28/02/2014 The Film Review

one-day international between the West Indies and England. And a

report from the track cycling Championships. Now it is time for

the Film Review. Hello and welcome to the Film Review

here on BBC News. To take us through this week's cinema releases and

discuss the Oscars, Mark Kermode. We have Non Stop, The Book Thief, an

adaptation of Marcus Zusak's acclaimed novel and We Are What We

Are, a remake of a Mexican cannibal movie.

Right, Non Stop. Liam Neeson started out as a sensitive character actor

and now he is the go to action guy. The story behind nonstop is he is an

Air Marshal and he has a drink problem. He is on and aeroplane and

he gets text messages from someone saying they are going to kill

someone. He starts interrogating the passengers. Here is how he does it.

What happened to Amsterdam? Show me your pass. What is your name? Why?

Take it easy! I didn't do anything! I have rights! What the hell is

going on? The threat is real. I have a suspect in custody, I need a

background check, his name is Tom Bowen. Your supervisor -- you

threatened your supervisor. I did not threaten anyone. I need a seat

check on seat 23. If three minutes, someone on this plane is going to

die. Do you hear me? I'm sorry, I find it hysterically funny. It is

entertaining up to a point. The story is he hits a bunch of people

before someone eventually opens up. If you look at a film like Read Why,

, it is essentially a story like murder on the Orient express but on

an aeroplane. It is not as good as it ought to be. It is fun but not as

fun as some other upmarket films. The great comparison is, put it next

to Red Eye. I'm concerned about how he got a text message on a plane. He

is an Air Marshal. You have learned something new. Snakes on a plane is

probably better than this? No, it is a terrible movie. I went in thinking

I want great big popcorn fun. It is OK. It has one of the worst endings

I have seen in a long time. The Book Thief? It is an up that

patient -- it is an adaptation of a very successful difficult novel. It

is about a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany. The problem is, they

have the narrator who is death himself. At the beginning we have

the voice of death. Then we have the young girl who becomes interested in

literature at the same time the Nazis are burning books. She is a

member of the Hitler youth. It is seeing the world through the eyes of

children. You think of other films, these are child I've use of the war

that managed to achieve a level of profundity. This does not manage to.

It is a very handsome looking film by Brian Percival who did Downton

Abbey. It feels a bit chocolate box like. It shies away from difficult

subject matter. The fact we have the narration by death makes it feel

more metaphysical than it is. Solid performances, looks very handsome

but does not scrape the subject -- the surface of the subject. If you

enjoyed the book you will think it is a failed adaptation. There is a

theory that around the time of the Oscars, a month afterwards, that is

when Hollywood buries movies which are not very good. The Book Thief

was thought of as an Oscar contender. The fact it and has one

nomination for the score says something, it is a movie which has

awards written over it but it has not been nominated. What about We

Are What We Are? At the beginning of the movie the mother dies. It is a

Mexican film but this relocates the action to America. It changes the

gender structure at the beginning. It is the mother who dies and the

daughters have to take over the responsibility for the family's

cannibalism, while at the same time wondering what it might be like to

have a normal life. Here is a clip. So how old are you now? 14. 14.

Grown-up. It happens. It does. Catch. Thank you. What is this? A

bone I found out back. My dad would know, he is good at bones. There is

an old surgery by the creek. We used to go there when we were little. How

far? Not far. Maybe I should take a look? This might be from one of our

relatives. I will show you where it is. You are really pretty, Rose,

just like your sister. I will see you later. CU. That is really

creepy. It has a very chilly palette, there

is a lot of rain, the whole area is sodden and there is a vale of tears

about the whole thing. They have fundamentally changed the genetic

structure of the original. The original was about suburban

alienation. The central theme is religious fundamentalism and

obsession. It gives you a sense that you feel sympathy for these

characters even though what they are doing seems completely terrible.

Although it is not perfect and I do not think it will in any way

challenge the supremacy of the original, I thought it was an honest

and thought-provoking attempt to take the central ideas of the

original film and do something original. We have seen so many

horror remakes where they are essentially take a foreign language

film and essentially gutted but change the language to English. This

is trying to do something different. The writer and director have had a

good bash at it. The two young women stars are really terrific, doing

that thing in which they are trying to find their own way but there is

this family heritage which they cannot escape. I thought it was

interesting. Interesting indeed. Now, the Oscars this weekend. Is it?

! Best movie? I think it will be 12 Years A Slave. Steve McQueen has

done a fantastic job of telling the story. I think you will like it as

much as I do. For me it was the absolute standout of the year. I

think best director I do not think we'll go to the same film. I suspect

it will be Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity. People say it is

brilliantly directed. How did they do that? How did they create that

world, essentially send us into space for 90 minutes. If you look at

the BAFTAs for example, I think there is an awful lot of love for

Alfonso Cuaron's work on Gravity as director and I suspect that means he

will beat Steve McQueen. I think he is a brilliant director but I think

Steve McQueen's direction of 12 Years A Slave is extraordinary. But

it is not in your face so people do not say it is a brilliantly directed

film but it is. Best male actor. We have talked about Matthew McConaghy

a lot. He has gone the opposite way of Liam Neeson. He has gone from

someone who you do not want to see the films to someone who is

terrific. He is in ten three macro. -- Dallas Buyers' Club. The bookies

are backing him to win. And I think he will. I think he has the edge. I

suspect in America it will be him. And what about Jared Leto? I suspect

that Jared Leto will win for Best supporting actor is at the Oscars.

Female? Cate Blanchett, you can put your house on it. Don't actually do

that! From the first moment of this film, people said clear Oscar

contender. The film is not perfect. It is not Woody Allen's best work

but she is Titanic in it. I think she will walk it. Any surprises or

breakthroughs? I am still holding out for bar code Abdi winning for

Captain Phillips. He was someone who you never see on screen. He's

holding his own against Tom Hanks, two-time Oscar winner. It is a very

good story. Abdi does a fantastic job. I would love to see him win. I

suspect he won't but I would love to. He made something completely

unacceptable but you started to have some sympathy. His casting was so

important. You had to care for him or the story would not work. You can

find more reviews from Mark on his blog. That is it from this week.

Thank you for watching and goodbye. Hello. Funny spells for many on

Saturday but first thing in the morning it will be a bit wintry --

sunny spells. View fog patches moving through the night as