By Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada   Quirky twenty-something underachiever Jane gets fired from her job for being too quirky and underachieving and has to come up with a way of earning a living that doesn't involve having to be on time or doing any actual work. For the spoilt child of...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel Russia’s increasing global belligerence raises concerns in most, but not all quarters. One part of America in particular is likely to relish the return of the old enemy. For Hollywood, there will be no need to drag out hard to locate Islamic terrorists, bland corporate villains...

Since his quirky supernatural TV show Being Human became a smash hit for BBC3 in 2008 (making stars of its leads Aiden Turner, Lenora Crichlow and Russell Tovey in the process) writer Toby Whithouse’s career has gone from strength to strength. His latest glossy six-part drama, The Game, was lauded...

By Emma Silverthorn, @HouseOf_Gazelle Don’t go to Umami for the ambience - the restaurant is on the first floor of a Crowne Plaza Hotel - and though ‘Smooth Jazz’ was advertised, the music sounded more like muzak to me. The décor is certainly aiming for stylish contemporary but could be better...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel Amy Poehler is on the up. She’s already emerged as a comedy superstar in America off the back of a number of high profile gigs including Saturday Night Live, the lead role in hit sitcom Parks and Recreation, and as a highly lauded host, along with...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel At least Ruth & Alex knows its strengths, opening with a patented Morgan Freeman voiceover, before offering the gentle pleasures of Freeman and Diane Keaton hanging out together in New York. It hardly makes up for the mess on display elsewhere as a tangle of sub-plots...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel With Pixar’s quite brilliant back catalogue comes great expectation. When they’ve raised the bar and leapt over it so many times before, each new release has to approach masterpiece status just to avoid disappointment. After a fallow half decade since Toy Story 3 (2010), a period that...

By Ellery Nick @Ellery_Nick With the eyebrow-raising presence of Caitlyn Jenner in our mainstream news, it would seem a timely moment to hear the story of a transgender parent wrestling with her identity. But, away from the snapping of courageous photos and din of mass trolling, it is a work...

By Toby Venables @TobyVenables There’s a great moment in Dead Rising: Watchtower when the hero Chase attempts to dispatch a zombified cop in an trash-strewn alleyway. At one end, zombie hordes are moments away from bursting through the gates. At the other, a hideous zombie clown shuffles towards him, dragging...