laughter they look real. on the positive side of this, imagine if we had got into lockdown when there was no technology around and kids were stuck indoors 2a hours a day. the one thing about playing their games one thing about playing their games on their consuls is they have been able to keep in touch with their friends. and also home—schooling will have been much more difficult if you had not had this technology. ijust if you had not had this technology. i just threw if you had not had this technology. ijust threw mine in the been! the kids one! thank you very much. what a relief it was. jo and nigel, thank you so much, and enjoy the rest of your weekend, and to you as well for joining us here on bbc news. stay with us. coming up next is the film review. cheerio!

hello and welcome to the film review with me, mark kermode, rounding up the best movies available for viewing in cinemas and in the home. over the years, there've been a plethora of movies called les miserables. from the 1935 best picture contender starring fredric march and charles laughton, through the 1958 adaptation hailed as one of the first french blockbusters, to the more recent adaptation of the hit stage musical which proved that, whatever else he can do, like running you over with a big truck, unhinged star russell crowe really cannot sing.

at all. # leave it all in flames...# the latest film to take its title from victor hugo's 19th century novel is a cesar—winning contemporary urban drama that was oscar—nominated for best international feature, a streetwise tale of dispossessed masses brought once again to the brink of rebellion. writer—director ladj ly‘s film largely plays out in montformet, immortalised in hugo's novel, where a new member of the anti—crime unit learns about the neighbourhoods rival factions and two colleagues whose methods blur the line

between policing and harassment. when a drone camera captures video footage of a violently botched arrest, tensions between police and residents reach boiling point, threatening to throw everyone in the lions' den. building on his 2017 short film, ly‘s feature debut presents an admirably un—cliched view of borneo life, as vibrant and diverse as that of celine sciamma's girlhood. in stark contrast to the monochrome hues of mathieu kassovitz‘s 1995 masterpiece la haine, which gets the 25th anniversary re—release next week, les miserables is lensed in vivid colour by cinematographer julien poupard whose cameras sneak in and out of the action, in this tangibly real world. there are echoes too of the pressure cooker structure of spike lee's do the right thing and the even—handed verite grit of david simon's ground—breaking tv series the wire. taking care never to paint

its complex characters in simple black—and—white strokes, les miserables has slipped stealthily from astute observation to urgent action, reminding us all the time of hugo's maxim that there is no such thing as bad plants or bad men, only bad cultivators. les miserables is in cinemas now and i urge you to seek it out. it's snowing. winter is coming! we have a real connection. a rare and intense attachment. i've never experienced anything like it. i'm thinking of ending things. huh? charlie kaufman is the screenwriting genius who won a bafta for being john malkovich, another for adaptation, and a third for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, for which he also nabbed an oscar. he's fared less well as a director, with 2008's synecdoche, new york polarising critics and bombing at the box office, earning less than a quarter of its $20 million budget.

we'll never know if kaufman's critically feted latest proves more popular, since it's released direct to netflix. their audience figures are a closely—guarded secret. i am visiting jake's parents for the first time. the typically solipsistic story centres on a snowy road trip taken by young couple played byjesse plemons and jessie buckley. we're here! toni collette and david thewlis are the mum and dad whose age changes between scenes and whose remote farmhouse seems to be the stuff of dreams, or nightmares. what exactly is going on? and more importantly, do we care? well, in the case of ian reed's short source novel, the answer is yes. not least because the twilight zone with a—levels narrative rushes towards a page turning third act in which cod psychology meets psycho splatter. you have to go. i have to go where? forward. not so the movie, which sheds the trashy treats of reed's book,

replacing stalk—and—slash thrills with sombre song—and—dance theatrics, turning a potboiler into a chin—stroker. aimed more that head than the heart. it's a credit to the brilliant jessie buckley that she managed to breathe such human life in what is essentially a cypher role. buckley, who commanded the screen in movies as diverse as beast and wild rose, works wonders, ensuring that this generally remains more intriguing than irritating. generally. if the absence of unsettling horror in kaufman's movie proves disappointing, then fear not, creepy thrills await in the swedish—danish thriller koko—di, koko—da, which is available on bfi player, blu—ray and digital download on monday.

traumatised by tragedy, a bereaved couple go on a woodland camping trip in a bid to save their marriage. but having bought a music box as an eighth birthday present for their daughter, the pair find themselves stuck in a nightmarish loop of grief, terrorised by a troop of fairy tale characters depicted on the side of the aforementioned gift. built around a nursery rhyme that will get into your head and taunt you for days, this blackly comic oddity was brilliantly described by my friend and colleague trevorjohnson as a weird version of groundhog day and funny games, a phrase i wish i could claim as my own. it's deeply troubling and frequently very nasty stuff, rated 18 for sexual violence and threat, although it's the twisted echoes of heinrich hoffmann and the brothers grimm that really got under my skin.

i'm going to ask you a series of questions. i want you to respond truthfully. there's a hint of horror at play in the new mutants, the long—delayed addendum to the x—men series that was meant to launch a new trilogy but seems to be more of a full stop. # we don't need no education...#. co—written and directed byjosh boone, who made the fault in our stars, and pitched as "the breakfast club in a cuckoos' nest institution," it centres on the new generation of mutants being held in a secret facility run by alice braga's authoritarian doctor reyes. with a talented top line cast, including anya taylor-joy, maisie williams and newcomer blu hunt, the new mutants was shot back in 2017 with an eye on a 2018 opening. but as executives swithered over whether they wanted a horror movie or a ya romp, and fox was acquired by disney, reshoots were planned and then dropped and everyone moved onto other things.

it sounds like a recipe for disaster, and the film which finally opens in uk cinemas three years after principal photography is indeed something of a mishmash — but it's not a total disaster. boasting an lgbt—friendly narrative, some likeable performances, most notably for maisie williams, and a few creepy moments that redeem it from the silliness of scenes in which our heroes do battle with a giant cg demon bear. that thing will kill you. he's right, it's magic. so am i. loyal, brave and true. while the new mutants may be getting a cinema release, the more high—profile mulan has ruffled industry feathers by going straight to disney+, where it's available to rent forjust shy of 20 quid in addition to the cost of channel subscription.

directed by niki caro, best known for the 2002 film whale rider, this live—action remake of disney's 90s animation has been cited as the most expensive movie ever directed by a woman. unlike such recent house of mouse remakes like beauty and the beast, this new mulan isn't a musical — although music plays a key role. nor does it feature a talking dragon. it is my duty to fight for the kingdom. instead, it's a sumptuously attired coming—of—age adventure with martial arts action and much splendidly cinematic scenery. but you can't help wishing you were watching at a big screen. still, unlike so many disney reboots, mulan is very much its own film, looking back to the chinese folk story which inspired the original animation and taking it in a direction that's different enough to justify its existence. whether this straight—this—home viewing release can also justify its cost, reported to be around $200 million, remains to be seen.

at the other end of the financial spectrum, socrates, which was made for under $20,000, is a striking brazilian feature about a 15—year—old isolated by his sexuality and facing destitution following the death of his mother. playing in selected cinemas and also available on digital platforms, this is the first feature produced by the caro institute in brazil, where it was co—written, produced and acted by at—risk teenagers from low—income communities with the support of unicef. the result is a remarkably moving and accomplished film that combines the smack of verite realism with a poetic and ultimately redemptive sensibility. a mere 70 minutes in length, this urgent heartfelt drama packs more truth and insight

into its compact running time than many, if not most, of its more mainstream competitors. that's it for this week. thanks to anna smith for holding the fort so brilliantly in my absence, thanks to you for watching, and i'd like to end this show by adding my voice to those mourning the loss of chadwick boseman, a remarkable and inspirational figure who lit up the screen in a string of movies from marshall, and 42, to get on up, 21 bridges, da 5 bloods and, of course, black panther. king t'challa! it's an extraordinary body of work, with a final film, ma rainey‘s black bottom, still to come from one of cinema's most admired and most loved modern legends. my king. wa kanda forever! all: wakanda forever!

hello. we had quite a few showers around on saturday across scotland, northern ireland and northern england. that focus shifts through sunday, so drier for scotland and northern ireland, but with some showers across england and wales. that said, many will have a mainly dry day with some spells of sunshine. but a few sharp showers through parts of northern england, the midlands and wales through the morning, sliding their way south and eastwards perhaps into lincolnshire, east anglia, a few across south west england. many will be mostly dry, lighter winds than saturday, so it should feel a bit warmer in the sunshine. highs generally between 16—20 celsius. cloud and rain arrives into northern ireland and western scotland through the evening and overnight. slowly pushes its way south and eastwards, cloud toppling in ahead of that across parts of northern england and north wales. where we've got the cloud and the rain, temperatures easily holding up into double figures. but where we've got some clearer skies, more like 8—9 celsius. so, a wet blustery start to the new week across the north of the uk. it should be drier and increasingly warm and humid further south. bye— bye.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. in the uk, a warning that the country is at "a critical moment" in the pandemic as students prepare to return to universities. a flare—up of covid cases in france as rates of infection are now higher than at the height of the pandemic in march. a senior belarussian opposition activist takes refuge in poland, saying she's been forced to choose between jail and exile. 80 arrests are made as the uk prime minister condemns the actions of environmental activists who've targeted the media over the reporting of climate change.