Mini-review: Doctor Who - Thin Ice.

Enjoyable and thrilling adventure that had some wonderful character interactions between Bill and the Doctor.  It wasn't a complex or original plot but it played to the strengths of setting, cast and the BBC's capabilities in costume dramas.  Good to see it tackle issues like racism without being too heavy handed.

Mini-review: V for Vendetta

When is a superhero not a superhero? When he's an anarchic terrorist in a near future fascist Britain dressed as a modern/retro fusion of Guy Fawkes whose vocabulary mostly consisted of the V section of the dictionary. Portman excels as V's vulnerable and tortured companion somehow caught up in the craziness of this thought-provoking action thriller.

Mini-review: Terminator - Genisys

The fifth entry in the Terminator series is a bit of a greatest hits as it revisits much of the franchise's own past and puts its own twist on it.  Arnie is back and grabs most of the best lines. Both Clarkes put in solid performances but Courtney offers little.  It's interesting to speculate where the proposed trilogy would have gone from here as it looks doubtful that it'll continue.

Mini-review: The Giver

Another in the seemingly endless stream of teen coming of age stories set in futuristic dystopias - where the lead character turns out to be the special one who has to fulfil some kind of destiny.

Usually, they are a bit of a grab bag of various elements from Orwell, Campbell and Huxley - and this one is no different (it adds a touch of Logan's run for good measure).  But it does have some visual tricks up its sleeve, doesn't over stay its welcome, and the cast do a competent job. If you had to see one of these type of films, you could do worse. It is better than The Hunger Games, for example, the category definer for this genre.

Mini-review: Skyfall

50th anniversary Bond which unashamedly draws upon many of the tropes and icons of its long history. It's a hugely satisfying entry to the series. The near silent fight scene within a skyscraper featuring Bond and an assassin wrestling in silhouette is quite stunning.    Craig is now my favourite Bond, and I hope he has another film or two in him.

Mini-review: Zero Dark Thirty

Epic and intimate story of the hunt for bin Laden. Chastain is superb as the investigator doggedly pursuing leads and rumours to drawout his key connections while sacrificing and compromising parts of her self.  I particularly appreciated the process of deduction used to determine the location of his hideout - a real life case of the dog at nighttime, with an absence of evidence indicating bin Laden's presence.  Director Bigelow never fails to remind us that even the bad guys are humans, and have families that care about them - and the result is a conclusion which feels suitably muted rather than triumphant.

Mini-review: Life of Pi

Boldly imaginative and visually stunning adaptation of the best-selling book. Sharma is excellent given this is largely a one-hander and also his debut.  And Parker? Richard Parker is Richard Parker - a fantastically realised cgi creation.