29/08/2014 The Film Review

We've got a report on a very special club involved in the FA Cup this

weekend, we'll hear from Andy Murray who si still going strong at the

US Open and we've got the latest on the driver war at Mercedes as Nico

Rosberg says sorry for crashing into Lewis Hamilton.

Hello and welcome to The Film Review on BBC News.

To take us through this week's cinema releases is Mark Kermode.

We have a very mixed bag. We have Mystery Road, an Australian thriller

which crosses generic boundaries. We have If I Stay, based on the young

adult bestseller by Gail Foreman. And we have Obvious Child, a

romantic comedy with a twist which has caused some eruptions in

America. Mystery Road and the Australian outback. Mystery Road is

a thriller, a murder mystery, a Western. It start Eric Peterson as

Detective Joe Swan, he has been away from his hometown in the big smoke

he comes back to his hometown where he finds himself investigating a

harrowing murder mystery, here is a clip. You know I have had nothing

like this. Sooner or later, you were going to get it. I guess today is

your lucky day. What can you give me? I've got every spare wheel in

the drug squad. Frank's living tomorrow. You're just going to have

to write their back for a while `` ride bareback for a while. Things

have changed since you've been away. We've got a young girl stuffed onto

the highway... I know. I know. I think you can tell the brooding

sense of menace. What is interesting is as he starts to investigate this

mystery, discovers a widening web of drugs and sexual exploitation but

the solution to the crime isn't really the point. The point is a

story of a man who is caught between two worlds. Eric Peterson is

described as an aborigine copper who turns on his own people. He is also

treated with suspicion by the indigenous community who think he

has crossed the line and gone over to the other side. The film is about

somebody trying to find their own identity between two communities.

Generically it is interesting. It takes place in locations like

mystery creak and slaughter Hill but actually it is like a very brooding

film, interested in cultural, racial, economic politics but very

western. The central character wears a Stetson and carries a Winchester.

It is playing with Jonah convention. `` genre convention. In the past he

has made more experimental films. In this case he has made a generic

movie which can be seen as a cross between Chinatown and no country for

old men, exploring broiling tensions but within the framework of a murder

mystery. I thought it was very impressive some people might have

found it too generic, it held my attention and Eric Peterson is

terrific as the central conflict it antihero, I thought it was very

impressive. Some people have complained that there are loose ends

of the murder mystery which are not tied up, but for me that was not the

point, it was the wrong detail. If I Stay. It is based on a young adult

best seller, featuring a young girl who is this a borrowed `` who's

disembodied spirit walks a hospital. She sees herself being visited by

her friends and her family after a car crash. During the course of this

strange experience, we see her unfolding relationship with a

character who loves the rocket are, she loves the cello `` the rock

guitar. Obviously there is a degree of mawkish sentimentality. If you

think of a record like leader of the pack, there is a great pop culture

thing, romance and tragedy. Within those combines it does it better

than you think. The script is sharper than you might expect, the

lead actress actually looks like she is playing the cello. It is what it

is, I think its target audience is the young teen audience, but I think

it does what it does rather well. It is not as good as the fault in our

stars, which I thought was rather more profound, but it is raised by

decent performances and a nice cameo from the grandfather character who

lifts the level higher. The third film of the week is Obvious Child.

This has divided audiences in the states. A comedian finds herself

pregnant and is clear on the course of action she's going to take. I

can't believe he walked into the store. That is a sign. Saying? That

we should start our beautiful life together. I am not a straight guy

but my guess is most of them would hate that gift. You are saying a guy

doesn't want a drunk pregnant girl in a box? Maybe you want to tell

him. Why? You don't owe him, you don't know him. Maybe he deserves to

know that this happened, that I am not a psycho and I'm going to get an

abortion. If I got someone pregnant, I would want to know.

In America it raised hackles, one commentator says, if America laughs

at this, America is the on redemption, because it deals with

abortion. That is not the central theme but the fact it deals with it

at all is unusual in mainstream cinema. It is more interesting to

concentrate on whether it is a good movie and it really is. It has very

well drawn characters. Each one has complexities, whether it is mothers,

fathers, lovers, friends, they are all drawn in integrates strokes ``

intricate strokes. It is up and Frank but not tub thumping, it is

clear in its agenda but it is not an agenda movie. The whole thing leads

up to Valentine's Day and could save twist on what you would think of as

the sentimental, mawkish romantic comedy. I am surprised it has rough

at `` has ruffled as many feathers as it has but I thought it was very

worthwhile. Let's talk about the one that you would pick out of

everything that is out there. The The Cabinet of Dr Caligari has just

been released, I imagine you have seen it in the way that everybody

has seen it, even if they haven't. It is described as the first ever

horror movie which isn't entirely true. It is an expressionist

masterpiece from the silent period, a story of a hypnotist who is sent

out to do his evil bidding and every single frame is archetypal. Every

frame, you have seen echoing through cinema for 100 years since. It

doesn't matter if you get colour or sound or 3D, you still see the ghost

of Dr Caligari. It is coming out on Blu`ray next month. If you get a

chance to see it, check it out because it is worth seeing it

projected and it is a beautiful restoration. A strong

recommendation. What about if we are sitting at home on the sofa? Same

colour diary is a masterpiece is not controversial, saying that

Transcendence is worth seeing is slightly more so. `` saying Dr

Caligari is a masterpiece is not controversial. I think it is

ambitious and interesting 70s inflected science`fiction movie, it

looks great. It is not a Johnny Depp film despite the fact he is right

there on the front, it is kind of a poor bet any film, it is a film

about ideas `` call it is true it does not work for

everybody, it kind of failed in cinemas. I think it is really worth

giving a second that. If you like Samaras, Silent running,

science`fiction films are about something. It does not fit all its

target but I like the fact it is ambitious. If it didn't succeed the

first time around, maybe it is about to be revived? That assumed critics

have any say whatsoever in what people say and I have yet to have

that proven! Thank you very much! A quick reminder before we go:

reviews from across the BBC online, including all our previous shows.

That's it for this week. Thanks for watching. Goodbye.

Whether it involves a trip to the cinema or staying at home with a

DVD, many of you are making plans and the weather is set fair. A lot

of dry weather around this weekend and some good sunny spells as well.

Once you are in that sunshine it should feel warm, not desperately