2.5 Addicted To Love This week’s episode of Being Human should’ve been subtitled “A Trip to the Department of Back Story” but that’s really not a good thing. As I stated last week, this show has been forgetting lately that its central premise is about Josh, Aidan, and Sally and all relationship permutations there of. Instead, we’re treated to back story about Suren, Sally’s possession storyline becoming so rape-like that it had to be called out in the text, and yet another new character in the form of Nora’s ex....

1.1 Uno It’s fair to say that creating a spin-off of Breaking Bad, one of the most acclaimed, widely discussed, zeitgeist-trampling TV series of recent times, brings with it some intimidating baggage, and sky-high expectations. And of the many questions that occurred to me when I first heard about plans for Better Call Saul (after the initial, decidedly un-critical BREAKING BAD SPIN-OFF ERMAHGERD WOOPWOOP thought process, of course), most were variations on a theme of “why”....

While I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing a lot of everyone in the “family”, the show is hailed as focusing on the twenty something werewolf named Elena Danvers. Elena, played by Laura Vandervoort (previously known for her portrayal of Kara in Smallville), moved from a small town in Upstate New York (hey, wonder if it’s anywhere near my hometown!) to Toronto, Canada to not only start a career, but to get away from her above mentioned “family”....

Klaue does play a crucial role in director Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, helping Eric Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) make his way into Wakanda while still on his never-ending quest to obtain and sell that country’s precious vibranium. Serkis’ version of Klaue takes such obvious delight in his insanely dangerous and illegal lifestyle that in a weird way, the character is terrific fun to watch — and in a movie that’s already packed with scene-stealing supporting performances from people like Jordan, Letitia Wright and Danai Gurira, that’s not necessarily an easy thing to pull off....

2.11 Under God’s Power She Flourishes Yes, it gets odder. Much odder. But first, the flashback. We’re catapulted immediately back to Jimmy’s Princeton years, studying Jacobean literature under a Mr. Pearson. It’s where he first meets Angela, who comes to his dorm room at night for a cheeky visit. We see him being flippant in class, getting to know Angela, and finding out that he is to become a father, but aside from some laughter he’s still presented as the same old Jimmy we have known since the war....

As such, Bridget Jones’s Baby wastes no time reintroducing us to Bridget, and Renee Zellweger wastes no time effortlessly slipping back into her most popular role. We encounter Bridget this time alone, single, and being woken up on her 43rd birthday. She’s working on a television news show that’s being overtaken by clickbait culture. She’s back to square one, still scribbling in her diary, just a decade on. And once more, she’s stuck....

In “Bad Santa,” a doctor is gunned down by a man who is dressed up like Tim Allen in those Santa Clause movies. Rick reaches out to his “friend” and they schedule a meeting at the strip club where his office is located. Then there are women that are barely dressed like Tim Allen in those Santa Clause movies and there is also a bit of awkwardness between Kate and Rick....

6.3 Need To Know Okay, didn’t see that coming. The ending of this week’s episode was surprising, if only because of the kind of show that Castle has established itself as being. For the most part, Castle treats its cases less as crimes with emotional, familial, and economic consequences for the friends and family of the victim and more as puzzles designed to amuse the main characters. But, as with virtually all crimes on the show, this merely provides opportunities for laughter....

7.9 Last Action Hero Sometimes, the hardest thing about reviewing something is overcoming the expectations that you take in with you. In some cases, this is purely a result of the individual makeup of the reviewer. In others, it’s because the producers created those expectations. For me, this week, with Castle, it’s both. And that’s because a) the writers chose to title last week’s episode Last Action Hero, and b) I may be the only critic alive to have really enjoyed the 1993 John McTiernan film of the same name, starring/spoofing Arnold Schwarzenegger....

Created by computer genius Deon (Dev Patel), Chappie begins life as one of an army of servile police droids patrolling the mean streets of Johannesburg. Severely damaged after a gun battle, Chappie’s written off as scrap by the military tech company that owns him, Tetra Vaal. But Deon, privately working on a cutting-edge AI program in his spare time, injects his experimental routine (“consciousness.dat”) into Chappie’s brain – and thus, the first sentient robot is born....

Snyder’s late night interview show bagged some biggies in the seventies, like John Lennon and his lawyer while the ex-Beatle was fighting deportation. But his career looked like it was winding down at the beginning of the 1980s and he needed a scoop to bring him back up to the top. The new Tomorrow show executive producer at the time, future media machine creator Roger Ailes, bagged it. Snyder would be the first television reporter to get a sit down interview with the guy who tried to bring Lennon’s song “Revolution” to life....

Back after an extended break, the latest Community episode is something of a hit and miss affair. Taking in corporate espionage, the profundities of “Who’s the Boss” classes, and the emotional battles faced by wannabe actors, along with copious amounts of self-referencing jokes, Competitive Wine Tasting still doesn’t quite hit the comedic heights we’ve become so used to. Jeff crashes and burns embarrassingly fast, when said woman inexplicably chooses Pierce for being a ‘gentle soul’....

Co-written with Akihide Yanagi, Compass goes around dispelling its mythology in a text-heavy first half: in a nutshell, magicians are being hunted down in secret, speeding up all magic’s demise. Ensuring their survival, the final four clans of sorcerers meet for a “Ceremony of Acension” so they can pass their powers on to the girls they “have deemed worthy of their collected abilities”: snippy Mei Shen, fragile Anneli, wise-looking Lola and total sweetheart Aiyana....

1.7 The Hudson River School It was never any secret that Corcoran has a dark side, but it was always contained, or aimed toward people who really deserved it. Not that Elizabeth didn’t make a serious mistake in giving Annie away to her sleazebag husband and then lying to Corcoran about it, but was the knife to the throat really appropriate? This is the first time Corky has been truly scary, and I for one am loving it....

This review contains spoilers. 2.6 Who Needs Josh When You Have A Girl Group? Is it just me, or is Rebecca veering into So Crazy She’s Just Not Relatable Or Even Particularly Likeable Any More territory now? She’s been kind of a monster since the first episode of season two, and yes, okay, she was kind of a monster in the first season, too, but at least back then her bad behaviour felt like it was coming from an understandable place....

Damnation Episode 3 Everything isn’t as it may seem in tonight’s episode. Members of the Black Legion appear normal in daylight, but their hearts are dark and their agenda is sinister. Who are the allies and foes in Holden County? The sheriff and his sister-in-law brothel madam are on opposite ends of the farmer’s strike both for financial reasons. We discovered last week that the sheriff is Bessie’s father. Their relationship is strained at best and must be kept a secret....

All grayed and bloodshot makeup, plus a yellowing lather on her teeth, Kidman’s Erin Bell is a fantastically unkempt and disheveled creation. It takes almost the whole running time of the two-hour movie to understand why she has decided to crawl into a bottle, but when the film begins, her complete resignation to such dominion is unquestioned and played with a raw sort of mingling of pride and shame by the actor....

6.3 Smokey and the Bandit Currently, they’re being highly sympathetic to Debra, Angel and even Vince, where Maria LaGuerta and Joey Quinn portray only their most negative personality traits. It’s worth remembering that these viewpoints can move, and having made us hate them, the writers might suddenly change their minds and redeem them. But LaGuerta, in particular, looks like she’s heading down a road towards a singularly unhappy ending, as it’s entirely negative all the way at this point....

8.9 Make Your Own Kind Of Music With so few episodes to go now, when I’m watching Dexter, my concentration is split between what’s happening at that moment, and where this is ultimately going. It’s the second part that’s a major concern now. The over arching theme we’ve been given this season is the idea of stability followed by destruction, as each time things calm down, that tranquillity isn’t allowed to stand....

This has to be the first time they’ve done it to me. I’ll admit they came close with the scarecrows. They made me sort of jump a little. But the scarecrows didn’t get me so scared I had to sleep facing the wall in case the Weeping Angels could see I’d shut my eyes, and then send me back into history. Probably to the Black Death, just to really piss on my chips....