to take us through this week's cinema releases is mark kermode. 50, mark, what do we have this week? a very exciting week. we have ready player one, 3 steven spielberg adventure. stop motion from wes anderson in isle of dogs. not that isle of dogs! and journeyman, a paddy considine drama that really packs a punch. steven spielberg — what did you make of it? i went into it, i have not read the book, didn't know much about it, it is 2025, real life is squalid and people spend their time in second life as avatars in this great big computer game called the oasis where they can get possessions and accrue things. but if they get killed in the game, they will lose everything. easter eggs in the game are hidden within it by its designer who is a benevolent figure who has now passed on. our hero, his avatar, in the game, is looking for the keys that will give him the domain of the game. however, ben mendelsohn's slimy businessman is also trying to get

those keys, so you have the interplay between the avatar world, the unreal world, and the real world. it works surprisingly well. here's a clip. wade owen watts, born august 12, 2027. i know where you are. you were seen entering the trailer three days ago and you haven't left since. the trailer three days ago what are you doing? the trailer three days ago with all that's going on in this world, do you think anyone gives a damn about some explosion in some ghetto trash warren in columbus? ghetto trash rat warren in columbus? don't do this. i'm running in there. not for long. pick up, pick up, alice! pick up, pick up, alex!

it looks expensive, i will say that much. well, it is a steven spielberg film! real world, unreal world — one of the things i liked about it is the interplay between the two worlds. the other thing is that the virtual world is packed with pop culture references from the ‘70s and ‘80s. early on, someone produces the spaceship from silent running. i was won over. then that is the delorean from the film back to the future. you think this could become just about spotting the references but it is a real popcorn sugar—rush thrill ride. you can tell spielberg loves the avatar world he has created. and you get emotionally engaged with the characters. it would be easy this to become just a technical exercise when you spot the references and look at the visuals, but you care about the story, the story makes sense — and believe me, if the story is set in a computer game and makes sense to me,

it will make sense to anyone! i went in with trepidation and i watched everything with a huge smile, i laughed, i was excited, swept along by the action. i loved the constant pop culture references — some i got, some i didn't, it didn't make a difference. i thought, it is a really great popcorn candyfloss film made by a master who understands how to do this and who obviously has created many of the pop culture references to which this film refers. self—referential but in a way that didn't distance me from it, i would not have anticipated that. that is our easter viewing sorted! a shame, because i was going to go home and say "i want to see isle of dogs". i am a dog lover, very excited. i'm also a dog owner and a cat owner. it's stop motion from wes anderson set injapan in the future.

all the dogs have been taken to nagasaki city and sent to this trash island on the pretext of protecting humans from an outbreak of dog flu. all these dogs are dumped on this island and a young boy separated from his dog which has been sent to the island flies there to try to find him. when he gets there, he finds a pack — they describe themselves as ‘scary indestructible alpha dogs'. their battle cry is "let's have a vote". they help him find his lost dog. i read this as a parable about outsiders and closed borders, or a story about leadership and pack action. you can see it as a lovely film about a boy and a lost dog. there is... is it fun, serious? both those things. really good fun, often very funny and, because it is wes anderson, quirky and offbeat. some things in it are quite grisly. there's a sort of live sushi sequence, our young hero gets a propeller pop stuck

in his head at one point, and one dog is told to stop licking his wounds, literally, and you even get an organ transplant, so it's not entirely cute and cuddly. it is scratchy. notjust the dogs, it's the animation. it has this lovely tactile quality and a very good voice cast — bryan cra nston, scarlett joha nsson. the visuals are breathtaking. as i watched i thought, "i must see this again" because you miss so much on a first viewing. every time you look at a frame, it is full of delights, you want to watch it again. some things about it are beautiful, some are harsh, you have to see both of them. you have to see that and ready player one. it is going to get worse. i know you have seen this third movie. i'm so excited about paddy considine. i feel physically winded from watching that film but in a good way. you saw it this afternoon, right?

this is journeyman, starring paddy considine. he has a title to defend and he's also a husband and father. in a boxing match, he is punched heavily and severely injured. he has a life—changing injury and suddenly finds himself having to rebuild his character, because the injury has changed who he is and what he knows and what he does and also what he can remember about his life. this is a clip. that'sjackie. he's in your corner. who's that? that is ritchie, your trainer. and my dad? yes, you know him. that's matt. matt. that's me. yeah. my friends? yes.

who are they? that is a good question. that is one of the most poignant parts, because those friends... they don't know how to deal with it. what i love about this is paddy considine is a personal film—maker making films that come from the heart. the title isjourneyman, which means one thing that it is the story of a man going on a journey. i thinkjodie whittaker, who plays his wife, is brilliant. you feel her presence even when she isn't there. the narrative is straightforward but you believe every minute of it — he's struggling to remember something. you can see him struggling. what he is doing through his physicalisation he is externalising something which is interior, which is very hard to do. there's one scene when he's on the phone tojodie whittaker, his wife.

i was in pieces. in floods of tears. i am so glad you liked it. i thought it was terrific. you completely believe in the characters. i don't know anything about boxing. i have never been to a boxing match. i couldn't watch one, i can't watch something where you think somebody might get hurt and by definition, this is what happens. although it's evident that paddy considine has great affection for boxing. i think it's really interesting. three really interesting films. go and see any or all of them. it will be a packed weekend. i'm going to be busy. what is the best of the bunch? you were never really here. have you seen this film by lynne ramsay? iam i am feeling slightly anxious about going to see it. too brutal? i am

not good about things like that. promise me that you will see it. let me sell it to you like this. it is tough. joaquin phoenix plays a hit man character going to get a lost teenager and it has violence and brutality but it is done poetically. done in a way which is moving, often funny and touching. and very poetic. not the film it sounds like when you describe the plot, i promise. in the same way thatjourneyman is not a story about boxing, it's not really about boxing. you will love it. dvd of the week? ingrid goes west. aubrey plaza stars as this young woman who can't distinguish between social media and reality. someone famous likes one of her post so someone famous likes one of her post so she thinks they are friends and she moves closer to be with her. it reminds me of the brilliant film the king of comedy. it is kind of like a stalker story — on the one hand dark and sinister, on the other hand comic, and it walks that tightrope very well. it didn't get a big audience in cinemas but deserves one on dvd, i thought it was terrific.

thumbs up across the board. so much great stuff to watch. i'd be really interested to know what you think of ready player one and the isle of dogs. i will see them both. thank you mark. just a reminder, you can find all the film reviews from across the bbc online. this is the address. all our previous programmes are on the bbc iplayer, of course. particularly, this easter long weekend, enjoy your cinema—going because there are some real treats to watch. a busy weekend ahead. bye bye. hello there. conditions gradually improving through the day, it has been turning drierfor improving through the day, it has been turning drier for many, improving through the day, it has been turning drierfor many, the rain reserve to eastern parts of the uk, still wintry over the higher

ground but many places have seen scenes like this through the afternoon, a lot of cloud around, only cool as well, but some holes in the cloud to allow the sunny spells like this weather watch picture shows in cambridge, some of the best sunshine is across the north and west of scotland because we have this rich of high pressure coming in from the west, pushing the weather front across the eastern side of the country away into the irish sea. it will take a while as we have through the night, it will stay damp across central and eastern parts of scotla nd central and eastern parts of scotland and england, further sleet and snow on the hills as well and west, dry, under clear skies and snow on the hills as well and west, dry, under clearskies it and snow on the hills as well and west, dry, under clear skies it will turn cold with a frost developing, a ha rd turn cold with a frost developing, a hard frost across scotland, temperatures down to minus three two minus six. temperatures building, in between weather system is the places should be dry. a cold start for many with frost around. sometime around across scotland and northern ireland, western parts of wales and england but through the day the cloud will build up and i think the

great afternoon, it will be cool, a few showers continuing across eastern coast soundcard is of england and then it turns wet and windy late in the across and devon, courtesy of this next area of low pressure. it has a mild air moving in behind it, ahead of it the rain will be pushing into some pretty cold air so we are likely to seek a mixture of rain, sleet and snow, not in the high ground further south and snow down to lower—level is perhaps for central and northern wales, central and northern england into central southern scotland and maybe northern ireland, it could cause some problems as we had to be afternoon but further south, sunshine and showers and it will be turning milder. far north of scotla nd turning milder. far north of scotland will stay dry. easter monday, if you have any trouble plans keep this in mind, it is likely to cause disruption to keep tuned to local radio and had on want all of the latest warnings. into tuesday, a different feel. much milder southerly winds and a typical mixture of sunshine and heavy april

showers across england and wales, heavy downpours that across northern ireland but the temperatures, 9— 11! oi’ ireland but the temperatures, 9— 11! or 15 celsius. this is bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories — russian diplomats based in the us have begun leaving the country following tit—for—tat expulsions over the poisoning of a former spy in britain. sorrow and anger on the streets of gaza as palestinians mourn the 16 protesters killed in clashes with israeli troops. china says it is handling its abandoned space station's re—entry to earth in a highly responsible way, although where it will land is still unknown. and social media under scrutiny — the us considers asking visa applicants to hand over their online accounts.