hello and a very warm welcome to the film review on bbc news. to take us through this week's cinema releases i'm joined by jason solomons. what have you been watching this week? this week, we find out what happened when christopher plummer replaced kevin spacey in ridley scott's all the money in the world, a kidnap drama set mainly in 1970s italy but also on a huge estate in england. and saddle up for the return of the wild west. but is it the western revived or revised in hostiles? christian bale and rosamund pike, take to the wide open spaces for the violence of the wild west. and ben stiller checks in for a midlife crisis in brad's status, a comedy about middle age and loss and reflecting on your existence while you take your son to colleges. but let's start with all the money in the world. i'm reeling from the fact that christopher plummer is 88, because he looks astonishing.

that is what you can do with all the money in the world, a lot of cgi! john paul getty, who kevin spacey was playing, and the film has been ‘despaceyed' and replaced very famously by christopher plummer, the very feat of that is what marks this film out as a footnote in film history. extraordinary from ridley scott to reshape his film around a new performance in christopher plummer. we watch the film now, especially in this climate, trying to see the join, to see if there was a ready break glow of cgi inserts from christopher plummer. can we spot the ghost of kevin spacey — you can't at all. the film is seamlessly done, and the reshoots are beautifully done and i think christopher plummer is fabulous in the role ofjohn paul getty. i think they would have been a different... ridley scott talked about how christopher plummer has a twinkle in his eye, whereas kevin spacey has a more cold look, more evil look, and i think that gives the film a lot more heart.

we kind of pityjohn paul getty for being the richest man, but he is notjust the richest man but the richest man there has ever been in the world. and his grandson is kidnapped. yes, that's the essence. it was a huge media case back in the 1970s, it gripped the world, asjohn paul getty refused to pay the ransom, $17 million, which back in 1973 was quite a lot of money! the point was that it became this kind of case and he refused to budge and i think we are supposed to seejohn paul getty as a curmudgeonly scrooge type, but christopher plummer gives it a real edge. there is a fabulous speech about him not trusting people, only objects, of which he amasses a huge amount. they don't give him grief. but the rest of the film is going on, michelle williams, golden globe nominated, and we will find out the results from la on monday morning. the film has been nominated for, i guess, the feat of scott getting it together. christopher plummer is nominated for that performance

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