FILM REVIEW
l l i
So the Brits have stacked up the Oscar nominations, eh? The Empire strikes back? So how come every film (except for a
single French entry) released this
The List reviews each and every
i fortnight in Scotland is American? i
one regardless.
l I Honeymoon in Vegas (12) Haunted by a deathbed promise to his mum not to marry. down- at-heel private detective Jack Singer (Nicolas (‘agc)just can't commit himself to his long- suffering fiancee Betsy (Sarah Jessica Parker). Faced with the ultimatum of getting hitched or losing her for good. the duo head off for the neon altars of l.as Vegas. But the night before the nuptials. he loses her in a poker game to wise guy Tommy Korman (James Cilillll. who insists that Betsy is the dollth of his dead wife and claims her for a weekend of romance. You never know what you‘ve got till it's gone. Jack finds out and.
in the ensuing havoc. he‘ll go to any lengths to win back the love of his life.
This screwball comedy of
the old school takes a while to set up its comic situation. but when it gets going. it‘s a winning combination of love. farce and lilvis impersonators. l.as Vegas. holding a convention of the latter. is the perfect sparkling. synthetic backdrop to such a frenetic comedy. (‘aan turns on the charm and the nastiness in equal measures. while (‘age proves he's a natural for the sympathetic stooge caught up in mayhem of his own making. And the ridiculous. freefall finale is surely worth the wait. See feature.
' I [.527 ( 15) Bertrand
Tavernier's depiction of a Parisian drug squad has a commendably authentic. gritty feel to it. but
a police thriller by containing a fair amount of condemnation for the bureaucracy and petty politics that allows the situation to continue. Didier Bezace as a long- suffering investigator is
succeeds as more than just
the central pillar of an excellent ensemble cast. in the same way that various set pieces retain their own power while contributing to the impact of the whole. (iiy en the escalation of drug-related violence across Europe. L627 has a biting relevance well beyond many of its peers on the arthouse circuit. See preview
I Malcolm X ( 15) Spike Lee‘s epic retelling of the life of Malcolm Little. from street hood to Black 3 activist. is a long but
sitting. The director’s strong narrative sense and a titanic central performance by Den/cl Washington make the ' political and religiotis theorising more bearable. and render this trip to the
L_.
re The List zéiéiiéfilryiiimur‘ch '1993 ‘
rewarding three-hour-plus
cinema a simultaneously entertaining and enlightening experience. A landmark movie in terms of Black filmmaking. it also reaches out to white audiences by presenting Malcolm X as a human being. not just a series of misrepresented soundbites on black power. See leature. (AM)I
[— uuoen SIEGE
er:
0*
'_ If Steven Seagal is a Navy cook, then I’m the Chief of Staff. So the first thing to do before settling down to this Die-Hard-on-a-boat stuff is place tongue firmly in cheek. Favouring trendy black clothes to regulation
Dnder Siege: ‘a kind of ultra-vi
whites, former Akido master Seagal takes on a raggle-taggle group of terrorist revolutionaries who commandeer the USS Missouri after
killing the captain and several of the
crew. Now all that stands between them and all-out nuclear war (yeah, so the plot’s a little out of control) is the
man from the galley, and this time he’s
as happy to break heads as crack a few eggs.
Filling out the ranks are Gary Busey and Tommy Lee Jones, obviously treating their rent-a-psycho roles as a bit of a holiday from real acting, and Baywatch babe Erika Eleniak as a pop- out-of-a-cake strippr. But it’s
; Seagal’s movie from beginning to end,
and this is the one that will take him
i from the video league to the action 3 big time. His throwaway lines and
disrespectful attitude make him a better anti-hero than most, his fight
3 scenes are solid and he’s a better : actor than Jean-Claude, Arnie and . Dolph put together. A kind of ultra-
violent comedy, this movie is so male,
you can almost smell the testosterone
in the air. (Alan Morrison)
Under Siege (15) (Andrew Davis, 08, 1992) Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey. 103 mins. From Fri 26. All Cannons. All UCls. Glasgow: Grosvenor, MGMs. Edinburgh: Dominion. Central: Allanpark, Caledonian. Fife: Robins. Strathclyde: Kelburne, Ddeons, WMB.
The stubbornness of science meets ' the immovable object of parenthood. Something’s got to give, but it won’t be Augusto and Michaela Ddone, not as long as their son’s life is at stake. Based on the true story of the Ddone family, Lorenzo’s Oil is a relatively unsentimental account of a mother and father’s attempts to find a cure for their son’s rare illness. At the age
of seven, Lorenzo Ddone was diagnosed as suffering from
adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), an almost unknown disease for which no therapy existed and which gave the sufferer an average life expectancy of two years. Directed by George Miller (the man behind the camera on the Mad Max films, but also a medical school graduate), the film consists of a succession of significant episodes which chart Lorenzo’s decline into gradual paralysis and coma. There is none of the cuteness of many sick
. simultaneously attracted ~“ and repulsed by Luke‘s
I" A
level of debate
THE LIVING END
‘ if“:
l l
if” ’3 .. '1’ ‘- it" , J f a»: The living End: ‘stroppy declaration of outrage’ Live fast. die young — the hollow posturing of the beat generation takes on a whole new meaning as director Araki‘s nihilistic road movie puts AIDS at the centre of his debate. Shy. sensitive. Morrissey- loving Jon ((‘raig Gilmore) tests HIV positive and. thrown into despair, stares the above- mentioned cliche in the . face. A chance meeting with gun-carrying. ; leather-jacketed Luke (Mike Dytri). who's highly-strung enough not to balk at filling queer- bashers with lead. brings about the most unorthodox pairing to go on the run since Thelma & '_ Louise. Luke kills a cop. and the two take flight. Jon.
. apparent disregard for conventional rules. is
j forever caught in the ambiguity of civilisation and criminality. In obedience to the aesthetic of New Queer Cinema. the film plays out on the
should you respect a society that hates you‘.’ (‘an you survive on your own
' terms‘.’ Can you break
f laws to survive? Despite the full-on treatment of its characters' emotional careers. little is offered in
kiddies movies - in fact, scenes of the the way of coolness,
boy suffering choking spasms are particularly distressing, even when tempered by an overbearing rendition of Barber’s Adagio for Strings on the soundtrack.
The genuine emotion comes not from images of dying children, but from the courage and dedication shown by the
captured all of the real Augusto’s
objectivity. or what it a means to be HIV positive. i But what you do get is an in-your-face and stroppy declaration of outrage f against intellectual disinterest.
Araki shows his passion. while the rough-and-ready
hand in hand with the film‘s burned-out
adults. Nick Nolte - supposedly having ? stock and editing work i
Latin airs — may at times stray into
- Italian caricature, but Susan Sarandon
is magnificent as Michaela. Hers is a performance of unsurpassed depth, embracing motherly love, blind faith and an abrasive fixation that drives away friends and family. (Alan Morrison)
Lorenzo’s Oil (12) (George Miller, US, 1992) Susan Sarandon, flick Nolte, Zack D’Malley Greenberg. 135 mins. From Fri 5. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead.
| All UCls.
roadscapes. But articulacy
isn‘t The Living End's
3 strength — there's a lot of
anger here. sure enough. .
l but no clear idea how to i
direct it. (Andrew Pulver)
The Livng 11'an I [8)
’ (Gregg Ara/ti. US, [992) Craig (ii/mare. Mike l)_v!ri. Darcy Maria. 84 mins. From Sun 7.‘ Glasgow Film Theatre. From Monday” I 5 Edinburgh Film/muse.