurrying to Talking Pictures and catalogue films on disc? Undoubtedly Killers Anonymous, which is without doubt the worst film of the month and what I hope will prove to be the worst film I shall see all year. Actually, I’m pretty certain it is the worst film of the year, because the next time I realise I’ve sat down with such a foul-smelling celluloid turkey I’ve got the option of the Abort Button; life is just too short (and getting shorter) to be wasted on rubbish like that.
Overall, though, June was a pretty strong month- I even managed to watch 4K UHD’s of Jaws and The Empire Strikes Back, after all, to demonstrate that the format is still going strong, particularly with catalogue titles (indeed it seems Universal are bringing us 4K discs of Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Rear Window and Psycho in September, which will be great).
Next month: The Criterion Six, The Invisible Man, and hopefully some nice surprises, perhaps even the return of the Shelf of Shame (got my eye at long last on Betty Blue- its been seven years since I bought that darned thing). I’ve also got the prospect of the 4K UHD of Stanley Kubrick’s Kirk Douglas’ Spartacus if the release schedule holds.
TV Shows
103) Curb Your Enthusiasm Season Ten
106) Killing Eve Season Three
108) The Salisbury Poisonings
Movies
88) Spring
89) Tolkien
90) Crawl
92) Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
93) Les Miserables- The Staged Concert (2019)
96) The Strange World of Planet X
97) The Whole Truth
100) Night of the Eagle
101) Waterfront
102) Gemini Man
104) Laura
105) The Price of Silence
107) Anatomy of a Murder
The Abort Button
none! (so I must have chose wisely, per the Grail Knight in a certain film)
the ghost of 82 
Have you read about this?
https://thedigitalbits.com/featured/articles/the-future-of-4k-entertainment
Looks amazing. At least there’s a high end option for when discs disappear.
That does look interesting, but doesn’t look like it would ever become mainstream: an ideal alternative for those who can afford the luxury of a good home cinema in their abode. Clearly the future though. Maybe if I win the lottery it will be an option- I could buy a mansion, replace the gym with a nice big cinema room and invite you over for a Blade Runner screening in a double bill with (oh go on then) Aliens.
It is already July, hard to believe.
I had some June Highlights: Call of the Wild movie, 10th concert Les Mis, and vacation in FL.
For Les Mis, I actually have eight casts: the film, the 10th concert, the 25th concert, the 2019 concert, and my four stage casts. I am obsessed with Les Mis. Already on my 2nd copy of the film.
I adore Les Mis, have seen the stage show three times and the concerts on DVD, Blu-ray etc. This latest 2019 concert was, I thought, particularly good and the closest to a recording of the actual stage show as we’re likely to get. There is something so magical about the production in whatever incarnation we see it; the story, the songs… its just magnificent. I really should watch the film again, but was holding out for a 4K UHD release which was rumoured awhile ago but hasn’t surfaced yet.
In total, I have eight Les Mis casts. Will say them in the order I saw them.
1. Musical Film
2. Central Piedmont Community College: Nov. 15th, 17th, and 24, 2013
3. 25th concert
4. West End: July 30th, 2015
5. US Tour: Nov. 5th, 2017
6. US Tour: Nov. 3rd, 2019
7. 2019 Concert in Cinemas
8. 10th Concert