Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (2022), directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

Evelyn is a frazzled Chinese-American woman, running a laundromat business, who is also dealing with an impending divorce, daddy issues, a difficult relationship with her daughter and an audit by the tax department. To add to her burdens she is contacted by an alternate version of her husband from a parallel universe for help combatting a threat to the multiverse. She must access the skills and experience of all her alternate selves to save the day, her marriage, her daughter and her business. This colourful action-packed film is completely bananas and thoroughly entertaining. It makes the most of the incomparable Michelle Yeoh, who is ably supported by Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. It must have been great fun for the actors, who get to play multiple versions of their characters. The extreme violence is executed in comic-book fashion and is mitigated by its absurdist elements and the ultimate message of love and kindness conquering all. At times, especially early on, it is hard to know what an earth is going on in this film, but it really is all there in the title.

Desperate Undertaking, by Lindsay Davies

Hot on the heels of her Saturnalia adventure, Flavia Albia continues her frenetic pace as an informer in ancient Rome - a private investigator solving crimes the authorities would rather ignore or cover up. In this case a series of particularly gruesome staged murders link back to her parents’ early adventures in Syria. It’s always good to read about Falco, even if his appearance is off-stage. As has been the case in the last few books about Flavia Albia, this story gets bogged down in excessive description of Roman geography, history and architecture. This contrasts with earlier books, especially in the Falco series, which give fascinating insights into various aspects of Roman society that sit lightly beneath the story. It's a pity, because Albia is a great character with an interesting life. Her stories would be more entertaining if the character interactions were fleshed out more than the streetscape.

She Said (2022), directed by Maria Schrader

In 2016-17 New York Times investigative reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor uncovered decades of sexual abuse and bullying by powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. They also exposed the toxic system of cover-up and silencing by his company Miramax and the wider film industry, that enabled him to get away with it for so long. Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are credible as the dedicated journalists, who persisted despite threats and stonewalling and the fear of victims who can’t or won’t go on the record. The supporting cast includes Patricia Clarkson and Andre Braugher as their supportive bosses and Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Morton and Ashley Judd, playing herself, as the brave women who came forward with evidence. Their work contributed to Weinstein’s jailing, as well as exposure and amendment of the egregious system of Non-Disclosure Agreements. This is a solid film that tells an important story of an element of the Me Too movement and of a rare case of accountability and justice in this arena.

Exiles, by Jane Harper

The mother of a six-week-old baby, Kim Gillespie disappeared on opening night of a food festival in South Australia’s wine country. Presumed drowned in a nearby reservoir, her body was never recovered. Australian Federal Police officer Aaron Falk was there at the time for a christening, but couldn’t help solve the mystery. Returning a year later for the long-postponed christening Aaron finds himself drawn into a close-knit group of family and friends, who may be hiding some deep dark secrets. This third and final outing of Aaron Falk has a very different regional setting from the previous two, which obscures rather than underpins the central mystery. The story of the investigation is interspersed with substantial flashbacks that illuminate Falk’s involvement with the story and its protagonists. A satisfying whodunnit, there is rather too much detailed exposition after the killer is revealed. An unlikely fairytale ending comes with resolution of a subplot mystery that has been well-telegraphed, making it a little anticlimactic. It is nevertheless a satisfying farewell to Falk and it will be interesting to see if it makes a trilogy of films as well as books.

The Golden Enclaves

The last student to escape the Scholomance graduation bloodbath, El is back in Wales with her mum, desperately trying to extract Orion from the consequences of his foolish heroics. Wallowing in failure and heartbreak, El then discovers that her parents were responsible for summoning the Golden Stone sutras that can help to build clean Enclaves of safety for wizards. In doing this, they unwittingly cursed their unborn child – her. But despite El and her friends having lured most of the world’s mals to their doom, something is attacking Enclaves. El is also determined to return to the Scholomance to put Orion out of his misery and along the way discovers that his parents are responsible for his fate. Can she overcome the powers ranged against her and find a way to heal and redeem something from the debacle wrought by maleficent magic? She has to travel far and wide for the answer to that and to solve the mystery of the black heart of the Enclaves and the reality of her destiny. This final lesson of the Scholomance goes to some surprising places and poses some interesting moral dilemmas for El and her allies. Turns out that good versus evil is rarely a black and white issue. This is complex dark fantasy, with satisfyingly imperfect characters and motivations.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever! (2022), directed by Ryan Coogler

Wakanda is in mourning following the death of its King, T’Challa, and its future is in limbo. With the heart herb destroyed there is no way to anoint a new Black Panther and the nation is under siege for its Vibranium. Suddenly a new threat emerges, with another source of the precious resource discovered. The undersea God-Kingdom of Talocan wants Wakanda as an ally against the surface world to protect their mutual interests. Princess Shuri must choose between revenge and redemption to determine Wakanda’s future path. This is very much a female-led film, which makes for more interesting action sequences. It contains a moving tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman that fits perfectly within the story. Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o and Angela Bassett are solid performers and there are fun cameos from the likes of Michaela Cole and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. As ever with Marvel films it is too long, with some story inconsistencies skated over by the action. But it is entertaining, with unexpected depths it its exploration of grief on both an individual and national level.

Lies Sleeping, by Ben Aaronovitch

Now a detective, Peter Grant is a key member of the task force trying to thwart the twisted ambitions of Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man. The action is all centred around St Paul’s, in the heart of the City of London, with Chorley trying to harness the power of an ancient vengeful spirit. Can Peter persuade former colleague Lesley to repudiate her allegiance to the dark side and help defeat it, or will she double down? The Met has finally thrown substantial resources at the Folly – magic HQ, but all that Peter loves is at risk and it will take all of his alliances to overcome this most formidable adversary. The fight takes even more of a toll than usual, but there is promise for the future too, both personally and professionally.