Reaction: Hawking
Since nothing appears to be coming out of my brain except tripe, I thought I should put something into it instead. So I watched Hawking, the BBC biographical movie about Stephen Hawking, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Watch this movie. If you have any interest in the history of science and physics. If you want to see an absolutely fantastic portrayal of a great theoretical and quantum physicist, fighting both entrenched ideas about physics and a degenerative illness.
Don't watch this movie if you only want to watch it for Benedict eye-candy. It's not that sort of movie, and you are not likely to find what you are looking for.
I had severely underestimated the acting talent of Benedict Cumberbatch. I thought that I wouldn't be able to not see Sherlock from Benedict when I started watching this. Not only did I have no trouble believing Benedict as Stephen Hawking, I want to track down any interviews he may have done discussing how he prepared for the role, because it's just achingly brilliant and a very detailed performance. I can't even put it into words. The joy he shows, the way he moves as the disease progresses, the moments of self-doubt and frustration, all compelling and perfect.
The movie does have a few very 'scene' scenes that stick out awkwardly, mostly to tidy off loose ends or accomplish necessary exposition and so forth. It does also mess with the actual timeline of Stephen Hawking's life somewhat for dramatic purposes, but even so that seems somehow appropriate, messing with time. ;-D
As to the science material, it does get a bit thick in the theoretical physics department at times, but is presented in a very laymanly way, and should be comprehensible enough to anyone coming in regardless of science interest or background. I could follow it all and while I have read and watched a few things on the topic before, I've currently been awake for *checks clock* 33 solid hours, so, yeah. I'm not exactly running on all cylinders at the moment. XD
One cute Sherlock-related thing, Stephen Hawking's best friend at Cambridge is portrayed by the same actor who played Sebastian Wilkes in the Blind Banker. Hawking's friend treats him a hell of a lot better than Seb ever did Sherlock.
Now, as I mentioned, I have been awake for 33 hours straight (including the Daylight savings change-over) as I post this, so take the review above with that in mind. ;-)
Watch this movie. If you have any interest in the history of science and physics. If you want to see an absolutely fantastic portrayal of a great theoretical and quantum physicist, fighting both entrenched ideas about physics and a degenerative illness.
Don't watch this movie if you only want to watch it for Benedict eye-candy. It's not that sort of movie, and you are not likely to find what you are looking for.
I had severely underestimated the acting talent of Benedict Cumberbatch. I thought that I wouldn't be able to not see Sherlock from Benedict when I started watching this. Not only did I have no trouble believing Benedict as Stephen Hawking, I want to track down any interviews he may have done discussing how he prepared for the role, because it's just achingly brilliant and a very detailed performance. I can't even put it into words. The joy he shows, the way he moves as the disease progresses, the moments of self-doubt and frustration, all compelling and perfect.
The movie does have a few very 'scene' scenes that stick out awkwardly, mostly to tidy off loose ends or accomplish necessary exposition and so forth. It does also mess with the actual timeline of Stephen Hawking's life somewhat for dramatic purposes, but even so that seems somehow appropriate, messing with time. ;-D
As to the science material, it does get a bit thick in the theoretical physics department at times, but is presented in a very laymanly way, and should be comprehensible enough to anyone coming in regardless of science interest or background. I could follow it all and while I have read and watched a few things on the topic before, I've currently been awake for *checks clock* 33 solid hours, so, yeah. I'm not exactly running on all cylinders at the moment. XD
One cute Sherlock-related thing, Stephen Hawking's best friend at Cambridge is portrayed by the same actor who played Sebastian Wilkes in the Blind Banker. Hawking's friend treats him a hell of a lot better than Seb ever did Sherlock.
Now, as I mentioned, I have been awake for 33 hours straight (including the Daylight savings change-over) as I post this, so take the review above with that in mind. ;-)