INDEX FILM
Meaney. 95 mins. Business as usual from Grant in the light comedy department. as he stars as one halfof a map- making learn which descends on a Welsh village during the First World War and wins unpopularity by declaring the beloved local landmark a hill. not a mountain. The villagers' subsequent plots and plans have a distinctly lialing air about them. but the~ characterisations (here rather stereotyped and cold) suffer in comparison. Glasgow: ()deon. lidinburgh: ()deon. L'Cl. Strathclyde: l'Cl (Wydebank.
I Exotica ( l8) (Atom ligoyan. Canada. I994) Bruce Greenwood. .Mia Kirschner. lilias Koteas. [()4 mins. A brooding set of troubled souls who collect in a strip club are linked by a dark event in their pasts. In a way. ligoyan's film. despite its setting. isn't about sex at all. It certainly doesn't allow the viewer to escape into fantasy. instead focusing on how these trauitlatised individuals cope with their personal sense of loss. The filmmaker's most accessible film to date. lidinbur‘gh: Filmhouse. Strathclyde: liast Kilbride Arts Centre.
I First Knight (PG) (Jen y Zucker. CS. I995) Richard Gere. Sean Connery. Jtrlia ()rrnond. 132 mins. Without the action set pieces of other period epics or even tlte mysticism of Iz‘rt'u/i/u'r. this disappointing tale of Lancelot's (Gere) love for Guinevere (()rmond) despite her marriage pledge to King Arthur (Connery) is pretty leaden stuff. The matte Camelot landscapes are tacky.
I Fresh ( l8) (Ban Yakin. US. I994) Sean Nelson. Giancarlo Esposito. Samuel L. Jackson. l 15 mins. Twelve-year-old Fresh (Nelson) is reckoned by all-and-sundry to be the neighbourhood gopher: he'll run heroin and crack for local drug-dealers. but he'll also make sure he gets to school on time. Because Fresh has a maturity beyond his years. coupled with a necessary detachment for life around him. and that's what's going to get hint clear of trouble before he's dragged in further. An excellent debut by Yakin. with an extremely moving performance by Nelson. lidinbui'gh: Cattleo.
I Getting Even With Bad (PG) (Howard Deutch.
l'S. I994) Macaulay Ctrlkin. Ted Danson. Glerme lleadley. 109 mins. Danson is a small- time crook doing one last Job to help set him tip in the straight world; Ctrlkin 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. stirring elements of caper. heist. romance and travelogue into something that is not the sum of its parts. The gags are set tip well. but fall to the obvious at the punchline. Glasgow: MGM Paikhead.
I The Good. The Bad and The Ugly ( I5) (Sergio Leone. Italy. I908) Clint liastwood. Lee Van Cleef. F.li Wallach. ltlt) mins. During the American Civil War. a trio of mean gringos squabble over hidden loot. Most people remember the Morricone score from this Leone extravaganza. but the degree of directorial
destroying the Judge System. the only thing that keeps this post-atomic world in order. Fans may have a feeling of unease about Stallone's casting. but in young director Danny Cannon there's at least someone who understands Dredd‘s mythology and who proved. with The Young Americans. that he's good on atmosphere if not plot. General release.
I Kiss Of Death ( l8) (Barbet Schroeder. US. I995) David Caruso. Nicolas Cage. Samuel L. Jackson. l()0 mins. Back in pseudo-noirish territory for a remake of the 1947 genre original. NYPD Blue's Caruso returns to the big screen as a second division crook who reckons he's been double-crossed by the local Mr Big when in prison. Caruso is too low key. particularly in the company of the deliciously over-the-top Cage. ()kay as far as it goes without really going far enough. Fife: Adam Smith.
I leon (18) (l.uc Besson. France. I994) Jean Reno. Nathalie Portman. Gary Oldman. l 10 mins. When his neighbour's family is wiped out by crooked cops on a bungled drugs bust. ice cool hitman Leon finds himself looking after the sole survivor — twelve-year-old Mathilde. l.uc Besson's first film in linglish is. nevertheless. a French film in terms of style. editing and its boldness in story and theme. It's good to see that the director has finally got over the all-style-no- content obstacle. Glasgow: Gl’l‘. lidinburgh: Cameo.
I lite 0t Brian ( l5) (Terry Jones. UK. 1979)
take on mid-life crisis. Latin American Film Festival. Glasgow: Gl'T
I The Madness 0t King George (PG) (Nicholas llytnei‘. liK. I994) Nigel Hawthorne. Helen Mirren. Rupert Everett. llt) mins. Alan Bennett’s adaption of his own stage play is a great British film tn its own right with no lingering sense of theatricality. Nigel llawthornc's excellent portrayal of the King. his .lernerrted behaviour threatening the stability of the nation. gives the film an emotional core. while the script's themes are intelligently handled throughout. lidinburgh: Filmhouse. Fife: Adartr Smith.
I Masque Of The Red Death ( I 5) (Roger Corman. l'S. I904) Vincent Price. llazel Court. lane Asher. 89 mins. The best of Coi'iiran's Poe adaptations. this shows far more visual imagination than most ‘8‘ horror movies. using a series of colour co-ordinated and expressionistic sets to mirror the moral decay at the heart of Italian nobleman Price‘s household. A wonderfully stylised morality tale. Glasgow: Gl’l‘.
I Miarni Rhapsody (15) (David Frankel. US. I995) Sarah Jessica Parker. Antonio Banderas. Mia Farrow. 97 mins. It's not often that Hollywood manages to ptill olT a romantic comedy that comes at yoti consistently from a woman's point of view. Aspiring comedy writer Gwen decides to settle down and get married. only to discover that all of her family are having
affairs. Despite this rather dilTerent approach to romance. the tone isn‘t necessarily cynical. more open and honest for the 90s. Fife: Adam Smith.
I Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Graham Chapman. Terry Jones. John Cleese. Michael Palin. Eric Idle. 93 mins. The Gospel According to Monty Python offended a whole host of religious dortiinations upon its initial
stylisation (Just count the number of times extreme close-ups fill the screen) make it a pretty terriai'kable effort all round. Third and last movie with liastwood as the Man With No
Gere is miscast and ()rmorid can‘t carry a role that‘s obviously been beefed tip due to her recent rise to stardom. Glasgow: ()deon. lidinbiitgh: ()deon. L'Cl. Strathclyde: l'Cl l-Iast Kilbiide.
I The Fox and the Hound (t’i (Frank Thomas. ()llie Johnston. Cliff Nordberg. LS. 1981 ) With the voices of Mickey Rooney. Kurt Rtissell and Pearl Bailey. 83 mins. Sliiggish. unimaginative Disney cartoon in which an orphaned fox ctib and a loveable hunting hound puppy spend an idyllic childhood together until their traditional roles and enmity are reawakened. Cute in a very familiar fashion. Glasgow: MGM Paikhcad. lidinburgh: ()deon. l‘Cl. Strathclyde: l'Cls.
I Free Willy 2 (PG) (Dwight Little. t'S. 1095) Jason James Richter. Michael Madsen. Jayne Atkinson. When his real mother dies. Jesse (Richter) discovers that he has a half-brother. who then joins him and Jesse's foster parents on an island holiday. Killer whale Willy's also there with his family. as is an oil slick (and. ofcout'se. a convenient eco-rrlessage). A tad too anodyne and uninventive to really justify its existence. the movie does have its familiar charms. General release.
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I Jack 8i Sarah ( l5) (Tim Sullivan. UK. I995) Richard F. Grant. Samantha Mathis. Judi Dench. IOS mins. When his wife dies shortly after giving birth to a baby daughter. Jack (Grant) at first rejects the child. but is persuaded to take on his responsibilities by his family. In order to keep his job as a City lawyer. he hires Amy (Mathis) as a live-in nanny. and so adds an extra complication to his life. A familiar scenario. helped along by breezy supporting performances. suffers when it takes a turn into meltxlramatic romance. Glasgow: MGM Film Centre. Borders: Roxy. Fife: Adam Smith.
I Judge Dredd (15) (Danny Cannon. [TK/US. I995) Sylvester Stallone. Armand Assante. Diane Lane. It seems that Mega City ()ne's toughest lawman. Jtrdgc Dredd. has a genetically-mutated clone of a brother. who has just escaped from prison and is bent on
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release. which rather obscured the fact that behind the Controversy lay their most sustained humour to date. A host of very funny setpieces arid smart cameos from all the team climaxes iii a rather fetching musical crucifixion. Glasgow: Gl-‘T.
I lit! to the Scattold (PG) (Louis Malle. France. 1957) Jeanne Moreau. Maurice Ronet. Georges Poujouly. 90 mins. Considered quite a gripping thriller in its day. Malle's first dramatic feature hinges on a perfect crime of murder that does not go according to plan. The cool noir elements are still effective. the Miles Davis score still sets a decadent tone. and Moreau is still glowing on screen. Glasgow (ii-'1‘
I living Together ( 18) (Carlos Galettirti. Argentina. I994) 97 mins. Two middle-aged men with a stagrtant. backwards-looking friendship have their emotions awakened by the arrival — complete with wet T-shirt — of a young woman at the bottom of their garden. A comic
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(PG) (Bryan Spicer. l'S. 1995) Paul Freeman. Gabrielle Fitzpatrick. Amy Jo Johnson. 95 mins. A strictly juvenile big screen versiort of the TV show with the Angel Grove teenagers battling the evil lvan ()oze. Wearing their colour-C(xled jumpsuits. they use good old-fashioned teamwork to tumble and kickbox their way through oodles of monsters. The fights are well- staged. btit some of the effects are tacky. It's all pattto-bland enough to keep the kids happy. General release.
I Mrs Parker And The Vicious Circle ( IS) (Alan Rudolph. US. 1994) Jennifer Jason Leigh. Campbell Scott. Matthew Broderick. 124 mins. A veritable legend in biting one-liners. Dorothy Parker. along with her sophisticated group of literary friends. wielded incredible influence in jazz age America. Alan Rudolph's film reveals her to be a passionate. contradictory woman who toyed alternately with success and suicide. Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance is unique
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The List 25 Aug-7 Sept 1995 77