‘ has ‘hasa ‘ has a clutch of awards for already has a clutch of awards for flea bag. already has a clutch of awards for fleabag. these are our great hopes going into the golden globes which are starting off right now. by this time tomorrow, we will know. she is the safe want to put your money behind. lots of british names are in the brits. kit harrington is the only game of thrones and name. when you think what a juggernaut of the success you think what a juggernaut of the success that show was but it has died on the vine in its last series so we died on the vine in its last series so we only have one sole british hope from that particular series. you are here tomorrow on the news channel, do you have anything to add? no. you have said quite enough, that has ruined my make up, it really has. let's go back to the times for a minute. atheists put their faith times for a minute. atheists put theirfaith in god light cats. churchgoers have fewer pets. this is a highly scientific study from the

very well respected university of oklahoma, from a man who is a pet free christian, that is a thing, and he says of cats, they want to interact with you, it is always on theirterms, it interact with you, it is always on their terms, it sounds like people i know. it is a strange story that says that churchgoers are less likely to be cat people, according to this study. because they already have a godlike presence and their house. according to the strange survey, you do have to wonder what was the question. but this is what i have come outwith. was the question. but this is what i have come out with. who gave them the money to do this? so, this is the money to do this? so, this is the weird, i mean, whether it is coincidence or causality, we need more data, we need more methodology, and this is all we are getting. if you are —— if you have a cat, you are you are —— if you have a cat, you a re less you are —— if you have a cat, you are less likely to need to go to church. is try to return to the story another time. absolutely. maybe. that's it for the papers

tonight. 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. to buy a paper in the morning. next on bbc news it's time for the film review. hello, and welcome to the film review on bbc news. taking us through this week's cinema releases, we have james king. james, a warm welcome and happy new year. you too! talk us through what we've got. well, we've got scarlettjohansson heading to germany injojo rabbit. matthew mcconaughey goes

to london in the gentlemen. and aaron eckhart doesn't really know where he's going in in the line of duty. not to be confused with the tv series, the line of duty! very much not to be confused with the tv series! anyway, let's start off with jojo rabbit. this sounds intriguing. it's sort of a comedy drama. a ten—year—old hitler youth member who begins to question the ideology of nazism? yes, taika waititi is the name of the film—maker, who has had a lot of success in the marvel world, but also with low—budget kiwi comedies as well — things like hunt for the wilderpeople and what we do in the shadows — which, of course, is also a tv show. and, yes, so set in second world war in germany, aboutjohannes — jojo, of the title — who is so obsessed, such a hero — such a hero—worshipper of adolf hitler that he actually imagines him as a friend. so you've got taika waititi playing an imaginary adult hitler. shall we take a look at a clip?

yeah, why not? here it is. poorjojo! what's wrong, little man? hi, adolf. want to tell me about that rabbit incident? what was all that about? they wanted me to kill it. i'm sorry, i couldn't. don't worry about it. i couldn't care less! but now they call me a scared rabbit. let them say whatever they want. people used to say a lot of nasty things about me. "oh, this guy's a lunatic." "oh, look at that psycho, he's going to get us all killed." i'm going to let you in on a little secret. the rabbit is no coward. the humble little bunny faces a dangerous world every day, hunting carrots for his family, for his country. my empire will be full of all animals. lions, giraffes, zebras, rhinoceroses, octopuses, rhin—octopusses — even the mighty rabbit. what do you make of it, james? it's sort of had mixed reviews.

oh, really... it seems like one of those films that people either love or hate. yeah, really mixed reviews. i've read 5—star reviews, i've read one—star reviews. what are you gonna give it? i was more on the 5—star side. it's not so much what it's saying — you know, what it's saying, i've seen before — but it's the way that it's saying it. i think it's showing war through the eyes of a child, through the eyes of someone who doesn't really understand the magnitude of what's going on, doesn't understand the context of what's going on. and that is what gives it its novelty, really. i'll tell you who has really liked it — i think this is very interesting — mel brooks, the legendary director, has sung this film's praises. and there are definitely elements of mel brooks in, certainly, the first half of the film — the broad comedy and the farce. it does get more serious as the film goes on. it becomes much more touching, actually — much more like a wes anderson film, really. but it, yes, it is one of those comedies where you either go with it or you don't. there isn't really a middle ground. and i think that is why there are those divisive reviews. and it's quite hard to pull off kind

of comedy about nazism, isn't it? yeah, absolutely. well, mel brooks has done it in the past. but i think the lead actor who plays the title character — a young actor named roman griffin davis — does a wonderfuljob. he is getting a lot of great mentions for this because he is particularly good. but the supporting cast as well — sam rockwell, scarlett joha nsson, i mentioned earlier, stephen merchant. so for me, it works, but i appreciate that it's not going to work for everyone. ok, let's go on to the gentlemen. guy ritchie — famous of course for lock, stock and two smoking barrels, snatch and so on. this is back to the kind of gangster underworld ? it is very much going back to that. it's is it 2020 or 2002, watching this film? it's guy ritchie going back to his roots, guy ritchie going back to geezer movies and gangster movies. in fact, the opening scene of this films is matthew mcconaughey going into a london pub and ordering a pint and a pickled egg. it is guy ritchie to the nth degree! the actual plot is about hugh grant's character who is a tabloid hack who is trying to blackmail matthew mcconaughey, who is a crime boss. of course, there is lots of bribery

and corruption along the way. a lot of alpha males in this movie, a lot of swearing in this movie, a completely colourful — a completely bonkers script. it doesn't entirely add up to much. but what i would say is first of all, a lot of energy to it — and you expect that with guy ritchie films. the music, the editing. it's very well—paced. secondly, hugh grant is having a whale of a time in this. we know that he is not the biggest fan of tabloid journalism. this seems to be him getting a bit of revenge for that. he's got this amazing — he sounds a bit like peter cook, actually — he's got this amazing accent in it. so, a bit silly, a bit pointless, but not dull. yeah, i've got to say i am not a fan of guy ritchie films, but i do love hugh grant and matthew mcconaughey, i think, are both brilliant actors. yes. and matthew mcconaughey, you know, he is doing his matthew mcconaughey thing. he's doing his laid—back, cool guy thing. but he's great at that. so the cast is what makes it. yeah, all right. let's go on to in the line of duty, not the line of duty. what did you make of this? um, yeah, it's interesting, this one because it's a thriller starring aaron eckhart. he plays a police officer

who accidentally ruins a kidnap — an anti—kidnap operation and is desperate to prove himself by finding the hostage, desperate to make up for things. and when you cast aaron eckhart in a movie, you expect a certain intensity because he is a very respected actor. this actually is more of a straight—to—dvd movie, u nfortu nately! there is, however, one very good chase scene in it, which i think we're gonna have a look at now. wow. so here's the best bit of the film. chuckles. dispatch two, 0—39 in pursuit southbound on 14th. two up in 44. suspectjust ran into st anthony's. glass smashes. car alarm beeps.

thanks, padre! and that's the best bit of the film? laughter. well, the chase scene is about ten minutes long, it's quite near the start of the film, and it is actually really impressive. and the film starts off, you think "ok, this has got a bit of depth to it" but it is what happens after that is the problem, is that it never really follows through on that early promise. the director is someone who has made a lot of straight—to—dvd, straight—to—streaming action movies. and unfortunately, despite the credibility of an actor like aaron eckhart, this does just descend into being another one of those average action films. right. it's not going to take off in the cinemas then? um, it will be at cinemas, but i think ultimately, it's more of a film to watch at home. yeah. what's wrong with it, do you think? i think it's just pedestrian, that is the problem. chuckles. it's that ultimately, it, you know, it starts off saying something, it starts off quite positively, but can't quite follow through on that. and that's just a lack of ambition, really. so that ultimately is the problem with it. you sometimes wonder how these films ever get off the drawing board, don't you? well, i wonder that all the time! yeah, i wonder that all the time!

you sort of thing "when they see the script, do they not realise it's a turkey?" anyway. ok, let's go on to best out this week. what have you got there? this is very much the opposite of a turkey. this is absolutely brilliant. this is little women. so, it came out on boxing day. really pleased to see that a lot of people went to see it over the holidays. of course, the classic coming—of—age story. the wonderful greta gerwig has adapted it, starring the equally wonderful saoirse ronan asjo march, one of the many march sisters in massachusetts in civil war america. and just a really fresh take on the story. it is quite difficult to mess up the story because it is a classic, but there are a couple of, i think, new twists to this. i like the way that this is structured, this film, the way that it is told through a lot of flashbacks, so it really does flag up the nostalgia these girls have for their childhood and for their adolescent years. and also, just some really strong female roles that perhaps were not in the original story, butjo march, for example, is a real pioneer in this film, doing what she wants to do, being the person that she wants to be at a time when women weren't always allowed to do that. so wonderful performances.

for me, it's all about florence pugh, the british actor, she — who's had a great year. 2019 was a great year for her. she plays amy in this. and if you're in a movie with meryl streep and yet, you still steal scenes, that's saying something. better than meryl streep, is that what you are saying? exactly, yeah. i think — i think florence pugh — it's just been her birthday, actually, so belated birthday wishes to florence pugh. i think she actually walks away with this film. you say a fresh take because, of course, some people will say "there have seen so many adaptations of little women in film and tv". yeah, absolutely, but what greta gerwig is done is taken a classic story but found a new way into it and a new way to tell it, and a new wayjust to highlight things. i mean, it's not a movie about feminism, but there is certainly more of a feminist slant to it than perhaps other adaptations. so it feels modern, it feels fresh. a sort of film for the #metoo era, in some ways, do you think? to a certain degree, yes, to a certain degree. yeah, all right. and finally, we've got best dvd. yeah, a million little pieces — this is out to watch at home — so based on another book, actually — this is james frey‘s book from 2003 about his time in rehab.

sam taylor—johnson is the director. her husband aaron taylor—johnson stars in it. they both wrote and produced it — very much a passion project for them. so, sam's last film was 50 shades of grey — big hit movie, but she has sort of suggested it wasn't the greatest time, professionally, for her working on that film. this feels like a reaction to that. this feels like her saying, "actually, i can make really intense, personal character studies" because that is what it is. and aaron taylor—johnson, as someone in rehab, as someone with addiction problems, gives this remarkable warts—and—all performance. it really is bruised and battered throughout. so a tough watch but, because of the performances in it, that's why it's impressive. james, great to have you with us. thank you so much. thank you. james king there. and that is it for this week. from both of us, thank you so much for watching. goodbye.

hello, there. fairly quiet conditions out there through the night and into the morning, plenty of cloud around, a few spots of rain and drizzle in the morning rush hour, not to chili, temperatures clear of a frost, mounted in the west but the wind picking up by dawn. northern ireland, heavy rain at times, gales, that spreads from practice time onwards across much of scotland, heavy on the west, not too much in the east. in wales and western england, spells of rain from lunchtime. winds will be a particular feature through tomorrow in the west and the north, 50 miles an hourata in the west and the north, 50 miles an hour at a time, not quite as wet oi’ an hour at a time, not quite as wet or windy an hour at a time, not quite as wet orwindy in an hour at a time, not quite as wet or windy in east anglia and the south—east but the rain will arrive by the end of the afternoon and into the evening rush hour before it clears. clearing skies on monday night, a touch of frost, and wet and windy weather waiting in the winds. some travel disruption on tuesday,

widespread gales, the worst in north—west scotland, all the details coming up through the night bbc news. —— on bbc news.

welcome to a special edition of newsday. i'm lucy hockings in nowra in new south wales, in australia. the headlines: the worst weekend of bushfires yet has seen hundreds of homes destroyed. and there's a warning they could go on burning for months. after weeks of criticism for his reaction to the bushfire crisis, prime minister scott morrison defends his government's response. this is the largest single call out ever of reservists working with our full time defence service providing support that our country has never seen before. south of here in the state of victoria there are fears that two huge fires could merge into one to create a mega blaze.