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I've been catching up on some of this year's blockbuster movies since exams finished last month: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Collateral and The Manchurian Candidate.

Bridget Jones 2 was a fairly amusing romp, although it had two major drawbacks. The first was that it reused many of the jokes from the first film, which would have been OK if you were new to the characters, but for those of us who were familiar with part one, it seemed like the writers had run out of ideas. The second mistake was the Thailand jail sequences, which I'm told were treated very seriously in the book. In the film however, in an attempt not to disturb the generally light and fluffy tone of the movie, the scenes were played for laughs, and fell flat.

Collateral was a film I hadn't intended to see, since I was planning to see The Manchurian Candidate, but the cinema changed the times at the last minute. Since I ended up seeing The Manchurian Candidate the next day at a different theatre, it wasn't a problem, especially since Collateral was such a well-written, tightly directed and stylisth thriller.

The Manchurian Candidate, on the other hand, was more by-the-book, but boasted a magnificent scene-stealing performance by Meryl Streep. She didn't just chew the scenery, she demolished it. I hadn't seen the original film, so the remake didn't suffer by comparison, though I'm told significant adjustments were made. The next must-see movies on my agenda are The Phantom of the Opera and Alexander, despite the fact that both films have been poorly received by critics.

Talk CSI Files threads

Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at Talk CSI:

- What did you think of "No Humans Involved"?

- Why doesn't CSI show episode titles?

- What would you change about CSI: New York?

More topics can be found at the Talk CSI!

Poll Results

Below are the results of the most recent CSI Files poll:

How would you rate 'No Humans Involved'? 9-10 62.6% - (144 Votes) 7-8 20% - (46 Votes) Wasn't able to see it 6.9% - (16 Votes) 5-6 5.2% - (12 Votes) Didn't want to see it 2.1% - (5 Votes) 1-2 1.7% - (4 Votes) 3-4 1.3% - (3 Votes) Total Votes: 230

Thanks for voting! Please participate in our new poll, which asks you to rate tonight's CSI: Miami episode, "Addiction".

Today's Television Listings

• At 10:00 p.m. tonight, CBS will be showing the first-run CSI: Miami episode "Addiction". Here's how the network describes the episode:

  "When Kay Coleman is killed in what looks like a carjacking, the CSIs talk to her husband, Sal Coleman, the oldest of the three Coleman brothers who run their lucrative family business. However, when it is revealed that Kay had a gambling addiction that could have bankrupted the company, the team must follow the evidence to find the killer. Meanwhile, Alexx hires a recovering alcoholic as a body hauler and must investigate when he is accused of stealing from the dead."

• Spike TV is scheduled to broadcast five episodes of CSI every weekday night this week. The full listing can be found here.

• At 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 15, CBS will air CSI: New York's "Night, Mother". Here's a preview of the episode:

  "When a parasomniac sleep walks out of her apartment complex and is later found covered in blood next to a woman's body, the CSIs must investigate if they have a closed case or if there's more to it than meets the eye. Even though their suspect is covered in the victim's blood and has a wooden stake thought to be the murder weapon at her side, Mac thinks there is more to the case than what they see. Meanwhile, Danny and Aiden investigate the murder of a "professional" pickpocket who was beaten to death."

• There will be no new episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation this week, with CBS showing a repeat of "Bad Words" at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 16, followed by a re-run of "Down the Drain" at 9:00 p.m.

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