Doctor Strange
dir. Scott Derrickson (2016)
Benedict Cumberbatch gets some pre-hero acting in, which makes this film infinitely better than its sequel. While Tilda Swinton and Benedict Wong are also worth watching (in the quiet moments), the dimension-shifting action scenes and extended astral-plane trip are boring as batshit.
Cowboys & Aliens
dir. Jon Favreau (2011)
Better than could be expected given five co-writers and a story extrapolated (via graphic novel) from a gimmick title. The western element is played seriously but the aliens suffer from rampant Hollywooditus, spurning their own advanced technology to behave as mindless beasts.
Erased
by Taku Kishimoto; dir. Tomohiko Itō (Fuji TV, 2016)
A sweet spec-fic exploration of how childhood experiences go towards shaping adult life—somewhat unbalanced in presenting its past and present elements, but Satoru’s extended Revival as an 11-year-old in 1988 is effective in its own right. Satoru’s mum nails single parenthood.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
dir. Gil Kenan (2024)
An entertaining romp that gives its adult cast more screen time while still structuring the plot around Mckenna Grace. (Finn Wolfhard is underused but no more so than Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon in Afterlife.) A far better sequel than Ghostbusters II.
MacGyver, Season 4
(CBS, 2020)
Notwithstanding some quality standalone episodes, this shortened fourth series sees the Phoenix team mostly rushed off their feet dealing with a world-ending plot arc (and thus increasingly likely to omit even token explanations of Mac’s mechanical improvisations). Jack’s humour is sorely missed.
Snuff
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 2011)
audiobook read by Jon Culshaw (Penguin Audio, 2023)
Surely the least funny Discworld novel, though in the best possible way. Pratchett’s humour is rooted in humanity, and thus flown at a respectful half-mast throughout what proves a chastening examination (by the incomparable Sam Vimes) of murderous privilege and unthinking prejudice.
The ABC Murders
by Sarah Phelps; dir. Alex Gabassi (BBC, 2018)
A decidedly uncosy three-part miniseries that re-characterises Poirot from sprightly, upbeat master of all situations to inscrutable, world-weary has-been. John Malkovich is very good in the role but Agatha Christie purists may not appreciate the tonal shift (let alone the altered backstory).
Doctor Who: Psi-ence Fiction
by Chris Boucher (BBC, 2001)
Boucher knows how to build a story, if not how to end one; how to flesh out minor characters, if not how to distinguish them; and above all how to write for Leela… even if portraying the Doctor as a high-functioning psychotic!
Holmes and Moriarty
by Gareth Rubin (Simon & Schuster, 2024)
audiobook read by Michael Fenner & Gareth Armstrong (Simon & Schuster Audio, 2024)
The Holmes/Watson characterisation feels right, and Moriarty/Moran emerge as an equally absorbing duo (Watson and Moran alternating their first-person accounts), yet the titular conflux amounts to little. The plot devolves into explicated mystery where neither Holmes nor Moriarty (nor Mycroft) contribute much.
The River Bank
by Kij Johnson; ill. Kathleen Jennings (Small Beer Press, 2017)
Johnson’s Wind in the Willows sequel captures the characters and setting of Grahame’s original while adding two new principals: Beryl the Mole lady (an authoress) and her flighty female companion Rabbit, who joins Toad on a misadventure and proves rather more capable.