For anyone who hasn't been watching Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell ...

You must! The BBC's adaptation of Susanna Clarke's fantasy novel is a shining example of the boldness and brilliance of British TV.

The Walk

Watch this heartstopping trailer for The Walk, a new film from Robert Zemeckis, director of Back to the Future, Forrest Gump and Castaway. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars at Phillipe Petit, a french dare-devil who attempted to tightrope walk between the twin towers in 1974. It's the same story that featured in the Academy Award winning documentary Man on Wire in 2008. Part biopic, part heist movie, the trailer for The Walk is exhilarating, let's hope the film is too.

"The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library"

So said Albert Einstein - and from what I hear, he was pretty smart. I spent a glorious Monday in Manchester exploring some of the city's most impressive reading-nooks.

Brandon Flowers - A long time coming

Typical isn't it, you wait five years for a new Brandon Flowers track and he releases two at once! I'll forgive him the agonising wait though, as I'm told he's been quite busy with some band called The Killers in between times. King B's been dropping cryptic hints about his upcoming solo album The Desired Effect on Twitter since last September though and now, with the release date just weeks away, we're finally getting to revel in its gloriousness. Here are the new videos for your audio/visual pleasure.

Just a friendly reminder ...

Pride gets its DVD and download release in the UK today. If you saw it at the cinema, I expect you've had it on pre-order for months, if you didn't, read The Optimist's recommendation here then head down to your local VHS retailer and get yourself a copy. Like I said back then, you HAVE to see it. It's wonderful.

Upcoming Costume Dramas

The start of British Springtime may only be three weeks away but I think we can all agree that at the moment, it's still #nippy. So, while we wait for beer-garden season to re-commence, let's savour the last bit of Winter by making a vat of hot chocolate, pulling on a pair of bed socks and settling down to watch a costume drama or two - there's plenty on ...

The Theory of Everything

It was back in early August that the trailer for The Theory of Everything first appeared and The Optimist got terribly over excited about it. The wait has been long and at times testing but rejoice, for the film has finally been released in cinemas. So, does it live up to the expectation? Read on ...