The List: 19 Aug 1994 (83/104)

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Pullman. 110 mins. After double-crossing her husband. stealing some drugs sale cash and holing up in a small town. Grade ‘A' bitch Bridget Gregory uses her sexual charms to lure the naive Mike Swale into a plan that will free her from her troubles. No one handles polished pulp like John (Red Rock West) Dahl. and here he's got the added advantage of a deliciously nasty performance from Linda Fiorentino as a femme who's more fatale than most. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: UCl.

I The Mask ~(PG) (Charles Russell. US. 1994) Jim Carrey. Cameron Diaz. Peter Reigert. 95 mins. A timid bank clerk ﬁnds an ancient mask that allows him to fulﬁl his innennost desires as a suave charmer and crime-ﬁghting whirlwind. An amalgam of 20s. 30s and 40s decor. The Mask has a skimpy plot. but its rousing musical set- pieces and eye-popping computer-generated effects (like a live action Tex Avery cartoon) make it the surprise hit of the summer. See review. General release.

I ﬂavericlt (PG) (Richard Donner. US. 1994) Mel Gibson. Jodie Foster. James Garner. 127 mins. Romantic gambler Bret Maverick has got to get up a big enough pot to enter a poker game with a stake of half a million dollars. but encounters various loose and at times unconnected adventures on the way. A card-con movie with westem trappings. Maverick showcases the ‘unpredictable' quirks ofGibson's screen persona. the kind of thing that he gives a lunatic edge in the Lethal Weapon series. Rollicking. pre-packaged entertainment that slips into the shambolic. General release.

I MB Doubtfire (PG) (Chris Columbus. US. 1993) Robin Williams. Sally Field. Pierce Brosnan. 125 mins. Separated from his wife and kids. out-of-work voice actor Daniel Hillard (Williams) dons make-up and body-padding to become a sexagenarian nanny. Another top- notch comic performance bv Williams. who makes the most of his split personality rest without becoming overly sentimental. Hugely enjoyable and well pitched with gags for the whole audience. Glasgow: Odeon.

I My Life (12) (Bruce Joel Rubin. US. 1993) Michael Keaton. Nicole Kidman. Haing S. Ngor. 117 mins. in the process of making a video about his life for his unbom son. PR man Bob Jones disovers that having cancer is forcing him to reassess what is truly important. Rubin treads a very similar path to Ghost and Jacob '5 Ladder (both of which he wrote). alternating doses of sentiment with some depreciating and very human humour from Keaton. Central: MacRobert.

I My Girl 2 (PG) (Howard Zieff. US. 1993) Anna Chlumsky. Austin O‘Brien. Dan Aykroyd. Jamie Lee Curtis. 98 mins. While off at her uncle's for the summer. Vada (Chlumsky) researches the life of her deceased mother for a school project. This sequel to 1992's surprise hit opens the story out a little and still manages to be sweetly nostalgic and painfully honest - in a young teen sense — at the same time. Not to everyone's taste. but an uncommonly touching coming-of—age story. Glasgow: Odeon.

I Needful Things (15) (Fraser C. Heston. US. 1993) Ed Harris. Max Von Sydow. Bonnie Bedelia. 120 mins. A mysterious stranger opens an antique shop in Castle Rock and has the town‘s inhabitants at each other's throats when he demands a prank in payment. Superior Stephen King adaptation. helped along by climactic pyrotechnics. a comic-style morality slant on avarice and an exceptional cast. Glasgow: Odeon.

I North (PG) (Rob Reiner. US. 1994) Elijah Wood. Jon Lovitz. Bruce Willis. 87 mins. Universally popular. but ignored by his folks. North goes out in search of new parents. but time is running out as he travels the world: better ﬁnd a new set soon. or it's the orphanage. And then there‘s the pressure from the kids of the world who are enjoying the new-found power his antics have given them. A constantly inventive fable that shows respect for all ages of its audience. Rob Reiner’s only lets itselfdown by committing a cardinal sin in the last few minutes. Glasg0w: Odeon. Edinburgh: Odeon. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.

I (in Deadly W (18) (Steven Seagal. US. 1993) Steven Seagal. Michael Caine. Joan Chen. 110 mins. No longer is the thinking man‘s Chuck Norris kicking the shit out of low-life scumbags. now he's kicking the shit out of capitalist scumbags intent on destroying the delicate balance of the eco-system by oil exploration. First-time director Seagal stages the action scenes with great skill. but falls down with the characterisation and speechifying environmentalist tone. Fife: Adam Smith.

I Once Upon A fine In The West (15) (Sergio Leone. US. 1968) Henry Fonda. Charles Bronson. Claudia Cardinale. Jason Robards. 165 mins. Probably Leone's best ﬁlm. this classic westem details in operatic fashion the drive of crooked railroad magnate Fonda to cheat widow Cardinale out of her land. until lone stranger Bronson comes to town. Brilliant Morricone score. achingly slow pacing. and an enthusiastic use of the wide screen mark this out as an idiosyncratic gem. Fife: Adam Smith.

I The P390! ( 15) (Ron Howard. US. 1994) Michael Keaton. Robert Duvall. Glenn Close. Marisa Tomei. 112 mins. A day on a sleazy New York tabloid (called The Sun): the news editor (Keaton) has to scoop back on the papers who scooped him the day before. his wife (Tornei) is very pregnant. his man-eating managing editor (Close) is pushing him to run an incorrect. better-selling version of the lead story. Easily accessible outside the world ofjoumalism. The Paper. like is subject. forgettable but entertaining. Fife: Adam Smith.

I Pats. Texas ( 15) (Wim Wenders. US/W. Germany. 1984) Harry Dean Stanton. Natassja Kinski. Hunter Carson. 144 mins. Missing for four years. middle-aged loner Stanton turns up in the Texan outback. and is later reunited with his son. The two embark on a trek across America to ﬁnd his estranged wife. the young boy's mother. Wenders' coolly dislocating visual sense of combines with writer Sam Shepard‘s version of America‘s desolate heartlands to produce a

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I Philadelphia (12) (Jonathan Demme. US. 1993) Tom Hanks. Denzel Washington. Jason Robards. 125 mins. A lawyer takes his former employers to court. convinced that he has been’ sacked because he is suffering from AIDS. Demmc's ﬁlm goes as far as any mainstream Hollywood movie on this subject could in the current climate. but for all its compromises. it should be applauded for avoiding any notion of manipulative death-bed sensationalism. Hanks. for once. is allewed to break free from lightweight comic roles. and delivers a moving performance. Edinburgh: Odeon.

I The Piano (15) (Jane Campion. Australia/New Zealand. 1993) Holly Hunter. Sam Neill. Harvey Keitel. 120 mins. Jane Campion's masterpiece follows mute Scotswoman Ada (Hunter) as she travels to l9th century New Zealand with her piano and daughter to enter into an arranged marriage. Soon she begins a passionate and erotic affair with her illiterate neighbour as the means of regaining her treasured instrument. lmpeccable performances lift this highly charged piece to the realms of classic cinema. undoubtedly one of the best ﬁlms of the 90s. Edinburgh: Odeon.

I Raining Stones ( 15) (Ken Loach. UK. 1993) Bruce Jones. Julie Brown. Ricky Tomlinson. 90 mins. Another slice of real life from one of Britain's most dedicated ﬁlmmakers. An unemployed father brings terror to his household when he goes to a loanshark in order to pay for his daughter's ﬁrst communion dress. Throughout. the northem community's sense of natural humour makes this a heartening. amusing and very accessible ﬁlm indeed. Glasgow: GFT. I lied ﬂock West ( 15) (John Dahl. US. 1992) Nicolas Cage. Lara Flynn Boyle. Dennis Hopper. 98 mins. Mistaken for a Texas hitman. Nicolas Cage is offered $5.0(X) by a smalltown sheriff to kill his wife . . . and then double the amount by her if he'll reverse the hit. Scooting out of town with the money and the job undone. he bumps into the real killer. and his problems begin. A slick tale of double. triple and quadruple dealing that adds a comic twist to the tight Blond Simple atmosphere. Glasgow: GET.

I The Remains of the Day (U) (James lvory. UK. 1993) Anthony Hopkins. Emma Thompson. James Fox. 134 mins. A butler reminisces on the pre-WW2 days he spent in Darlington Hall. when he turned a blind eye to his employer‘s dealings with the Nazis and his own feelings for the housekeeper. ()ne of Merchant-lvory's best. with Hopkins the epitome of English emotional repression. Glasgow: GFI”. Edinburgh: ()deon. I Reservoir Dogs ( 18) (Quentin Tarantino. US. 1992) Harvey Keitel. Tim Roth. Michael Madsen. 1(X) mins. A gang of hoods. known only to each other by colour-coded nicknames. meets at an abandoned warehouse to ﬁgure how out their rigorously planned heist went so drastically wrong. The best debut in years from writer-director Tarantino. whose stylish violence seduces the audience into complicity. Brilliant in every sense of the word. Glasgow: ()deon. Edinburgh: ()deon. Strathclyde: ()dcon Ayr. L'Cl East Kilbn'de.

I Schindler's list (15) (Steven Spielberg. US.

1993) Liam Neeson. Ralph Fiennes. Ben Kingsley. 195 mins. During WW2. Gemtan industrialist and Nazi Party member ()skar Schindler saved the lives of over a thousand Jewish employees by demanding they work in his factory rather than be sent to Auschwitz. Spielberg's magniﬁcent movie and Neeson's performance capture this enigmatic brand of heroism. while depicting traumatic events in documentary-like black-and—white images. Psychologically complex. emotionally devastating and artistically irnpeachable. this is one of the best ﬁlms ever made. Edinburgh: Odeon.

I La Scorta (18) (Ricky 'l‘ognaui. Italy. 1993) Claudio Amendola. Enrico Lo Verso. Carlo Cecchi. 95 mins. inspired by the real life story of a magistrate who moved from nothem Italy to the Maﬁa stronghold of Sicily. this is a searing. cdge-of-seat thriller concentrating on the bravery. dedication and comradeship of his personal police escort. The tension never lets off. Fife: Adam Smith.

I Serial Mom (18) (John Waters. US. 1994) Kathleen Turner. Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake. 93 mins. Underneath the apple-pie ideals of the Sutphins' model suburban home. mom Beverly is going to deadly extremes to keep her family nest feathered. The sickest. funniest American comedy to hop the Atlantic for ages. Waters latest adds a zesty twist of cruelty to satire on family values. political correctness and America's adulation of criminals in the media. Glasgow: MGM Film Centre.

I Shadowlands (PG) (Richard Attenborough. US. 1993) Anthony Hopkins. Debra Winger. Joey Manelo. I31 ntins. The true story of Oxford don and children's novelist CS. Lewis who. late in life. married feisty American divorcee Joy Gresham. only to lose her to cancer a few years later. Superlative acting front all concemed. with Hopkins opening his emotions more than usual and Attenborough showing that he can work effectively on a detailed. intimate canvas. Edinburgh: ()deon.

I Sirens ( 15) (John Duigan. Aus. 1994) Hugh Grant. Tara l-‘itzgeral. Sam Neill. Elle MacPherson. 94 mins. Christian morality meets bohemian expression. English prissiness meets Australian freedom. as a newly arrived English curate and his wife visit the home of ‘scandalous' painter Norman Lindsay. ~Hugh Grant is his bumbling screen self. Tara Fitzgerald perches on the edge of a sexual chasm as his wife. supermodel Elle MacPherson brings an easy. unselfconscious sexuality to it all. Fairly dull. really. but the nude tableaux add visual appeal. We may not know much about art. bttt we know what we like. Glasgow: ()deon. UCls. I Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (U) (Walt Disney. US. 1937) With the voices of Adriana Caselotti. Harry Stockwell. Lucille La Verne. 83 mins. One of the most enchanting and influential of animated features. The central character is a mite wet but the individualistic dwarfs. memorable songs. superbly crafted backdrops and characters make this an essential cinematic experience. Now restored. frame by frame. with the colour as sharp as ever. General release.

BACARDI.

The List: 19 Aug 1994 (Issue 234)