What about Barb? Be more Barb. We are all Barb. 

Shannon Purser made quite an impression after she appeared in Stranger Things – playing Nancy’s straight-laced best friend who tried to steer her away from boys and late nights only to get a face full of Demogorgon and a whole lot of memes. 

Walking into Sierra Burgess Is A Loser to a synthy dream-pop soundtrack and a suspiciously familiar looking font, it’s easy to think her first proper feature is picking up her story where we left her in Hawkins, but it turns out newbie director Ian Samuels is just doing the whole retro thing. Just like Spider-Man: Homecoming, The End Of The F***ing World, and everything else since Stranger Things, you can’t tell a teen story now without making it look and feel a bit like it was made in the ’80s.  

Not that that’s always a bad thing. The warm, fuzzy shadow of John Hughes looms large over anything with a high school in it these days, and Samuels proves here that you can take inspiration from the best without resorting to parody or pastiche. At its best, Sierra Burgess Is A Loser feels almost like the sort of teen romcom Hughes actually might have made in his heyday – never patronising, always big hearted and championing a great performance from a young talent who’s definitely worth watching. 

The real inspiration for the film is actually Edmond Rostand’s 1897 comedy of manners, Cyrano De Bergerac – the same story of mixed identity and secretly swapped partners that fuelled a dozen imitators, not least Steve Martin’s 1987 classic, Roxanne. 

Purser plays the story’s Bergerac – and the film’s titular “loser” – swapping a big nose for a slightly more subtle form of social leprosy as a dowdy geek. Sierra is smart and funny, but she’s also the sort of girl who leaves toothpaste stains on her face and sets her phone background to a picture of Charles Dickens.  

Sure, she’s bullied by the popular kids, but she doesn’t care much, because she knows she’s smarter. Head cheerleader Veronica (Kristine Froseth, soon to be in Apostle) is particularly mean – and she hands out Sierra’s phone number instead of her own when jock Jamey (Noah Centineo) asks, just to get her hopes up. He texts, she replies, and things start getting complicated quickly – especially when Jamey starts sending topless pics, and when Veronica reluctantly asks for Sierra’s help to seem less dumb to her own older crush. 

As Bergerac’s crossed-letters and late-night balcony serenades are updated to texts, fake selfies and dubbed FaceTime calls, Sierra Burgess Is A Loser basically becomes a sweeter version of Catfish. It’s a dubious decision to turn a story about the lack of consent into a teen comedy – particularly in the current climate – but Sierra’s doubts and insecurities are given (just) enough sensitivity for it all to not seem creepy. Whether or not the film would work with the genders reversed though, is another question.

Luckily, Purser is likeable enough to paper over the pitfalls. Froseth’s mean-girl and Centineo’s heartthrob come dangerously close to cliché (although the script does try hard to give them depth and direction in the third act), but it’s Purser who carries the film with her nerdy charm and spikey humour. Any time she’s on screen with RJ Cyler (playing his second cool best friend after Me And Earl And The Dying Girl), mum Lea Thompon (upping the 80’s vibe) or dad Alan Ruck (c’mon, Ferris Bueller’s best friend? We get the John Hughes thing already), she’s still the most watchable person in the room by far – and she clearly deserved more than a quick death in the Upside Down.  

Not that it all works as well as it could. Mostly sitting on the right side of sap, a lot of the dialogue cloys when it’s not trying to be funny (“I don’t even feel like a jock. I mean, yeah, I like football, but I don’t even like most of the guys on the team…” and “I wonder if a star knows that it shines?”), and the stodgy emo tone starts becoming a drag long before the finale delivers a few mixed millennial messages. At its worst, the film comes off trite, corny and a bit derivative – and if you’ve seen Cyrano De Bergerac, Roxanne or pretty much any girly teen romcom before, you’ll know exactly how it all plays out.  

But then there’s nothing really wrong with that. This is a film that’s meant to be watched on a duvet day with a pack of biscuits. A day where you don’t mind wall to wall dream-pop, a lot of nods to better retro movies and a sappy, cutesy, slightly worrying plot that basically has its heart in the right place.

Sierra Burgess Is A Loser desperately wants to be the new Pretty In Pink. It’s not, but you can’t really blame it for trying.

Iron Fist is back in his second series, and as usual we’re going to be reviewing every episode of the series – one per day – providing analysis, easter egg spots and speculation for those who aren’t planning to binge it all in one go. All discussion is welcome but please don’t spoil future episodes in the comments.

This review contains spoilers.

2.1 Target: Iron Fist

Against all expectations, Danny Rand (aka the Infuriating Iron Fist) is back on Netflix. Season one was dogged by complaints about cultural insensitivity, poor stuntwork and dull writing (but enough about my reviews) – can season one recognise the potential that this admittedly third-tier Marvel character has? As someone planning to write around 600 words on every episode, believe me when I say no-one is more hopeful than I am.

The first episode of season two doesn’t go for a drastic retool of the character, but it does try and file down some of the more abrasive edges. Instead of being a trust fund brat treating the boardroom like his personal creche, Danny has moved in with Colleen Wing and taken an honest job shifting furniture, eschewing the luxury his wealth affords. In his free time, he fights a rising tide of gang activity as the Triad families attempt to fill the power vacuum left by The Hand. And he doesn’t have a tantrum or explain his origin even once.

It feels like a deliberate move to make Danny Rand more relatable, and to an extent it works. Despite the bashing Finn Jones has had in this role, I think most people do want to like the lead character. He’s still not quite recognisable as the Iron Fist of the comics, but this slightly more jaded and remarkably humble Danny, who just wants to hang out with his girlfriend and protect his city, is a lot harder to hate than the serene twat who used to walk around barefoot saying “namaste” to muggers and blindly trusting anything anyone said.

The fight choreography has also taken a step up, which is perhaps the one thing this series badly needed to take care of. It’s now actually believable that Danny could beat the hell out of multiple guys at once, and at least one close-up martial arts sequence with Davos is impressively-executed, if slightly cheesy.

Ah yeah, Davos is back, proving once again that lots of mystical dimensions have a north. In the previous series Davos’ fanaticism was largely justified by the fact that Danny Rand did abandon his post and shirk his duty, so I’m glad to see Davos present Danny with an opposing ideology that isn’t just flat-out evil. Danny fights his corner philosophically-speaker – he thinks he’s gone where he’s needed – but Davos can only see the decadence and corruption around him and feels as though his goals are noble. It’s not exactly subtle, but between their warring outlooks and family ties, it makes sense to bump Davos up to main antagonist (if that is indeed what they’re doing).

The Meachums also return, considerably less unhinged than before. Ward and Joy both act like normal people, with their motivations and relationships to each other (and Danny) feel stable and comprehensible. You have to ignore a lot of mad stuff that everyone did last season to believe that they can all get in the same room amicably, but let’s face it – wouldn’t we all rather ignore last season?

As for subplots, Colleen – now working in a community centre – finds herself the recipient of an artefact that could belong to her family, and Danny is apparently having some aggression issues. The episode hints that he might enjoy punching people a little too much, but the final scene in which he descends into a dark basement to repeatedly bash a door with the Iron Fist is heavy-handed and leaves you with a sense of dread about whether the subtlety we’ve seen so far is going to last. It’s a shame the episode had to end on the worst scene, really, but I’m optimistic for now.

Oh, and also in the mix is Alice Eve, making her debut as a character called Mary. I’m going to pretend we don’t know who she is for now because I’m expecting this to become a bigger deal later in the season. But if she’s who I’m expecting her to be, she’s one of my favourite Marvel characters, so keep an eye out for her…

A couple of other references: The Golden Tigers are a Triad gang who first appeared in Iron Fist #8 (1976), where they have a leader called, er, Chaka Kahn (please fill in your own Ain’t Nobody… joke here). And the restaurant Danny and Colleen visit – the Silver Lotus – made its sole brief appearance in Uncanny X-Men First Class #4 (2009), of all places. I’d say it was a coincidence if it wasn’t specifically a place that Colleen Wing and Misty Knight went (with Jean Grey and Storm). Deep cut, guys, impressive.

So all in all, a good start. Let’s see where this goes…

Read our US chums’ spoiler-free episodes one to six review here.

The BBC has announced that it’ll be re-releasing The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy next month, and guess what just went straight to the top of our Christmas lists?

The 1981 TV adaptation will hit DVD and Blu-ray on 1st October in a remastered set, along with a bunch of new special features. 

Here’s a look…

There’ll be two formats available – a special edition, that will be released on both DVD and Blu-ray, and a Collector’s Edition, that’ll just be on Blu-ray. It includes a collector’s art card and a 24-page behind-the-scenes booklet written by producer Kevin Jon Davies, and, well, just look at it…

Sweet Mary mother of God, we need this.

Ok, here come the special features *breathes in*…

The earliest known filmed interview with Douglas Adams, talking about his awkward childhood.

Douglas Adams on Nationwide (1980)

The first public glimpse of the new TV series was during this Nationwide clip when presenter Sue Cook interviewed Douglas
Adams.

Marvin on Blue Peter (1981)

The Paranoid Android launched his 1981 bid for pop stardom on the Children’s TV favourite Blue Peter and then told the
presenters how he didn’t even want to talk about it.

Douglas Adams on Paperbacks (1981)

A quaint book programme where host Robert Kee makes plain directly to Douglas Adams’ face, his obvious disregard for the
author’s second novel.

The Sound of Sypher (1980)

BBC Engineering film – The proto-digital world of audio production is examined here in a technical explanation of the BBC’s
latest SYPHER dubbing suite, featuring the BAFTA-winning sound supervisor Mike McCarthy at work on Hitchhiker.

Saturday Review

Douglas Adams explains to Minnette Marin his ideas for interactive CD-Rom audio drama, while in Birmingham, the fans gather
for a Hitchhiker-themed games convention.

Douglas Adams on Micro Live

Douglas Adams talks about The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Game on BBC 2’s Micro Live. Originally broadcast on 8th
March 1985.

Simon Jones on BBC Breakfast (2012)

BBC Breakfast welcomed Arthur Dent (Simon Jones) to their sofa on Towel Day 2012 to plug the theatrical summer tour of The
Hitchhiker’s Guide Radio Show Live.

Ten Short Films

From the personal archives of producer, Kevin Davies, featuring Douglas Adams and imagery from the TV series and
elsewhere. Includes two exclusive reports on the movie from the World premiere in Leicester Square.

Tertiary Phase Trailer

The surviving members of the radio cast re-assembled in 2003 for the long overdue radio adaptation of the third Hitchhiker
book, Life, The Universe And Everything.

The Hexagonal Phase

Online trailer for Radio 4 – the latest (and possibly final series ever) of Hitchhiker in its original medium, is based on the 2009
novel by Eoin Colfer with snippets of unpublished material from Douglas Adams’ archives. The surviving members of the
original cast plus guests such as Lenny Henry and Ed Byrne, gathered in October 2017 to record the series which premiered in
March 2018 on Radio 4.

Marvin and Zem

The inimitable original voice of Marvin was brought back to life by Stephen Moore for the Tertiary Phase in 2003, when he
shared swamp duties with a mattress called Zem.

Q-Phases

A star-studded trailer for the Quandary and Quintessential Phases radio series based on the fourth and fifth Hitchhiker novels.

There’s also these, which will be on both the Blu-ray and DVD versions:

The Making of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

Don’t Panic!

Communicate!

Behind the Scenes

Peter Jones Introduction

Pebble Mill at One (Alan Bell & Rod Lord)

Tomorrow’s World Sequence

Deleted Scene (ep2)

Out-takes

Trailer

Easter Eggs

Yes. Yes. And yes. Furthermore, yes.

Incredibles 2 made money hand-over-fist at the box office this summer, and now it’s heading for its home release, both in the US and here in the UK.

All the main voice cast returned for this much anticipated sequel from Pixar, and this time around mum Helen was the one keeping the streets safe, while Bob stayed at home to take care of kids Violet and Dash, even as baby Jack-Jack became harder and harder to manage. Naturally, a new villain on the scene was bound to pull them all back into the game, and with a little help from Frozone, the action soon got underway in earnest.

If you’re excited about getting hold of a copy of the film, it’s set to be released on 23rd October via digital, and on DVD, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and 4K UHD on 6th November in the US. We haven’t quite been assured of the UK dates yet, but we’d imagine Disney Pixar would be six feet in the ground before it’d let more Christmas sales of Incredibles 2 slide away.

Pre-orders are open at Amazon already.

Here’s the extra content you can expect to find on the discs:

Digital Exclusives:

The Coolest Guy in Show Business – In this partially illustrated documentary, Samuel L. Jackson reflects how his childhood and love of comics shaped his passion for film and imaginative storytelling.

2 SuperScene Breakdowns – Casual commentary-style pieces looking at specific scenes in the film (The Racoon Fight and Mrs. Incredible) through a particular creative focus like action choreography, set design or story.

Blu-ray & Digital:

All-New “Auntie Edna” Mini-Movie – When Bob Parr visits super-suit designer Edna Mode looking for help with his high-energy toddler Jack-Jack, Edna pulls an all-nighter designing a suit to harness the baby’s seemingly limitless powers.

10 Deleted Scenes With Introductions – Suburban Escape, Kari Revisited, Return of the Supers, Chewed Out, Late Audition, Slow Day, Frozone and Honey, Restaurant Robbery, Fashion Show and Security Breakdown.

Super Stuff – From buildings and vehicles to costumes and props, every action movie requires a lot of really cool stuff. Meet the makers and learn what it takes to design and build such a uniquely incredible world.

Heroes & Villains – A collection of mini-docs about the backstory and major design ideas behind the “Incredibles 2” characters — featuring voice actors, director Brad Bird, and Pixar artists talking about the many elements that make these characters feel real.

Ralph Eggleston: Production Designer – This short piece explores the many ways a single production designer has influenced the look, feel and character of the Pixar universe, culminating in “Incredibles 2.”

Strong Coffee: A Lesson in Animation with Brad Bird – Brad Bird’s passion for animation dates back to his childhood and mentorship under Disney’s Milt Kahl, and that enthusiasm and powerful insight emanates from every film he’s made. Take a deep dive into Brad’s early years at Disney Animation Studios and his time at Pixar.

Paths to Pixar: Everyday Heroes – At its heart, “Incredibles 2” is about family dynamics and the challenges of being a working parent. Meet the parents of Pixar as they discuss their personal connections to the film and their experience with stretching to balance work and family.

SuperBaby – A documentary/hip hop music video hybrid hosted by Frankie and Paige from Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark. This piece explores how Jack-Jack came to life onscreen — from design to special effects to animation — all set to a hot beat.

Commentary – Get inside commentary from animators Alan Barillaro (supervising animator), Tony Fucile (supervising animator, story artist and character designer), Dave Mullins (supervising animator) and Bret Parker (animation second unit and crowds supervisor).

Theatrical Short: “Bao” – An aging Chinese mom suffering from empty nest syndrome gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life as a lively, giggly dumpling boy.

Making “Bao” – Director Domee Shi shares her secret recipe for making an animated short — discussing how her rich cultural heritage, unique relationship with her mom, and her love of food all informed the making of the food-fantasy “Bao.”

Outtakes & Stories – Raccoon Fight Story, Evelyn Animation Outtakes, Puppet Animator Interview, Outtakes Goofy Arms Story and SuperBaby Music Video.

Character Theme Songs, Vintage Toy Commercial TV Spots, Toolkit Montage and Global “Incredibles 2” Trailers

That’s your lot.

As always, we remind you that bonus content can vary by territory, retailer and format.