Sleepin_Dragon

Ash turns to Freddie and Stuart for advice about a girl he'd been seeing before the move, the elusive Tracy. Freddie, meanwhile, is preparing for a meeting of Doctor Who fans who apparently still admire his performance-naturally, he needs a new coat for the occasion.

Some of the banter between Freddie and Stuart is glorious, especially whenever Stuart's mother is mentioned. I don't think we ever actually see her, but she's painfully easy to picture from the way they talk.

The joke about men at sci-fi conventions isn't entirely fair-there's usually some serious eye candy amongst the Daleks and plastic phasers.

Penelope continues to be a total delight. Vague, eccentric, and blissfully unaware, Marcia Warren absolutely nails these wonderfully unhinged older-lady roles. Her line about "are all these girls prostitutes?" is pure scene-stealing gold.

There's a real charm to this show. I can't decide whether it feels like a lost relic from decades past, or oddly American in its rhythm-but it works either way.

8/10.

After punching a fellow priest, Father Jud Duplenticy is quietly dispatched to a small parish, where he's paired with the stern and oddly joyless Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. Jud's bafflement soon turns to dread when Wicks is murdered, and he finds himself uncomfortably close to the top of the suspect list.

It sticks to the familiar pattern of the previous films - an elaborate mystery, an ensemble cast, and a puzzle-box structure - but there's a definite shift in tone, almost as if someone pressed a discreet reset button.

The performances are excellent, though a few supporting characters feel a touch undercooked. Andrew Scott, of all people, barely gets room to stretch. Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, and Josh O'Connor, on the other hand, make the most of every moment.

It's sharp, stylish, and immaculately produced - arguably the most visually striking of the trilogy. I couldn't help but be reminded of A Haunting in Venice at times. The mystery itself is devilishly clever, full of imaginative turns and bold ideas. Production values are high, though trying to pass several corners of England off as New York... well, that required a certain generosity of spirit.

Daniel Craig nails it again as Blanc, and the accent feels more reined in this time.

It does run long - at nearly two and a half hours, a few stretches feel undeniably padded - but even so, it's an entertaining and satisfying third outing.

8/10.

A US military ship encounters a Chinese vessel in its waters. A search of the area reveals a single survivor, Dr. Lee. What on earth could have attacked the ship she came from?

I can't lie, I love a low-budget, dodgy shark movie, and there are some crackers - 'Shark Exorcist', 'Mummy Shark', 'Virus Shark' - the elite of one-star films. This one, however, doesn't quite fall into that elite level of awfulness.

You're here for one reason: because you love awful shark movies. Be kind to this one - it's not as bad. The plot is a shocker: did they know Megs existed, or were they purely a symptom of the testing? Nothing is explained.

The acting is a mixed bag: some of it is poor, some not so bad. I didn't dislike the Captain - she knew what she was doing.

Special effects range from poor to diabolical, but at least the ships looked really good. There's some chest-beating, some angry navy personnel (like "there's a gherkin in my burger" kind of anger), and the dialogue... it's not 'War and Peace'.

I'll be a little generous with the score, but compared to most shark B-movies, I've seen far worse. For a Chinese national, Dr. Lee's accent was surprisingly American.

4/10.