Yet this small, delightful film has stuck firmly in my head for two months since I’ve seen it. And I think that’s proof that details, and a real sense of hand crafting, really matter. We’re also introduced at this stage too to his older brother, Brendan, played exquisitely by Jack Reynor, who wryly sits at the family table seeing through the collapse of his parents’ marriage. At times, Brendan is as close as the film gets to a narrator, such is his economy in getting to the heart of what’s going on....

An insidious encounter with a paedophilic neighbour leaves both the boys and Elizabeth at emotional rock bottom, before salvation appears to come at the hands of John (Daniel Henshall), an affable local who helps the family gain some semblance of revenge and catharsis. In doing so, he becomes the surrogate father figure the boys – and Jamie, in particular – have lacked since the still-raw dissolution of their parents’ relationship....

Paterfamilias In television series and sitcoms, whenever a character’s parent visits the storyline, it’s always the same. Our beloved character is forced to face up to the fact that they have never been able to live up to their parent’s expectations/hopes/dreams and are generally a failure in their eyes. Normally, the show ends with a lovely resolution, but not before both child and parent confront their own personal inadequacies. Rarely, though, does the parent walk in on their child engaging in a threesome and drinking wine poured over a woman’s breasts....

After the explosive beginning of last season and the demise of Adam, the introduction of Lucas, the stand-off with the Russians and the reveal of what ‘sugar horse’ was (not to mention one of the most surprising plot twists and the death of Ben in one of the most bloody and grisly methods in recent years thanks to Connie and a rather sharp piece of wire) the members of the grid went through some pretty big changes....

The team, as well as being spied on from the skies, also have another problem on their hands as, on the ground, a team of FSB (Russian ‘goodies’) agents, along with Lucas, intercept and apprehend the AFF, taking the team down with precision and deadly force. Leaving one of the AFF agents to go free, Harry is in a position to try and find out who the nerve toxin was for and how it will be used....

It might seem strange to say this, but in season one of the original series Gene Roddenberry seemed content to avoid what might be seen as entirely science-fiction stories; instead the series is happier with storylines that concentrate on emotions and dilemmas of the characters. But presumably buoyed by success, the show gets more ambitious in these respects as it progresses, and The Return Of The Archons, written by Boris Sobelman, has an almost pure science-fiction-based premise....

It’s life Jim, but not as we know it. The Enterprise arrives at Janus VI following reports of deaths and sabotage caused by an elusive creature. Beaming down, Kirk and Spock find out that fifty miners have died and soon an important part of the colony’s reactor is stolen. The landing party start to search the level where most of the attacks have taken place, and hope not to die in the process....

It’s a long recognised piece of Trek lore that the transporters were devised initially as a simple and inexpensive way to travel from the ship to the planets, which wouldn’t blow the effects budget each week. Things start simply enough. An away party that includes Kirk and Sulu is on planet Alpha 177 when one of their team hurts his hand falling down a rocky outcrop (a foam and wood prop)....

WARNING: This review contains Spoilers that may ruin your enjoyment of this episode. Now the festivities have ended, regular television programming begins once more and The Clone Wars zaps us back straight into the action with Anakin becoming the prisoner of Count Dooku. Don’t worry though, kids, as the Joker would say, “It’s all part of the plan.” Obi Wan collects the little blighter in an attempt to capture Dooku....

2.3 Always Two There Are This episode, filled with the kind of atmospheric darkness we’ve seen in Rebels’ use of abandoned space stations and red lightsaber wielders before, also featured some of the best voice acting and dialogue this season. The characters have a warmth and a humour that, instead of feeling out of place in an episode made grim by the Inquisitors, instead finds a nice balance. Zeb is the unexpected MVP of the episode, working his backstory and his emotional perspective into the plot so effortlessly I wonder why it hasn’t been done before....

3.5 Hera’s Heroes In Hera’s Heroes, Hera’s father Cham is under attack. Rescuing him leads Hera and Ezra on a mission to recover a family heirloom and do some damage to the Empire. Cham was a well-to-do politician in the Old Republic, so his house is a mansion now used as an Imperial control center. Hera grew up during the Clone Wars, though, not in luxury, and Grand Admiral Thrawn uses that to his advantage in his longest scene yet....

Just behind superheroes, it can sometimes seem like cyberpunk has been pushed to its absolute limit lately. State of Mind is a new graphic adventure game looking to challenge this notion, however, letting players loose within a futuristic setting in need of saving. Its emphasis on exploration and character makes this a story worth experiencing, even if its new ideas don’t quite live up to the tall order sci-fi veterans have come to expect....

There’s surely more room for genre comedies like Ghostbusters, but the gaps in between releases in that genre can almost be measured in decades, and it has to be said that many of them aren’t particularly good: for every Spaceballs there’s a The Creature Wasn’t Nice (obscure reference − look it up), and for every Princess Bride there’s a Your Highness. Luckily, we sometimes get a few good ones in a row, such as Zombieland, Shaun Of The Dead, and Tucker And Dale Vs Evil....

Supergirl Season 2 Episode 11 “The Martian Chronicles” was kind of an uneven episode, but as with virtually every episode of every CW superhero show of the 2016-2017 season, it’s tough to really come down too hard on it. I’ve been having this ongoing mental contest where I try and figure out which of these shows is the “most improved” from last year. The vast majority of the first half of this Supergirl season was astoundingly good....

Supergirl Season 3 Episode 18 This week Supergirl was all about parent-child relationships. Estranged ones, close ones, even non-biological ones. The relationship between Sam and Patricia is the one we’re least invested in – it’s had the least screen time and isn’t all that pleasant. The attempt at redemption via death here falls a bit short, and her death makes little impact due to our low investment. Kara gets inspiration to take down Reign by talking with M’ynn and J’onn, Aunt Alex watches over Ruby while Reign seeks to harm her, and the team finds Patricia Arias....

Sam and Dean investigate a normal-sounding missing persons case at an all-girls school and, lo and behold, the theater kids are putting on a production of Supernatural. With an all girl cast. The camera corkscrews around to see Sam and Dean’s stunned faces, while we eagerly await more. From the first 10 minutes we could tell the writers had fun with this episode. Self-deprecating humor on their own show and tons of meta moments....

6.6 You Can’t Handle The Truth Investigating a rise in recent suicides, Sam and Dean question the sister, who tells them that she tried to offer support. Sam doesn’t believe her and she admits the truth of what she said, but couldn’t understand why she said it. Elsewhere, a patient starts telling the truth to a dentist. The truth concerns the dentist’s daughter and, on hearing it, the dentist kills the patient....

9.20 Bloodlines Judging by this episode, though, Supernatural: Bloodlines has very little to do with Supernatural itself. Sure, there are some parallels and allusions, but overall – in terms of style, narrative, character, and setting – this show fits much better into the CW’s numerous lineup of soap operas much better than it does into the world of Supernatural. In fact, this show feels very cut and dried in terms of where it falls: it’s a soap opera with supernatural elements in it....

9.3 I’m No Angel Alas. I’m No Angel is devoted almost entirely to Castiel – a thrilling occurrence, as it hasn’t happened since The Man Who Would be King. I spoke in my review of the premiere how valuable Castiel, as an angel, is as a character who can reflect on humanity. Unfortunately, this episode fails to live up to its own potential, or to that of Castiel’s character. Still, in an episode focused on Castiel, you’d think they’d get his characterization right....

3.12 Lunar Ellipse Last week, I opened my review by talking about how well Teen Wolf remembers its history; that goes double for this week. The fact that Russell Mulcahy is so involved in the show is a credit to Jeff Davis and the people at MTV. The M may no longer be Music, but there’s music history in the director’s chair. After all, Russell Mulcahy created some of the most iconic music videos in television history....