Wundersmith – The Calling of Morrigan Crow, by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow has turned 12 and it is time to begin her training at the Wundrous Society, along with her eight fellow students selected to join the elite of the elite. Students have their own special knack to be honed and trained by the Society to be useful to it and to the magical city of Nevermoor. Morrigan’s knack is to be a Wundersmith; there is only one other and he is evil and dangerous, so many Society members, including her peers, view Morrigan with suspicion and trepidation. Starting her training is awesome and nerve wracking enough, but Society members have been disappearing and Morrigan’s patron Jasper is too busy dealing with that mystery to be of much help to her. In this second book of the series Townsend seamlessly blends the new school trope with the magical mystery of fantastical Nevermoor, exploring themes of belonging and finding your tribe; fear of the other; and people living both up and down to expectations. It is clever, dark and funny, with Morrigan Crow proving a worthy successor to Harry Potter in the YA fantasy stakes.

Lethal White, by Robert Galbraith

The events of this latest novel of private investigator Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin take place a year after the last one. But there is a preamble that follows on directly after the previous novel, which explains the fraught nature of their personal and professional relationship. Set against the backdrop of the London Olympics, Strike’s latest investigation is kicked off by an encounter with a young man who has serious mental health issues. A parallel investigation reveals that Billy's story intersects with political intrigue, blackmail and privilege. As in the previous books the geography of London is almost a character in itself and the there is such an interesting take on modern life in the UK, with its class divisions and historically entrenched attitudes. Lethal White is a tome of more than 600 pages, but nevertheless is an easy read. It helps that sidekick Robin is not brutalised – at least not physically as she was in the first three instalments. The ending is a bit of a letdown, swamped in unlikely exposition and the obligatory threat to Robin’s life, which is a pity after a long, well-constructed lead-up.

Captain Marvel (2019), directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck

There is a lot to like about the first female-led superhero movie in the Marvel franchise. Brie Larsen is warm and witty, strong and vulnerable in the title role. The supporting cast, including Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn and Annette Bening, is uniformly good. It has a killer 90s soundtrack, some clever misdirection about who are heroes and who are villains and a very funny cat. Yet somehow the sum is less than the total of its parts. It’s difficult to identify exactly what doesn’t work. There is an over reliance on CGI from early on and a ton of exposition. Some clunky dialogue and laboured hit and miss humour takes you out of the film rather than sweeping you away with the magic of it. But there is a nice exploration of female friendship and a strong girl power theme that is satisfying to anyone sick of the Hollywood macho ballfest. And we do find out how Fury lost his eye. So overall it’s an ok lead-in to Avengers: Endgame – coming real soon to a cinema near you.

Songwoman, by Ilke Tampke

This sequel to Daughter of Albion Tampke continues the story of journeywoman Ailia, now acknowledged Kendra to the tribes of ancient Britain. Ailia emerges from a long period of mourning to join the campaign of war chief Caradog against the Roman invasion of Albion. She was mourning the loss of her tribe to Roman slaughter and the loss of her love, Taleisin, to the cruel games of the Mothers she represents as the Kendra. So she is keen to learn and develop her skills and aid Caradog in his quest to unite the remaining tribes against their common enemy. Ailia once again struggles to maintain credibility among her fellow druid class, who are resentful of her growing power and influence and she didn’t bargain on falling in love with the war chief. Based on historical accounts of the Roman invasion of Britain, Tampke does a great job of using a solid and credible base as the jumping off point for an inspiring heroine in a cracking adventure. Wracked with self-doubt, Ailia manages to rise above her many challenges to influence her people and maintain their essential connection to the land. Credulity is stretched a touch with her journey to Rome, but the strong evocation of her spiritual link to the mountains and forests of Albion permeates the entire tale.

On the Basis of Sex (2018), directed by Mimi Leder

This would have been a difficult story to bring to life because so much of it depends on dry legal arguments. The filmmakers over compensate for this by overemphasising the emotional aspects of the Ginsberg story. Felicity Jones is very good in the title role of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Armie Hammer is impossibly handsome as her husband Marty, which adds to his rather too good to be true persona. To do justice to Bader Ginsburg’s story would really need a mini series, rather than a film, because there is just too much to cram into two hours. The film focuses on two main time periods – the late 1950s when she is at law school and the early 1970s when she breaks out of academia and starts her fight for gender equality under the law. It is an important story, worth telling, especially as Ginsberg’s time on the Supreme Court must be drawing to a close. Her remarkable achievements should be celebrated and, more importantly, preserved as conservative forces seek to erode them. This movie does a so-so job of this, but is at least a good starting point to finding out about her.

Holding, by Graham Norton

A body is found on a farm outside a small Irish town and generations’ old secrets are unearthed with it. The premise is strong, the characters mildly interesting, but the writing is pedestrian and banal, with acres of exposition weighing it down and sloppy research detracting from the historical elements. Each plot twist is telegraphed well ahead so there are few surprises as it is all totally predictable. An unlikely love triangle replicating one from the past is possibly meant to be darkly funny, but just induces eye rolls. Quirkiness just isn’t enough. In short, stick to the comedy chat show hosting Graham.

Sing Street (2016), directed by John Carney

For 1980s music tragics there is much to love about this film. Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, The Cure, The Jam and Ah-Ha are all dominant influences on the nascent career of Conor Lalor. Struggling at a new school, he starts a band to impress a girl so she can appear in the music videos. The original songs develop beautifully along with the main character, gaining strength and depth as he does. The relationship between the misfit boys in the band, especially songwriters Conor and Eamon, is nicely developed in an understated way. But Conor’s muse, enigmatic wild child Raphina, remains a fantasy figure for most of the film – we don’t even learn her name until more than half way through. This is all about the boys. Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (!) is charming as Conor. Lucy Boynton does well in the difficult role of Raphina, but she looks too old for the part. Maria Doyle Kennedy and Aiden Gillen add a touch of star power as Conor’s parents. Darker subversive elements are lightly touched on – child abuse in the home and by Catholic Brothers; bullying; domestic violence and family breakdown. These elements underpin rather than define the story, which is largely amusing, touching and nostalgic without being sentimental. It is a pity then that the ending is pure trash, requiring total suspension of disbelief in a bridge and a boat too far.