The Lego Batman Movie, 20th Century Women and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Film 2017

Hello. This is Film 2017. I am Clara Amfo. We are raring to go. With us

tonight, we are turning down the lights, putting on some sweet music

and getting all romantic. We want to know some great movies for

Valentine's Day, so get in touch with us about that. Coming up on the

show tonight... The Lego Batman Movie, returns to Gotham city.

Growing up and freaking out. Annette Bening and Elle Fanning star in 20th

Century Women. And nobody puts this film in the corner. We celebrate the

wonder of Dirty Dancing 30 years on. Plus, we'll take a look at Billy

Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Joining me tonight, Chris Hewitt, full of

germs, but soldiering on! And Danny Leigh! I'm freelance, this is not

good! Chris, we need to talk about these socks? Yes, these are my shiny

socks. You can get anything in this pattern, except, weirdly enough,

carpet. Do you have boxer shorts to match? I can't say. Later! Now, it

is the term of the gravelly voiced Will Arnett to bring the caped

Crusader back to the screen. This is The Lego Batman Movie. I'm home! You

come in with a big bang and there's some great action. And then it

shifts a bit and it becomes... Almost like a character movie. He's

a lonely guy, someone you think has everything. He's got great gadgets

and vehicles, women love him, but he doesn't have the most important

thing, which is family. You can't spend the rest of your life alone,

dressed in black and staying up all night. You need to take

responsibility for your life, and it starts by raising your son. This is

the batsman Ravi where he finds family. He actually adopts a child.

He puts together his own version of family during the course of the

movie. Wait, does but man live in Bruce Wayne's basement? I have seen

him in many different years. And that we had one in 1966. I have aged

phenomenally. You've got absurd Adam west versions of it, you've got

extremely serious versions of it. So, being able to have our take on

it was really important. Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry! I had the

luxury of taking pieces of all of them. Because they all exist, and I

tried to make him my own. I'm sorry, I literally have no idea what you're

talking about. Trying to go back to what was the thing that made that

first television series so successful back in the day. There

was always an element of tongue in cheek. It was able to not take

itself too seriously at the end of the day. Hate, but man! We're going

to have to rename this the Buttmobile! There is something in

this for everybody. The Lego Batman Movie, selfishly, I took my niece

and nephew to go and see this film. But it was all about me, not them!

Is everything still awesome? I think it is, it is just fractionally less

awesome. A lot of that was because the Lego movie had the huge element

of surprise. Having seen this pure, joyful and weirdly subversive

experience, The Lego Batman Movie does not have that element of

surprise. Instead, it has a barrage of gags. I have never seen a film

before, where there is a pre-pre- credit sequence. A lot of it is very

funny. Whether you're a ten-year-old kid, or whatever, it's funny the

whole way through. I can run the risk of sounding like a film critic

for a second, I'm sorry! But it is fractionally less awesome and it

just feels fractionally like a missed opportunity. Do you think

they tried to pack too many jokes in? I thought, I would rather go and

see this with my friends then whizz my knee for nephew, it just felt

like there were too many jokes. -- than with my niece and nephew. I

like the fact, if you don't like one bad joke, don't worry, another one

is along in a second. I like the healthy reference for the batsman

Ravi is, even the rubbish ones! How do you! In that movie, there is no

doubt about it. The Adam west but man, it goes really deep as well.

There is mention made of a whole litany of dreadful but man villains.

At one point he says, it is worth a Google, edited! The cynic in you

thinks, what could be better than to shift an awful lot of plastic

bricks, the corporate synergy! But I think there is more than that going

on. Actually The Lego Movie John Lowe Was Up Perfect Stroke Of

Genius, To Take This Character. Christian Bale can never play

batsman ever again. That ship has now sailed. The body of jokes... I

just kept thinking, somewhere, Christopher Nolan is having every

joke explained to him. I felt like this film was a bit of a joke take

on the typical macho batsman that we have come to love from Christian

Bale's portrayal? I do not want to pick holes in this because it is a

wonderful experience in many ways, but it cannot help becoming a bit of

a superhero movie, after a while. It is having fun with that idea, but in

the end it just becomes another batsman film. I think the problem is

with but man himself. He's great in small doses, but when he has to

carry a whole movie on his very small shoulders, it does greater

bit, after a while. Is a bit swaggering. He is great at stealing

the scene. They try to impart an emotional back story on him and give

him some depth - it doesn't really work. It's a little bit like if you

took his character from Arrested Development and you gave him his own

90 minute movie, you would be going after a while, I'm not sure about

this guy. We have to give a bit of love to Michael Cera. It is amazing

how many people give their best performances, at three inches high.

I have never been able to stand Michael Cera, but this is great,

once he's reduced down to that level. The whole cast, Rosario

Dawson and Ralph Fiennes as well. I think we all got to know Rosario

Dawson as a promiscuous teenager, not in real life, can we stress?!

For fantastic. There is a huge amount of funny going on in this, I

realise that I have been nit-picking. That's the batsman will

in you! Next up, 20th Century Women. This is a new film from director

Mike Mills. His last film, Beginners, was inspired by the life

of his father. This time it is the turn of his mum, and it stars the

fabulous Annette Bening, in what has been called a love letter to mothers

everywhere. We are at a turning point in our history. As you know,

there is a growing disrespect for government. It is a crisis of

confidence. It's America in 1979, and it's about a mother

coming-of-age, trying to figure out her son. And a son coming-of-age

were trying to figure out his mother. Inking you know everything

that's going on. No, I just held that having your heart broken is a

tremendous way to learn about the world. Mike Mills wrote and directed

the movie. He was very much intrigued by both of his parents. It

is always about the mother. This is about the mother. She was the

catalyst, but it became really another character to play. Do you

think you're happy? Seriously? You don't ask people questions like

that. She is a very context woman in her own right. And of course, all

real mothers are, it's just that we've spent so much time either

idealising mothers or on the other hand making them into the bad

mother. Whereas Dorothea is just a human mother who makes some

mistakes, and then also she gets a lot right. Jamie, would you please

wait for Abbie? Hold on, I'm menstruating. When we were actually

shooting, we mostly used the dialogue, but then we would have a

chance to do a scene, and he would say, say whatever you want. Your

menstruating, OK, but do you have to say it? And some of the best moments

came from those times when we were able to speak from the heart. Just

say menstruation, it's not a big deal, start saying it now.

Menstruation. Not bad. Let's say it together! Menstruation. I can't say

it. So, 20th Century Women, Chris, would you say this film shows you

don't have to be a teenager to come of age? Absolutely, I went into this

one, I must confess, with slight trepidation. I love character

studies, I'm love movies which are slightly plotless, but I was a bit

concerned that this might be a bit too twee. And it is that, but it is

a movie that has tonnes of compassion for its characters. It is

full of wit and warmth and wisdom. It only has one Oscar nomination,

which is for Best Original Screenplay, for Mike Mills. And it

deserves it, it is fantastic. It is a bit like a bat man movie, in that

every minute or so brings a new one minor, but this time, they are

covered in emotional depth. It is a wonderful movie, and it's built on

these incredible performances. Annette Bening, for me, she is the

star of the film, but I love her stance because she is the most

reluctant feminist icon, I guess! She is a woman bringing up this

child by herself, she talks to him as if he's an adult. It seems in the

film as if he almost wants more parental control? That's one of the

things I love about it. The period detail is so good, the sense of time

and place. In 1979 in California, you realise what it means to like

Talking Heads. And also Black Flak. It is about mothers and sons, being

a boy or a girl, a man or a woman. It could be a coming-of-age story,

it is the kind of story that a lot of directors of a certain age end up

producing, sensitive, slightly weird. It says, OK, so this

15-year-old's life is important, but also, he has got this mother. In

another film, she would be standing there with a cake at the doorway

being supportive, or she would be conspicuous by her absence.

Actually, this film gets half the film at least two Annette Bening.

There's such richness of character. It's all about her childhood and

oppression, she's bohemian but she's also so good with money. So there is

a real richness, which is very, very unusual. And there is a warmth I

think without being sentimental. And there is a cleverness, without being

precious. It is like Wes Anderson if everything was not in quote marks.

It is a very democratic movie as well.

Seeing what Greta Gerwig goes through, it is played beautifully.

The film likes all its characters. Any film will get bored with at

least one of its characters but here, there are great scenes of

people dancing in their bedrooms and it is as if the movie wants to

invite us in. There is a real charm to it. Can we try and say it

together? Menstruation. There we go. Moving on, it made a star of Patrick

Swayze and it made putting Baby in the corner unacceptable. Dirty

Dancing is 30 years old. There is a rumour that someone in this room has

not seen it. Its mix of sex and sound made it a head for me and I

even liked the sequel. I know I am not alone.

# Now I've had the time of my life. You know how when you watch a film

for the first time and it has an amazing cult following and you think

it cannot live up to those expectations and this was one of the

few films that really did. My mother really did not want me to see it

because it had the word dirty and the title. It's not illegal is it?

It was the first movie I saw in which people had sex. That was the

summer of 1963 when everyone called me Baby. It is the moment when he

jumps off the stage and moves down the aisle. It is like a magnet, it

pulls me in. I cannot think of a single girl that I know who has not

tried to recreate those Dirty Dancing moves. I think I sprained my

wrists trying to lift someone at a wedding once. The dams in the film

is not easy. It is technical. This is my dance face and this is your

dance space. It is beautifully choreographed. Turner, Turner... My

favourite scene is the montage to Hungry Eyes.

# Hungry eyes. Twist. It is so 1980s and so lovely and heartfelt. I like

that you can see how much Patrick Swayze does not like Jennifer Grey.

He found her annoying. Those are real outtakes. You have to

concentrate! Is this your idea of fun! He was a sensational dancer. So

when he was given someone like Jennifer Grey, his heart must have

gone, oh please! He uses dancing as sex. I mean it is body to body,

touch, feel, hold, grab, it is like making love. It is just a massive

sweatbox of self. The movie uses dancing as a metaphor for the sexual

awakening of Baby. The better dancer she is, the more sexually has and

the better dancer she becomes. Patrick Swayze did not have a bone

in his body that was not sexy. It started in his little toe and

finished at the hair on his head. His ads are incredible. This is peak

Patrick Swayze. Look at him. Oh my god! Boys and men are grossed out

when they see the camera going all over Patrick Swayze and I say, this

is what it is like being a woman in the cinema all the time! Enjoy! O

God, it is hopeless. Don't say that. I think there are so many things

going on in Dirty Dancing. It gets quite dark and serious with the

abortion theme with penny. He did not use either or nothing. The guy

had a dirty knife and a folding table. It is a movie that has real

smarts, not just a movie with a funny soundtrack. It will be fine.

It is a movie about the importance of pro-choice, a movie that

celebrates female sexuality, and movie that celebrates her

objectification of men. This is not a tragedy. It is one of the greatest

Amadis movies of all time. It is one of these films that is referenced by

people all the time. You will note those quotable lines. Carry a

watermelon! I think everyone knows the phrase spaghetti arms and it is

not complimentary. Where is my beige lipstick? Baby, stand up straight. I

love to watch your hair blowing in the breeze. There is one line in

this film which everyone says. Nobody puts Baby in the corner! What

does that even mean? What? There is a reason everyone still quote said.

Lines do not last for 30 years without good reason. It is not easy

to write a fun, funny teen movie with a smart script. And if you want

the time of your life, you can catch Dirty Dancing in cinemas nationwide

on February the 14th. I have got some of your tweets for your

favourite Valentine's Day movies. He says you cannot beat Some Like It

Hot. Some people said My Bloody Valentine. One guy says Star Wars,

if the guy does not like them, she is not a keeper. It is everything.

If you sit through the Phantom Menace, you're a keeper. Jonathan

Harvey has spoken. Next up is Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk from the

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee. Joe Alwyn stars as Billy home from the

Iraq war and reluctantly held as a military hero. It is going down.

What? I play Billy and he is a soldier and he finds himself thrown

into this extraordinary situation. He is caught on camera in this

suppose it act of heroism and the footage goes viral back home and

they are brought back to America for this victory tour. It is weird being

honoured for the worst day of your life. And the film takes place over

the course of the day as he is trying to figure out the kind of

madness and the circumstances around him and figure out who he is and

where he belongs in all of that. I cannot imagine what you went through

personally. I think it is the human drama about the growth of the young

person. It is really good to have you back, Little Brother. It is

about war and how to do with it, how they go through that. How they grow

and mature. When you are decorated hero, you have done your part. There

is no shame in it. I did my research. I made a commitment. To

what? We know why you signed up. What to say? I'm going back. The

book is a reflection of that time. It is also very timely and when I

was cutting the movie after I shot it, the election started. So I was

watching how the movie had fashioned and how the reality, was passing

out. Your story Billy, no longer belongs to you. It is the irony and

the contrast between what really happened and the public perception

of them. What really happened over there? The latest bomb Ang Lee,

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. A film that I found quite conflicting

to watch. The way it was shot, I found I was watching a really well

made for television movie. Most movies are shot in 24 frames per

second and this is shot in 120 frames per second. It produces a new

clarity of image and it effectively removes the barrier. It removes the

barrier between the viewer and the screen and it doesn't quite work. It

is a little bit too hyper real and it does not have the motion blur

that the Hobbit had. It is a little bit off-putting and visually bland

as well, which surprised me given the technology behind it and the

cinematographer. Too many frames per second. It is impossible to get

beyond. It is a shame, some were buried in their is a provocative

film about America and war. I could not make eye contact with this

movie. It looks so slick and jarring, like having a conversation

with someone who takes all the clothes off. You're not attracted to

them. You cannot focus, it is not happening. You think it is unsightly

and you do not want to carry on the conversation. Ang Lee is a gifted

director, but he makes these strange mistakes of judgment. I do not know

why he would have made the film like that because the hobbit was hard

work as well. There was a rational behind it, but a lot of this film is

made up of characters on concrete steps and there is no reason for

this to be in 3-D. Even though the film did slide in parts, it was

really ambitious for Joe Alwyn, his first movie ever, young British guy,

addition for Ang Lee a few times and he really stood out. He is the

start. I found he played the role quite tenderly. It did not seem like

he had become ruined by what he saw. He could have been a lung in the

wrong hands but he brings a tenderness and sensitivity to him

which is refreshing. Everyone is solid in this movie, including

Garrett Hedlund. It is difficult, there is an amazing set piece, a

moment where everything comes together, the half-time walk and the

look of the film makes sense, you can see the soldiers are there with

Destiny 'S Child. They are teetering on the brink of freaking out and you

can see why it is suddenly all connecting. In terms of the

performances, they get lost and buried. That is unfortunate, the

performances outweighed the film for me. The best performance is

Christian Stewart. Every time she is on screen, you notice. I'm just

happy to see her not playing Bella and I think she is happy. We will

move onto the film the week. 20th Century Women. I really liked The

Lego Batman Movie. You are taking me to 20th Century Women. That is

almost dead. Right here on the sofa next week will be my friend and the

sofa is not quite as uncomfortable as it looks. I will leave you with

something exciting, a first look at The Beguiled. Its star as Elle

Fanning and Nicole Kidman as the inhabitants of a girl skilfully

taken an injured soldier pled by: Farrell. Good night. -- a girls

school. Girls, we all need to help. Quickly,

he is losing blood. I prayed that the Lord see fit to restore the

health of the wounded soldier. We asked for protection over our school

and we pray that we will be kept from harm throughout the night.

Amen. Seems like the soldier being here is having an effect. If you

could have anything in the world, what would be? To be taken far from

here. We can show him some real Southern hospitality. This has

taught us all a very important lesson. Can I get you anything? The

enemy is not what we believe.