Michael*

Yeah, for some reason my impression was that a Hawkeye series with Barton and Kate Bishop had already been greenlit. I definitely remember Jeremy Renner pushing for it some time ago, so it came as something of a surprise when they made no mention of it here. Given my ultimate pick of course, I'd prefer a Pizza Dog series, perhaps with Renner in a brief cameo.

So, Disney finally announced the details of its own streaming service last month and four new MCU shows have since been confirmed, with some of the more popular fringe characters who don't, and probably won't, have their own standalone movies to return in greatly expanded roles. WandaVision The official (and quite appalling) title for the Scarlet Witch/Vision series. Joining the cast is Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, who last appeared as a kid in the 90s-set bits of Captain Marvel. In the books, she's also the hero Spectrum. Falcon and The Winter Soldier Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie to return and team up, with Daniel Bruhl to reprise the role of Baron Zemo. Loki Tom Hiddleston back in the role, which feels like a pretty big get. I was under the impression that he was done as Loki. What If? An animated series with original cast members returning and Jeffrey Wright to voice The Watcher. Feige has described the first episode as "what if Peggy Carter had become a supersoldier and Steve Rogers had stayed a scrawny kid, but joined the fight in an armored suit made by Howard Stark."

A real struggle to recall another major final so entirely lacking in quality and devoid of incident as Liverpool-Spurs was, but Wor Jordan's embrace with his Dad afterwards could have brought a tear to a glass eye.

A job well done, Fred. From the new owners signalling that they had some real ambition for the club, to the swift acquisition of Dean Smith, transfers and loans secured decisively in January, the subsequent run to the play-offs and the unlikely friendship between Prince William and John Carew, there's not been a dull moment at Villa Park all season. It'll be interesting to see what happens over the summer, we could be in for some Wolves-style action. Frustrating thing was that after the calamitous own goal left Charlton punch drunk and barely contesting the match for much of the first half, we never really looked willing or able to deliver the knockout blow. And of course, it wasn't a great surprise when they rallied round and eventually got the winner, they looked fitter, stronger and more mobile than us, as the vast majority of League One's promotion contenders have done this year. I must confess, my immediate reaction afterwards was one of relief that such an attritional season was over, but I suppose the hope now is that we operate sensibly in the summer and go on to copy what happened 20 years back.

You're right, I'm aware that nobody used the word "hormones". That was what I believed was being implied from the tone of the discussion and the referencing of irreversible life changing decisions, but I should have asked for clarification. However if my initial reaction was indeed wide of the mark, and the discussion we're having is literally only about a little boy who professes to feel more like a girl, then I still don't see a problem with letting them do what makes them happy. As I said, if the whole thing turns out to be a phase, the kid can just go back to being a boy.

I didn't say anything pertaining to the Theron case at all, as that wasn't really the question I was asked. But regarding the main point, there seems to be a widespread belief on here, and I'm not sure why, that the decision is an irreversible one, when nothing could be further from the truth. If the whole thing turns out to be a phase, the kid can just go back to being a boy. I don't see what the problem is. Much of this discussion has already devolved into assumptions of "they're giving hormones to kids" and statements like "leave his penis unchopped", which completely ignore the reality of the situation. Nobody gives hormones to kids, and even puberty blockers aren't typically prescribed until much later. By which time, I think it's safe to say whether the adolescent knows if they are transgender or not.

I think I'm right in thinking that the scientific community verges on unanimousness in its assessment of climate change, and that it's equally unanimous in admitting to only having a rudimentary understanding of how genetics, hormones and environment factor into brain development. They know biology is a big part of it though, and biology doesn't always cleanly divide people into two sexes.

+1 A few of the posts in here, man, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

The time has surely come for the SFA to start thinking outside the box, so they might do well to consider 'going foreign' now. Big Sam, Neil Warnock or Pontius Pardew incoming.

Thread cleaned. I'm making it known now so that there can be no excuses later, take it easy throwing around words like 'ugly' in the model topics.

That's fine, I went ahead and merged the accounts. If you run into issues with your log-in details in the future, please try to let us know what's going on before creating a second profile.

I'm no authority on the law but I can confirm that it's not allowed on the forum. I'm afraid, to be safe and avoid any issues we might encounter, it'll have to be removed.

Thanks Shep. Random semi-related aside, and this may have been brought up before, but a neat (and possibly coincidental) thing I noticed while re-watching one of the Thor Ragnarok trailers just now. Thor not aiming for Thanos's head in IW may have stemmed from Mjolnir being destroyed when he tried decapitating Hela with it. Or maybe he just didn't want to lose another sweet weapon.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the recent reviews, it's not been an auspicious opening weekend, with the movie taking twelve million dollars against a budget of fifty. For comparison's sake, Hellboy '04 took $23m on its opening weekend, while Golden Army made $34.5m.

I'm certain he'll be great as the lead, although it's a little weird, what with the whole project basically coming about because Phoenix said he wanted to do a low-budget character study of a comic book villain, that he apparently wasn't the studio's first choice to star in it. If the reports are to be believed, we almost ended up with Leonardo DiCaprio instead. I had that down as another fascinating role for Phoenix (particularly starring opposite Rooney Mara), but although I couldn't fault the acting, the end product felt weirdly low key, maybe even a bit anti-climactic. Shame really.

Good luck finding a George Orwell quote to help you defend those actions, Joey!

There are a lot of unanswered questions about the Finn arc, but honestly, I think how good it is will only really be known in retrospect. After Force Awakens, I was hoping to see Phasma become his biggest rival over the course of the next two movies as I like the idea of the rebel Stormtrooper pitted against his old boss, a wildcard looking for revenge. There's no reason why that can't still happen, and if they throw in a few more interactions between Finn and Poe, I'll put the whole thing down as a win. In general too, I think the way Episode 9 wraps things up can potentially help TLJ settle into a place in the mythos. As the middle part of a trilogy, it really needs the context of a conclusion.

Ah, I heard about that. The story about her symptoms apparently not being taken seriously by doctors was very sad, not least because I'm given to understanding that early interventions can alter the progression of the disease quite significantly. Incidentally, I had no idea that she was 46, I would have guessed late thirties at the most.

Honestly, aside from people justifiably pointing to the space casino stuff (which was a bit laborious) or the Super Leia scene (which was just a bit naff), the vast majority of complaints against Last Jedi basically amount to either 'it's not the Star Wars of old' or 'it's not how I would have done it'. I actually think if you compare the arc of Force Awakens and Last Jedi with that of New Hope and Empire, they're very similar. The sequel moves away from what's gone before and ends with the heroes in dire straits, and is also perhaps the least fun to watch in isolation. Indeed, when Empire first came out, a lot of fans weren't sure what to make of it and many hated it. It was too dark, didn't wrap things up, Luke is mutilated and Han is written off. We're literally seeing the same reactions now as the current generation's ROTJ is about to come out.

Indeed, from what I've heard, the movie is essentially a selection of Hellboy's 'greatest hits' interspersed with a lot of gore and schlocky action sequences. It was curious to hear, what with the vast majority of the comics featuring an older, more world weary version of Hellboy, that they went for another 'emotionally immature' take on the character here. That was an idea that seemingly came directly from Del Toro, and I would have thought, since this was supposed to be a new vision, that they would have tried something a little different with it.

I'll happily go on any ride that Taika Waititi wants to take me on.

There's enough ambiguity in the title, when coupled with the persistent rumours of Rey’s heritage being retconned by Abrams, to get me a little worried about how this might go down. The other popular theory of 'Skywalker' becoming a title is certainly something I could get on board with, though. I like the concept of Luke having such an impact that the word comes to mean something to the effect of 'Jedi leader'.

Oof. Some of the bite-sized reviews I've seen up to now read like Del Toro diehards upset that he didn't get to do a third film. Either way, I'll probably still go and see it, but if I said this wasn't a little deflating to the enthusiasm, I'd be lying.

Before I go, I should add that I'm okay with Gabriel Luna getting a shot in a big franchise film, presumably as a reward for banishing all memory of Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider in Agents of Shield.

Ironically, as much as people hold reboots in low regard, this is one instance where a fresh start would almost certainly be more beneficial to the franchise. The various attempts at clinging onto what's gone before has made such a terrible mess of the mythology, and it's only getting sadder. This perhaps has the best chance of doing the originals justice considering who's involved with it, but the fact they’re trying it after Rise, Salvation and Genysis, just comes off as desperation.