tv The Film Review BBC News May 5, 2019 11:45pm-12:00am BST
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“p up with. i was looking people come up with. i was looking at the footage of harry ‘s birth backin at the footage of harry ‘s birth back in the day and everybody looked much younger. but it was interesting to hear the stories that were thrown to hear the stories that were thrown to prince charles on the steps as he was trying to head back. one question was what does the baby look like? andi question was what does the baby look like? and i was wondering how we could ask that as a journalist? and a mixed race baby, people will be fascinated at what the baby will look like. there is a warning that goes with that because we know that the royal family press offers have had to police the amount of trolling that meghan markle has received. kate middleton gets it as well but she has been on the receiving end so ido she has been on the receiving end so i do hope that this time people behave positively. everybody wants to know what the baby looks like. mum order? they all look wrinkly
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when they are born. —— mum or dad? that's it for the papers tonight. thank you, tony and caroline. don't forget you can see the front pages of the papers online on the bbc news website. it's all there for you seven days a week at bbc.co.uk/papers, and if you miss the programme any evening, you can watch it later on bbc iplayer. next on bbc news, it's the film review. hello and welcome to the film review here on bbc news. taking us through this week's cinema releases,
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we've got mark kermode. what a surprise! what is your selection this week? we have long shot, which is a comedy starring seth rogen and charlize theron. we have tolkien, a biopic of the author of the lord of the rings books. and extremely wicked, shockingly evil and vile, in which ted bundy is played by zac efron. long shot, this is an american romantic comedy. it is a weird mixture. it has a gross out, slapstick comedy. it's got the comedy like there's something about mary. on the other hand, political satire of wag the dog. seth rogen is a kind of slightly disreputable investigative journalist who is called in by charlize theron‘s secretary, because she is going to run for president and she needs someone to punch up her speeches to make them seem a little more funny,
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to grab the public‘s attention. it turns out ages and ages ago, she used to babysit for him and he had a huge crush on her. the question is, is his anarchic streak going to help or hinder her career? is she going to be put in touch with the idealism that fired her in her youth? are they going to be more than workmates? the answers to those questions aren't particular surprising, but what is lovely is the way in which they play out because on the one hand, he is kind of schlubby, anarchic, and all over the place. she is totally the opposite. here's a clip. hey. i had some jokes i was going to run by you maybe if you have a second? what are you...
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what are you looking at? jesus! why would you just barge in here while i'm sleeping? you were sleeping? yes! i was micronapping! oh, that's what you call it? yes. sorry, i didn't realise you were sleeping. you were standing and your eyes were open. do you need something? i had some jokes i wrote i was gonna run by you. that was actually a really good nap. great. seemed really restful. micronapping! but you laughed. what i really like about this is... in the end, these kind of movies come down to whether the chemistry between the leads is good and whether you like the characters. it is no surprise that seth rogen can play this role. this is a version of a role he's played many times. charlize theron, i don't think people think of comedy, and she is really funny in this, not least because she plays it straight faced enough that you believe in her kind of career politician character, but you also believe that character goes on an arc which involves reconnecting with the things that really matter.
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there is a fair amount of knock—about, gross—out comedy. when the movie wants to be vulgar, it does not shy away from that, let's be honest about it. it works because it's got some great political satire, the fact the president in the movie is a tv actor who has gone into the white house but actually is not interested in policy, just in his ratings — which seems like such an absurd idea! i think that plays out really nicely. i like the idea of the two central characters... seth rogen doing it is not a surprise. charlize theron being quite as funny as she is is really rewarding. i laughed through it. a couple of times, i laughed knowing i was embarrassed at the vulgarity of thejokes. but i really enjoyed it. was anybody else laughing, or just you? it is a real crowd pleaser. tolkien? here's the thing. if somebody who creates works of literature that are so incredibly inspiring, it's very difficult if you make a biopic about their life in which the writing of the biopic is solidly uninspiring. what this tries to do is to lead you through his life in a way that suggests that this is the beginning
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of all the ideas that we would see in the hobbit and lord of the rings. he has a group of friends, a fellowship. he's in love with someone he wants to give a ring. he moves from rural, an industrial landscape, to somewhere beautiful, like the shire, and the film kind of plays out on the battlefield, europe, where our central character sees terrible things which are meant to inspire the visions of mordor and helms deep. it is not bad, it is really perfunctory. when you talk about something as creative and imaginary as the lord of the rings, it seems really odd to just be something which isjust joining the dots. "this led to this, this led to this." i don't doubt for one minute the author's personal experience did inspire his work. i just don't think they played out
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in such a ploddingly televisual fashion. presumably, tolkien fans want to see it. i actually think not. the tolkien estate have not been interested. they are not endorsing it. they say it is nothing to do with them. just that they are not endorsing it. i don't think it will have anything like the audience like lord of the rings has. now, it is the story of the serial killer ted bundy — possibly the longest film title of the week, maybe the year, extremely wicked, shockingly evil and vile. which is the phrase the judge used at the end of the trial. the judge here played byjohn malkovich. ted bundy is played by zac efron. who we see meeting and seducing the woman whose memoirs inspired this film, played by lily collins. her second mention this week — she plays edith bratt in tolkien. what the film is not about is the crimes, which are utterly horrific. what it is about is the people around ted bundy who don't see him for what he is. here's a clip.
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i'm sorry, i have to pull an all—nighter tonight at the law library. all—nighter? i need to make sure i am the most prepared attorney in the courtroom once my trial starts. why did she pick you out of the lineup? my lawyer found out that the police showed her a picture beforehand — twice. of course i looked familiar. that's not even the worst part. what happened in utah wasn't just dumb luck. the police already had my name. someone gave it to them. someone gave your name to the authorities in utah? do you have any idea who would do that to you? look, do you see that car out there? it's been following me since i got back.
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either i'm going crazy, or i'm being set up. what did you make of zac efron's performance? i think efron's effort is terrific. i have always thought he is terrific all the way back to high school musical he is a versatile actor. this is directed byjoe berlinger, the director of the documentary series. it's really kind of a dramatic companion piece to that documentary series. as i said before, thankfully, it doesn't concentrate on the crimes. what it concentrates on is everything around it, people inveigled into his world. and who became sympathetic towards him. and of course the televised court case. it became this huge media circus. john malkovich as the judge. efron is the film's strongest suit. i do think he's a really talented actor. i think that he manages to inhabit a number of different roles and what he gets here is the narcissism, the deceptiveness. the film is about how is it that this character the convinced people he was anything other than the title. i am not sure the film
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gets much beyond that. i don't think really tells us much else about him but i do think zac efron's performance is terrific. best out this week? eighth grade. i spoke about this last week. i love it. bo burnham's feature debut. a 13—year—old girl growing up in the internet world. a generation called self—obsessed but just self—conscious. a wonderful score. really good performance by elsie fisher. have you seen it yet? i am really looking forward to seeing it. i have not seen it yet. i am going to. on your recommendation. i guarantee you it's one of the films of the year. it is absolutely wonderful. i love it, and it's got so much empathy for its central character. i thought it was just wonderful. best dvd? approach with caution. this is piercing, a really twisted psycho thriller. there are some kronenberg in there, some lynch in there, it is... it is a two hander with a brilliant performance by mia wasikowska. but it's not for the faint of heart. i used to introduce extreme cinema on the television. even i went, "really?"
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it's genuinely alarming, often quite funny. really when it needs to turn, it really turns. and to be approached with extreme caution. but i liked it. just to conclude, which would you recommend if you had to pick one? i would go for long shot. it made me laugh all the way through, and there are so many comedies that do not do that. i have a six laugh test. did i laugh six times? i loved six times. i thought it was five last time. six! ilaughed... standards are on the rise. it made you laugh six times. at least in the first ten minutes! fantastic. thank you very much indeed. that is it for both of us. thank you so much for watching. goodbye.
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very good evening. if you plan to spend your bank holiday monday in a cinema, you will be escaping a noticeable chill, the cooler conditions continuing as they do tonight, a lot of the cloud which has been across the day, like this, has been across the day, like this, has been across the day, like this, has been breaking up. the chance of some sunshine first thing in the morning. but because the clouds are breaking up at the moment, it means the temperatures are taking a tumble. a touch of frost through the night, clear skies in southern parts of england and wales, clearing to the north of scotland with one or two showers and the cloud in between will produce the odd shower here and there, stopping the temperatures dropping to frost levels for some of you. in the top and tail of the country, the coolest conditions first thing. this weather front will
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be the focus. we will see some showers through the day. southern scotla nd showers through the day. southern scotland to begin with, although it will brighten up, lovely sunshine into the afternoon. turning salary in northern ireland, hit and miss, as will be the showers in northern england, and the north midlands and east anglia will have heavier downpours later. either side of that, a few showers in northern scotland, but some drier and brighter weather. more cloud in the south compared with the morning and temperatures uk wide still only around 7— 13 degrees. showers into the evening, some fading away overnight. on tuesday, in the same areas, the isle of man, northern ireland, parts of northern england towards east anglia, some will break —— the sun will break out elsewhere. chilly field, but a little less chilly across the south before rain sta rts chilly across the south before rain starts to edging the channel islands and cornwall later stop it is this area of low pressure which will bring some significant rain across england and wales on wednesday. the first for some of you in a while. to the south of it, the warmest air
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diverted into france. on the northern edge of it, a cold wind throughout. outbreaks of rain developing for much of england and wales, quite persistent, especially across the north—west of england later on. we could see 15—20 millimetres in a few spots. some thundery showers in the south, the breeze coming from the south—west compared to the easterly breeze most of you will feel, and that will keep temperatures around 7— 11 degrees at best. feeling rather raw for many. through the rest of the week that rain will gradually pull away, but there will be rain on and off through the rest of the week. the continuing story throughout is rather chilly nights and rather cool days. from me, goodbye for now.
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i'm karishma vaswani in singapore, the headlines: more than a0 dead, after a russian plane makes a forced landing in flames. survivors say the aircraft was struck by lightning. israel's prime minister threatens "massive" strikes on gaza, after two days of violence and nearly 20 deaths. —— more than 20 deaths. hello, i'm ben bland in london. also in the programme: the plight of migrant workers in japan. many are victims of abuse and exploitation. translation: after the first week, my translation: after the first week, d translation: after the first week, my body could not take it. i was getting sick. i said
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