INDEX FILM
_ Troma hits
Glasgow
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Cult iiim production company Troma hits Glasgow on Sat 30 May as part oi a record-breaking UK tourthat will bring the nation's cinema-goers new depths of horror sleaze. Famed for such trashy video fare as The Toxic Avenger and Surf Nazis Must Die, Troma has become the byword for 90s morality
tales sugared with outright sexpioitation. Troma productions such
as Sgt Kabukiman liYPD have even graced the screens oi lilm iestivals the world over. ‘
The Grosvenor cinema will play host to an all-night screening of six new Troma titles—The Toxic Avenger Part 2, Rabid Grannies, Troma’s War, The Class of Nuke’Em High Parts 1 and 2, and Chopper Chicks In Zombie Town — beginning at 11pm on the Sat 30 and costing £1. The tour should see Troma enter the Guinness Book oi Records as it coincides with the London release oi Del By Temptation, thereby making the company the first to release seven films theatrically in the same week.
To celebrate, The List has three pairs oi tickets ior the Grosvenor ail-nighter and two sets of Virgin VHS videos oi Rabid Grannies, Toxic Avenger 2 and Troma's War to give away to lucky readers. Just come up with your own wacky title ior a Troma movie.
Simply send your suggestion, along with your name, address, and a daytime telephone number to TROMA COMPETITION, The List,
14 High Street, Edinburgh, Elli 1TE by Thursday 28 May.
restrained here. but the blend of myth. satire and romance is strong. Unfortunately. the wonderful central performances by Williams and Bridges are let down by a cop-out. up-beat ending. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Flaming Creatures (18) (Jack Smith. US. 1963) 43 mins. A cause celebre at the time of its New York premiere. Smith's contentious example of American avant-garde has been unavailable in the UK since the '605. Its black and white images of transvestite vampires and polymorphous sexuality are far from pornographic. and fit more intothe line of shock cinema that goes back to Dali and Bunuel's Un Chien Andalou. With Blonde Cobra. Ken J acob‘s short portrait of Smith. who died in 1989. Glasgow: GF'T.
I Flaming Star (PG) (Don Siegel. US. 1960) Elvis Presley. Barbara Eden. Steve Forrest. 92 mins. Generally reckoned to be The King's best film. Here he stars as a half-breed lndian who‘scaught between sides when his mother‘s people go on the warpath. No songs after the first ten minutes though. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Frankie and Johnny (15) (Garry Marshall. US. 1991) Al Pacino. Michelle Pfeiffer. Hector Elizondo. Kate Nelligan. 117 mins. Despite some feminine resistance. love begins to sizzle between disillusioned waitress Frankie (Pfeiffer) and short order cook Johnny (Pacino). Warm-hearted romance. with side orders of cliche and diner realism. from the man who brought you Pretty Woman. Edinburgh: UCl. Fife: Adam Smith.
I Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cale (12) (Jon Avnet. US. 1991) Kathy Bates. Jessica Tandy. Mary Stuart Masterson. Mary-Louise Parker. 130 mins. After the local Ku Klux Klan threatens the busy cafe in Whistle Stop. Alabama for serving coloured customers. the female owner and her black handyman find themselves on trial for an unsolved murder. A chronicle of courage and ingenuity that avoids becoming as overwhelmingly heart-warming as one might have feared. Not the most tantalising item on the menu. but a flavoursome little dish nonetheless. Fife: Adam Smith. Strathclyde: Magnum.
I Galois: Battle of the Rocklords (PG) (Ray Patterson/Don Lusk/Alan Zaslove. US. 1986) With the voices of Margot Kidder. Telly Savalas. Roddy McDowell. Michael Nouri. 74 mins. Tonka toys take on the universe. Cy-Kill. the renegade GoBot. has travelled through hyperspace to join forces with the evil Magmar (Savalas. typecast even by voice). where they seek to take the planet Quartex by force. But our mechanical heroes soon come to the rescue. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride.
I Good Morning Vietnam (15) (Barry Levinson . US. 1987) Robin Williams. Forrest Whitaker. Tung Thanh Tran. 121 mins. Williams gives a dazzling performance as the iconoclastic armed forces radio disc jockey Adrian Cronauer. assigned to 1965 Saigon. His morning show. with its healthy doses of soul music and irreverent
humour. explodes the authorities‘ notions of broadcasting. but makes him a hero among the troops. Fife: Adam Smith. I Grand Canyon ( 15) (Lawrence Kasdan. US. 1992) Kevin Kline. Mary McDonnell. Steve Martin. Danny Glover. 134 mins. Kasdan‘s905 retort to his earlier The Big Chill looks at the fears and anxieties of successful white professionals against the background of a disintegrating society. The contrast between the rich and poor doesn‘t always work — there are as many sentimental subplots as effective sequences — although the end result has,to rank as a major American movie. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. Fife: New Picture House. All UCIs. I Guilty By Suspicion (15) (Irwin Winkler. US.
1990) Robert De Nirn. Annette Bening. George ’
Wendt. Sam Wannamaker. 105 mins. A new attempt by the American film industry to come to terms with the McCarthy era. when Hollywood was purged of anyone deemed to have communist connections. with devastating effects. De Niro stars as a highly successful director destroyed by rumours. with Betting as his supportive ex-wife. Despite cumbersome pacing. the performances and good intentions are strong enough to make this a very watchable movie. and the courtroom climax is well worth waiting for. Strathclyde: Magnum.
I Hamlet (U) (Franco Zeffirelli. US. 1990) Mel Gibson. Alan Bates. Glenn Close. Paul Scofield. Helena Bonham-Carter. Ian Holm. 135 mins. A young man returns home from university to find his father dead and his mother marrying his uncle. Then Hamlet senior‘s ghost shows up. whispering to him of murder most foul. and it‘s all downhill after that. More than twenty years after Zeffirelli's Romeo AndJuliet comes this colourful and lively production of Shakespeare's greatest play. with a very strong. mostly British cast and the best performance in years from Gibson in the title role. Strathclyde: Magnum.
IThe Rand That Rocks The Cradle ( 15) (Curtis Hanson. US. 1991 ) Rebecca De Mornay. Annabella Sciorra. Matt McCoy. 110 mins. Nanny manages to con her way into the home of the family who inadvertantly caused her husband's suicide and her own miscarriage. and
soon begins to show psychotic tendencies. Despite
implausible plotting. director Hanson cranks up the tension and delivers a slap-bang finale. In other words. beautifully crafted mainstream trash. General release.
I ilear MySoag ( 15) (Peter Chelsom. UK/Ireland. 1991 ) Adrian Dunbar. Ned Beatty. Tara Fitzgerald. 103 mins. Devious but loveable promoter Mickey (Dunbar) tries to win back his reputation and the woman he loves by booking famous Irish tenor and tax fugative Josef Locke for his Liverpool nightclub. A modestly charming British production that is fun if you‘re not expecting some sort of all-time classic. Edinburgh: Dominion. Fife: Glenrothes.
I liaaty: Portrait iii A Serial Killer ( 18) (John McNaughton. US. 1986) Michael Rooker. Tom Towles. Tracey Arnold. 80 mins. Based loosely or the true life (and subsequently recanted) confessions of Henry Lee Lucas. McNaughton‘s exemplary film is a harrowing account of an amoral mass murderer. Scenes of rape and mutilation transcend the usual titillation of the genre and force the audience to question the use of murder as entertainment. Simultaneously one of the most important releases of recent years. am one recommended with caution. Glasgow: GFI”. I HMOS) (Russell Mulcahy. UK. 1986) Christoph r Lambert. Beatie Edney. Sean Connery. 111 mins. A handful of immortals battle through the centuries to win a mythical prize. A curious mixture of romance in 16th century heather and car chases in present day New York. the film is an inelegant. often ludicrous. but enjoyably daffy adventure. Lambert seems more at home with the contemporary passages and only the ever wonderful Connery has the requisite style for the kitsch Scottish scenes. Edinburgh: Cameo. I The llitsher(l8) (Robert Mandel. US. 1986) Rutger Hauer. C. Thomas Howell. Jennifer Jason Leigh. 98 mins. Drowsy driver Howell gets more than he bargained for when he picks up psycho-hitcher Hauer in this genuinely edge-'of-the-seat suspense thriller. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Rook (PG) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1991) Robin Williams. Dustin Hoffman. Julia Roberts. Bob Hoskins. 135 mins. The combination of Robin Williams. Steven Spielberg and Peter Pan proves to be as successful in praCtice as it appears in theory. if the film is watched in the proper childish frame of mind. The story of a grown-up Peter rediscovering his true identtity allows for some fortysomething pondering. but primarily it‘s an excuse for a magical journey around pirate ships. lost islands and colourful fights. Sure. it‘s formulaic; but Spielberg‘s ingredients are richer and more wonderfully cinematic than anyone else's. General release. I Rewards End (PG) (James Ivory. UK. 1992) Anthony Hopkins. Vanessa Redgrave. Helena Bonham Carter. Emma Thompson. 142 mins. After a succession of dreary Forster clones. the British film industry gets round to tackling his masterpiece. and one of the most important novels of the 201h century. The story. centring on the marriage between a wealthy and reactionary old duffer and an emancipated younger woman. is a complex family chronicle told with clarity and compassion. At last a cinematic period drama that exudes excellence. with some finely crafted performances to match. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Dominion.
I l. The Worst of All (Maria Luisa Bemberg. Argentina. 1990) (15) Assumpta Serna. Dominique Sanda. Hector Alterio. 105 mins. Set in 17th century Mexico. this film from Argentina‘s leading feminist director follows the life ofpoet. playwright. intellectual and nun. Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz. Her privileged position allows her to continue writing until the local archbishop conspires to end her work. Demanding. but ultimately rewarding. Glasgow: GET.
I Jacob's Laddar(18) (Adrian Lyne. US. 1990) Tim Robbins. Elizabeth Pena. Danny Aiello. 113 mins. Vietnam vet Jacob Singer is seeing some very strange things. like nurses with demons‘ horns and people with faces straight out ofa Francis Bacon painting. As his grip on the reality ofhis present life begins to slip. he has recurring flashbacks to the night his platoon was wiped out during the war. The director of Fatal Attraction and the writer of Ghost combine to pull offone of the most terrifying. yet ultimately moving. paranoia thrillers of recent years. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhouse.
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I Jacgeot de llantes (PG) (Agnes Varda. France. 1991) Brigitte de Villepoix. Daniel Dublet. Philippe Maron. 118 mins. DirectorJacques Demy made the 605‘ classics Lola and Les Paraplut'es de Cherbourg: here we see the life behind the celluloid images in a fictionalised documentary based on his early life. filmed by his wife Agnes Varda. An unsentimental account of a creative talent and an evocative portrait of his times. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Jungle Fever ( 18) (Spike Lee. US. 1991) Wesley Snipes. Annabella Sciorra. John Turturro. Spike Lee. Anthony Quinn. 132 mins. Black yuppie Flipper Purify (Snipes) launches into an ill-fated affair with his Italian-American secretary (Sciorra) and adds fuel to the fire of inter-racial tensions. Spike Lee‘s latest controversial work also includes a major subplot on drug addiction. which leaves the audience wondering if he has tackled too many ‘big‘ issues at once. Still. it‘sa stylish piece with some good performances. even if the director's message is not exactly positive. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I The Legend olShagbeest(18) (Rod Stein, UK. 1991) 15 mins. lmpressive short centres on a brewery scientist who creates a beer which reverses the usual. ehm. flaccid consequences of the demon drink on male sexual performance. An inventive twist on the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome. filmed. aptly enough. in Edinburgh by students at Napier College. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Little Man Tate (PG) (Jodie Foster. US. 1991) Jodie Foster. Dianne Wiest. Adam Hann-Byrd. Harry Connick Jr. 99 mins. Seven-year-old Fred Tate is ostracised by his schoolmates and generally misunderstood due to the fact that he is a child genius. While succeeding in engaging both adults and children in the audience . Foster‘s directorial debut suffers from thematically one-sided characters — psychologist Wiest is purely academic growth. Foster (as the working-class mum) purely emotional. But Hann-Byrd as the kid is superb. Strathclyde: Magnum. I The Long Day Closes (PG) (Terence Davies. UK. 1992) Marjorie Yates. Leigh McConnack. Anthony Watson. 82 mins. Beautiful. visually poetic film based on writer/director Davies early life in the Liverpool ofthe 19505. Followingon from the justly acclaimed Distant Voices. Still Lives. it places its young protaganist in an idyllically happy home. soon to be disrupted by the natural process of growing up. Davies‘s faultless use of the camera and soundtrack confirm his status as one of the country's leading filmmakers. See preview. Glasgow: GFI'. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Magnus ( 12) (Thrainn Bertlesson. Iceland. 1989) Egill Olafsson. 93 mins. A short season of new Icelandic films gets underway with this witty black comedy about a man who grabs life by the horns on discovering his imminent death from cancer. Dubious subject matter is well handled. thanks to the director‘s restraint and Oiafsson‘s deadpan performance. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Medicine Man (PG) (John McTiernan. US. 1991) Sean Connery. Lorraine Bracco. Jose Wilker. 105 mins. Change of lack for top action director McTiernan and Scotland‘s favourite son in this tale of a scientist whose elusive cure for cancer lies within a patch of rainforest due for ‘development '. Connery and co-star Bracco never quite hit it off as a screen duo. but the photography and Big Tam's inimitable charm make for a damn good cinema sitting. See preview. General release. I Memoirs oi an Invisible Man (PG) (John ('arpenter. US. 1991) Chevy Chase. Daryl Hannah. Sam Neill. 99 mins. As the result ofan experimental mishap Wall Street analyst Nick Halloway (Chase) becomes invisible. Soon he‘s
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The List 22 May-4June 199219