rounding up the best new films available for viewing in the home. the most eye—opening film getting a digital release this week is the assistant, a high—impact drama about a day in the life of a young woman working for an abusive and strangely familiar entertainment mogul. what is it? the wife. say he is in a screening. they told me you were smart. julia garner is jane, a college graduate with dreams of becoming a film producer who finds herself on the bottom rung of the industry ladder. her tasks are menial — making coffee, refilling the photocopier, ordering lunch

and arranging travel. but she also has to clean up after her boss, removing used syringes from his waste bin, picking up suspicious earrings from his office floor, scrubbing stains off his office couch. and fielding calls from his increasingly exasperated wife. what can we do? do about what? when a new recruit is flowm down from boise, idaho, jane fears she will become her boss's latest victim. but within this culture of harassment, no—one is interested in complaints, only conformity. it was not my place to question your decision. i won't let you down again. starting life as a work of scripted nonfiction, film—maker mutated into a drama inspired by the real—life stories of women working in the film and television industry. as a result, everything about the assistant rings true. from the slight shabbiness of the office, which has no hint of hollywood glamour, to the day—to—day bullying practised by jane's workmates who know this is the way to succeed.

garner is terrific in the role, but it's a performance relying more upon looks and words to convey jane's entrapment and the silencing that goes with it. crucially, jane is denied a voice in an industry which keeps its dark secrets unspoken. it's a smart choice too to keep jane's boss off—screen. although we hear him laughing and yelling through closed office doors and down telephone lines, we never meet him face—to—face. lending a universality to the character that extends beyond the specifics of, for example, the harvey weinstein case, which clearly inspires this me too drama. i can see that you've got what it takes. thanks. so why are you in here trying to throw it all away over this? although it's set in the entertainment industry, the assistant will strike a chord with anyone who's worked in an office where bullying and harassment are just business as usual. the film is available right now on a wide variety of platforms.

altogether more esoteric is ema, the hypnotic and occasionally bewildering latest from chilean director pablo larrain. the story nominally follows a couple who have returned the young boy they adopted to the foster home from which he came. there are hints of fiery deeds in his past, but the boy's absence precipitates a crisis in the couple's relationship which threatens to tear them apart. gael garcia bernal, who previously starred in larrain‘s drama no, is the choreographer of a dance company. his relationship with seems to swing between love and hate. in the title role, mariana di girolamo is utterly incendiary. parlaying a tv career into a great feature debut. ema is described as a movie about family. a witness, a testimony about the way

families are shifting and direction. themes of masculinity and femininity are explored in sometimes oblique fashion, with the time—spliced narrative telling its kaleidoscopic story. as always, with larrain there's a political element with corrupt authority figures attempted to police an ever—diversifying world. but ultimately, this is an experiential movie, defined by fiery visuals and haunting images that invite the viewer tojoin in this strange dance. you can experience ema exclusively on movie. you can experience ema exclusively on mubi. diana kennedy's knowledge of mexican cooking is unsurpassed. she's a legend! for something more down to earth, check out nothing fancy. it's about british woman who became an unlikely doyenne of mexican cooking.

people plagiarise my recipes, they didn't do the research, i do the research. a force of nature, kennedy, who's in her 90s, lives in an ecologically sustainable property from which she holds forth on a range of issues. from the correct way to make guacamole, it's meant to be lumpy, to macho despoilation the planet, by trump and putin. interspersed with these conversations is archive footage of kennedy's extraordinary career, travelling thousands of miles in search of the ingredients and recipes immortalised in her own cookbooks. it's appalling. mexico is importing chillis. read my books and learn, please! what will you do when i'm gone? who is going to start screaming? described as an indiana jones of food, kennedy is fantastically entertaining. an independent woman who speaks openly and honestly about love and ageing, food and fulfillment, sex and death, and the need for a little more salt in all our lives. you can enjoy her company now on a wide range

of digital platforms. looking ahead, monday sees the digital release of reborn, a derivative low—budget horror flick which debuted to crowd pleasing responses at frightfest halloween in 2018. described in its publicity as carrie meets firestarter, this b—movie's main selling point is barbara crampton. cult star of reanimator and beyond, she's become a mainstay of any she's become a mainstay of indy horrorfilm since returning in 2011's you're next.

i want to know where her body is. she plays an actress whose stillborn daughter returns from the grave as a needy teenager with destructive electromagnetic powers. the script is stilted, the effects basic and the scares familiar. the only surprise is the payoff to a subplot about auditioning for peter bogdanovich, which raises a few passing chuckles. a few passing chuckles is pretty much all you get from can you keep a secret, a contrived rom—com which also opens on monday. i heard you guys broke up. i'm sorry, are you 0k? yeah, i'm fine, i think. you know, it's for the best. it will be good to be single. freedom. right. based on the book by confessions of a shopaholic author sophie kinsella, this throws alexandra dederio's emma

on a bumpy flight where she reveals her most personal secrets to her ceo. i just want this huge, amazing romance. turbulence stopped a few hours ago. why didn't you tell me that? it seemed like you needed to get a few things off your chest. 0h, oh, my god! romance inevitably ensues and he holds all the cards. he knows everything about her and she knows nothing about him. this is formulaic fare, held up by the substance of dederio who has something of a sandra bullock quality. enlivened by a few nice supporting performances as notable as laverne cox as the main character's tough buy sympathetic boss. i asked where him where the whale bone came from and came from russia on a wave after being smashed up by a storm. for my own personal recommendation of the best film currently available for home viewing, let me direct you to the whalebone box from maverick genius andrew kotting. the film follows two journeys.

iain sinclairand his photographer boschjoin andrew kotting on a pilgrimage. to the outer hebrides. the other into the dreams of eden kotting, artist and daughter and muse of andrew. it's a remarkable work available excessively on mubi. i leave you with news that bacurau which had a limited theatrical release before lockdown, is available on blu—ray. a near future dystopian parable, this tale of a remote brazilian enclave that has disappeared from maps and satellite tracking systems nods to bunuel and sergio leone, providing plenty to engross, entertain

and occasionally shock. that's it. thanks for watching the film review. stay safe and i will be back next week with more home viewing treats. it's actually ovaries with some panda eyes. 0k! would you buy this if it was on a product of some kind? is it a product for my ovaries? no, it's not. no. hello. skies have threatened rather than delivered many showers today. if you've seen a bit of sunshine, the garden‘s been a nice place to be. spring in full swing of course right

now and for part two of the weekend tomorrow, high pressure in control for much of the uk but there will still be a few showers breaking out. maybe for some of us, a greater chance tomorrow of catching one than today. this weather front towards the south—west of england will produce a bit of patchy, light rain in places. and in fact, that's the case as we go on into tonight, as the cloud increases as that weather front gets closer. and where we have seen some showers today across northern and eastern scotland, north—east england, they will slowly fade as we get on into the night. for most overnight it is dry with clear spells, temperatures fall a little lower than this in more rural spots but most of us just about avoiding a frost as we go into the morning. sunday will start dry with a fair amount of sunshine around but cloud is going to build and some showers will break out. towards northern and eastern scotland once again, a few for northern ireland, northern england, especially east of the pennines. it will take some time but from north wales, the midlands to east anglia later in the afternoon a chance of showers here could be heavy.

and all the while a lot more cloud compared with today in south—west england and south wales, maybe some patchy light rain from that. temperatures in the mid teens for most of us. it will feel cooler for most in scotland tomorrow where you have the showers especially in the north and east. they will continue on here into the evening. and we could well see as we get into sunday night a spell of rain across parts of yorkshire and lincolnshire which will gradually clear on monday, just leaving a few showers. whereas most places on monday will be dry, a mixture of cloud and some sunny spells around. the wind willjust start to pick up across parts of england and wales coming in from the east. that will cool things particularly across eastern counties. and as we get beyond monday to tuesday, that weather system towards the south—west brings new life and brings in a spell of heavy rain here and particularly towards south—west england. some uncertainty about exactly where it is going to sit before it fizzles out later on tuesday and just about gone by the time we get into wednesday. as high pressure builds back in. but it does bring the chance of seeing a bit of rain towards southern, south—western parts of england and south wales on tuesday.

drier, though, on wednesday, and throughout the week for much of scotland and northern ireland it is looking dry with a mixture of cloud and sunshine. but where you are starting the week with a bit of rain, from mid week on it is looking mainly dry.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. ministers in the uk look at proposals to get the economy restarted — including easing some measures of the lockdown. in spain, the country has begun to ease its strict lockdown rules — adults have been enjoying their first outdoor exercise in seven weeks. rolls royce prepares to cut thousands ofjobs due to coronavirus — a decision on the exact number will be made by the end of the month. the uk government pledges over £76 million to the most vulnerable in society during the pandemic. this funding will help charities, support survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. it will support vulnerable children and their families. and it will support victims of modern slavery. an experimental drug

is authorised by us