Paralympics: The last hurrah

Last night the London 2012 Paralympics came to a close with a spectacular bang. And it was amazing to actually be in the stadium to see it firsthand - a closing ceremony that actually outdid the Olympics finale. But then it was also the final shout for a summer of extraordinary achievement over about six weeks in London.

Designed as a "festival of flame", the closing ceremony featured rather a lot of fire! It was astonishing to see in the stadium, as thousands of performers worked the stadium floor in gigantic motorised contraptions that took specific roles in the various seasons of the ceremony, while others flew above us in aerial stunts. In the centre of it all, Coldplay did an entire concert, performing 15 of their hits with a bit of help from Rihanna and Jay Z, all while keeping the focus on the athletes who were gathered around them singing along. It was easily one of the most colourful spectacles I've ever witnessed, and also one of the most moving, as it recognised the remarkable achievements of the competitors.

Over the last three days of competition, I managed to achieve my own goal to see something at the Paralympics every day of the competition. On the final morning in the Olympic Stadium, I got up close with the cauldron (via Instagram right) - close enough to feel the heat. On Sunday I watched the final two gold medal matches, in which Australia won the wheelchair rugby and Russia won the 7-a-side football (the players all have cerebral palsy).

Indeed, the past 12 days have been a life-changing experience for me. I will never look at anyone with a disability in quite the same way again, and I can only hope that these talented, skilled athletes continue to get the media coverage they deserve as they continue to compete in their sport. The massive ratings in Britain prove that there's an audience for it.

Paralympics: More heroes

This week has sped by in a blur for me, as I have been watching films (see below) and attending the Paralympics every day. And it's been amazing to see how the British public has taken these athletes to heart, creating heroes whose names are just as well-known as the slicker professional sportsmen and women at the Olympics last month. Just over a week ago, we barely new the names of British competitors like David Weir (above), Ellie Simmonds, Jonnie Peacock and Sarah Storey, to name just four multiple-medallists.

As an accredited journalist, I have been able to attend anything I want, which is why I am taking advantage of the proximity and going to something every day. And all of it has been inspiring! On Monday, I watched GB vs Japan in wheelchair basketball. Tuesday was sunny, so I headed for the equestrian venue in Greenwich Park, then to the fencing arena in the ExCeL. Wednesday, I watched Britain's opening wheelchair rugby match against the USA. And today was 5-a-side football (right) semifinal between Brazil and Argentina - perhaps the most amazing thing I've seen so far, as the participants are all visually impaired, so they are blindfolded to even the field. These guys make the wheelchair rugby brutes look like sissies! 

There are only three days left, and I have my plans mapped out, although I might divert to check out something I've never seen before. And of course, come Monday I will really miss the roar of the crowds as they support all of the competitors then shift into deafening mode when a Brit appears! I'll also miss roaming around in the Olympic Park soaking up the amazing atmosphere.

CRITICAL WEEK:It's been another eclectic week at the movies for UK critics, but we finally caught up with Cannes hit Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt as a hitman. My opinions are also embargoed for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a teen drama starring Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller. Another Cannes film was the hyperactive and rather unengaging Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Much, much better were the independent dramas Keep the Lights On, a beautifully filmed and played romantic drama, and Love, an offbeat and atmospheric low-budget sci-fi drama about an astronaut stranded in space. This coming week we have Sam Riley and Kristen Stewart in On the Road, Joe Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis in Looper, Sally Potter's drama Ginger and Rosa, and the British comedy sequel Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger.

Paralympics: Adjectives fail me

Had another two amazing days at the Paralympics, and frankly I'm running out of adjectives: amazing, astounding, inspiring, moving. It's impossible to forget, when you're watching these events, that every single competitor is already a winner with a powerful back-story. On Saturday I spent several hours cheering on the athletics action in the Olympic Stadium from the press stand, right on the finish line. This included Ireland's Jason Smyth (above), who smashed a world record to win a gold medal in the 100m. In the mix-zone after he commented that his wife would have never let him in the bedroom that night without a gold medal around his neck!

Later I saw South African legend Oscar Pistorius break a world record in his 200m heat, then was amazed to see what a nice man he is in the mix zone, as he patiently chatted to journalists for nearly 90 minutes while his minders tried to get him to move along. He even stopped to shake hands with me and pose for photos for the photographer I was standing with (like an idiot, I didn't snap my own pic). He talked generously about his sponsors, supporters, family, spectators, and was genuinely moved by the attention heaped on him, as well as the unexpected record. So reports about his little rant on Sunday (after losing the final) should be taken with a grain of salt: they were spoken in personal frustration in the heat of the moment, and he has apologised in a way that is genuinely classy.

On Sunday I attended the Britain-Morocco sitting volleyball match (my Instagram pic is at right) - another overwhelming display of tenacity and talent. These guys are as tough as the Olympics volleyball and beach volleyball players I watched just a few weeks ago. This is a seriously gripping spectator sport too. Afterwards I watched two rounds of powerlifting - more emotion! The biggest cheer was reserved for Chinese lifter Liu Lei, who won gold with a Paralympic record, then came back for a fourth lift just to set a new world record as well. Amazing, astounding, inspiring, moving.

Paralympics: Records fall

Last night I attended the paralympic swimming session in the London 2012 Aquatics Centre, where seven world records were broken in 15 finals. It was pretty astonishing! And it was also almost overwhelmingly inspirational. Just being in a place like this has a way of whittling away at a lifetime of social attitudes toward disability.

There's something seriously stirring about watching someone like the USA's Jessica Long (above) walk out to the start of her race, remove her legs, then dive in the pool and crush her own world record to win a gold medal. She emerged from the pool afterwards with a huge grin on her face, dancing to the music filling the arena. And when she stood on the platform to receive her gold medal, the emotions washing over her were felt throughout the crowd.

The audience cheered on everyone rapturously, bumping up the deafening roar whenever someone from Paralympics GB was competing. Britain didn't win any golds last night, but there were plenty of silvers and bronzes, including brothers Oliver and Sam Hynd, who won silver and bronze in the men's 400m freestyle.

I also spent some time in the mix-zone with the competitors after their races. One of the most inspiring to speak with was Bradley Snyder (right) of the USA, who won gold in the men's 100m freestyle. The 28-year-old was on a tour of duty in Afghanistan less than a year ago when a home-made bomb went off, blinding him. Right after winning the race, he talked about the honour he felt being here representing wounded military personnel. "The motto here is 'inspire a generation', and I suppose my generation is the wounded warriors," he said. "It wasn't that long ago I was laying in the hospital bed. I know it's a tough blow to have something removed from you, and also to be taken out of the fight. Hopefully my presence here can provide some inspiration to those guys so they can get out. It doesn't have to be sport, but just get out of bed, get back into life and get through the barriers that have been presented to them." More than 20 of the US team's 227 athletes here in London are wounded war veterans.

Paralympics: Whirling dervish

The London Paralympics kicked off last night with a dazzling ceremony that was heavily populated by disabled artists, athletes and performers. Opening with with Stephen Hawking, the tone was set for an exploration of art and science, with heavy overtones about human rights and inclusion in society. Much of it felt a bit dull - the music leaned to the classical side with the notable exception of Ian Dury's potent anthem Spasticus Autisticus, which kicked the event into a much more emotional gear. It was also notable that Ian McKellen performed scenes from The Tempest, providing a link to both Olympic ceremonies. And the closing performance of I Am What I Am by Beverley Knight was perfect.

Today I attended two events - sports I've never seen before. Well, I had seen wheelchair basketball immortalised in the terrific documentary Murderball, but I'd never seen it in person, and it's pretty intense! Then I watched two goalball matches, in which all contestants are blindfolded to equalise their sight advantage, then they throw a heavy ball with a bell inside it at each other trying to score. Amazingly, the scores are pretty low as the guys throw themselves in front of the ball. And it's made even more riveting by the fact that the audience has to be completely silent while the ball is in play.

CRITICAL WEEK: A wide variety of films screened to London critics this past week, and no two were in the same genre. Most appropriate to the Paralympics was Untouchable [aka Intouchables], a French drama starring the superb Francois Cluzet as a paraplegic who hires a rough urban type (the equally engaging Omar Sy) as his carer. The biggest film was the futuristic action remake of Dredd, which pretty effectively abolishes all memory of the Sly Stallone version.

For a comedy, we had Bachelorette, a silly comedy that plays like a cross between Bridesmaids and Sex and the City (I kind of liked it!). The indie drama was The Myth of the American Sleepover, a mumbly, mopey coming-of-age film that has moments of bracing honesty. For fans of wacky arthouse genius Guy Maddin, we had his new drama-comedy-thriller Keyhole, a typically nutty mix of arty references, surreal images and offbeat casting (Jason Patric and Isabella Rossellini lead the cast). And finally we had a doc, Room 237, in which a group of movie nerds geel out over Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, finding all kinds of clues hidden in each frame. It's a lot of fun.

This coming week, in between the Games, I'll see Brad Pitt in Killing Them Softly, Thure Lindhardt in Keep the Lights On, Emma Watson in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the low-budget sci-fi thriller Love, and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. We also have the launch events for the programmes for Raindance and the London Film Festival, both of which take place in October.

Olympics Day 16: Big finale

It feels like the Olympics just started a few minutes ago, and now they're finished. The closing ceremony tonight was another random collection of British cultural influences, from The Who to One Direction by way of the Spice Girls, Take That, Annie Lennox, George Michael and Eric Idle singing the marvellous Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (my personal highlight!). It made no sense, had no discernible narrative and was packed with moments that were wonderfully wacky and thoroughly bewildering.

But of course the best thing is seeing all the athletes clumped together regardless of political or geographical boundaries, celebrating their experiences over the last 17 days. So watching the flame dwindle out is always profoundly moving. It's been a blur of energy, flooding through every part of London in a way that won over most (but not all) of the most die-hard cynics. yes, the Olympics are over-commercialised and ruthlessly corporate, but they also celebrate human achievement at the most simple, honest level. And it's a rare moment every four years when everyone gets together and forgets that they're at war with each other.

I'm looking forward to the Paralympics in a little over two weeks. I've never attended one, and will be covering these Games in an intriguing way that will let me soak up a lot of the experiences firsthand. I'll be blogging about that later.

But now back to our regularly scheduled movie nonsense. The Expendables 2 opens this week, after all...