Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate. credits. brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder.
Afterglow (IS) (Alan Rudolph. US. I997) Nick Nolte. Julie Christie. Jonny Lee Miller. “3 mins. In Montreal. the lives of two couples intersect when the neglected wife of a young executive embarks upon an affair with an older handyman. I-‘unher complications ensue when their respective partners also begin a relationship. Much of Afterglow works as farce. albeit a slow-moving one. However an echo of sweet. unidentifiable sadness lingers long after you re-emerge outside world. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Anastasia (U) (Don Bluth/Gary Goldman. US. I997) Voices of Meg Ryan. Christopher Lloyd. John Cusack. 94 mins. With this widescreen romantic musical adventure. animator Don Bluth offers a film that rivals Disney. Rewriting history somewhat. evil magician Rasputin puts a curse on the 'l‘sar‘s fatnin and causes the |9l7 Revolution. The child princess Anastasia survives. but grows as an orphan. unable to remember her past. With extraordinary action sequences. exquisite characterisations and beautiful songs. Glasgow: UCI Clydebank. Edinburgh: Odeon. East Kilbride: UCI. Kilmarnock: Odeon.
the Apostle (I2) (Robert Duvall. US. I997) Robert Duvall. Farrah Fawcett. Miranda Richardson. I48 mins. Actor Duvall turns writer-director for this gently absorbing tale of a charismatic Pentecostal preacher‘s fall from grace and search for redemption. Duvall‘s acknowledged inspiration is Ken Loach. with whose work this shares a generous. non- judgetnental natttralism. Slightly overlong. but moving and thought- provoking nonetheless. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Armageddon ( l2) (Michael Bay. US. I988) Bruce Willis. Billy Bob Thornton. Steve Buscemi. l-l-l mins. Billed as “fire Dit'ft‘ l)o:en in space‘. Michael Bay's fi movie delivers what this year‘s other event movies - Deep Impact. Godzilla. Lost In Space — only promised: $125 million wonh of relentless. retina- scorching. high-testosterone action. Bruce Willis leads a team of roughneck oil drillers who must save the world from an asteroid the size of Texas that‘s on collision course with Eanh. We are not talking reality here: we are talking superior formula film-making. General release.
the Avengers ( I 2) (Jeremiah Chechik. US. I998) Ralph Iiiennes. Uma Thurman. Sean Connery. 90 mins. A catnp ‘n' kitsch l96()s and 70s television show with a strong cult following. The Avengers might seem like prime material for adaptation to the big screen. Certainly the casting is inspired with heartthrobs Fiennes and Thurman replacing Patrick MacNee and Diana Rigg as John Steed and Emma Peel. Furthermore. we get to see the future King of Scotland play a dastardly villain hell- bent on world destruction and Mrs Peel's seduction. General release.
Barney's Great Adventure (U) 72 mins. A kids TV phenomenon. Barney the purple dinosaur's big screen debut finds him down on a farrn with a trio of kids in search of a magic egg. The all singin‘. all dancin‘ Barney stmts his way through the simple story with regular singalongs. making the film perfect for under-fives. General release.
le Bossu ( l 5) (Philippe De Broca. France. I997) Daniel Auteuil. Vincent Perez. I-‘abrice Luclrini) I28 mins. Originally written in the form of a nineteenth century serialised novel. Le Bossa has an abundance of plot. with the action centering on the exposure of an aristocrat‘s dastardly bastard brother. and the restoration to wealth of an heiress. It‘s never easy to engage with characters who have less dimensionality than a Walt
119 "IE usr 20—27 Aug 1998
Disney cartoon - only an undemanding audience would let this go and be satisfied with the film overall. See preview and review. Glasgow: GET.
the Castle (l5) (Rob Sitch. Australia. I997) Michael Caton. Anne Tenney. Stephen Curry. 86 mins. In this rough- and-ready but surprisingly engaging comedy. a naive Australian famin take on the might of a faceless corporation when their suburban home is threatened by an airport development. The film is dramatically awkward in places and runs out of steam before its admittedly brief running time is up. but the filmmakers' affection for their characters pulls it through. Irvine: Magnum.
the Daytrippers ( 15) (Greg Mottola. US. I997) Hope Davis. Liev Schreiber. Parker Posey. 87 mins. Strained as a family unit. the Malones pull together when daughter Eliza suspects her husband is having an affair. So begins a chaotic and disputatious trawl through New York in a station wagon. Mottola's script is as painfully incisive as it is funny and compassionate. That it succeeds as a film is thanks to its talented cast. who revel in the psychological subtleties of their pans. Glasgow: GFI‘. Odeon Quay. Deconstructing Harry ( )8) (Woody Allen. US. I997) Woody Allen. Kirstie Alley. Billy Crystal. 94 mins. Author Harry Block has writer's block. and his friends have all but abandoned him due to his habit of recasting them as characters in his best-selling ‘fiction‘. Allen plays with the received. perceived idea of ‘Woody Allen'. and Stardust Memories floats in the background. There are flaws in the film. but there are also many. many prime Woody throwaways. Glasgow: GFI‘.
Dr Dolittle (PG) (Betty Thomas. US. 1998) Eddie Murphy. Ossie Davies. Oliver Platt. 85 mins. A turkey with Rex Harrison in its original fomr. and still pretty dire this time round. This wild family adventure offers crude bottom humour for the Babe audience. but the talking animals gimmick battles with cheesy morality and nothing comes together. Overall. the film might have benefitted from a simpler. less snappy and more family orientated tale. while Murphy's comic judgement has again become decidedly questionable. General release.
the Exorcist ( I8) (William I-‘riedkin. US. I973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. IIO mins. Earnest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Now re-released in remastered form. with a super stereo soundtrack (so you can hear those obscenities in full). Dead good. dead scary. dead priest. Glasgow: Odeon City Centre. ()deon Quay. UCI Clydebank. East Kilbride: UCI.
Flubber (U) (Les Mayfield. US. I997) Robin Williams. Marcia Gay Harden. Christopher McDonald. 93 mins. This remake of I96I Disney favourite 'l'lte Absent Minded Professor casts a subdued Williams as a scientist who invents a gravity defying goo. but may well lose his fiancee in the process. Combining many
I of the worst. most annoying attributes of
Wrong arm of the law: James Belushi and tupaciShalter in Gang Related
films designed to have ‘family appeal'. Flnbber merely flops when it should fly. Stirling: Allanpark.
Gang Related (15) (Jim Kouf. US. I998) Tupac Shakur. James Belushi. Dennis Quaid. Ill mins. In his last film murdered rap star Tupac Shakur brings a degree of sympathy to Rodriguez — a corrupt detective driven to crime to pay off gambling debts. then desperately backtracking when things go awry. Aside from the curiosity value given it by Shakur's death in a drive-by shooting - which occurred just days after principal photography ended — Gang Related follows a tight dramatic course as it weaves its way to a nicely ironic conclusion. Glasgow: Showcase. George Of the Jungle (U) (Sam Weisman. US. I997) Brendan Fraser. Leslie Mann. Holland Taylor. 9l mins. Loincloth-clad hero Geroge (Fraser) saves San Fransican socialite Ursual (Mann). but his trip to the urban jungle is shonlived 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. romance. while the knowing and punchy script is easily up with the best of modern Disney. Edinburgh: Odeon. Kilmarnock: Odeon.
Godzilla (PG) (Roland Emmerich. US. I998) Matthew Broderick. Jean Reno. Maria Pitillo. I40 mins. Nuclear testing causes a lizard to grow to an enonnous size. reproduce asexually and head to New York to lay some eggs. When the military take the offensive. it's time for the rampaging reptile to demolish Manhattan. Got/:illa goes beyond insulting its audience and makes the grave error of forcing our sympathy away from the monster and onto the non-descript humans. When a film like this fails to thrill with its effects — it's Jurassic Park all over again — it can only fall flat on its over-sized Hollywood ass. General release.
Good Burger (PG) (Brian Robbins. US. 1997) Kel Mitchell. Kenan Thompson. Sinbad. 95 mins. A spin-off from US cable channel Nickelodeon's daytime series All That. this kids comedy struggles through unfamiliarity. Two blokes working in a burger joint fight off the advances of the fast-food chain across the road with their new sauce recipe. The next Big Night? I don't think so. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Grease (PG) (Randal Kleiser. US. I978) John Travolta. Olivia Newton John. Stockard Charming. l 10 mins. The colourful goings-on at Rydell High — particularly the romance of square out-of- towner Sandy and tough guy Danny — is the stuff ofclassic movie escapism. In addition to a plot which groans with frustrated passion. bristles with gang tensions and swings with teen verve. the songs are the soundtrack for a generation. Twenty years on. Grease is still the word. and still the way we are feeling. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Edinburgh: Dominion. UCI. Happy Together ( l 5) (Wong Kar-Wai. Hong Kong. I997) Leslie Cheung. Tony Leung. Chang Chen. 96 mins. Two gay guys from Hong Kong try to make a fresh start in Buenos Aires and disrupt their
routine of breaking up and getting back together again. Narrativer simpler than Wong's previous movies (Cltungking Express. Fallen Angels). but certainly not devoid of distinctive directorial style. Happy 7ogerher features a colourful collage of amazing cinematography. A truly thn'lling piece of cinema. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Heidi Fleiss - Hollywood Madam (18) (Nick Broomfield. UK. 1995) Heidi Fleiss. Ivan Nagby. Madam Alex. 106 mins. Broomfield‘s typically intrusive (insensitive?) handling of his subject means that. like the more recent Kurt And Courtney. he alienates potential interviewees — here the customers of prostitute/madam to the Hollywood filmstars. Heidi Fleiss. The result is a facsinating. revealing. shocking ponrait of the complex relations between the madam. her pimp and the filmmaker. Glasgow: GFT.
Hell in the Pacific (12) (John Boorman. US. I968) Lee Marvin. Toshiro Mifune. 103 mins. The intriguing premise of a US Marine pilot and Japanese naval officer stranded together on a desen island degenerates into a series of macho stand- offs and unsatisfying allegory. Strong performances from the two leads. though. Glasgow: GET.
Hercules (U) (John Musker & Ron Clements. US. I997) With the voices of Tate Donovan. James Woods. Danny DeVito. 91 mins. British canoonist 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. Classical purists might grumble. but this is one of the studio‘s most dynamic and entenaining features. Kilmarnock: Odeon. Home Alone 3 (PG) (Raja Gosnell. US. I997) Alex D. Linz. Olek Kmpa. Rya Kihlstedt. 95 mins. Instead of Macaulay Culkin. here comes Alex D. Linz (Michelle Pfeiffer's kid in One Fine Day). but this film is not a patch on the un-PC slapstick and reckless stunting of the original. Stuck at home with the chicken pox. Alex discovers a gang of hi-tech international cn'minals trying to locate a top secret microchip. so he sets up increasingly elaborate and sadistic traps. Ayr: Odeon.
the Horse Whisperer (Robert Redford. US. I998) Robert redford. Kristin Scott Thomas. Sma Neil. I68 mins. Redford indulges several of his favourite passions at once in British author Nicholas Evans‘ best-selling tale of an equine shrink. As with Redford‘s previous directorial effons this is a fine looking and intelligent film. pitting the yuppie values of east coast magazine editor Scott Thomas against the vinuous all-American qualities of Midwesterner Redford. Sunday previews only.
Kundun ( l5) (Martin Scorsese. US. I997) I40 mitts. Scorsese's biography of the fourteenth Dalai Lama is also a painstaking record of a culture close to extinction. The beauty of Tibet and gentle nature of the people is disrupted by invasion by China. but the Dalai Lama remains true to the ideal of non-violence. A highly cinematic. though heavin wrought film. Knndun also features a pulsating music score by Philip Glass. The first hour. while beautiful to watch. does seem to pass very slowly. but. by the end. it has a curious calming energy all of its own. Falkirk: I-TH.
Kurt And Courtney (18) (Nick Broornfield. UK/US. I997) 93 mins. Was Nirvana mainman Kun Cobain's death suicide or something more sinister“? Courtney Love‘s father reckons Courtney herself had a hand in her husband's untimely demise — and that allegation was enough to get Broomfield‘s documentary into a lot of hot water on both sides of the Atlantic. However. the interviewees are too drug-addled to be coherent. let alone convincing and Broomfield seems too
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