I, Daniel Blake; Ouija: Origin of Evil; Queen of Katwe The Film Review

will look forward to the Grand Prix, and the NFL's LA Rams and New York

Giants meet at Twickenham. That is all to come on Sportsday.

But now on BBC News it is time for The Film Review.

Hello and welcome to The Film Review on BBC News.

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

So, Mark, what do we have this week?

We have I, Daniel Blake, which as you know is the new film by Ken

Loach which I know you have seen before. Ouija: Origin of Evil, does

what it says on the packet. And Queen of Katwe, a very interesting

family film. Like they just do not make any more. Who are you talking

to? Spirit, can you hear me? I will lay my cards on the table. I think

Loach is a genius. Yes, I think he has proved once again he is an

incomparable talent. The Wind That Shakes The Barley in 2006. This one

star is a 15 a new joiner who has had a heart attack at work, played

by Johns, who is told he cannot go back to work by his doctor. At the

start of the film see him taking a questionnaire asking if he can walk,

move his arm to hold something in his top pocket, and he then scored

12 points which means he is not eligible for employment but to get

his Jobseeker's Allowance he has to slip in his CV around town, looking

for jobs that do not exist and which he cannot take any way because his

doctor has told him he cannot work. He cannot manage computers, so he

gives up, and he sees single mother, played by Hayley Squires, who has

been homeless for two years, giving a home hundreds of miles from anyone

she knows and as a result she turns up late and is not being treated,

shall we say, compassionately? Here is a clip from the film. I tried to

explain to the woman, I have never been to Newcastle before. We just

moved up from London, I don't know where I am going. The boss went the

wrong way. She just doesn't want to know. What I want you to do is

listen carefully. The lady has told you what is right. There are rules

here we have to stick to. It is not against you... You have a duty to be

here on time. And I am explaining why I wasn't here on time. I got

lost. I understand but what I gather is the decision maker will send you

a letter through the post. You will have to wait for that... I have

about 12 times in my purse all because you cannot down come and

listen to people when they talk. Your role -- about 12 quid in my

purse. If I was going to create a scene you would know about it. This

is ridiculous. Jesus Christ, who is first in this queue? Do you mind if

this young lass signs on first? There you go, go back to your desk,

let her sign on and do the job the taxpayer pays you for. He is the

decision maker! Yes, that phrase, it is terrifying. This is brilliantly

written by Paul Laverty, one of my favourite screenwriters. Ken Loach

said this is partly about the deliberate use of bureaucratic

inefficiency as a political weapon, to basically punish people and stop

them from claiming benefits by making things ridiculous. On the one

hand it is a very angry film about people at the sharp end of

austerity, however it is also and this is overlooked a film which

celebrates unbreakable bonds between people at the sharp end. What

happens is Daniel Blake takes her under his wing, he is a carpenter,

starts to do up her flat, is impressed that she wants to go back

to the open University to make something of herself. I think the

film is a brilliant balancing act of Kent opposing that compassion with

the lack of compassion of the system which demands somebody fills out a

form online when they do not have any idea how to use a computer. He

has never seen a mouse and when someone says Ron the cursor up the

screen, he literally runs at up the side of the screen. It works on a

personal level. I have seen it a couple of times now. There is one

scene in a food bank which is one of the most profoundly moving things I

have ever seen on screen. The great thing about Loach and Paul Laverty

together, because they are a great double act, is the find a way of

humanising people on the margins of society which goes right back to

Cathy Come Home and so on, which makes people who may not be

sympathetic, sympathetic. It lets you see the world through their

eyes. As I said, the thing that sometimes gets overlooked, it is a

kind of absurdist tragic situation, like Kafka, but the bond between

them and the way that contrasts with the faithlessness of the situation

they are dealing with. You're right. It is a personal story, like all of

Loach's stuff, but it is also very political. You come out feeling

enraged but saddened. It is also very human. The performances are

terrific and you believe in the characters. I think it is a really

important film. Any decision makers in Ouija: Origin of Evil? If there

are, they are on the other side. A step up from its predecessor. Period

setting, 1960s. The story is there is a woman two kids, running a fake

seance session, and she is surprised when she gets double-mac Ouija board

and is surprised that her daughter is speaking to spirits -- gets a

Ouija board. The funny thing about it is although it was digitally

projected when I saw it, it has these blemishes built in. Making it

look like an old film, this kind of nostalgic retro thing going, which

is quite charming and seems to behave quite well in the first half

of the film. It loses its nerve in the second half, turning into all

that silliness from Poltergeist, Exercised numerically, and also a

film called Screamers which nobody remembers any more, I think it owes

a debt to that -- Exercised numerically. I wished it could stay

that drama from the beginning. You heard the shrieks of enjoyment

watching it. The moral is, if you are interested, don't mess around

with the spirits. Do not mess around with Ouija board under any

circumstance! And Ouija: Origin of Evil? Yes, Phiona Mutesi who grew up

in an impoverished area of Kampala was discovered to have a great skill

at chess. David Oyelowo things are and thinks this is fantastic and

wants to take her away the competition is about which she is

very worried. He was a clip. -- away to competitions. Never tip your king

so quick. Why not? When you're going to be beaten anyway? Focus on what

you have. I do not think you come from here. When I was a child my

mother left me. In that moment, I wanted to die. But it was a good

thing I did not take my life then, otherwise I would not have seen my

daughter, I would not have met them or due. Me?

Do not be quick to take your king, Phiona? You must never surrender. A

Disney film in mainstream cinemas. Telling a story perhaps you may

never have seen before and it does that thing old family films used to

do, suitable for everyone, PG rated movie. I think the whole family can

get something out of it. Really uplifting, a true story which

apparently sticks pretty close to the original story. It has a real

sense of location. You feel they are with those characters. It is clearly

made with passion, very well directed by Mira Nair who made

Salaam Bombay!. I went in with very little expectations and did not know

much about the story. And when everyone mentions chess on film, you

think... Yes, I can imagine. There have been a few good chess movies

but it is a harder sell. This was really vibrant, engaging, and as I

said, it is that rarest of things, a family film. From Rocky the Slum Dog

Millionaire, will of the underdog. Someone who does really well. Any

story of aspiration, very cinematic, but also very easy to make that

stuff cheesy, and the real clemency is it is not cheesy but really

moving. Your best is American Honey? Yes, her best work I think since Red

Road. She is 18, on the road, shot in the old square Academy ratio, and

it is the most perfect use of that ratio. It is long, two hours and 40

minutes, and I tend to be really picky about long films but it did

not feel wrong to me. I think it is a really engaging film. -- did not

feel long to me. She makes a certain type of film I think nobody else can

make. A fine piece of work. And you were the world's biggest fan of this

DVD, Notes On Blindness. Had he seen it? It is based on the audio tape

diaries of his compassionate account of losing his sight. -- have you

seen it? No. It also develops this kind of soundscape world. I think it

is genuinely spiritual, I think it has transcended quality to it. On

the one hand it is a love story. On the other, it is a real sort of

voyage of exploration, and the greatest compliment to give it is

that I cannot think of another film that does what it does in the way it

does it. Again, if it is not on my list of top ten films at the end of

the year I would very surprised. And he is theologian having to deal

with, why does God do this? Why have I gone blind? Yes, and he raises

that sort of question and the conclusion he comes to... There are

moments of genuine revelation and you hear this on the audio tape. It

is superb, Gavin. Believe me. OK, I have to do it. So much good stuff

out. Yes, and the weather is getting cold saw a good time to get DVDs!

You can see all of The Film Review online including all of our previous

shows. That is it from The Film Review and Mark Kermode. Enjoy the

movies. Thanks for watching. Goodbye.