SPOTLIGHT

˜…˜…˜…˜… THE HURT LOCKER (MA15+, 131 minutes). On general release

Romancing the clone

Valentine's Day Directed by Garry Marshall Screenplay by Katherine Fugate from a story by Katherine Fugate and Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein Rated M Running time 124 minutes Cinemas Everywhere

Ill-timed laughter can derail a show quite as surely as a ringing phone

THE word "showstopper" is, as it implies, a moment when time and action freeze; when whatever happens on stage so galvanises the collective imagination, there can be no other reaction but brief silence, followed by explosive approbation. As with the standing ovation, showstoppers rarely truly happen. And, yes, there is a difference between the manufactured and the spontaneous that audiences, let alone publicists, don't always understand.