Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
Albino Alligator t 18) lKL‘Vltl Spacey. lfS/lirance. 1996) Matt Dillon. liziye 1)unaway. (iary Sinese. 97 mirrs. Spacey-"s directorial debut sees l)oya (Dillon) as a complex and coiirproirrrsed gaiig leader who seeks refuge after a bungled raid in a basement bar only to be hemmed in by the cops and conflicts with fellow bad gtrys. While there are some fine performances to be had. including l)unaway as the world- weary bartender. the ss hole seems to lack direction. falling down on its aw kward family salues message. Central: MacRobert. Alien Resurrection r )3) rJean-t’iei'ie Jeuiiet. 1S. 1997) Srgouriiey Weasei'. Winona Ryder. l()5 mrns. liyrl hoff'ins clone Ripley and the unborn alien inside her. brrt the monster escapes arid raiiipages about a labyrinthine spaceship. It's a shaky preiirrse. with a pick 'n' mix selection of elements from earlier xl/lt'll tttoy res. “(flat/(fly sen director Jeunet retains enough of his ow ii distinctiye. retro-future worm but damages the sei‘ies' serious tone w ith unfunny one- lrners. liqually out of place is Winona Ryder. (ienei'al release
Apocalypse Now! i 18) ilv'i-aiicis Coppola. L'S. 1980) Martin Sheen. Marlon Brando. Robert 1)usall. Dennis Hopper. 153 miirs. Vietnam as 'llre l.'ltiriiate 'l‘rip. We follow L'S Army assassin Sheen dow ririyer and deeper into the llmrr ()1 Darkness ruled
os er by Brando‘s mad Colonel Kurt! Alternately pretentious and sisually oserpoweriirg (the Valkyries helicopter attack. for example). its grandrlrxiueiit folly soiirehow pierces right to the bone of the conflict. lidiiiburgh, ABC City Centre. Babe r17) tChris Noonan. Australia. 1995) James Cromwell. with the yorces of Christine Cayanaugh. Miriam Margolyes. Hugo Weayrirg. 93 mins Air orphaned pig falls under the eye of a kindly collie and begins to think he's destined for glory at the regional trials. 'l'alking animals suggest that this is a kids' moyre. to an extent it is and a great one but there‘s enough skewered humour (hail the psycho mice') for adults to discos er an unexpected cult hit. A triumph for the uirderpig. (ilasgow (ll-'1‘. lidinburgh. ()deoti.
Bad 1 131 (Nlc‘oltls Roeg. liK. 19791 Art (iarfunkel. 'l'hei'esa Russell. Harsey Keitel. 123 mrirs. As surgeons fight for the life of a young Aiirerican in \‘renna. we learn of a uiiiyersrty lecturer's obsessiy e and often sioleirt relationship w ith her. 'l‘yprcal Roeg. with elliptical editing arid an explosion of ideas. the result is an extraordinarily powerful film 1fdinburgh l'ilmhouse
Batman & Robin t1’(i) iJoel Sclrumachcr. 1S. 1997 r (ieorge Clooiiey. Arnold S<11“4"""”'~'¥3¢Cr. Chris ()'1)oiriiell. 131) units .\loying eyeii further \say from the (iothic rrielaiicholy of"1’im Burton's first two films. the fourth [fir/man mos re brings in l’orson lsy rl'ma 'llrurman) and disaffected scientist l)i' l‘r'ce/e tSchysar/enegger). ‘llrur'man‘s scene-stealing performance
say es the film froir: total failure. \s hile ('looirey does exactly what's required. but no more A showcase for fetishistic shots of tight burrs in rubber. this is noisy. empty and \s itliout a hint of w it or intelligence. Ayr ()deot)
Bean il’(i) i.\le1 Smith. l'ls'. I997) Rowan Atkinson. l’etci‘ .\lac.\'icol. l’amela Reed, 97 mrns lit-tin the moyre makes an attempt to broaden the range of Atkinson‘s tieirreirdously successful '1'\' sight-gag character by sending him off to California to be riirstaken for an art expert. Most gags are agreeably daft. seyei'al are tiresoiricly lasatoi'ial. es entually. how ey er. the film upholds family salues and true blur- Airierrcan schmalt/ lidrnburgh. ABC Wester lltllles, (iieenock. Waterfront,
BFI New Directors Shorts 1 )8) so ruins 1.yririe Ramsay ‘l anrespotiing' is one of rise young llllltttiaket's \yltirse work makes-up [liis
34 THE [181’ ‘: '8 Car 199/
featured in last l\\tlL"\
Breaking the law: Harvey Keitel in Cop Land
showcase. As well as Ramsay 's Kill The I)u\. the prograiiuiie includes [Hark Iz‘u's. More Is Less. Shark by Scottish director Brian Dunnigan - and lt’i/UH. by Bille liltrrngham and Simon Beaufoy iwriter of T/ir' I'll/l .llmily ). (ilasgow (i131-
The Borrowers it') il’eter )lewiir. t'ls'. 1997) John (ioodiiran. Jim Broadlwnt. Celia lllll’lL'. so mrns. At a height of orin four inches. the Borrowers hide in wall casrties and liyrng beneath the floorboards of the Lender household, When a nasty lawyer tries to sw iirdle the humans out of their inheritance. families big and small Jolt] forces. The design aird effects create a strangely familiar. oddly unplaceable world. and children will has e little difficulty suspending enough disbelief to be spellbound by the magic of the film. (ieneral release.
Brassed 0ft ( 15 ) i.\1ark Herman. l'K. 1996) liysair .\lc(iregor. 'l‘ara Fitzgerald. l’ete l’ostlethwaite. |()5 mirrs. When the local Pit is due to be closed dow n. it's the end of the day for the collrery brass band as well. eyen though they ‘ye got a chance at winning the national c‘UlllPCllllUll. l’olitics are the heart of the story. but \sriter-director Harmen has created a film that balances nicely between pithy humour and heartbreaking poignairce l’erfoi'irrances are excellent. particularly [frillrkrurinei'l's Stephen 'l‘ompkiiison. (ilasgow (il-T Career Girls 1 l 5) i.\like l.eigh. 1K. 199.“) Katriii Cartlidge. Lynda Steadrrian. Joe Tucker. 86 mitts. ('rirr't'r (irr!\ doesn‘t work w rthiir a narratiye. but a series of character encounters. playing out in two tune-frames Annie and Hannah meet up for a reunion weekend years after they shared a flat together as students. lhe emotions and social backdrop ring true ys here the characters themselyes crucially do not liast Kilbride. Arts Centre
Chasing Amy t 18) i Keyiir Smith. l‘S. 199m Ben Afflect. Joey Lauren Adams. Jason lee. 111 iiiirrs. 'lhe tlrrrd film by the writer/director of (I’m-Ax is a wry and surprisingly mature look at tw eirty soirrething relationships. Comic book artist Holden rAffleck) falls desperately iii on e w ith Alyssa (Adams). but she prefers gals to
$11} \ Sexual desire and a crisis of iriasculiiiity come under the iriici'oscope in a
film that's bloody funny in a risque \say. (ilasgow ()deoii Quay. 1idrirburgh. Cameo. l’aisley, Showcase.
Cop Land 1 15) (James Marigold. CS. 1997) Syly ester Stallone. Robert De .‘s‘rro. Haney Keitel. Ray l.iotta. 105 mins_ Stallone plays sheriff lireddy Heflin. bossed around by the NYl’l) men who make their home in (iarrrsoir. New Jersey, When he uncoy ers deep-rooted police corruption on his turf. he has a one-shot chance to w in back his self- respect. like I. A ('riiifrr/r'lrlrril. ('o/r Imirl has a stormer of a plot. but is essentially a character-drisen mos ie The acting is. rinsurprisiiigly. in a league of its ow n. w ith Stalloiie's lumbering hero pros rding his best role since Rm Ly See featuro and resiew. (ierieral release
Don Giovanni i1’(i) (Joseph 1.t)\L‘). ltalyr’l’rance/West (iermaiiy. I979) Ruggero Raiiiiondr. John Macurdy. lidda More 170 mirrs Radical arid colourful Interpretation of Mozart's great opera. with Rairrrondis l)on presented in an oyei'wrought and highly uirattractiye light. indulging himself of the fruits of otlrers' labour (ilasgow (ill
8 Heads In A Duffle Bag 1 15)i‘1oiir Schulirian. 1'S. 1997) Joe l’esci. Andy Conreau. Kristy Swanson 95 ltfllls, A irredical student tray elliirg to meet his girlfriend's parents accideirtly swaps luggage w ith a mobster carrying the bloody es idence of eight successful hits back to his boss It may be daft. in bad taste and slightly oyer-Iong. btit the film's darineg sick humour gises it a \s icked appeal. (ilasgoys ()deon ()uay lidinburglr l‘Cl.
ET (1') tSteyetr Spielberg. l'S. 1953) Dec Wallace. Henry 'l'homas. l’eter Coyote. 115 iiurrs An alien creature gets stranded on earth ithe opening sequence of threatening legs and flashing torches is beautifully doire). \s here he is adopted by some kids. who help hiiii construct a ct)lltllllllllcilllt)” des ice to summon back his spaceship All the little guy wanted to do was go home. but Spielberg tirade sure he had lots of cute and agreeable ads entures first. and slipped in the most tear-rerkrirg psuedo-death since Baloo the Bear in The Jungle Book for good irreasure (ilasgoys (irosseiroi'
Event Horizon 1 IS) il’aul Anderson. 1'Sr'1'1s'. 1997) Laurence 1’rslrburrre. Sam Neill. Joer Richardson 91 iiiriis 'l'he crew
of a rescue ship discos er that hell has been unleashed inside a missing craft that reappears near Neptune. as their deepest fears begin to terrorrse them in physical form. Ifrnir llorrmn boasts stunning "l‘echiro .\ledie\al' design. but tight editing leases the characterisation and story
stripped to ss ithiii an inch of their lis'es, (ilasgow. ()deon. lidrnburgh. ()deon. Ayr, ()deon.
Face/Off t 15‘) iJohri Woo. CS. 1997) John 'l‘rayolta. Nicolas Cage. Joan Allen. 133 mins. 1‘Bl agent Sean Archer t’l‘ras-olta) undergoes radical surgery to become terrorist Castor ‘1‘roy (Nicolas Cage); but
ys hen 'l’roy comes out of a coma and undergoes a similar operation. he too is able to slip into his enemy's domain — dorriestic and professional. l’art horror. part sci-1i. full-on action. with a cast that's uniformly excellent. (ieneral release.
Fargo 118) (Joel Coen. l'S. 1*)()(r)15r;rrrces Mc1)ormaiid. Steve Buscemi. William H. Macy. 97 lllllls. Hoping to make some bucks. a car salesman attempts to base his
w rfe kidnapped by hitmen; but quickly blood is spilt. As the pregnant police detective on the case. .‘slcl)orirrand pros'ides a warm-hearted centre for the movie. while the absurdist plot and weird local colour gain momentum. Kelso: Roxy.
The Fifth Element (12)tl.uc Besson. France/CS. 1997) Bruce Willis. Milla Joy'oy'ic‘ll. (iary ()Idmair. 127 mirrs. New York City in the 23rd Century. and cabhie Korben Dallas (Willis) picks up an unexpected passenger in the shape of Leeloo tMilla Jos'oy‘ich) -‘ an alien who holds the key to saying the world. Besson's second liiiglrsh language film followrrrg the excellent Len/t ~ is a colourful jumble of camp designs tby Jean-l’aul Ciaultier). .self- indulgent performances and genre rip-offs wlirclr plays for laughs as genuine sci-fr ideas run dry. Regular I.I.\l reviewer Nigel liloyd introduces the screening with a talk on moyre special effects. (ilasgow: (3171', Free Willy 3: ‘I’he Rescue (U) (Sam Pillsbury. US. 1997) Jason James Richter. August Schellenberg. Annie Corley. 86 mrns. Boy and killer whale team up again to driye home an enyiroiiiirental message for the 90s when Willy the orch and family are threatened by the hunters on a whaling boat. Better than its bland predecessor. l-‘n’e lllll)‘ .i’ develops the usual formula. and benefits from moulding the character of the main antagonist as an old-style hunter rather than the corporate y illains of preyrous instaliiieirts. (ilasgow: L'Cl Clydebank. Virgin. lidrirburgh: ABC Wester Hailes. l'Cl. liast Kilbride: 1C].
The Full Monty t 15) (Peter Cattaneo. L'ls'. 1997) Robert Carlyle. Tom Wilkinson. Mark Addy. 92 mins. Carlyle plays (iary. an unemployed Sheffield steelworker who. along wrtlr an odd mix of former colleagues. decides to go one better than the Chippendale troupes that fill the local halls. Cattaneo's laugh-out-loud film comes from the same tradition as Bnissal ()ff. mixing comedy ss ith a strong social conscience and showing uneiirploy ment as an emasculating experience. (ierreral release.
George Of The Jungle il') iSam Wersman. 1S. 1997) Brendan l’raser. Leslie .‘slann. Holland Taylor, 91 mrns. l.orncloth-clad hero (ieroge l l'l'ilsCl'l sayes San l‘raiisrcair socialite 1'i'sual i.\lairn ). but his trip to the urban Jungle is shorthyed when he hears of the kidnap of his hairy sidekick. Ape (voiced by John Cleese). The plot is the usual blend of humour. action. slapstick. adventure and. of course. roiriance. while the knowing and punchy script is easily up with the best of iirodern Disney. See reyiew. (ieneral release. G.l. Jane 1 l5) lRItlle) Scott. [.78. 1997) l)emr Moore. Viggo .‘slortensen. Anne Bancroft. 135 miirs ‘l‘ough. smart Jordan O'Neil i.\loore) becomes the first woman to be accepted for training by the CS military 's elite comirrairdo unit. the Nayy SliALs. but her arrryal at camp is met with barely concealed hostility. Scott's oserwrought mos re purports to show that women have as much right as men to be dehuriranised by the irrilitar'y and turned into killing machines What it doesn't question is why anyone — male or f'eirrale — should ss ant to do so. (ieneral release.
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