h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I finally got round to watching Ziemlich Beste Freunde - a French film which has been quite huge worldwide, but I never got to see it in the cinema (in French: Intouchables, it even made it to Blighty: the Intouchables)

great stuff.

By proxy (because I refused to go, because I thought it would upset me) ... Les Mis blew away my family yesterday. They liked that it was actors rather than singers - DH said it really brought out the meaning (he tends to lose concentration during songs, bit of a disadvantage with Les Mis). They are totally backing Anne Hathaway for an Oscar. And they agreed I was right not to go. People were sobbing.

Mol

I'm due to see Les Mis tomorrow. I'll take a hanky

On Saturday night I watched "Impact" on Channel 5, billed as a "feature-length disaster drama" starring James Cromwell. A rogue asteroid strikes the moon knocking its orbit out of kilter, it will collide with the Earth in 39 days...

...it sounded like just my thing. It was long, over 3 hours counting advert breaks. The special effects were good, the two actors playing the children were marvellous (and had me in tears when their Grandad died) but that's about all it had going for it. The POTUS had no character at all and his staff were wooden. The astronomy errors were laughable, if they could afford to employ James Cromwell, why not a scientific advisor?

GB

I saw a trailer for the new Trek film today

I saw Les Mis. I agree with everything that's already been said. Miss this at your peril. Hugh Jackman is amazing. "Bring Him Home" in its true context had me in bits. I am not sure I have recovered yet, still teary

10/10

I saw Les Mis on stage in Essen some years back. Is the film also sung right the way through? I thought it seemed more like an opera than a musical because there was no speaking (in the stage version). I can't remember much about it, other than that. Rather forgettable, I thought.

Yes, sung right the way through. An epic, I thought

Watched Zero Dark Thirty this afternoon. I found it quite challenging, which I guess was the point. It was interesting and well-done but I found myself quite disturbed by the fact at no point, during scenes of torture and murder, no-one asks the question whether such measures can ever be justified or whether the costs are too high.

I don't think it ever glorified torture, as some are claiming, but it didn't acknowledge some of the criticisms except as bumbling politicians interfering with the intelligence work. It also chickened out of the big questions of the Pakistani ISI connivance/complicity in hiding Bin Laden.

I have not watched the film but have heard enough from people who have and have reviewed it.

I believe the point was not to question it because it seems no-one has questioned it within those inner circles. When a group has got the stage where they use torture those involved have gone past the point of questioning the method.

It has left the viewers to question it for themselves.

If anyone wants an alternative to Brian Cox tonight, Channel 4 are showing Source Code (9pm). I enjoyed this first time around and will be watching it again. I highly recommend it.

an alternative to Brian Cox? you are naughty, GB!

Not all hootooers are droolers, Sho

not just for the quotient, he's the thinking person's crumpet.

In source code what happened to the guy's "soul" that Gyllenhaal jumped into?

Of course it was complete nonsense but it was a fairly uplifting and upbeat film (apart from the above guys mind)

Sho Source Code has Jake Gyllenhaal to over. Top film too.

OH NO! you git.
I don't have access to iPlayer. I'll have to get the DVD from LoveFilm (other film rental services are available)

you can rent source code for film 4 online.

You can watch Source Code on C4 at 9pm tonight.

I wondered about that, too, Stone Aart. What happened to the other chap?

I saw The Impossible this week. It's a powerful film, had me hiding my eyes and welling up. Astonishing what this (real) family went through (based on real events). My only issue was when the mother was having surgery on her leg and as she was being put under the nurse said "Think of something nice" and we saw the tsunami hit again. It would have been better to have seen the family the previous Christmas or something

Re: The Impossible - based on real events that happened to a Spanish couple but Hollywood changed them into Americans - some people are a bit miffed about that...but that's Hollywood for you.

If they can change history to show the Yanks capturing an Enigma machine they can change the country of a family.

Personally, I have no wish to see the film...I thought it was pretty poor timing to have the adverts and release of it over Christmas.