composed. Campion‘s film brings a dreamlike quality to the everyday. but beneath all the freakish behaviour and self-consciously challenging camerawork. there breathes a very simple tale of common humanity. Glasgow: GFT.
I Switch (15) (Blake Edwards. US. 1991) Ellen Barkin. Jimmy Smits. JoBeth Williams. Perry King. 103 mins. Undistinguished comedy from the director of Victor/ Victoria. again covering areas of male/female role reversal. A notorious. recently deceased womaniser is returned to Earth in the body of a woman (Barkin) and is given the chance to redeem himself if he can find any woman who genuinely liked his previous incarnation. Barkin‘s use of male body language is convincing, but Edwards tends to overdo the visual gags and completely fails to answer any of the questions raised. Glasgow: Cannon Clarkston Road. Edinburgh: UCl. Strathclyde: Cannon. UCl East Kilbride. I Tales of Beatrix Potter (U) (Reginald Mills. UK, 1971) 90 mins. Various stories from the children‘s writer are told in musical form and danced by members of, the Royal Ballet. Although Peter Rabbit and all his chums appear on screen. ballet is not perhaps the most engaging way to hold a young audience‘s attention. Nevertheless. twenty years after its original release. it has become part of the holiday season and here benefits from being seen on the big screen. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Tatie Danielle (15) (Etienne Chatiliez. France. 1990) Tsilla Chelton. Catherine Jacob. Isabelle Nanty. 110 mins. The apparently charming old dear with her dog Garde-a-vous and her beleagured housekeeper Odile proves to be far from charming. particularly after her relations decide to move her with them to Paris. Once there. her malicious ways grind their innate bourgeois decency to powder. until she meets her nemesis . . . It all sounds rather enjoyable. and Chelton's performance in the title role is a joyous creation. but a sadly predictable and underwrought structure take the bite out of a promising-looking satire from the director of Life Is A Long Quiet River. Glasgow: GFI‘.
I Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (PG) (Michael Pressman. US. 1991) Paige Turco. David Warner. Ernie Reyes Jr. 87 mins. A quick return for the original shell-suits. although with less plot and less violence than the original. The evil Shredder has decided to grow a couple of mutants of his own. and it seems that only our four adolescent amphibians can save the day with the odd pizza reference and a truly dire ‘Ninja Rap‘ (with the painfully embarrassing Vanilla Ice). Time to hang up those shells. dudes. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr.
I Terminator 2: Judgement Day (15) (James Cameron. US. 1991) Arnold Swarzenegger. Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong. Robert Patrick. 136 mins. The most expensive film ever made. In a reprogrammed role that says much about his changed image since the first movie. Arnie becomes the underdog fighting to protect mother and child from another more advanced cyborg. With an element of uncontrived human compassion lurking throughout the gloriously expensive action sequences. as Swanenegger's cyborg develops human feelings. this is more than just a $100 million fairground ride. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: UCl. Central: Cannon. Strathclyde: UCl East Kilbride. I Thelma 5. Louise (15) (Ridley Scott. US, 1991) Susan Sarandon. Geena Davis. Harvey Keitel. Michael Madsen. 129 mins. The buddy/road movie genres are turned on their heads as Sarandon and Davis grasp the steering wheel and head off leaving a trail of murder and mayhem in their wake. On one level. the film is the critical catalyst that had the feminists cheering and put the stars on the cover of Time magazine; just as importantly. it‘s an
A...“ ~ “‘4. xv“ W. M ,
The Object of Beauty: catches ‘the current mood of post-80s navel-gazing.‘
The Object of Beauty (Michael Lindsay-H009, UK/US, 1991) John Malkovich, Andie Macdowell, Rudi Davies, Joss Ackland, Bill Paterson. 102 mins. Well-heeled, rich, beautiful, but above all spoilt couple Jake and Tina (Malkovich and MacDoweIl) are stranded in a luxurious London hotel with the bills mounting up and hardly the price of a caviar sarnie left on the American Excess Gold Card, when he over-extends himself on the cocoa futures market. With the source of all
his wealth — and thus her happiness - gone, the young things are confronted with a reality their gold-plated existence had only ever heard about at charity fundraisers.
Their only potential lifeline is her beloved Henry Moore bronze, worth enough to keep the Hotel Manager (Ackland) off their hacks for a week or two. As she is unwilling to part with it, the only solution is to take its theft and collect on the insurance, until the deaf chambennaid (Davies) nicks the
‘Dbject of Beauty', jeopardising both their wealth and their relationship.
Dstensibly this is a romantic comedy with Malkovich in his usual role of a slyly scheming pretty-boy and MacDowell finding a sexiness only before hinted at. As a table for the 908, contrasting greed with the poverty it has created, and examining the gap between intrinsic and monetary worth, it has certainly caught the current mood of post-808 navel-gazing. To add to the confusion, there is a fascinating sub-text which puts the Americans in the position of imperialist types wandering around their third-world colony.
The central performances might be suitably polished, yet Tina and Jake's one-dimensional characters fall to inspire the slightest sympathy, let alone empathy. Compared with the fully rounded, and uniformly excellent, performances from the British supporting cast, they seem like cartoons, wandering onto the set of Albert Square, which pretty well sums up the whole film. (Thom Dibdin). From 20 Dec: Edinburgh Cameo.
accessible piece of entertainment with excellent central performances. Glasgow: GFT. Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cannon. Filmhousc.
I This Happy Breed (U) (David Lean. UK. 1944) Robert Newton. Celia Johnson. John Mills. Kay Walsh. 114 mins. Noel Coward‘s adaptation of his own play. a homage to the ‘ordinary people‘ of the inter-war years. is less successful than his
subsequent collaboration with director Lean (Brief Encounter). but gives a
fascinating insight into the events of the . period. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Thunderbirds Are 00 (U) ((ierry Anderson. UK. 1966) Scott. Virgil. Alan Brains. Lady Penelope et al. 90 mins. The ‘ first and wittiest of the Thunderbird spin-off movies. The 21st century version 3 of the Shadows more than makes up for what is otherwise little more than the dragging out of one of the TV episodes. A i must for all Gerry Anderson fans. Strathclyde: UCl East Kilbride.
I Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (18) (Pedro Almodovar, Spain, 1990) Antonio Banderas. Victoria Abril. Francisco Rabal. 101 mins. It‘s women on the verge of exploitation time as Almodovar reveals his most provocative confection to date with a bare outline that reads like sexist trash: male loony Banderas kidnaps porno queen Abril, ties her to the bed, pumps
1
her full of drugs and. 10, they fall in love. Look beyond the sordid details. however. and the film creates its own moral logic
based on mutual need between two very
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The List 20 December 1991 — 16 January 1992 31