round. there is a world title fight to look forward to in new york. that is all coming up in sportsday with me, olly foster, at 6:30pm. now, it is time for the film review. hello and welcome to the film review on bbc news. to take us through this week's cinema releases is mark kermode. so mark, what do we have this week? we have la la land which everyone is talking about. live by night, the new film by ben affleck. and manchester by the sea, with the standout performance by casey affleck. la la land. you have seen this. fantastic. a swooning tribute to classic old hollywood musicals. emma stone and ryan gosling of the star—crossed pair who meet in an la traffic jam. star—crossed pair who meet in an la trafficjam. a wonderful song and dance number. he is a jazz player, she is an aspiring aspect —— as —— actress. they hate each other when they meet but they will possibly become more. i got a call back. what? come on. borrowed tv show. congratulations. i've will like i said negative stuff before. congratulations. i've will like i said negative stuff beforelj congratulations. i've will like i said negative stuff before. i got the bullets. yes. you've never seen it. i've never seen it. it is playing. you should go. i can take you. ok. playing. you should go. i can take you. 0k. the research. bobby search. yes. monday night at ten o'clock. yes. monday night at ten o'clock. yes. great. research. iwent into it thinking, the problem is everybody said it is so good it will be a disappointment and it isn't. it is really, really good. firstly, this is damien chazelle's second musical. before, he made whiplash which was drums asa before, he made whiplash which was drums as a war movie. from the beginning, it said it was resented in cinemascope and the screen opens up in cinemascope and the screen opens up into this glorious cinemascope, digital colours. there is a fabulous dance sequence. it is like the kids from fame but done in la. then what the story as if it occupies a space between on the one hand this nostalgic clunkiness of woody allen films and the free—form fluidity of gravity. we are literally flying. i thought the performances were terrific. emma stone dominates it. she plays somebody who has two go to an audition and act being an actor. i thought the song and dance numbers we re i thought the song and dance numbers were well choreographed, loved the lyrics, i love the way in which... people have said they are no fred and ginger. they are not meant to be. damien chazelle said he wanted to make something that has the magical of musicals but also had its feet on the ground. i think it does have that. i thought it was utterly charming. and it is not afraid to be melancholy or poignant, it is not just everything is tied up neatly, it is -- just everything is tied up neatly, it is —— it's just everything is tied up neatly, it is —— its strengths are in its sad it is —— its strengths are in its sa d strea ks it is —— its strengths are in its sad streaks which makes the joyousness even more. i thought the opening five minutes was worth the price of admission alone. it appears to be one shot. also, we have about casablanca and remade badly, this is casablanca and remade badly, this is casablanca for our times. in many ways. absolutely right. it is a movie that is good enough to not very explicitly to casablanca and not go, you blew it. i really liked it. so, ben affleck stars in an adaptation of this novel. he is a small—time crook and doesn't want to bea small—time crook and doesn't want to be a gangster. he finds himself travelling to florida where he becomes exactly what he didn't want to be. he goes up against the ku klux klan, the interesting thing about the film is it has an extraordinary pedigree. chris cooper, elle fanning, and affleck himself. i think one of the reasons it has sniffy reviews is when you have that kind of talent, people expect something more than a film which isjust expect something more than a film which is just ok. expect something more than a film which isjust ok. you said in poking casablanca, this film invokes the godfather and scarface and it is neither of those films. it is handsome but in a way which is artificial. it does look good and there are... certainly, i wasn't bored. but it does have a sense of its handsomeness is more important than any depth. it is very much to do with surface. there is stuff in there to liken it but at no point didi there to liken it but at no point did i think this was a classic. when you look at the pedigree involved in it, itjust ought to be better than it, itjust ought to be better than it is. argot was one of the best films of the last ten years. this is the third film by the playwright... and margaret, it spent five years in the editing room. is he a genius or someone the editing room. is he a genius or someone who the editing room. is he a genius or someone who cannot the editing room. is he a genius or someone who cannot finish a ill? this, as his third film, it made me 90, this, as his third film, it made me go, actually, he might be a genius. casey affleck plays a janitor. you said you left his money so he could move. you are a janitor. you can do that anywhere. all my friends are here. i'm on the hockey team, on the basketball team. i've got two girlfriends and i'm in a band. you are a janitor. what the hell do you ca re are a janitor. what the hell do you care where you live? so, he is a janitor in quincy but he is called to his hometown of magister by the sea where he has to revisit the ghost of the past after his brother colla pses ghost of the past after his brother collapses and to fight itself having to look after the nephew. the film is told in two time frames, the present in when he is going back to the past and the flashbacks in which we actually see the past. so much of the story is told in the way through which casey affleck holds himself. the scenes in boston when he is com pletely the scenes in boston when he is completely withdrawn and everything about the way he hunches his soldiers, the way he slightly purses his lips, it is a start contrast to the flashback scenes when he is losing boozy bon ami. we know his we will see his old life with his beloved wife rachelle williams and his new life where he is isolated and sometimes —— somehow we are going to find out how the isolation happens. it is very devastating. in one of the key sequences they use a piece of music that is a false move for me because it is used in many films. it was used by wendy craig in butterflies. it was weird in that a film that was everything to do with the likud neil rhodes, it was obvious. —— to do with delicate nuance. he is actually a very good craftsman. and to have la la land and bar manchester by the sea, the grittier side. this director has finally shown as he is worthy of the praise that has been heaped on him. a monster calls came outjust before christmas. it is about a young boy who was former ties to buy his mother's ill—health, and he starts seeing visions of the tree monster, played by liam neeson, which says i will tell you is always and you will tell me your truth. it uses fantasy to address real—life down to earth problems and it does so in a way which is beautiful and utterly heartbreaking. i have had semi—reports from people saying i knew i was going to cry but i had no idea how much. it is very moving, very tough chin,... julietta is wonderful. i think it is the best since volver. they are playing younger and older verges of the same central character. it does the thing that pedro almodovar does best which isa that pedro almodovar does best which is a passion for human stories. it is a passion for human stories. it is profoundly somatic. —— cinematic. this has wonderful performances, wonderful writing. it is again heartbreaking but beautifully so. honestly, looking back at the selection of music —— movies we have looked at, that is a good selection of films. a quick reminder before we go that you'll find more film news and reviews from across the bbc online at bbc.co.uk/film — and you can watch our previous shows on the bbc iplayer. that's it for this week though. thanks for watching. goodbye. hi, there. it has been a cold day and if you have got snow on the ground, it will still be on the ground, it will still be on the ground tomorrow morning because it will be a frosty night out there. we've got cold air coming in from the north west, strong winds with drifting snow in some places. the strength of the windsors leading to problems down on north sea. the strong storm surge means problems with flooding. the worst of the winds are beginning to subside. however, as that tied pushes up towards the high tide mark later on this evening, the risk will increase down this eastern coastal area in the next few hours. we are concerned about conditions, there is the risk of flooding. do check out the latest information from the environment agency. there are severe flood warnings in place. weather—wise, it stays cold. further wintry showers across northern and western and coastal areas. a lot of ice around, the decay where you had earlier snow which has mounted, of course. —— particularly where you had earlier snow. it could we as low as minus ten. a cold day for us tomorrow. a good chunk of that uk will stay right. further wintry showers. showers further west will turn back to rain. something a bit milder. it is startling bridge from the mounted stop seven or eight degrees here and head to 4 degrees, despite sunshine further east, another chilly day. we see some milder coming off the atlantic, pushing these fronts in. they will come up against the cold airand they will come up against the cold air and slowdown which does mean a lot of rain for some places, the deeply in the east of the uk. it will take quite a while to lodge the cold air. further west, will take quite a while to lodge the cold air. furtherwest, it will take quite a while to lodge the cold air. further west, it will ease off, and temperatures will go up to double figures. in the early part of next week, we never is quite say goodbye to the cold air. the further north and west it is, it is milder. mild across the north west, white cloudy a sunnier further south and east but cold with further widespread sharp frost. all the latest on the flood warnings and weather warnings on the bbc weather website. the nhs struggling to cope — a major alert in half of all trusts in england in the first week of the year. that means no more beds were available and all routine surgery was cancelled. there have been moments in the last two weeks, like the whole country has had, where actually it has been quite frightening for members of staff, for the nurses, the doctors, for the ambulance crews who are bringing patients in. and eight trusts issued the highest alert, meaning patient safety could be at risk. we'll bring you the latest. also tonight: building flood defences. thousands of people are evacuated on the east coast of england at risk of a storm surge. the labour mp tristram hunt resigns, triggering a potentially difficult by—election for the party. twitter storm — donald trump blames us intelligence again for releasing allegations linking him with russia. and lord snowdon, the ex—husband of princess margaret and celebrity photographer, has died.