But titles were never the strong suit of this franchise, which thrives instead on delivering ‘predictable surprises’ within an established formula. Having given Bond-James-Bond the hardest re-boot up the arse he has ever had (in 2006’s Casino Royale), the producers’ commitment seems to be wavering… Have some sympathy – the character was always a ‘company man’, but guttering public confidence in government means that our hero spends half of Quantum blazing his own lonely trail (“I don’t have any friends”) while MI6 cancels his credit cards and sends assault teams after him....

A four-person operation, RLP consists of so-called “phenomenologist” Jude Tobin, his long-suffering real estate broker wife Cecilia, spunky mortgage loan officer Rhoda, and office assistant/gopher/babysitter/ghost photographer Zoya. Although mostly dysfunctional when working in tandem, each of the characters utilizes their unique ability to keep the company afloat. Well, barely anyway. Throughout the story, money is a constant worry. Clearly this a book that aims to capture the zeitgeist of post-housing bubble collapse America....

For after last week’s conciliation with wife Nicola, the storm clouds that have surrounded a beleaguered Reggie look like they may finally be about to break and let the sun shine through once more. Calling in to see Groomtech’s Wellness Person, Reggie finally bares his soul, getting all those frustrations off his chest. As hates go, it’s an impressive list: “Death, ear-phones, endless cobbled together leaflets, the sense that love is the answer coupled with the searing hatred of so many things… and people, disposable razors, world over-population, fear of briefcases, fantasies – often violent, dark places, over-lit places, trains with windows you can’t open, people who call me ‘Regg-a-mama-wing-wah’, the urge to scream and a nostalgia for unwanted erections....

Such is my own nostalgic love for The Return of the Living Dead and such has been the widespread appeal amongst horror and zombie fans over the decades since. I use the word puritan as most people are more than aware now, that merely defining a zombie movie these days has become an increasingly difficult task. Some amongst us won’t acknowledge 28 Days Later as a zombie movie at all, partly on account of the fact that zombies running is physically out of the question, but then (albeit begrudgingly) approve of Zack Snyder’s remake of Dawn of the Dead....

When I got my DS, the first thing I thought would be really good to play were these games; Point and Click adventure games where the animation was actually done by an illustrator and people had a knack of writing good dialogue and good narratives, usually to make you laugh. Well, this isn’t something I have forgotten about. Hell, I still play these games on my PC and they still bring hours of fun but the DS would be perfect for games like this....

Crossroads is another episode with Dick Winters as the focal point and it starts off with the real men of Easy telling us just what a great leader and model soldier he was. They are all quick to point out that he was never shy about leading from the front and when he was Easy’s commander, he was always the first man into battle. The episode’s central set-piece sees Easy storming a crossroads where an unexpected pocket of German resistance has been spotted....

1.24 Skin of Evil The Enterprise is proceeding towards a rendezvous with Shuttlecraft 13 (both ships travelling on impulse power. Er, you might want to read a book while you wait) when it receives a distress call. Troi and the pilot are in trouble, and the pair crash-land on the nearby planet of Vagra II. The Enterprise arrives, not knowing whether Troi is alive or dead. Of course, she’s alive....

3.4 Who Watches The Watchers? When the Enterprise arrives, things look even grimmer. Some of the scientists are dead, others are injured, one is missing. But worse still, the holographic disguise is down! If any of the natives manage to see the lab, the prime directive would be violated in the most heinous way! Let’s hope that doesn’t happen, right? Of course, it does. Not only that, one of the Mintakans – Liko – manages to electrocute himself too, because their society doesn’t have any concept of live wires....

This brings us to Room 237, a documentary by Rodney Ascher which examines the numerous conspiracy theories and outlandish interpretations behind one of director Stanley Kubrick’s most celebrated films, The Shining. It’s said that Kubrick then used the techniques he brought to his sci-fi opus to create an extraordinarily convincing mock-up of the lunar surface, complete with vehicles, floating space dust and semi-weightless astronauts. Although sworn to secrecy by the government, conspiracy theorists argue that Kubrick left all sorts of subtle clues to the fakery in his movies – particularly in his 1980 horror film, The Shining....

Meanwhile, on a far more serious note, Room has scooped a number of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Lenny Abrahamson and Best Actress for Brie Larson. It’s definitely not to be confused with anything that has gone before and it’s hard to think of another film in recent memory that has been quite so emotionally affecting and effective. Although the story of Emma Donoghue’s Booker Prize nominated novel is something of a known quantity, (and she adapts her own story for the screen) the trailers give away a fair few of its surprises....

Sharp Objects Episode 5 So far Sharp Objects has brought to mind both the plays of Tennessee Williams and the novels of Thomas Harris. Now there’s another possible source of inspiration to add to the list; the behavior of the residents of Wind Gap reminds me of nothing so much as the Stanford Prison experiment. They are unable to escape the pervasive pecking order of drunken disinterest, with many of them happily placing bets on who in their midst might have killed two teenage girls....

“It’s sort of like the Grand Budapest Hotel throughout this century,” explained Matalas. “In the 1940’s it was like this is the hotel; this is the place you wanted to be. But in 2016 it has ATMs and hookers and crack. So it kind of shows the passage of time like the deterioration that happens throughout. It’s pretty spectacular.” Why Cole must travel decades deeper back into the twentieth century remains unknown, but the differences should really set season 2 apart....

6.4 Franky Skins has always been a magnet for the controversy-driven press, be it for the abundance of sex and drugs on screen, or the glamorisation of certain lifestyle. Yet the show has remained surprisingly free from violence over its six year run. This week’s episode, centred on Dakota Blue Richards’ Franky, has brought physical violence to the fore, and uses the opportunity to explore teenage fight clubs, dysfunctional relationships and domestic violence....

Like The Force Awakens novel, the sentences in Solo are puffed up with clichés and contradictions. Objects become detached from their sources: Han watches many “feet” pass by his hiding place with no mention of the people to which the feet are attached. Some major scenes, such as Val’s death and the Kessel Run, are rushed. Han’s emotions are detached and simple—“He felt very alone at that moment.” Another one of the movie’s strengths was its visual style: musty Corellia was dark and claustrophobic, the Falcon pristine and white in contrast to its later grime, the storms of Kessel colourful and strange....

7.10 Faith And Despondency It’s taken a long time, it’s taken a painful amount of filler and contrived complications, but the final season of Sons Of Anarchy has reached the place it needs to be, and, despite everything, my fingers are crossed for a killer final few episodes. This was a strong, effective instalment that covered a lot of ground and left us with a tantalising set up for next week....

Near the start of this episode, there’s a scene that I distinctly remember watching over and over again a few years back: the scene in which Cartman sits at the table in the garden, surrounded by his toys and pouring imaginary tea for them, while having a conversation with his imaginary friends. It’s, perhaps, not quite as great comically as I remembered (although the voice of Rumper Tumpskin is laugh-out-loud funny), but is a brilliant piece of characterisation....

1.1 Pilot So, getting the disappointing stuff out of the way first, Star-Crossed is by its very nature a dated high school show, with a compilation of actors from other series just to draw attention to this fact. We have Aimee Teegarden from Friday Night Lights, Malese Jow from Vampire Diaries, Matt Lanter from 90210, Grey Damon from everything and a whole host of other guest stars/recurring characters who are noticeably recognisable for anyone who’s been paying attention to the US teen drama scene over the last few years....

When Dr. Hugh Culber was killed off Star Trek: Discovery in “Despite Yourself,” the narrative choice was met with fan and critic backlash. Not only is Culber one half of the show’s only queer relationship, but he is a fascinating character in his own right—the ship’s doctor and voice of reason, and notably the only character questioning Lorca’s decisions. “I think it was important for us, given the political climate and this ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope, for us to keep the audience engaged with what’s happening on Discovery,” said Cruz....

A qualified pilot, former beat cop and – if the autobiographies are to be believed – a bit of a ladies’ man, he first pitched the original Star Trek to NBC as a sort of ‘Wagon Train to the Stars’ back in the early 60s. Wagon Train was then a popular western series based around a close knit band of characters whose journey from Missouri to California provided the basis for weekly adventure....