Critical Week: Head over heels

The weather warmed up considerably in London during the week, but has reverted back to near-wintry just in time for the long weekend, which perhaps will drive up cinema attendance. There was a big romcom this week, with Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine in The Idea of You, an unusually well-written movie that's smart and very sexy. But we're now officially in blockbuster season, with a major release each week for the next few months. This week's big movie was The Fall Guy, a meta-action comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. It's hugely entertaining, even if it's not quite as funny as it should be.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Love Lies Bleeding • The Idea of You
The Lost Boys • Evil Does Not Exist
Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry
Blue Giant • Jeanne du Barry • Drifter
ALL REVIEWS >

I also caught this week's big online release Unfrosted, Jerry Seinfeld's outrageously silly retelling of the birth of the Pop Tart, which is riotously packed with enjoyable cameos. Josh O'Connor stars in the offbeat Italian drama La Chimera, which is magical in the way it plays with the past and present. Lea Seydoux and George MacKay are terrific in The Beast, a freak-out with several fiendishly clever futuristic twists. There was also the photogenic German romp Lassie: A New Adventure, which is enjoyably predictable. From Argentina, the tango-infused Adios Buenos Aires tells an involving story about personal connections. And from England, the observant, charming doc Much Ado About Dying traces the final four years in the life of an eccentric actor.

I've got several films to watch over the coming week, including an Imax screening of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Rebel Wilson in The Almond and the Seahorse, Ashley Judd in Lazareth, Mira Sorvino in The Image of You, the Hong Kong action thriller Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, the action-comedy Hazard and the Guatemalan drama Our Mothers.

Screen: December TV Roundup

Festivals and awards season have taken a toll on my schedule, but I keep watching episodes of TV series as punctuation between the movies. It's amazing how much you can get through just watching an episode or two here or there. Some of the series below started back in the summer, and others dropped in binge-worthy bundles just in time for a free weekend. But there were several shows I simply didn't have time to watch, such as House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power and The English, to name three...

O H   T H E   D R A M A

The White Lotus: series 2 
Shifting to Italy with only the awesome Jennifer Coolidge's Tanya as a returning character, writer-director Mike White gets even more ambitious this time around. Enormous themes, ideas and even plot points are hidden in between the dialog and situations, offering constant moments of discovery for the audience. And just enough remains ambiguous to keep our brains spinning. It's still a story about haves and have-nots, but this time the lines are even more fiendishly blurred. And the first-rate cast includes Aubrey Plaza, F Murray Abraham, Theo James, Tom Hollander, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Imperioli and Will Sharpe. Provocative, unmissable television. (HBO)

The Crown: series 5
It's all change once again for this series, which follows the British royal family into the 1990s with Imelda Staunton now playing Queen Elizabeth. Appropriately, she's a bit more aloof than before, although this makes the show far less engaging. This also leaves her in the background as episodes centre more on Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and Charles (Dominic West), plus a very odd episode that spirals away to tell the story of Mohamed Al-Fayed (Salim Daw). But the show is still immaculately produced and beautifully acted across the board. And it finds intriguing angles on things like press intrusion and the collapse of the Soviet Union. (Netflix)

The Handmaid's Tale: series 5 
Diving even further into darkly disturbing thriller territory, this show is unafraid to send its characters into some properly horrific corners, although it perhaps seems a bit odd that almost all of them are still alive considering the hideous violence all around them. Elisabeth Moss continues to shine as June, and she directed a few belting episodes as well. She's now in exile in Canada with her husband (O-T Fagbenle), but still intricately involved in the goings-on in Gilead, especially with Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) and the now-more-sinister Joseph (Bradley Whitford). In its penultimate season, the stakes are getting higher, and characters continue to get more complicated. So bring it on. (Hulu)

The Sandman
Ambitiously adapting Neil Gaiman's darkly complex comic book, this series is visually stunning, with an excellent ensemble cast circling around a skilfully nuanced Tom Sturridge as Lord Morpheus, the ruler of the Dreaming. The show's structure, which sees Morpheus trying to restore order after he's released from a century of captivity, involves frequent shifts in settings and tone, veering from wacky comedy to grim horror to wrenching drama. This makes it feel uneven at times, but each scene is dazzling. And when you have ace costars like Gwendoline Christie, David Thewlis, Charles Dance, Joely Richardson and John Cameron Mitchell on hand, it's impossible to look away. (Netflix)

Andor 
Oddly dry and dull, this Star Wars series is a prequel to the 2016 film Rogue One, shifting between bickering officials in the Empire and the bickering rebels who are trying to undermine them. While it's enjoyably layered and intriguing, the narrative is scattered over a wide range of characters, each of whom has something interesting to do. But even with a terrific cast, no one emerges as a person who is terribly engaging. Even Diego Luna, in the pivotal role, feels like a side character. While expertly staged the action sequences seem oddly random, and the plot's spiralling political machinations remain rather clinical. So let's hope for a more personal approach in the second season. (Disney) 

The Resort
I was intrigued because this show was created by Andy Siara (Palm Springs) and has a cool cast that includes William Jackson Harper, Cristin Milioti, Skyler Gisondo and the always fabulous Nick Offerman. A sometimes remarkably dark mix of comedy and fantasy, the story centres around a holiday resort in the Yucatan and two young people who went missing 15 years earlier. Then tantalising clues hint that there's time travel involved. The gradually unfolding mystery is engaging, but it's the edgy humour and continuous stream of quirky characters that keeps us entertained. So there's a slightly bittersweet tone as things begin to come together, because we know this will mean that the gang will break up. Then the conclusion suggests that there's more to come. (Peacock)

Elite: series 6
This guilty-pleasure drama from Spain continues to get darker, nastier and more convoluted. And also repetitive. After killing off another central character, the teens continue to indulge in drugs and partying while occasionally attending school. This time they're grappling with horrific violence in the form of a vicious public outing, attempted hit-and-run murder, drug-fuelled gang rape and homophobic murder, among other things. Yes, what these kids are dealing with is extremely grim, and the fact that they're all wildly wealthy doesn't help them at all. It leaves us hoping there's a glimmer of hope in the next season. (Netflix)

J U S T   F O R   L A U G H S

Only Murders in the Building: series 2 
After setting up a new mystery at the end of the first season, this show slides effortlessly into back into its groove, with a confident storytelling approach that's even more engaging. The writing crackles with wit, including continuous references to the difficulty of ramping things up for a second season of the eponymous podcast. All three leads (Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez) add amusing wrinkles to their characters as they interact with a collection of properly ridiculous people. In addition, the central mystery is genuinely knotted and intriguing, offering lots of twists, turns and scene-stealing moments for the fabulously hammy cast. (Hulu)

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law 
Marvel stays in sitcom mode (see also Ms Marvel) for this refreshingly silly series starring Tatiana Maslany as the cousin of Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, who is inadvertently infected with his blood and develops her own distinct giant green alter-ego. Hilariously, she hates the name "She-Hulk", as she should, and the show centres on her efforts to live a normal life as a lawyer, as if she could. Some of her antics are a bit gimmicky, such as trying to date as either Jennifer or She-Hulk, but the show is grounded by her relationships with friends, family and of course her various super-powered clients (including Tim Roth and Megan Thee Stallion). Maslany has a wonderful offhanded charm in the role, although She-Hulk's digital design is somewhat iffy. (Disney) 

The Bear
An unusually edgy tone makes this comedy-drama remarkably riveting, as it charges through a situation that never quite feels under control. Set in Chicago, it's anchored by another powerful performance by Jeremy Allen White (see also Shameless) as a disgraced world-class chef who returns home to run his family's sandwich shop. Clashes abound with relatives (including the fearlessly abrasive Ebon Moss-Bacharach) and employees, and everywhere else for that matter. Ayo Edebiri shines as a young genius who joins the team. But then the entire cast is strikingly realistic, as is the claustrophobic mayhem in the kitchen. (FX)

What We Do in the Shadows: series 4
After ramping things up in the previous season, it's been fun to watch the heightened craziness boil over in various directions in these episodes. The writers continue to gleefully lampoon a range of societal issues, with added nuttiness as Nandor (Kayvan Novak) is granted a series of wishes by a slippery djinn (Anoop Desai), Guillermo (Harvey Guillen) starts taking a stand for himself, and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) is reborn as a bratty kid. These episodes progress at a remarkably brisk pace, throwing all kinds of nuttiness into the mix, with Nandor remarrying his favourite wife (Parisa Fakhri) and Nadja (Nastasia Demetriou) opening a nightclub, both with predictably messy results. (FX)

Acapulco: series 2
This brightly inventive comedy further develops its now-and-then plot strands by sending Eugenio Derbez's Maximo to Mexico with his nephew (Raphael Alejandro) while reminiscing about his adventures as a young man (Enrique Arrizon). Much of the story centres around romantic complications this time, including a big Valentine's Day episode that makes particularly good use of the show's candy-hued nostalgic colour palette. A bit of intrigue emerges this season as well. But what sets this show apart is its terrific depth for such comical characters, strongly complex relationships and some deeper themes in subplots involving diversity and gossip. (Apple)

Reboot 
There's a lot to like about this gimmicky comedy, with sees Hannah (Rachel Bloom) set out to revive the vintage sitcom her father (Paul Reiser) turned into a hit a couple of decades ago. As the reuniting original cast members, Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Knoxville, Judy Greer and Calum Worthy have a lot of fun with their seriously messy characters. The interaction between them is gleefully soapy, making pointed jokes about the television and film industries and the nature of being an actor. And while it leans heavily toward both goofy and sentimental moments, there's enough knowing realism to make it genuinely hilarious. (Hulu)

Smiley
The title may refer to the emoticon, but it's also indicative of the tone of this Spanish comedy, which keeps the audience happy with its sometimes simplistic romcom tale about two men who seem completely wrong for each other and yet still click. Carlos Cuevas and Miki Esparbé are terrific in the roles, as a sexy bartender and a slightly nerdy architect who know that having a relationship won't work, but of course they can't resist each other. Their circle of friends is unusually sparky for a series like this, taking the show in some refreshingly offbeat directions. And the complexity of the situation gives the comedy an unusually unpredictable tone. (Netflix)

Inside Amy Schumer: series 5
For the fifth season, this sketch show comes back with five episodes that are tightly written and performed to take on specific themes. While poking fun at everyday life, the media and politics, the scenes dig more deeply into the way we react to these things. So everything strikes a nerve, and it's expertly played by Schumer and her terrific ensemble of costars, including Tim Meadows and Cara Delevingne, plus witty music from Ron Weiner. Most impressive is the momentum these episodes build as they go along, almost creating an overall narrative that touches on topics we all grapple with. And Schumer's unapologetic approach is engaging and refreshing. (MTV)

T H A T ' S   A L L   F O L K S

Kevin Can F**k Himself: series 2 
Annie Murphy is back for a second and final season of this offbeat hybrid sitcom/thriller, which feels much darker this time around. Even the studio-audience sequences have a bleak edge to them, as Murphy's Allison continues to try to escape her hellish marriage to the goofball Kevin (Eric Petersen), this time plotting with her pal Patty (Mary Hollis Inboden) to fake her own death. The mix between the bleak comedy and pitch-black drama feels a little forced now, but the point the show is making about male and female perspectives is provocative and important. And where the story goes is genuinely involving, and chilling too. (AMC)

Dead to Me: series 3
Lively and more than a little absurd, this comedy thriller series concludes with a snaky series of episodes in which our heroines (Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini) desperately scramble to avoid trouble with the police, even as they become increasingly entangled with them for a variety of random reasons. We also get the return of James Marsden, as the twin brother of the late Steve. And the show's dance with death continues through a cancer diagnosis. But at its heart, this is the story of an unexpected friendship, and Applegate and Cardellini make it hugely enjoyable even when the plot begins to get very silly indeed. (Netflix)

I   G I V E   U P

Quantum Leap 
From 1989 to 1993, this zippy time-travel series was a guilty pleasure, so it's almost surprising that it took three decades to reboot it. Alas, the writing this time is abysmal, including the feeble attempt to create an ensemble cast and the painfully undercooked adventures as Ben (Raymond Lee) leaps from period to period. Scripts aren't rooted in even the most cursory logic or detail, leaving it impossible to connect with, so I stopped trying. (NBC)

NOW WATCHING: Welcome to Chippendales, Marie-Antoinette, Abbott Elementary (2), His Dark Materials (3), Young Rock (3), The Conners (5).

COMING SOON: That 90s Show, Shrinking, Extrapolations, Ted Lasso (3), Star Trek: Picard (3), The Mandalorian (3).

Previous roundup: AUGUST 2022 >

Critical Week: We need a hug

After a film festival, I enjoy things quieting down a bit. But we're now in awards season, which means that the for your consideration screenings have started up. At least this means that movies are generally of a much higher quality than usual. So it's the weekly releases that bring us back to earth and remind us what the public is more used to watching than fabulous foreign masterpieces. Speaking of which, I watched Pedro Almodovar's latest festival darling Parallel Mothers, a glorious melodrama about mothers and daughters that has witty and darkly emotional elements, plus a hint of Hitchcockian intensity. And at the centre, Penelope Cruz is fantastic.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Mothering Sunday • Belfast
Keyboard Fantasies
PERHAPS AVOID:
Cry Macho • Red Notice
ALL REVIEWS >

I also enjoyed the retro joys of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a nearly 40-years-later sequel that includes cameos from the original cast alongside a likeable new ensemble led by Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon and the irresistible Paul Rudd. Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson are also fairly irresistible, but their new action comedy Red Notice is so derivative and lazy that it's hard to like. Tom Hanks is as great as always in Finch, a watchable post-apocalyptic drama that feels somewhat underpowered. And Clint Eastwood's waning steely charisma helps make Cry Macho bearable because its script is frankly awful.

A bit off the beaten track, Joaquin Phoenix is relaxed, warm and wonderful opposite staggeringly gifted young newcomer Woody Norman in the gently comedy-drama C'mon C'mon. Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer and Steven Yeun shine among the excellent six-person cast of The Humans, a stagey drama that roots around in the concept of being a family in America. And the engagingly bristling German drama Blurred Lines sends its two energetic teen protagonists on a momentous trip to Istanbul.

This coming week, I'll be watching Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Andrew Garfield in Tick Tick Boom, Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Hide and Seek, Spanish romance Isaac, Celine Sciamma's Petit Maman and the doc Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time.

Critical Week: Own it

Among films screened to the London press this past week was Amy Schumer's new film I Feel Pretty, which is bound to get a mixed response for a variety of reasons. It may not quite be funny enough, but its message is complex and empowering. Less complex, the latest weepy teen romance is Every Day, which at least has a premise that catches the imagination. And it's a solidly made movie for what it is. And then there's Show Dogs, a talking dog action comedy that's flat-out ridiculous and knows it. So it's rather a lot of silly fun.

More serious fare included the true drama Entebbe, recounting the hijacking and commando raid in 1976 Uganda from so many perspectives that the overall effect is somewhat dulled. The intense French drama Jeune Femme features a fierce performance from Laetitia Dosch. And there were two docs: Studio 54 features amazing footage and photographs as it tells, for the first time, the firsthand account of the friends who founded the iconic disco, and Time Trial is an immersive, superbly shot and edited look at cyclist David Millar's attempt at a comeback.

Coming up this week, we have the seriously anticipated Avengers: Infinity War, starring pretty much everyone in the Marvel universe, plus Charlize Theron in Tully, John Hurt in That Good Night, the animated comedy Sherlock Gnomes, the horror thriller The Strangers: Prey at Night and Bruce LaBruce's The Misandrists.

Critical Week: Queens of the jungle

A few big Hollywood movies screened for the London press over the past week, including Snatched, the mother-daughter kidnapping romp starring Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer. It's silly enough to be a guilty pleasure, but could have been a lot more. Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron lead the charge in the goofy action-comedy movie version of the iconic TV series Baywatch. And Charlie Hunnam takes the lead in Guy Ritchie's entertaining and somewhat rushed approach to King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

Meanwhile, Dominic Cooper struggles to elevate the terrorism thriller Stratton above B-movie status. Much better were a couple of foreign movies: from China, I Am Not Madame Bovary is a fiendishly clever exploration of social connection and darker motivations, while Machines is a riveting, relevant, gorgeously shot documentary about workers in an Indian fabric factory.

Coming up this next week, while many London-based critics have decamped to the South of France for the Cannes Film Festival, we will catch up with Johnny Depp's fifth turn as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge (aka Dead Men Tell No Tales), Chris Evans' drama Gifted, the Scottish biopic Tommy's Honour, the animated adventure Monster Island, the Mexican rom-com Wild Awakening and the shorts compilation Boys on Film 16: Possession.

Requisite Blog Photo: Ecuador here we come

Shadows on the Screen: Autumn TV roundup

Summer is a great time to binge-watch television series, offering a nice escape from film critic work: I don't have to pay close attention to plot gyrations or characters names, or assign a star rating. And I can watch what I want, so I tend to avoid violence-based series for more character-centred ones. Best of all is the ability to squeeze in a half-hour comedy between writing reviews and watching a movie for work. Here's how I cleared my head over the summer...

NEW DRAMA

Sense8

Beautifully shot and edited, with a powerful emotional kick, the Wachowskis' ambitious 12-part drama weaves together eight plots involving people around the world who have a sentient connection with each other. It was all rather elusive, only barely explaining what was going on as the eight storylines plus an overall Heroes-like supervillain plot inched along at an infuriatingly slow pace. More interaction between the characters might have made it even more engaging, as each central figure was strikingly well played by actors we'd like to see a lot more of on either the big or small screen. Particularly, Miguel Angel Silvestre shines in the most complex, interesting role; Max Riemelt reveals a remarkably magnetic screen presence; and Tuppence Middleton was terrific in a devastating role. But it would be nice if the plot increases its pace in the second series.

Wayward Pines

This 10-episode series starts out like Twin Peaks, then veers sharply into Lost territory before becoming a more schlocky sci-fi thriller. It's a lot of fun, thanks to first-rate production design and committed performances by Matt Dillon, Melissa Leo, Carla Gugino, Shannyn Sossaman, Hope Davis and especially Toby Jones, seriously unnerving as an obsessive visionary. It's shot and edited very cleverly, maintaining some serious tension even when the story goes completely off the rails. Frankly, as the gunplay increases the show gets less and less enjoyable, so by the end the violence begins to eclipse the more intriguing drama that went before. But the cast makes it gripping.

The Flash

Since Arrow is one of my guilty pleasures, I thought I should catch up with the spin-off series over the summer. It's certainly a lot of breezy fun, lighter and faster-paced than Arrow, but with the same combination of over-complicated characters, contrived plotting and simplified action sequences. Grant Gustin makes a likeable lead, especially in his scenes with the wonderful Jesse L Martin. And the surrounding cast members really grow on us, something we notice when their lives are threatened. Yes, as with Arrow, the series regulars aren't remotely safe. Clearly these producers have a tendency to turn things very dark indeed, but they also work at keeping this show enjoyably buoyant between the big emotional bits.

Stitchers

Yet another TV series with a nutty fantastical gimmick, this show demonstrates the usual screenwriting that pretends to be smart but is actually simplistic and rather silly. It's also a lot of fun to watch, as it throws a handful of likeable characters into a series of mysteries, all centring on the idea that someone can be "stitched" into the fading memories of someone who has recently died. The crime-solving aspects of the show are fun, while the overarching story begins to bog down in coincidences and complications that are clearly designed to drag things on from season to season. The cast is sharp and young and energetic, all ludicrously thin and fit for top scientist nerds. But their relationships are worth rooting for, and these 10 episodes end on a huge cliffhanger guaranteed to bring viewers back for series 2.

NEW COMEDY

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

This riotously gimmicky comedy reassembles the starry cast of the 2001 cult hit movie, including Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, Janeane Garofalo, Ken Marino, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Christopher Meloni, et al. Plus Jon Hamm, Lake Bell, Kristen Wiig, Chris Pine, Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman and more. The joke here is that they're all playing the same characters - teen summer camp counsellors - on the first day of camp (as opposed to the film, which is set on the last day). And the casting turns out to be an inspired touch, since the pre-teen campers see these 17-year-old leaders as grown-ups, even though they're anything but. Like the movie, the series is packed with random plot threads, throwing jokes and references at the screen constantly in the hopes that some of them stick. And yes, it's hilarious.

The Brink

A terrific cast and some very sharp writing give this political black comedy an entertaining edge, as it focusses on Jack Black's idiotic diplomat causing chaos in Pakistan, exacerbated by two downed pilots (Pablo Schreiber and Eric Ladin) who are captured by a pair of freaky black market antiques dealers (the hilarious Rob Brydon and Michelle Gomez). Meanwhile, Tim Robbins' Secretary of State freewheels through his job, barely managing to just diffuse World War III but never bothering to keep his libido in check. Aasif Mandvi is also superb as the only character who seems to see that all of this is utterly nuts. The events unfold from episode to episode with a random sense of momentum, flickering around to a variety of characters and set-pieces that don't all seem to fit together, but there's always a sense that the writers have a bigger picture in mind. And where it goes is both funny and jaggedly pointed.

Ballers

There's just a hint of underlying honesty to this pro-sports comedy, because otherwise all of the macho posturing would be unbearable. Dwayne Johnson is well-cast as an ex-footballer trying to make a go of things as a sports manager, and his misfit clients (including John David Washington, Omar Benson Miller and Donovan W Carter) are both amusing and endearingly pathetic. As is his accountant partner, the always brilliant Rob Corddry. Oddly, the show seems to not realise that it's main commentary is about uneducated athletes who suddenly earn a fortune and don't have the smarts to deal with it. Instead, the show focusses on their silly decisions as they continually get themselves in trouble, relying on Johnson and Corddry to rescue them. Even though they often need rescuing themselves. But the relentless misogynistic masculinity is ultimately exhausting. Which shouldn't be surprising for a series from the producers of Entourage.

The Spoils Before Dying

In the style of the iconic 1982 series Police Squad, this deadpan genre spoof is hosted by Will Ferrell in an Orson Welles-like role as a disgraced filmmaker presenting his lost 1959 masterpiece, the eponymous noir mystery starring Michael Kenneth Williams as a jazz musician who has three days to clear his name. The all-star cast includes Kristen Wiig, Michael Sheen, Maya Rudolph, Haley Joel Osment and Berenice Marlohe, with cameos galore. It's utterly absurd, and far too mannered to work on any real level. But for every broad gag that isn't remotely funny, there's a throwaway line that's deeply inspired. Frankly, it's amazing that they got the money together to make something this ridiculous.

BACK FOR MORE

Inside Amy Schumer: series 3

As she took on her first big-screen writing and starring project with Judd Apatow's Trainwreck, I finally had a chance to binge watch all three series of her TV show, which mixes Chelsea Handler's comical sensibilities with some surprising acting chops. It's a clever combination of sketch humour, chat show and stand-up, with Schumer essentially playing herself (she's always named "Amy", as indeed she is in Trainwreck) in a variety of scenarios, many of which are set in her actual life as a TV comic. And there are big laughs laced through each half-hour episode, bolstered by Schumer's willingness to push the boundaries of what's always been considered acceptable on television. Her frankness about sex is especially refreshing, as is her celebration of things most people would consider deeply wrong. The 12 Angry Men pastiche this season was especially inspired. And delightfully profane.

Vicious: series 2

Produced like a British 1970s sitcom, the retro style of this comedy is extremely jarring, as excellent actors Ian McKellan, Derek Jacobi, Iwan Rheon and Frances de la Tour ham it up mercilessly for an audience that seems willing to laugh at absolutely anything. It's so cheaply made that it's impossible to engage with properly (the dance competition episode was especially inane in this sense, as there were no contestants aside from the series regulars). And yet the script manages to surprise us with moments of honesty that seem to come out of nowhere, especially as Freddie and Stuart legally formalised their tetchy relationship after more than 50 years together. It's written as a stupid, simple-minded farce, but the occasional glimmer of depth makes it watchable.

Masters of Sex: series 3

This show departs from its biopic origins, now heavily fictionalising the lives of William Masters and Virginia Johnson (Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan). This has the effect of sidelining their scientific achievements in lieu of more standard television melodrama, which requires the viewer to take a rather enormous leap. Without the underpinnings of real life or science, the show feels oddly uninteresting, as the excellent actors struggle to maintain the intriguing layers of their characters in these more simplistic, formulaic scripts. And the strangest thing is that the show is no longer sexy at all. It's still produced to a very high standard, but without the zing of real-life, it feels rather pointless. We have plenty of dramas about marital infidelity, but not many that are fiercely honest about sex.

True Detective: series 2

With a new cast, story and L.A. setting, this follow-up season has very little resemblance to the first. And that's a problem, because the case it traces is messy but not very interesting, only watchable because it brings three disparate cops (Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Taylor Kitsch) together to solve a murder. Each of them has personal issues that basically stem from self-hatred, which makes them difficult to sympathise with. And the shadowy businessman played by Vince Vaughn is equally unlikeable. So what's left? There are some stunningly staged set-pieces along the way, like the astonishingly awful gunfight in episode 4. And the mystery feels knotted and messy, although it's actually about as complex as a Murder She Wrote episode stretched to 10 hours.

Now it's autumn and we have a slew of new and returning series to distract us. I'm most looking forward to seeing if Empire can maintain its spark, if Fargo can strike gold again, and if Downton Abbey can go out with a bang. Plus more of comedy favourites like Transparent, You're the Worst and Please Like Me.

Critical Week: I'll be right here

It was a bit of a mixed bag of screenings this past week, with a variety of expectations leading to so-so movies. Paper Towns has a terrific lead in Nat Wolff, with plenty of presence from Cara Delevingne, but the story never quite develops into anything truly meaningful. Amy Schumer brings her distinct brand of comedy to the big-screen in Trainwreck, with a superior leading-man performance from Bill Hader, but the script hedges too many bets, ultimately winding up as a standard rom-com. And Pixels proves that Adam Sandler needs to take a long break and work out if he wants to make movies anymore. According to this evidence, he gave up long ago.

More intriguing, The Lobster is the latest bit of amazing weirdness from Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth), a pointed relationship satire with Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and Ben Whishaw. Max is a predictably slushy boy-and-his-dog movie sideswiped by an unnecessary arms-trade thriller subplot. Captain Webb is an enjoyably quirky low-budget British drama about the first man to swim the Channel, in 1875, but the narrative is pointlessly fragmented. From Ukraine, Stand is a harrowing Moscow-set drama about the result of government-sponsored bigotry against gay men. And the documentary Unity blends 100 starry narrators into a swirling collage about the meaning of humanity, concluding that we should all be vegetarians.

This coming week we have Michael Fassbender as Macbeth, Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong in The Program, and very, very late press screenings for the superhero remake Fantastic Four, the 60s-TV inspired action romp The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and the Monty Python gang's alien-invasion comedy Absolutely Anything.