Spectre

SPECTRE An Oscar for Sam Smith's theme song? Really?

Surely Daniel Craig can't quit just as he's getting so good at it?

The title sequence of Bond number 24 is a bit of a nightmare, with Sam Smith's mawkishly insipid theme song playing over a queasy title sequence featuring a hideous giant octopus, but the traditional opening mini-movie is an explosive chain reaction which doesn't disappoint. This takes us to Mexico City on the Day of the Dead, where Daniel Craig's ghoulishly attired Bond is on a mission to take out a chap called Sciarra.

A Song for Jenny, BBC One

A SONG FOR JENNY, BBC ONE Frank McGuinness's adaptation of bereaved vicar's memoir says a lot about bereavement and nothing about faith

Frank McGuinness's adaptation of bereaved vicar's memoir says a lot about bereavement and nothing about faith

Rev Julie Nicholson, bereaved by her daughter’s death in the 7/7 bombings, became known as the vicar who can’t forgive. Her 2010 memoir, also entitled A Song for Jenny, detailed the way her pain undermined her vocation, to the point where she gave up preaching the following year. Playwright Frank McGuinness has been working on this adaptation since the book was published, and in human terms, it’s superb.

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).

Nathan Coley, Brighton

NATHAN COLEY, BRIGHTON Questions of faith and the Brighton bombing preoccupy the Scottish artist

Questions of faith and the Brighton bombing preoccupy the Scottish artist

Thanks to its international festival and a thriving catalogue of fringe events, May brings a great deal of noise to Brighton. Putting artwork into this saturated landscape can never be easy. But Nathan Coley has managed to inject some critical thinking and reflectivity.

Spooks: The Greater Good

First widescreen adventure for Harry Pearce and his MI5 crew

The idea of a movie spin-off from BBC One's spy show Spooks has been lurking with intent ever since the tenth and final series ended in 2011. Finally it's here, helmed by director Bharat Nalluri (who shot the first and last episodes for TV) and with Peter Firth's Sir Harry Pearce at its centre. Where, as the Spookfather-in-chief, he had to be.

theartsdesk Q&A: Spooks, the movie

Q&A: SPOOKS, THE MOVIE How the popular MI5 drama finally made it to the big screen

How the popular MI5 drama finally made it to the big screen

During its 10-season run on BBC One between May 2002 and October 2011, Spooks built a lasting reputation as a superior espionage thriller, charting the battle of a squad of MI5 agents to protect the realm against its fiendish and unscrupulous adversaries. Despite the inevitable plot-holes and sometimes incredible storylines, Spooks managed to keep itself anchored in the bleak realities of intelligence work, where it was wise to trust nobody and if you were paranoid, that's because the bad guys really were out to get you.

This World: World’s Richest Terror Army, BBC Two

THIS WORLD: WORLD'S RICHEST TERROR ARMY, BBC TWO Untangling the structure of Islamic State reveals the scale of the enemy

Untangling the structure of Islamic State reveals the scale of the enemy

You haven’t had to actually watch the brutal executions staged by Islamic State (IS, or ISIS or ISIL, as it’s also known) to register them: just a single image registered has been more than enough to horrify. Managing to penetrate the world’s consciousness to such an extent has surely been one of the terror group’s most singular achievements.

Hostages, BBC Four

HOSTAGES, BBC FOUR Tension runs high in Israeli original of television drama we know already

Tension runs high in Israeli original of television drama we know already

Hostages certainly whips along. We’re straight into conflict from the very start of the first episode, except it soon transpires that the real action will be taking place elsewhere. And it’ll be tighter, more excruciating than the bash-down-the-door atmosphere of the opening scene, which serves to introduce us to Adam Rubin (Jonah Lotan), a top operator in Israeli counter-terrorism who’s on his last day of service and concluding his final mission successfully.

Blackhat

BLACKHAT Not even Michael Mann can make cyberhacking come to life on the big screen

Not even Michael Mann can make cyberhacking come to life on the big screen

From Michael Mann, the director of the monumental crime epic Heat and the original and best Hannibal Lecter movie Manhunter, this lumbering saga of cyberhacking is really rather disappointing. Not that it doesn't include several torrid action sequences in exotic locations, while the basic theme is at least urgently topical. It's just that there's little evidence that the project fired Mann's imagination, or inspired him to breathe plausible life into his characters.

The Green Prince

THE GREEN PRINCE The Israeli-Palestinian struggle explored through a single complex relationship

The Israeli-Palestinian struggle explored through a single complex relationship

Finding a clear narrative among the deadly uncertainties of the long-lasting stand-off between Israel and Palestine is a challenge. Israeli documentarist Nadav Schirman, drawing on a real-life story, has honed The Green Prince down into a bare story of the ongoing contact between Gonen Ben Yitzhak, an officer of Israel's Shin Bet intelligence service, and Mosab Hassan Yousef, a young man from the very centre of the Palestinian leadership who becomes his agent.