FILM LIST
Innerspace (PG) (Joe Dante, US, 1987). Dennis Duaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy. 119 mins). Christmas is coming and the Amblin Entertainment goose is getting lat, time to spend your pennies on the latest Steven Spielberg Presents. After the dreadful ‘Gremlins' and the box office disaster of ‘Explorers', surprisingly the somewhat gootier talent of Joe Dante is at the helm, which means that this reworking oi the old Fantastic Voyage routine at least won’t sutter from the sickly sentimentality that often dogs Stevie's wholesome tare.
Instead it’s a cartoonish adventure irolic with Dennis Duaid as a daring test pilot, manning an experimental probe that is to be miniaturised and
I Paltoguat (PG) 1? (Michel Deville. France, 1986) Fanny Ardant, Michel Piccoli, Jeanne Moreau, Philippe Leotard. 97 mins. A murder in an anonymous dockside cafe throws suspicion upon the motley bunch of ne‘er-do-well regulars.
Absurd(ist) detective high-jinks on an unduly theatrical set where some ofthe unfortunate cast chew the scenery and others cope with dialogue tres pretentious as only the French know how. If you like this sort of thing then you like this sort of thing. Glasgow; GFT
I Ping Pong (PG) (Po Chi Leong, UK, 1986) David Yip, Lucy Sheen, Robert Lee. 100 mins. Convoluted drama oentring around the mysterious death of a wealthy Chinese restaurant owner in London and the subsequent power struggle in his organisation and his family. Landmark British film in that it deals with the Hong Kong community in the capital. Unfortunately the best intentions
cannot disguise plodding pace and a lumpy
script that occasionally errs on the side of incomprehensibility. An opportunity wasted. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
I Porty's Revenge (18) (James Komack, US, 1985) Dan Monahan, Wyatt Knight, Kaki Hunter. 91 mins. More sophomoric crud centred on the outcome of a crucial high-school basketball game. Strathclyde; Odeon Ayr
I Prlzzl's Honour ( 15) (John Huston, US, 1985) Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Anjelica Huston. 129 mins. Slow-witted Mafia hit man Nicholson beds and weds his female counterpart Turner but
INNERSPACE
injected into the bloodstream of a little bunny wabbit, before the lickle hand of plot contrivance takes control and he ends up being syringed into the skinny bottom ol hypochondriac supermarket worker Martin Short. lngeniously, Ouaid is able to establish two-way contact with his new parent body’s eyes and ears so that he can see and hear what Short sees and hears, and can talk to him as well. So far so good, but baddies who want to rule the world have stolen the microchip that will enable the submersible to be re-enlarged, and Duaid has to gee up his wimpy host to get together with the lormer's plucky ex-girllriend journalist to retrieve it. In the meantime, his oxygen supply is running out.
middle-aged bliss is not to be his. She has dishonoured his family with a double-dealing casino scam and no one violates the code of the Prizzis with impunity, even blood relatives. Skilful black comedy directed with a veteran's assurance and distinguished by a rogue‘s gallery ofpcrformances. Edinburgh; Cameo
I Prick Up Your Ears ( 18) (Stephen Frears, UK, 1987) Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave. 110 mins. Wickedly tart and funny biographical portrait ofthc seesaw relationship between playwright Joe Orton and his love Kenneth Halliwell. Highly recommended. Edinburgh; Cameo I Dan Reeves Videos
American-born, Vietnam veteran Reeves is an independent film and video maker currently working on a five-year project to examine the cosmology of Creation, Maintenance and Destruction. Arriving in the Hebrides to film the standing stones he has decided to settle there but will be in Edinburgh to indroduce audiences to his often impressive work that tries to write ‘poetry with imagery and sound‘. Among the tapes to be screened are Ganapati (‘an impassioned lament to subjugated and slaughtered elephants‘), Sabda (‘A eulogy to the North Indian poet Kabir and other Indian mystics') and the Emmy-winning Smothering Dreams reflecting his experiences of Nam. Tickets are £1.50. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
I LI Regle du Jeu (PG) (Jean Renoir, France, 1939) Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Jean Renoir. 113 mins. Contrasting amorous intrigues among the working and middle classes during a
There’s a sharp 90-minute action movie in here trying to get out, but a narrative overloaded with inept villains and defiantly uninteresting romantic complications smothers it entirely. The stuff and nonsense inside the body is snappily conceived and played out, as is the Steve Martinish physical knockabout, when Short discovers there is something inside him, but the rest is production line stuff desperately trying to keep both parents and kids happy. Engagineg ramshackle technology and a hint of satirical observation mark this out as a Dante picture, but for the most part one that is plodding matinee pap. Whatever happened to the Spielberg touch? (TrevorJohnston).
weekend hunting party are the focus for Renoir‘s celebrated comedy drama. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
I River’s Edge ( 18) (Tim Hunter, US, 1987) Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, lone Skye Leitch, Dennis Hopper. A motiveless killing is the catalyst for a moral crisis amongst a group of his teenage buddies as they vacillate between going to the authorities or keeping the secret and remaining loyal to their friend. Local drug-dealer recluse Hopper has his own solution.
Challenging exploration of alienated youth and their attempts to forge a value system in a society of numbing moral blankness. A number of carefully intense performances, and director Hunter's visual evocation of searing greyness is the perfect correlative to an icily disturbing script. Glasgow; GFT. Edinburgh; Filmhouse I Rosa Luxemburg (PG) (Margarethe Von Trotta, W. Germany, 1986) Barbara Sukowa, Daniel Olbrychski, Otto Sander. 124 mins. Surprisingly conventional, ponderous, time-hopping biographical portrait of revolutionary Rosa, blending the personal and the political in a somewhat staid manner. At least Sukowa's performance brings a little passion to the proceedings. Edinburgh; EUFS I 'llound Midnight (15) (Bertrand Tavemier, US/France, 1986) Dexter Gordon, Francois Cluzet, Lonette McKee. 133 mins. In the Paris ofthe late 19505, a young French jazz fan looks after Bebop legend Dale Turner, wonderfully played by real-life maestro Gordon, lest
he drink his weary body into the grave. Sublime. Strathclyde; Haldane Film Society I Roxanna (PG) (Fred Schepsi. US, 1987) Steve Martin, Darryl Hannah. 107 mins. Humorous and charming reworking of Cyrano de Bergerac deploying a range of comedy techniques as fire chief Martin of the enormous proboscis copes with life and lovestruck romance. Huge liberties have been taken with the original but this is a delightfully liberating film that should finally guarantee Martin the shoal of British fans he has long deserved. Glasgow; Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Salon. Strathclyde; Odeon Ayr I Runaway Train (18) (Andrei Konchalovsky, US, 1985) Jon Voight. Eric Roberts. Rebecca de Morney. 11 1 mins. Two escapees from a high-security prison in Alaska hitch a ride to freedom on a train that is out of control. Part symbolic drama, part slam-bang actioner, this is a no-nonsense movie ofwide appeal. Edinburgh; EUFS
I Salvador (18) (Olive Stone, US. 1986) James Woods, Jim Belushi. John Savage. 122 mins. Raw, abrasive drama of journalist under fire as sleazy ‘warjunkic' photojournalist Woods travels to Salvador and finds his sense assaulted by the corruption and fear abounding, and his conscience finally pricked by the suffering of his fellow beings.
Exceptionally well-acted, angry, bravura filmmaking that not only demands your attention but deserves it. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
I Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (U) (Walt Disney Productions, US, 1937) With the voices of Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne. Fiftieth anniversary reissue ofone of the most enchanting and influential of animated features. The central character is a mite conventional but the individualistic dwarfs, wicked witch, memorable songs and superny crafted backdrops and incidents make this an essential cinematic experience that the passage of time merely enhances. Glasgow; Odeon. Edinburgh; Odeon I Something Wild (18) (Jonathan Demme, US, 1986) Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith. Ray Liotta. 113 mins. Another yuppie-in-pcril laff fest to top A frer Hours and Desperately Seeking Susan with its deft blend of kooky komedy and emotional resonance all floating around in the most eclectically non-stoppingest soundtrack in years. Not to be missed. Edinburgh; EUFS I Southern Comfort (18) (Walter Hill, US, 1981) Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe. 106 mins. US army reservists on a training exercise in the Louisiana swamps find themselves under attack from the local Cajun villagers whose pn'vacy they have invaded. Thinly disguised treatment ofthc Vietnam war expertly whipped into a gripping adventure film. Glasgow; GF'I‘ I Static (15) (Mark Comaneck, US, 1985) Keith gordon, Amanda Plummer. 88 mins. An alienated young man is fired from his job at a religious artefacts factory and spends his time working on a revolutionary invention — a TV screen that will show a live picture of Heaven. Strange and beguiling American independent with great eye for bizarre detail and a splendidly deranged performance from co-scenarist Gordon. Glasgow; GF’I‘ I Surrender (PG) (Jerry Belson, US. 1987) Sally Field, Michael Caine, Steve Guttenberg. 94 mins. Unremarkable, inoffensive romantic comedy given some watchability by the professionalism of the main stars and the generous playing of Guttenberg as the smarmy ‘other‘ man. Glasgow; Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh; Cannon. Lothian; Cannon. Strathclyde; Cannon I Swimming to Cambodia (18) (Jonathan Demme, US, 1987) Spalding Gray. 87
The List 27 Nov -1()Dec 198713