Thwarted by the weather

I know I told the class last week that cinema managers love bad weather but there is some weather that is just too bad to venture out in, so my plan to go see a movie turned into a plan to watch a movie on telly. I caught up with Michael Clayton for a second time and it was even more interesting to see how much it has caught the flavour of the 'paranoia thrillers' of the Seventies such as Parallax View - the bleakest movie ever made - or Three Days of the Condor. It was interesting too to see George Clooney take himself seriously and give a performance that didn't consist of demented grimacing or coy glances.

Also caught part one of Little Dorrit which looks like being appointment viewing. The timing is perfect for a story about financial bubbles bursting and the effects this can have on ordinary people. Parts of it looked a bit like theme park Dickens but generally the interiors were superb; productions like this thrive on the grace notes and Sue Johnston in particular, along with Tom Courtenay, were marvelous.