:00:00. > :00:19.Now on BBC News, it's time for the Film Review.
:00:20. > :00:22.Hello and welcome to The Film Review on BBC News.
:00:23. > :00:27.To take us through this week's cinema releases is Mark Kermode.
:00:28. > :00:41.We have the 20th Century Women, I new film starring Annette Bening. We
:00:42. > :00:46.have the Lego Batman movie, which says what it does on the tin. And
:00:47. > :00:58.Fences, a major awards contender. Let's start with 20th Century Women
:00:59. > :01:03.from Mike Mills. It is an interesting film, set in California.
:01:04. > :01:08.Young boy facing an uncertain adulthood, surrounded by strong
:01:09. > :01:11.women of different ages, who both inspire and also confound, not least
:01:12. > :01:13.his free-spirited mother, brilliantly played by Annette
:01:14. > :01:16.Bening. Here is a clip. Thinking that you know
:01:17. > :01:23.everything that's going on. No, I just think that, you know,
:01:24. > :01:26.having your heart broken is a tremendous way to learn
:01:27. > :01:32.about the world. ..as happy as you thought you'd be
:01:33. > :01:46.when you were my age? You don't ask people
:01:47. > :01:51.questions like that. Wondering if you're happy is a great
:01:52. > :02:14.shortcut to just being depressed. I already love it, just from that. I
:02:15. > :02:20.haven't seen it yet. You are right to do so. It is the horrific film.
:02:21. > :02:23.It has terrific performances, partly because they had time to rehearse I
:02:24. > :02:30.get to know the characters. These are characters you want to spend
:02:31. > :02:35.time in the company. We want to show how their lives work-out. You want
:02:36. > :02:39.to know about their lives. The film has texture, you feel like at any
:02:40. > :02:42.point the camera could go out of the car, out of the house and into the
:02:43. > :02:48.street and the world would be complete around it. It evokes a
:02:49. > :02:53.world that is in many ways, lost. It is back to time that now seem so
:02:54. > :02:57.distant, but the issues it deals with is contemporary. It is not plot
:02:58. > :03:02.driven, it is to do with moments, conversations and relationships. The
:03:03. > :03:12.narrative flips back and forward to some extent. I thought it was
:03:13. > :03:15.terrific. I started watching it, I knew nothing of what to expect,
:03:16. > :03:18.other than it had a great cast. I was drawn into their world and their
:03:19. > :03:23.characters. I loved it, I can't wait to see it again, you will love it.
:03:24. > :03:29.Will it be disparagingly called women's film? I don't know what that
:03:30. > :03:33.means. It used to be a term that was use for popular movies. Because
:03:34. > :03:37.females were the majority of the audiences. What they meant was
:03:38. > :03:41.something would be successful and a blockbuster. I hope it is the case.
:03:42. > :03:42.Anybody could see 20th-century women and get something out of it, it is
:03:43. > :03:51.the rhetoric. Same is true of the Lego Batman
:03:52. > :03:58.movie. Have you seen it? I am afraid I didn't. It was great. It sounded
:03:59. > :04:05.like a stupid idea but it turned out to be very smart and inventive. What
:04:06. > :04:10.age group? All age groups, I am in my 50s and I laughed all the way
:04:11. > :04:16.through. It is about Lego Batman, a narcissist, and he has to learn to
:04:17. > :04:20.have relationships with people, with Robin, his butler, and the Joker,
:04:21. > :04:25.who is desperate for him to admit he is a special billing and they have a
:04:26. > :04:30.special relationship. And what is great, the visuals are terrific, it
:04:31. > :04:34.is incredibly kinetic. I wanted to hold the frame and say stop, there
:04:35. > :04:44.are so many jokes in this one frame, they are going pass so fast. It is
:04:45. > :04:49.great for all ages, it is funny. Loads of exciting stuff happening on
:04:50. > :04:54.the screen. There are jokes about the 60s Batman and the Christopher
:04:55. > :04:59.Nolan Batman. You need to see the Lego Movie, because that is terrific
:05:00. > :05:05.and better than this. I have a busy weekend ahead of me. The Lego Batman
:05:06. > :05:07.movie is tiptop stuff and doesn't let the side down. I am already
:05:08. > :05:21.feeling overwhelmed. Let's talk about Fences. I have seen
:05:22. > :05:29.the film and now I feel I want to see the play. Denzel Washington
:05:30. > :05:33.stars and directs it. Troy is a blue-collar worker and brings home
:05:34. > :05:38.his frustrations from his work, from his life. They all come out in the
:05:39. > :05:41.home encounters. The film has got four Oscar nominations including
:05:42. > :05:44.Best Supporting Actress and here is why.
:05:45. > :05:48.You're not listening to me, I'm trying to explain it
:05:49. > :05:53.It's not easy for me to admit I've been standing
:05:54. > :06:02.I've had 18 years of my life just standing in the same spot as you.
:06:03. > :06:04.Don't you think I've ever wanted other things?
:06:05. > :06:06.Don't you think I had dreams and hopes?
:06:07. > :06:25.Great performances. You have seen the play. So powerful, the play. The
:06:26. > :06:31.film feels very staged. There are plays that have been adapted for the
:06:32. > :06:36.screen and they feel cinematic. This feels like something that has taken
:06:37. > :06:41.the stage play and filmed it. There are slight differences, but it never
:06:42. > :06:45.felt like a cinematic endeavour. It felt like great writing, relevant
:06:46. > :06:51.issues. The horrific, committed performances. But it didn't take
:06:52. > :06:54.flight as a piece of film-making. That is a problem because if you
:06:55. > :06:59.take a stage play away from the stage and put it somewhere else, you
:07:00. > :07:04.have to to do something to it. You really feel you wish you were seeing
:07:05. > :07:07.it live on stage, particularly with the larger speeches. It felt like a
:07:08. > :07:13.theatrical production as opposed to a cinematic production. The
:07:14. > :07:17.screenplay was written by August Wilson before he died, a great
:07:18. > :07:23.playwright. It is different writing for the screen and it is a craft? It
:07:24. > :07:28.is different directing that work for the screen. The classic screen
:07:29. > :07:34.adaptation of plays, they understand the language of cinema. This is
:07:35. > :07:37.clearly a huge reverence from the stage play, and understandably so. I
:07:38. > :07:43.just don't think it is as cinematic as it needs to be. Despite the fact
:07:44. > :07:47.it is great writing, solid performances and great individual
:07:48. > :07:54.moments, but as a piece of cinema, doesn't fly. We are coming up to the
:07:55. > :07:59.BAFTAs, so he might win awards for the acting? My feeling is that is
:08:00. > :08:03.where its heart resides, they are terrific performances. It feels
:08:04. > :08:11.theatrical to me. The best thing out in the cinema at the moment, is Toni
:08:12. > :08:16.Erdman. He is terrific, it sounds unlikely, a three-hour German Black
:08:17. > :08:26.comedy, written and directed and a standout performance about father,
:08:27. > :08:30.daughter estrangement. A father turns up at his daughter's place of
:08:31. > :08:36.work pretending to be a life coach, and she cannot get rid of him. It is
:08:37. > :08:42.funny and poignant. It is about to be remade starring Jack Nicholson.
:08:43. > :08:47.Why? It is perfect as it is, it doesn't need remaking, you will love
:08:48. > :08:52.the original. I have seen the trailer and the trailer itself is
:08:53. > :08:56.interminable. Does it need to be three hours? I am somebody who
:08:57. > :09:03.believes in cutting to the bone, less is more, but in the case of
:09:04. > :09:09.Toni Erdman, I would not take anything out. It is that good. Don't
:09:10. > :09:17.be put off by the trailer. I was. Don't be, it is not a great trailer.
:09:18. > :09:24.OK, only because you have told me. Tell us about the DVD. The Unknown
:09:25. > :09:31.Girl. I young Doctor Who fails to open the door to a potential patient
:09:32. > :09:36.is then found dead. She has a crisis of conscience and try to find out
:09:37. > :09:42.who she is. It was a film, when it was in the cinema, got lukewarm
:09:43. > :09:47.reviews. The best thing about DVDs, you can reassess things that was
:09:48. > :09:51.overlooked the first time. It is a thriller, but it has a humanist
:09:52. > :09:56.heart and is well worth seeing. I don't know it, but that is a good
:09:57. > :10:00.recommendation. Mark, thank you very much indeed.
:10:01. > :10:03.A quick reminder before we go that you'll find more film news
:10:04. > :10:06.and reviews from across the BBC online at bbc.co.uk/markkermode.
:10:07. > :10:08.And you can catch up with our previous programmes
:10:09. > :10:21.And we mentioned the BAFTAs, let's find out who wins what on Sunday.
:10:22. > :10:22.Full coverage from BBC News on the red carpet.
:10:23. > :10:41.It is a perfect weekend for watching a movie because it is going to be
:10:42. > :10:44.cold and miserable. This picture from Northumberland says it all,
:10:45. > :10:45.grey