Miles Davis would have turned 80 today. Juliette Greco talks about their love affair for Guardian. “Sartre asked Miles why we weren’t married. He said he loved me too much to make me unhappy.”

Do you carry your towel today? May 25th is Towel Day, a tribute to Douglas Adams (1952-2001).

Decidedly mixed Marie Antoinette. I can’t judge the film by myself yet, but it was some time a year ago when I was thinking: Maybe Sofia Coppola should use someone else’s screenplay next time.

I guess I could start with a different one, maybe something low-profile and unintrusive. But I can’t. While I’m flicking through TV channels, poorly dressed professor Langdon is watching my ugly face more carefully than the Big Brother. Silas the albino is trying to get me from the ad in the newspaper. Innocent Sophie Neveu is half-smiling, half-glaring at me from billboards in the best tradition of Amelie of Montmartre. Only the good-old Sir Leigh Teabing with sinister gandalfish look in his eyes and a pair of walking sticks is nowhere to be seen. So I really had to go see the movie.

So I went. But thanks Mary Magdalene that I had read the book first. Otherwise I’d certainly be lost. And that is a paradox of the movie — it succeeded to squeeze the most of Dan Brown’s book storylines, yet it felt that it had a pace too slow to be entertaining. Pity that the thrilling suspense of the conspiracy bible had been left behind.

For those few on the planet who haven’t read the book and so far were able to avoid annoying advertising and publicity, let me tell you what is it about. American professor of symbology hanging out in Paris is called to Louvre to solve a mystery murder of museum curator only to find out that he’s the main suspect. Luckily, curator’s granddaughter and police cryptographer in one helps him get away and literally takes him on a quest for a holy grail. After solving puzzle after puzzle after puzzle after puzzle and about dozen more, with few people left killed, two hours wasted and a kilo of popcorn eaten, it’s over.

Don’t want to spoil it for you, but maybe you leave the cinemas a bit numb, thinking if you’ve just missed something (e.g. climax?) or if it was really dull. Obviously, you, the audience, will have to make up your own mind. However, would you want to see a more entertaining movie, but certainly also blasphemous and heretic, I’d suggest to get Life Of Brian instead. Otherwise have fun or die trying.

Decline of the great movie soundtrack? But is using licensed music in a movie such a good idea anyway? Maybe not.