The Post, Coco, The Commuter

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0:00:03 > 0:00:14Now it is The Film Review.

0:00:21 > 0:00:27A warm welcome to The Film Review on BBC News. To take us through this

0:00:27 > 0:00:30week's cinema releases is Mark Kermode. What have you been watching

0:00:30 > 0:00:34this week?Very exciting week. We have the post-starring Tom Hanks and

0:00:34 > 0:00:40Meryl Streep. Koko, the new animation from Pixar. And the

0:00:40 > 0:00:49commuter, the new Liam Neeson action vehicle.

0:00:50 > 0:00:54Is about journalism. Did you like it?I really did, it's a newsroom

0:00:54 > 0:00:58thriller about the revelations of the Pentagon papers and a report

0:00:58 > 0:01:02which basically said that successive US administrations had misled the

0:01:02 > 0:01:08country about the Vietnam War. Largely set in 1971, Tom Hanks plays

0:01:08 > 0:01:13the editor of the Washington Post. He's eager for a scoop. Meryl Streep

0:01:13 > 0:01:17is Catherine Kate Graham, publisher of the Washington post. It's going

0:01:17 > 0:01:21to the stock exchange so its finances are slightly precarious.

0:01:21 > 0:01:24When the White House that an injunction on the New York Times

0:01:24 > 0:01:27after they publish some of the Pentagon papers, Ben Bradley wants

0:01:27 > 0:01:31to publish, but Meryl Streep says, hang on, there are reasons we can't

0:01:31 > 0:01:35do this, not least of all that it might endanger the paper. Here is a

0:01:35 > 0:01:50clip.Do you have the papers?Not yet.Oh gosh, oh gosh, because you

0:01:50 > 0:01:55know the position that would put me in. We have language in the

0:01:55 > 0:02:02prospectus.I know they can change their mind. I know what is at stake.

0:02:02 > 0:02:06You know, the only couple I knew that both Kennedy and LBJ ordered to

0:02:06 > 0:02:12socialise with was you and your husband, and you own the town paper.

0:02:12 > 0:02:17It's just the way things worked. Politicians and the press, they

0:02:17 > 0:02:19trusted each other so they could go to the same dinner party and drink

0:02:19 > 0:02:24cocktails and tell jokes while there was a war raging in Vietnam.I don't

0:02:24 > 0:02:29know what we're talking about, I'm not predicting linden.The man who

0:02:29 > 0:02:33commissioned the study, he's one of about a dozen party guests out on

0:02:33 > 0:02:38your...And protecting the paper. The thing I like about this film is

0:02:38 > 0:02:41it has a number of intertwining stories, one is the story of Kate

0:02:41 > 0:02:45Graham finding her own voice. She surrounded by men in boardrooms at

0:02:45 > 0:02:49the beginning, she doesn't really speak, she slightly like a fish out

0:02:49 > 0:02:53of water. During the course of this she has to step up to the walk and

0:02:53 > 0:02:56decide what is the right thing to do. Second thing is, it runs almost

0:02:56 > 0:02:59like a prequel to all the Presidents men. The end of this film runs right

0:02:59 > 0:03:02into the beginning of all the Presidents a film I was really

0:03:02 > 0:03:06affected by in the 1970s when it came out. I was a kid when I saw it

0:03:06 > 0:03:10and loved it. Great period detail, sequences in the printing presses of

0:03:10 > 0:03:14the Washington Post. We're looking at the hot metal machinery, the old

0:03:14 > 0:03:21machines. I love all that stuff. Most importantly, it's a really

0:03:21 > 0:03:24contemporary story. That in 19 221. Yes, the period detail is great, the

0:03:24 > 0:03:28performances are great, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are fantastic, the

0:03:28 > 0:03:32whole ensemble cast is great. This is a contemporary story about in

0:03:32 > 0:03:35this particular case, a corrupt president in the White House

0:03:35 > 0:03:38attempting to stop the press from expressing you know, the right of

0:03:38 > 0:03:41free speech. You look at that and look at what's happening today in

0:03:41 > 0:03:45the world in which the press is under attack, all the stuff about

0:03:45 > 0:03:49fake news. We have the so-called fake News awards recently. It is a

0:03:49 > 0:03:53film almost like a call to arms for the press. The independent press.

0:03:53 > 0:03:57From a free press, to truth to power. It's interesting what

0:03:57 > 0:04:01Spielberg has done is to take a period piece and tell the story

0:04:01 > 0:04:05straight. It's not twisted in any way at all. And tell it in a way

0:04:05 > 0:04:10which makes it seem urgently contemporary in terms of gender

0:04:10 > 0:04:13politics, newspaper politics, in terms of the way it talks about the

0:04:13 > 0:04:18necessity for a free speech and good reporting, good factual reporting,

0:04:18 > 0:04:22to keep check on authorities. I've seen the film twice now and would

0:04:22 > 0:04:26happily go back and see it a third time.You don't need to be

0:04:26 > 0:04:29interested in journalism or the issues you've just raised to like it

0:04:29 > 0:04:32as a film?I think it helps and I certainly know some people who

0:04:32 > 0:04:37aren't interested in those things and that bit of history has eight

0:04:37 > 0:04:40why would you go and see it? You see it because it is a personal drama

0:04:40 > 0:04:43about those two characters but also something that leads you very much

0:04:43 > 0:04:47by the hand. It does assume from the beginning you might not know this

0:04:47 > 0:04:51stuff, so it gives you a primer. It starts you in a battlefield and it

0:04:51 > 0:04:54leads you and tells you all you need to know. I would encourage anyone to

0:04:54 > 0:04:58go and see it because I think it is a film that is timely though it is a

0:04:58 > 0:05:02period piece. I think you don't have to be specifically interested in

0:05:02 > 0:05:05that war or the Pentagon papers journalism to find it a gripping

0:05:05 > 0:05:10drama. The performances are just great.Animated film is your second

0:05:10 > 0:05:15choice.It really good one, Coco, the new film from Pixar, set at the

0:05:15 > 0:05:19Mexican day of the dead festivities. Miguel longs to be a musician but

0:05:19 > 0:05:22his family have banned music because his great-grandfather years ago

0:05:22 > 0:05:27chose music over family. There is no more music in the family any more.

0:05:27 > 0:05:31On the magical day of the dead, Fate takes a hand in the land of the

0:05:31 > 0:05:33dead. I thought this was terrifically entertaining and very,

0:05:33 > 0:05:38very touching. On the one hand it has lovely animation and slapstick

0:05:38 > 0:05:41sequences and all the stuff you would expect from a Pixar vehicle.

0:05:41 > 0:05:46More importantly, it has great songs, great music. But if dealing

0:05:46 > 0:05:52with some very difficult subjects. With dementia, memory, with death

0:05:52 > 0:05:56and life. It's dealing with loss. It's dealing with the way people

0:05:56 > 0:06:00live on as long as they live on in our memory. And also the way songs

0:06:00 > 0:06:07and music will linger in our minds sometimes, if anybody has had any

0:06:07 > 0:06:12experience of people with dementia, music somehow cuts through. There

0:06:12 > 0:06:15are moments that will make you weep, moments that will make you laugh. In

0:06:15 > 0:06:20the end it'll make you cheer. If you liked this film, you see it and you

0:06:20 > 0:06:24like it, and I think you will do, there is another film from a few

0:06:24 > 0:06:30years ago from 2014, book of life, which got overlooked. It does have

0:06:30 > 0:06:36thematic depth, they make a nice companion. Go and get 2-1 on DVD

0:06:36 > 0:06:40because it's a different film but there are great similarities and

0:06:40 > 0:06:44they are both terrific. -- blonde gets Book of Life on DVD.The

0:06:44 > 0:06:48premise of the story is quite gripping, The Commuter, does it

0:06:48 > 0:06:53deliver?Liam Neeson is a ex-cop working as an insurance salesman. He

0:06:53 > 0:06:57loses his job, doing his commute, he needs money because he has to pay

0:06:57 > 0:07:01for his kids tuition. Suddenly the for meagre turns up and says, I want

0:07:01 > 0:07:05to define some for me. I can't tell you who they are or what they look

0:07:05 > 0:07:11like but if you do it there will be a reward. Here is a clip.Someone on

0:07:11 > 0:07:19this train does not belong. All you have to do is find them, that's it.

0:07:19 > 0:07:24This person is carrying a bag. You don't do what it looks like but

0:07:24 > 0:07:31inside that bag is something they have stolen. This person goes by the

0:07:31 > 0:07:36name of Tim two, not a real name. They will be on this train until

0:07:36 > 0:07:41Coldspring. -- name of Prin. If you find that bag, the hundred thousand

0:07:41 > 0:07:47dollars is yours. Don't leave the train before finding the bag, don't

0:07:47 > 0:07:51tell anybody about this offer, simple.I thought this was

0:07:51 > 0:07:55hypothetical.It's just a little thing, shouldn't be too hard for a

0:07:55 > 0:08:04ex-cop.How did you know?That's me. You're being serious, right?You

0:08:04 > 0:08:09have until next stop to decide. What kind of person are you?Intriguing

0:08:09 > 0:08:13setup. Strangers on a train, she has this, find the person, can't tell

0:08:13 > 0:08:16you why, there will be reward. Hitchcock thrillers, you set up

0:08:16 > 0:08:20those rules. The rules have to make sense, you have to obey them. What

0:08:20 > 0:08:23happens, it has an interesting premise can set it up and 20 minutes

0:08:23 > 0:08:26in it goes, none of this makes sense and we don't care. It throws the

0:08:26 > 0:08:30rules out the window. Why would he do it? That is thrown out. It gets

0:08:30 > 0:08:35back into Liam Neeson walking around the train punching people. The most

0:08:35 > 0:08:41frustrating thing is when you see that clip you think it's the

0:08:41 > 0:08:45intriguing... What's going on? It's literally 20 minutes in the film

0:08:45 > 0:08:50goes... I don't care. I don't think these rules add up to anything, the

0:08:50 > 0:08:54whole scenario doesn't make any... Shall we just have him punching

0:08:54 > 0:09:00somebody? The first punching sequence and then you go, OK, fine,

0:09:00 > 0:09:09it is to two on the train. -- it is Taken on a train. It reminds you,

0:09:09 > 0:09:12what happened to that really interesting idea you throughout the

0:09:12 > 0:09:19window? OK, fine, moving swiftly on. Not a patch on the film of the week

0:09:19 > 0:09:22but three billboards, which I have not... I thought about it every

0:09:22 > 0:09:27single day since I saw it, which is interesting in itself.Brilliant

0:09:27 > 0:09:31performance by fences McDormand who has a strong chance of winning the

0:09:31 > 0:09:36Best actress Oscar. Martin MacDonald who wrote and directed has done a

0:09:36 > 0:09:41really terrific... Made a tragicomedy that is comic and

0:09:41 > 0:09:44genuinely tragic. I know it is divisive, some take against it and

0:09:44 > 0:09:50don't get on at all, but I laughed in the bits that are funny, but I

0:09:50 > 0:09:55also cried because I think it really deals with tragedy. It really deals

0:09:55 > 0:10:00with loss. It's really well filmed. There are moments in it that are

0:10:00 > 0:10:07almost transcendent, they are about, like with Coco, life and death. The

0:10:07 > 0:10:10Chaucerian ear for obscenity that Martin McDonagh rings true, did you

0:10:10 > 0:10:14love it?With hindsight I loved it, I wasn't sure as I was watching but

0:10:14 > 0:10:19I think the script is terrific and it's really stayed with me in a

0:10:19 > 0:10:22positive way. Don't take somebody who doesn't like swearing.That goes

0:10:22 > 0:10:27without saying.That's the only caveat, isn't it, it's a very

0:10:27 > 0:10:34striking film. DVD?I am not a witch. It turned out in the

0:10:34 > 0:10:38outstanding debut category at the Baftas. Terry Le'Veon Bell is given

0:10:38 > 0:10:44the chance to accept life as a witch or turn into a goat. The director

0:10:44 > 0:10:50has done a brilliant job. It was a really remarkable feature, something

0:10:50 > 0:10:55which, yes, it's funny, satirical, but also about misogyny and magic.

0:10:55 > 0:10:58One of those films, again, sometimes you're watching it and don't know

0:10:58 > 0:11:01whether to laugh or cry and end up doing both. It's really well worth

0:11:01 > 0:11:07checking out.Thank you, Mark, an intriguing week. Many more like that

0:11:07 > 0:11:12to come because building to awards season. Plenty to come. A reminder

0:11:12 > 0:11:16before we go you will find all of the film News and reviews from

0:11:16 > 0:11:22across the BBC on the website. You can find all our previous programmes

0:11:22 > 0:11:26on the iPlayer as well. A cracking week. Enjoy your cinema going.

0:11:26 > 0:11:29Thanks for being with us. Goodbye.