One extraordinary thing about going to see Master and Commander last night at the downtown Paramount 7 multiplex on Princess Street is that I went at all. The last time I went to the movies at a multiplex was Good Will Hunting on its first run, what, about five years ago and the last movie I saw at an art house was Atlantic City maybe three years ago. I was an usher in my twenties not at a cinema but at Neptune Theater and I found my ability to suspend disbelief seriously impaired - see a bad play or even a decent one 17 times in two weeks and you tend to drift towards the consideration of the clothing choice of the lady in the third row.

I was happy to find the effect has worn away and I was completely sucked into 1805, the Napoleonic War and enjoyed the movie thoroughly. I have read that some of the sails were made here in Kingston, being the sailing capital of Canada (until someone else makes us take down the sign), and that the technical advisor, who sat on the shoulder of the film's director Peter Weir, runs the period naval dockyard museum, Discovery Bay, at Penatang' on Georgian Bay. A few notes without spoilers. Apparently to capture the sound of cannonballs flying through the air and smashing oak they had to take some cannons and fire them at oak. Also, I was surprised to see that the violence was not particularly gore-laced. Rob will tell you all about the male bonding stuff - which is true - but I was most taken but the ship as a fightin' machine needing 197 of various trades (188 after the first 15 minutes) to run. Not enough fixation on knots as there could have been but I do have The Ashley Book of Knots.

Le Spoilier Seul: the French lose.