0:00:00 > 0:00:02all the weekend's football, but we'll be focusing on the rugby, at
0:00:02 > 0:00:16half past six on BBC news. Now, it is time for The Film Review.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Hello and welcome to The Film Review on BBC News.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25To take us through this week's cinema releases is Mark Kermode.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30So Mark, what do we have this week?
0:00:30 > 0:00:39We had a new version of journeys end. Helen Mirren in Winchester, the
0:00:39 > 0:00:43ghost story chiller. And an Oscar-nominated Denzel Washington in
0:00:43 > 0:00:52Roman J Israel, Esq. Journeys end, is it a tough watch?
0:00:52 > 0:01:00I was very impressed by it, it is directed by a man whose previous
0:01:00 > 0:01:05film was about World War II. This is set in the trenches of World War I,
0:01:05 > 0:01:11a terrific ensemble cast, Toby Jones, Paul Bettany... And
0:01:11 > 0:01:14essentially what the film does is capture the sort of day-to-day
0:01:14 > 0:01:18squalor and struggle and comradeship of people in those trenches in the
0:01:18 > 0:01:21middle of that terrible war.
0:01:31 > 0:01:37My darling Joan. When you read this, I don't imagine that for one moment
0:01:37 > 0:01:44you will feel bitter and resentful. But you will find comfort in the
0:01:44 > 0:01:49thought that I went down fighting for my country. You are too
0:01:49 > 0:01:57clear-headed for that, my darling. There is a job to be done. It ought
0:01:57 > 0:02:02never to have arisen, but that is not the point. I have had so very
0:02:02 > 0:02:07much out of life. And all these youngsters do not realise how
0:02:07 > 0:02:16unlucky they are. So new are they to their very existence.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Paul Bettany, capturing the understated power of the drama. This
0:02:25 > 0:02:30is a story that everyone knows, but I think they bring something new to
0:02:30 > 0:02:37it. There is a palpable sense of terror, as -- the fact that we are
0:02:37 > 0:02:42waiting for a German attack, it hangs heavy over the drama. I think
0:02:42 > 0:02:46the director cranks up the tension, while all the time reminding us that
0:02:46 > 0:02:50this is to do with the characters, their day-to-day life, that strange
0:02:50 > 0:02:55mixture of on the one hand grinding boredom and on the other hand
0:02:55 > 0:02:58imminent terror balanced very nicely. You get a raw sense of being
0:02:58 > 0:03:02there in that trench environment. I think what this film manages to do
0:03:02 > 0:03:06is take a classic text and make it completely relevant, it is very
0:03:06 > 0:03:15cinematic. The performances are terrific, there are laughs as well,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19and there is real vibrancy in it. But I find it very moving, very
0:03:19 > 0:03:23powerful, very harrowing, and a very sort of potent reminder of just what
0:03:23 > 0:03:28was at stake in what was sacrificed. I thought it was really good, it was
0:03:28 > 0:03:36a really good adaptation.
0:03:36 > 0:03:42You are a horror film fan, argue? Winchester is not going to scare
0:03:42 > 0:03:46you. This is inspired by the true story of Sarah Winchester, the
0:03:46 > 0:03:50widowed heiress of the Winchester rifle fortune. Some people said she
0:03:50 > 0:03:55was haunted by the spirits that have been killed -- spirits of the people
0:03:55 > 0:04:01killed by the firearms. Is she crazy, is she haunted, is it all in
0:04:01 > 0:04:09her mind? This sounds like a great set up, no, all that ambiguity goes
0:04:09 > 0:04:13out in ten seconds. The house goes bang, there are lots of jump scares,
0:04:13 > 0:04:20the movie shout at you... OK, fine, it is an interesting setup, but once
0:04:20 > 0:04:24you are into it, it is like the most mechanical roller-coaster ride. None
0:04:24 > 0:04:31of it is scary. Dame Helen Mirren does a brilliant job of keeping a
0:04:31 > 0:04:33straight face! Why did she say yes to this? She
0:04:33 > 0:04:40said it is in the tradition of great Japanese ghost stories, it is
0:04:40 > 0:04:46nothing like that! It is like Twister. At no point, at any point,
0:04:46 > 0:04:52did I feel there was any ambiguity, any uncertainty, and it was not
0:04:52 > 0:04:58scary. You are completely safe with this.I can't see it! You have sold
0:04:58 > 0:05:08it.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16Denzel Washington, 30 years after his first Oscar nomination, he plays
0:05:16 > 0:05:21a savant law attorney, very dedicated to civil rights causes,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25but is absolutely terrible with people. So for most of his career he
0:05:25 > 0:05:29has been the person in the backroom, who does the book work, then the
0:05:29 > 0:05:33partner he has been working with suddenly finds himself in hospital,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37and he has to step up and do the interaction, and he cannot do it.
0:05:37 > 0:05:52Here's a clip.My client is interested in discussing a deal.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57Refresh me.Convenience store shooting, a man was killed. The
0:05:57 > 0:06:05shooter in this case was a fugitive. My client may know his whereabouts
0:06:05 > 0:06:11and might be willing to testify. He will deliver on that? If you waive
0:06:11 > 0:06:16all objections on appeal, and he is willing to cooperate, we will drop
0:06:16 > 0:06:20the assault and kidnapping, and drop murder 1-2 in voluntary
0:06:20 > 0:06:30manslaughter, ten years. It is a good deal.I'm sorry for taking a
0:06:30 > 0:06:40nanosecond of of your rubber-stamp assembly-line existence... Hello?!
0:06:40 > 0:06:43So he can't do any of the interaction stuff, but he needs
0:06:43 > 0:06:49money. So he sells out. The beginning is him accusing himself of
0:06:49 > 0:06:54having sold out. It is an uneven drama, it tries to cram a huge
0:06:54 > 0:06:59character arc into a small period of time. But he is really watchable,
0:06:59 > 0:07:04you do believe in his transition between somebody who is very
0:07:04 > 0:07:07idealistic to somebody who is selling himself out, even if you
0:07:07 > 0:07:12don't quite believe the drama around him. It is quite often funny,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16sometimes the town is uneven to the point of not working, and I have to
0:07:16 > 0:07:21say it really loses its way in the third act. -- the town is uneven.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26And ultimately it is not hang together, but wouldn't you rather
0:07:26 > 0:07:29look at a movie which tries to do something interesting and doesn't
0:07:29 > 0:07:33quite pull it off, rather than something that is quite down the
0:07:33 > 0:07:38line? It is held together by his performance, which is immensely
0:07:38 > 0:07:43watchable.And he is so likeable, I so liked Denzel Washington, but I
0:07:43 > 0:07:47guess you want it to be better. Was it created just as a vehicle for
0:07:47 > 0:07:54him?Look, I think it is a film that is trying to do a very complicated
0:07:54 > 0:07:57character arc, in a very compressed period of time, and it doesn't quite
0:07:57 > 0:08:03hang together. But it has such a strong lightning rod performance at
0:08:03 > 0:08:06the end of it, that you can't forgive it for the things that are
0:08:06 > 0:08:14wrong with it. Phantom Thread.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19This is the new Paul Thomas Anderson. I think it is his best
0:08:19 > 0:08:29film since Punch Drunk Love. Daniel Day-Lewis is obsessed with rituals,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33everything in his life has to be one way... Lesley Manville is his
0:08:33 > 0:08:39sister, and some -- suddenly his life falls apart. He falls in love
0:08:39 > 0:08:44with a woman. Firstly it has a brilliant score by Jonny Greenwood
0:08:44 > 0:08:51who has been Oscar-nominated. In the music is wonderful. I do think
0:08:51 > 0:08:56Lesley Manville is going to win for Best supporting actress. I have no
0:08:56 > 0:09:01seen this four time, and every time I see it it looks like it is a
0:09:01 > 0:09:08different film. -- I have now seen. The more I watch it, the more it
0:09:08 > 0:09:13becomes a fairy tale, like a Powell and Pressburger film. But it is also
0:09:13 > 0:09:20about a woman entering a film -- a world that is like Bluebeard. The
0:09:20 > 0:09:27art ventures out into the forest, strange mushrooms that have
0:09:27 > 0:09:33extraordinary powers... -- the art ventures. O'Lynn it is odd! It is
0:09:33 > 0:09:39beautifully made. -- Wright it is beautifully made.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42That is such a backhanded compliment!
0:09:42 > 0:09:46I loved the first half hour so much, and there is such attention to
0:09:46 > 0:09:49detail, with the music and the costumes, but the relationship
0:09:49 > 0:09:54between the two of them just got weirder and weirder.But it is a
0:09:54 > 0:10:01fairy tale, it is a mythical allegory. It is a horror! What it
0:10:01 > 0:10:05really is, it is a ghost story about him being obsessed with the ghost of
0:10:05 > 0:10:09his mother. If you want a ghost story, forget about Winchester, go
0:10:09 > 0:10:14and see this. Very quick thought about DVD, I'm
0:10:14 > 0:10:19curious as to whether, should Blade Runner even be watched on DVD, isn't
0:10:19 > 0:10:26it made for the big screen?I saw it first on a huge IMAX screen. Here's
0:10:26 > 0:10:32the good news, it does stand up, because big -- beyond the
0:10:32 > 0:10:36extraordinary visuals, it is a film that has substance. It is about
0:10:36 > 0:10:39something, it is about what artificial intelligence is and what
0:10:39 > 0:10:43it means to have a soul not have a soul.
0:10:43 > 0:10:49It is a very different experience on home viewing, but even if you saw it
0:10:49 > 0:10:54in the cinema and loved it, it is going to work again on DVD or
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Blu-ray. And though it is really divisive for some people, but I
0:10:58 > 0:11:04think it is great. Mark, thank you very much.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07A quick reminder before we go that you'll find more film news
0:11:07 > 0:11:10and reviews from across the BBC online at bbc.co.uk/mark kermode.
0:11:10 > 0:11:19And you can find all our previous programmes on the BBC iPlayer.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21I think it is the week