02/08/2013 The Film Review

Championships. That is at 6:30pm. Welcome to The Film Review on BBC

News. Anna Smith joins me to take us through the releases. We have three

quite hotly tipped the -- anticipated releases, there is a

buddy cop comedy with two women, Vicky To starring Sandra Bullock and

Melissa McCarthy. Then there is Only God Forgives, which comes from the

person who brought us Drive, again, starring Ryan Gosling. And then

finally Red 2, Bruce Willis back in the saddle with Helen Mirren and

some other faces in the comedy caper. I noticed that is The Heat

was originally called Untitled Female Buddy Cop Movie. Yes, we have

so rarely seen this! Sandra Bullock is a New York FBI agent, very

buttoned up. Melissa McCarthy is a Boston cop, it is her local home,

she runs around the streets, cleaning them up her own way. They

How long will this take? Maybe 12 others, hopefully less. Wii we could

just beat him with a phone book? Reign for so many reasons, no. It is

crucial that you remain patient. is also crucial that you stop

wearing this stupid hair slide. I have one on top of my head like a

normal person. Just move on. If you enter that room, you could break the

bond that we have created. Do you understand how important this is?

Wii I do. And you will be patient? Wii I will. All right.

Hello. Coffee? I drink a little more coffee than I probably should.

I laughed throughout, it is very funny. It is. Melissa McCarthy is

hilarious, she has a great talent for improvisation. You saw that in

Bridesmaids as well, which had the same director, Paul Feig. She is a

wonderful contrast to Sandra Bullock and they work very well together.

The main problem is the plot, which is pretty negligible, it is Scooby

Doo style. The writers do not seem very interested in the story. But

when it is that funny, does it really matter? It probably doesn't.

If you look at the first of the Hangover films, or Bridesmaids, at

least with Bridesmaids, there is a wedding. Bridesmaids is probably

slightly stronger, thematically and emotionally, but this one, like many

buddy movies, they start off hurt -- hate each other then become warmer

towards each other. It is a bit of a cliche, but not with women, I have

never seen that before. We have not been this dynamic much before. We

saw it briefly in the second Miss Congeniality film, but she was

paired with a man. Thereafter idea is such as gender dynamics in the

workplace, which you do not get so much with a buddy comedy film.

I thought that Drive was terrific, Ryan Gosling was terrific and the

direction was terrific. I am looking forward to Only God Forgives.

seems like a very personal project. It is very experimental, I have

nothing against that, I have enjoyed many films such as Enter The Void.

Ryan Gosling is a Bangkok criminal who has two settle a score, he comes

up against a vigilante cop. There is very little dialogue, long swathes

of nothingness, and then suddenly extreme violence. It almost

fetishised as violence. Then perhaps asks for forgiveness. But I could

not forgive the tedium. It is relentless. And the point is you

don't get to know the characters. They are very broad brushstrokes.

There is so little dialogue and Ryan Gosling gives nothing away in his

face, even though he is a great actor. There is an Oedipus complex,

Kristin Scott Thomas is his brassy, blonde, American mother, playing

against type. But this has no humour like David Lynch or Tarantino would

have. It is a bit solemn. Red 2, I bumped into somebody who said, why

did they even make the first film, never mind a sequel? But I thought

the first film was harmless. thought it was harmless, three out

of five. I didn't see why they needed a sequel and apparently you

are making a third. They are reluctantly coming out of

retirement, certainly in the case of Bruce Willis's character, Frank. Not

only is he wrongly implicated in a nuclear plot, but there is a hit out

on him. MI6 has just given me a contract to

kill you. Apparently you are guilty of nuclear terrorism, murder and you

are number one on Interpol 's most wanted. What did you say?Yes. The

money is good, and if I don't do it, somebody else will. Is that Marvin?

! And Sarah? Reign Marvin gave her a gun. Are you being controlling? You

have to take chances in a relationship and be supportive.

just need her to be safe. Just rent Dirty Dancing and tell her you love

her, it is important to enjoy life while you still can. That is a funny

scene, there probably four or five which are very funny, the rest, not

so much. There is a lot of action. There is a breezy, light tone, with

bodies flying everywhere. Mary-Louise Parker is great fun as

his girlfriend, you have John Malcolm, who is great, Anthony

Hopkins really brightens up the screen as a crazy scientist, but it

just spotted. It was not as funny as the first film. I enjoyed the first

film but I did think, this could be Ocean's 11, but it is not quite

sharp enough. It has a great ensemble cast. Helen Mirren is

terrific, but it just doesn't quite carry it off. I would say this is

the same, if not slightly worse. Your Best of the week? I have seen

Wadjda, this amazing Saudi film. first film made solely in the

kingdom, and the first female film in Saudi Arabia. It is about a girl

who simply wants to have a bike, which is very frowned upon. It is

her journey of discovery, coming into adult hood and discovering the

repression in her own world. It is not a thumping feminism, but it is

her own personal search boy quality. I learned more about Saudi

Arabia, the human face of what happens there, you're watching this

film than any newspaper article or documentary. You understand it

through the eyes of a child in the way that Oliver twist tells you

about Charles Dickens' London. one of those lovely slice of life

films where you feel you are immersed in that culture. I agree.

And the men are peripheral, it is what women do to women. And your DVD

is The Paperboy? If You Did Not See This In The Cinema, It Is Really

Worth Seeing On Dvd. If only for novelty value. It is a deep South,

torrid crime thriller about erotic obsession. Nicole Kidman is

transfixed on John Cusack's incarcerated criminal, Zac Efron and

Matthew McConaughey, a great cast. You will talk about it with your

friends, whether or not you agree on it. One review said it was a plain