FILM INDEX
BACARDI BLACK
FILM
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
I Ace Venttn: Pet Detective (12) (Tom Shadyac. US. 1994) Jim Carrey, Sean Young. Courtney Cox. 86 mins. When Snowflake. mascot of the Miami Dolphins. goes missing. there's only one man for the job — Ace Ventura. a cross between Phillip Marlowe and Dr Doolittle. Another American TV comedian to successfully make the transfer to the big screen. Carrey's wacky persona doesn't outstay its welcome in this funny and bizarre movie. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank.
I The m M imoeence (U) (Martin Scorsese. US. 1993) Daniel Day-Lewis. Michelle Pfeiffer. Winona Ryder. 138 mins. Up—and-coming lawyer Newland Archer risks the wrath of 1870s New York society when he falls in love with the scandal-shrouded Countess Olenska. despite being already engaged. Scorsese is magnificently faithful to Edith Wharton's novel. while painting its troubled emotions with an eloquent camera. Opulent and richly detailed. with no release from the intemalised pain of passion. Edinburgh: Odeon.
I Baby's Day Out (PG) (Patrick Read Johnson. US. 1994) Joe Mantegna. Lara Flynn Boyle. Brian Haley. 98 mins. Talk about regression! After Home Alone and Dennis. writer John Hughes now has a drooling toddler on the loose in the big city after he escapes from his kidnappers. led by man-with-no—shame Mantegna. Saccharine sweet storytelling which diabetics would be well advised to steer clear of. See review. General release.
I The Ballad Of Little .lo (15) (Molly Greenwald. US. 1993) Suzy Amis. Bo Hopkins. Ian McKellen. 121 mins. An unusual western that redefines the genre through modern. politically correct eyes (feminism. anti-racism and homophilia raise their anachronistic heads). Josephine Monaghan cuts her hair and passes her off as cowboy Jo after her family disowns her for becoming an unmarried mother. The male- dominated society she comes up against. and ultimately defeats. is a mirror of today. Beautifully shot. the androdynous casting is interesting and a little unsettling. Fife: Adam Smith.
I The Beveriy llillbillies (PG) (Penelope Spheeris. US. 1993) Jim Vamey. Cloris Leachman. Erika Eleniak. Diedrick Bader. 103 mins. A bunch of backwoods natives strike oil. become billionaires and move to Beverly Hills. There are only a couple of almost wry momean amid the excruciatingly bad puns. desperate parodies and inane slapstick. and the writers seem to believe we need a stupid face or pose every 60 seconds. That‘s a formula that might work on TV with constant commercial breaks. but not in a cinema feature. Edinburgh: UCl. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank.
I Beverly llills Cop 3 (15) (John Landis. US. 1994) Eddie Murphy. Judge Reinhold. Hector Elizondo. 107 mins. Axel‘s boss takes a bullet. so he heads off to an LA theme park to track down the baddie. Terrible plotting. ineffectual action scenes. insulting jumps in the narrative filled in by stilted vocal explanations — if there's a worse film this year. 1 don't want to see it. Edinburgh: UCI.
I Niall on the Beach ( l2) (Gurinder Chadha. UK. 1993) Kim Vithana. Jimmi Harkishin. Sarita Khajuria. 100 mins. A group of Asian women from Birmingham leave their day-to-day cares behind them and head in a van for Blackpool. But the problems of culture clashes. a patriarchal community. domestic violence and generation gaps follow them onto the sand. A magnificently fresh. uplifting view of life in Britain through Asian eyes. Glasgow: GET.
I M Cheque (PG) (Rupert Wainwright. US. 1993) Brian Bonsall. Karen Duffy. Miguel Ferrer. 94 mins. When some guy runs over his bike. eleven-year-old Preston Waters is hurriedly given a blank cheque. which he subsequently cashes for a cool million dollars. But the signatory is thief Carl Quigley. and soon he‘s on the kid‘s trail. Every youngster's dream-come- true meets routine slapstick and slushy morality in what isn't the most subtle or original movie you'll see this year. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.
I m World 2 (15) 75 mins. A rare opportunity to catch a showcase of international computer animation. This programme is made
With its frenetic pacing, eye-popping special effects and choreographed set-pieces, this screen incarnation of the Dark Horse Comics character provides the perfect vehicle for Ace Ventura star .lim Carrey’s limited but effective comic talents. lie plays timid bank clerk Stanley Ipltiss, whose pyjamas are the most exciting thing in his humdrum life. Then, after yet another night on the town ends up in rejection and humiliation, he finds an ancient mask that allows him to fulfil his innermost desires. low a suave charmer and crime-fighting whirlwind, The Mask sets out to win pulchritudinous chanteuse Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz), who naturally is tied up with a jealous gangster.
The film’s stylised world is an
A amalgam of 20s, 30s and 40s costume
and set design, something which finds purest expression in the Coco Bongo
The Mask: ‘eye-popping special effects’
nightclub where the now transformed Stanley first claps eyes on sultry singer Tina. Courtesy of Ken llalston’s special effects, The Mask’s jaw literally drops, his eyes bug out and his tongue rolls across the table onto the floor. Charles llussell (who directed A llightmare 0n Elm Street 111: Dream Warriors and the 1988 remake of The Blob) achieves a breakneck pacing and visual surrealism that recalls those old Tex Avery and Chuck Jones cartoons. The plot is as skimpy as Diaz’s dresses, but with its rousing musical set-pieces, engaging lead performance and sensiny modest running time, this is destined to be the surprise hit of the summer. (lligel Floyd)
The Mask (PC) (Charles Russell, US, 1994) Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Beigert. 95 mins. From Fri 19. General release.
up of some of the latest state—of-the-art work in the rapidly expanding field digital and computer- generated images. Curated by Film & Video Umbrella. Glasgow: GET.
I Cool liunnings (PG) (John Turteltaub. US. 1993) Doug Doug. Leon. John Candy. 99 mins. Speculative comedy based on the first-ever Jamaican bobsled team at the last Winter Olympics is hamilessly amiable. but unfortunately cranks up too many moralistic messages complete with appropriate accompanying music. Still. audiences seem to like its easy-going nature. making it an affectionate tribute to the late John Candy. Borders: Pavilion.
I The Crow (18) (Alex Proyas. US. 1994) Brandon Lee. Ernie Hudson. Richelle Davis. 101 mins. infamous as the film on which martial arts star Bruce Lee's son Brandon was killed by a defective stunt gun. this is the most consistent attempt yet to create on film the distinctive feel of the graphic novel. The characterisation and plot development may be slight — a rock star comes back from the dead to wrech revenge on the gang who killed him and his girlfriend — but stylistically. it's a gem. Glasgow: Odeon.
I The Exorcist (18) (William Friedkin. US. 1973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. 110 mins. Earnest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scarey. dead priest. Glasgow: Odeon. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.
I Faraway, So Close! (15) (Wim Wenders. Germany. 1993) Otto Sander. Nastassja Kinski. Bruno Ganz. 144 mins. Wenders's sequel to Wings Of Desires again focuses on the divide between humans and angels. and has one of the winged ones experience the joys and pains of terrestrial life. However. after an exhilerating opening and some stunning photography. the film falls apart when it attempts a B movie gun-
running narrative. From genius to incompetence in a matter of frames. ~Glasgow: GET.
I Farewell My Concubine (15) (Chen Kaige. China. 1993) Gong Li. Leslie Cheung. Zhang Fengyi. 156 mins. The story of two Peking Opera actors and the woman who comes between them provides an intimately detailed story which is set to a constantly shifting backdrop of Chinese politics during the 20th century. The Opera setting provides colour and spectacle. and questions how far a man will go for his art; the historical episodes give this Palme d'Or winning film the flavour of a genuine epic. Central: MacRobert.
I The Fisher King (15) (Teny Gilliam. US. 1991) Robin Williams. Jeff Bridges. Amanda Plummer. Mercedes Ruehl. 137 mins. A suicidal former radio DJ (Bridges) and a drop-out former professor of medieval history go in search of the Holy Grail in contemporary New York. The visual splendour of Gilliam's previous movies -- Time Bandits and Baron Munchausen - is more 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 copout. up-beat ending. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I The Flintstones (U) (Brian Levant. US. 1994) John Goodman. Rick Moranis. Elizabeth Perkins. Rosie O‘Donnell. 92 mins. Fred is promoted to an executive post at the quarry. but only as a stooge for his boss‘s corporate rip-off; nevertheless. money and power go to the Flintstones' heads. causing friction with the Rubbles. The movie keeps to the TV series‘ prehistoric parody of modem suburban life. adds bright and chunky sets and a post-yuppie
morality tale on greed that doesn’t quite sit right.
and comes out a little plot-heavy. The one-liners will be picked up by adults. kids will get bored. But it's no the yabba-dabba dodo it could have been. General release.
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I Four Weddings And A Funeral (15) (Mike Newell. UK. 1993) Hugh Grant. Andie MacDowell. Kristin Scott Thomas. 117 mins. Sweet but stuffy Englishman Charlie (Grant) is convinced that he is not the marrying sort. but when he keeps meeting the alluring American Carrie (MacDowe11)at an assortment of church ceremonies. he begins to doubt his resolve. The sort of charming British comedy that was destined to storm America. but which adds a little grit to the glamour of the pretty settings thanks to Richard (Blat‘krtdder) Curtis‘s script. General release. I The Getaway ( 18) (Roger Donaldson. US. 1994) Kim Basinger. Alec Baldwin. Michael Madsen. 115 mins. Much more of a star vehicle than the tougher Peckinpah original. this bank- roberry-revenge-chase could do well to cut away from the leads and focus more on the weirdo subplot following double-crossed baddie Michael Madsen and loopy hostage Jennifer Tilly. The plot has interesting elements. but it‘s all a bit to glossy for a hard crime thriller. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. I Betting Even With Bad (PG) (Howard Deutch. US. 1994) Macaulay Culkin. Ted Danson. Glenne Headley. 109 mins. Danson is a small- tirne crook doing one last job to help set him up in the straight world; Culkin is his estranged son who rumbles his dad‘s plan. takes the loot and blackmails him into doing the bonding good- time thing. A hotch-potch movie. sti.ring elements of caper. heist. romance and travelogue into something that is not the sum of its pans. The gags are set up well. but fail to the obvious at the punchline. Glasgow: MGMs. Edinburgh: UCl. Strathclyde: Cannon. UCI Clydebank. I lligh Heels (15) (Pedro Almodovar. Spain. 1991) Victoria Abril. Miguel Bose. Marisa Paredes. 115 mins. More melodramatic frolics from Spain's finest. this time in the shape of a murderous triangle between a mother. her daughter and the latter's husband. While Almodovar isn't quite at his best. Abril excels as the TV news presenter who admits on air to her hubby's killing. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I lnTheliameCfTheFathertlSHJim Sheridan. US/Eire. 1993) Daniel Day-lewis. Pete Postlethwaite. John Lynch. 133 mins. Writer-director Sheridan manipulates the facts concerning the wrongful arrest and eventual acquittal of Geny Conlon. one of the Guildford Four; but the deep. disturbing truths of this miscarriage ofjustice remain constant. Day- Lewis and Postlethwaite give career-best performances as Gerry and Guiseppe Conlon. the father and son whose relationship provides the emotional core of the movie. Brave. powerful stuff. Edinburgh: Odeon. I heassic M (PG) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1993) Sam Neill. Laura Dem. Jeff Goldblum. A group of scientists are invited to give their approval to a theme park filled with genetically engineered dinosaurs. but the giant reptiles are soon running amok. Unsurpassed computer effects ensure that the dinosaurs themselves are terrifyineg believable (rnoreso than the PG cenificate would suggest). but by the halfway point. it's more or less a chase movie with superior technology. Glasgow: Odeon. Central: MacRobert. I Kalifornia (18) (Dominic Sena. US. 1993) Brad Pitt. Juliette Lewis. David Duchovny. Michelle Forbes. 118 mins. Take a car. a writer of a thesis. a photographer. a white trash woman- child and a murderous psycho. and put them on a road trip to the sites of various serial killings. The result is not your average serial killer movie. but a tight and stylish character-driven piece that plays with our fascination for killers while delivering some slap-bang gore. Glasgow: MGM Parkhead. I Kings Of The lload (15) (Wirn Wenders. W. Germany. 1976) Rudiger Vogler. Bruno Ganz. 176 mins. A businessman escaping from his domestic responsibilities joins up with a travelling cinema equipment repairman in an odyssey round the rural movie houses of Germany. Brilliant road movie more than bearing comparison with its American models. The episodic narrative and bleak monochrome cinematography emanate an almost palpable sense of despair. Highly recommended. Glasgow: GET. I The Last of the Mohicens ( 15) (Michael Mann. US. 1992) Daniel Day-Lewis. Madeleine Stowe. Russell Means. Steven Waddington. 122 mins. James Fenimore Cooper's tale of the English/French colonial wars in America becomes the most thrilling movie of the year in the hands of Mann (Manhunrer) and a splendid cast. Day-Lewis makes a fine Hawkeye. blending Native American and European nobility to create a sympathetic. truly memorable hero. Fife: Adam Smith. I The Last Wtifll (15) (John Dahl US. 1993) Linda Fiorentino. Peter Berg. Bill
80 The List 19—25 August 1994