The Review Show is a British discussion programme dedicated to the arts which airs on Friday evenings at 11:00pm on BBC Two. The programme features a panel of guests who review the week's developments in the world of the arts and culture.
Tonight we look at the winners and losers of this year's film awards season which ended with the Oscars. The ceremony got a bit of a thumbs down from the critics who felt that the young hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway lacked chemistry and that the triumph of The Kings Speech made it too predictable. We discuss how relevant the Academy Awards are now that similar ceremonies are multiplying. As often happens, the film that won Best Picture, The King's Speech, also won Best Director, for Tom Hooper. This meant many big name directors lost out, including Darren Aronofsky, the Coen brothers and David Fincher. We look at whether having 10 nominees instead of just 5 has made a difference and whether the same sort of films always win because of the who gets a vote. Annette Bening was unlucky yet again and the Best Actress award went to Natalie Portman. The Fighter took both Best Supporting Actor for Christian Bale and Actress for Melissa Leo - we debate whether the best men and women won. William Skidelsky, books editor of The Observer, asks why so many of the films on the Oscars list were based on true stories. What's wrong with original ideas? And our panelists reveal the films and performances they felt were unfairly neglected this year.
Kirsty Wark is joined by guests including Paul Morley and Natalie Haynes to discuss the Magritte exhibition at Tate Liverpool; Terrence Malick's film The Tree of Life, winner of the Cannes Film Festival's prestigious Palme d'Or; and the partnership between Kevin Spacey and Sam Mendes in Richard III at the Old Vic.
In the first of three Review Shows live from the Edinburgh Festival, Kirsty Wark is joined by writer Hari Kunzru, comedian and columnist Natalie Haynes and former director of the Edinburgh Film Festival Hannah McGill. On their agenda from the first week of events are items including a new exhibition from David Mach, a new play by Marc Almond and Mark Ravenhill and the pick of the taboo-busting comedy from the Fringe.
