28/03/2014 The Film Review

Grand Prix. All that and more at 6. 30pm. Now, it's time for the Film

Review. Hello and welcome. To take us

through this week's releases, Mark Kerr mode. What have we got? Captain

Amercia ` The Winter Soldier, which is the new film in the on`going

franchise from Marvel and 20 Feet From Stardom, which shines the

spotlight on backing singers. And we have The Past, the new movie from

The Winter Soldier, saving the The Winter Soldier, saving the

world. The story, he was deep frozen and awakened by Austin Powers and

comes to the terms with the new world, the internet and all that

stuff. What happens in this film is he starts to question the authority

to which he's arguable. Shield and the Government are in league to set

this sky`bound surveillance system which will enable them to predict

crimes and wipe them out before they happen. As he says, that's not

freedom, that's fear. And the way you know there's something

particularly dodgy is at the top of the tree is Robert red Ford playing

against type as a corporate suit. Here's a clip. Busy in there?

Nothing that some marks can fix. I'm here to ask a favour. I want you to

call for a vote. The project has to be delayed. It's not a favour, that

is a subcommittee favour? Probably nothing. I just need time to make

sure it's nothing. Fine. But you got to get iron man to stop by my

niece's birthday party. Thank you Sir. Not just a fly`by. He's got to

mingle. That's how it works? You get them to come for favours? Yeah.

That's the smarter end of the movie and red Ford is well `` Redford is

well cast, and that runs throughout the film. The problem with it is

that although that's going on in the background, most of the movie is

overrun by the running, jumping, shooting and blowing things up

action sequences, which after a while start to feel out of place

with the subject. What I wanted was more of the character development.

There are too many characters. There are too many individuals that never

are tied up. None of the characters develop. We get the Black Widow and

there are kicks and backflips and we get a whole range of different

characters meeting in various circumstances, but almost always

interspersed with overextended action sequences. When you have seen

what Joss can do, and you get all the sequences and all the stuff you

want from this, but you also get solid character development and you

care about them. In this it's a problem and `` The target audience

perhaps wants a lot more of people flying around and getting shot at?

There's no doubt it will take a whole bunch of money. It's a shame

since test set up the 1970s paranoia, we are the enany and since

that's set up early on, you have higher expectations. This is 21st

century now. Somebody is watching us. It's very modern. As you have

seen, it's got great reviews. People have been giving it four and five

stars. It's fine. It's too long and runny and jumpy and shooty. 20 Feet

From Stardom. Backing singers. It's a warm documentary about backing

singers and it investigates the idea that that 20 feeT from the front of

the stage can be unbridgeable. You have Donald Love performing the

vocal performances and worderful footage from ieBG and Tina Turner

and you have `` Ike and Tina Turner and you have Stevie Wonder and

people talking about how it's sometimes really hard for somebody

who is very talented, better singers than they are to make that progress

to being a star. The fit many is about being one removed from

stardom, but being musically adept. A lot of the time the interviews and

conversation spills over into song and people break naturally into

song. I saw it in a packed cinema and the audience loved it. They

laughed at all the jokes and tapped their feet along with all the songs.

A really great feeling. There is no bitterness, because when you see it

Dion Warwick or Aretha Flanklin. And they talk about it? The documentary

talks about it, the fact that you're talks about it, the fact that you're

more talented mean you are more famous and the answer is no. There

is talent and there is something else, which is to do with perhaps

drive, perhaps ego and it's interesting hearing like Bruce

Springsteen saying they don't have the ego. My only criticism of it

this ` it beats the act of killing this ` it beats the act of

to the best documentary Oscar and to the best documentary Oscar and

that's a mistake. Act of killing is an extraordinary piece of work. It's

good enough and warm hearted enough to forget and forgive. Now The Past.

You are a big Asghar Farhadi fan. What is interesting here is you have

at the centre Berenice Bejo. She is a woman in a state of flux in Paris.

She is just coming to the end of one mare reasonabling and separated ``

marriage and separated from her husband. She's living with a new

lover and dealing with various situations and a situation which is

nothing, if not fractious. Here's a clip.

This is tough stuff? It's great. Berenice Bejo is terrific. We saw

her in the Artist. It's a rigorous physicality. This is people caught

between one marriage and another and what has happened is she hasn't

quite separated from her husband, but she has now a new lover and he

is married to a woman who in a coma and her coma becomes a problem in

the film. Asghar Farhadi has it's a state of between life add and death.

It's between sing `` life and death. It's between sing laRT and couple

dom. It's gripping and sometimes it plays out like a thriller and at at

centre is the performance from Berenice Bejo. She is just dynamite.

Anybody who has been fixing their plumbing or painting their house

they're in trouble. It's a sign of mental dislocation. When her

husband, soon to be ex`husband arrives, she is redecorating and

trying to cover up the memory but it's not succeeding. He manages to

get paint all over his clothes. You can read as much into it as you want

or see it just as a very, very convincing domestic drama. It's

extraordinary seeing Asghar Farhadi working in this genre. Everything

rings true. He seems to me to be a genuinely international filmmaker.

With a great eye for the foreign? He's a foreigner in France? Yes.

This is not his language that he's working in and does it well. All the

actors benefit from rehearsal processes. It's based in theatre.

You should see it. Terrific. Now Under the Skin, but my friends

really love this or hate it. Can't understand what you're on about.

Divisive. Scarlett Joe Hanson is an alien. And I think it's one of those

things that it doesn't work entirely, but the level of ambition

is so high and the sing Lafferty of vision is not `` sing laRT of vision

is not playing to everyone. I love to see a film that is singular and

ambitious. For those who have not seen Philomena, it's a great watch.

It takes certain liberties with the true story, but they work. The idea

of turning this journey into a road trip, it works and it's got a great

script. Very, very likeable central performances. Coogan and Dench.

Chalk and cheese? They are. Very good thing about it, it's funny and

serious and I think it's very moving. Definitely worth a watch on

DVD. Now a quick reminder that you'll find more film news and

reviews from Mark on his B C blog. That's it for this week. Thank you

for watching. Goodbye.