I did the Frozen Chicken challenge at university. I don't think that's actually it's name but it was relevant to what we were doing at the time. For the challenge a number of people are closed inside the -20 freezer (Celsius, none of those antiquated measurements) and the last one to stay in wins. It isn't done in special clothing either, so it's pretty much jeans, a T-shirt and your lab coat. I stayed in for 5 minutes before deciding there were better places to be. Partly my decision came from my lips starting to sting and that one of my ears had gone numb. In my defence I was one of the first in and wound up standing right next to the cooling fans and so had an icy wind blowing over me. The two winners stayed in for just under 30mins, setting a new record (the previous one was 24mins by someone in shorts and a T-shirt, who apparently got hypothermia from it).

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It was last year I believe when I was reading some of the Sherlock Holmes books. It also happened to coincide with the release of a film based on said books. I've now had the opportunity to watch the film. It's one which I have rather mixed feelings about.

At first I was extremely disappointed. The characters did not seem to match their literary counterparts and it seemed as though it was a horrible use of a beloved character to stimulate attention. A number of those complaints still remain, mainly that the characters do not behave as they would in the book, particularly being far more violent now. In addition it was horrible to see how the books theme of observation and deduction had been made inferior to the supernatural.

The end, however, practically changed my entire view of the film. At the climax, Holmes explained the entire case and revealed what had appeared to be magic was in fact clever illusion. This scene I felt really fitted with the ethos of the books and made up for most of the rest of the film.

Understandably there was a certain mood to keep but at times everything seemed too dark and grey. That said there was quite a nice feel to the appearance.

As a final word from me, there were a number of disappointments, but I do feel as if the story later made up for it with a masterful conclusion. It's not exactly like the book,s focussing too much on action and not enough on the thinking and mystery that the books contained. So while it has a shaky start and some questionable choices in the end it is a decent film.