achieve several contemporary parallels. A costume drama with depth beneath the costumes. (ilasgow; (il'T
Romeo And Juliet t l 3) (Bax. Lithi'mann. Atistralia/US. I996) Leonardo DiCaprio. Claire Danes. l’ete l’ostlethwaite. l3() mins. The Sll‘lt'lh Bullion/ii director's treatment of the Shakespeare tragedy is a magnificent riot of colour. action and sexy teen romance. without any need to sacrifice the text. To call it 'MTV tilmmaking‘ misses the point that the camera tricks and iii-jokes don't in any way distract from the fact that l.uhrmann has completely grasped the issues at the centre of the play. An intoxicating. breathtaking mix of Catholic iconography. high camp and street violence that's both deliciously feverish and sttidiedly cool. (ilasgow: ()deons. Showcase. UCl (‘lydebank lidinburgh: Cameo. U('l. liast Kilbride:
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The Saint t l2) (l’hilip Noyce. US. I997) Val Kilmer. lilisabeth Shue. Rade Serbedzija. ll-l mins. Snapping at the highly successful heels of .‘lliiiimi: liii/mvvi/i/t' comes another 90s cinema version of a 60s TV espionage series. Master thief Simon Templar tKilmer) is pitted against a nationalistic Russian megalomaniac in this surprisineg playful filtn which balances action with our hero's variety of silly disguises for most of the tnovie keep both him and its amused. (ieneral release. Schloss Vogelod (PU) tl-ZW. Murnati. (iermaiiy. l93l ) 6() mins. The director of l’uuil and A'm/i'rtilu has a similarly uneasy atmosphere that mixes the real and unreal. A beautiful baroness arrives at a castle to join a hunting party. btit everyone knows her husband died in mysterious circumstances. (ilasgow: (ii-"T. lidinburgh: liilmhouse. Scream t l8) tWes ('raven. L'S. I996) Neve Campbell. (‘ourteney (‘ox. Drew Barrymore. l | Imitis. Rather than depart from the traditional devices. shockmeiser ('raven plays safe with what he does best. but plays it kllrni'lllg’ll. The teenagers of Woodsboro know they're typical stalker fodder. so when a killer hits town. they gather in an enormous house to watch horror movies as
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the real bad guy gets closer. Self-conscious references are good fun. the opening sequence is genuine white-knuckle material. and ~ if you know the rules — you‘ll find it perfectly scary atid funny. See feature and review. (ienei'al release.
Secrets And Lies t )5) (Mike Leigh. t'ts‘. I996) Timothy Spall. Brenda Blethyn. Phyllis Logan. I40 mins Leigh's l’aline l)'()r-winning follow tip to MIMI is a bittersweet take on suburban domestic life. Young black optician Hortense searches for the mother who ptit her up for adoption as a baby. btit is surprised to discover its white working-class ('ynthia. (ienuinely emotional, with great [X‘rfornrances by Marianne Jean-Baptiste atid Timothy Spall. but the showstopping turn comes from (’annes winner Brenda Blethan. lidinbiirgh. ('ameo.
Shine ( l 2) (Scott llicks. Atistralia. I996) (ieoffrey Rush. Noah Taylor. Armin Mueller-Stahl. 105 mins. Winner of nine [OP awards at Atistralia‘s equivalent of the ()scars. Slime is a remarkable atid devastating film about the hfe of child
prodigy and pianist David Helfgott. who was forced to retire from the stage due to a mental breakdown. but returned later in life. The performances show real love. while the recital passages are presented with a conviction that underlines the quality of the film as a whole. lidinbiirgh; Dominion. Irvine. WMR. Kirkcaldy: Adam Stnith. Stirling. MacRobert.
Some Mother's Son i I 5) i’I’ei-ry (teoi-ge. Ireland/LS. 1996) Helen Mirren. l5ioiintila lilanagan. Aidan (iillen. Ill mins. This gripping account of the IRA hunger strikes during the early 80s focuses on two fictional mothers. one a gentle pacifist. the other with a fierce hatred of soldiers. 'l'erry (ieorge. writer of In The Name ()f The Father makes his debut as director and. while his film is not overly objective. it does recognise humanity on all sides. lidinbtirgli: liilmhouse.
Space Jam il'i iJoe Pyika. [78. two) Michael Jordan. Btigs Bunny. Wayne Ktiight. S7 mins. Nasty alien cartoons have captured Bugs Bunny and are going to enslave the l,ooney Tunes in their
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amusement park on Moron Mountain. btit Bugs has the brainwave of challenging them to a basketball game and enlisting the talents of Michael Jordan for his team. Lacking the class of Who l’runtci/ Roger Rti/iliilf’ and the pace of a real basketball game. Spare .ltllll should divert the kids on Saturday mornings. even though the jokes and effects are tired from over-use. (ieiieral release.
Star Wars: Special Edition tU) t(‘ieoige Lucas. US. I977/97) Mark Hamill. Harrison liord. Carrie Fisher. l26 mins. A screen legend returns. slightly souped-up for the modern audience: sound is suitably thunderous. the minimal extra footage of largely anorak interest. and the additional digital effects rather obviously painted in. Set against today‘s blockbusters. it has becotne something of a period piece. However. for its conceptual imagination. its innocence of spirit and budget-stretching technical resource Lucas's movie milestone remains just that. (ieneral release. Starmaker ( l5) ((itiiseppe 'l'ornatore. ltaly. I995) Sergio (‘astellitto. Tiziana Lodato. liranco Scaldati. ll} mins. Like his award— winning ('i'iiwmi l’urtii/isu. this film from 'l'ornatore features beautiful cinematography. but this time the celebration of cinematic illusion is given a backseat role in favour of colourful characterisation. A contnan armed with a camera comes to I953 Sicily offering locals the possibility of fame in return for a paid-for screentest. btit is touched by the personal stories his subjects relate. A magical and refreshing insight into the dreams and disappointments of everyday people. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Stella Does Tricks (Coky (iiedi-oyc. UK. I996) Kelly Macdonald. Hans Mathieson. liwan Stewart. 97 mins. A special chance to catch the AL. Kennedy scripted movie at a Mayfest gala premiere before it goes on release later in the year. 'I‘rui'ns-lmlling's Kelly Macdonald plays a troubled teenager who leaves her life as a prostitute in London to return to (ilasgow and bring revenge to her abusive lather. (ilasgow: (il’l‘.
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