Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i Home Cinema Choice

It’s long been suggested that 4K Blu-ray will be the 'last' physical video format, to be one day replaced by turbo-charged streaming platforms rather than yet another silver disc. DVD, on the other hand, was less than a decade old before tech talk turned to a potential successor. Cue a format war, in 2006, between HD DVD and Blu-ray. The eventual winner Blu-ray held onto to its best-in-class status for about a decade before 4K Blu-ray came along and turned cinephile heads. Now the 4K format co-exists with Blu-ray and DVD, alongside streaming video and premium TV, giving us greater choice than ever. That’s not to say an improved – maybe 8K – disc format wouldn't be welcomed by some, but if it was coming, we'd surely have heard about…

Taking place at the prestigious Ascot Grandstand on September 30 and October 1, the UK Hi-Fi Show Live – organised by our sister magazine Hi-Fi News – promises sonic treats for music lovers, including a slate of exclusive demonstrations of some of the world’s most desirable hi-fi gear. Whether you're in the market for a pair of headphones, looking to add a turntable or audiophile streamer to your AV rig, or just want to listen to the finest loudspeakers and amplification on the planet, it’s the place to be. Come together Of the many exhibiting brands are British stalwarts PMC, Naim Audio, Chord, Monitor Audio and Bowers & Wilkins, while those coming over from North America include MoFi Electronics, Krell Industries, Wilson Audio, Audio Research and GoldenEar. European marques, including…

September 18 100 Years of Warner Bros 4K Black Christmas [1974] Blood and Black Lace: Ltd. Ed. 4K Brief Encounters [1967] Camberwick Green: Complete Series Creation Stories Deathdream Doctor Who: The Collection - S20 The Flash 4K Interrogation The Long Farewell The Misfits 4K The Pianist 4K Ringu: Limited Edition 4K Scream and Scream Again She Shoots Straight: Ltd. Ed. Stephen King On Screen Twin Dragons: Deluxe Col. Ed. Universal Noir #2 Valley Girl: Limited Edition September 25 Asteroid City Breaking the Waves 4K Carlito’s Way: Limited Edition 4K Creepshow: S1/S2/S3 Lars von Trier: A Curzon Collection Jack Ryan: Season Three Memento: Ltd. Ed. Steelbook The Psycho Collection: Ltd. Ed. 4K Star Trek: Prodigy - Season One Touch of Evil: Limited Edition 4K U-571 4K The Wicker Man: Col. Edition…

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DualDisc Often forgotten today is 2004’s DualDisc hybrid, which had a DVD 'surface' on one side and CD on the other. It was adopted by music labels including EMI, Universal and Warner, and typically featured video content, in addition to Dolby Digital stereo/5.1 mixes, on the DVD portion. But DualDisc’s problem, in addition to competition from Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio, was that it proved to be incompatible with many CD players as it wasn't fully Red Book-compliant, and by 2009 had been discontinued. Bruce Springsteen’s 2005 album Devils & Dust (pictured) was among the format’s flagship releases. DVD interactive The processing power of a typical DVD deck was nowhere in the same league as contemporary consoles, and users had to rely on the player’s handset instead of a dedicated…

WHAT WAS ONCE a 'relatively stale study space' devoid of any straight lines or right angles was turned into this immersive home cinema by installer Limitless Automation, after the client spotted the company’s work on social media. As Stuart Lillis, director at Limitless Automation, explains: 'The room’s long and skinny shape presented a design dilemma, as we wanted to avoid cutting into the room too much. To overcome this, we implemented a creative solution by building out the baffle wall and utilising Cinema Build Systems' Halo Frames. These helped conceal the wall-mounted speakers and acoustic treatment behind fabric tracks, providing a clean and seamless appearance.' For an owner with a keen interest in motorsport and movies, a 16:9 ratio screen was chosen, partnered with a Sony VPL-VW590ES projector. The audio…

The XR 13 is the larger of two new subwoofers from Canadian brand Paradigm, wilfully skipping standard 10in or 12in driver sizes for fully bespoke units of 11in and the bigger 13in auditioned here. Selling for a cool £4,999, it’s dripping with tech and cosmetic cues from the Founder Series loudspeakers, including the satin walnut finish on our review sample, making them natural room-share candidates. Like the speakers (see HCC #325), Paradigm’s XR subwoofers are relatively svelte and compact considering their driver complement, with even the mighty XR 13 coming in at a 'sensible-for-UK-rooms' size of under 50cm in all three dimensions. This makes its 47kg mass even more of a surprise on your lumbar region when it comes to unboxing and room positioning. The mass burden is largely a…

IF I TELL you Totem Acoustic’s Tribe Duo soundbar lacks HDMI, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, or any amplification at all, you might well be poised to flip the page. But wait! This novel audio package from the Canadian hi-fi manufacturer could be the compromise home cinema sound system you've been looking for. The Tribe Duo is actually a self-contained front-facing speaker in convenient soundbar guise. It has the build quality of a premium speaker, and houses L/R driver arrays that dwarf the average bar’s diminutive set. The cabinet, like that of Totem Acoustic’s Bison Monitor (see HCC #342), is made from variable density fibre board, to reduce unwanted resonance, and is hand assembled. Available in two colour finishes, black and White Satin, the 'bar' comes with a matching magnetic grille. The…

TIME ON TEST: Three years REVIEWER: Martin Dew WHEN EPSON ANNOUNCED the availability of the EH-LS12000 home cinema projector last year (HCC #333), many thought it would be the natural replacement for the EH-TW9400. But although it shared some of the features of its 2018 forerunner, the LS12000 is laser light-driven and creates a true, but pixel-shifted, 4K image (8.3m pixels) onscreen. It also costs nearly two grand more at £4,499. So, it’s a blessing that the projector holding the number two spot in Epson’s home cinema product hierarchy, the lamp-based TW9400, is still in circulation. Indeed, this £2,550 beamer remains one of 16 home cinema models on the Japanese manufacturer’s website. While touted as a '4K' projector, it doesn't quite muster the full complement of pixels to earn that…

THE STORY OF the father of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer is presented by a man who doesn't even have a smartphone (he has a Nokia 'brick') or an email address. If you want to reach Christopher Nolan, you email his assistant, who prints it out for him to read and he scrawls his reply on the back. He’s a filmmaker who has done more than most to reinvent the world of cinema, and his latest flick is a testament to analogue. There’s not a digit in sight in Nolan’s three-hour masterpiece. The whole project was shot on film and finished on film and – for a lucky few – seen on the ultimate in analogue film technology, 15/70 IMAX. The big daddy of the IMAX stable, this uses 70mm film…

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts 4K The Autobots must team up with the mysterious Maximals to save our world from the planet-eating Unicron in this seventh blockbuster instalment in the Transformers franchise. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is available to own from October 9 on DVD, Blu-ray™, 4K UHD™, and as a dual-format 4K UHD™ and Blu-ray™ Steelbook®, from Paramount Home Entertainment. We have three copies of the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts 4K UHD™ to be won! Question: Which of the following is the leader of the heroic Autobots? Answer: A) Optimus Prime B) Leader-1 C) Bumblebee Resident Alien: Season Two Syfy’s comic mash-up of sci-fi drama and murder-mystery returns for an extended sophomore season of 16 side-splitting episodes. Resident Alien: Season Two is out now on Blu-ray and…

➜ THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE: POWER UP EDITION While trying to fix a water leak under the streets of Brooklyn, Italian-American plumbers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) discover a mysterious green pipe that magically transports them to the Mushroom Kingdom. Luigi is soon captured by the diabolical Bowser (Jack Black), setting Mario off on an epic quest to save him with the aid of Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan Michael-Kay). It’s entirely possible that The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the most accurate videogame/cinema conversion. Unlike the bonkers 1993 live-action movie (which dropped the duo into some sort of prehistoric cyberpunk hellscape), this animated blockbuster not only looks the part, but boasts everything franchise fans would expect to see. Warp pipes, power-up mushrooms, floating platforms, Donkey…

Sony has confirmed its hotly anticipated A95L Quantum Dot OLED TV is joining its UK range this September, in 55in, 65in and 77in screen sizes. The Japanese brand’s second-generation QD OLED model, it claims to be '200% brighter' than its A95K predecessor thanks to a panel upgrade and new 'XR Triluminos Max' technology. Sony has also boosted its Cognitive Processor XR silicon, adding XR Clear Image to improve noise reduction and motion clarity. Pricing befits the flatscreen’s flagship status: £2,999 (55in), £3,699 (65in) and £5,999 (77in). All variations offer the same specification, including Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Mode for better performance with the PlayStation 5 console; Acoustic Surface Audio+ sound system; Google TV smarts; and Dolby Vision HDR. The sets boast a 'premium, signature design' with…

A Haunting in Venice September 15: Kenneth Branagh returns to the role of Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in this bigscreen adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1969 murder mystery novel Hallowe’en Party. Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan and Tina Fey are among the film’s new victims and suspects. The Expend4bles September 22: Sly Stallone, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren are joined by newcomers Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais as the Expendables are tasked with stopping a terrorist organisation from initiating a war between the US and Russia. The Creator September 29: Godzilla and Rogue One… helmer Gareth Edwards directs this stylish science-fiction action-thriller about an ex-special forces agent (John David Washington) recruited to hunt down and kill the creator of an advanced artificial intelligence waging war against humanity.…

Worlds collide in this comic book blockbuster when DC’s super-speedster The Flash (Ezra Miller) uses his powers to try and change history, a scheme that forces him to seek the aid of very different versions of familiar heroes – including Michael Keaton’s Batman. The Flash races onto disc on this side of the Atlantic on 18 September (it’s already out in the US), with the UHD incarnation partnering its Dolby Vision/Dolby Atmos-enhanced presentation of the movie with behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and more.…

POWERED SPEAKER SYSTEM WORTH £799 COULD BE YOURS! Heritage inspired Awarded 'Best Buy' status when it was reviewed in HCC #316, Klipsch’s The Fives offers a thrilling blend of state-of-the-art connectivity, superb sonics and an eye-catching design. Part of the company’s 'Heritage Inspired' stable, the speakers pay homage to Klipsch’s celebrated history, opting for hand-crafted real-wood cabinets topped by metal source/volume controls and supplied with smart fabric grilles. Measuring 16.5cm wide and 30cm high, they'll install easily next to your TV or on a hi-fi shelf. Each cabinet features a 1in Tractrix horn-loaded titanium dome tweeter, plus a 4.5in bass/mid driver tuned by a Tractrix rear port. Onboard power is rated at a potent 160W via The Fives custom amplification – as Klipsch says: 'No receiver required!' ‘The Fives offers…

Dual light fantastic? XGIMI’s Horizon Ultra projector introduces the brand’s new Dual Light engine technology, and couples it with Dolby Vision HDR playback. Does this make this cutely cubic model a home cinema star? See page 50 for our verdict… RATINGS KEY… All prices quoted are approximate and may have changed…

The days when Chinese projector brand XGIMI was associated with great value but not much else are well and truly behind us. Last year it racked up plaudits for its brilliant Aura ultra-short-throw model, and now its latest release, the Horizon Ultra, breaks new home cinema ground in not one but two directions. For starters, it’s the world’s first long-throw 4K projector to support Dolby Vision HDR – complete with screen size and gain refinements. We've seen one or two BenQ projectors take on HDR10+, but for many AV fans Dolby Vision remains the 'premium' HDR format of choice. The Horizon Ultra’s other big innovation is its Dual Light technology. This sees XGIMI combining laser and LED lighting in one optical engine for the first time, resulting, it’s claimed, in…

A NETWORK STREAMER with amplification onboard, to which you add the speakers of your choice, Bluesound’s Powernode Edge is a diminutive box of tricks, and a useful halfway house between the company’s own wireless speakers and the power-free Node streamer (HCC #324). A larger Powernode has been part of the range since Bluesound arrived nearly ten years ago, and, over time, the price has crept up to £850 – so Bluesound has now released the Powernode Edge to slot in below. At first glance, this newbie manages to do pretty much everything its big brother can. Its integrated BluOS network module allows it to stream PCM to 192kHz/24-bit, plus MQA content, which is handy as Tidal is one of the multitude of streaming services supported. Being a BluOS device, it…

IT MAY BE something of a cookie-cutter telly, but this 55in Sharp doesn't skimp on features. Built around the Android 11 smart TV platform, and a Freeview Play tuner, the FN2KA provides access to all key streaming and catch-up services of note, and features a surprisingly effective Harman Kardon sound system (and the option of bitstreaming Dolby Atmos audio to external hardware). Plus, with its thin plastic bezel and two widely spaced feet, it looks fine from a distance. Connections include four HDMI ports, one with eARC; a digital optical audio output; AV minijack input; SD card slot for playing back digital images; two USB ports; and both Ethernet and Wi-Fi. As part of the Android package you also get Chromecast streaming and Google Assistant interaction. So far so good,…

AFTER WRITING RECENTLY about loudspeakers by MartinLogan in our sister magazine Hi-Fi News, a reader got in touch to point out what they deemed to be an error on my part. I had described MartinLogan as an American manufacturer, and they wanted to remind me it was now owned by Paradigm Electronics, a company based in Canada. Furthermore, while its loudspeakers are designed at its HQ in Lawrence, Kansas, manufacturing takes place in Canada, or further afield in Taiwan or China. So, was I wrong to say MartinLogan is an American manufacturer? That might depend on your linguistical point of view. Certainly, it doesn't 'manufacture' its products in the US, but its staff work there, and its company address is in Kansas rather than Ontario. Drink up! Anyway, this got…

The colour purple… Hi. I have an Oppo BDP-93EU, which is nearly eight years old. Lately when I switch on the player I get the brand logo correctly displayed but then my LG 75in TV goes blank and when the image reappears it is purple-pink, and anything I watch is this colour. Has my old faithful developed a video fault or is there something else going on? I don't want to have to scrap this excellent machine because of its age. I have a Yamaha RX-A2 AV receiver which I thought at first was the cause of the problem, but I have put the Oppo straight into the LG TV with the same result. Paul Kelly John Archer replies: This issue is known to show up on Oppo Blu-ray players…

It's-a me! The Super Mario Bros. Movie Universal ➜ 4K Blu-ray Chris Pratt voices the New York plumber trying to save Princess Peach (Anna Taylor-Joy) from villain Bowser (Jack Black) in this day-glo CG 'toon based on the popular Nintendo game series. Cinema takings of over $1.3bn delayed the 4K disc release, but now AV-Holics get a chance to play. See p91… RATINGS KEY… All prices quoted are approximate and may have changed WWW.HOMECINEMACHOICE.COM…

➜ FAST X When Spinal Tap guitarist Nigel Tufnel boasted about his amplifiers going to a maximum volume of 11 rather than the usual 10, he might as well have been describing the Fast & Furious franchise. From the fifth film in particular, this hugely popular Vin Diesel-headed series has tried to out-do other big action movie rivals with insane spectacle, insane stunts, insanely filtered and kinetic photography, and, well, just plain insanity. And Fast X, the first instalment of a two- or maybe three-part finale for the franchise, uses a monster $340 million budget to throw more craziness at the screen than you'd find in a dozen regular actioners. The plot is barely worth reporting, because by this point in the series the cast of heroes, villains, villains turned…

Psycho Collection ➜ Ultra HD Blu-ray, Arrow Video 'MARY STARTED TO scream, and then the curtains parted further and a hand appeared, holding a butcher’s knife. It was a knife that, a moment later, cut off her scream. And her head.' Written by Robert Bloch in his 1959 novel Psycho, this brisk, brutal passage would lay the groundwork for one of the most influential – and frequently imitated – sequences in cinema history. Under the skilful direction of filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, Bloch’s 33 words were transformed into a bravura three-minute montage of 60 shots and 52 cuts that sent a shockwave through Hollywood and left filmgoers (and actress Janet Leigh) fearful of setting foot in a shower ever again. Not that Psycho had an easy transition to the bigscreen. Even…

IT’S NOT OFTEN you get invited to the country pile of a top Hollywood filmmaker for lunch. But here I am, eating al fresco with the director of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Sherlock Holmes and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. Guy Ritchie’s movies have a reputation for being red-blooded, so it’s hardly surprising that I'm at Ashgrove Estate for a BBQ. For those who don’t know, the director is also the founder of the Cashmere Caveman Company, and its flagship product is the WildKitchen, an outdoor dining experience created for lovers of flame-grilled cuisine. At the head of the table, Ritchie is slicing off perfectly cooked slivers of steak, which I’m offered with a touch of salt, straight from a chopping board. 'Nothing better, is there?' he asks. I'm…

Where there’s a wall… DALI Phantom SUB S-100 ➜ www.dali-speakers.com Priced £1,499, the Phantom SUB S-100 is a passive bassmaker primed for use with the rest of DALI’s in-wall Phantom range. Featuring a 10in woofer designed in conjunction with driver specialist (and fellow Danish corp) Purifi, the sub’s low-profile sealed enclosure features spring-loaded mounting brackets for an easy install. DALI suggests powering it with its £2,199 Phantom CI AMP-2500 DSP (below), a 2x500W design supporting app-based configuration. HCC ONLINE… For breaking AV news, blogs, features and reviews visit www.homecinemachoice.com Follow us on Twitter @hccmag Like us on Facebook facebook.com/homecinemachoice WWW.HOMECINEMACHOICE.COM…

Ride On Jackie Chan proves he’s still not ready for the knacker’s yard with this fun flick about a former stuntman and his equine chum. Ringu Hideo Nakata’s VHS-centric horror masterpiece looks even more terrifying on this impressive Ultra HD Blu-ray upgrade. National Lampoon’s Vacation The Griswold family’s disastrous 1983 road trip scrubs up well as the classic Chevy Chase comedy makes it 4K Blu-ray bow. May: Limited Edition Second Sight delivers a long-overdue (and feature-packed) BD debut for this cult 2002 chiller. The Ship That Died of Shame Richard Attenborough stars in this Naval noir about a gunboat that seems to rebel against its crew……

After refreshing its 800 Series Diamond and 700 Series ranges in the last year or so, Bowers & Wilkins has now focused attention on its entry-level speakers. And, as is the way, the 600 S3 range, available now, borrows some of the technological developments debuted on its pricier stablemates. Perhaps confusingly, this new generation of 600 Series is actually its eighth (not its third) – the speakers first appeared in the 1990s. Titanium Dome There are four models in the new lineup: the 603 S3 floorstander, 606 S3 and 607 S3 standmounts, and the HTM6 S3 centre channel. All are offered in Oak, White or Black finish. B&W says the 'most significant' upgrade for this generation is a freshly designed Titanium Dome tweeter. A two-part design, it combines a 'very…

More than a decade ago, a feature in HCC #211 opened with the headline 'Super Audio CD: The Format That Just Won't Die.' At the time the music playback medium, which had launched with much fanfare only to be quickly written off, seemed to be stoically hanging around. And it still is in 2023. So what’s it all about? Not a CD killer Super Audio CD broke cover in 1999 as another joint-venture between Sony and Philips, the originators of the CD format the decade before. Arriving around the same time as DVD-Audio, it seemed to be one competitor in a format war, although really SACD was (and remains) only ever about music. Sony President Nobuyuki Idei didn't even want to tout it as a CD killer, calling it an…

IN APRIL THIS year, Netflix announced that it would be ending the web-based DVD-by-mail service that had been operating in the US since 1997. It’s hard to believe that the titan of today’s on-demand world began by shipping physical media to customers, but at the time there were few alternatives. Streaming, mostly simulcasts of radio stations back then, was in its infancy. Listeners tuned into broadcasts with PCs, connected to the internet via dial-up modems. Video streaming would not be practical for another decade. It would therefore be a surprise if Netflix had any idea it would one day be the originator of high-profile programming, backed by enormous budgets. In 1997, the company’s goals were somewhat more modest: to rent and sell (mostly) Hollywood content by post, as opposed to…

2 Guns Universal, 4K Blu-ray, US import Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg play a pair of criminals who are really – unbeknownst to each other – both undercover agents in this entertaining 2013 buddy movie. Based on a little-known Boom Studios! comic book and directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Everest, Beast), the biggest guns in this relentlessly twisty action comedy are its two leads, whose very different acting styles mesh surprisingly well, resulting in as many laughs as explosive thrills. While Entertainment One released 2 Guns on Blu-ray in the UK in 2013, this August saw Universal give the flick a well-deserved 4K upgrade on the other side of the Pond. American Gangster Universal, 4K Blu-ray Taking time out from the five films he made with Tony Scott, in 2007 Denzel…

What do hippies up to their knees in mud at Woodstock and fans tripping in front of The Grateful Dead’s infamous 'Wall of Sound' have in common? Both were experiencing music cranked up to seriously unhealthy volumes thanks to power amplifiers manufactured by US company McIntosh. Founded by Frank McIntosh and Gordon Gow in 1949 in Maryland, before moving to Binghamton, NY a couple of years later, the brand has built a name for itself over the last seven decades by making powerful high-performance amplifiers that are popular with professionals and consumers alike. The Grateful Dead’s sound system was composed of 48 McIntosh MC2300 models, and capable of delivering an eardrum-shattering 28,800W. And while McIntosh’s reputation is primarily based on its iconic amplifiers (including both tube and solid-state designs), the…

ELTON JOHN DIDN'T play 'The One' during his headline set at this summer’s Glastonbury, which is something of a shame as I was watching the whole thing on a TV with the same name. That said, Guns 'n' Roses did run through 'You Could Be Mine' the night before, which is similarly appropriate, given this new model’s reasonable price tag. Introducing The One (2023), aka Philips' 55PUS8808, an upper mid-range model that ticks most of the boxes buyers want, be they casual viewers or hardcore gamers. An evolution of last year’s PUS8807, this direct LED TV benefits from a powerful new picture processor and concert-friendly sound system. The 8808 is available in a wide range of screen sizes. On test here is the 55-incher (£949), but it also ships at…

WHEN SAMSUNG FIRST announced the S90C series, it wasn't immediately obvious how this new entry-level Quantum Dot OLED TV would differ from its 2023 flagship, the S95C (HCC #341). So now we have a 55S90C to play with us, let’s clear that up: the differences that matter are that the S90C has a different design, uses a less-powerful sound system and is around 20 per cent less bright than the S95C. These differences result in the 55S90C selling for £1,599, compared to £1,899 for the 55S95C – a decent saving. The design features an incredibly thin, metal-backed screen attached to a deeper mid section that I personally prefer to the more minimalist but chunkier look of the S95Cs. Audio power drops from a 70W, 4.2.2-channel implementation to a 40W, 2.1-channel setup,…

AWARE HE WAS unlikely to ever repeat the twin success of The French Connection (1971) and The Exorcist (1973), director William Friedkin once jokingly described his career as 'an uphill climb to the bottom'. But even if similar levels of critical acclaim and box office success would elude him throughout the rest of his career, the filmmaker – who passed away this August mere weeks before the premiere of his latest movie, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial – left behind an incredible body of work. Sure, there were missteps along the way. Friedkin’s return to the horror genre with the arboreal chills of The Guardian (1990) had more bark than bite. Erotic thriller Jade (1995) proved distinctly un-erotic and lacking in thrills. And the stench of jingoism emanating from war drama…

➜ THE THREE MUSKETEERS: D'ARTAGNAN Is there anybody who doesn't know the story of The Three Musketeers? Written by French novelist Alexander Dumas, the enduring popularity of this 19th century adventure novel has led to countless adaptations since the early days of cinema. After seeing Spanish TV transform the characters into cartoon dogs, and Hollywood give the tale a stereoscopic steampunk makeover, The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan is French cinema reclaiming the story for its own with impressive results. The first instalment in a two-part saga (The Three Musketeers: Milady opens in French cinemas this December), director Martin Bourboulon’s production takes a more serious approach to the material than many other popular adaptations. It’s at times reminiscent, in look and feel, to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, yet Bourboulon proves far…

The Expanse: A Telltale Series Deck Nine ➜ PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC ➜ £33.49 Acting as a prequel to the hugely popular SyFy and Prime Video show, The Expanse: A Telltale Series is told in five distinct parts which, like Telltale adventures based on The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones in the past, have been released episodically. This can be infuriating for some, but we've always liked the practice. At least this way you can complete one segment in a few hours and look forward to the next. Of course, by the time you read this it’s likely that all parts will be available, so you could binge the entire interactive series in one sitting – and that’s great too. It certainly caters for fans…

➜JAWS 2 It’s not a patch on Steven Spielberg’s 1975 movie, but Jeannot Szwarc’s Jaws 2 (1978) still has the distinction of being one of the best killer shark movies ever made – if only because of how awful most of the others have been. With its second-half focus on the shark targeting groups of teens on sailboats rather than the more mature thrills of the original, this sequel feels oddly close to the slasher flicks that would soon start filling cinemas. Thankfully, the return of leading man Roy Scheider as Chief Brody (regardless of how little the actor actually wanted to be there) brings some emotional heft to the script’s land-based drama. Oh, and at one point the shark brings down a helicopter, which is heaps of fun. Picture:…