The trailer for this one seemed amusing enough for us to give it a watch although I did have some misgivings. We liked Ted, but I'm always slightly wary when someone writes and stars and directs in things - as though no one else was really bothered about the project.

I gave it four episodes, and in the end I'm going to have to admit that Peter Capaldi's Doctor - so far - is not for me. The first episode I had to give the benefit of the doubt because it was a regeneration episode, one in which the characters were finding their feet and getting to know each other all over again. The second episode was instantly forgettable - …

My interest in forts, bunkers and castles is well-documented, and recently I managed to squeeze in a visit to another place of interest that falls into this category. Somehow, it is both fort and castle, as Hurst Castle on the south coast was initially a Tudor dwelling, converted into a sea defending fort during the war. The castle is at the end of long shingle walkway that takes it out …

I had sort of been saving it for a special occasion, but actually, in the end, it just felt like the right time to watch it again. It was all the brilliant things I remembered - great characters, far-fetched but wonderful story, and fab one-liners. And if it reduced me to tears when I was hard-hearted, I was in floods this time.

This film was a lot of fun, very entertaining and a great story that we thought was going to be one thing but that then turned into another. I liked the backstory, explaining how he became an analyst and then emerged from behind his desk to become an action hero again. It made a lot more sense than 'oh, I have found myself on a submarine, how odd.'

I loved it! Amazingly, despite being a film that is all about technology, it didn't age that badly at all. The upscaling to HD was good, and aside from the state of the green screen monitors and the giant phone modem thing, it was actually very well done, believable with barely a plot hole to be seen.

I had read a brief summary of this book before I started so wasn't surprised when the lovely Ozma of Oz disappeared. The remaining residents are left to find her, track down who kidnapped her and locate her missing magic trinkets too. That's right, the Magic Mirror (and Glinda's Magic Book) that irk me sometimes with how easily they solve story problems, they've been taken as well.

This is the first in a series of books about an apocalyptic disaster and what happens to those that attempt to survive. I thought it was fascinating - I mean, I love a good disaster movie and this was essentially one of those in written form. Each chapter brought a new peril for the surviving characters, unable to trust the earth beneath their feet.

It's far from a secret that my obsession over all things French continues to grow, and it was only a matter of time before it entered our film life as well. There have been a couple of French trailers appear on the iTunes store, and they eventually arrived to rent. This, with that guy out of the Matrix, seemed like a reasonably entry point into the world of subtitles.

I really enjoyed it. Something a bit different, brilliant to have a narrator, and so artfully done, each shot was exquisite. I was confused to start with because it felt like they were in France, going to French theatre, and cafés, etc, but then they clearly weren't, so my brain had to shift halfway through the film.

It was a good film, based on a true story apparently, and it felt like an extended version of Hustle. It didn't quite have the polished finish you might hope for, and some of the fight scenes looked very odd to my untrained eye. But the young stars were very good, Will Poulter in particular. Although it must be said from the variety of bikini's Emma Rigby sported, I don't think she was hired for her acting ability.

I don't think this was a film I was eagerly awaiting, but after seeing the trailer, I was keen to see Zac Efron (I mean, you know), and I have a growing affection for Rose Byrne too. The film was so much funnier than I thought it was going to be. It got off to a really slow start, a lot of nonsense setting up the almost ideal life of Rose and Seth, with their baby daughter.

You can absolutely tell that this book wasn't meant to be a part of the Oz series, set in a completely separate land with a slightly more aggressive set of characters. And yet, it fits entirely, due to the similar writing, the similar magic, and the similar whimsical, imaginative nature of the setting and story.

Never judge a book by its cover, but it was clear that this was going to be one of the archeological adventure books that takes some kind of myth or legend and it expands on it for a good romp across the globe. With that in mind, it was a very well done book of it's kind, keeping you guessing about the double-crossing characters, wondering what mishap would occur next, and what the next stage in the journey would be.

This next adventure in the Oz series seemed to go back to its roots. A couple of non-fairy folk are transported to the fairy land and have to go through heaps of adventures to find their way to safety (which invariably means back to the Emerald City). I quite enjoyed this one, following the trials and tribulations along the way. Particularly Pessim, the eternally grumpy islander, and the forbidden love story at King Krewl's castle.

Our experiments in expanding our food intake have so far taken in the excellent delivery service that is HelloFresh (still going strong, by the way, a few meals that haven’t been to our taste, but otherwise I’ve reached Apprentice chef level and am rapidly heading towards sous!) but we didn’t stop there. I’ve been aware of Graze for a long time, but never taken the plunge and ordered a box. …

I feel like this entry in the vast Oz series is slightly misnamed because it's more about the Shaggy Man and his quest to find his brother than it is about Tik-Tok. There are a few disparate stories here, with strands that come together in the end to provide the usual fun and games.

Ahh, the returning adventures of Marie and her madcap family. I loved the first book written by Marie, once you get to know the family it really felt like you were on the adventure with them. Back then, it was about selling up, buying a narrow boat to live on, taking it on the long journey to the mooring and dealing with everything that happened along the way. Amazingly, this book is exactly the same and yet still enormously entertaining.

Since I stopped running, 18 months ago, I’ve turned my attention to a variety of apps and online solutions to the ‘easy workout at home’ thing. Some of them are fads that are dropped as easily as they are started, but I’ve stumbled across one that has actually got me hooked. I first tried the Fitstar app about six months ago, and loved the concept but had to stop almost …

I don't know if you noticed, but this week, Apple announced a new product - their take on the wearable tech phenomenon. Initially, I wasn't that interested in the watch. That's partly because the stream of Tim Cook's keynote address was so bad that I gave up following halfway through and missed all the announcements. It's also because I wasn't too keen on the big, square, bulky look. Having investigated …

Any book that has time travel in is going to appeal to me, and I was quick to pick this one up as soon as I saw it. The story itself started off pretty slowly, it was quite hefty going getting through the setup of the university itself, the time travel programme, and what happened when a professor at the university got lost back in time. There was a lot of emphasis on cookies, and cheese, and it felt like it took too long to get going.

The trailer actually didn't thrill me too much, I thought it looked silly. As we started watching, it became clear why. It's a spoof! I hadn't realised going into it, but once my expectations were aligned with what we were watching, it was totally brilliant. A mixture of parody, homage and generally just poking fun, there were references galore and plenty of funny lines to repeat endlessly afterwards.

The only good thing about it was Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. I thought he was brilliant, quirky and witty, and generally really likeable even when going through the wringer. Emma Stone was good but I thought they weren't quite as much fun together as they were in the first.

Aside from the forced alliteration in the title, there's a lot to love about this anthology of crime-related short stories. They're seriously short too, varying in length but none above 1000 words. The great thing about short stories is that you get a variety, some you'll like, some you may not. With these super short stories, there's not too much investment either. If it's not your thing, you just move on to the next one.

It's always fun to see an author resurrect a series that they had previously finished off so neatly. After tying up all the loose ends in the last book, Baum has to concede the children love Oz too much not to hear from there again, and hey presto, another story.

Interesting one this. I absolutely adore Miranda, love her sitcom, love her attitude, love her acting. So I was keen to read this and pretty much loved it. It's really good to know that it isn't just you with some of these things, although I can't identify with all of them, I can with more than I'd previously admitted!

I've watched the first five series of the TV show and loved it, until it started tailing off. This isn't a review of the programme though, but the book behind it, the incredible Darkly Dreaming Dexter. It may have helped to have the TV characters already embedded firmly in my brain but the writing is so clear and visual that I'm sure it wouldn't have taken long to create my own.

I absolutely loved Old Man's War so was keen to read the sequel, even though it didn't have the same characters in it. Set in the same universe, one in which the elderly from Earth are repurposed into fighting soldiers, this story goes one step further and delves into the life and times of a Special Forces private.

I have to say that it was a really fun couple of hours watching this but not because it was a particularly good film. The story was okay, although filled with plot holes and inconsistencies. It's hard to get fully on board with these guys, because ultimately they're hooligans, breaking the law constantly and putting themselves at risk before being horrified at the consequences.

I wasn't really looking forward to watching this one, Mr C was quite keen and I thought it would be alright for one of those mindless, no-stress evenings that are sometimes required. It turns out the film was much better than I'd anticipated, very funny and with some interesting twists and turns here and there.

I thought this was a really good Oz story, a little bit darker than previous affairs, but well balanced and well written. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of Dorothy and her friends travelling to different lands alongside the Nome soldier doing the same, except his purpose was to recruit an army to invade Oz.

Nod is a very intelligent book, with a smart premise and plenty of philosophical and thoughtful prose throughout. The concept - what would happen if the majority of the world failed to sleep one night, and then the next, and then the next - is really fascinating. A strong idea that could lead to hundreds of possibilities and conclusions.

I was really quite excited about this one when I first heard about it. Johnny Depp in another interesting role, the concept of human intelligence being transferred to machines, and all that goes with it. The fact that the film made little impact didn't really put me off and I was keen to see what it was all about.

Much of the UK experienced some very hot weather in July, weeks of sunshine and muggy conditions bringing out the sandals and making it hard to sleep. That being the case, it’s typical that when my parents invited me on an open top bus tour of the New Forest, it absolutely poured down. The New Forest Tours are really quite a good deal. £14 may seem a bit pricey to …

Documenting the story of women searching, campaigning and battling for equal terms, laws and votes as men with suffragettes the key to the story. I've heard of people chaining themselves to the railings, of course, but this goes far deeper. I hadn't realised the fight for equality started so early on, and that it took so long!

Doctor Who finally returns to our screens after a lengthy wait since the Christmas regeneration special. And was it worth it? Erm, no. Sadly, I didn't like this episode at all, and I will expand on that further below. It's nice to have the show back though, and even nicer to see the addition of Doctor Who Extra - a bonus ten minutes of content, online, in a replacement for …

We needed some light relief after the horrors of Indiana Jones, and thus the Muppets sequel seemed like a good plan. Mr C wasn't a huge fan of the last one, muppets and singing and that kind of thing, but he was keen on anything other than snakes.

I knew, after the first one and from reputation, that this Indiana Jones film would be full of snakes. That's kind of what it's all about. I wasn't anticipating quite how much the snakes would dominate, particularly after a stint in the jungle with one, leading straight to snakes being served up for dinner.

The trailer for this looked good, and I love Emma Thompson, but I'll admit I wasn't expecting it to be a great film. It was so much fun, I was totally wrong! It was silly, four grown ups who should really know better throwing themselves into a French kidnap/jewel thief crime but oh, how entertaining.

There haven't been many new films out that have whet our appetite so we delved into the archives for this one. A Tony Scott film with Denzel Washington? How have I not seen this already? It was a good film, strong story, reasonably interesting characters and good direction. I did think it lacked something - emotion or real hardcore empathy with either the good guy or the bad guy, and it was predictable in places. Other times it was less so.

While we were watching the Captain America sequel recently, there was one face that I felt like I recognised but couldn't quite place. Don't you just hate it when that happens? So distracting. This time, it was one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. henchmen, in it every so often but not exactly a big part. I'm not even sure it was a speaking part. It turns out this is Callan Mulvey, who …

I enjoy cooking a lot, but it’s something I’ve never really managed to get fully into. I had that brief interlude with baking and impressed myself with a couple of dishes, but even that ended up petering out before it really got going. The trouble I have is that I don’t really have the fundamental basic knowledge to start experimenting and learning and making great things. Without boring details about …

I wasn't hugely looking forward to this one, Captain America turns out not to be my favourite of the Marvel characters introduced so far and I couldn't remember huge amounts of the first film. I think it lived up to my expectations. It was an entertaining enough film with all the good Marvel things you come to love - inside jokes and references, nice witty dialogue and plenty of action along the way.

Another edition in the 87th Precinct series and this time we've got a murder taking place with several suspects but no clear evidence to support any of their cases. They all have alibis but one of them must have done it! There's also the death of one of the squad members to deal with, with surprisingly little of the private lives of the officers in the story this time.

I'm starting to get hooked on Ira Levin's works, and this one was another great read. From the moment it begins, you know you're in for a riot of a ride, with the focus dipping from one person to the next, including the killer. The characters are great, the writing stellar, and it's a page-turner and a half.

There's nothing better than a good spy thriller and this was a great one. I was vaguely aware it was a film but hadn't realised the book and the screenplay were written at the same time. You can visualise almost every scene, with great descriptions throughout - particularly of how cold it all is!

I've not seen the TV series that this book is extracted from, but I was a fan of Robson Green in the old days and was keen to read what he had to say about the process of making a show about fishing. I can't say that the sport particularly interests me, hence not watching any episodes, but it's always worth dipping into a book and seeing what it's all about.

I marvel at the different scenarios are put in front of the travellers - bubbles for travelling, a land of foxes, those who would want to put them in soup. Even small things like the Love Magnet, and the array of rulers from around Oz - such imagination involved to come up with all this stuff!

I was listening to an episode of Current Geek recently, when a fascinating conversation emerged regarding the structure of television shows and their series’. Current Geek features Scott Johnson and Tom Merritt with guests, discussing pop culture topics. At the end of each episode, they have a feature where they predict what will happen in the future. I’ll be honest, I usually skip past this section because there’s no way …

Poor Dorothy is so very unlucky when it comes to nature's big events - a tornado, a storm at sea and now an earthquake, all of which see her ultimately end up back in Oz. This time, she goes via some very odd lands, and meets plenty of new friends along the way.