Becker is a filmmaker who always rises abov e the given material. This potentially routine thriller is a case in point. 'lliat it could survive its risible premise is remarkable in itself: a nine-year-old autistic child inadvertently cracks the world‘s most sophisticated military encryption code. That it could then reprise the bog-standard. ‘alienated cop and vulnerable boy on the run from just abottt everyone' plot — and still hold our interest — is little short of miraculous. See review. General release. Metroland ( l8) (Philip Saville. UK. I998) Christian Bale. liniin Watson. Lee Ross. l()l mins. lt‘s I977. and Chris is becalmed in Metroland. the suburban sprawl at the end of London Underground's Metropolitan line. ln his early 30s. he is held fast by job. marriage and fatherhood. Then his old school friend 'l‘oni arrives to stir tip his caltn domesticity and remind him of the time
\s hen they were rebellious public schoolboy-s cocking a snook at the bourgeoisie. ln bringing Julian Barnes' debut novel to the screen. director Saville has failed to translate those qualities that made the original enjoyable: cool intelligence. playful wit and ironic authorial voice. Glasgow: (ill-ill
MouseHunt (U) (Gore \"erbinski. US. I997) Nathan Lane. l.ee livaiis. Christopher Walken. 98 mins. Lane and livans play hapless brothers who inherit a decripit mansion. but when they decide to renovate auction it. a iesident rodent is not willing to be evicted ;\n excellent blend of Laurel and Hardy slapstick and black humour. .llouvc/lioil is sheer entertainment and has some real belly laughs. The tone and the pacing are spot-on throughout. and the sets and special effects are the icing on the cake. Glasgow: 't'Cl Clydebank. litlinburgh: ()deon liast ls'ilbridc: UCI. Stirling: .-\llanpai‘k.
Natural Born Killers (18) (Oliver Stone. l'S. I994) Woody llan‘elson. Juliette Lewis. Robert l)owney Jr. ll9 mins. Stone‘s visual and aural assault makes for one of the most remarkable cinematic experiences in years; his attempts to marry style with content. and
provide a damning expose of the media adulation of serial killers is less successful. let down by his trademark overstatement. Violent. mesmerising. hallucinatory and bold in its use of various film formats. NBK is a landmark in MTV-influenced filmmaking. Edinburgh: Cameo.
No President (18) (Jack Smith. US. I967 - 70) HO mins. Smith’s last film is a political statement. mixing found footage with original material which evolved from his I967 presentation of Horror Ani/ I‘tllllrlfl')‘ A! Midnight. Also screening. a number of shorts: Song For Renl. Roofers ()f' Technicolor. I Wax A Male Yvonne Dt'Ctir/o. Glasgow: GFT.
Now Voyager (PG) (Irving Rapper. US. I942) Bette Davis. Claude Rains. Paul Henreid. ll7 mins. Classically cast. this archetypal tragic love story of the period is unadventurous and even bland. btit its stars are more than eharismaticenongh to overcome its problems. lidinburgh: Pilmhouse.
Oscar And Lucinda ( l5) (Gillian Armstrong. US/Australia. I997) Ralph liiennes. Cate Blanchett. Ciaran Hinds. 132 mins. Adapted from Peter Carey's Booker Prize-winning novel. this tale of passiott and tinconsummated love falls short of its shimmering goals. Fiennes is a I9th century man of the cloth obsessed with gambling who bets he can transport the glass church designed designed by an Australian heiress across the treacherous outback. liiennes animates Oscar with a nervous. crow -like intensity. btit there is a definite sense of some vital element missing. l-‘alkirk: l’l‘ll. Our Hospitality (U) (Buster Keaton. l’S. I923) Buster Keaton. Matinee screening of the Keaton silent classic considerany enlivened by the grand setting and presence of the BT Scottish [Ensemble orchestra performing the world premiere of Carl [)avis' new score. Glasgow: Royal Concert Hall.
Out of the Past ( l 5) (Jacques 'l'ourneur. US. I947) Robert Mitchnm. Jane Greer. Kirk Douglas. Rhonda l-‘leming. \"irginia Huston. 96 mins. Gripping. moody and
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expertly mounted flashback noir. starring :\litchum as the condemned man. a private detective whose investigation of Douglas's girlfriend Greer takes him to Mexico and eventually a confrontation with death. Classic B-movie with a hallucinatory. almost existentialist atmosphere. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Palookaville ( l5) (Alan Taylor. US. 1996) William l-‘orsythe. Vincent Gallo. Adam 'l‘rese. 92 mins. The simplest way to nutshell I’o/ookui‘illt' 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 next door jevveller‘s. btit then their humanity wins over as they .save a security driver's life. The jokes are everywhere - all over the script. in the visuals and off-camera. lidinburgh: ('ameo.
Paulie (PG) (John Roberts. US. I998) Jay .‘ylohr. 'l‘ony Shalhoub. (iena Rowlands. 9| mins. Caged ill a research institute. Paulie the parrot relates his life-story: from helping a little girl with a stutter to a series of adventures with various adults. Neither as immediately cute nor as bizarrely inspired as Ii‘u/ic. l’oii/ic nevertheless marks a step in the right direction for the DreamWorks studio Jay Mohr‘s vocal talents give the parrot a streetwise sense. wile the mix of live action and animatronics is always realistic. (ireenock: Waterfront. Irvine: WMR.
Paws 1 PG) (Karl Zwicky. .-\nstralia/UK. I997) Nathan Cavaleri. limilie lirancois. voice ol Billy Connolly. 83 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 whin. kid Vac. the mutt links tip to a voice simulator and starts talking with the broad twang of Billy Connolly. Some genuinely funny moments allow for a whole range of teenage crises to be dealt with in an uncringewonhy fashion. Glasgow: ()deon Quay. Kilmarnock: ()deon. Quadrophenia t l 8) il-‘rank Roddain. UK. I979) l’hil [)aniels. l.eslie Ash. Philip Davis. Sting. l2() mins. Mods and rockers
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live it tip on Brighton beach by swapping buckets and spades for chains and sticks. Lively first half has enough energy. music. violence and period flavour to carry it along. btit all too soon it degenerates into some sort of treatise on the morality of youth. set to tunes by The Who. Edinburgh: Cameo. Saving Private Ryan (IS) (Steven Spielberg. US. I998) Tom Hanks. Tom Sizemore. Matt Damon. 170 mins. Like no film in recent memory. Saving Private Ryan focuses its attention squarely on the brutalities endured by American soldiers in World War ll. Central to this impact is the already legendary opening half hour. detailing with remorseless brilliance the carnage of the D-Day landings. Understandany enough. Spielberg finds it hard to follow tip this bravura introduction. The actual meat of the story. in which Hanks is sent off with the remnants of his unit to locate the eponymous Ryan. is built on rugged rather than subtle lines. Nevertheless. this is a landmark piece of moviemaking. General release. Screenworks Glasgow Film and Video Workshop‘s I998 offerings. The programme highlights work by new. local filmmakers and includes: Wee Three. Shaggy Dog Titles. Drink The Drug. Shut/ow Boxing, The 23rd. A Curiogrtip/ierfv History, Elizabeth Rex. and Moons/ruck. Glasgow: GFT.
The Searchers (PG) (John Ford. US. I956) John Wayne. Vera Miles. Jeffrey Hunter. Natalie Wood. I I9 mins. One of Ford's finest Westerns. and hence one of the greatest achievements of the genre has Wayne as the obsessive Ethan Edwards. a man whose live-year quest to hunt down the Indians who murdered his wife and captured his young daughter has developed into a thirst for murderous revenge. Indeed. his drive is not only to murder the Indians but to kill his own offspring because she's been tainted by her time with the Redskins. With Wayne at his most intense. this is one of old Hollywood’s darker. richer moments. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
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24 Sep—8 Oct I998 THE “ST 29