Suicide Squad
dir. David Ayer (2016)
Exquisitely pointless. A manipulative government bigwig coerces supervillains into forming a special taskforce. One team member goes rogue and becomes their first target. Much antagonism gives way to beautiful friendship. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is the only character with any non-generic personality.
Bill & Ted Face the Music
dir. Dean Parisot (2020)
Far better than Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey but still doing little to overturn the verdict that not all films need a continuation, let alone to become trilogies. Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine are best on-screen, channelling a next-gen Bill & Tedness.
Orphan Black, Series 2
(Space, 2014)
More of the same. Tatiana Maslany is quite remarkable playing all the lead roles. Jordan Gavaris offers able support. The plot remains intriguing in any given moment but never leads anywhere, instead treading water, circling its premise and calling out ‘Marco Polo!’
Fool Moon
by Jim Butcher (Penguin, 2001)
audiobook read by James Marsters (Buzzy Multimedia, 2009)
Another werewolf scenario where the beasties in question become slower than cows in the hero’s presence. Dresden himself is dishwater-dull but Marsters weaves some magic to make the no-frills prose sound half-decent and add a sense of profundity to his quasi-hardboiled musings.
Teen Titans: Beast Boy
by Kami Garcia; ill. Gabriel Picolo (DC Comics, 2020)
A perfectly respectable exploration of school social pressures and YA problems, though Gar is a bit cringeworthy (ameliorated, thankfully, by Stella and Tank) and his Beast Boy aspect comes late on the scene. Picolo’s art captures the mood without over-cluttering the story.
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass
by Mariko Tamaki; ill. Steve Pugh (DC Comics, 2019)
A bleak origin story painted in washed-out tones with occasional, rebellious splashes of harlequin red. Harley’s capricious personality is played up for all it’s worth, ensconced within a more regular teen flightiness. The affected, fourth wall–breaking side-notes quickly outstay their welcome.
When I Left Home: My Story
by Buddy Guy with David Ritz (Da Capo, 2012)
audiobook read by Mirron Willis (Blackstone, 2012)
Blues legend Buddy Guy tells his life story without affectation or self-aggrandisement, laying down priceless memories of the Chicago scene (particularly during the 1950s-1970s). Guy riffs sincerely on the sustaining power of the blues, expressing love and respect for his musical forebears.
The Railway Man
dir. Jonathan Teplitzky (2013)
After disguising its intent with a quirky, rom-com affable opening, The Railway Man slips into a mix of astutely played modern drama and harrowing WWII POW historical remembrance. The brutality of the latter seeds the emotional clout of Lomax and Nagase’s reconciliation.
The Dictionary of Lost Words
by Pip Williams (Affirm, 2020)
An historical novel woven around and through the decades-long compiling of the Oxford English Dictionary. Though Williams writes powerfully on the silencing of women, Esme’s story—a conduit for social commentary—is perhaps too beholden to facts to truly dazzle as fiction.
The Librarians, Season 3
(TNT, 2016-2017)
A prime example of season-spanning story arcs hobbling a programme. In developing and resolving an epic Good versus Evil scenario across only ten (shortish) episodes, the writers cram bits of Apep/DOSA into every standalone plot, robbing these of breathing room and substance.