Skip to main content

tv   The Film Review  BBC News  July 18, 2021 11:45pm-12:01am BST

11:45 pm
'us don't think that's an excuse for us not to do anything. i think every country on earth has to play their part. we should be setting an example, we are hosting cop 26, the run—up hasn't gone well because we were talking about a new coal mine in cumbria, which seemed crazy. sol think we do have to set an example and we do have to do our part. we shouldn't worry about what other countries do, we should do our bit. good to have you without looking at the papers again, thank you very much. next, it's the film review. hello, and welcome to the film
11:46 pm
review with me, mark kermode, rounding up the best new movies available for viewing in cinemas and in the home. far and away the most important and uplifting new release this week is summer of soul, questlove�*s sundance award—winning documentary that uncovers a treasure trove of footstomping, heart—stopping live music footage that, incredibly, has remained hidden for half a century. are you ready, black people? crowd: ., , are you really ready? ready! are you ready to listen to all the beautiful black voices, the beautiful black feeling, the beautiful black waves moving in beautiful air? are you ready, black people? are you ready? documenting the 1969 harlem cultural festival that has until now been effectively erased from pop—culture history, summer of soul boasts
11:47 pm
a jaw—dropping roster of acts who performed in mount morris park over six consecutive weekends — including stevie wonder, nina simone, sly and the family stone, gladys knight and the pips, bb king, the fifth dimension and many, many more. nobody ever heard of - the harlem culture festival. nobody would believe that happened. the acts are amazing, the atmosphere electrifying and the footage, frankly, astonishing, not least because it's lain unseen for so long. while mike wadleigh's woodstock and the maysles brothers�* gimme shelter have long been considered the definitive documents of the highs and lows of pop culture in �*69, summer of soul makes both look like a footnote to the main event — musically, politically, culturally. # it took me by surprise, i must say...# from mavis staples and mahalia jackson performing doctor martin luther king's favourite song take my hand, precious lord to nina simone unveiling a new composition inspired
11:48 pm
by the off—broadway stage show to be young, gifted and black, this is some of the most thrilling concert footage you'll ever see. # can't you hear me callin' to ya?# astutely chosen newsreels put the performances in context, coming at the end of a decade of unrest and assassinations, with the war raging in vietnam and civil rights under attack at home. when neil armstrong takes one small step for a man, a concert—goer reacts by stating, "never mind the moon, let's get some of that cash in harlem" — a sentiment echoed by the reverend jesse jackson. the fact that no one was interested in this historic footage of the harlem cultural festival for so long stands as evidence of the whitewashing of american history, a subject that seems particularly pertinent at the moment. plaudits, then, to director ahmir thompson, aka musician questlove, who begins and ends his film with a festival—goer viewing the newly uncovered footage for the first time, and then tearfully thanking
11:49 pm
the film—maker for proving to him that he isn't crazy — this really happened. we wanted progress. we are black people, and we should be proud of this. we were coming together to say this is our world, and how beautiful it was. thanks to this terrific film, that's something we can all share in. # i can take you higher...# we believed in what we felt in here. just go do it! summer of soul is in cinemas now and on disney+ from july the 30th. this is our last stand. back in 2013, writer—director james demonaco's dystopian horror—action cheapie the purge became a money—spinning hit, taking
11:50 pm
close to $90 million at the box office after costing only three. partly inspired by an episode of star trek, the film largely played out in a single home in a near—future america where 12 hours of murderous lawlessness are officially sanctioned every year. subsequent instalments broadened the scope, moving the series closer to the escape from new york template that demonaco had originally envisaged, but had been unable to explore due to lack of resources. now, following two sequels and a prequel, we have a fifth instalment, the forever purge, which opened to sniffy reviews and disappointing box office a couple of weeks ago in the us, which is a shame because i thought it was one of the best instalments in the series. one night only. rest of the year is peaceful. help me!
11:51 pm
she screams. written by demonaco and directed by everardo valerio gout, making his hollywood feature debut, the forever purge begins withjuan and adela crossing the border into the us, starting new lives in texas away from murderous drug cartels. on the eve of the fascistic new founding fathers' annual purge, the couple take refuge in a migrant shelter, knowing that they'll be targets for attack. but even after the 12—hour curfew, the killing continues, led by white supremacists worshiping guns, sedition and segregation. you don't have to be a political scientist to appreciate that there's a thin line between the satirical horrors of the forever purge and real—life news reports of the recent violent assault on the american capitol by a group that included neo—nazis. as with all effective dystopian fiction, the future is now. the message may not be subtle, but the film is an effectively blunt tool — a mainstream exploitation vehicle designed to entertain while ensuring
11:52 pm
that no one leaves the theatre without realising what it was all about. plaudits are due to ana de la reguera, who played a key role in zack snyder's zombie romp army of the dead, and who here delivers a hefty punch, fronting a cast that includes will patton, tenoch huerta and josh lucas. as for the director, he handles the forever purge's numerous action sequences with efficient gusto, mixing politics and popcorn thrills to crowd pleasing effect. it's in cinemas now. "come down, come down," his father cried. "you'll be much safer by my side." page. at the opposite end of the dramatic spectrum, nowhere special is a northern ireland—set drama from writer—director uberto pasolini, whose impressive cv includes producing the international hit the full monty and directing the melancholy drama still life. inspired by a newspaper story, nowhere special centres
11:53 pm
onjames norton'sjohn, a window cleaner single—handedly raising his young son, michael. john is dying and is desperate to find the perfect family to care for his child after he's gone, but that's proving to be an impossible task, not least becausejohn wants to protect michael from the reality of his situation for as long as possible. i don't want him to understand death. not yet. while the set—up may sound mawkishly sentimental, pasolini keeps things nicely underplayed, relying on the on—screen chemistry between norton and young daniel lamont to tell the story with little dramatic padding. as the pair plod from house to house interviewing possible adoptive parents, their reactions are as eloquent as they are sometimes silent and look frequently saying much more than words could. ace cinematographer marius panduru keeps things deceptively simple, his eye for detail finding the magical in the everyday and showing that this very personal
11:54 pm
tale has universal appeal. bye, son. nowhere special is in cinemas now. from northern ireland to france for the bizarre horror—comedy hybrid deerskin, a very strange but delightfully unhinged offering from film—maker, musician and dj quentin dupieux, aka mr oizo. jean dujardin, who won an oscar for the artist, plays georges, who blows all his cash on a killer style deerskin jacket before heading off into the mountains, armed only with a digital camera. checking into a remote hotel, georges tries to pass himself off as a film—maker,
11:55 pm
impressing local bartender denise, played by portrait of a lady on fire star adele haenel. denise has dreams of editing films, and she soon finds herself cutting together georges's incoherent home movies. she sees something in them, but she wants more. and so, driven by the voice of his jacket, which tells him it longs to be the onlyjacket in the world, georges sets out to feed this growing obsession. there are echoes of the gruesome belgian black comedy man bites dog in georges' increasingly insane film—making adventures, along with shades of the killer dress riffs from tobe hooper�*s i'm dangerous tonight or, more recently, peter strickland's in fabric. but the tone of dupieux's film is altogether more goofy, even as killer style turns to killer instinct and mockumentary slips into snuff movie territory. indeed, what's remarkable isjust how upbeat things remain, leaving us laughing at, or perhaps even with,
11:56 pm
georges as he enters the mouth of madness. it's a credit to haenel that she manages to play her role with such a straight bat, providing the perfect foil for dujardin's madness. as long as she's invested in his twisted endeavours, then we have a reason to keep watching, a point of entry into this increasingly absurdist but weirdly entertaining oddity. deerskin is in cinemas now. my name's eep. .. ..and we're the world's first family, the croods. he groans. another glorious morning. i'll leave you with news of a new age, the belated sequel to 2013's prehistoric animation the croods. venturing out into the world in search of their tomorrow, the caveman crood family find themselves face—to—face with the future in the form of the bettermans. as cultures clash, so changes occur, with ryan reynolds' guy sporting a man bun while nicolas cage's grug learns about man caves
11:57 pm
and bro bonding. come on, thunk, we're going outside. i i don't want to, i'm watching birds! i in my day, we didn't stare at birds, we fought them! i let me live my life! meanwhile, emma stone's eep teaches the bettermans' daughter, dawn, voiced by kelly marie tran, to walk on the wild side as the whole plot careens unevenly toward a banana field showdown with weaponised punch monkeys. really. it's hardly classic fare, with all the bestjokes aimed at the adults, leaving the kids to gawp at the often spectacular visuals while mum and dad laugh wryly at the social satire and retro pop references. but there's fun to be had amid all the chaos, even if you'll struggle to remember much about the film, which is in cinemas now, five minutes after it's finished. that's it for this week. thanks for watching the film review. stay safe, and i'll see you next week. my little sister... my little sister, she bites a lot. and my dad doesn't even know about this one. whoa, peanut toe!
11:58 pm
hello there. sunday was the hottest day of the year so far in both england and wales. in cardiff, we got up to 30.2 celsius, but it was a bit hotter than that at london's heathrow airport — 31.6 recorded on the thermometers. that's also the uk's highest temperature of 2021 so far. and looking at the weather through this week, it's going to stay hot and sunny for most areas. there could be one or two isolated thunderstorms. after hot weather by day, it will stay very warm overnight. now, we've got a warm start to the day monday morning, plenty of sunshine around. the exception, northern scotland, where there could be an odd spit of rain. but for most, it stays dry. the afternoon could see an odd thunderstorm break out, but most of you will keep that hot and sunny weather all day. temperatures generally into the mid—20s in scotland and northern ireland, a bit cooler for the far north. but in england and wales, high 20s to low 30s. it's going to be another very hot day. and indeed, that hot weather is going to stay for most of us
11:59 pm
for most of the week. that's your latest.
12:00 am
this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. feelings run high in tokyo, with protests against the olympic games as athletes and staff test positive for covid. more flooding hits western europe. on a visit to germany's worst—hit region, chancellor angela merkel expresses horror at the devastation. no deal in doha, but afghan and taliban negotiators issue a joint statement, committing to further talks until agreement is reached. and an investigation by 16 media organisations claims that human rights activists, journalists and lawyers were targeted by authoritarian governments using spyware.

38 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on