DVD: CitizenFour

The revelations and personality of Edward Snowden in Laura Poitras's studied documentary

The repercussions of the revelations about intelligence gathering by American and other surveillance services made by US whistleblower Edward Snowden have proved huge. Laura Poitras’s documentary CitizenFour is no less revelatory about the process of their appearance, about just how Snowden came to be in that Hong Kong hotel room with reporter Glenn Greenwald, and what happened there.

CD: Public Enemy – Man Plans God Laughs

Hip Hop's grand masters produce their best in almost a decade

Billed as the hardest hitting Public Enemy album for years, Man Plans God Laughs has a lot to live up to; as far as sonic sledghammers go PE have more than their fair share. However, with lone Bomb Squad member Gary G-Wiz at the controls and the current socio-political climate in America built on the twin foundations of despair and anger, the stage is well-set for Chuck D to lay down the law at his direct, sloganeering best.

Veep, Series Four, Sky Atlantic

VEEP, SERIES FOUR, SKY ATLANTIC Armando Iannucci's sitcom returns and proves that swearing can be very clever indeed

Armando Iannucci's sitcom returns and proves that swearing can be very clever indeed

When Jim Hacker MP was unexpectedly promoted to the position of PM, the classic sitcom Yes, Minister required just a small tweak in title and it was pretty much business as usual, albeit with a grander sense of potential impact. When the shit hit the fan, there was alarm, followed by quiet restraint and arched eyebrows before predetermined Machiavellian plans were unveiled and the credits rolled over a comforting closure.

True Detective, Series 2, Sky Atlantic

TRUE DETECTIVE, SERIES 2, SKY ATLANTIC Plenty of acting talent, but the story sounds strangely familiar

Plenty of acting talent, but the story sounds strangely familiar

Last year's debut series of True Detective starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in a fascinating slice of metaphysical Southern Gothic. That's all gone now though, because this time, writer Nic Pizzolatto has shunted the action out to the West Coast, to a small fictional city in the shadow of Los Angeles called Vinci. Apparently Pizzolatto based it on real-life Vernon, California, a city infamous for its history of endemic corruption.

Philip Guston, Timothy Taylor Gallery

PHILIP GUSTON, TIMOTHY TAYLOR GALLERY Small but powerful survey of the American artist's late figurative paintings

Small but powerful survey of the American artist's late figurative paintings

Light. Light banishes the shadows where monsters lurk and where ghosts rattle their chains. “Give me some light, away!” cries the usurping king in Hamlet as his murderous deed is exposed by the trickery of art. What guilt plagues and seizes his conscience, and yet Claudius, conflicted, cannot pray. He must, therefore, remain a captive among the ghosts and the monsters where no light may fall.

The Look of Silence

THE LOOK OF SILENCE Distressing and powerful companion piece to 'The Act of Killing'

Distressing and powerful companion piece to 'The Act of Killing'

Any suggestion that the companion piece to director Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, his disturbing documentary on the state-supported mass killings undertaken for Indonesia’s Suharto regime, could actually be a more troubling film might seem surprising. The Act of Killing was extremely unnerving. The Look of Silence is even more distressing, even more frightening. Inong, a death-squad leader interviewed in the new film, chillingly says, “if we didn’t drink human blood, we would go crazy.”

Kate Tempest, George the Poet, Brighton Corn Exchange

KATE TEMPEST, GEORGE THE POET, BRIGHTON CORN EXCHANGE An evening of spoken word with music undermined by dodgy sonic clarity

An evening of spoken word with music undermined by dodgy sonic clarity

Kate Tempest's long blonde-brown hair flailed as she prowled the stage, red-faced from exertion, adhering not a jot to the media’s tick-boxes for femininity. She is smaller, by far, than her backing band, dressed down in baggy sweatshirt and jeans. Unlikely star material yet she exuded such energized passion and righteous charisma that, by the end, as she encored with a poem that, like so many tonight, seemed to allude to the troubling political developments of last week, she had the audience rapt, completely engaged.

Skin in Flames, Park Theatre

Catalan drama examines exploitation in the aftermath of Western intervention

The premise might seem familiar: a famous photograph, taken by a Western journalist in fraught military and political circumstances, has repercussions many years later. The subject of the picture, a representative of an entirely different culture from that of the photographer, is anonymous, but the image is familiar all over the world. Attempting to bridge the gulf between subject and journalist leads only to further bitter misunderstanding.

Super Furry Animals, O2 Brixton Academy

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY The most inventive band in pop pick up where they left off for an emotional return

The most inventive band in pop pick up where they left off for an emotional return

The timing of this tour, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their self-released, lo-fi masterpiece Mwng, could not be more fitting. The album was inspired, in part, by Welsh language punk band Datblygu, and the left-wing political feelings that ran through that band’s work. Fast forward to now and London looks like an island of red surrounded by a sea of blue following the recent election – and there are a lot of people here aching for escape after Thursday's events.

The Angry Brigade, Bush Theatre

THE ANGRY BRIGADE, BUSH THEATRE Paines Plough's documentary about the 1970s urban terror group is thrillingly theatrical

Paines Plough's documentary about the 1970s urban terror group is thrillingly theatrical

Today, terrorism means killing as many innocent people as possible. Fear is created by completely random attacks, so that no one feels safe. But there was a time, in the past, when political anarchists would focus their attacks on selected targets and avoid civilian casualties. For a year, begining in August 1970, the Angry Brigade brought armed struggle to Britain, setting off some 25 bombs, mainly aimed at the property of the rich and powerful (although one person was slightly injured).