The Fish

Fuck off! Really?!

I suppose it might be nice for Siem to have some company?

Because you think that people are too bothered about the number of followers?

Apparently not, stopped following me though.

I told him to do the same thing on twitter.

Caulkin has poo pooed that Palace link, I think.

That'll be a shame. Not that he goes, but that he'll likely sully the work he did by failing to evolve with the rest of the league. End of the day his obstinacy has cost them titles. If, instead of spunking tens of millions of lightweight attacking midfielders, sign a midfield destroyer like Kante, a big lump up front like Romelu Lukaku and a dominant centre half. I know that looks like I'm over-simplifying it, but Arsenal have the funds, the attractiveness and the scouting network to get it done, surely?

I think Renton would like the comic if he read it. But he won't.

Well not really, they have child friendly ratings because the studios believe that they can make more money selling to a huge market (PG), than they can a restricted one (R/18). It's marketed towards kids because they can sell cartoons, toys, t-shirts, mugs, games off the back of them, and they won't get the same revenue streams from an 18. To dismiss comicbook movies' content as "for kids" is a bit silly given the themes and tone of quite a lot of the medium. The backstories of a lot of the heroes are bleak and many of the characters are damaged & conflicted. However, they wear spandex and punch their problems in the mouth, so I'm not going to bother trying to convince you that there's depth to them if you choose to read more about them. In your 2nd sentence you describe what you want from a movie. The factors you're after aren't likely to be in an action movie, let alone a comicbook movie. They're going to be in a Mike Leigh movie. I don't understand complaining that Captain America: the First Avenger isn't as worthy and cerebral as something like Tyrannosaur, of course it's not. Bad Boys III is pre-production, as if Fast & Furious 8, I'm sure there'll be emotional intelligence in them

I think Deadpool, for all it's flaws, proved that an R-rated superhero movie can still be a financial success. There are some characters that don't lend themselves to that rating (Spiderman, Superman, IronMan etc.) but others like Punisher, Suicide Squad, Lobo absolutely do. Even characters who, in the ensemble movies have to tone it down could have R-rated franchises of their own. Wolverine, Winter Soldier, Deadshot etc. We might go back to disaster movies? Or Sci-Fi although that's already happening with Star Wars & Star Trek. The former is owned by Disney and has comics released under the Marvel imprint so does it count as a comicbook movie?. I'd love a return to the adventure movies of the 80s like Spielberg tried with Super 8, but not sure if that films tepid reception has put studios off further projects in that area.

Westerns haven't disappeared. Just curious, which blockbusters have you enjoyed?

Liverpool certainly have, Man Utd too.

I think the slated Marvel movies will be the end of the wave, but there'll always be a market for big budget Superhero movies so while there won't be 3 or 4 Marvel movies a year, there'll still be at least one every year or so. They might pivot to their Netflix shows and expand that side of the universe. If fantasy shows like Game of Thrones can be a critical and financial success, plus the success of Daredevil & Jessica Jones there's a platform for the genre.

One of the biggest problems with Dummet is the next pass that follows his. He doesn't give the recipient options, and the pass he plays is often poorly timed or weighted, so while it'll count as a completed pass it actually puts pressure on whoever just got it. Was our last proper left back Enrique? Haidara has only managed 48 games in 3 1/2 seasons (36%) so dunno if he really counts.

The superman films tend to focus on him defeating someone using brute strength, which is dull as fuck. I thought Man of Steel should have been him finding his feet and learning that he can be Clark Kent and the hero he wants to be. Those clips of him saving people at an oil rig, or ruining a truck could have been the whole movie, ending with him rescuing a bunch of people from a natural disaster. And that's when Zod's ship turns up. 2nd movie we've got a firmly established Hero that the planet has to weigh up whether or not he's worth the arseache Zod gives them, then he trashes the city to take Zod down amid arguments about whether he's dangerous or not which can bring Batfleck & Lex Luthor into the universe. Then when the titular characters fight in BvS, Superman doesn't need montages of him saving people to remind the viewer he's a good guy because that was done in the 1st movie, Lex Luthor's plan has been in play for part of the 2nd movie, Wonder Woman can be introduced and the Justice League movie can be set up. Her life is sunshine and lollipops, I wouldn't worry about her.

Oh I wasn't sticking up for Marvel out of some loyalty, I just think that Marvel Studios have, on the whole, got it right more often than DC. Surprised you didn't enjoy Civil War, but horses for courses and that.

ah, that's right, got a hat trick against West Ham, didn't he?

Dressage Show Jumping Ping Pong Because fuck the rich and fuck China.

There's been a couple of missteps, but I find there's generally redeeming features within them all and I like most of them and they certainly stand up well in comparison to other blockbusters. There's never going to be an Oscar winning performance in a Marvel movie (unless they take a more grounded tone like their Netflix shows), but I'm not settling down expecting that from Antman. Just action, laughter and performances that don't have me clawing at my eyes. At the very least there'll be a moment I can nerd-out over; Like a recreation of classic comic panels, or an easter egg or simply a recognisable line. When they're up against the likes of the DC fuckups, the childhood ruining Turtles and Transformers movies, CGI monster-mashes like Warcraft, Pacific Rim or the rehashing of old ideas like the Jurassic Park & Independence Day sequels I'd pick a Marvel movie every time.

Fucking perfect.

I could have sworn he scored 2-3, but was a useful big lump.

What a dope.

To be honest I've watched movies after a ton of hype and found them disappointing, I've watched movies when I've not been in the mood for them and been bored. But on a second watch I've completely changed my mind. I think for people who aren't interested in comic books and their characters, there's a bit of fatigue at the minute. I've been reading about these characters and their backstories for 15-20 years, you've probably only heard of Antman, Hawkeye and the Vision in the past 3 or 4. You're now being asked to give as much of a shit as me, or as your kids who're mostly just excited about the bangs and whistles. Civil War is a good movie with some flaws, but the curve it's being graded against is a steep one. Iron Man was a surprise success, cool, what's next? Hulk, Iron Man 2? Thor? Captain America? each fine, but will be repeated a lot on itv2 in a year or so. Then comes Avengers, which blows everything else out of the water and sets a new benchmark for the biggest Comicbook blockbusters. Now everything is up against that, even smaller features with a decent pedigree like Iron Man 3 suffers because the film that preceded it was so good, and so well received by critics, the audience and fanboys alike. Obviously when each new character gets a movie and they're then shoe-horned into an ensemble movie which seems bloated. But if you're a fan, you know each character already so know the references they make even when they're castaway lines. re: Howay's worry about Infinity War, it's a story over 2 movies and the majority of the characters will be relegated to cameos, at best. Some may only be seen on news channels in the background of an exposition scene.

I can explain it if you like, but I'm fully aware that in so doing there'll be a good old chuckle at how a grown man likes comic books, either way I'm entertained.