KILLING TIME

Well, I’ve just seen The Predator. Filled with excitement, I sat down ready to watch the movies’ greatest killing machine (apart from Jaws). Shane Black said he looked to the original for inspiration. All I can say is he must have been in a pissed-off mood about being offed first, because the new film is absolutely awful. What was he thinking? An absolute joke of a film which had so much potential. I feel let down as I’m sure lots of others will too. DANNY, BAGSHOT

Although I love a good update on upcoming films, I’ve noticed that The Predator has made it on to your cover several times in the last few months. Half a page here and there… but then [in TF277] you go further and reveal a vital plot element: Predators in army cargos! Semi-ruined the film before it was even out! Oh, and can we please stop doing BIG pieces on blockbusters that turn out shite, while little-known gems get five-star corner reviews? Just a thought. Otherwise, keep up the good work. PAUL FLANAGAN, VIA EMAIL

One question: is The Predator a comedy? JOHN BASKERVILLE, BIRMINGHAM

Well, not in the Bridget Jones’s Diary sense, but yes, Black did seem as keen on funny-bone-tickling as spinal-column-stripping. As it turns out – antispoiler warning! - the bit with Preds in army pants didn’t make it to the final cut; shame, we’d love to have seen them looking like the world’s angriest All Saints tribute act. As for big, shite blockbusters, we never knowingly back a loser; and while we remain a broad church, our populist bent does mean we’re more likely to put a Spidey or Stath on the stain-glassed windows.