Hot songs: Hello Saferide – I Was Jesus Tape Waves – Stay All Night East – Old Age #1 Dads – Return To Miniature Dinosaurs – Zambia Ages and Ages – Light Goes Out I’ve created a Spotify playlist with my choice picks, which you can subscribe to via http://open.spotify.com/user/jenster13/playlist/0gYXunFqF4QGZahdvTtjFU or by searching Jenster13. If you want to share your own top tracks, send me suggestions for a readers’ playlist.

Upcoming festivals: Electric Fields: 30 August at Drumlanrig Castle, Thornhill, Dumfries. Bands include Fatherson, We Were Promised Jetpacks, The LaFontaines, Honeyblood and Prides. www.electricfieldsfestival.com Top read: Because She Loves Me by Mark Edwards: When Andrew Sumner meets beautiful, edgy Charlie, he is certain his run of bad luck has finally come to an end. But as the two of them embark on an intense affair, Andrew wonders if his grasp on reality is slipping. Items go missing from his apartment, somebody appears to be following him, and as misfortune and tragedy strike his friends and loved ones, he is forced to confront the frightening truth – is Charlie really the girl of his dreams or the woman of his nightmares?

Cinema this week: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For; Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez have reunited to bring more colourful tales to life from the black and white pages of the acclaimed comic book series. Following on from the pair’s 2005 Box Office smash-hit, the hardened criminals and antiheroes of Sin City clash once more in four fresh stories. A Dame to Kill For and Just Another Saturday Night have been lifted from the comics, whilst The Long Bad Night and Nancy’s Last Dance are all-new adventures created exclusively for the film. In this sequel we follow Marv as he regains consciousness surrounded by several dead men and join gambler Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) on his mission to take down the corrupt Senator Roark (Powers Boothe). Years before The Big Fat Kill we drop in on Dwight (Josh Brolin) as he helps his former lover Ava Lord (Eva Green) escape her abusive husband and after the events of That Yellow B*stard we’re shown how exotic dancer Nancy (Jessica Alba) has come to terms with the suicide of her protector Hartigan (Bruce Willis). ‘Walk down the right back alley in Sin City and you can find anything.’ Disney vs WB: Disney and Warner Bros. are set to battle it out by releasing their own versions of The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast. The House of Mouse’s Jungle Book is scheduled to hit cinema screens on 9 October 2015. Directed by Iron Man’s Jon Favreau, the live-action movie will feature the voices of Bill Murray (Baloo), Ben Kingsley (Bagheera), Scarlett Johansson (Kaa), Lupita Nyong’o (Raksha), Christopher Walken (King Louie) and Idris Elba (Shere Khan). WB’s The Jungle Book: Origins will drop a year later on 21 October 2016 and will be helmed by Andy Serkis – the actor behind LOTR’s Gollum, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Caesar and Peter Jackson’s King Kong. In addition to directing, Serkis will also play Baloo – joining Benedict Cumberbatch (Shere Khan), Christian Bale (Bagheera), Cate Blanchett (Kaa) and Tom Hollander (Tabaqui). Naomie Harris, Eddie Marsan and Peter Mullan have also signed on to voice members of the wolf pack that raise Mowgli (Rohan Chand). Both studios will utilize Rudyard Kipling’s short-stories (published in magazines between 1893 and 1894) as source material, however Warner won’t be able to use select characters and details from the 1967 animation as they are Disney originals. Following on from The Jungle Book, the two big-hitters will go head-to-head once again with Beauty and the Beast. The Belle of the ball will be crowned by Box Office figures, so expect to see Disney and Warner fight for your loyalty come release time. Personally, I would rather see the money spent on these productions pumped into original ideas. We’ve seen The Jungle Book. We’ve seen Beauty and the Beast. It’s time for something new.

Ant-Man: Although filming only started in San Francisco last week, Marvel has already released the first promo picture of Paul Rudd (45) as Ant-Man. The comic will play con-man Scott Lang who finds his heroic side when he’s able to shrink in size and increase in strength via Dr. Pym’s (Michael Douglas) Ant-Man suit. The movie is set for release next summer.

DC to Marvel: Adrianne Palicki has been cast as Mockingbird/Bobbi Morse in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The G.I. Joe: Retaliation star will join the TV show in season two as the field agent. I’ve been a fan of Palicki since Women in Trouble (2009). Back in 2011 she stepped out as DC Comics’ Wonder Woman in what would have been the superhero’s television resurrection, but unfortunately the pilot – created by Ally McBeal’s David E. Kelley – failed to be picked up by NBC. When it was announced last month that Thor is to be given a mighty makeover and will be reboot as a woman in a new comic series later in the year, Palicki was one of the actresses I thought would make a great onscreen Goddess of Thunder. However, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is part of Marvel Cinematic Universe – this means if Palicki was to appear in one of the studio’s movies, it’ll most likely be in her role as Mockingbird for crossover continuity.

Pay to play: According to the Wall Street Journal, the NFL now wants to charge acts for the privilege of playing at the Super Bowl half-time show. Historically the megastars who have entertained at the sporting event have not been paid, but have benefited from the global exposure following their performance. For example; Madonna was able to reinvigorate her career in 2012, Beyonce and Destiny’s Child album sales rocketed by 40 per cent the week after their appearance in 2013, and Bruno Mars was able to showcase his sounds alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers to 115.3 million viewers in 2014. There’s no argument – the Super Bowl halftime show is a coveted gig – but will artists who’ve already agreed to essentially work for free pay for the entitlement? The suggestion was apparently met with a chilly reception from the reps of the 2015 show’s three top contenders – Katy Perry, Coldplay and Rihanna. While an NFL spokeswoman declined to comment on how much money the organisation would seek from performers – citing contract confidentiality – it was reiterated that the NFL’s sole interest is to put on “the best possible show”.

Bannjaxx Comics: The Multiversity #1 (DC); Bannjaxx’s Dave Rice said, “The big thing for the foreseeable future is legendary Scottish writer Grant Morrison’s The Multiversity. It’s an eight-part, multi-dimensional romp through 52 alternate universes including ours. President Superman, Captain Carrot and a host of other heroes travel between alternate dimensions in The Beatles’ yellow submarine – which is made of frozen music – to save reality from the worst thing imaginable. If you loved Morrison’s Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, his legendary Animal Man run, or The Invisibles, then this is your cup of tea.” Bannjaxx Comics, 13 Stirling Arcade, Stirling, FK8 1AX. For more info, go to www.bannjaxxcomics.org.uk.