HITCHCOCK (12: 20th Century Fox), a fact-based account of the making of the famous film director’s Psycho, is a disappointingly inconsequential affair.

The movie opened in cinemas shortly after TV drama The Girl, which portrayed Hitchcock as little more than a sadistic lech.

Here we have a more agreeably comic portrayal, if little else, with Anthony Hopkins, under a mound of make-up, playing the man as a stubborn, wisecracking old teddy bear whose worst crimes are overeating and petty jealousy. But the film runs no deeper than that.

Psycho, Hitch’s belligerent reaction to the success of North By Northwest, has to be self-financed because of studio disinterest and an unhelpful censor.

Meanwhile, there’s a love-triangle involving his wife and creative partner, Alma Reville (a miscast Helen Mirren), and Strangers On A Train adapter Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston).

Sadly, director Sacha Gervasi struggles to bind the two strands to a misjudged fantasy element in which real-life serial killer Ed Gein becomes Hitchcock’s ghoulish confidant.

> A zombie has a strange reaction to eating a man’s brain in offbeat romantic comedy WARM BODIES (12: Entertainment One) – he begins to fall in love with his victim’s girlfriend.

Writer/director Jonathan Levine breaks the rules of the genre by giving us an undead hero, R (Nicholas Hoult), who is able to think deeply about his life (or lack of it) and conveys this in a rib-tickling voiceover.

That spark of humanity is fanned into something warmer by mortal blonde Julie, whose boyfriend Perry literally gives R some food for thought as it allows him to experience old memories of Julie.

The interplay between the couple is suprisingly witty and tender, and there’s a shot of adrenaline later on when R faces off with Julie’s zombie hunter dad (a rabid John Malkovich) and an army of lethal skelton zombies.

While the plot does tend to lumber at times, Hoult carries the burden gracefully, even with a lopsided gait.

> Based on the first in a series of popular boy-meets-witch books, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES (12: Entertainment In Video) is perfect for teens left bereft by the end of the Twilight films.

Alden Ehrenreich plays bored Ethan, who falls for Lena (Alice Englert), the weird new kid in his Deep South home town.

It turns out that she’s a ‘Caster’, a kind of witch, and will come into full possession of her powers on her 16th birthday.

But the youngsters’ budding romance goes wrong when two feuding elders (Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson) start battling to determine whether Lena’s powers will be turned towards good or evil.

The two young leads are terrific, as are the smartly written early scenes of small-town conservatism and awkward boy/girl smoochy stuff.

The second half doesn’t quite cast the spell of the first, yet it remains decent teen entertainment and augurs well for further films in the franchise.

A pregnant woman had to be rescued from her car yesterday when a tree fell onto the road in Hockliffe.

Two fire engines from Leighton Buzzard arrived at the scene on Leighton Road at 3.08pm to find a woman in her 20s trapped in her vehicle after it was involved in a collision with another car.

The fire crews immediately set to work at getting the pregnant woman out of danger and said that cutting her out of the car was a “safety measure”.

East of England Ambulance Service said they treated the woman, who had non-life threatening injuries, at the scene but she was taken to Luton and Dunstable Hospital as a precaution.

The road was closed from The White Hart Harvester until 5.15pm.

@LBOamanda

Free driver training is being offered to 16 to 24-year-olds in Central Bedfordshire and Luton to help young drivers stay safer on the roads and reduce the number being killed or seriously injured.

A full day session, including five different workshops, is being held at the Millbrook Proving Ground on July 7, with 96 places available for youngsters who live in the area.

The MORE 16 and MORE Drive courses, run by Beds Police and the Three Shires Driving School has aided 500 young drivers since being launched in 2010.

Councillor Brian Spurr, spokesman for sustainable communities and services at CBC, said: “Collision statistics tell a bleak story.

“In Central Beds and Luton, between 2009 and 2011, almost 30 per cent of drivers and 36 per cent of passengers killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents were aged between 17 and 24. Delivering the MORE 16 and MORE Drive courses is part of our commitment to reduce road collisions among this age group.”

Rebecca Bailey, who attended the last course, said, “During the recent bad weather my car skidded while I was on a roundabout. Before attending MORE Drive I wouldn’t have known what to do but thanks to the knowledge I gained from the course I could control the skid and drove away safely.”

To request an application from or for more information email roadsafety@amey.co.uk.

Two Heath and Reach based adventurers have just returned home from their latest challenge, completing an overnight Nordic Ski race over the tundra of arctic Norway.

Rachel McCafferty, 34, and Vicky Inglis, 32, originally from Aberdeenshire but now both of Bird’s Hill, took part in the Midnattski for Kvinner; a women-only endurance challenge held annually in the Finnmark region of Northern Norway.

The event is based around the town of Båtsfjord, about 400km (250miles) north of the Arctic Circle, and includes a descent from the summit of the Båtsfjordfjellet plateau to the shore of the Barents Sea.

Bonfires were lit along the route to guide the way and allow participants to warm up between stages as the temperature dropped well below freezing during the night.

They also provided a backdrop for the local choir to perform and skiers to join together and sing traditional songs.

Rachel said “It was physically hard, and very cold, but it was an amazing experience to be part of.

“The sight of the sun just setting over the fells was stunning, and then it rose again over the Arctic Ocean as we began to descend into the town. I can’t wait to go back again.”

Vicky said the event was the most ambitious either of them had ever entered but it had spurred them on into applying to take part in next year’s London Marathon and a Race For Life taking place soon.

“We’ve never done anything like this before. I found out about it during a trip to Iceland last year and it sounded fantastic.

“It was a real challenge for us because we only started these endurance events a couple of years ago.

“One of the aims behind the Norway race is to draw attention to the region and help promote it. It’s so far north that no-one outside of the area has ever heard of it.”

This year’s challenge was the 20th anniversary event and women from across Norway, Sweden and Finland to take part and celebrate the first days of the midnight sun.

Rachel and Vicky were the only British racers to take part, and, despite only having a few hours experience of Nordic skiing completed the entire 12km route within five hours.

Teachers Tracey Shenton and Emma Lipinski took a party from the middle school to France and this is their report...

Coach problems delayed departure but the lovely ferry company fed us an early tea on our way to Calais and upon arriving at the Bon Séjour centre in Merville, the kitchen staff served us our second tea at around 10pm!

On Tuesday, we visited the excellent D Day landings museum at Arromanches and walked onto Gold beach to get a closer look at the remains of the Mulberry harbour and defences. We stopped off at the Canadian war cemetery at Bény sur Mer before travelling to Caen to explore the castle, the principal residence of William the Conqueror. We finished the day with rounders on the beach (in French!).

The next day we travelled to Bayeux, where we explored the town, including the very impressive mediaeval cathedral. We also used our French language skills at the market to buy pancakes and souvenirs. We also visited the amazing Bayeux tapestry.

Our last day began by visiting an artisan bakery near Cambremer. Eric the baker explained in French how he makes his organic bread. Following instructions in French, the children then hand baked their own baguette which they ate on the way home.

Special thanks go to all the members of staff who made the trip possible. A special mention also goes to our fantastic photographers, Lizzie Richardson and Rachel Moffat, who worked hard to capture the events.

*Watch a video of Linslade School head Kate Smith.

Woburn Village is holding its 20th Open Gardens Day plus a scarecrow competition tomorrow.

There will be 13 gardens open from 10.30am to 5.30pm and entrance to all gardens in £3.50 and accompanied children go free.

There will also be plant and craft stalls on The Green, opposite the Inn at Woburn, and three of the open gardens will serve refreshment.

Tickets are available on the day on The Green, at the free car park or at The Heritage Centre

This year to make the 20th anniversary special, the event will have a children’s living scarecrow competition and organisers hope to have a good crowd of children dressed as scarecrows or other fancy dress.

The competition will be judged by Henrietta, Duchess of Bedford, at 3pm on The Green.

Also on Saturday, Woburn Lower School are running a fete in their playground. Entrance will be through the school gate behind The Heritage Centre in the old churchyard.

Lucky Oliver Flecknell won the chance to walk out at Wembley Stadium with the England football team when they faced the Republic of Ireland for the first time since 1995 on Wednesday, May 29.

It was a fantastic day out for Oliver, aged nine, from Wing, who as a McDonald’s Player Escort walked out with Gary Cahill ahead of their match with an up-and-coming Irish side.

Oliver, who won the player escort place in a competition to see the Three Lions draw 1-1 with Ireland, said “I couldn’t wait to walk out onto the pitch with the England players. It was brilliant to be at Wembley and to see England play live.”

‘Heartbroken’ volunteers were left devastated when their beloved wildflower garden at Leighton train station was destroyed by workmen.

But two months after Network Rail contractors tore through the platform one display the station voluntary group Off the Rails have teamed up with other helpers to repair the damage.

Victoria Harvey, of Beds’ Friends of the Earth, who had help plant the original flowers two years ago, said: “It was heartbreaking because two years is a long amount of time to have been working on it.

“The area with the most established plants was destroyed just as they were starting to look really good.

“Wildflowers take a long time to grow, so it has undone a lot of work. It was the end of a lot of work. It has been very testing.”

On Wednesday, five volunteers from Off the Rails, along with 10 Network Rail helpers arrived to replant the area with 200 pot plants and 500 plugs. Victoria said: “We are really pleased with how London Midland helped. They were fantastic. They kept up the pressure on Network Rail to replace the wild flowers, who are now spending £600 on new plants and say they will help with watering.

“It was great that Network Rail had put this mistake right and it was a really enjoyable and productive day working together.”

Network Rail have apologised to volunteers for the damage caused while installing new cables as part of a power supply upgrade on the West Coast mainline. A spokesman said: “Unfortunately one of our contractors accidentally disturbed the planting area you are referring to and we are sorry for that.

A London Midland representative said: “The fantastic work of Off the Rails at Leighton Buzzard is a great example of community involvement, which is reflected in the string of awards received and the increase in footfall. We look forward to seeing the results of their hard work over the coming weeks and months and information will soon be available at the station telling people more about the scheme.”

What if a film dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended?

What if a filmmaker aspired to something greater?

The result would be a fantastic cinematic experience – it could be ‘super’ in every sense. Man of Steel is that film…

This big budget Dark Knight- influenced Superman reboot carries the hopes and dreams of all DC comic book fans on its muscled shoulders.

If this falters, the chances are we will never see a full blown Justice League film with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash et al.

Warner Brothers have entrusted this super-project to Zack ‘Watchmen’ Snyder, who embraces the well-trodden story of Kal-El/Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), the good-hearted alien from Krypton who becomes the champion of Earth.

Plot-wise Man of Steel plays it safe, showing reverence for the original tale but infusing it with a high level of CGI kick-ass action.

The enemy here is General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his minions – all criminal refugees from the doomed world of Krypton who have decided to take over Earth.

Shannon has a blast as the snarling super-baddie who is every bit the match for our red-caped reluctant saviour. Indeed Man of Steel flies highest and delivers most when the battle lines are drawn and the super smackdown kicks off.

That isn’t to say that the emotional core of the film isn’t great to witness too – Kevin Costner is on top form as Clark’s adoptive father Jonathan Kent, ably backed up by Diane Lane as his wife Martha.

Their real parental love for their other-worldly son is touching and feels strong, and it helps anchor the sci-fi epicness and large scale destruction wrought by the duelling super beings that rivals flicks like Transformers for sheer spectacle.

If anything loses out in this new reworking it is the funny bumbling alter ego Clark Kent that Christopher Reeve did so well.

Man of Steel’s Clark is more of a brooding hunky drifter like Wolverine rather than the loveable Mr Bean-esque loser from the 1978 film. The love story elements are pared back too, especially in relation to the overly reflective 2006 Superman Returns.

Man of Steel is the Superman film I’ve been waiting for ever since I used to tuck a red towel into the back of my shirt collar as a six-year-old. You’ll believe man can fly again and you’ll want to see more!

More than 70 youngsters aged 4-13 will take to the Leighton Buzzard Theatre stage this week with Leighton Buzzard Children’s Theatre’s latest production Treasure Island The Musical.

Based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, the casts of pirates, sailors, parrots, islanders and phantoms go in search of buried treasure with a mutiny ahead led by Long John Silver.

When young Jim Hawkins stumbles across Billy Bones’ treasure map he embarks on the thrilling adventure he has always dreamed of featuring pirates, a beach party, Captain Flint and his ghostly crew and much more.

Suitable for all the family, this musical is fully costumed and choreographed.

Performances are on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (June 20-22) at 7pm, with a 2pm matinee on Saturday too.

A special abridged version introducing the youngest actors aged 4-7 will be included at 5pm on the Saturday.

The performances will be aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, as the children’s theatre hopes to add to the total of more than £50,000 raised in the last 17 years.

Chairman of East Anglian Air Ambulance, Andrew Egerton-Smith has been recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours list.

Andrew has been a driving force in the development, progress and innovation of the East Anglian Air Ambulance since its formation in 2000.

Andrew has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the world of health services, firstly by founding and establishing the Garden House Hospice in Letchworth in 1990, his contribution to Flagship Housing which owns, manages and provides over 21,500 homes to people across East Anglia, as Chairman of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust from 1997 to 2006, and in 2000, with several like-minded colleagues founded the East Anglian Air Ambulance Charity that is known so well today. The iconic yellow helicopters that command the skies across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire to serve people when they most need urgent and expert medical attention, are due almost entirely to Andrew’s vision and dedication.

Tim Page, Chief Executive of EAAA said: “We are thrilled that Andrew’s tremendous dedication has been recognised in this way. His steely determination and undoubted abilities, energy and enthusiasm for helping people remains as strong as ever. Without his vision and drive local people would not be the first in the country to benefit from our ability to attend people experiencing medical emergencies and accidents at night. Andrew is a remarkable man who has achieved remarkable things; our Charity is extremely lucky to have him.”

Last week, regular readers – and presumably the Pentagon – will be aware, I went on at some length about the irritation I was being forced to endure by a cash dispenser which only gave me a split second to grab my receipt before retracting it into the bowls of the machine in a bid to avoid littering.

You may consider, and I wouldn’t argue with you, that if such a petty peeve is the limit of my railing against the world, I’ve got it very sweet.

Indeed Mrs Dee, who is accustomed to my Meldrew moments, said as much but unwisely added: “Still, at least you appear to be over that sticker thing now.”

Oh, woman, you really know how to wound. No, I haven’t got over the sticker thing. I have learned to live with the sticker thing, one day at a time. And I’m coping pretty well, thank you very much, until someone carelessly scrapes at the scab. Cheers.

So what’s the sticker thing, you may ask? It’s very simple. I don’t like stickers that have been stuck on stuff. That doesn’t make me a bad person, does it?

It started innocently enough, as far as I can recall. It started with fruit. Apples, bananas, oranges – all these items in my youth were liable to come with a little provenance sticker.

I obviously removed the ones on the apples, because I wanted to eat all the apple and avoid eating the sticker at the same time. Obvious, really.

If the stickers had to come off the apples, they had to come off other items even if I had no plans to tuck into the peel or the skin. It all seems so innocent now.

But then stickers began to spread to other products, and I can’t stop.

On CDs – yes, I still buy CDs, call me a dinosaur – there’s an awful anticipation every time. Some stickers peel off in one smooth movement, and it’s such a rush, but others appear to have been applied to the parent product with something approaching industrial strength superglue. Even if you manage to get them off, there’s an ugly patch of adhesive residue marring your pristine product.

However, it’s books that really rile me. I hate stickers on books, and that’s a fact. I wouldn’t like them whatever they said, and I would always want to remove them.

I especially don’t want stickers that tell the world that my chosen reading matter is a Richard & Judy recommendation, or is available as a ‘buy one, get one half price’ deal.

But one thing that drives me completely loopy is the sticker that isn’t a sticker at all – it’s built into the design of the cover to look like a sticker, but when you try and pick at the edge to peel it back there’s nothing there.

Now that’s an excuse to arm ourselves and start a bloodbath, wouldn’t you agree, Mr Obama?

Assistant Chief Constable Katherine Govier, who retired on June 14, is just one of a handful of officers to be awarded the Queens Police Medal (QPM) in recognition for her dedication and commitment to police work.

Katherine Govier, aged 51, is married with two daughters. She joined Bedfordshire Police in 2007 but began her career with Thames Valley Police in 1982 where she held a variety of uniform posts including Head of Territorial Policing, Head of Corporate Development, Head of Personnel and acting Assistant

Chief Constable. She joined Bedfordshire Police as Assistant Chief Constable for Territorial Policing in May 2007 later transferring to the Protective Services portfolio in September 2010 and then to Assistant Chief Constable Business Change in April 2011.

ACC Govier was an accredited Strategic Firearms Commander with many years’ experience of leading firearms operations. In December 2012 Katherine was seconded to the National College of Policing to direct training of future chief officers. In the last few months of her service she reviewed this training and made recommendations for improvements.

On hearing the announcement, retired ACC Govier said: “I am delighted and somewhat overwhelmed to have received this honour, which has come at the end of a very enjoyable and fulfilling career. To receive the QPM is simply amazing and is a reflection of the dedication of all those who have worked with and for me. Equally it would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my husband and children.”

Deputy Chief Constable John Fletcher of Bedfordshire Police, added; “I feel privileged that Kath has received such an honour and her achievements and dedication has been formally recognised in this way.

It is a fitting tribute to a much respected officer at the end of a fulfilling and productive career. It is a true reflection of our standards and the professionalism of our staff.”

A yoga teacher is holding a Summer Solstice Sunset Special to raise vital funds for a children’s charity.

Rocci Pearson, who runs Karuna, pregnancy and post-natal yoga classes in Leighton Buzzard, Linslade and Heath and Reach, has organised a special session to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The Sunset Yoga session will be held on Friday at Stockgrove County Park between 7.30 and 9.30pm to specifically gather donations for Jasmine Summer Elliot Brighter Future fund.

Two men were arrested for shoplifting following an incident at a supermarket in Leighton Buzzard last night.

Beds Police attended the scene at Morrisons on Lake Street at 10.18pm after a member of staff reportedly saw one man in possession of a knife.

Witnesses told the LBO it was a “big struggle” to restrain the offenders as it took four people to hold them down until the police arrived.

Both men were taken to Bedford South Wing Hospital in need of medical attention.

Once they had been checked over they were taken into custody where they still remain.

A Morrisons spokesman said: “Following an incident at the store last night, the police were called and duly attended.

“We are helping the police with their enquiries.”

@LBOamanda

The first thing to get sorted about Brad Pitt’s new summer blockbuster is whether you’ll be able to order tickets through that infuriating automated service so many multiplexes mistakenly swear by.

As it’s an American effort, we must presume that we are expected to refer to ‘zombies are taking over the world, who can stop them?’ thriller World War Z as World War Zee.

But if you resolutely stick to British pronunciation and try to book seats to see World War Zed, will the voice on the booking line gently chide you and say it can’t work out what you are on about?

Leaving all that to one side, a lot of talent has been hurled at this attempt to bring the bestseller by writer Max Brooks to the big screen.

Brad plays a former UN worker helping a top scientist scour the planet for a cure to the plague that is turning humans into zombies.

But it’s not all Shaun Of The Dead-style slaughter, our dashing hero has depth and he’s conflicted by having to leave his family behind while the world is collapsing into chaos.

There is gore, of course, but this is pretty much as grown up as a zombie movie gets – although whether there’s a market for it remains to be seen.

There seems to be an inexhaustible market for films starring Dwayne Johnson, because the wrestler turned actor formerly known as The Rock is always in demand.

In Snitch – a story apparently inspired by true events – he’s the dad of a teenager accused of being a drug dealer, even though he swears he has been set up.

The only way to get a shorter sentence is to turn supergrass – and because that’s going to be much too dangerous for his lad, Dwayne volunteers to take his place and go undercover to dig the dirt on a notorious drugs cartel.

And of course, when he finds himself caught between the cartel and the cops, it helps that he has a proven track record as an action hero star and is ready to take matters into his own hands. He’s big, it’s not clever, and quite what Susan Sarandon is doing in the cast is beyond me.

A Haunted House ought to be beyond everyone, and is certainly beneath any film fan with an IQ that hits double figures.

The name of Marlon Wayans attached to this project should sound alarm sirens at maximum volume.

Yes, it’s a ‘madcap spoof’ which tries to make Scary Movie-type comedy out of the ghosts and ghouls genre and the ‘found footage’ trend.

Instead it produces a mess which you would be upset to have found on your foot after a walk through a particularly dog mess-infested park, coming a cropper because of its reliance on crude gags which rarely raise so much as a titter.

Friday is the Longest Day and here in Luton and South Beds we will be capturing every moment on video – but we need your help.

We’re looking for as many readers as possible to capture something, anything, that they see or do on the day.

It doesn’t matter what pictures or video you take.

It could be sunrise, sunset, the chaos of family breakfast, the pretty afternoon walk or summertime fun such as a barbecue.

It should provide a great look at how we live our lives.

So, get your cameras out and help us paint a picture of you at work, rest and play.

To take part, just email us your pictures and video to editorial@lutonnews.co.uk

You can also tweet your video using the twitter hashtag #longestlocalday.

Please make the clips no longer than 10 to 15 seconds and then email them to us.

Editor Lynn Hughes said: “This is a great opportunity to showcase South Beds and the people who live and work here - we’re looking forward to seeing what videos our readers come up with!”

You can also follow our Longest Day on Twitter by using #longestlocalday.

And don’t miss the video online over the weekend.

Two men from Luton have been charged with shoplifting following an incident involving armed police at a supermarket in Leighton Buzzard.

Jamie Docherty, 36, and Lee Docherty, 39, both of Crescent Road, will appear at Luton Magistrates Court this morning charged with theft from a shop.

Beds Police were called to Morrisons on Lake Street at 6.28pm on Monday evening after a member of staff rung to report aggressive shoplifters.

Both men were taken to Bedford South Wing Hospital in need of medical attention and were later taken to the police station where they were detained until being taken to Magistrates this morning.

A Morrisons spokesman said: “Following an incident at the store last night, the police were called and duly attended.

“We are helping the police with their enquiries.”

Center Parcs has released a time-lapse video showing how construction of its new Woburn Forest venue in Bedfordshire has progressed from September 2012 to June this year.

Advanced bookings have this week been released for the new £250 million village near Flitwick and Ampthill.

Woburn Forest is due to open in spring 2014, employing 1,500 people and contributing £20million each year to the local economy.

Woburn Forest is Center Parcs’ fifth UK village, set in a 365 acre forest.

A man has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years after being found guilty of animal welfare offences against three pet rats.

Adam Cheeseborough, 29, of Hockliffe Road, Leighton Buzzard, was previously found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a white rat whose legs were fractured, and failing to meet the welfare needs of two more rats which had not received veterinary treatment.

The RSPCA was alerted after some of the defendant’s more than 30 rats managed to get free of their cage which the defendant had put in the hallway of the block of flats where he lived. The inspector was told that the rat with broken legs had fallen from the defendant’s second floor flat window several days before and had not received veterinary treatment.

Another rat called ‘Poops’ had an untreated tumour and a third rat had a tail injury which had not been treated. It also emerged that Cheeseborough had kept rats for 15 years, slept and bathed with them and even took them out with them to the shops.

Following the sentencing at Luton Magistrates Court on Tuesday, RSPCA inspector Melanie Fisher said: “The owner told us he was afraid that the rats would be put to sleep if he took them to a vet. This is not an excuse – if an animal is suffering it needs to see a vet straight away and should never be left with untreated injuries or illnesses. He also clearly had too many rats and was letting them breed out of control.”

In addition to the 10-year disqualification, Cheeseborough was sentenced to a 10-week curfew, preventing him from going out between 8pm and 6am, and was also ordered to pay £2,500 in costs.