One positive by-product of having a foot operation is that my weekly trip to the yoga class, and twice weekly practice of karate have been replaced by several visits to the cinema. So for once I can say I have seen almost all the Oscar winners in their prizewinning roles. I can recommend without hesitation The Dallas Buyers’ Club, Gravity and Philomena. Blue Jasmine was a disappointment. And somewhere in between lay American Hustle.
On last week’s excursion I went to see The Book Thief, the film of the hugely popular book. It generated that ubiquitous question – is the film as good as the book?