hello and welcome to the film review with me, mark kermode, rounding up the best new home viewing releases as we look forward to cinemas reopening in may. in the oscar—tipped current release the united states vs billie holiday, a federal agent with deeply divided loyalties is sent to infiltrate and undermine a powerful voice of civil rights. that scenario is echoed injudas and the black messiah, a gripping drama inspired by real events from director and co—writer shaka king. it's not a question of violence or nonviolence, it's a question of resistance to fascism or nonexistence within fascism! cheering. you can murder and liberate them, but you can't murder liberation! you can murder a revolutionary, but you can't murder revolution! and you can murder a freedom fighter, but you can't murder freedom! lakeith stanfield plays young car thief william o'neill, who's strong—armed into spying on black panther leader fred hampton, charismaticly portrayed by daniel kaluuya. fred hampton, charismatically portrayed by daniel kaluuya. hey! are you listening? jesse plemons is roy mitchell, a federal agent instructed by martin sheen's dracula—likej edgar hoover to bring hampton down by any means necessary. yet despite having no previous political allegiances, o'neill finds himself torn between the desire to save his own skin and his growing admiration for hampton. these ain't no terrorists. it's a credit to stanfield that he manages to keep the complexity of his character alive throughout the movie, leaving us constantly wondering exactly where his loyalties lie. by contrast, kaluuya, who seems certain to earn a second oscar nomination next week, is steadfast and determined as hampton, unexpectedly shy in person, but inspirational in public. chanting. the result is a terrific drama that mixes fact and fiction with thrilling, thought—provoking results. i advise you to check it out. it's available for home rental now. whilejudas and the black messiah may be a worthy awards contender, never forget that all awards are essentially flawed and foolish. for proof, look no further than the fact that jared leto recently received a golden globe nomination for one of the most eye—rollingly terrible performances i have ever seen in the little things. i saw the for sale sign. that was for another car. got a lot of miles on it. you a... you a salesman? no. leto plays albert sparma, the manson—like key suspect in a series of disappearances and killings who loves playing cat—and—mouse with the police — in this case, denzel washington's world—weary deputy sheriff and rami malek�*s upcoming detective. the two are brought together when a new murder matches the m0 of an old case that washington failed to solve, apparently driving him to a heart attack. you can talk to me. i'm the only friend you've got. the only thing about this insufferably tedious, sub seven serial killer snorer that could give me a heart attack is leto's scenery chewing performance, apparently inspired by a quick reading of helter skelter, the application of a greasy bad jesus hairdo and the addition of a midriff tire because apparently, nothing says crazy like being just a little bit overweight. why do that? all this pantomime nonsense is presented with a tone of awards—courting somberness, with washington mumbling, malek gurning and cinematographerjohn schwartzman shooting everything in shadowy hues designed to cover up the total lack of substance. only thomas newman's score actually does anything interesting, and even that becomes grating as the script by writer—directorjohn lee hancock, whose cv includes the blind side, plods from one uninteresting set piece to the next. is leto's character a killer orjust a joker? who cares? ijust wanted him to stop acting before he gave me a headache. you can find the little things — if you absolutely must — online now. hi, paxton! we heard london's in total lockdown. we are all locked in this psychological prison of burning aloneness. how's linda? she's somewhere in the house. is there some type of issue? she screams. we are fine. more fun, albeit in an utterly disposable way, is locked down, a comedic heist thriller written and shot during the covid pandemic. linda said she was planning to end ourthing. chiwetel ejiofor and anne hathaway are the couple whose relationship has fizzled out, but who nonetheless find themselves locked down together in london. you know you think this i is so happy and normal? no. he's become boring and furloughed, she's become disillusioned and desperate. neither is going anywhere until she hits on the idea of stealing a £3 million diamond from harrods with his help. can the thrill of theft reinvigorate their relationship? live wild, don't die, linda. directed by doug liman, who made swingers and mr and mrs smith, from a script by dirty pretty things writer steven knight, this is passingly fun fair. daft and a bit dopey, but still moderately distracting. his name? edgar allan poe. edgar allan poe! wow! that said, when it comes to movies made during lockdown, this can't hold a candle to the diy british horrorfilm host, which recently came out on blu—ray, conjuring proper scares from the most restrictive film—making circumstances — a real low—budget gem. now, one thing we've all done far too much of during lockdown is spending time online, glued to our phones and computer screens. that's a scenario that's central to the jet—black dutch comedy—horror the columnist. katja herbers is femke, the journalist under pressure to complete a book, who finds herself unable to ignore the online trolls who constantly harassed her with obscenities and death threats, something that will be unpleasantly familiar to many in this grand age of social media. when her noisy diy enthusiast neighbour turns out to be one of her online trolls, she helps him to fall off a roof, a release that miraculously unlocks her writer's block. and so, finding inspiration in revenge, she embarks on a killing spree, a deadly hobby that keeps her creative juices flowing. there's something thrillinglyjolly about watching femke reek bloody vengeance on the keyboard warriors who have attacked her with anonymous impunity, a ghoulishly taboo delight that chimes with films like john waters's serial mom or alice lowe's prevenge. but there's also an acerbic, satirical bite to writer daan windhorst and director ivo van aart�*s gleefully anarchic film, as femke slips from smiling liberal to avenging wraith, publicly espousing the virtues of free speech while privately bumping off anyone who disagrees with her. you can log onto the columnist on vod platforms now. a few years ago, the russo brothers, anthony and joe, broke box office records with their—series ending marvel 2—parter avengers: infinity war and avengers: endgame. since then, they've returned to their roots and have now co—directed an adaptation of nico walker's novel cherry. i'm 23 years old and... ..sometimes i wonder if life is wasted on me. tom holland stars as the lost soul who we first meet robbing a bank, who then looks back upon his life to see how the last 15 years led him to this sorry end. meeting with his sweetheart emily, played by ciara bravo, his enlistment in the army when heartbreak loomed, his time in battle and his return to cleveland with ptsd and a growing opioid dependency that draws both him and emily into spiralling drug addiction. have you ever heard of oxycontin? described by its creators as a sid and nancy star romance for the post—9/ii generation, cherry is stylistically adventurous fare that knowingly plays with genre, shifting its tone, rhythm and aspect ratio to reflect our antihero's subjective experience of his changing world. i like you. a lot. thus we get the magical realism of falling in love, the full metaljacket feel of boot camp and the expansiveness of war, the disconnection of addiction and the cynical, almost sarcastic tone of the bankjobs. ma'am, it's nothing personal. at times, all this can start to feel like a triumph of style over substance, a turbo—charged indie film that just happens to have been made by some of the most celebrated technicians in the industry. but tom holland lends a much needed humanity to the proceedings, reminding us that this is meant to be a personal story rather than a showcase for flashy cinematic invention. can we just talk about you for a second? it's on apple tv+ now. i'll leave you with news of an intriguing and unexpected oddity from canada, mouthpiece. you're still taking a break from relationships? yeah. well, i don't know. two actors, amy nostbakken and norah sadava, play differing sides of one character, cassandra, a young woman struggling to come to terms with her mother's death. what would your mother have liked? what should cassie say at her funeral, how honest can she be about her mother's life and will her somewhat precarious relationships with her family survive? do you really think that it's the best idea for you to do the eulogy? directed by patricia rozema, whose credits include mansfield park and into the forest, mouthpiece is loosely based on a stage play written by the film's two leads. yet it's not in any way staging. on the contrary, there's a sublimely cinematic quality to the film—making, which swings nimbly from surreal doublings to dance numbers, from humour to horror and heartbreak. # my mama always told me... a brilliant score by nostbakken makes superb use of close harmony voices to emphasise the battling voices in cassie's head, while the carefully choreographed cinematography captures a world of reflections and mirrored images. mum would have wanted me to wear black. well, mum's dead. it all adds up to a remarkable film that feels emotionally honest and intellectually engaging, whilst also being engrossing and entertaining. it's the kind of thing that charlie kaufman tried and failed to pull off in his self—consciously clever, clever psychodrama i'm thinking of ending things. although, unlike kaufman, rozema's film seems to come from the heart rather than the head, offering a genuine insight into the human condition rather than a chin—stroking lecture on the anguish of being a misunderstood genius. you can find mouthpiece in virtual cinemas and on demand now. that's it for this week. thanks for watching the film review. stay safe, and i'll see you next week. looking pretty good from up here. thanks. jesus. it's a perfect afternoon for searching for the pot of gold at the inn of the rainbow. beautiful when you get them, just like this one in tents earlier on today. not so great if you get caught in those sharp showers. some of them have been quite intense. this has been the story today. the showers are going to continue. they'll become more widespread through the knot. some merging together for longer spells, clear skies potentially up until the far northeast. here a touch of frost as temperatures dip close to freezing. week start off tomorrow with a rash of showers from the word go and it continues. sunny spells, scattered showers, blustery winds. some of us will escape more together, keep some sunshine but it's not going to be very warm for this time of year— seven to 10 degrees. into sunday, fewer showers, lighter winds and hopefully a little bit quieter. take care. police confirm a body found hidden in woodland in kent is that of sarah everard. the 33—year—old went missing while walking home in south london last week. the body has now been recovered and a formal identification procedure has been undertaken. i can now confirm that it is the body of sarah everard. forensics officers have been searching a home in deal in kent. the police watchdog is investigating how scotland yard responded to two allegations of indecent exposure involving the officer suspected of sarah everard's murder. also on the programme: the former british cycling and team sky chief doctor richard freeman has been found guilty of ordering banned testosterone for a rider. easing of lockdown rules in wales will soon mean people can visit hairdressers and meet friends in a garden.