FILM LIST
US. 1989) Michael Keaton. Christopher Lloyd. Peter Boyle. 113 mins. A film which admirably explores its four central characters. but fails overall to create concern for any of them. with mildly dismal results. Dr Weitzman takes a group of four psychiatric inmates for a day out at a baseball game. but the trip gets out of hand and the four embark on a journey into inner city corruption and violence. uncovering a world crazier than themselves. This proves to be the film‘s saving grace: it constantly underlines the fact that mental patients can. after all. be intelligent human beings. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I Drowning By Numbers (18) (Peter Greenaway. UK. 1988) Joan Plowright. Bernard Hill. Joely Richardson. 118 mins. In a narrative as straightforward and complicated as the title. three generations of women. all of them called Cissie Colpitts. dispose of their husbands in a series of aquatic murders. whilst the numbers 1 to 100 run through the filmin the backgrounds. Full of Greenaway‘s ravishing visual symmetries and with a highly developed sense of the incongruous. the movie sports a number of polished. sympathetic performances. Besides the enjoyable pastime of number spotting. this is among his most accessible and pleasurable films. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I A Dry White Season (15) a (Euzhan Palcy. US. 1989) Donald Sutherland. Janet Suzman. Jurgen Prochnow. Marlon Brando. 107 mins. See feature. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Eat A Bowl of Tea (12) (Wayne Wang. US. 1989) Russell Wong. Cora Miao. Victor Wong. 104 mins. Set in New York in 1949. the film sends up the masculine mystique of the Chinese community. Successful gambler Wah Gay (Wong) decides his son should marry a native Chinese girl in the traditional manner. However his son finds. to his surprise. that he is quite happy with the choice made for him. Until. that is. he returns to the Big Apple and finds he is impotent in the face of his new wife‘s desire. as a consequence she takes a sleazy lover. His last hope lies in a traditional oriental herbal cure. Wang makes subtle and very funny play with the social and sexual mores of the old world and the new in this delightful dark comedy. Glasgow: GFT.
I ET (Steven Spielberg. US. 1982). Dec Wallace. Henry Thomas. Peter Coyote. 115 mins. An alien creature gets stranded on earth (the opening sequence of threatening legs and flashing torches is beautifully done). where he is adopted by some kids. who help him construct a communication device to summon back his spaceship. All the little guy wanted to do was go home. but Spielberg made sure he had lots of cute and agreeable adventures first. and slipped in the most tear- jerking psuedo-death since Baloo the Bear in The Jungle Book for good measure. Glasgow: GFT.
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I The Exorcist ( 18) (William Friedkin. US. 1973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. l 10 mins. Earnest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little obsessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scarey. dead priest. Glasgow: GF'T. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.
I Une Femme Est Une Fernrne(15) (Jean-Luc Godard. France. 1961 ) Anna Karina. Jean-Paul Belmondo. Jean-Claude Brialy. Godard‘s first film in colourscope (the marvellous Pierrot Le Fou was to follow). this is one in a series of his Sixties output that‘s dedicated to exploring the many moods of his then wife Karina. The narrative pits her against suitors Belmondo and Brialy in a manner reminiscent of MGM musicals. but formally the film is much more playful. Glasgow: GFT.
I The Fly ( 18) (David Cronenberg. US. 1986) Jeff Goldblum. Geena Davis. 100 mins. Brilliant reconceptualisation of the camp 1958 classic. with Goldblum highly effective as the scientist whose experiments in teleportation go disastrously wrong, and his wife Davis no less impressive as the love of hislife. Special effects superlatively revolting. tension sustained throughout. Edinburgh University Film Society.
I Force Of Evil (PG) (Abraham Polonsky. US. 1948) John Garfield. Beatrice Pearson. Thomas Gomez. 79 mins. Complex. existentialistfllm noir. in which two brothers (Garfield and Gomez) become involved in an illegal lottery racket. which drags them both to destruction when a murder is discovered. Moody. atmospheric and beautifully acted. Edinburgh Film Guild.
I Ghosthusters 2 (PG) (Ivan Reitman. US. 1989) Bill Murray. Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis. Sigourney Weaver. 108 mins. Need a sequel? Who you gonna call? The down-at-heel and discredited slimefighters are back in business. after mayhem once more breaks out on the streets of New York. The effects look less cheap this time. and if you liked it first time round you are on a winner here; if you were less than convinced. stay at home — you’ve seen this one already. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. Central: Cannon. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I Gospel According to St Mathew ( 15) (Pier Paolo Pasolini. Italy/France. 1964) Enrique lrazoqui. Margherita Carusa. Susanna Pasolini. 137 mins. Simple tale of an overtly political messiah driven by righteous anger at social injustice. This new print highlights the marvellous camera work all backed up by an imaginative score featuring anything from Bach to Billie Holiday. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Honey I Shrunk The Kids (U) a (Joe Johnston. US. 1989) Rick Moranis. Matt Frewer. Thomas Brown. Amy O‘Neill. Robert Oliveri. Jared Rushton. 92 mins. Glasgow: Cannon Clarkston Road. Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Salon.
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Edinburgh: Odeon. Central: Allanpark. Caledonian. Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. Kelburne. La Scala. Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton. UCI Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride. WMR Film Centre. I Hope and Glory ( 15) (John Boorman. UK. 1987) Sarah Miles. David Hayman. lan Bannen. Susan Wooldridge. 112 mins. A deceptively simple but perfectly crafted slice of wartime nostalgia that paints a warm and witty portrait of the adventurous childhood of the young Boorman. The film gained five Oscar nominations. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (PG) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1989) Harrison Ford. Sean Connery. Alison Doody. Denholm Elliot. 127 mins. The third and supposedly final instalment of Spielberg‘s blockbuster series. in which the archaeological adventurer is joined by his father (Connery) for a romp through the Middle East in search of the Holy Grail. hotly pursued (as ever) by the Nazis. A rather dodgy quasi-Christian morality and a more-of-the-same-ish plot are offset by strong performances from Ford and Connery and technical bravura. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. I Jean De Florette (PG) (Claude Berri. France. 1986) Gerard Dcpardieu. Yves Montand. Daniel Auteuil. 121 mins. Provence. during the 19205. Depardieu‘s indomitable hunchback struggles against impossible odds to make a success of his inherited farmland. unaware that his neighbours are plotting to drive him from his land. Beautifully photographed. with flawless performances. this is a towering tribute to the highest aspirations of French storytelling. A BAT-TA winner forthe film of the year. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride. I The Karate Kid 3 (PG) (John G. Avildsen. US. 1989) Ralph Macchio. Noriyuki ‘Pat‘ Morita. Thomas Ian Griffith. 111 mins. In this instalment. Macchio and his coach Morita are driven apart when the lad agrees against his mentor‘s advice to take part in another karate tournament. The pressure placed upon him can be traced back to unscrupulous millionaire Thomas. whose hobby seems to be turning innocent young lads to nastiness. The fight sequences. as ever, are the highlights. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride. I The Lair OiThe White Worm (18) (Ken Russell. UK, 1988) Amanda Donohoe. Hugh Grant. Catherine Oxenberg. Peter Capaldi. 93 mins. The Peak District. and the legend of the monstrous D’Ampton Worm transpires to contain some truth when Lady Sylvia Marsh (Donohoe) reveals her identity as the worm‘s immortal snake-priestess. her need for virgin blood explaining a spate of disappearances in the area. Mad Ken appears to have set out to make a piece of schlock. and here he more than succeeds. since the feverish sexuality of the dream sequences is infinitely more absorbing
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Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Last Exit To Brooklyn (18) (Ulrich Edel. W.Germany. 1989) Stephen Lang. Jennifer Jason Leigh. Burt Young. 104 mins. Brutal. graphic and dynamic study of the steamy. seamy side of life in the dockland area of Brooklyn duringthe Fifties. Hubert Selby‘s once banned novel has made it to the screen more or less intact in a narrative strung together from his series of vignettes. A painf l dissection. not for the faint-hearted. Glasgow: Odeon. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. I Lawrence Oi Arabia (PG) (David Lean. UK. 1962) Peter O‘Toole. Alec Guinness. Jack Hawkins. Omar Sharif. 222 mins. Lean‘s mammoth desert epic. restored to its director‘s original cut and the big screen. where film-making on this scale belongs. O‘Toole‘s debut as the enigmatic adventurer still impresses. but apart from the majestic action sequences. it‘s the disturbing sense of clinical and cold-blooded violence hanging over the highly literate characterisation that today seems especially striking. Edinburgh Film Guild. I Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains The Same (PG) (Peter Clifton & Joe Massot. UK. 1976) Jimmy Page. Robert Plant. John Paul Jones. John Bonham. Peter Grant. 136 mins. Now look. if two-and-a-quarter hours of bangin‘ yer heid to the metal mania of a long-defunct rock dinosaur appeals. then that‘s okay. We don‘t want to put you off (if you‘rea hardcore Zeppie you’ll go anyway). but the 1973-vintage concert footage is positively absorbing compared to the ludicrous wish-fulfilment fantasies someone let the band members and manager Grant commit to celluloid. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. I Life Of Brian ( 15) (Terry Jones, UK. 1979) Graham Chapman. Terry Jones. John Cleese. Michael Palin. Eric Idle. 93 mins. The Gospel According to Monty Python offended a whole host of religious dominations upon its initial release, which rather obscured the fact that behind the controversy lay their most sustained humour to date. A host of very funny setpieces and smart cameos from all the team climaxes in a rather fetching musical crucifixion. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank. I Lock Up ( 18) (John Flynn. US. 1989) Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland. 106 mins. Frank (no relation to sergio) Leone is a model prisoner doing his porrdge. or grenola as they call it over there. and minding his own. Suddenly he is whisked away to Gateway. and forced to shop for two years. err. placed at the hands of his sadistic adversary Drumgoolc (Sutherland). Unfortunately the paper thin plot of this prison-film by numbers has nowhere to go. thus Sutherland treats Sly badly and Sly responds with his home spun gems of philosophy in his sweaty determination not to crack. The film does have its more enjoyable moments and as short term sentences go. we get off pretty lightly. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge.“ ”
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SUSU PECORARO MIGUEL ANGEL SOLA PHILIPPE LEOTARD
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16 The List 9— 22 February 1990