SantosHalper

Yeah, I think I can agree with much of what you say there. Aside from Snyder, GotG was good, and the first Iron Man was really good. I also quite enjoyed the first Thor film, and the first Captain America film. I will see how long my boycott of superhero films goes, and will wait until I hear more about Suicide Squad and Justice League. 
Just before I continue, a disclaimer -- I have not seen Ant Man or Winter Soldier. 
But with many of these franchises, they get worse really quickly. The Iron Man films went downhill, and the second Thor film was utterly terrible. I also thought that the Avengers films were hugely over-rated and got worse too. I like Joss Whedon, and every review told me how smart and witty the films were. But I just couldn't see it. Perhaps this is my failing, as I've never been a massive fanboy of the comics or the "universe". 
This is my problem -- the "universe". We can expect endless films based around these franchises from both the DC and Marvel universes, and it just seems like its a never-ending stream of films designed purely to exploit the fans. BvS is an awful mess, and from what I gather so was Ant Man after Wright was pushed off the project. (By the way, how great would it have been with a Joe Cornish script and directed by Wright?) 
I'm posting you a link of Robbie Collin's review of BvS, which is really worth reading. But scroll down to the bottom and you'll see the list of DC films in the pipeline. There are 9 (nine) new films taking us up to 2020. Add that to the Marvel universe and we'll see at least a couple a year for the next decade. 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice/review/
You're right that some good directors are trying to do interesting things with some of these films. But most of them are dross, and we're being inundated with this stuff. And we also know that Disney is planning loads of Star Wars spin-offs too. Where is this going to end? Even flipping Ghostbusters has more films planned after the next reboot. And Spiderman -- how many Spiderman reboots do you think we'll see? We've already had two! In the last decade! And now we have two Superman reboots to add to the seemingly never-ending list. Next up is Doctor Strange, with Benedict Cumberbatch. One of our finest actors has succumbed to the urge. 
These major studios know they have a captive audience that will lap up any dross they serve up. It just goes to show that the mainstream film industry has given up any last vestige of creativity or originality. They have a stock of existing characters that will be mined for decades to come, and I find that sad. 
Rant. Over. 
 

"Clueless" is an understatement, Leicester. I can say that, apart from Watchmen (which was okay), every other film he's made has been superficial junk of the highest order. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that he thinks he's being profound. That, for me, makes him worse than even Michael Bay, who at least doesn't feel the need to apologise for his awful brain-dead and bombastic films. 
I am now officially done with superhero films. With a few honourable exceptions, most of them have been *****. The big studios are now taking us for suckers. 

A fair amount of the discussion on this thread focuses on tripple-A games. If anyone has any comments on some of the more "indie" games listed below, I'd love to hear. Here's what I've been playing recently:
Stardew Valley (lovely and relaxing farming game, a lot like Harvest Moon but with more heart)
Her Story (brilliant FMV game in which you piece together a murder mystery. Sam Barlow's underlying mechanic is genius)
80 Days (basically a text adventure, but has a really great sense of personality)
Cibele (charts a love story through a JRPG mechanic and a desktop)
Firewatch (not a walking simulator. A really great story, including a potential love story that is morally problematic to the player)
Papers, Please (you play as the guard at a border station/passport control, and must decide who comes through and who is turned away)
Proteus (a serene and beautiful game in which you just... wander around)
Undertale (pure genius RPG)

The idea that having loads of money and adoring fans means that you're unlikely or less likely to suffer from depression is part of a wider problem, although I must admit that even I'm sometimes led to think, "Oh, poor guy, he must be so unhappy in his massive mansion and model girlfriend". It's really terrible of me to think that. 
A year or so ago I dated a girl who flat-out denied that depression even existed, and that people "just feeling sad" should pull their socks up and get themselves sorted out. No amount of arguing or pointing to solid evidence would convince her otherwise -- she just saw my condition as a moral failing on my part, and that's what people who are lucky enough not to suffer from it need to be encouraged to realise. I wasn't so upset when that relationship ended! 

Bone Tomahawk. 8/10.
Interesting spin on the western -- could be described as a horror-western. 
DO NOT WATCH if you're of a delicate disposition. There is a scene towards the end that is perhaps the most shocking thing I have seen in an extremely long time. 

I agree Charlie Kaufman is a great writer, but one who needs a controlling influence on him. For example, Synechdoche, New York, which I think he wrote and directed, is a fascinating film that is at least half an hour too long and over-burdened by the weight of Kaufman's ideas, whereas the Gondry-directed Sunshine is wonderful. 
Anomalisa is much tighter and more focussed on its key themes, and I enjoyed it, but I have a couple of problems with it. I've seen it described as deeply misogynistic, and I can understand that. Michael is a dick, and he sexually exploits Lisa. That wouldn't be an issue if the film commented on that fact and critiqued it, but I don't think it does. 
Otherwise, its very impressive. The animation is amazing, and the attention to detail is mind-blowing. Its interesting to consider it in relation to existentialism, with its themes of alienation and anxiety. 
7.5 for me. 

The idea that having loads of money and adoring fans means that you're unlikely or less likely to suffer from depression is part of a wider problem, although I must admit that even I'm sometimes led to think, "Oh, poor guy, he must be so unhappy in his massive mansion and model girlfriend". It's really terrible of me to think that. 
A year or so ago I dated a girl who flat-out denied that depression even existed, and that people "just feeling sad" should pull their socks up and get themselves sorted out. No amount of arguing or pointing to solid evidence would convince her otherwise -- she just saw my condition as a moral failing on my part, and that's what people who are lucky enough not to suffer from it need to be encouraged to realise. I wasn't so upset when that relationship ended! 

It's a big problem at least here in Finland that media keeps doing bits about celebrities who are "depressed" but after a week vacation in France or Spain they are fine. The people who have the disease called depression however have no hope of getting better like that. Those who are lucky enough not to know the difference seem very eager to make judgements on the matter though. And it ain't helping anybody. Collymore was just one of the many victims in that category.

Just heard Mostyn talking about this towards the end of the most recent podcast and thought what he said on footballers' depression was interesting. Wasn't it our former boss John Gregory who absolutely laid into Stan Collymore once because he was depressed? 
Anyway, just thought I might also bump this back up after discussion on the pod. 
Hope everyone who posted on this thread is doing well!