FILM LIST
Child's Play (15) i‘: (Tom Holland, US, 1988) Catherine Hicks, Alex Vincent, Chris Sarandon, Brad Dourif. 87 mins. After losing a toy-shop shoot-out with hunky cop Mike Norris (Sarandon), dying murderer Charles Lee Ray (Dourif, splendid as ever) swears vengeance before transferring his voodoo-charged spirit to a ‘Good Guy‘, one of those nasty dolls which appear in television cartoons, on cereal packets and anywhere else they can make their creators a last buck. The doll, which goes by the name of Chucky, passes into the loving hands of small Andy Barclay (Vincent), who lavishes the sticky affection of a true ‘Good Guys‘ tan. In due course, however, Chucky‘s homicidal intentions shed their cute disguise, and a predictable race to preserve life in the lace of blind scepticism ensues, culminating in satisfactory loss of blood and molten plastic. 0n the face of it, a remarkably silly movie, which can never overcome the obvious debt to child-horror standards,
character actor .lack Weston supplicstlie comic book y illainry. f‘ormufa todder aimed purely at the children's holiday market. but by no means the worst ofits kind. (ilasgow ; ('aniion The Forge.
I Sing 1 l’( i) 1 Richard Baskin. 1 'S. 1989) Peter [)obson. l.aurnea Wilkerson. Jessica Steen. 98 mins. See panel. (ilasgim (‘aiinon The Forge. lidinburgh: ('aiiiion. Central: ('aiinon. Strathclyde: ('aniion.
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orthe Iudicrousness ot Dourif's psychopathic voice-overs emanating from wee Chucky's innocent lips. Nonetheless, Holland’s success in generating suspense from the most improbable of situations is to his credit. Although almost every horror cliche is exploited, and there is an utterly preposterous one-man car
I That Sinking Feeling 1 P( i ) 1 Bill Forsytft. 11K. 1979) (iordon John Sinclair. 89mins. l-‘orsyth‘s debut feature. remarkable for the paucity of the resources at fiis disposal. uses a cast from the ( ilasgow Youth Theatre to tell the story of unemployed youth driy en by boredom into an audacious sink robbery The easygoing pcrformancesand spritcly wit stillcatch the attention. lidinburgh: l-"iliiiliouse, I The Sons Of Katie Elder 1 l’( i l 1 l leriry Hathaway. 1S. 1965 ) .loliii Way nc. Dean Martin. Martha llyer. 133 mins. All-star western has Duke and l)ino as two oltfic four male offspring of froiitierswoman Katie Iilder. who set out to avenge her death w ith characteristically chaotic results. Raiiiblingoatcr with the odd bout of rumbustuous fisticuffs. lidinburgh Film (iuild. I Spicy Rice 1 15) (Jan .s‘eliuiie. w. (iermany. 1987) Bhaskar. Ric Young. Buddy l'uaman. 75 iiiiiis. (’oiiipact black and white comedy depicting a trioof young immigrants in (ieriiiany w liodecidc to open a Chinese restaurant and employ a mixture of foreign workers much like themscly es. despite the communication probleiiistliis entails Iziiloyably low -kcy treatment of ( iermaiiy ‘s immigrant problem which succeeds tar better than a more strident approach. lidinburgh: i‘ililililtilhc. I La Strada ( 15) ( Frederico f‘cfflni. ltaly. 1954 i ( iuilietta Masina. Anthony Quinn. Richard Base-hart. 115 films. l-clliiii'swit'c Masiiia is unforgettable as a siiiiple-riiinded girl in love with larger-than-lit'e circus strongman Zampano ( Anthony Quinn ). w ho dies of a broken heart when he kills the gentle tightrope walker ( Basehart ) who had befriended her. f’ainful story of loneliness and isolation whose y iy idly seedy small-tow ii backgrounds never allow sentimentality to set in. lidinhurgh: f‘iliiiliouse. I Napier College Student Films See panel for details. iidiiiburgh: Filmhouse. I This Sweet Sickness 1 Is) (Claude Miller. France. 1977 ) ( ierard l)epardicu. Miou-Miou. Dominique l.affiii. 1H7 mins. Miller's second liliii has l)cpardieu asa solitary type who appears to spend each weekend visiting his ailing parents. but who is in tact obsessively in love w ith a married woman and spends his time at a mountain chalet he has built for them both. where he hopes she will one day join
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CHILD’S PLAY
chase (apparently precipitated by Sarandon’s inability to locate the brake pedal in a moment of stress), the movie has sufficient grip to make you want to see it through. And the passing swipe at multi-media marketing of products like ‘Good Guys' is to be heartily commended. (Andrew Burnet)
him. [Tricoiiifortable portrayal of the effects ofsexual passion. with echoesof Hitchcock evoked by the use of a clipfrom Rehecca. lidinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Torch Song Trilogy 1 15) (Paul Bogart. 1S. 1988). Harvey Ficrstein. Anne Bancroft. Matthew Broderick. 119mins. The story of Arnold a New York drag queen‘s search for acceptance of his sexual orientation from his mother (Anne Bancroft ) and a steady relationship with his loy er (Matthew Broderick). Adapted from the hit stage show with writer Ficrstein taking the lead role. itsthcatrical roots lead to a succssion of sharpone liners and knock 'em dead musical numbers. The result is a heady mixture of laughter and tears.
(ilasgow:(ii71~. lidinburgh: Filmhouse. I Tucker: The Man And His Dream 1 PG) (FrancisCoppola. 1S. 1988) .leff Bridges. Martin 1.aiidau..1oan Allen. 1 lflmins. Based on a true story. Coppola's best film in years charts the rise and fall ofPreston Tucker. a naive but ingenious engineer who in 1948 managed to produce a carso technically advanced that it scared the Detroit majors into action. Before long their ties with the political powers-that-bc created a set of trumped-up fraud charges that were to dissolve Tucker's dream of affordable. safe motoring in a welterof litigation.
Coppola at last re-unites his stylish technique with a grasp of narrative control in a manner that brings back memoriesof the great Hollywood productions ofold. fidinburgh: Dominion. ITwins1l5)1lvanReitman.t'S.1988) Danny I)e \'ito. Arnold Scwarzenegger. Kelly Preston. Chloe Webb. 107 mins. In an effort to create the perfect human (male. natch ) scientists impregnate a beautiful woman artist with the sperm of six diverscly distinguished men. and the resulting offspring grows up in an isolated research station to be our man Arnie. Howey er. an unexpected side-effect is rtinty brother l)e \‘ito. and when the two finally meet tip many years later. their search to find their mother is the catalyst for an unlikely family relationship.
liven if the plot does bear a strong resemblance to Rain Man. this isan amiably silly farce with Schwarzenegger pros irig quite adept at handlingthe comedy material. (ilasgow: CannonThe Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Central: Regal. Strathclyde: AMC
Clydebank If). Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton.
I Two 0r Three Things I Know About Her (18) (Jean-Luc Godard. France. 1966) Marina Vlady. Anny Duperey. Roger Montsorct. 95 mins. A married woman living on the outskirts of Paris makes weekly trips into the city centre. where she prostitutes herself in order to afford the latest consumer products. With the director‘s own voice on the soundtrack questioning his choice of images. this isa milestone in (iodard's attempts to find alternative forms commercial cinema and a significant point on the path towards his increasing politieisation. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. i
I Virgin ( 18) (Catherine Breillat. France. 1988) Delphine Zentout. Etienne Chicot. Olivier Parniere. 88 mins. Fourteen year-old Lili (Zentout) is on holiday in Biarritz with her family. attemptingto dissipate her boredom with a taste ofthe local nightlife. She meets up with seedy lounge lizard type Maurice (Chicot). a. forty year-old computer programmer. who is out to seduce her. while she remains ambivalent about the loss ofher virginity.
L'neomfortably realistic but unexploitative exploration ofpubcscent sexuality. with our petulant young heroine more in search of affection and a sense of self-worth than any physical gratification. Finally. it's the candour with which the subject is handled rather than the difficult area ofgeneration-gap relationships that matter. Glasgow: OFT.
I Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 1 PG) (Robert Zemeckis. (IS. 1988) Bob lloskins. Joanna Cassidy. Christopher Lloyd. 92 mins. Los Angeles. 1949. and side by side with the human population live the Toons. the cartoon characters working in the movie business. Animated star Roger Rabbit is worried about his wife Jessica‘s faithfulness and hires private dick iiddic Valiant (Bob Hoskins) to keep tabs on her. but this is merelythc prelude to the unravelling of a conspiracy that is to threaten the lives of all involved. and the very future ofToontown itself. An amazing technical achievement forthe credibility with which the cartoons interact with the human east and stylised sets. this surefire box office winner efficiently spoofs the film noir genre while milking its Tex Avery-styled highly physical sense of black comedy for all it‘s worth. Central: Regal.
I Without A Clue (PG) (Thom Eberhardt. US. 1988) Michael Came. Ben Kingsley. JeffreyJones. Paul Freeman. 107 mins. Reversal of the Conan Doyle tradition has Kingsley-‘s Dr Watson as the smart Alec while (‘aine's Sherlock Holmes is actually an unemployed actor hired to maintain Watson‘s position as a responsible member of the medical profession. The plot concerns Moriarty"s theft ofthe Treasury's £5 notes. but the film really revolves around the spirited interplay between the two stars. Old-fashioned fun. btit Michael Caine as an unemployed actor'.’ That's a hard one to swallow. Edinburgh: ()deon. Central: Caledonian. I Working Girl ( 15) (Mike Nichols. US. 1988) Melanie (iriffith. Harrison Ford. Sigourney Weaver. Joan Cusaek. 114 mins. Bitchy boss (Weaver) teaches her secretary ((iriffith) the art of self-confidence so much so that when the exec gets laid up the working girl takes her place. tackles the financial world head-on and romances Harrison Ford into the bargain.
Supremely entertaining escapist fluff that takes the old Frank Capra routine and gives it a contemporary sheen. The cast have a tremendous time notably Miss (iriffith, who even gets away with lines like “I‘ve got a head for business and a bod for sin'. Glasgow: Cannon Clarkston Road. Odeon. Edinburgh: Dominion. Central: Regal. Strathclyde: WMR Film Centre.
20'1'he List 2 - 15 June 1989