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Michael*

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Everything posted by Michael*

  1. And to that point, although it's probably a bit of an odd thought, Marvel will likely be looking at this and hoping that it performs well. That being said, it's ridiculous to have arrived at a point where there's so much riding on one film. There would have been far less pressure had Marvel done what they should have done ages ago and commissioned a Black Widow solo story.
  2. I expect it to open strongly, but probably more in spite of its marketing than because of it. The media campaign (or lack thereof) suggests a much smaller advertising budget than for Suicide Squad or Batman vs Superman, perhaps in response to the subpar performances of those films. Do you think you'll see it on the big screen? Given DC's recent track record, I'll probably still be going into it with some trepidation, but my gut feeling is that it'll be at least in the Man of Steel range of quality. Some of the bits and pieces I've seen up to now look legitimately interesting.
  3. Michael* replied to goose's topic in Sports
    Moyes is almost certainly out of options at the highest level now, although I could see an offer from the SFA being on the table as soon as Wee Gordon's time is up. As for a potential replacement, it's difficult to pinpoint a 'no brainer' at the moment, although there are certainly areas that I hope Short and Bain will be sensible enough to stay out of, namely random ex-pros (Giggs, O'Shea, Phillips) and the 'jobs for the boys' old guard (Pardew, McClaren). Equally, a Pearson or Karanka type would feel like an extension of a mentality we've just escaped. After he walked into a similar shambles at Leeds and appeared to get the team organised in fairly short order, I don't mind the idea of getting Garry Monk, but honestly, I'll settle for anyone who sees the job as a way to make a name for himself and looks like he wants to be here. That would be a improvement on what we had.
  4. Michael* replied to goose's topic in Sports
    Three years ago, David Moyes left Everton as the new Alex Ferguson, today he leaves Sunderland as the new Alex McLeish. It's a relief really, there was so much negativity around the club and this will be a chance to generate some much-needed optimism for the long, hard season Championship ahead.
  5. Michael* replied to goose's topic in Sports
    Trust our Tony to try and "kick them up the arse" and miss. Perhaps he could take over from Arsene Wenger at the Emirates after all, that would at least guarantee a more interesting relegation fight for next season.
  6. For two connected stories, Alien and Aliens are very different and I think that really works in their favour. Aliens is the superior sci-fi/action movie, while Alien is the superior horror/suspense movie. I'd consider Ridley Scott’s visuals more skilful than James Cameron’s, although Cameron does manage to expand on many of the first film’s strengths, and never in a way that feels excessive or forced. The original is still my absolute favourite though, it's an uncomplicated film in a lot of ways, but just such a masterpiece of slow burning tension. If we're discounting the Alien vs Predator movies, both of which are beyond even 'so bad it's good' territory, Alien 3 would be at the bottom of the pile for me as well. Its main aim was to try and 'put the cat back in the bag' by using an individual xenomorph to scare the audience again, but that would only have had a chance of working if the characters were worth caring about. Ripley aside, they're all just too thinly sketched to be engaging.
  7. Wait 'til I tell Ophelia Immortal about this, you guys.
  8. Jessica Chastain [2] Keira Knightley [5]
  9. @Cult Icon It's no secret that the franchise is a really mixed bag, but I would say that only James Cameron’s follow-up in '86 is worthy of being placed in the same category of excellence as the original, which might be the most influential movie ever in the genre. If I had to rank them all from best to worst, this is how I'd do it. Alien Aliens Prometheus Alien Resurrection Alien 3
  10. Truly heartbreaking news about Chris. I always think it says a lot when the range of tributes to a musician comes from across the genre spectrum and from fans of everything from pop to extreme metal. As a bit of an aside, what with the work of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and Audioslave mostly being at the forefront of those tributes at the moment (rightly so, of course), I'd completely forgotten until this morning about him performing You Know My Name, which is the best James Bond theme ever.
  11. Michael* replied to Cult Icon's topic in Movies
    I'm of a similar opinion, although I only ever saw it the once. The old Verhoeven film was quite low-brow in a lot of ways, but there were also some high ideas mixed in, whereas the remake just seemed aggressively middle-of-the-road in almost every department. Shame really, because it's a good book too, and the world they created was more faithful to it than the Arnie version.
  12. Michael* replied to Michael*'s topic in Actresses
    Interview Magazine March 2017 Ph: Craig McDean
  13. I wonder if perhaps the additions of new picture posts are resetting the thumbnail images or complicating things in some way?
  14. Michael* replied to goose's topic in Sports
    The relegation battle itself was very much par for the course this year, but with Boro about to register one of the best 'goals against' records ever for a side in the bottom three, I suppose you'd have to say they were a bit of an anomaly. For all Karanka's control freakishness, he at least knew his stats and recognised that teams who look decent at the back are almost always in with a fighting chance of survival. It's hard to imagine much of their current squad now being picked apart by Premier League clubs, so if they replace the two or three players likely to leave and add some flair, I could honestly see them walking the Championship next season.
  15. Michael* replied to Michael*'s topic in Female Musicians
    Sigrid Solbakk Raabe (born 5 September 1996), known professionally as simply Sigrid, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. In 2017, she achieved international success with the single "Don't Kill My Vibe". Sigrid began her career in 2013, after releasing her debut single, "Sun". The song was seen as her national breakthrough in Norway. She later signed to Petroleum Records the following year, and performed at festivals such as Øyafestivalen. In 2016, Sigrid signed with Island Records. She released her debut single with Island, "Don't Kill My Vibe", in 2017. The song has charted in Norway, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
  16. Kirsten Penelope Eva Deborah
  17. Michael* replied to goose's topic in Sports
    The thought of anyone being worse off than Sunderland at any point this season goes to show the scale of the mess that Paul Clement must have had to clean up at Swansea, although it was certainly a stroke of luck for him that we renewed our commitment to unwavering crapness when we did. Jordan Pickford making a superb save against Hull with the score at 0-0, but handing Llorente an early goal with a keeping error. Billy Jones' square head finding the net against Hull, but missing an easier chance against Swansea. Throw in a pathetic, half-arsed performance from a spineless set of players and Andre Marriner's incomprehensible failure to spot one of the most blatant handballs of all time, and they couldn’t have wished for an easier game.
  18. Anyone been to see this one, then? The task of following up on probably the most idiosyncratic entry into the Marvel stable couldn't have been an easy one, but honestly, you'd never have known it from watching. What with the Guardians' world being fairly familiar territory at this point, it lacks a bit of the freshness and surprise element of the first one, but it makes up for that by prioritising character over action in a way that's smarter and so much more thoughtful than it might seem on the surface. I honestly wasn't prepared for the final act to pack such an emotional punch. It's always enjoyable too, to see what a riot of colour these films are. Almost too much to take in on one viewing, but lovely to see after a few too many desaturated, washed out flicks.
  19. Victoria Lee [2] Noel Berry [2]
  20. We're back using those two images now, so let's see what happens. Do feel free to drop me a line with any others, I'm doing as many as I can in the Actresses, Other Females and Female Athletes sections at the moment.
  21. Michael* replied to Cult Icon's topic in Movies
    Honestly, I could only be swayed from the opinion that Deckard is human if they were to explicitly state otherwise in this new one. And if that's the way it ends up panning out, may the sequel be stricken from the records forever.
  22. I think it's more a case of Trump being unable or unwilling to learn that he can't approach the presidency like he approached reality TV. There are tons of real-world consequences to his every decision, but he appears completely incapable of predicting the outcome of any action he takes. He still seems to think he can rewrite the narrative, sack the writers, edit out the bits he doesn't like, or any of the other tricks he was used to using on The Apprentice.
  23. Michael* replied to Cult Icon's topic in Movies
    With the story taking place in an age-matched future (thirty something years later), it'll be interesting to see how much advancement there's been from the world established by the original. Unless it's set in a completely different area of course, or they take it offworld, there's only really so much they can do to change the conditions. In general though, I always think the cyberpunk genre works well in film, games, graphic novels and whatnot, because it's so visual. It's just such rich ground for the imagination to run wild.