Chindie

A cost benefit analysis would also neglect the side effects of the EU's existence. While it was initially a trade union (and at heart effectively still is) financial benefit wasn't it's only aim (or depending on your viewpoint, it's only benefit). It also had the effect of preventing Europe trying to wipe itself out again by putting everyone in each others pockets, for example. Looking at it solely in terms of numbers neglects everything else, and arguably actively actively attempts to skew things to a less useful, simplistic conclusion.

They scrapped the entire ending for WWZ and quickly put together another. The original ending was a fairly bleak action showstopper set in Russia iirc, but had problems that lead to some hasty rewrites and reshoots and a completely different finale.

A work colleague swears Aldershot is the armpit of the UK. I've always imagined Edinburgh and Norwich to be fairly nice places to live - I liked both when I've visited.

That's quite sad to hear. In fairness he'd been fairly sickly throughout his life, but still be a bit weird knowing he's gone. Time Team was always fairly popular in our house, it was often surprisingly interesting.

Of all the weeks you could pick to laugh at the idea that secret services do nasty things and conceal them from us, you pick this one. Good work. I don't think I've ever suggested they don't. In fact I believe, possibly even in this thread actually, that I've said that they do. It's just that this was such a laughable reaching for it conspiracy nut angle it really is worth laughing at. It's kinda summed up by the angle run with by some, that it's odd they where driving up a deserted dangerous road that leads to nowhere... Only for it to be revealed it lead to a beauty spot... Good work!

Finally seen Sightseers. It's glorious. Strangely beautiful shots mixed with absolutely pitch black humour and an odd feeling of 'Britain is a bit shit' that only makes it funnier.

His brother's a Mossad agent!1!!

Been looking for something like that... Looking to splash out or working on a budget? Probably looking at what most people would consider the more budget end.

Been looking for something like that... I bought a diet coke and a vodka and diet coke at lunch.

In news sure to delight Stevo985, Robert Downey Jr has agreed a new 2 film deal with Marvel for Avengers 2 and 3. Excellent news. In other comic book movie news, Amazing Spiderman 2 has had a cast member cut - The girl playing Mary Jane has been dropped entirely. But rumour has it they've added another villain to make up for things. Colm Feore is rumoured to be playing the Vulture. Meaning this movie might have 4 villains It's gonna be a car crash.

Enormous u-turn. A majorly embarrassing one too. I still think it'll come back, though, perhaps at a midcycle refresh. And the Kinect crap should be a deal breaker for everyone. In relation to Giantbomb/Klepek, he has gone in for link bait before now, incidentally. He went in hard on feminism stuff when it garnered one of the highest reactions for any text published on the site, in quite pathetically cynical fashion.

I quite like Espedair Street, actually. Of what I've read, his best are the Crow Road, Complicity, the Wasp Factory and Transitions. With honourable mentions to the Bridge and Whit. His sci fi, the Player of Games and the Use of Weapons stand out, with the Algebraist and Inversions coming up behind. Inversions largely as it is a simple but clever idea done well.

Was about to post this. Looks awesome! Has Leonardo patented the 'raise the glass, drop the chin, raise the eyebrows and smile' gesture? He's used it in 3 films this year, including this one. Django and Great Gatsby also feature it prominently.

Yeah see I have a big issue with a film being "good fun". Especially when it cost a bazillion dollars to make. And that's all these superhero movies (Batman aside) ever seem to be. I go to the cinema to be blown away, but not in a technological sense. I guess I go to the cinema to enjoy myself. I enjoy the spectacle of a big budget superhero blockbuster - I don't think it's going to set Cannes ablaze or win any Oscars for performances or it's artfulness, but I enjoy something like Man of Steel for what it is. I think a good few people might go and see Man of Steel and be blown away, in all honesty - it's finale is quite genuinely blockbuster fare. Perhaps too much so. I guess it's very easy to look down on. Each to their own.

Didn't know that but it makes me glad in a way because I'e always rated it as his one crap book. I also have a signed first edition Yeah, he described it himself as the runt of the litter. He rated the Bridge and the Use of Weapons as some of his better work. I've never read Canal Dreams actually - I intended to get through all of his works fairly shortly and then had life catch up a little. I actually cleared some shelf space the other day and am intent on getting the lot and running through them soon, though.

On his straight fiction, you can read any of it really, depends what interests you. If you like the sound of a thriller revolving around a series of murders and the drug addled journalist trying to solve it, read Complicity. If you fancy reading a coming of age story set against a mystery, the Crow Road is incredible. The Bridge is a layered puzzle of a book featuring 3 starkly different narratives intertwined. ... and so on. He has his weaker moments - Canal Dreams he personally believed was the weakest of his work. His sci fi is more difficult. Most of it is set against a far flung society called the Culture, where massive AI brains run things and the society lives a completely free life, able to fulfill any whim imaginable. The books about the Culture tend to describe what happens when the Culture encounters other civilisations outside its remit - be that through war, curiosity or, more often than not, trying to secretly influence that civilisation to it's own whims. He had written non-Culture sci-fi, most notably the Algebraist, which was very well received and has some similarities to his Culture work. If the Culture interests you, the Player of Games is a good place to start. It's a simple story set in the Culture and has lots of the themes and motifs the Culture stories all have, without the mildly impenetrable stuff there other books have. The first Culture book, Consider Phlebas, is usually said to be a fairly poor jumping on point as it's story looks at the Culture from the outside, which makes a lot of what is discussed a little more odd. I read it after having read a few Culture books and think I got more out of it that way. Do not read Excession first - I did that and enjoyed it far less than I should have as without the context of the other books it's quite a weird, confusing read.

The 84 inch is 4k though, so has extra '**** daft purchase' brownie points.

In fairness to Man of Steel, it's arguably more of a sci fi film than it is a superhero film. It's no masterpiece but fun enough, looks good and as thin as it's plot is (and with its flaws and holes) it's good fun.

Not really a surprise - Thanos is bound to be the villain for Avengers 2. Though he's likely to appear in GoTG first. Loki is returning for Thor 2 though.

Just back from Man of Steel. Paper thin plot, some good performances, completely daft action. I have to be honest and say I rather enjoyed it. The finale does beg the question, quite how many people did Superman kill in saving the world?

18 hours there Mike, might be time to hang up your grammar jackboots...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYvKXVoAXmg Junip - the band Jose Gonzalez is in sometimes. Brilliant. New Sigur Ros Monday too...

Very good to hear.

I keep thinking yours is a Death in June avatar, but I don't think it is. Is it? Nah, it's the lead villain from the upcoming Thor movie. Malekith the Accursed, for the unintiated

A bus that went past me just after I left work this afternoon had brakes that sounded precisely like what I'd imagine a dying space whale to sound like. Sorrowful, echoey, hootings. For some reason that put a smile on my face. One of my favourite unintentional comedy noises ever.