Well played, sir. I definitely detected the influence while reading. Unfortunately, the closest thing we have nowadays is bloody Spooks. Grrrr…

Greg Rucka
I recently read the first collection of Queen and Country, which I thought was excellent. Why couldn't they have made a film/TV series out of that?

The Guardian's review was rather sniffy about it, so it's good to read another take, and one that seems in line with my own expectations. The "too wacky" put-down was used a lot against Burn After Reading, and I enjoyed the hell out of that, so I'm hoping my reaction will be the same for The Informant.

Are you both the presiding judge and executive producer?

I find O'Neal's writing vastly superior to Gillette's.

There was a horror film out a few years ago called Ginger Snaps, that was supposedly a female take on the werewolf movie, tying "the curse" in with menstruation. I never saw it, so can't vouch for it being any good or not.

Actually, it was reality TV's dominance of the schedules in the late 90s/early 00s that led to high-budget, high-concept dramas like Lost and 24 being commissioned to claw back a little space for drama on US networks.

If we're on stuff we'd like to see more of, get Steve Hyden writing more. If he's been press-ganged into writing for the Decider or whatever it's called now, you should liberate him post-haste.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the Fantastic Four movie 4 stars when it first came out. He later shamefacedly retracted his review, and justified it by saying he was in a good mood because he was about to go on holiday.

Erik E Erik, good call, but I will not abide you talking trash about Heat. That film is a classic, and functions as a magical ground where the most base cliched elements turn into pure gold.

There are versions of that story all over the world. Here in the UK we have Greyfriars Bobby.

I'd get worked up, but I couldn't give one fuck about Richard Curtis or his films.

The "One Perfect Gesture" Moment
When the shy, sweet guy comes up with a romantic gesture that makes the girl he's been pining for realise just how much he cares about her. Gets me every time, no matter how cliched.

"There is no way that I will ever, EVER—"

Best example of "we're not so different, you and I" is in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Indy's a bit of a loose cannon, and you can't help but feel that had things gone differently, you feel he could easily have ended up just as much a bad guy as Bellocq.

Liking the look of this
Ewan McGregor I can take or leave, the rest is promising.

The world's love for Jeff Bridges is a well-known fact.

A guy I worked with went to see Louis CK last summer. I didn't know anything about him at the time, so wasn't particularly jealous.

Yep. He gave interesting, in-depth answers, and seems to have a decent amount of insight into how acting and comedy work. Haven't heard any of his standup, but I will have to track it down.

Yes, Warren, but those adverts are annoying. As in, REALLY ANNOYING. I agree with the thrust of your argument, but Iggy could have made just as much money playing some rich douchebag's private party (and insulting the audience the whole time)…