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tv   The Film Review  BBC News  September 4, 2021 11:45pm-12:01am BST

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owe i’ over the last ever the last few weeks afghanistan over the last few weeks whereas_ afghanistan over the last few weeks whereas nato who were sorting out and evacuating people whilst americans were leaving. but, you know, _ americans were leaving. but, you know. he — americans were leaving. but, you know. he is— americans were leaving. but, you know, he is concerned that it would be very— know, he is concerned that it would be very divisive in europe. who gets to say— be very divisive in europe. who gets to say what— be very divisive in europe. who gets to say what happens. but i think it is one _ to say what happens. but i think it is one that — to say what happens. but i think it is one that is going to be much discussed _ is one that is going to be much discussed within nato and european circles _ discussed within nato and european circles. ~ ., . circles. were to leave it there. thank you _ circles. were to leave it there. thank you for _ circles. were to leave it there. thank you forjoining - circles. were to leave it there. thank you forjoining us - circles. were to leave it there. thank you forjoining us this i thank you forjoining us this evening. thank you forjoining us this evening. that's it for the papers. from us all goodbye. coming up next it's the film review.
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hello and welcome to the film review with me, anna smith. i'm filling in for mark kermode to review this week's releases. my first choice is an ambitious rock opera which divided audiences at this year's cannes film festival. chattering. gasping. how did the show go? i killed them. destroyed them. murdered them. good boy. and yourgig?
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i saved them. one, two, three, four. i'm still slightly reeling from annette, the long and complicated story of a famous comedian called henry, played by adam driver, and his opera singer wife, anne, played by marion cotillard. the title refers to the child they have together. but to say much more about her would be a spoiler. let's just say that things get very surreal after these two have a kid and hit a rocky patch. this is directed with bold visual flare by holy motors helmer, leos carax. and is scripted by the band, sparks, who were recently the subject of edgar wright's documentary. ron and russell mael bring a recognisably quirky humour to the score, and there are moments of intentional hilarity, as driver and cotillard sing in unusual places, including in bed. but the story structure feels haphazard, and the characters are hard to access.
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i also think this could've used the input of a real standup comedian, even though henry's meant to be losing his touch, his standup scenes feel unfunny and unrealistic. still, realism is not the goal with this film, and there are high points — for one thing, i enjoyed the performance from simon helberg, after his similar turn as an accomplice in florence fosterjenkins. and there's a duet at the end of the film which is very powerful. this moment delivers a revelatory explanation for a lot of the madness that's preceded it, but it feels like too little too late. a lavish folly, annette is in cinemas now. next, to marvel�*s first asian superhero —
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shang chi and the legend of the ten rings. shang chi is the son of a master criminal father and a martial artist mother, but he's keeping a low profile, working as a valet in san francisco. going by the name of shawn, he enjoys drinks and karaoke with his best buddy, katy, played by awkwafina. you have the wrong guy! does he look like he can fight? come on, bro! but a spectacular scrap on a bus reveals him to be seriously skilled in the fighting department, with daddy issues to rival luke skywalker. you 0k? katyjoins him on a trip to mako
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to find his sister and fight against the ten rings organisation — who will be familiar to devotees of the marvel cinematic universe. directed by destin daniel cretton, this is also the first marvel film where the majority of the cast are asian or of asian descent. shang chi. shawn chi. no, shang chi. shawn chi. shang... shawn... shang. shawn... s—h—a—n—g — shang. shang? _ yeah. star, simu liu makes a likeable lead and is joined by seasoned actors, michelle yeoh and tony leung, with meng'er zhang making an impressive screen debut as shang chi's sister. marvel regular benedict wong also makes a welcome return. but once again, the secret weapon is that fabulous awkwafina, and her irreverent comic asides. even if she's also there to explain everything in very simple terms. personally, i could have done without the return of ben kingsley as hammy actor trevor slattery,
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who first appeared in iron man 3. and his fluffy cg sidekick seems aimed to please purely small kids and the merchandising department. that aside, the film is fantastic to look at, from visual effects to costumes — all the departments are at the top of their game here. shang chi is an entertaining blockbuster that should please fans of the mcu, and it's a historic moment for asian representation in mainstream movies. who are you? it's in cinemas now. i hear your sister's back. she came home herself. where was she? where did the police find her? is she 0k? lauren? she gasps. a missing woman returns home in wildfire, an impressive debut from director, cathy brady. nika mcguigan plays kelly, who reappears in her small
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northern irish town a year after she vanished. hersister, lauren, played by nora—jane—noone, is relieved but also angry with kelly for putting her through the trauma of the past year. as kelly shakes up lauren's suburban existence, the sisters' tragic past is revealed. it's a tense and powerful drama exploring loss, mental health and family, with strong supporting performances from martin mccann and also kate dickey, whom we saw in last week's our ladies. but this film really belongs to its two female leads who are terrific and very believable as siblings. wildfire is an intense and moving watch that's made all the more poignant knowing that star nika mcguigan sadly passed away last year. it's in cinemas now. i could never make up this plot. if i did, somebody would say, "this is preposterous, "this would not happen." i was so overwhelmed by this story.
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it's unbelievable. onto a documentary about a literary scandal — misha and the wolves. if you haven't heard of misha defonseca, don't look her up before watching, because this doc is the cinematic equivalent of a real page turner. misha is a holocaust survivor. she's here to tell her astonishing story. you could've heard a pin drop. when she was only seven years old, she walked alone through nazi occupied countries, across thousands of miles, in search of her deported parents. in 1997, defonseca published her memoirs of surviving the holocaust as a child, partly by befriending a pack of wolves. the book was a huge success, but her publisher, jane daniel, had nagging doubts about the veracity of the tale, especially after misha turned down the chance to appear on oprah. after the pair fell out, daniel hired investigators to dig deeper,
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and the results make for shocking viewing. but there are plenty of colourful talking heads, most of whom are female, which strikes me as rare. she's trying to hide something. i would've loved to have heard more from the wolf breeders, who make a fascinating contribution, although the detective work from a real holocaust survivor is at the heart of this film that's as unsettling as it is sensational. he speaks french. how can this possibly be? she's both a victim and a villain in this story. it's in cinemas now. this is how it works. you give me 20% of the takings — that's the door, the cloak room and the bar. i say who comes in, i say who goes out. my word is final. it's a deal. next up, essex criminals and the fifth in the rise of the foot soldier series.
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rise of the foot soldier: origins stars terry stone as tony tucker, the real—life drug dealer who was killed in 1995. this traces his move from army vet to nightclub doorman, who's played by series newcomer, vinniejones. tony is introduced as a big—hearted geezer who is always prepared to drop his kebab in order to break up a fight. his descent into crazed criminal behaviour all seems a bit sudden. what starts off like a recruitment ad for the army moves into a tawdry nightclub thriller and borderline spoof of british crime movies. i'll find ya! unprovoked violence comes thick and fast, and i feel like they might be going for some kind of record for use of the c word. it's disturbing in parts, but often so over—the—top, you have to laugh. there's some criminal use of good music, like new order, and some music that is just criminal in itself. die—hard foot soldier fans may wish
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to know that this is in cinemas now. if you're curious about it for comedy value, then you might want to wait for it to come to the small screen. i've always done things backwards. i kissed you. and then i met you. what the...? oh, my god! i thought you were someone else! congratulations on your upcoming wedding. - i don't know how upcoming it is, he won't set a date. we'll talk about it later. later. teddy, what is it. with you and later? hot on the heels of the brilliant palm springs comes another comedy inspired by the classic groundhog day. the australian film long story short stars rafe spall as teddy, a serial procrastinator who marries leanne, the woman of his dreams, played by zahra newman. after his wedding day, teddy wakes up and it's one year later. leanne is pregnant and teddy is seriously confused, especially when he continues jumping into his own future, one year at a time, on his wedding anniversary.
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josh lawson's comedy is very open about its debt to groundhog day, which is referred to several times, and this also has a strong whiff of it's a wonderful life. this is about lesson learning, and while its messages are driven home simply and invariably repetitively, the film benefits from endearing characters and spall�*s gift for sarcastic asides. long story short might not be a classic, but it's a pleasant way to pass the time. it's on sky cinema and the streaming service now. thanks for watching the film review with me, anna smith, and for watching the show from our home studios for the past year and a half. mark will be back from his break next week, when the show will be coming from the bbc studio. hold on, everybody! ah! we make a good team!
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the warm and sunny spells. southern and eastern scotland staying mainly dry until late on along the eastern side of northern ireland but as you can see some rain moving in with freshening wind and that will make for a wet evening in scotland and northern ireland and overnight into monday some of this rain pushes down into parts of northern england. it will be a mild start to monday. one through monday patchy rain to parts of northern ireland and scotland slowly drying out. the numbers seeing sunny spells and as we go from monday into tuesday the warmth in england and wales will expand northwards into scotland and northern ireland with plenty of sunshine. goodbye.
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this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. pakistan's spy chief visits kabul. what does it mean for the taliban's yet—to—be—announced government? meanwhile, the taliban claims its fighters are closing in on the last organised group defying them in the panjshir valley. here in the uk, labour says there's a "strong case" for offering all 12 to 15—year—olds covid vaccinations — the government's scientific advisors don't support it. tuna stocks recover after years of overfishing, but the future of other species is still on the line.

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