FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Danny The Champion Of The World (U) (Gavin Millar. UK. I989) Jeremy Irons. Robbie Coltrane. Cyril Cusack. 97 mins. Roald Dahl's tale of a corrupt property baron and pheasant-slayer (Coltrane) given his come-uppance by resourceful nine-year old Danny becomes a family movie in more ways than one. Millar. whose past work includes Dennis Potter's disturbing Lewis Carroll piece Dreamchild. has gone for wholesome entertainment this time. and cast father and son as father and son in the central roles. with young Sam's grandpa Cusack as the avuncular Doc Spencer. Chan and warmhearted. with enough subtlety to keep the grown-ups amused. Glasgow: GFI". Donnie Brasco (18) (Mike Newell. US. I997) Al Pacino. Johnny Depp. Michael Madsen. 127 mins. Depp plays a federal agent who gains the confidence of mob underling Al Pacino as part of a major surveillance operation in late '70s New York. but their growing bond threatens the forthcoming bust. Through his eyes. we learn the language. rituals. and economic realities of being a made man. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. The Fifth Element (l2) (Luc Besson. France/US. I997) Bruce Willis. Milla Jovovich. Gary Oldman. 127 mins. New York City in the 23rd Century. and cabbie Korben Dallas (Willis) picks up an unexpected passenger i.. 'he shape of Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) — an alien who holds the key to saving the world. Besson's second English language film - following the excellent Leon — is a colourful jumble of camp designs (by Jean-Paul Gaultier). self- indulgent performances and genre rip-offs which plays for laughs as genuine sci-fi ideas run dry. Galashiels: Pavilion. A Goofy Movie (U) (Kevin Lima. US. l996) With the voices of Bill Farmer. Jason Marsden. Jim Cummings. 74 mins. After a school prank backfires. Goofy decides to take troublesome son Max off on a bonding fishing trip. Max is trying his best to be cool. but that isn't easy when your dad's this particular Disney star. An incident-packed journey provides plenty of laughs which should keep restless kids and accompanying adults amused. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Grosse Pointe Blank (IS) (George Arrnitage. US. l996) John Cusack. Minnie Driver. Alan Arkin. 108 mins. Depressed freelance hitman Martin Q. Blank (Cusack) returns to his home town for a high-school reunion. but finds his past private life and current profession are about to overlap. Armitage turns in a fair post-Woo action sequence here and there. while Cusack positively inhabits Martin. switching from comic/romantic lead to focused killer effortlessly and believably. Glasgow: GFT. Odeon Quay. Showcase. UC I Clydebank. Edinburgh: ABC Wester Hailes. Odeon. UCI. Paisley: Showcase. Kama Sutra (18) (Mira Nair. india/UK. 1997) Indira Varma. Sarita Choudhury. Naveen Andrews. 114 mins. Kama Sutra does have some intensely erotic moments. but it's by no means a position-by-position dramatisation of the infamous ancient text; rather it shows love in all its contrasting hues as l6th century servant girl Maya tantalises the powerful king Raj Singh. A n'chly atmospheric film — full of sensuality. vibrant colours. traditional music and alluring dances — that encourages female empowerment. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. lady And The Tramp (U) (Hamilton Luske. US. I955) With the voices of Peggy Lee and Bill Thompson. 75 mins. Disney's first animated feature in cinemascope has mongrel Tramp helping pedigree pooch Lady out of a sticky situation and falling in lurve along the way. Richly drawn with hummable tunes and endearing characterisations. this is the classic Disney mix as before. Lovely spaghetti-eating sequence. General release. let's Get Lost (l5) (Bruce Weber. US. 1989) Chet Baker. Jack Sheldon. William Claxton. I 19 mins. Photographer turned director Weber‘s account of the harrowing life of the great trumpeter Chet Baker is fascinating stuff. Shortly after filming was completed Baker. 58. was dead. The miracle was that he lived so long. East Kilbride: Arts Centre.
108 TIIE usr 15—21 Aug 1997
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (PG) (Steven Spielberg. US. 1997) Jeff Goldblum. Julianne Moore. Pete Postlethwaite. 129 mins. Goldblum and Co drop onto a second dinosaur-filled island. which is disrupted by a mixed bunch of capitalists and safari hunters. sending the camavores on a rampage. The story is far better than Jurassic Park. making for a thrilling adventure with impeccible effects that renders the original as good as extinct. Watch out for the certificate though: sustained scenes of terror suggest it should have been a ‘12'. General release.
The Man With The Golden Arm (PG) (Otto Preminger. US. l955) Frank Sinatra. Kim Novak. Eleanor Parker. 1 19 mins. An Elmer Bernstein score. Saul Bass‘s opening titles and Sinatra at his most intense as an ex-con junkie trying to become ajazz drummer - what more could we ask for. Notable Hollywood movie that broke taboos in its portrayal of heroin addiction still stands up today. East Kilbride: Arts Centre. Margaret's Museum (l5) (Mort Ransen. Canada/U K. 1995) Helena Bonham Carter. Clive Russell. Kate Nelligan. 95 mins. Based on short stories by Sheldon Currie. Margaret 's Museum is set in the late l940s in a windswept and isolated corner of Nova Scotia. where Bonham Carter‘s feisty woman makes her lover promise not to work down the mines that killed her father and brother. Yes. the scenery is lovely and the music is evocative. but the feeling persists that the predictable story could have been squeezed into half an hour. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Men In Black (PG) (Barry Sonnenfeld. US. I997) Tommy Lee Jones. Will Smith. Vincent D'Onofrio. 95 mins. Smith and Jones are two cryptically named ‘cosmic G- men' who monitor extraterrestrial aliens living on Earth. while stopping the nastier breed of space baddie from colonising the planet. Jones's seen-it-all straight man is the perfect foil for Smith‘s wide-eyed new kid on the block. while Sonnenfeld‘s skilful integration of the visual effects proves that eye-popping spectacle and coherent storytelling need not necessarily be diametrically opposed. General release. One Fine Day (PG) (Michael Hoffman. US. l996) Michelle Pfeiffer. George Clooney. Charles Durning. 109 mins. An ambitious architect/single mother and a wisecracking newspaper columnist/every-other-weekend father spend a hectic day together when their kids miss their school‘s field trip ferry cruise. Despite modern trappings like cellular phones. One Fine Day is a defiantly old-fashioned film. but Clooney‘s cocky charm and Pfeiffer‘s comic skills are so
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Shake on it: Rowan Atkinson meets Burt Reynolds in Bean
beguiling that it will charm all but the most cynical of viewers. General release. Reason. Argument And Story ( I 5) (Ritwik Ghatak. India. I974) “8 mins. A season of films by Ritwik Ghatak — part of the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of India's independence - begins with a screening of a semi- autobiographical drama. re-released in a new print. Ghatak himself stars as an alcoholic intellectual who journeys through Bengal to try and reconcile himself with his wife. Glasgow: GET.
Romeo And Juliet (12) (Baz Luhrmann. Australia/US. l996) Leonardo DiCaprio. Claire Danes. Pete Postlethwaite. l20 mins. The Strictly Ballroom 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. An intoxicating. breathtaking mix of Catholic iconography. high camp and street violence that’s both deliciously feverish and studiedly cool. Stirling: MacRobert.
Scottish Screen Edinburgh International Film Festival This year's Film Festival spreads out from its twin bases at the Filmhouse and Cameo with a daily programme at the Glasgow Film Theatre and special gala screenings at Edinburgh's two ABCs. Dominion. Odeon and UCI. See Festival Film review section on pages 83—86.
Scream (I8) (Wes Craven. US. 1996) Neve Campbell. Courteney Cox. Drew Barrymore. l l l mins. 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 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 and funny. Glasgow: City Centre Odeon. Showcase. UCl Clydebank. Edinburgh: UCI. East Kilbride: UCl. Paisley: Showcase.
Space Jam (U) (Joe Pytka. US. 1996) Michael Jordan. Bugs Bunny. Wayne Knight. 87 mins. Nasty alien cartoons have captured Bugs Bunny and are going to enslave the Looney Tunes in their amusement park on Moron Mountain. but 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 Framed Roger Rabbit." and the pace of a real basketball game. Space Jam should divert the kids on Saturday mornings. Glasgow: Showcase. Edinburgh: Odeon. Paisley: Showcase.
Speed 2: Cruise Control (l2) (Jan De Bont. US. I997) Sandra Bullock. Jason
Patric. Willem Dafoe. 121 mins. This sequel to the I994 hit fails to play on the vehicle- out-of—control idea in the same creative way. Bullock returns as Annie on vacation with her cop boyfriend (Patric) when their ship is hijacked by computer genius and nutter Willem Dafoe. who tampers with the controls of the liner. sending it speeding towards the shore. Patric's unmemorable screen presence comes nowhere near the charisma of Keanu. but De Bont's action skills make the move tense and spectacular. See review. General release.
Star Wars Trilogy (U) Just over six hours of top cinema spectacle with all of the Special Edition extra bits added on. When taken as a whole. the story of Luke's journey towards Jedi knighthood is nicely unified and the father/son conflict comes through strongly. But it's Harrison Ford's Han Solo who really holds it all togther. Stirling: MacRobert.
Swingers (l5) (Doug l.iman. US. 1996) Vince Vaughn. John Favreau. Ron Livingston. 96 mins. Wannabe actor Mike and his pal T‘rent drive to Vegas to play the tables and pick up some babes. Later. in LA. the boys hang otit with their friends. wandering the trendy bars. Which is just about all there is to .S'wingers — a heap of talking. the odd homage (Scorsese and 'I‘arantino) and lots of male bonding. A highly watchable. very funny and entertaining piece of low-budget filmmaking. (ilasgow: ABC Film Centre. ()deon Quay. Edinburgh: ()deon.
Warriors Of Virtue (PG) (Ronny Yu. US. l996) Angus Macl‘adyen. Mario Yedidia. Marley Shelton. l()2 mins. Whisked off to a parallel world. young Ryan is threatened by evil Lord Komodo (Brave/Jean's MacFadyen) btit protected by live kung fu fighting kangaroos. A dodgy script that rips off The Nei'erent/ing Story. Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is lifted by an entertaining combination of great production design. Hong Kong martial arts skills and decent Hollywood special effects. Edinburgh: ()deon.
For full coverage of the Scottish Screen Edinburgh International Film Festival see pages 83—86