The tale begins in 1978 with Clive Sinclair (Alexander Armstrong) struggling to exercise his own creative urges due to a stifling loss of control of his company, Sinclair Radionics after a government bail out. In an effort to rid himself of his shackles, he confides in Chris Curry (Martin Freeman) and starts up a shell company that Clive plans to take over once his current predicament is dissolved. The problem with this plan is Sinclair’s increasingly eccentric obsession with his electric car project (the Sinclair C5, of course), whilst Curry is determined to plough on with his own idea – a home computer kit, an idea Sinclair quickly scoffs at....

Expecting the episode to play it safe, it couldn’t have been more surprising. Instead of easing us in with characters with whom we’re already acquainted before introducing the newbies, the episode is pretty much split between the perspectives of the power-addled regulars and a couple of new arrivals who look just as confused as we are. On paper, this must have looked like a good way to force sympathy for previously unknown characters, but it wasn’t an outstanding debut for me....

The final episode of Misfits was never going to be the satisfying, definitive farewell fans would have imagined playing out back in 2009. The original cast are gone, the mission statement has gotten muddled over the years and, frankly, fan excitement has been lowered for most to a tentative optimism. Those who stuck around after series four were rewarded with one of the strongest runs the show has ever produced but, though the series finale doesn’t exactly disappoint, it’s maybe not the explosive high a show like Misfits really should have bowed out with....

It’s funny, for one. Sexy for another. Whedon’s micro-budget, black and white retelling whips through the slightly abridged text like a swift-flowing river. It’s a light, fun, party production that hits all of the comic notes and most of the romantic ones. We follow a quartet of lovers, ostensible leads Claudio and Hero (Fran Kranz and Jillian Morgese), and the gobby, witty couple we’re actually rooting for: Benedick and Beatrice (Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker) on their circuitous route to the altar....

Deadline is reporting that US movie and TV producer Mark Gordon has joined forces with The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence on two new television projects, one of which is to be a new version of Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry’s Neverwhere. The new Neverwhere series is being touted as an adaptation of Gaiman and Henry’s 1996 six-part BBC series (feat. Peter Capaldi with a luxuriant bouffant), which arguably came a few years too early for the budgets and special effects to live up to its vast and vivid imagination....

What this show has been very short of through its run is revelations. But now it’s nearly done, someone in production has found the box where they keep them, and splurged almost a whole season’s worth on just one episode. What I can say is, at least things move along with some pace this week, with Jim on the hunt for the animal killer while Daphne conspires to make sure she’s vulnerable at the appropriate point of the story....

3.6 Ariel Regina expresses my thoughts exactly when she complains about Emma and Co.’s crippling inefficiency. You put a few legendary heroes, some powerful magicians, and the Saviour of Storybrooke on an island for six episodes, and you’d think they’d have figured out how to rescue Henry by now. Regina’s frustration that they put the Henry search on hold to go after Neal also echoes mine—not because I think they should abandon Neal, but because I wish the writers would stop throwing in side conflicts and get on with it....

In other words, sha-wing! I, for one, would’ve taken one look at the rotisserie chickens and been all, “Sorry Frank Randall, methinks I’ll stay.” Then I would’ve had my ear hammered to a stake for eating chickens that did not belong to me. By the time the episode was over, I wanted to swear an oath of fealty. Jamie, however, did not quite feel the same way. We learned this week that everyone’s favorite flay-scarred ginger isn’t who he claims — in fact, he is Colum and Dougal’s nephew and is not technically a MacKenzie at all....

Passengers stars Hollywood leading man of the moment Chris Pratt as Jim, a 30-something engineer on a ship, the Avalon, bound for a new, Earth-like planet. Remember those floating adverts in Blade Runner which promised “the chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure”? Jim’s fallen for a similar sales pitch. As a result, he’s one of 5,000 earthlings who’ve had themselves frozen for the 120-year-long trip to a lush, distant world called Homestead II....

This Penny Dreadful review contains spoilers. Hecate (Sarah Greene) starts this episode with one of beast lines of the series. “I’ll follow you to hell,” she tells Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett). “I’ll lead the way.” The wayward witch of the west thinks she can bring the wolf of god to heel. He’s not a bad dog, really. Although he’s not exactly the kind you want to bring home to mama unless you’re looking for a speedy inheritance....

During the 2003 bombing and invasion of Baghdad, workers fled the city zoo, opening the door to all sorts of mayhem in their absence. Some animals were stolen by looters, and others managed to escape after mortar damage to their enclosures. The unusual war story is chronicled and embellished by Brian Vaughan, who wrote for a wide range of Marvel and DC comics before turning out this award-winning release on the Vertigo imprint....

This review contains spoilers. It turns out that he did indeed pick up Julie Ann from the Homerton Drug Unit on her release. His daughter, determined at that point to kick her addiction for the sake of her unborn child, begged him to fit a padlock on her bedroom door. However, George hadn’t thought to check her bag; when he tried to prevent her from using again, she flew into a rage....

It seems that both this week and last week’s episodes have kind of been fillers, where nothing much of note has happened continuity-wise. That’s not to say that’s a bad thing, since this week’s episode was fun, silly and a bit daft – but after four weeks or so of the whole ‘Prime-verse’ being moved forward, we stall for a second successive week. The idea behind it is great, buit it’s really a water-treading exercise when it comes to things like the artefact, future wars and Helen Cutter’s evil shenanigans....

It is a major bummer because despite my distaste for the genre (musicals began and ended with Grease in this reviewers opinion), if there was one show that I thought would be able to pull this off it would be the USA network’s longest running program. This is a case of a great idea on paper turning into an absolute mess that meanders around without reason for two full hours....

Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) is the most-wanted thief and outlaw in all the land, but he’s also got a heart of gold when he’s not stealing gold. However, there’s one prize that has eluded him for half of his life: magic beans. Not just any magic beans, Jack and the Beanstalk’s magic beans that’ll grow a beanstalk to a castle full of golden treasures. As it turns out, those magic beans aren’t legend, but fact....

Quarry Season 1, Episode 1 Cinemax has put together another gritty anti-hero vehicle to add to the litany of others viewers have enjoyed recently, and Quarry certainly holds its own in excellent company like Breaking Bad, Fargo, and Preacher. Although the first episode of its 8-episode run follows the predictable path of disillusionment for its protagonist, Mac, who has returned from Vietnam to an America that despises him and can’t (or won’t) employ him, his journey towards becoming a reluctant hitman is simultaneously bleak and entertaining....

Following on from director Jalmari Helander’s acclaimed shorts, Rare Exports Inc and Rare Exports: The Official Safety Instructions, comes this debut feature length effort. First things first, though, this is definitely not a little kids film. There is a level of dark horror and violence, coupled with a few well placed swear words, which puts me more in mind of a del Toro piece, rather than, say, Santa Claus: The Movie....

There have been a few times this season where episodes have aired and I’ve said ‘Yeah, it was really good’, but if I’m being honest, I may have been pushing the truth. Some episodes that should have been getting 9 out of 10 were getting 7s. It was never a big issue, just a little dip in the quality of episodes, but I always knew they’d be back to fighting form in no time....

The evil ghost boy attempts to strangle Peter Rickman while he sleeps, but Mary and the ant eater (whom it would appear is called Antibus) appear together, with Antibus scaring him off with those massive razor teeth. Yay. During a weekly meeting, a homeless man begins to go crazy, babbling all sorts that makes little sense to the people around him, but makes slightly more sense to us. He mentions Mary and a boy named Paul, before slamming his head against the wall and passing out....

If you’re happy with all that, then Ride Along is for you. If you’re wavering, let me try a pitch to sum up the film’s deft play with narrative and genre convention. Here goes: ‘Kevin Hart and Ice Cube go on a ride along’. No? Come on … Let me start over with nicer words. Ride Along is actually pretty funny when it wants to be. Especially when it lets Kevin Hart be Kevin Hart, rather than shrill comic relief guy....