INDEX FILM
wrestler and over-the~top star Hulk Hogan is Shep Ramsey. an intergalactic crusader marooncd on Earth. whose heroic deeds are threatened by the arrival ofa pair ofalien bounty hunters. Silly plot and cheapo special effects aside. enough laughs are milked out of the situation to make fora relatively painless cinema sitting. General release.
I Tales of Hoffman (PG) (Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburgcr. UK. 1951) Moira Shearer. Robert Helpmann. Leonid Massine. Ludmilla Tcherina. 127 mins. ()ffenbach‘s operetta (conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham) is a typically lavish blend of song. music and spectacle. The three individual stories have a roughly linked theme ofunrequited love. but the overall feeling is ofa lack of cohesion. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
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. this is more than just a $100 million fairground ride. Central: MacRobert Arts Centre.
ITom Jones ( 18) (Tony Richardson. UK. 1963) Albert Finney. Susannah York. Hugh Griffith. 129 mins. Groundbreaking. raunchy period romp. loosely adapted from Henry Fielding. has Finncy's robust protagonist up to all kinds of sensual mischief (including the famous foodie seduction number with Susannah York) while Brit director Richardson's enthusiastic camerawork displays new wave mannerisms a go-go. Dated these days. but still a lot of fun. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I True Love ( 15) (Nancy Savoca. US. 1989) Annabella Sciorra. Ron Iildard. 100 mins. See review. Edinburgh: Cameo.
ITrust ( 15) (Hal Hartley. US. 1990) Adrienne Shelly. Martin Donovan. Merritt Nelson. 90mins. In suburban Middle America. a rebellious high-school dropout (Shelly) leaves home after causing her father's fatal heart attack by announcing she's pregnant. By chance. she meets the dangerous but intelligent Matthew. who has also rebelled and lost his job. A highly unusual black comedy with several unexpected twists from the writer/director of The Unbelievable Truth. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I The Two Jake: (15) (Jack Nicholson. US. 1990) Jack Nicholson. Harvey Keitel. MegTilly. Madeleine Stowe. 132 mins. Troubled sequel to Roman Polanski‘s Chinatown sees Nicholson‘s private eye 1.]. Gittcs caught up in murder case involving sleazy LA corruption and a few uncomfortable memories for the drawling one. Intelligent script. again by Robert Towne. fleshes out the original characters but builds a plot that is just too damn complicated. Nevertheless. it makes for a stylish and intriguing alternative to typically formulaic sequels. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I The Unbearable Lightness of Being ( 18) (Philip Kaufman. US. 1987) Daniel Day-Lewis. Juliette Binoche. Lena ()lin. 167 mins. Ambitious adaptation of Milan Kundera‘s complex novel about a womanising (‘zech brain surgeon who falls . in love for the first time with a doc-likesmall-town beauty at the time of the Russian invasion of 1968. A dawdling and rather austere narrative is given some spice and interest by an overwhelming eroticism. a beautifully judged evocation of Prague and gorgeoUs photography. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Under the Cherry Moon ( 15) (Prince. US. 1986) Prince. Steven Berkoff. Victor Spinetti. lililmins. Stylish but exceedingly silly tale of His Purpleness wowing the ladies in the South of France asa gigolo adventurer (sniggcr). The filmic equivalent ofvanity publishing. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Up In Smoke (Lou Adler. US. 1978) Cheech Marin. Tommy Chong. Stacy Kcach. 117 mins. Two LA dopeheads attempt to drive a van made entirely out of marijuana back home from Mexico. Shambling festival ofdrug-related humour. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Uranus ( 15) (Claude Berri. France. 1990) Michel Blanc. Gerard Depardieu. Philippe Noiret. Jean-Pierre Marielle. 100 mins. A small French town in the immediate aftermath of World War Two is the setting for Berri‘s wordy examination of political manoevrings. Removed from the rclevence of its home country. the plot struggles to raise itself above the uninvolvingly irritating. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. INN Requiem (PG) (Derek Jarman. UK. 1988) Nathaniel Parker. Lawrence Olivier. Tilda Swinton. Patricia Hayes. 93 mins. Benjamin Brittan's choral hymn to pacifism and the poetry of Wilfred Owen (spoken by Olivier) form the score of Jarman‘s visual masterpiece. which merges the life of the poet with uncensored footage of wars past and present. Glasgow: GF‘T‘.
ITTLE M
C
Little Man Tate: ‘remarkably human performances’
Little Man Tate (PG) (Jodie Foster. US, 1991) Adam Hann-Byrd, Jodie Foster, Dianne Wiest, P.J. Ochlan. 99 mins. Kids don't come more precocious than Fred Tate. At seven he paints murals, writes poetry, plays concert-level piano and can solve abstruse mathematical conundrums in his head. Trouble is, the kids at school reckon he’s a dwork, and all he wants is someone to eat lunch with.
All his single mother Dede (Foster) wants is to give her son a happy childhood and to stop him getting an ulcer from worrying about the
AN TATE
ralnforest. In Dr Jane Grierson (Wiest). oi the Grierson institute for gifted children, who wants him to study with her so she can write a book about him, she has a rival. Dede may be able to give him all the affection he needs, but she is stifling him intellectually. Should Fred go with Jane, with her access to wealth and unlimited learning, even though she is a cold, emotional cripple?
Foster has made an excellent choice for her directorial debut. Disregarding the old theatrical saw about not working with children, she has bucked the current Hollywood trend for excruciatingly cute kids. The remarkably human performances of Hann-Byrd as Fred and Dchlan as the arrogant child-genius who befriends him are probably down to Foster’s early on-screen experiences. She has also resisted the temptation to over-indulge in special effects, using them just twice to indicate Fred’s awesome mental ability.
Down to earth, working-class Dede, is a classic Foster character. The kid would have to be mad not to want to stay with her. This is the film’s only problem: both Jane and Dede are too extreme to be real. It is to the immense credit of both actresses that they become plausible. (Thom Dibdin)
From 31 Jan: Glasgow: Ddeon. Edinburgh: Ddeon, UCI. Strathclyde: Clydebank and East Kilbride UCls.
SHORT FILM 8r VIDEO PRODUCTIONS
Film and video makers in the Strathclyde region are invited to submit proposals for projects on 16mm, Super 8, U-Matic or VHS of up to 15 mins long.
10 productions will be given free resources, equipment, expenses and distribution round European festivals.
Application forms available from: GFVW, 7 James St, Bridgeton, Glasgow, G40 182. Tel: 554 6502. Deadline: February 8th.
GFVW Production Workshop ‘92 is funded by: Strathclyde Regional Couricll I
TRUE LOVE
True Love (15) (Nancy Savoca, US, 1989) Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard, Aida Turturro. Roger Rignack. 100 mins. Wedding days are among the most traumatic events of anyone's life, a time when emotions are so taut that the intricate preparations can slip from farce to tragedy in a matterof seconds. So it’s no surprise to find Donna (Sciorra) crying in a toilet cubicle at her own reception, especially if new husband Mikey has just intimated that he wants to spend his wedding night drinking beers with the boys. Insensitive chauvinistic behaviour? Or just someone who hasn’t come to terms with his new responsibilities?
Nancy Savoca’s perceptive debut feature lets us see both sides. From the couple’s on-screen kisses at their engagement party, through minor niggles (should the mashed potato at the reception be coloured sky blue to match the bridesmaids’ dresses?) to major blow-outs about their future lives, she charts the stormy but comic course of their preparations for the big I day with a freshness and vitality that's
akin to the early movies of Susan Seidelman. Amidst all the laughs, however, Savoca doesn’t avoid more serious themes, particularly the sense that the event has become some kind of living monster forcing young couples to spend their lives together because it’s expected of them by everyone around them.
Nevertheless, it’s this same endless
True Love: ‘witty and well observed.‘
flow of bustling relatives and the minutiae of Italian-American daily life
thatbuoys them up and gets them to the
church on time. There is a certain irony in the title - Savoca dishes up as much
realism as romance —which makes this
particular portrait of nuptial strife much more valid than any fairy-tale schmaltz. Witty and well observed, it cautions and celebrates at the same time, and should ensure more post-cinema arguments for dating couples than even Thelma & Louise. (Alan Morrison)
From Fri 31 Jan: Edinburgh Cameo.
ADVENTURES
0 ALL TERRAIN LANOROVER DRIVING O OFFROAO RACING BUGGIES O 4-WHEELEO OUADBIKES O CLAY PIGEON SHOOTING O 7 VENUES IN THE UK
The List 31 January— 13 February 199219