hello, and welcome to the film review on bbc news. to take us through this week's cinema releases, as ever, is mark kermode. good to see you, what have you been watching? a very mixed bag. we have been watching the snowman — a thriller starring michael fassbender. we have the ritual — camping holiday goes to hell. and loving vincent — an oil painted animation. masses to talk about with that one. the snowman, to start with. i feel like i'm the only person in the newsroom who hasn't read the novel. i hadn't read it either, although i hear it's a real page turner. this is an adaptation ofjo nesbo, the thriller, directed by tomas alfredson, who made let the right one in, which i really love, and tinker tailor soldier spy. which i loved, yes. it stars michael fassbender as an alcoholic detective on the trail of a serial killer whose trademark is that he leaves behind snowmen. sometimes he creates them before committing the crime. his character is partnered with rebecca ferguson, who has her own reasons for wanting to track down this particular killer. here's a clip. they were having an affair, and that was the last

thing my father was investigating before he got killed. you broke into vetlesen's house because you were afraid i would find out this was personal and take you off the case. vetlesen was his pimp and they were both in bergen when the murder started. i know how much you want this, but you can't force the pieces to fit. do you actually think he killed them? i don't know. i don't think either of us do, for sure. i have to say, i went in with high expectations because i like the film—makers, i like the cast, and as everyone says, the source material is terrific. it's with a heavy heart that i have to say that it was a disappointment. it's very muddled, very confused and it looks like a film that has lost its way during the film—making process. it doesn't really know what its focus is. it's notjust that the narrative goes off on different tangents that don't properly tie up, it's more to do with the fact that the film can't quite decide where it's meant to be leading the audience.

it's a terrific cast, people like charlotte gainsbourg, jk simmons and chloe sevigny, many of whom who are pretty much wasted. i never found myself gripped by the chilly, icicle to the heart idea of a killer building snowmen. it's a terrifying idea, but it terrified or gripped me and i was never convinced of the psychological back story. i neverfound myself gripped and involved in the way you want. the disappointment is made worse by the fact that you look at the pedigree of the people making the film. alfredson is a terrific director and it looks to me like this is a film that got away. it looks like during the film—making process, they just lost sight of where it was going. confused or confusing? confused and confusing, and it looks like it has been re—edited a lot. it looks like when they got into the editing room, they have had to work very hard to make the constituent parts come together.

occasionally it happens, a film—mmaker literally just misses something. the disappointment was made worse by the fact that you go in thinking, you know, great source material, apparently, terrific on—screen talent and a director who i really like. but at no point... and i hate to say this, i ended up being bored. i really don't say that lightly. i wanted to like it. you don't say that very often. it didn't chill me. michael fassbender, so versatile, very watchable but he doesn't solve this? he looked to me like he was cruising. if you look at the anguish of his performance in shame, for example, that's anguish with layers and depth. this just looked very much like going through the motions, unfortunately. the film just doesn't gel, it doesn't come together. it ends up being a series of ideas. some arresting images, but not much more than that. ok, for your second choice... the ritual. a horrorfilm, again! thanks, mark! it has a comedic edge as well.

it takes inspiration from a bunch of films i know you would love! the blair witch project, the evil dead, the wicker man, the hills have eyes. of course, mark! there's a group of friends and rafe spall plays luke, who goes into an off—licence with one of his friends, who is then killed in a robbery. luke feels guilty because he didn't do anything. the rest of the group then go on this bewildering camping holiday in the middle of nowhere. they need to get somewhere, one of them has hurt his leg, they take a short cut through the woods...! they end up in a cabin that looks like it came straight off the set of the evil dead. never take the short cut! although its reference points are all very familiar, i think it got the group dynamic right. there isjokey, bantery dialogue, so the air of horror is built well. it does that very good thing about withholding its revelations until the last possible moment. i think that although you're going to recognise certain riffs from it, they are done in a way

which is sympathetic enough to the characters to make you involved. all the way through, there is this guilt that they have, that rafe spall‘s character feels guilty for this thing that happened in the past, and the rest of the group do kind of blame him as well, so it works on different levels. i was pleasantly surprised because i had gone in thinking this looks so much like the blair witch project meets wicker man meets the evil dead. although they are touchstones, i think it did something new with them, and it worked. when it needed to be monstrous, it was, but it withheld that... i think you'd enjoy it. i know you want to be converted! i am a big rafe spall fan. go see it as a rafe spall movie and not as a horror movie. i am far more likely to go and see loving vincent, as everybody can tell you.

the phrase "labour of love" was invented for this film. unbelievable. an oil painted animated feature which basically brings the work of van gogh to life as an animation. the story was shot first as live action, which the artists then used as the basis for doing the incredible painting of the animations. if you think of something like waking life, i think that would be an example. the narrative unfolds after van gogh's death. the central character, played by douglas booth, is entrusted to deliver a letter which vincent wrote to his brother, theo. that takes him back to the place where vincent van gogh spent his final days and they end up speaking to everyone to find out what happened, how it was that someone who seemed to be on the straight and narrow shortly before their death met this terrible ending. one of the characters he meets is played by saoirse ronan. here is a clip. you want to know so much about his death, but what do you know of his life? i know that he tried hard to prove he was good for something. yes. he did.

that's why i take flowers to his grave. that's all i can do for him now. he would appreciate the delicate beauty of their bloom. even each blade of their grassy stems. no detail of life was too small or too humble for him. now, i think it is the case that certain bits of the dialogue are a little bit on the nose, but i didn't care because i was so entranced by the visuals. you saw, just from that, just how extraordinary it is. there are flashback sequences which are done in monochrome, black and white, which are almost photorealist. so it goes from that to these much more painterly, swirly, starry night constructions. and even if you know as little about art as i do, it is thrilling to watch this. firstly, because you just think, this must have taken so long!

i mean, the effort that has gone into it. it was the best part of six years. it's extraordinary. 65, 000 separate canvases. it feels tactile. you can feel that. people talk about computer graphics and that sort of thing, but you can feel the work that has gone into it. and what i thought was really wonderful was, you do feel as if you have been transported into the paintings. you do feel as if you have been transported into this world. and, as i said, the flashback stuff is black and white. the newer stuff is in that sort of full colour. and it's got a kind of dreamy, mesmerising, strange, half awake, half asleep... you obviously recognise the actors, the performances, as you saw from that clip. i just sat there thinking, this is really unlike anything i have seen before. and there are things about it, as i said, in terms of the narrative and the dialogue that perhaps you can pick apart, but why would you want to? just sit back and take it in. and enjoy the beauty, the colours! it is so rich!

it is a really, really remarkable film. fascinating. just such a fascinating idea that they even managed to sell that, and they said, you know what, go away and make that. that is staggering, isn't it? blade runner? it's very long! blade runner 2049. have you seen it? no. i was thinking about the original, which i saw 300 years ago. and i have not seen this yet. and people will be looking, thinking, do i really need to sit there for two and three quarter hours? well, i went into it thinking, gosh, that's a long running time, and i came out thinking, i'm really glad it was that long, because it had the bravery to take itself at the pace it required. i'm a huge fan of the original blade runner, the final cut version, not the original version with the ridiculous voice—over. "i am decker and i am an android hunter." not that version. and i thought, in the case of this, it had the themes of the original... hampton fancher, who obviously wrote the original, is the co—writer of this version. i think denis villeneuve did a brilliantjob with realising a world in the same way that ridley scott had realised a world in blade runner.

i know that some people have found it alienating and some people have found it a movie whose gender politics they have a problem with. i didn't. i thought it was very, very true to the original. and believe me, i was very trepidatious, and i have seen it twice now, so in total, that's the best part of six hours! and i could happily go back and see it again tomorrow. ok, you definitely weren't bored? never bored! a quick thought about dvd? a man called ove, which is this beautiful film. a couple of oscar nominations. the story of a guy who is a curmudgeon, a widower, and we see through his relationship with his neighbours, how his life has turned him into the person he is. that phrase where people talk about bittersweet comedy, this is a genuinely bittersweet comedy. there are things in it that will make you laugh, there are things that will make you cry. it's heartbreaking, it's moving, it's tender. and it was a real surprise because i knew nothing about it beforehand and i really enjoyed it, i loved it when it was out in the cinema. and now it's out on dvd. a man called ove. great stuff, thank you very much, mark. a really interesting week.

thank you, and a quick reminder before we go, you'll find all the film news and reviews from across the bbc online. i'm sure you know the address by now — bbc.co.uk/markkermode. and you can find all our previous programmes on the iplayer as well, of course. that is it for this week. enjoy your varied cinema—going. thanks for being with us — bye—bye. hello. good evening new. it is a warm night out in that make out at night. manchester and preston 60 degrees. yes, it is an october night. driving that is what is going on in the azores. just south—east of the azores. earlier in the day, you can see this cloud, a well—defined eye. this is hurricane ophelia. this isa eye. this is hurricane ophelia. this is a category 3 today. it heads towards us weakening. the time being, it helps shelf war met

towards us. most places will be dry. —— are gone. most parts will hold into the keys for a mild sunday morning. some cloud breaks and sunshine with morning fog in the hills clearing. heavy rain in the highlands and hebrides. this will ease southwards into scotland and northern ireland. dry and brighter conditions through the day. good for western scotland with occasional rain. lightand western scotland with occasional rain. light and patchy by the afternoon. there might be the odd spot of rain and drizzle into the cumbrian fells. always a bit more breeze. temperatures on the chart where we have the cloud. but if you see any lengthy cloud breaks, 23 or

24 see any lengthy cloud breaks, 23 or 2a not out of the question. that ta kes 2a not out of the question. that takes us into monday. hurricane ophelia will be getting closer towards us but is no longer a hurricane. it still packs a punch as it moves towards ireland, particularly to the south—west, where we will feel the brunt of the winds on the south coast. then on monday to the south—west of england and wales. we could see damaging and certainly disruptive gusts of 70— 80 miles an hour. stay tuned to the forecast. turning when he later in scotland, chilly and the rain. when thatis scotland, chilly and the rain. when that is not strong, and it will be warm with temperatures up to 25 or 26. low pressure moves to scotland with a brace of register tuesday. instruments of the winds across the south end in northern england. for now. this is bbc world news.

i'm alpa patel. our top stories: the organisation behind the the oscars votes to expel harvey weinstein. a canadian hostage released by afghan militants speaks about his family's ordeal after being held in captivity for five years. i was iwas in i was in afghanistan, helping the most neglected minority group in the world, those villagers who live inside our stand. and it's champagne all round, as the first commercial flight lands at the airport labelled "the most useless in the world". this is a rock