ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

FILM/ KUDOS AND WARNING FOR "127 HOURS": Director Danny Boyle's follow-up to the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" has received positive reviews, amid reports it caused some people to faint. The film, "127 Hours," recalls the true story of Aron Ralston who was forced to amputate his own arm after getting it trapped while out climbing. Tom Charity wrote in Time Out magazine that the film is "simply unmissable". However, it is thought the amputation scene caused some discomfort for some at the Toronto Film Festival, where the film was shown this week. It shows Ralston breaking his arm and using a blunt knife to cut through his flesh. Computer-generated shots are used to take the audience under the skin, where the blade can be seen knocking against the bone. John Foote, critic for film industry website The Wrap, said: "The sequence is never gratuitous, just very realistic, gruesomely so, and because we have grown to care so much about the character, all the more unsettling and raw. I cannot remember a reaction to a film like this in a very long time, perhaps not since "The Exorcist" sent audiences scurrying for the doors (though much of that was later said to be a publicity stunt)." The Independent's Kaleem Aftab said: "It is the only scene from which viewers might wish to avert their eyes." But he added that the film would help cement Boyle's place as "one of the best British directors working today". Ralston, who is played by actor James Franco, survived his ordeal despite having to climb down a 65ft wall after the amputation and hike for miles to get help. Time Out's Tom Charity added that the whole movie is a "total rush, building towards a wrenching climax you won't soon forget". According to media reports from Toronto, 3 cinema-goers fainted and another suffered a seizure, during the screening. Festival organizers have refused to comment on the incidents.

MUSIC/ DOMINGO WINS LATIN GRAMMY KUDOS: Opera star Placido Domingo has been named person of the year for this years Latin Grammys, the Latin Recording Academy has announced. The Spanish tenor was chosen for his "professional and philanthropic achievements", the organization said. He will be honored during a ceremony in November in Las Vegas, where friends and colleagues will lead musical tributes to the 69-year-old. Past recipients of the award include Gloria Estefan and Julio Iglesias. The President of the Latin Recording Academy said the organization takes "great pride" in Domingo. He called the singer an "extraordinary musician, philanthropist and, above all, a great human being whose immense talent and generosity has had a profound global impact". Domingo returned to stage earlier this year after suffering from colon cancer. He debuted with The Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1968, where he has inaugurated 21 seasons. As a philanthropist he founded Operalia, a contest for opera singing, and has helped to raise millions of dollars for victims of disasters such as Mexico's 1985 earthquake and Hurricane Katrina, performing at many benefit concerts.