Went to a matinee today in Berkeley. When I arrived at the concession counter to order my popcorn at the very moment the fresh new popcorn began tumbling out of the hopper, I knew it was going to be a good day.
And it was. The movie was so good. Every moment was interesting; the scientists and technicians on whom they focused to tell the stories were all personable and charming. The graphics were just right, and the filmmakers did a good job of explaining just enough about the physics involved so that probably anyone who watched it would feel that they were up to speed.
There were several moments that were especially wonderful – a couple of different times when everyone was gathered together for an event - first powerup, first collision, etc. - when it’s wonderful to watch everybody giddy with science. Peter Higgs himself wiping away a tear at the announcement of the team’s probable finding of the Higgs Boson. A couple of the younger physicists attached to the project speculating about and messing with a dubious sculptural artwork on the grounds of the facility.
But my very favorite thing in the movie was a scene where a large number of staff are gathered together for a meeting, and one of the guys there is wearing a “Uriah Heep” T-shirt. Don’t know why exactly, I just thought that was awesome!
That is all.