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The start of this story is a corny one, where we have some young guy cruising nightclubs for female company, while unusually mutilated bodies are being deposited around the city. He’s got condoms, but he’s unlikely to find safe sex. There are parts of this story I really liked, and others elements I didn’t appreciate in almost equal measure. There is a nice detective story about finding Nicholas Boone, the man who made the virus that made the woman dependent on spinal fluid....

The last full series of Jonathan Creek, back in 2014, divided critics and audience; at the time our own reviewer complained that the central mysteries lacked the intricacy and peril of previous instalments, and there was a feeling that the spark had gone out of the show ever since Creek put away his duffel coat and moved out of the windmill. All of the elements are in place for a slice of classic Creek, though it takes the titular detective nearly half of the special’s running time to get properly involved....

Into the newly-branded Jurassic World step wide-eyed, dinosaur-obsessed Gray (Iron Man 3 and Insidious‘ Ty Simpkins) and his teenage brother Zach (Nick Robinson), who’s more interested in mobile phones and ogling young ladies than the creatures thundering about the park. In fact, apathy’s the major crisis facing Jurassic World and its icy operations manager (who’s also Gray and Zach’s aunt), Claire, played by Bryce Dallas Howard from beneath a precise haircut....

The year is 1997, Steven Stelfox (Hoult) is a rising star in the world of A&R and the obvious candidate to succeed David Schneider (Dustin Demri-Burns), the dead manager walking at his label, Unigram. Like most of his class of entitled so-and-so’s in the industry, Steven has little knowledge and even less interest in actual music, much to the frustration of his dedicated secretary Rebecca (Georgia King). Depending on your point of view, Kill Your Friends has been either garlanded or burdened with comparisons to numerous other movies....

Po the Panda (Jack Black, finally in his element as a cartoon character) is a friendly, roly-poly fellow who works at his father’s noodle shop, but like pretty much everyone who works in those kind of jobs, he’s got bigger dreams. Po idolizes the Furious Five, a collection of kung-fu heroes known for their bravery, skills, and general awesomeness. Unfortunately for Po, pandas aren’t known for their bravery, physical prowess, or ability to do anything other than eat, so that leaves the noodle shop and his fantasies....

So imagine going through that process in a foreign country, where there’s nowhere to hide and only vast expanses of time in which to hash out what went wrong, why it did and how you could have fixed it. That’s where Learning To Breathe lives, and it’s about as painful as you might expect. The film opens on Noah playing to a small but appreciative crowd, and he is approached by a beautiful stranger in the audience....

You might recall, a couple of years ago, that ITV put together an effective little five-part chiller by the name of Marchlands. It did solid ratings, and we heard whispers that a Marchlands 2 was being discussed back then. Turns out, those whispers had some substance to them: while Lightfields isn’t a full-on sequel, its link to Marchlands is fairly obvious, and suitably played up in the promo material. The setting is the Lightfields farmhouse (you’ll be reminded of this lots of times in the episode, so don’t worry if you forget), and this time, we follow three families....

A confession: when Thandie Newton’s head hit that kitchen worktop my faith wavered. Line Of Duty’s heavily trailed new lead isn’t going to make it past episode one again? Surely not? Surely not, and shame on me for entertaining the idea that writer Jed Mercurio (who also directed the first two episodes of series three) didn’t have this all wrapped up as tightly as Ted Hastings’ sandwiches. Newton’s eyes flicked open as Jason Watkins loomed over her with that reciprocating saw and all doubt vanished from my mind....

6.9 The Better Half The episode’s title was even more help than usual in decoding its theme. It was an instalment preoccupied with mirror-images, fractured wholes, and imitations. The opening spat over butter and margarine gave way to soap ‘twins’ Colette and Corinne, Don and Betty Draper mark two, and Bobbies one-five; before culminating in Peggy’s realisation that Ted and Don are peas in a compartmentalising pod. “You’re the same person sometimes” Peggy told Don after refusing to side with him or Ted on the Fleischmann pitch, a line she must have mentally repeated after Teddy gave her that chipper brush-off and both men retreated symmetrically into their offices....

Last season, fans got a mixed bag from Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. Early on, Marvel delivered a freak-of-the-week formulaic actioner with some fun characters but not much meat on the bone. It was generic and many said that if the name Marvel wasn’t attached, the show would have died a quiet death. Then, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released, and the whole tone and purpose of SHIELD changed. Before Winter Soldier fans wanted a show set firmly in the Marvel Universe, after Winter Soldier, they had it....

McMafia Episode 2 Nobody likes to be sidelined. Just like nobody wants to be Fredo in The Godfather. In the mafia, being sidelined can be fatal. On McMafia, fatality can be an opportunity. In episode 2, Alex (James Norton) learns about family ties and binding contracts. At the close of the premiere episode, the clean British son of a Russian criminal took an informal meeting with his father’s nemesis Vadim after balking at entering the family business with his uncle’s relatively stable contact Semiyon (David Strathairn)....

Except in the BBC’s Merlin, he and Arthur are the same age, presumably because their target audience is young adults and they find old people ‘boring’. For those expecting someone older they’re thrown Richard Wilson still desperately trying to cast off the ghost of Victor Meldrew as King Uther’s Court Physician, and the wise old fart in these proceedings. If you’re just gone ‘what Dragon?’ Then join the party, because I don’t recall there ever being dragons in Arthur’s story, but there is one now!...

They were interviewed separately, for 20 minutes each. Michael Mann was sandwiched in between the two actors, and delivered an engrossing semi-lecture on 1930s America, bouncing off and ignoring questions as he deemed fit. Like his films, he came across as bold, charismatic and confident – but he has a fast-talking manner, a depth of reference and a heavily intellectual streak that would give migraines even to the seasoned culture vulture....

An impromptu zombie-themed episode of Misfits may seem out of place in a show usually so removed from the mainstream. We’re so used to seeing the ASBO five standing outside television trends, often gently mocking them with their own wit and unique flare, that last week’s preview sent fear into the hearts of many a protective fan. The shenanigans start with Seth’s attempt to resurrect his dead girlfriend, Shannon, in the usual gruesome tradition....

Just when we all thought Misfits couldn’t write out any more of its main cast members, the writers have made it five in the space of five episodes. It seems that, without original characters Simon, Nathan, Alisha and Kelly at his side, there was really no place for Curtis on the show anymore, and we’re given a rather lacklustre and anti-climactic ending for the longest serving Misfit. Is it a good thing for the show in the long run?...

As solid and watchable as almost every Misfits episode is, every now and again they give us something a little bit more focused – usually to introduce an idea that will see us through the remainder of the series. This happened with the Simon and Alisha storyline in season two and it’s happened again here. Who knew? Rudy is capable of being a heroic leading man, and he and Jess may even become an item....

In the days before over-hyped girl power, Britain had a liberated, independently minded action heroine as beautiful as she was deadly. Modesty Blaise is like the love child of James Bond and Emma Peel: fearless, adventurous, travelling the globe to exotic locations, performing as a spy, a smuggler, or an all-round adrenaline junkie. Despite being able to turn the head of every man, Modesty has the undivided loyalty of one man, Willie Garvin....

The cast is also a weird collection of A-list personalities who are probably too good for this movie. We’ll do a quick run-down of the most noteworthy in the sub-skits: Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet on a disaster of a blind date, Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts as a pair of overprotective parents, Chris Pratt and Anna Faris as a couple on the cusp of a big change in their relationship, Kieran Culkin and Emma Stone as a pair of dirty-laundry-airing lovers, Richard Gere and Kate Bosworth as techno-geeks behind a hot new piece of technology, a laundry list of people as super heroes (Justin Long, Jason Sudekis, Uma Thurman, Bobby Cannavale, Kristen Bell, and John Hodgman) at a speed dating event, and about a million other folks in a variety of weird settings....

A pilot of the show was made for NBC, but the network decided to pass and it sat in limbo for quite some time before Fox decided to order the show to series, looking to replace American Dad!, which is moving to TBS on Sunday nights. Tonight Mulaney finally makes its debut, and I hate to say it, but NBC might have been right. The biggest problem, the elephant in the room whenever a comedian stars in a multi-camera sitcom about being a comedian, is the constant comparisons to Seinfeld....