VIDEOS
reviews
RENTAL
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery
(15) 91 mins s-
A love or loathe frlrn if ever there was One Havrng been cryogenrcally frozen since 1967, playboy spy Powers (Mike Myers) wakes up 30 years later to save the world from the deadly grip of Dr Evri (Myers again) while Simultaneously trying to wrrggle into Liz Hurley’s leather catsuit and fend off the ravages of anachronrsm Each deeply unfunny passage is punctuated by another oustandrngly unarnusrng sequence Groovy, baby Not (Fox Pathe) (BD)
The Game
(15) 123 mins a a
Davrd Frncher’s latest isn't as dark and gripping as Seven, but it's superror to most psychological thrillers coming out Of Hollywood -- until its shameful cop- out ending. Michael DOuglas plays the middle-aged exec whose comfortable lrfe rs shaken up when hrs brother rntroduces him to a company who customise 'lrfe games' Soon he’s sucked into a vortex of fear and suspicion Let yourself go and enjoy the twrsts (PolyGram) (AM)
The Eighteenth Angel (15) 85 mins a st
When his wrfe dies in a mysterious acCrdent, Hugh moves to Italy wrth his daughter, but discovers that her body is being sought after by a relrgrous sect to house the Second Coming of Satan. Given that the plot smacks of horror movres from the 70s, rt comes as no Surprise that The Eighteenth Angel is wrrtten by The Omen's Davrd Seltzer. Add a genetrc engineering twrst and a dramatrc score, and you've got an exciting, creepy spine-tingler. (Entertainment) (AM)
Small Time
(18) 72 mins s s s
Before astonishing us all with his full- iength feature TwentyFourSeven, 25- year-old director Shane Meadows made squrllions of short films, including this hour-long drama A
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group of shell-suited Nottrngham lads plan to get some readies in an illegal manner, but this tests therr lrfe-long frrendshrps. There’s a touch of That Sinking Feeling in the hum0ur, but it's Meadows' handling of the more serious domestic issues that's really impressive. Mike Leigh could learn a thrng or two here. Also on the tape is rn-your-face short Where's The Money Ronnie? (Electric £15 99) (AM)
Century Of Cinema:
Japan and Korea
(E) 105 mins a t a
In the latest instalment of the BFI/ Channel 4 series, Nagrsa Oshrma unearths some rare footage of Japanese classrcs without resortrng to the obvious chOrces. Noting the domestic themes at the heart of his SOCiety, he also finds a rare beauty tn the films that immediately followed the horrors of the atomic bomb lang Sun- WOO, on the other hand, jOUTnOYS through Korea collecting stories about films that were made in key cities before arrrvrng in Seoul and intervreWrng rndrvrdual directors (Academy £15.99) (AM)
Looking For Richard (12) 112 mins at s c
Al Pacino’s directorial debut is a docu- drama about the staging of Richard //I With the arm of making Shakespeare accessrble to the poor huddled masses. It’s fascinating seeing Pacino and his celeb buddies — Winona Ryder, Kevrn Spacey, etc — take on the tricky tragedy, but no one unfarnrlrar wrth the play wrll be left wrth more than a hunch about its content. (Fox World Cinema £14.99) (PR)
Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer
(18) 89 mins * w it it a
After causing the harr on the heads of Britain's censors to turn grey wrth shock overnight, John McNaughton's gritty debut was released into the Cinemas minus a couple of scenes The reSUlt made for more bearable vrevvrng, but still packed an almighty punch Don't expect the rollercoaster thrills of Silence Of The Lambs because this isn't a straightforward horror rnovre :t's a brilliantly acted, coldly observant gaze into the amoral heart of a true psychopath, (PolyGrarn/Electrrc £9 99 until 4 May; £15 99 thereafter) (AM)
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Head start: Mikey the alien doesn't make a clean getaway in Men In Black (Columbia Tristar, PG, 98 mins). Available to buy at £15.99 from Wed 8 Apr.
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RENTAL Shooting Fish (12) 107 mins "~*‘<' st-
Carrying the con: Kate Beckinsale and Stuart Townsend in Shooting Fish
.5
Not a party political broadcast on behalf of the country set, this low-key cinema hit is a gentle, inoffensive and, at times, highly inventive British
comedy.
A couple of con men — Jez (Stuart Townsend) and Dylan (Dan Futterman, a somewhat less dashing version of Ralph Fiennes) — are tricking the wealthy and stupid out of their stupid wealth. With the quasi-reluctant aid of Georgie (Kate Beckinsale). no dodge seems insurmountable. whether it be selling computer equipment. loft insulation or light sabres. This they achieve through guile and a vast technical knowledge, making you regret having skived science at school. But, the net begins to close and Georgie appears to have some plans of her own up her sleeve.
The word ‘caper' may be as accurate 3 two-syllable nutshelling of Shooting Fish as any, though fortunately there is a tender and intelligent heart at play rather than just a dumb, soulless vacuity. The plot may resemble a large hole that has a wandering plug for a mate. but a hilarious last third and utterly charming performances more than lift it out of the ordinary. And who can complain at the inclusion of Silver Sun on the
soundtrack? (Brian Donaldson)
Available to rent on the Entertainment In Video label from Mon 6 Apr
The Secret Life Of Sergei Eisenstein (PG) 57 mins
This surface-skimming dart through the :fe of one of crneina's most influential figures leaves the Viewer bored and unfulfilled The ftrst-person narration is awkwardly clone and no episodes are Suffic ~ently developed we learn nothing about the man, h;s breaking techniques or the new: a? backdrop that shaped his career Basicaily a tra‘vc‘-ic>(_;ue iz'lkzr‘c: :gl‘c;tr:-s
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The Sin Of Harold Diddlebock
(U) 89 mins s «r:
Harold Lloyd’s last move was die: ted by PrestOn Sturges, whose own talents were beginning to wane rn 1946 It's supposed to be a sequel to The
Fresh/nan (and lifts footage from that silent classic), but the farcical story of a new'y redundant book-keeper who buys a circus during an alcohol blackout lacks sparkle Lloyd overstretches the dated stunt routines and shouts his dialogue, but St;r.";es and his stock cast rnanac; i to create a fe‘.'./ eccentrics or: the c:.:rtskr.'ts “Eureka
£12 99 (Alli)
The Immoral Mr Teas ( 8) 63 mins
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(*if) Apr ll'i’ri THE lIST 99