movies. i am tom brook. hello, and welcome to talking movies. iam tom brook. in hello, and welcome to talking movies. i am tom brook. in today's programme, as people here in new york gathered to watch a movie outdoors, we report on america's blockbuster season, as the finish line approaches. what were the successes 7 line approaches. what were the successes? wonder woman, guardians of the galaxy volume two, and spider—man homecoming must count among them, but with so many uninspiring sequels there was a lot of franchise fatigue. it seems like lately that is the only thing that is coming out, and i want to see more creative content. and among the summer more creative content. and among the summer movies inspired by real events, detroit, a report on the debate it revived over who was really qualified to tell black stories. directors from other races don't know how to properly showcase like men and women living full lives. then this summer's sleeper hits at the american box office. we look at one film that really broke new ground. as well as the sleeper hits of yesteryear. all that and more in this special blockbuster season more in this special blockbuster season review edition of talking movies. the big story at the american box office this summer was wonder woman, the first superhero blockbuster to be directed by a woman and make more money than any other summerfilm. woman and make more money than any other summer film. before we delve deeper into the picture, let's cast our minds back to wonder woman, with this review from bbc culture film critic karen james. this review from bbc culture film critic karen james. she is an anti—warfeminist. she critic karen james. she is an anti—war feminist. she deflects bullets with her bracelets. she has a sword tucked into the back of her evening down. all that, and she is the superheroine of a thoroughly entertaining action movie. she is a princess named diana, raised on an island off amazon warriors. when a plane crash as she reinvents the princess meth, rescuing her prince charming, an american intelligence officer played by chris pyne. gal gadot is terrific as diana, charismatic and fierce. she and pine bring a lot of deadpan wit to their romance. but what really sets this wonder woman apart from other superheroes is the sense of idealism and wonder gal gadot brings to the role. whether her action sequences are set in the trenches of world war iora bomb are set in the trenches of world war i or a bomb factory, they are crisp and lucid, dynamic, such a relief from the dark model of so many superhero movies. why has wonder woman been such a big success, and will it leave a lasting impact on the movie landscape? to find out i sought the opinion of buzz feed film news critic alison willmore. well, it was the first hugely successful female superhero movie. they have been ones in the past, attempts like catwoman and electra. but this was the first one to be an unqualified financial success. it has been proof, if proof is required, that a female lead superhero movie can have mass appeal. many women reported having quite an emotional response when they watched wonder woman. what did the film give them that perhaps other films had not did the film give them that perhaps otherfilms had not given did the film give them that perhaps other films had not given them?” think that what wonder woman has given audiences, particularly female audiences, is this representation of themselves on screen. to be able to see this character kind of step onto a battlefield in the best seen in the movie, and commit herself to this act of kind of unqualified heroism. and there is something that is very moving about seeing a female character be put in the spotlight like that, in a genre that we have gotten like that, in a genre that we have gotte n very like that, in a genre that we have gotten very familiar with. so i think that there is certainly this feeling of a boundary being crossed. how instrumental was pattyjenkins, the director of wonder woman, to its success ? the director of wonder woman, to its success? one of the things that is really refreshing about this movie is not just really refreshing about this movie is notjust that it is so grounded ina is notjust that it is so grounded in a female character and female experience, but that it looks at her without having to kind of, like, filter her through a mail perspective, or filter filter her through a mail perspective, orfilter her filter her through a mail perspective, or filter her through the experiences of her love interest, played by chris pyne. so i think that that is something that you really sense with having a female director behind the camera. how cana female director behind the camera. how can a woman fight in this? many hollywood executives used to say that men would not go to a superhero movie if there was a female protagonists. but they have been proved wrong with wonder woman, haven't they? you always see that female lead movies and movies with actors of colour, there is this burden on them, that they have to prove every time that these properties are viable, that they are not niche. there is a lot of pressure put on movies like this, that you are proof of a basic concept, not just the film succeeding in its own right. so i was really excited to see the success of wonder woman, and i am really interested to see where that leads, but i always think about something like writes mates, which was a film which was supposed to usherin was a film which was supposed to usher in a new era of female lead superhero films, and it didn't really. hollywood has been taught many lessons before about this, and it never seems to stick. what will be the lasting impact of wonder woman? there is going to be a sequel, but will it increase opportunities for women in the film business across the board, do you think i think that wonder woman is a big lesson. i just think i think that wonder woman is a big lesson. ijust hope it is one that studios take, both in terms of its director and in terms of its main character. i think thatjust continued pressure from fans to say that this is important to them, as important as seeing as female superhero in front of the camera, i think that is what would make sure that that continues to happen. this summer at the box office there were several films inspired summer at the box office there were severalfilms inspired by real events, and director christopher nolan's dunkirk and al gore's documentary on climate change. then there was detroit, a film based on there was detroit, a film based on the 1967 detroit riots, directed by catherine bigelow. it sparked a fair bit of debate which is still ongoing. in detroit, a city at war, violence continues. what is a black film? is it possible for white filmmakers in hollywood to adequately tell stories from a black respective? the film detroit, set in detroit, michigan, and directed by a kathryn bigelow, has reignited this debate. the film depicts the algiers motel incident where the cops during the riot thought there was a sniper in the motel, and they went and lined a bunch of people up against the wall, and kept them there for hours, and terrorise them. and by the time the incident was over, three african—america ns were the time the incident was over, three african—americans were dead.” got all night, people. the centrepiece of the movie is the 45 minute long motel sequence. some have said that this is the most powerful part of the film, as it gives a window into the nature of police brutality, which is still present to this day. 0thers police brutality, which is still present to this day. others have said it is a nearly pornographic lynching sequence, and has little value. let's not be stupid in this situation. the film was put together bya situation. the film was put together by a white director, kathryn bigelow, and a white writer, mark boal. so it didn't feature any black creators on the production team.” think the issue of who made this film and whether it should have been black filmmakers is on the one hand an important one to discuss, and to the extent that we need more talented people who are african—americans behind the camera. 0n the other hand, it is a very dicey issue, and i think a very slippery slope, when you have some people saying that a film of this subject should not be made by white filmmakers. it seems like freedom of expression means, to me, that people should be able to make works of art about people of different races. should be able to make works of art about people of different racesm isa war about people of different racesm is a war zone out there. while there has been a backlash about the race of the creative team behind detroit, white american film makers producing what may be considered black films is not uncommon. 0ne what may be considered black films is not uncommon. one of the most notable examples is steven spielberg's 1985 film the colour purple, adapted from alice walker's novel, and is accepted as a black film. however, there are those who upset that white filmmakers seem fixated on the oppression and struggle of black people.” fixated on the oppression and struggle of black people. i think sometimes directors from other races don't know how to properly showcase black men and women living full lives, outside of the racism and trauma that we endure. can a white director properly do that correctly? i don't doubt it. but it seems as if hollywood only knows us for a few things, and trauma and endurance is one of them. kathryn bigelow and anthony mackie, who appears in the film, both agree that the goal of the project was to start a conversation. this film is a lot of black tragedy, and i don't know if african—americans, black tragedy, and i don't know if african—america ns, people of black tragedy, and i don't know if african—americans, people of colour, need to see any more tragedy in orderfor us to have need to see any more tragedy in order for us to have a conversation about the very undeniable, systemic racism that has built this country. although detroit has not performed as well as expect that the box office this summer, it did cause controversy about representation in film. there is no guarantee that the movie would have been more successful if they were black filmmakers behind the camera, but one could speculate that much more ofa one could speculate that much more of a conversation about the film would be focused on the quality of the filmmaking, and the message it attem pts the filmmaking, and the message it atte m pts to the filmmaking, and the message it attempts to convey. now, let's move on to some of the other summer films. 0ne sad reality is just how bad they were. the fact reflect that in seasonal box office revenues, which were several percentage points down on last year. the big problem, fran fatigue. more and more sequels underperforming. for we investigate franchise fatigue further, let's look at one franchise sequel which it is generally agreed worked well. spider—man homecoming. the people behind spider—man homecoming have remembered something that makers of almost every other recent superhero film have forgotten, that if you are going to tell a story about someone ina going to tell a story about someone in a colourful costume who can throw bad guys around like they are frisbees, then it should probably be fun for all the family. so never mind all the mass destruction and cosmic doomsday device is that we usually get. this is a warm, fast paced, coming—of—age comedy about a group of teenagers, one of whom happens to have been bitten by radioactive arachnid. spider—man has to struggle with the vulture, played by michael keaton, who clears up all the debris after the avengers' city wrecking battles. he built himself a gigantic and surprisingly sinister set of robotic wings and goes into the super villain business. the fact he isa the super villain business. the fact he is a savage killer but also an ordinary, downtrodden working man, makes him one of the best baddies in the marvel rogues gallery. the only problem is that there is too much in a two and a quarter hourfilm. it has too many characters and too many action set pieces, none of which is as spectacular in the equivalent sam remy films. like its eager young protagonists, spider—man: homecoming tries a bit too hard and it sometimes stumbles. well, what did spider—man get right that enabled it to satisfy audiences, while other franchise films fell short as mac to investigate franchise fatigue, we put together our own panel. spiderman: homecoming plays well because it almost plays like a john hughes comedy. tom is almost of high school age, so we really can capture teenage peter piper. 0thers school age, so we really can capture teenage peter piper. others were pushing in their 30s and couldn't quite capture the same thing. it is a wonderfully diverse cast and there are even some political points to it. the actor who plays mj has this wonderful moment when they are on a school trip to washington, dc and about to visit washington monument and she says, i don't want to go there because it was built by slaves. it's like, this is a movie by disney. they didn't have to put that line in there. i think it's important to point out that while spiderman: homecoming has done well, it's also as of now considered the lowest grossing spiderman movie out of all of them. so even though that movie was a hit, there's still franchise fatigue. but the thing that's drawing people into movies that's drawing people into movies that are doing well, like wonder woman, spider man, ithink that are doing well, like wonder woman, spider man, i think the washington monument thing was a bit too easy. at the same time, seeing these movies that tend to appeal even more to people who are typically underrepresented, all of thatis typically underrepresented, all of that is contributing.” typically underrepresented, all of that is contributing. i think you are right. with the mummy, this isn't a franchise yet but all of the press has been that they are starting a franchise and you can fill the audience being like, gosh, another one? it's going to be just drawing from unviersal's classic horror movie characters — frankenstein, dracula, doctor jack all. i don't think anyone is asking for that. it was one of the original franchises. that was the thing back in the 20s, 30s and 40s. but, yeah, we already saw the brendan fraser versions. i wonder if the rock was in this one it might have been better. i think we all agree franchise fatigue is a problem. i we nt franchise fatigue is a problem. i went to the local cinema and asked some people what they thought. what do you think about the fact that there are so many franchises and c calls at the moment? i think it's a little bit lazy. it seems like lately that's the only thing coming out and i want to see more creative content. things like girls trip. out and i want to see more creative content. things like girls tripm you are in charge of hollywood what change would you make to make block askedis change would you make to make block asked is better? make it so that women feel more interactive and maybe racial diversity within a block afters. that might widen the spam. you think people have franchise fatigue? i think mainstream america does not, but those who actually appreciate cinema and what the movies are all used to be, definitively yes. has there been any blockbuster this is that has delivered for you? no. there just isn't really a lot of enthusiasm there. that's the thing. even with us there. that's the thing. even with us talking about spider—man: homecoming, we all said we liked it but none of us would say we loved it. going into this year, i was really getting tired of the marvel cinematic universe. i think maybe some of these block asked is art to male centric. if you look at the top grossing films of the year, beauty and the beast, wonder woman, but not many in this season. hollywood is also very slow on the up take. they did an ounce wonder woman sequel, so we will see about that. i think a wrinkle in time will be a big deal. we have big actors. 0prah, wrinkle in time will be a big deal. we have big actors. oprah, and others that black women will support. do you think hollywood will change course or are we going to see transformers movies until the end of time? i don't think anything in hollywood is ever truly dead. we are ina hollywood is ever truly dead. we are in a circle now where it might take five years or a decade. i think with spider man it only took three years. so long as they are familiar properties and familiar to a modern audience, we are still going to get these. i love that basically you are saying that the plot of the mummy is a metaphor for hollywood. no matter how did it may seem, anything can come back to life at some point. hollywood loves familiarity, no question about it. america in summertime almost always have a hit and this year the one that can claim that title is the big sick. it is the first romantic comedy to have a muslim man as a leading man. it brea ks muslim man as a leading man. it breaks new ground.” muslim man as a leading man. it breaks new ground. i think dating this girl. she is white. it is based ona this girl. she is white. it is based on a true romance of the pakistani actor and writer and comedian and follows his courtship with his future wife, his parents‘ efforts to force him into an arranged marriage with other women and his wife to be's grave illness. it is cowritten by him and his real—life wife. it is a blend of cross—cultural interaction. i've always wanted to have a conversation with... you've never spoken to people about 9—11? he is like the lead in any other romantic comedy, that it aims to destigmatise muslim americans in the eyes of the public. that would be ideal and great records muslims need to be immortalised. ifeel like we've taken a bunch of steps back. so that would be a great, happy side—effect of our movie. so that would be a great, happy side-effect of our movie. after yea rs of side-effect of our movie. after years of negative media portrayals of muslims in cinema, there seems to be an evolution in the presentation. the on—screen image of muslims in entertainment is changing. this film is playing a role. what has been lacking is nuance. 0nly is playing a role. what has been lacking is nuance. only one time of muslim is represented in the media. for a long time it was only one type. the terrorist, the bad guy. the big sick represents the nuance that already existing the country and by seeing that on the big screen it's going to have a tremendous effect on the way we view ourselves asa effect on the way we view ourselves as a nation. i screwed up with your daughter. yeah, you did. the big sick is one of this summer's sleeper hits, but what about years past? we've been looking back at some of the sleeper surprises that have emerged over the decades. the summer block us to roll out every year is pretty standard. audiences are bombarded with promotional trailers, teachers and merchandise to promote the budget larger—than—life movies, specifically reserved for a summertime release. but not for this type of movie. sleeper hit is a movie that opens quietly. it doesn't come in with a lot of publicity, with a lot of buzz. it often doesn't have huge stars in it. and it gained its popularity slowly, but steadily, and itjust grows and grows and stays in theatres for a long time. sometimes it's a very little movie, like my big fat greek wedding, which a lot of people remember. everyone loved it and it stayed for a long time. but there are movies that people just loved and went to see and continued to go and see and over and continued to go and see and over a period of time built up this myth about them. are there any similarities between movies that become sleeper hits? one thing that a lwa ys become sleeper hits? one thing that always helps sleeper hits is if it serves an audience that's really not being served by most of the movies out there. mamma mia had money behind it. that was a broadway musical. but they opened its opposite the dark knight and people thought, this movie is going to get killed. but it was just that all of the people who didn't want to see the dark knight and wanted to see a movie about all the women who wanted to see a musical, something comical, it really appealed to them. and over the years, some of the sleeper hits have really appeal to audiences and stayed in our hearts. some critics think that the most successful sleeper hits just have heart. think that the most successful sleeper hitsjust have heartm feels like it's one person's story, one person's vision, whether that's the director or writer. you can feel their personality in the sixth sense, the author's personality on the screen in the big sick. fast times had a real persona, a human touch. even when these movies tend touch. even when these movies tend to be more slick and professional, you feel something come through on the screen, sought from behind the screen. through the screen to you. well, that's it. if you enjoy those short reviews from bbc culture earlier in the programme, you can find more on the bbc website. there are find more on the bbc website. there a re reviews of find more on the bbc website. there are reviews of the dark tower and detroit. from me and the rest of the talking movies production team, goodbye. we leave you with a music sequence goodbye. we leave you with a music sequence from baby driver, and other superhit that emerged during blockbuster season. —— another. hi, there. we're looking ahead to the weekend weather prospects. let's delve into the weather menu and see what's on offer. we're all going to get decent spells of sunshine this weekend, but it won't be completely dry. a few showers around and maybe more persistent rain into the west later on sunday. this is how the pressure chart looks. not promising — low pressure close by. this weather front will move into western scotland during saturday, bringing a lot of thick cloud to start the day across north—western areas. gusty winds and a fair number of showers. not the most promising start. away from that, i fancy wales and south—west england probably with the sunniest skies first thing. patchy cloud across eastern areas of england tending to break up quickly, with sunshine. we are all going to see sunshine during the day on saturday. there will be showers around, but there will be larger spaces between the showers. a better chance of sliding between the showers than getting away with a completely dry day. the highest chance of showers across scotland. elsewhere, showers are hit and miss in nature. lengthy spells in the day that stay dry. temperature wise, still no great shakes. similar to friday. noticeably warmer across scotland, especially in the north—east, where it was miserable yesterday. for the cricket at edgbaston there's a small chance a passing shower, but most of the day will stay dry. the winds continuing to lighten into the evening. that's true across most of the country. winds tend to fall lighter through the night—time. temperatures 12—13 degrees. this is the chart for the second half of the weekend, i want to show you these fronts to the west. they contain the remnants of hurricane gert, which died down sometime on friday. on friday, increasing cloud coming into the west. there could be hill fog patches dotted around. outbreaks of drizzle for wales and south—west england, where it's becoming increasingly humid. even with the sunshine it will feel warm and oppressive. in northern ireland you could see a spell of heavier rain. for much of the north and east of the uk it is dry, with further spells of sunshine. then for some of us things will warm up early next week. the dividing line is this weather front and it will bring some fairly heavy rain. probably northern ireland, perhaps west scotland, north—west england and north—west wales at risk of seeing some of that. the warming trend continues on tuesday. it looks like some of us may have found summer! that's the weather. this is bbc news. our top stories: police in the spanish region of catalonia say a key suspects is confirmed dead. moussa 0ukabir, the man at the wheel of the van as it deliberately rammed into crowds of pedestrians in the heart of the city. hundreds of candles now mark the spot where the attack took place. president trump fires his chief strategist steve bannon, removed from his role. a mass burial in sierra leone. more than 460 are dead.

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