Energy vampires

There's a Philip K Dick story in which science fiction has become so ubiquitous the characters ask each other if they've seen the latest Captainkirk. Funny, but we joke about seeing a Star War now. That extended universe and Marvel are all that exists, and it is shaping criticism. Writing about the Sony film Morbius for The Hollywood Reporter critic Richard Newby says "there's a Super Bowl mentality to these projects where everything has to be a major event, the experience of the year, and rarely does the idea that something can just be good or fine hold sway".

It's no skin off my nose if Twitter beats up on a mid-range $75 million movie. But that critical attitude of "it's brilliant or it's shit" seeps into everything. Music and now films have hit stadium-rock bottom. I don't want books to be next.