My Best Friend's Wedding ( I 2) (I’J. Hogan. US. I997) Julia Roberts. Dermot Mulroney. Cameron Diaz. I05 mins. The director ofAustralian hit Marie/"s Illa/(ling takes Julia Roberts out of her usual. wide- eyed role of irritating innocence and re-casts her as a two-faced career girl who tries to scupper the wedding of a former boyfriean whom she suddenly realises she is still very much itr love with. A wonderfully scripted film with a ftiii performances all round. it ultimately affirttis the enduring nature of friendship. (ilasgow: ()deon Quay.
Napier University Show Last year's collection of graduate films will prove difficult to live tip to. btit this lot maintains a high standard with a mix of drama and documentary. Edinburgh: Eilmhouse.
Nil By Mouth ( I8) ((iary ()Idman. UK. I997) Ray Winstone. Kathy Burke. Charlie Creed-Miles. I39 mins. ()Idman's directorial debut is an account of alcoholism and marital abuse which stalks smoky East End pubs. smog-ridden cottncil estates and cheap-rate lives with an itchy amphetamine energy. In a flawless ensemble cast. Burke (whose performance won her the Best Actress award at Cannes) is heroic as the put-upon wife. while Winstone dominates the screen. This is simply one of the best British movies of the 90s — shocking. funny. heartfelt and honest. Edinburgh; I-ilmhouse. A Nightmare On Elm Street (I8) (Wes Craven. US. I984) Robert Englund. Heather langenkamp. John Saxon. 9| mins. Hiin- school kids are terrorised by the delightful Ereddy (he of the flambe features and uncompromising handavear) in their potentially fatal dreams. Marginally more ftiii than most teen-slash by dint of its surreal special effects. Edinburgh: Cameo. Nowhere ( l 8) ((it'egg At‘aki. US. I997) James Duval. Ryan Philippe. Rachel True. 82 mins. A group of impossibly beautiful friends go to parties. agonise over classroom crushes and exist iii a different world from their parents. Meanwhile aliens walk unnoticed through suburbia. 'I'urning 80s Brat Pack movies on their heads. Araki's pulp-fiction-sci-fi-soap-opera-horror- cornedy is art outrageous glimpse of a teenage apocalypse. Edinburgh: I‘ilmhotise. Les Nuits Fauves Savage Nig/ils‘ ( I 8) (Cyril Collard. l-‘rance. I992) Cyril Collard. Rornane Bohringet'. Carlos Lopez. I20 mins. A photographer discovers he has contracted HIV and finds himself torn between a male and female lover. An incrediny powerful film that touches raw nerves of unprotected sex and the treatment of people living with AIDS Made all the more poignant by director/wri(er/star Collard's untimely death three weeks before it swept the I’rench Ccsars. Edinburgh: I-‘ilmhouse.
101 Dalmatians (U) (Stephen Herek. US. I996) (ilenn Close. Joely Richardson. Jeff Daniels. I03 mins. Disney turns one of its favourite animated films into a live action pantomime with spodges of Home Alone buffoonery. making sure there are plenty of dogs to make the kids go 'aaahhh‘. 'liie story remains pretty riiuch untouched. but so does the old-fashioned morality. which stresses the sanctity of marriage and that a woman‘s place is by her man's side. Edinburgh: ()deon.
Oscar and Lucinda ( t5) ((iillian Ai'iiistrong. L'S/.»\ustralra. I997) Ralph l-iennes. Cate Blanchett. Ciaran Ilinds. I32 mins. Adapted from Peter Carey's Booker I’ii/e-wtnning novel. this tale of passion and unconsummated on e falls short of its shimmering goals. I5ieiiiic's is a |9th century titan of the cloth obsessed with gambling who bets he cati transport the glass church designed designed by an Australian heiress across the treacherous outback. I-iennes anitnates ()scar with a nervous. crow —like intensity. btrt there is a definite sense of some vital element missing. Edinburgh. Cameo. Palookaville ( l 5) (Alan ’I‘ayrfor. US. I996) William I-‘orsythe. Vincent (iallo. Adam 'l'rese. 92 mins. The simplest way to nutshell I’ttltmkui'ifle would be to describe it as a heist movie starring the Three Stooges. Incompetence causes our heroes to break into a bakery instead of the nest door
jewellers btit then their humanity wins oy er
as they save a security driver's life. ‘I he jokes are everywhere — all o\ei' the script. iii the visuals and off-camera. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Paths of Glory (I’(i) (Stanley Kubrick. US. I957) Kirk Douglas. Ralph Meeker. Adolphe Menjou. 86 mins. Moving portrayal of the madness of war has three men selected for trial for cowardice after a futile World War One mission unsurprisineg fails. Douglas is superb as the defence lawyer during the court martial scenes. shot on location iii the French chateaux. Kubrick's lengthy tracking shots through the trenches are among the most effective scenes of battle ever filmed. (ilasgow: (irosvenor.
Paws (PU) (Karl '/.w'icky. Australia/UK. I997) Nathan Cavaleri. Emilie I-‘r‘ancois. voice of Billy Connolly. S3 mins. Clever doggie PC is on a mission to deliver a computer disc. btit is being tracked down by the unpleasant baddie who killed his master. Befriending computer whi/l kid Inc. the mutt links up to a voice simulator atid starts talking with the broad twang of Billy Connolly. Some genuinely funny moments allow fora whole range of teenage crises to be dealt with iii ati uncringeworihy fashion. Stirling: Carlton.
Point Blank ( IS) (John Boortnaii. US. I967) Lee Marvin. Arigte Dickinson. Keenan Wynn. 92 mins. Revenge-ridden Marvin is bent on justifying his dreamlike existence and turning the tables on the mysterious criminal Organisation which employed him iti this tense. well crafted thriller that boasts an imaginitive and influential treatment of time. Boorman‘s impressive first American feature is made memorable by Marvin's brilliant portrayal of art outmoded gunman confusedly taking oti a world overrun by technology. See review. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Quadrophenia ( 18) than). Roddatti. UK.
I979) I’hil Daniels. Leslie Ash. I’Iiilip Davis. Sting. I20 mins. Mods and rockers live it tip oti Brighton beach by swapping buckets and spades for chains and sticks.
Lively first half has enouin energy. music.
violence and period flavour to carry it along. htit all too soon it degenerates into some sort of treatise on the morality of youth. set to tunes by The Who. Edinburgh: ()deon.
Raging Bull t I8) (Martin Scorsese. US. I980) Robert de Niro. Cathy Moriarty. Joe Pesci. I29 mins. Middleweight boyiiig champ Jake l.a Motta fitids it difficult to sustain his early success and as his career fades. he declines into a travesty of his former self. De Nit‘o's stunning physical presence dominates Scorsese's savagely bleak study of self-destructive inachisiiio. Edinburgh: Cameo. Stirling: MacRobei't. the Rainmaker ( I5) (l-‘rancis I-oi‘d Coppola. US. I997) Matt Damon. Joti Voight. Danny DeVito. Ho tiiiiis. It's (irishani time again. as idealistic law school graduate Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) discovers the realities of America‘s legal system when he takes on a giant corporation running a monumental insurance scam. (irisham and Coppola‘s indignation at the iiiiqtiities of Aniercan capitalistn is impressive. btit the film's plot is too cliched and predictable for their analysis to make the impact it deserves. The acting. however. is excellent. (ialashiels I’avilion. Reconstruction ( Its) t'iiieo Angelopoulos. (ireece. I970) I00 mins .-\nge|opoulos' first feature charts the murder of a man who he returns to his \ tllage from esile in (iermaiiy 'I'wo \et'sioiis of the crime are i'e-eiiacted. and the man's wife arid her loyci' implicate each other. (ilasgow. (il’l'.
Red Corner ( 15.) (Jon As net. US. 1997) Richard (iet'c. Bai Ling. I23 mins. (iisen that this formulaic thriller stars Richard (iere (well known pal of 'I‘ibct's Dalai Lama). it's obvious the Chinese won't come out of it looking very good. (iere plays an American businessman stitched up for rape and murder iii Beijing who faces a corrupt judicial system. 'I‘he prison scenes are certainly horrific. btit the film cannot match their authenticity elsewhere. The plot is simply absurd and the characters are too fiat to care about (ieneral release.
Reel To Reel Film Festival t lSi Student films crossing all specti'urns — animation. drama. doctiiiientat'y — are show cased iii an attempt to answer the question: what is the future of film. 'l’hu 25 only. (ilasgow: (if-'l'.
Regeneration ( l5) ((iillies Macktnnon. UK/Canada. I997) Jonathan I’ry’ce. James Wilby'. Jonny Lee Miller. I I3 minutes. Faithful to Pat Barker‘s source iiosel. Mackinnon‘s film touches on trench life during WW I. btit is mostly confined within the walls of Edinburgh's Craiglockhart Hospital. where psychiatrist Dr Rivers (I’ryce) nurses the shell-shocked back to mental fitness. It‘s a sober. mournful work. and most of the fireworks comes from the actors. all of whom excel. (ilasgow (il-‘I'. The Replacement Killers ( IS) I:\lilollit‘ I-‘uqiia. L'S. I998) Chow Yuri-lat. Mira Sorvino. Michael Rooker. S7 fttllis, Ilong Kotig action star Chow Yuri-l'at's ['S debut delivers most of the thrills of his past work. btit is still less than totally satisfying. He plays a professional assassin who becomes a marked man when he finds he can't pttll the trigger on his last Job. (ilossy. well mounted but exceptionally routine stuff. (iener'al release Richard III ( I5) (Richard I.onci.iine. l K. I995) Ian .\IcKeIlen. Annette Bentng. Jtiii Broadbctit. I03 mins. l‘pdated to Iitigland during the .Itis. Shakespeare's play is sensiny trimmed to concentrate fully on the crookbacked king's murderous rise to the throne. McKellen gives a commanding performance amidst some wonderful supporting turns. while I.oricraine ensures that the bard Iias rarely been treated iii such splendidly cinematic terms. 'I'Iie fascistic look of the costumes does help clarify some of the divisions in the test. Edinburgh: Cairieo. Robin And Marian (U) (Richard tester. US. I976) Sean Connery. Audrey Hepburn. Robert Shaw. I07 mins. Iilegarc and witty fresh approach to the myth has elderly Robiii returning to Sherwood from the Crusades to Iiiid Britain iii a bad way and Marian in a nunnery. first rate acting and a romantically sad ending lend it a sense of seriousness unusual to the genre. (ilasgow: (iilmorehill.
Romeo And Juliet ( I 2) (Bar. I.uhrriiann. Australia/US. I996) Leonardo DiCaprio. Claire Danes, I’ete I’ostlethw'aite. I20 turns. The Sir/tilt: Ballroom director‘s treatment of the Shakespeare tragedy is a riiagnificeiit
.Im' “(in \t'f
index FILM
not of colour. action and sexy teen romance. wttliout any need to sacrifice the test. I.uht'mann has completely grasped the issues at the centre of the play. An intoxicating. breathtaking “UK of Catholic iconography. hiin camp and street violence thats both deliciously feverish and studiedly cool. (ilasgow, (if’li City Centre ()deon. l'Cl Clydebank. Edinburgh: llCl. East Kilbride: UCI.
Rothschild's Violin tl‘tfi tfidgai-do ('o/ai'insky'. l-‘i'ance. I997) 98 mins. A student of Shostakoyich at the l.enitigrad Conservatoire in I939 struggles with the concept of musical espression under a totalitarian regime. Based on the life of Beiiiamiii l'lt‘l\cllllI;tflll. who died during the Na/i siege of the city. this film splices archive footage w ith di'aiiiatic reconstruction and includes a full pei‘foi‘iiiaiice of l‘lciscliiiianii's one act opera. Rot/yo Iii/tl's I'rtir'rit (ilasgow (il 'l'
Scream 2 I IS) iw'es t‘iaxen. l'S‘. IWsi \'e\e Campbell. Courtney Co\. I cry Scliieiber'. l20 niins I'wo years after the Woodsboro itiiri'ders. Sidney I’tescott (Catiipbell) is now a college student. trying to piece her life back together. But when an audience riiemher ts slashed to death during the pi‘eiiiiere of horror movie Stir/i. the nightmare begins again. The film fails to fully integrate the many iii-jokey references to horror sequel consentioiis. btrt it's still streets ahead of what passes for" horror iiowaday s. (ieneral release.
Seven ( IS) (Day id l-‘rncher. US. I995) Brad l’itt. Morgan l'i'eeiiiaii. (iwyneth I’altrow'.
I 27 mins. ‘llie outline is familiar two cops track dow ii a serial killer but .St'i'i'ri is a step ahead of its rivals from its opening title sequence onwards. it's .iii esti'emcly dark movie w Inch w iiids through the most twisted recesses of human nature. Each death is a graphic interpretation of one of the se\ ell deadly sins. giy ing ."llt'll .i director I-inchei the material for art intense stylistic eset'cise in horror. I-idinbiirgh: Cameo
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“A well-cm ted gem.
ABC
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GLASGOW
SAUCHIEHALL ST 0141 332 1592
11—25 Jun I998 THEUST33