09/08/2013 The Film Review

have the latest on the cricket. That's all coming up at six 30p.

Now, it is time for the film review. Hello and welcome to The Film

Hello and welcome to The Film Review. To take us through the

releases is Anna Smith. I have been looking forward to Alan

Partridge: Alpha Papa, Steve Coogan brings his much loved character to

the big screen and Alan is thrust into a hostage situation.

Then we have Foxfire, the story of a girl gang in the 1950s. It is set in

upstate New York but we have a French correct, Laurent Cantet, and

then a film you may have heard of -- a French turret. He Lone Ranger,

famously a flop in the United States. -- a French director. How

was Alpha Papa? It is very good fun. It does not get too ambitious. It is

a hostage situation but it is still set in Norwich. It keeps it local to

Alan. There is a hostage situation in the local radio station where he

works. A disgruntled former employee comes in, guns blazing. Alan is the

only one he will trust to negotiate. He uses it as an opportunity to

circus? Pretty puffed up, like an owl. Let's hope you are wise.Nice,

you pitched it up, I knocked it out of the park. As far as the press is

concerned, you are the face of this siege. I am siege face. Exactly. I

like you. He likes me! I have got to be quick. I am joking, enjoy me!

Everybody else is. I am with a hair's-breadth of getting the

breakfast show. I am going to call myself the morning rooster or the

that. -- half a dozen times. He is thrown into this situation, you just

once to save his own skin but then he spies this opportunity when

ambition comes into play. Steve Coogan is still very funny in the

role and it is very faithful to his character. There are a couple of

things where he is wearing trendy trainers, maybe it is a big screen

thing but it is very funny. It keeps it true to the character. It is

brilliantly written, that is the key to the material. One thing I wonder,

we have Mr Bean, Norman Wisdom, these comic characters that sell

around the world and sell a bit of a British brand. I wonder if this

works anywhere else? A very good point. He is a bit of a Ricky Jay

face in the office character and he managed to export so let's hope they

don't do an American version. not sure that would work. Foxfire.

This is an interesting film, based on a book which was also made into a

film with Angelina Jolie. This is more faithful to the book, set in

1950s upstate New York about a group of girls who decide to take the law

into their own hands. When they feel abused and patronised by local men.

There are moral dilemmas, social issues, feminist issues. My problem

is the performances and perhaps the correction. Laurent Cantet in his

first English-language film, the dialogue seems a bit flat and I

can't help wondering if it was him still perhaps finding his feet,

directing American actresses. It is still worth a watch if the subject

that appeals. I know we will talk about The Heat but is it a girl

buddy movie? We had a lot of directors who seem to think older

audiences deserve to be entertained, a lot of films being called the

grave pound. Is this a new kind of sub John? -- genre? I don't incur

are particularly going for the girl buddy movie market. The characters

are not well drawn enough. It is more of an arthouse film that

happens to start winning and that is a wonderful thing, because it is so

rare. -- happens to star women. can't think of anything more

opposite to not film than The Lone Ranger. Yes, big budget, famously

losing money in the states. Armie Hammer plays The Lone Ranger and he

goes off searching for his brother. Johnny Depp is Tonto, Native

American Indian. This is a clip where they are forced to work

together. It is the end of the line. Can we jump? Can they jump?There

are children on board! You're not conclusion, not very exciting but it

isn't that bad. He reviews from America said it was awful. It is

fine, it is too long, it is torn between different worlds, trying to

be a comedy caper and then a serious western with cannibalism and all

sorts. But there are entertaining moments. The cast is good, the

costumes are great. The script could have done with a tidy up. You think

for 250 million they might have thought of making the script more

entertaining. I don't think you get your money 's worth but it is not

disastrous. You might think twice about taking the kids to a film that

long but it is enjoyable in parts. Is there a market for westerns?

Django unchained is very different. It is darker and grown-up. Cowboys

and aliens, wild wild West, famous flops. Hollywood does not seem to be

learning beef family Western. -- learning the family Western. Growing

up as a certain generation, you saw it on TV so you expected to see it

in the cinema. You don't really see it on TV. I don't think it has the

alert for young boys that it used to. Tickets selling for this in the

UK is an indicator. I think space, computer games, might be more

exciting. Comic heroes seem to do very well. Your pick of the week is

The Heat and we have two very good comedy films. Perfect for summer

viewing. The Heat is the girl in the movie. It is good fun, two

mismatched cops who hate each other and learn to work together. The plot

is legible but it is very funny. Seeing two women together... You

would not know it was Melissa McCarthy by looking at a pace -- the

poster, it looks a bit airbrushed. If it wasn't women, it would be a

cliche. I think that is the only thing that saves it. The

relationship between them is inherently different because they

are two women and they have different things to discuss. Your

DVD film of the week, Trance. a psychological film that had a

mixed reception, I really like it. James McAvoy is a criminal who asks

a hypnotist to help them recover its memory -- him recover his memory.

There are a lot of twists and turns and delving into his mind.

critic said this is the Danny Boyle of the beach, not slum dog

millionaire, he did not mean it as a condiment. I enjoyed it, I'm

interested in hypnotism. -- did not mean it as a compliment.