The End Of Violence (l5) (th Wenders. L'S/tiermany/li‘rancc. 1997) Bill Pullman. Andie MacDowell. Gabriel Byme. I20 mins. Reminiscent of those open-ended paranoia thrillers of the 70s (The Cotirersutimi. The Punt/htt‘ lien). 'l'he [fm/ Of Violence casts a caustic eye on modern LA. where reality and fiction are both most keenly experienced through the camera lens. The plot revolves around the city's hi-tech surveillance system and a murder attempt on a top film producer. btit although the themes are intriguing. the overall effect is very patchy. lidinburgh: l’iliiihousc.
The H" Dead ( IS) (Satii Riatni. CS. 1982) Bruce Campbell. lillen Sandweiss. Betsy Bakei. 85 iiiitis. l‘ive unsuijicting youngsters head off for a healthy weekend in a mountain cabin. only to fall fotil of wicked demons whose purpose is -» wait for it — wholesale slaughter layeiy horror cliche ts exploited and subverted in this stylish. cheapo schlockcr- shocker made w itli imagination by an inventive young team. lidiiibui'gh: l‘TllllllUtlSC. Face ( IS) (Antonia Bird. L'K. I997) Robert Carlyle. Ray Winstone. Stephen Waddington. l()() nuns. Think The lung (inm/ IVI't'r/uv. think (iet Cur/er. Ray (Carlyle) and his gang of liast lind criminals pull off an armed iobbery. but when the loot goes missing. it becomes obvious they have been stitched tip by one of their own. have tackles the spectre
of the ’l‘hatchcr years within the framework of
a crime thriller. and the results are hit and miss. Blur's Damon Albaru acquits himself well in a small role as a wannabe crook. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Face/Off ( IS) (.lohn \Voo, [3. I997) John ‘l‘ravolta. Nicolas Cage. Joan Allen. I33 ruins. it)! agent Seaii Archer ('l'ravolta) undergoes radical surgery to become terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage): but when Troy comes out of a coma and undergoes a similar operation. he too is able to slip into his enemy's domain ~ domestic and professional. Patt horror. part sci-fi. full-on action. with a cast that's uniformly excellent. lidinburgli. Cameo.
Fairytale: A True Story (l‘) (Charles Stui'rtdgc. l'K. I997) lilorencc Hoath.
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W I!
Elizabeth Earl. Paul McGann. 98 mins. In telling the story oftwo Edwardian girls who cause a sensation when they capture a photographic image of fairies. Fairytale manages to be more coherent and less downbeat than the similar Photographing Fairies. A carefully judged film that provides moving entertainment for the family audience. See review. General release.
The Fifth Element ( l 2) (Luc Besson. France/CS. I997) Bruce Willis. Milla Jovovich. Gary ()ldman. I27 mins. New York City in the 23rd Century. and cabbie Korben Dallas (Willis) picks up an unexpected passenger in the shape of Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) - an alien who holds the key to saving the world. Besson's second English language film — following the excellent [en/i - is a colourful jumble of camp designs (by Jean-Paul Gaultier). self-indulgent perfomiances and genre rip-offs which plays for laughs as genuuie sci-fi ideas run dry. lidinburgh; Cameo.
Flubber (L') (Les Maytield. US. I997) Robiti Williams. Marcia Gay Harden. Christopher McDonald. 93 mins. This remake of 1961 Disney favourite The Ahsetit Mini/ed Professor casts a subdued Williams as a scientist who invents a gravity defying goo. btit may well lose his fiancee in the process. Combining many of the worst. tnost annoying attributes of films designed to have ‘family appeal'. I’Iuhher merely ilops when it should fly. See review. General release.
Free Willy 3: The Rescue (L?) (Sam Pillsbury. US. 1997) Jason James Richter. August Schellenberg. Annie Corley. 86 mins. Boy atid killer whale team tip again to drive home an environmental message for the 90s when Willy the orca and family are threatened by the hunters on a whalitig boat. Better than its bland predecessor. Free Willy .i‘ develops the usual formula. and benefits from moulding the character of the main antagonist as an old-style hunter rather than the corporate villains of previous instalments. Glasgow: L‘Cl Clydebank. lilinburgh: ()deon. liast Kilbride: L'Cl. Irvine: Magnum. Motherwell: .‘vloviehouse.
The Full Monty ( l 5) (Peter Cattaneo. CK.
with?! i
[997) Robert Carlyle. Tom Wilkinson. Mark Addy. 92 mins. Carlyle plays Gary. an unemployed Sheffield steelworker who. along with 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 Braised 0f]. mixing comedy with a strong social conscience and showing unemployment as an emasculating experience. General release.
George Of The Jungle (L’) (Sam Weisman. L‘S. I997) Brendan Fraser. leslie Mann. Holland Taylor. 91 mins. Loincloth-clad hero Geroge (Fraser) saves San liransican socialite L'rsual (Mann). btit his trip to the urban jungle is shortlived when he hears of the kidnap of his hairy sidekick. Ape (voiced by John Cleesc). The plot is the usual blend of humour. action. slapstick. adventure and. of course. romance. while the knowing and punchy script is easily up with the best of modern Disney. General release.
G.l. Jane (15) (Ridley Scott. L'S. I997) Demi Moore. Viggo Mortensen. Anne Bancroft. l25 mins. Tough. smart Jordan O'Neil (Moore) becomes the first woman to be accepted for training by the CS military's elite commando unit. the Navy SliAl.s. but her arrival at catnp is met with barely concealed hostility. Scott's overwrought movie purports to show that women have as iiitich right as tnen to be dehumanised by the military and turned into killing machines. What it doesn't question is why anyone — male or female — should want to do so. Motherwell: Moviehouse.
The Godfather ( l8) (Francis l’ord Coppola. L'S. l97l) Marlon Brando. Al Pacino. James Caan. I75 mins. Mafia epic that follows the collapse of the Corleone empire under the old Don (Brando) and the struggle for power this causes between rival families and his own sons. Al Pacino is magnificent as the good son who has to turn had in order to regain fatnin honour. Hugely enjoyable. violent movie is a landmark in American tilmmaking. l‘alkirk: Town Hall.
The Godfather, Part II ()8) (Francis
- ’15:... iii
Willi
Coppola. L'S. I974) Al Pacino. Robert De
9»
index FILM
Niro. Robert Duvall. 200 mins. Still the only sequel to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Coppola‘s extended gangster epic looks at the life of the Corleone family before and after the events of the first movie. De Niro is superb as the young Vito. newly arrived from Sicily and making his mark in the Land of the Free; his son Michael (Pacino). now fully corrupted by absolute power. extends his crime empiie. but at the expense of killing family and friends. A magnificent achievement. lialkirk: Town Hall.
Good Burger (PG) (Brian Robbins. US. I997) Kel Mitchell. Kenan Thompson. Sinbad. 95 mins. A spin-off from US cable channel Nickelodeon's daytime series All That. this kids comedy is likely to fail through unfamiliarity. Two blokes working in a burgerjoint fight off the advances of the fast-food chain across the road with their new sauce recipe. 'I he next Big .i’y’i‘ght'.’ I don’t think so. See review. Glasgow: ()deon Quay. lidinburgh; ABC Wester Hailes. UCl.
La Haine (18) (Matthieu Kassovitz. France. 1995) Vincent Cassel. Hubert Kounde. Said 'l'aghmaoui. 85 mins. This edgy. black-and- white portrait of racial tension and police brutality on a run-down estate outside Paris won twentysoniething Kassovitz the Director's Prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. Three ethnically mixed lads come up against the cops when one of their pals is hospitalised after a raid. Urgent. compelling filmmaking that‘s as punchy as a blow to the head. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Hercules (C) (John Musker & Ron Clements. L'S. I997) With the voices of Tate Donovan. James Woods. Danny DeVito. 91 mins. British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe's designs marry his customary grotesquery with Uncle Walt‘s softer characterisations. Hades (a magnificently splenetic James Woods) wants to exact revenge on Zeus by destroying his son Hercules. but luckily our hero has Pegasus as his steed and Phil the grumpy satyr (Danny DeVito) as his coach. Glasgow: L'Cl Clydebank. Edinburgh: ()deon. UCl. liast Kilbride: LTCI.
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