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"I'm the author here!" Bleecker Street Media recently released the first official trailer for a holiday drama titled The Man Who Invented Christmas, about the story of Charles Dickens and the creation of the character Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol. Dan Stevens stars as Dickens, and Christopher Plummer plays Scrooge, in this tale that mixes reality and imagination to tell us the story of how Dickens created this characters that would "forever change the holiday season into the celebration we know today." The full cast includes Jonathan Pryce, Simon Callow, Donald Sumpter, Miriam Margolyes, Ian McNeice, Bill Paterson, and Justin Edwards. This reminds me of the other film Goodbye Christopher Robin, about an author and his creation, but this one seems much more dark and fantastical. Have a look. Here's the first trailer (+ poster) for Bharat Nalluri's The Man Who Invented Christmas, on YouTube: The Man Who Invented Christmas...

Security issues have forced the Chinese military authorities to clamp down on their troops' Internet use. As well as a moratorium on blogging, the 2.3 million military personnel are forbidden from using online dating sites, personal websites, and even visiting real-world Internet cafes. As opposed to those in Second Life, presumably.

The cyber-rules--just one part of a lengthy edict from the Communist Party's Central Military Affairs Commission--are brief, yet to the point. According to AP:

Seeking marriage partners, jobs or making friends through the public media is not permitted.

Going online in local Internet cafes is not permitted.

Opening websites, home pages, blogs and message forums on the Internet is not permitted.

Ah, micromanagment and secrecy, those never-ending passions of the powers that be in China. Any soldiers worried they're never going to find themselves a wife as long as they're dressed in khaki needn't worry, as the Xigaze military sub-command...

First-time director Tom Ford has surprised the critics by making one of the year's best films. Can he take all the credit – or is great cinema always a team effort?

Tom Ford wanted to be a ­director so much, he bought a movie. He obtained the rights to a Christopher ­Isherwood novel, lifted the cast from his contacts book and the budget from his bank balance. Ford made his ­millions in the rag trade; first as the creative director of Gucci and then as the creator of the Tom Ford fashion label. He freely admits that, ­until ­recently, he had no film-making ­experience whatsoever.

It would be nice, then, to dismiss A Single Man as a bungled vanity project, a hubristic folly from a man with more dollars than sense. ­Annoyingly, the shoe won't fit. A ­Single Man boasts a deft, Oscar-­nominated performance from Colin Firth as a bereaved...