HERE we are in the middle of the improvements that no one will notice.

Until now we have been focused on the things which will bring about greater stability to the business.

These improvements are as a result of our success — we need a little more storage and there is some work to complete in the loft space.

If we get time, we hope to recover the heat from the projectors in the winter to add to the heating in the screens. It has always been a disappointment to me that we cannot use it in some way which needs the heat ducting to the front and the bottom of the screens to be most useful.

Apologies for the “break in transmission” at the weekend, but we got on well and the work was progressed as efficiently.

Next week is half-term and there will be lots of people looking for entertainment for themselves and their youngsters, so there is Shaun the Sheep Movie and Big Hero 6 for them – two really good films in the same week.

The Baftas were awarded on Sunday and were rightly given in our opinion. Eddie Redmayne was awarded best actor for his portrayal of Professor Stephen Hawking and gave a really generous speech about the film and his portrayal of the professor, who was also there, and gave the award for special visual effects alongside Felicity Jones.

There was a bit of banter between Stephen Fry and Stephen Hawking that the professor thought he was better looking.

Outstanding British Film was The Theory of Everything and for me this award could have gone to this or The Imitation Game.

The Theory of Everything also won Best Adapted Screenplay. Julianne Moore won Best Actress for Still Alice – still to be released, next month, in this country. Grand Budapest Hotel won Costume Design, Make-up and Hair, Music, Production Design.

The Milton Rooms have a couple of announcements coming up soon which will be very exciting. I will drop them in when I can confirm them. Their next production is BLANCHARD’S BALLOON: Presented by OPEN UMBRELLA THEATRE on the 20th of February. “A punchy, historically accurate family comedy following the unusual and fascinating lives of Sophie, John Jefferies, and most importantly Jean-Pierre Blanchard, who invented the hot air balloon. He stormed The Bastille, landed on the moon, sung ‘What a Wonderful World,’ won The Tour de France, or so he would have you believe!”

This week there were two films to review, but we have only seen one of them – Selma.

I hoped that it wasn’t going to be too over the top, and it wasn’t.

To me the story, well I suppose facts, were presented in a careful manner.

The people who were portrayed came over as extremely clever and determined.

There were some horrific scenes where the truth is already well documented so the facts are not disputed that the Sheriff in Selma overstepped his authority and clearly the law.

The Senator clearly seemed to be racist in his actions and rhetoric for only one side of the dispute.

The main protagonists believed they could resist the change and couldn’t see that the violence they endorsed only worked against them as their opponents were their opposition, but only passively.

While Selma is not about British history most of which recently have been inter-country wars, for our country this was a dispute out of bigotry within towns and neighbourhoods in the same country. Who can blame those in power for wanting to maintain their status quo – well clearly those who were the illegally oppressed who only wanted the same respect and rights as the oppressors.

Even those who would otherwise have been the same status as the oppressors if they were in agreement with the movement were treated as traitors and received the same treatment. All sounds a bit worthy but really is well done and shows the man who the legend is – Nobel Peace Prize Winner and someone who got the ear of the President as a result though did nothing in the short term.

This is all just that bit deep but, I feel comes from the very moving true story and of success.

We also get to see what happened to those at the centre of the happenings fifty years ago now. We will have a go at seeing Big Hero 6 this week and not forgetting Shaun the Sheep Movie.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (15) – after I offered what I hope was a little bit of a warning last week where the “nice Mr Darcy Colin Firth” played a different part in this rather unconventional film for him, it has been going down really well.

Kingsman is a bit more of Johnny English meets the street and is proving really rather popular.

Films from Friday: Big Hero 6 (PG and number one in the top 10) continues for another week.

Shaun the Sheep Movie (PG and number three in the top 10) starts on Friday for half-term week and beyond.

Fifty Shades of Grey (18) starts on Friday and booking has gained even more momentum in the last few days.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (15 and number two in the top 10) continues for another week, but we can only fit in two shows on Saturday and Monday in Screen 3 at 8.15pm, so book to avoid disappointment.

Selma (12A and number six in the top 10) continues for another week.

Paddington has left us this week to make room for Big Hero 6 and Shaun the Sheep Movie for half-term, but we hope to get it back the following week.

Further ahead there is an interesting film, The Gunman, which stars Idris Elba and Sean Penn.

It follows the story of former Special Forces soldier and military contractor suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who tries to reconnect with his long-time love, but first must go on the run from London to Barcelona and across Europe in order to clear his name. Not definite yet, but the cast is strong.

 

Live stage productions

NT Live: Treasure Island (12A) has its encore performance at film price tickets next Wednesday, February 18.

After RSC Live: Love’s Labour’s Lost (12A) is tonight (Wednesday); then Der Fliegende Hollander is on February 24.

The week after, on March 4, is Love’s Labours’ Won – Shakespeare’s comic romance plays out amidst the high spirits of a post-war house party in autumn 1918.

As memories of the trenches give way to a life of parties and masked balls, Claudio and Hero fall in love, while Benedick and Beatrice reignite their own, altogether more combative courtship.

Christopher Luscombe directs the second of Shakespeare’s matching pair of comedies. Better known as Much Ado About Nothing, his play is performed under the title Love’s Labour’s Won, a name possibly given to it during Shakespeare’s lifetime.

Everyman is the new live production from the National Theatre to be broadcast on Thursday, July 16 at 7pm. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor in the title role. There will not be an no interval in this 90-minute production.

Booking is open already as we are bound to go on sale but not to announce before that date which doesn’t fit well with publication dates.