INDEX FILM
bizarre kind of noir pastiche. in which private dick Berenger is hired to keep tabs on Archer‘s errant husband. and is in turn tailed by a female dick (Perkins) hired by his jealous girlfriend (Capshaw). Eccentrically humourous and sumptuously filmed. it fails to gel into a satisfying whole. but should not disappoint Rudolph’s followers. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Mermaids ( 15) (Richard Benjamin. US. 1991) Cher. Winona Ryder. Bob Hoskins. Christina Ricci. 110 mins. Quirky growing—up comedy whose adolescent heroines are an irresponsible, footloose mother Mrs Flax (Cher) and her morose. pious daughter Charlotte (Ryder). both of whom have something to learn from the other‘s pre-supposed values. Enjoyable and warm-hearted. with Hoskins splendid as the sexy shoe-shop owner. and excellent performances from the two central actresses. Central: Caledonian.
I Misery ( 18) (Rob Reiner. US. 1991) Kathy Bates. James Caan. Frances Sternhagen. Richard Farnsworth. Lauren
Bacall. 107 mins. Adapted from Stephen King‘s novel. this psychological chiller centres on a popular author with literary aspirations (Caan) who finds himself trapped. following a nasty car accident. with his ‘number one fan‘ (Bates. who won the Best Actress Oscar for the role). Gradually. he becomes aware of her psychosis. and is forced to bide histime until he can contrive an escape. The talents of all concemed are employed to superb effect. to produce a movie ofgreat originality. subtlety and entertainment value. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre. I The Naked Gun 21/2 (12) (David Zucker. USA 1991) Leslie Nielsen. Priscilla Presley. Robert Goulet. George Kennedy. 85 mins. The nasty leaders of the coal. oil and nuclear industries have hatched a fiendish plot to trick President Bush into carrying out an extremely unsound energy policy. But they hadn't reckoned on the inimitable abilities of Lieutenant Frank Drebin. Leslie Nielsen is back on top form as he bunglesthrough lame jokes. bizarre sight gags and lust for Priscilla Presley with a Clouseau-like efficiency. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I The Heverending Story 2: The Next Chapter(U) (George Miller. US. 1990) Jonathan Brandis. Kenny Morrison. Clarissa Burt. John Wesley Shipp. 90 mins. Returning to the mysterious land of Fantasia via the magic book preserved in Mr Coreander‘s bookshop. Bastian Balthazar Bux (Brandis) meets up with friends old and new. and when imagination comes under threat, he once again participates in the struggle between good and evil. Lots of special effects and philosophical intricacies make this an entertaining and absorbing follow-up to the 1984 original. Glasgow: GFT.
I New Jack City (18) (Mario Van Peebles. US. 1991) Wesley Snipes. lee—T. Allen Payne. Chris Rock. Mario Van Peebles. 101 mins. See feature. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I Nothing Bill Trouble (12) (Dan Aykroyd. US. 1991 ) Chevy Chase. Dan Aykroyd. John Candy. Demi Moore. 91 mins. When stock market whiz Chris Thorne (Chase) takes a detour off the NewJersey Turnpike. he and his three companions find themselves in run-down Valkenvania and in one of the biggest stinkers ofthe905 so far. Sentenced to death by a 106-year-old justice of the peace (good idea. ifonly they'd done it before filming began). he plans his escape. Utter. utter crap. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride.
I Oscar (PG) (John Landis. US. 1991) Sylvester Stallone. Yvonne DeCarlo. Tim Curry. Don Ameche. Ornella Muti. 110 mins. See review. Glasgow: Odeon.
PUMP UP THE VOLUME
Pump Up The Volume (15) (Allan Moyle, US, 1990) Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Cheryl Pollak, Scott Paulin. Ellen Greene. 102 mins. to middle-class, white-bread America the kids lrom the Hubert Humphrey High school test that everything is more than a little lucked up. The school is a tad too pertect, too much emphasis is placed on academic achievement and too many students are lacing suspension. But every night, while their parents believe them to be solely tucked up, or doing their homework, they tune into Happy Harry Hard-on, an anonymous DJ who entertains with equal portions ol attitude, hard music and simulated masturbation.
Christian Slater stars as Mark Hunter, the shy lncomer who’s only daytime aberration is a penchant for creative writing. Initially he is unaware ot the burgeoning cult status of his alter ego among his fellow students. but as his monologues on angst, the universe and everything begin to touch on issues closerto home, his mailbag grows and his catchphrase: become gratiiti. Phoning some at the more outrageous correspondents back seems like a tun idea, until one particularly unhappy camper decides to top himsell and Happy Harry is blamed.
At times Pump Up the Volume ascends into pure anarchy. Slater’s radio patter is as tight as that ol Eric Bogosian to Talk Radio; the soundtrack. with cuts lrorn The Pixies. Pete Murphy, Bad Brains, Soundgarden and Liquid Jesus amongst others. would be guaranteed to put hairs on the chest of a bottle ol
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maths; and when Harry incites his listeners to ‘do something crazy’, all-American cheerleader Paige (Pollak) puts her hairdryer in the microwave with satislyingty explosive results.
But this magnilicent chaos becomes dissipated in an ending which, although cathartic, is out at kilter with what has gone belore. It displays the kind at cloying middle-aged tendencies which the lilm purports to be railing against. Much as Moyle would like to identity with Harry it seems he has more in common with his liberal parents and their Grateful Dead posters. (Thom Dibdln)
From Friday 30 August. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge, Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon, UCI. Strathclyde: Cannon, UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
Edinburgh: Odeon. UCI. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton. UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I The Passion According To Berenice (18) (Jaime Humbert Hermosillo. Mexico. 1976) Pedro Armendariz Jr. Martha Navarro. Blanca Torres. 99 mins. A young widow. scarred by the fire that killed her husband. moves to the house other godmother and throws herself into an affair with a young doctor. A masterful study ofa woman‘s rebellion against the hypocrisy of her middle-class family. Glasgow: GFT.
I The Passion ol Remembrance (15) (Maureen Blackwood/lsaac Julien. UK. 1986) Anni Domingo. Joseph Charles. Antonia Thomas. 82 mins. The conflicts of gender and generation within London's black community. or more specifically the Sankofa Collective. is the subject ofthis montage of documentary footage and dramatic episodes. Over-extended in scope. but an interesting piece of work by Young Soul RebeLr director Julien. Glasgow: GFT.
I Prospero’s Books (18) (Peter
Greenaway. UK. 1991 ) John Gielgud. Michael Clark. lsabelle Pasco. Michel Blane. 125 mins. Greenawaytransforms Shakespeare‘s The Tempest into a visual feast by using groundbreaking High Definition Television technology. Gielgud delivers a near-definitive Prospero. backed up by an impressive European cast. and Michael Nyman‘s score is perhaps his best yet. A film like no other. immersed in illusion as both subject matter and form. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Pump Up The Volume (15) (Allan Moyle. US/Canada. 1991) Christian Slater. Scott
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Paulin. Ellen Greene, Samantha Mathis. 102 mins. See review. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon, UCI. Strathclyde: Cannon. UCI Clydebank. UCi East Kilbride.
I Robin Hood: Prince 0t Thieves ( 12) (Kevin Reynolds. US. 1991) Kevin Costner. Morgan Freeman. Christian Slater. Alan Rickman. 147 mins. Second outing of the year for the Nottingham legend. this time with Hollywood's golden boy in the title role. Costner‘s Robin slips into lndiana Jones mode as he sets about undoing the wrongs of Rickman‘s scene-stealing Sheriff in a way that is wonderfully reminiscent of the best Saturday matinee swashbucklers. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. Dominion. UCI. Central: Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton. UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I Rock-A-Doodle (U) (Don Bluth. UK, 1991) With the voices of Glen Campbell. Eddie Deezen. Sandy Duncan. Toby Scott Granger. Christopher Plummer. 74 mins. Don Bluth. the man behind The Secret Of Nimh and All Dogs Go To Heaven. cements his place at the forefront of children‘s animation with this tale ofa boy's search for the singing rooster that will save his farm from flood and eternal night. Full of colour and song. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.
I Hocketeer (PG) (Joe Johnston. US. 1991) Bill Campbell. Jennifer Connelly. Alan Arkin. Timothy Dalton. 109 mins. After disc0vering a stolen experimental rocket pack. out-of-luck pilot CliffSecord (Campbell) finds himself assuming the
role of mystery flying figure The Rocketeer in order to save his girlfriend. battle Nazis and save the civilised world. roughly in that order. Great. old-fashioned. matinee-style adventure. if a little sickly in the all-American apple pie department. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. UC1.Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. I Rosencrantz And Guildenstem Are Dead (PG) (Tom Stoppard. UK. 1991)Tim Roth. Gary Oldman. Richard Dreyfuss. lain Glen. 117 mins. Stoppard‘s own screen version of his first play. premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1966. Set inthe world of Hamlet. but with a new and highly quirky perspective on events. it presents Shakespeare‘s peripheral characters as existential fall-guys trying to work out how the situation brewing around them might relate to theirfuture. Witty and very clever. but probably better on the stage. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Scenes From A Hall (15) (Paul Mazursky. US. 1990) Woody Allen. Bette Midler. Paul Mazursky. 88 mins. Successful professional couple Allen and Midler are out celebrating their sixteenth wedding anniversary in true American style — by shopping together. in a burst of honesty. Allen reveals that he‘s been unfaithful. at which point the proverbial undesirable substance hits the air conditioning vent. Though everything looks set for a delirious showdown between two leading exponents ofthe mouth-off, Mazursky‘s normally cunning hand with script and direction (as seen in Enemies — A Love Story) misfires here, leaving little of interest to meet high expectations. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre.
I Silence Of The Lambs ( 18) (Jonathan Demme. US. 1991)Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins. Scott Glenn. 119mins. Following a series of horrific serial murders. imprisoned psycho-killer Hopkins is released to help Foster and Glenn‘s FBI agents track down the culprit. Adapted from a novel by Thomas Manhunter Harris. Demme's film version is a subtle but scarey suspense shocker, with two excellent performances and great narrative drive. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCI. Central: Regal. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. I Singin' In The Rain (U) (Gene Kelly& Stanley Donen. US. 1950) Gene Kelly. Donald O‘Connor. Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse. 102 mins. Hollywood undergoes the transition from the silent era to the talkies and reputations rise and fall. Absolutely wonderful musical entertainment. with the slickest ofsnappy dialogue. enduringly catchy numbers, a cast of genuine charisma. and an engaging picture of the industry in transition into the bargain. Quite splendid. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Soapdlsh (12) (Michael Hoffman. US. 1991) Sally Field. Kevin Kline. Robert Downey Jr. Whoopi Goldberg. 96mins. Undemanding entertainment is both the subject and nature of this comedy set in a TV studio producing a soap opera. Sally Field plays actress Celeste Talbot facing a reunion with her ex-boyfriend Kline. both on screen and off. Limp. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride. I Subway (15) (Luc Besson. France. 1985) Christophe Lambert. lsabelle Adjani. Richard Bohringer. 104 mins. Would-be stylish thriller set in the Paris Metro with jewel thief Lambert courting the attractive Ms Adjani while trying to stay out ofthe way of cop Bohringer. Far too pleased with itself. this is plain irritating. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Tatie Danielle ( 15) (Etienne Chatiiiez.
France. 1990)Tsilia Chelton.Catherine Jacob. lsabelle Nanty. 110 mins. The apparently charming old dear with her dog Garde-a-vous and her beleagured
The List 30 August — l2 September 199127