FILM INDEX
of cat-and-mouse ensrres. Waller's debut is a smart. witty and knowing thriller that offers blotxl-freezing chills and edgy black humour in equal measures. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Odd Man Out (PG) (Carol Reed. UK. 1947)
J ames Mason. Robert Newton. Robert Beatty.
l 16 mins. ()ne of the finest British post-war movies finds Mason as a wounded IRA man on the tilt). staggering through a murky. expressionistic world. llatrnting and lyrical. with a noir-ish plot and an inspired central performance. lidinburglr: I‘ilmhouse.
I One Million Years 0c (PG) (Don Chaffey. l'K. 1966) John Richardson. Raqrrel Welch. Percy lletbert. 100 mins. ery The Dinosaurs I)rcd ()rrt Theory No. 1001: the sight of Raquel Welch clad only in a skimpy fur bikini becanre too much. .\'ot even Ray llarryhatrsen's superb stop-motion monsters could survive this. particularly when the Hammer production threw in an interutribe love story for good measure. Glasgow: (ilrl'.
I Panic In Needle Park ( IX) (Jerry Schatzbet‘g. liS. I971 ) Al Pacino. Kitty Winn. Alan Vint.
I 10mins. A young Al Pacino began to create something of a stir with his performance in this explicit brrt responsible frlm about heroin addiction in New York. Hand-held cameras give a grittily intimate feel to this story of a romance that's descending into the gutter. lidinburgh: liilmhouse. I Passion Fish ( l5) (John Sayles. US. 1992) Mary McDonnell. Alfie Woodard. David Stratlrairn. 135 mins. When a car accident leaves her paralysed. soap star Slay-Alice becomes a self-styled ‘bitch on wheels'. retreating to her home in Louisiana and battling with a succession of nurse-carers until she meets her match in Clrantelle. Perfectly scripted and acted. this is a moving. witty account of two women coming to terms with major changes in their lives. Another classic from Sayles. who reaches emotional depths without resorting to cliches. Glasgow: GI-‘l'.
I Phenomenon (PG) (Jon 'I'tttteltatrb. LS. 1996) John Travolta. Robert Duvall. Kyra Sedgwick. 123 mins. When a strange white light knocks him fiat. rural mechanic George (Travolta) becomes a super-achiever overnight: btrt his newwfound genius ttrrns him into the town pariah and soon the FBI are on his case. This is a big- hearted. big-minded film lit up by cracking performances from every single one of the cast. with Travolta playing the lead with total
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corrrrnitrncnt and honesty. General release. I The Promise (15) (Margarethe von Trotta. Germany. 1994) August Zirner. Corinna llarfouch. Meret Becker. 1 19 mins. Two [East Berlin students in love with each other obtain a plan of the sewer system a couple of years after the Wall goes tip. but only she escapes and for years they remain separated. A heartfelt work from one of Germany's most important directors. which has an epic scope and human central story that might appeal to more than the arthouse crowd. See review. Edinburgh: Filrrihouse. I Pulp Fiction ( 18) (Quentin 'I’arantino. US. 1994) John Travolta. Samuel Jackson. llma Thurman. Bruce Willis. 150 mins. Much more ambitious than Reservoir Dogs, the most awaited second feature of the 90s has many scenes that crackle with Tarantino wit. and a few others that fall flat as the writer-director bravely experiments. Interlocking stories in the pulp crime manner concern hitmen. ailing boxers. gang bosses and their molls. drug fiends. and assorted riff-raff. A surprise Cannes Palrne d‘Or winner is a trip. all the way. Iidinburgh: Cameo. I Rainbow (PG) (Bob Iloskins. UK. 1995) Bob Iloskins. Terry Finn. Jacob Tierney. 91 mins. Four precocious kids from New Jersey ride to the American midwest on a rainbow. but when one pockets some gold. the safety of the world is in jeopardy. The characters lack warmth. while the plot unfolds with little humour and minimal drama. Patchy. insubstantial and charmless. Glasgow: Virgin Cinema. I Richard III (15) (Richard l.oncraine. UK. 1995) Ian McKellen. Annette Bening. Jim Broadbent. 103 mins. L'pdated to lingland during the 30s. Shakespeare's play is sensibly trimmed to concentrate fully on the crookbacked king's murderous rise to the throne. .\chellen gives a commanding performance amidst some wonderful supporting turns. while l.oncraine ensures that the bard has rarely been treated in such splendidly cinematic terms. The fascistic look of the costumes does help clarify some of the divisions in the text. l-‘ife: Adam Smith. I The Rock ( I5) (Michael Bay. L15. 1090) Nicolas Cage. Sean Connery. lid Harris. 135 mins. Psychotic army commander Ilarris takes over Alcatraz and threatens to decirnate San Francisco it) a poison gas attack: but on the goodies side are goofball chemical weapons expert Cage and Connery. the only man ever to have escaped ‘the rock'. Ilyped up M'I'V-style direction. fast cuts. big explosions. Brain removal is recommended for full enjoyment. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: L’Cl Clydebauk. I Secrets And lies (15) (Mike Leigh. UK. 1996) Timothy Spall. Brenda Blethyn. Phyllis Logan. 140 mins. Leigh's Palrne D'()r-winning follow tip to Naked is a bittersweet take on suburban domestic life. Young black optician Hortense searches for the mother who put her up for adoption as a baby. but is surprised to discover it's white working-class Cynthia. Genuinely emotional. with great performances by Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Timothy Spall. but the slrowstopping turn comes from Cannes winner Brenda Blethan. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Small Faces ( 18) (Gillies Mackiunon. UK. 1995) Iain Robertson. Joseph McFadden. J.S. Duffy. 108 mins. Co-written with producer brother Billy. Gillies Mackinnon's marvelloust detailed study about the growing pains of a boy caught in the fringes of Glasgow‘s gangland violence in the 60s emerges as a warm and accurate portrayal of working-class faruily life. Centring on three brothers. it avoids the pitfalls of the Glasgow hard man movie. instead becoming a superior rites-of-passage tale. With Lynn Ramsey's Cannes Award-winning short. Small Dear/is. Central: MacRobert. I Spy llard (PG) (Rick Friedberg. US. 1996) Leslie Nielsen. Nicolette Sheridan. Andy Griffith. 91 mins. Secret agent WD-lO (oh yes. the laughs start here) is an accident-prone Bond type who finds himself up against deadly enemy General Rancor. Another one to add to the growing spoof list — Airplane.’. Hot Shots. Naked Gun - brrt not as good as any of those. Strathclyde: Magnum. I Stealing Beauty (15) (Bernardo Bertolucci. Italy/France/UK. I996) Liv Tyler, Jeremy Irons. Donal McCann. 118 mins. A teenage American beauty (Tyler) visits her late mother's bohemian ex-pat friends in Tuscany with a mind to lose her virginity to the young man for whom she Iras had a lasting infatuation. Rivals for her affections are many. and her arrival unsettles the balance of the house. The photography and handling of - Bertolucci's first Italian-set filrn for fifteen years is characteristically masterful. although the storyline may contain a little too much middle- aged male Iechery. Glasgow: ABC Sauchiehall Street. Odeon at the Quay. Fife: New Picture House. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Striptease (15) (Andrew Bergman. US. 1996) Demi Moore. Burt Reynolds. Armand Assante. I 17 mins. Moore got paid a ludicrous amount of money for one of the biggest teases in cinema history. and disappointed fans in dirty macs
won't find much else in the story to replace their tlrwared expectations. The story of a mum who strips to ensure the upkeep of her daughter. Striptease doesn't know if its comedy. thriller. satire or drama. To say it's better than S/rmi'git'lx is like saying falling offa cliff is better than being hit by a bus. See review. General release. I The Stupids (PG) (John Landis. US. 1996) Tom Arnold. Jessica Lundy. Christopher Lee. 94 mins. America's dumbest family stumble onto w lrat they think is a massive rubbish theft scam. btrt is really a ploy by military baddies to sell arms to world criminals. Again Hollywood says lhick-is-cool in an embarrassing bout of farcical foolishness that stumbles over some woeful jokes. Iidinburgh: L’Cl. I Super 81/2 ( 18) (Bruce LaBrttce. Canada. 1994) Gay porn auteur LaBruce sends himself up in this mock-doc about a Warlrolian gay porn auteur on the decline. Hardcore action (the strongest you're likely to see on a legitimate big screen) alternates with some good comedy and satire. lidinburgh: Filmhouse. I Surrealism Shorts ( 18) At a tangent from the International Surrealist Conference. this programnre ofclassic surrealist shorts includes Bumrel's (/n C/rr'en IIIu/(l/Ull. Clair's Ifntr'acte. Man Ray's lintak Bakia and [Ilfmile De Her and Leger's Le Ila/let .tIet‘atriqtte. Glasgow: (il’l‘. I It Time To Kill ( 15) (Joel Schumacher. US. 1996) Matthew McConaughey. Sandra Bullock. Samuel L, Jackson. 149 mins. Based on an early John Grisham novel. this hellisth over-extended courtroom drama wastes its stellar cast on a crass-fuelled ride to cliche city. Ilot newcomer .‘slcConaughey plays the struggling lawyer defending Jackson on a charge of murdering the
white racist thugs who raped his young daughter:
this being the Deep South. the job ain't going to be easy. Ultimately. it's all very pat and patronising. Glasgow: ABC Sauchiehall Street. Grosvenor. ()deon at the Quay. Virgin Cinema. Iidinburgh: ABC. Dominion. UCI. I-"ife: Robins. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr. UCI Clydebank. L’Cl Iiast Kilbride. I To live ( 12) (Zhang Yirnou. Hong Kong/ China. 1994) Ge You. Gong Li. Nitr Ben. 125 mins. With a gentle injection of humour alongside the tragedy. erang returns to the epic scope of his earlier films. following the effects of history on an unimposing family. The ironies thrown up by political changes. taking in the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. may have bizarrely comic consequences. but they also inflict pain at a grass-roots level. Ge You is a magnificent lead. Glasgow: GI’I'. I Toy Story (PG) (John Lasseter. US. 1995) With the voices ofTom Hanks. Tim Allen. Don Rickles. 81 mins. It isn't just the state-of—the-art images that distinguish Disney's first computer- generated animation feature. it's got a cracking adventure story too. A tale of friendship and self-beliefcombined with an exciting rescue and against-the-clmk tension. 'Iov Story is sprinkled with comic asides. Don't be fooled into thinking these toys are just for the kids. Strathclyde: Magnum. Wth Leisure Centre. I Trainspotting ( 18) (Danny Boyle. UK. 1995) [Ewan McGregor. liwen Bremner. Robert Carlyle. Jonnyl.ee Miller. 93 mins. John Hodge's screenplay perfectly captures the desperate humour of Irvine Welsh's novel. keeping the episodic structure ofjunkie scenes for the first half. before concentrating more on Renton in l.ondorr in the later stages. Past and stylish direction. creative soundtrack and acting that's off-the-rails excellent. A cinematic blast from beginning to end. which also shows a coruplex — and trtre — understanding of the ltrre and fatal consequences of drug-taking. Glasgow: City Centre Odeon. Odeon at the Quay. Edinburgh: Odeon. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr. I The Truth About Cats And Dogs ( l 5) (Michael Lehmann. US. 1996) Urna Thurman. Janeane Garofalo. Ben Chaplin. 94 mins. An insecure radio Irost asks her beautiful neighbour to help her woo a British photographer. Modern female take on Cyrano De Bergerac. which keeps things moving in pleasant romantic comedy manner with plenty of sight gags and one-liners. But the whole concept is guarcnteed to split audiences between those who agree beauty is only skin deep and those who reckon it's only right to be disappointed if your date turns out not to be Uma Thurman. Edinburgh: Cameo. Dominion. UCI. Fife: Adam Smith. Strathclyde: Magnum. I Twister (PG) (Jan De Bont. US. 1996) Helen Hunt. Bill Paxton. Jami Gertz. 113 mins. A meteorologist and his estranged scientist wife get together again while chasing the biggest tornado to hit Oklahoma in decades. The plot is slight. but the characters are interesting and. of course. the special effects are amazing. But the structure is too repetitive — each storm is a little bigger. each encounter a little closer - for this to be something really special. Glasgow: ABC Sauchiehall Street. City Centre Odeon. Odeon at the Quay. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCI. Borders: Pavilion. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
Catch the best FIIm this fortnight.
FIRST IIIIII » ‘- III Antonio’s Line This year’s Oscar- ‘» winner for Best Foreign Film is a rich celebration of five generations of " women from a rural community in the Netherlands. See review. Glasgow: GFT Edinburgh: F r' lmlrouse. {ll Dead Presidents TheHughes brothers’ follow-up to Menace II Society goes back in time to just after the Vietnam War when a young Marine and his street friends decide to hold up an armoured security van. See review. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. I Les Apprentis Gerard Depardieu's son Guillaume stars in this classy French comedy about a pair of social misfits who get into burglary when they’re evicted from their rent-free home. See review. Edinburgh: 1" lint/rouse. III Independence Day Alien invasion ’ on a scale never seen before, as state- of-the-art effects rrrake the destruction of the world's major cities startlingly realistic. Cinema as popcorn -. . spectacle. General release. REPERTOIIY r - ~ I The Godfather/1’ he Godfather Part II Coppola’s twin masterpieces ar'e ' among the best American films ever made. part gangster drama, part historical epic. Re-released in new prints. Glasgow: GFIZ
I Two Faces Of Dr Jekyll ( 18) (Terence Fisher. UK. 1960) Paul Massie. Dawn Addams. Christopher Lee. 88 mins. Stevenson comes under the spell of Hammer Studios as a rather charming Mr Hyde cavorts tlrrorrgh the seedier nightspots of Victorian London while his scientist alter-ego Jekyll seems a little odd and aloof by comparison. Carueo performances from the likes of Oliver Reed enliven a rather shallow reading of the original text. Glasgow: GFI'.
I Vampire Circus ( t 8) (Robert Young. UK. 1971) Adrienne Corr'i. Laurence Payne. Thorley Walters. 87 mins. The odd atmosphere of a strange East Iiuropean circus troupe gives way to more typical Ilarnmer vampire elements in this intriguing horror movie. tinged with the requisite amount of sex. Glasgow: Gl-T.
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20 The List 20 Sept-3 Oct I996