This shoddy melodrama draws tenuous parallels between two women in 19th-century China, and two more in present-day Hong Kong.

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Picoult says: 'My greatest regret is that I went straight to work after university. I wish I had been brave enough to travel and put real life off for a while'

My Secret Life: Jodi Picoult, 45, author

'I have a crush – but it's cougarish'

There are no details as to who will portray the roles made famous by Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the 2013 remake

Keep calm and carry on singing, Hollywood style

As in the 1930s, tough economic times mean more musicals on the cinema screen

X-Men First Class (12A)

Starring: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Michael Fassbender

Video: Hugh Jackman's poverty call

The Wolverine star urges people to try living on just £1-a-day to help raise awareness of the world's poor.

Demi Moore's Striptease is film fans' 'favourite guilty pleasure'

Demi Moore's film Striptease - awarded the title of worst movie of the year when released - was today named film fans' favourite guilty pleasure.

Cultural Life: Harlan Coben, novelist

Books: I just read and loved David Benioff's 'City of Thieves'. It is about the siege of Leningrad and manages to be moving, adventurous and funny, all at the same time. I don't normally read self-help but I really enjoyed 'The Happiness Project' by Gretchen Rubin. It's as though the smartest girl in the class did all your homework on happiness and gave you her easy-to-digest notes. She spent a year test driving theories about how to be happier.

'Uncharted 2' leads game award nominations

Sony's adventure blockbuster 'Uncharted 2: Among Thieves' has seized a leading eight nominations for this year's Video Game Awards, Spike TV announced.

DVD review: X Men Origins: Wolverine, For retail & rental (20th Century Fox)

Gavin Hood, the director of Tsotsi, revives Marvel Comics' X-Men franchise with this handsome yet redundant prequel.

DVD review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Gavin Hood, 107 mins (12)

Young Logan (Hugh Jackman) claws his old man to death and goes on the run with his similarly clawed brother, Victor (Liev Schreiber – what in hell's teeth is he doing in this rot?).

When celebrities lose it

Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman's showstopping performance an internet hit

The showstopping performance by Hollywood stars Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman as their Broadway show was interrupted by a mobile phone call has now become an internet hit.

Hugh Jackman stops Broadway show for ringing phone in audience

One theatergoer won't forget to turn their cell phone off next time, after Australian actor Hugh Jackman stopped a Broadway show to ask them to stop their phone from ringing.

DVD: Push (12)

Nick (Chris Evans) and Cassie (Dakota Fanning) are a pair of rebel psychics on the run from a shadowy organisation known as "The Division".

Career Services

Day In a Page

Next in line – but public just can't warm to idea of Charles in charge

Next in line – but public just can't warm to idea of Charles in charge

'Independent' poll finds less that half want him to take throne as ministers moan of interference
Nothing's sacred: the illegal trade in India's holy cows

Nothing's sacred: the illegal trade in India's holy cows

Andrew Buncombe reports from Kaharpara on a bloody war between rustlers and border guards
Mogul grounded: Desmond gives up his jet deal

Mogul grounded: Desmond gives up his jet deal

Media tycoon's company pays £1m to cancel his order for a £36m private jet after drop in profits
How Ai Weiwei built a pavilion in London – by remote control

How Ai Weiwei built a pavilion in London – by remote control

The artist tells Clifford Coonan how he used Skype to escape confinement in Beijing
Nature, nurture... or neither? The new twist in an age-old argument

Nature, nurture... or neither?

The new twist in an age-old argument
Radio 4 to shed its cosy image with a 'sexy' Ulysses drama

Radio 4 to shed its cosy image with a 'sexy' Ulysses drama

New station controller wants to reflect the current period of 'turmoil and uncertainity'
Alcohol: I drink therefore I am

Alcohol: I drink therefore I am

New guidelines warn Britons to drastically reduce their boozing. But is a life without liquor worth living? Hell no, says John Walsh
The Cable News Nightmare: CNN (and Piers Morgan) in audience crisis

The Cable News Nightmare

CNN (and Piers Morgan) in audience crisis
Like a barbie, but better: The Big Green Egg can griddle, roast, and smoke food - and even make pizza

The Big Green Egg: Like a barbie, but better

It can griddle, roast, and smoke food - and even make pizza...
The 10 Best chopping boards

The 10 Best chopping boards

Whether you want to dice veg, chop meat, or just slice up a salad, there’s a surface here to suit every culinary need.
Flat and fabulous: From wraps to foccacias, our appetite for new and exotic breads knows no limits

Flat and fabulous: Exotic breads

Lucy McDonald visits the bakeries of Tel Aviv to to find out what we'll be eating next.
Brendan Rodgers: Just like Mourinho... only different

Brendan Rodgers: Just like Mourinho... only different

Obsessive, ambitious, eager to learn and with no playing career; can the Northern Irishman be Liverpool's Special One?
Gary Lewin: Players need winter break

Gary Lewin: Players need winter break

The England physio tells Patrick Barclay that this spate of injuries is due to the non-stop demands of the Premier League

Countdown's rudest ever moments

Yesterday a contestant spelt the word 'minge'.
Special report: Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported

Special report

Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported