8.23 Sacrifice “The angels are falling” – yes, that’s what it looks like, Dean, and it’s getting people very excited for season nine. Given the ominous title of the episode, I think a lot of long-time fans were a little concerned about, or even just resigned to, the fact that we might be saying a temporary goodbye to one of the Winchesters. Thankfully, breaking a tradition the show started way back in season three, none of the good guys had to die in this season send-off, and the main driving force of the year – shutting the gates of hell – really had nothing to do with what went on or how we’re moving forward....

9.17 Mother’s Little Helper This episode is also the first directed by Misha Collins – who plays the fan-beloved Castiel. Despite the heavy heaping of plot in it, it also happens to be an incredibly psychologically heavy storyline, especially from Dean’s point of view. The best part of Misha’s directing – aside from how natural it looks – is how well he captures that psychological complexity, the memories that haunt Dean, the darkness he fears within – even with a script that has its limitations....

With only half of the Death List collected, Lydia and Malia spend a hilarious amount of time trying to trigger Lydia’s Banshee powers. At one point they are but moments away from reenacting the pottery scene from Ghost. Malia bullying Lydia into magically coming up with a second code proves to be almost impossible. I feel bad for Lydia, at least Stiles revels in his lack-of-powers. Lydia has become the show’s hyper-intelligent Eeyore....

Heart Monitor Time is of the essence. For Scott, it’s learn to control yourself, become a killer, or be killed. For Derek, it’s get Scott to start thinking with his brain or potentially be killed, either by the Argents or the alpha. For Stiles, it’s make funny quips and provide comic relief, as well as occasionally pelt your best friend with lacrosse balls while engaging in interspecies light bondage. Meanwhile, Scott has to keep his girlfriend while avoiding the distractions that come with having a girlfriend....

1.13 We Are Grounders Part II The 100 is popular with audiences, threatening to become a breakout hit for the CW while still keeping the network’s core audience happy in a way that I don’t think Arrow quite manages. As much as I complain about the love triangles, they’re an important ingredient to what makes this show successful and, if that means that we can look forward to seeing more, then I guess it’s something those other fans will just have to deal with....

One such video was produced in the US by the National Association of Concessionaires (NAC), an organisation that – as its title suggests – wants to make sure you buy lots of stuff from a concession stand. Instead, the video – that had been sold to over 60 cinemas at the time the article was published – pushed the notion that buying two items was never enough. “We want every patron to have three items,” explained Scott Gross, the sales coach for the NAC....

In fact, compiling this list was a decidedly tricky task given the sheer variety on offer, eclectic scores like John Powell’s underrated Hancock and roaringly exciting ones like Brian Tyler’s Thor: The Dark World hitting the cutting room floor, so to speak. With that in mind, here are the 25 greatest superhero scores that embody the unforgettable spirit of these pop culture icons. See also: Shirley Walker, a Music In Film special...

10.16 The Allowance Evaporation We start with the guys betting whether Raj can hold his breath for longer than a Euler’s Disk can spin, and get a nice balance between Penny not giving a damn and Amy caring just long enough to learn about the wager they’ve made (because it’s nice when the show remembers Amy and Bernadette are scientists). And because the world is askew in a thousand ways right now, we’re getting yet another Raj-centric episode almost immediately after the last one....

11.10 The Confidence Erosion Regardless of our expectations of the genre, the best and most popular sitcoms tend to be those that evolve. This might in tiny, incremental ways or with huge strides like Monica and Chandler’s relationship on Friends, but, while these shows are comforting in their repetitiveness and reluctance to really challenge their audience, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be bold every so often. The Confidence Erosion is an episode that attempts to address some big things in the universe of The Big Bang Theory....

Scales On A Train In this episode, Vinnie Jones returns to justify his cameo early on in the series and redeem himself for being physically bested by a midget. As a villain, Scales is precisely the kind of pulpy, Dick Tracy-esque character that fits in the show, although it probably helps that he has almost exactly the same gimmick as Killer Croc (he’s a huge burly guy with lizard skin)....

Turns out that wasn’t the most interesting point in the episode, but more of that later. Despite my excitement, the opening few minutes were not as intriguing as I, perhaps misguidedly, had hoped for. It did reintroduce Lux Bonteri whose mother, a Senator, had been killed by Count Dooku’s agents in Season Three. His lust to see Dooku dead leads us to the Death Watch, a terrorist cell of Mandalorian Warriors (the Fett family wore their armour, as I’m sure you are aware) who are also keen to hunt down the Sith Lord (Lux has info on his whereabouts)....

4.18 Crisis On Naboo Padme’s home world finds itself the location for a celebration and a visit from Chancellor Palpatine (accompanied by a plethora of guards and a barrage of Jedi). Of course, the last three episodes have been building to this moment – an attempt will be made to kidnap the future Emperor. Count Dooku has assembled his team of Bounty Hunters to carry out the daring plan; a gang that include, amongst others, fan favourite Cad Bane (who’s not averse to blasting a man in the back as he lays on the ground) and Obi Wan Kenobi undercover as assassin Rako Hardeen....

The Dinosaur Project is essentially The Lost World for the handycam age. As its name implies, it’s a family-friendly collision of The Blair Witch Project and Jurassic Park; a found-footage dive into unexplored elephantine reptile country. The film introduces Jonathan Marchand (Richard Dillane), a member of the British Cryptozoological Society and intrepid explorer. We can tell he’s an intrepid explorer because he disguises himself as Sam Neill circa 1993, right down to his rather natty wide-brimmed fedora....

In Fat Albert 99% of the interactions between characters are how much they annoy one another. This is no different in the Christmas Special. The special opens on the guys putting on a Christmas pageant. Then there are two knocks on the door. First it’s Old Mister Tyrone. He owns the junkyard the boys hang out in. Tyrone tells the boys to leave so he can bulldoze their clubhouse to the ground....

1.9 The Man In The Yellow Suit Now, as we reach its first proper hiatus, and it has delivered its first big mid-season finale (if you can even get bigger than last week’s crossover), it’s lovely to note that first instincts were right, and this show is really, truly great. It’s had its problems – Iris chief among them – but overall it’s just been a breath of fresh air....

2.15 Forgive The Following isn’t a show with a lot of rules. The FBI is still pretty incompetent (but smarter than the first season), while Joe’s cult is very powerful (even his new cult has a cellar full of crazy killers, which is slightly less helpful than cops and FBI agents, but is still kind of helpful). Aside from that, everything seems to be up for grabs. However, there’s one element the show has made perfectly clear: Ryan Hardy and Joe Carroll work best when they’re together....

The Gifted Episode 9 That was fine. The last episode succeeded in merging the plot propulsion and character development. We got a ton out of the conversation between Reed and his father, not just for him, but for the kids as well. The twists introduced to his life by the revelation that he came from a line of mutants, was a mutant himself, and passed the X gene down to his kids, was material enough for a full half a season of shows....

This review contains spoilers. It’s also The Handmaid’s Tale least true-feeling moment so far. Until now, this adaptation’s portrayal of Gilead’s weighty, devastating oppression has been note-perfect. This place doesn’t just suppress freedom, it destroys it. Its rituals and punishments send people out of their minds. The Republic isn’t an overly strict parent and the Handmaids its grounded teens; it’s a system that annihilates personhood and they’re its erased victims....

I had been hiding out in Buenos Aires for a couple of years following a nasty divorce. My pitch to the locals was that I wanted to make English-speaking films in Argentina. Things went swimmingly to begin with. Then my patron, Presidenta Isobelita Peron, was deposed by a military junta. In a country like Argentina in the 70s, you either were in with the people with clout or out. It was back to quadro uno....

It’s also one of the best horror films in some time. But then, we meet the guests. A mother in a bad mood, complete with her young son. An old man, who wants to stay on the floor that’s no longer in use. And then there’s Kelly McGillis, playing an actress with apparent psychic abilities. It’s a small collection of characters, albeit one drawn particularly well by writer-director Ti West....