VIDEOS
RENTAL The Spanish Prisoner (15) 102 mins
Davrcl Mamet returns to the art of the confrdence tr‘rclc, whrc it he explored wrth much reverence rn hrs frrst frlrn, House Of Games Wrthout g:v.ng too much away, Campbell Scott rs a young exec who has developed a sure-frre rnoney-malcrng busrness strategy called The Process, alongsrcle (Ir/Xy company secretary Rebec ca Prdgeon (Marnet’s real-Irfe wrfe) and Steve Martrn’s enrgmatrc wealthy stranger Maclder'trngly ambrguous dralogue, rntr'rcate plottrng and crrsp clrrec tron play havoc wrth our senses rn what rnrght be called a 'cr‘yptogram' rFox Pathel rlvlFl
Suicide Kings
(15) 102 mins
So, this young guys srster‘ has been lcrdnapped and he and hrs rrcn frat mates can't (ONTO up turth the ransom Obvrously, the t'rrrng to cro rs lcrclnar) r'etrred cr‘rrne-boss C hrrstopher' \"vallcen, cut hrs frnger‘ off ancr get nrrn to track down the lcrdnapper‘s ‘.ra old Mob connec trons A very confused lrttle frrnr, part cack earnest corn;ng of age orat flrc k, part effec trve, rurrlcy tnr‘rller \"v'allcen does arna/rng work from the confnes of a char and Denrs Leary turns an a great deaclpan turn as "Ms dr‘rver lEntertarnmenti (DI.
The Newton Boys
(15) 117 mins
Set :n 1919 24, this rs the 'true' story of four brothers who clec rde that roobrng panics rs preferable to prc k'rtg cotton and brealcrng rn horses The boys are successful, almost clesprte themselves, and go on to blow up 80 bank safes and pull off the brggest trarn robbery rn hrstor'r, \.'-.rthout ever actually lcrllrng anyone lite most important guestron r‘ernarns unansv.ered thr‘ougl’rout, however \r’v'ho on earth allowed lthan Hawke's guasr-handlebar 'tacne7 lox Pathe~ tSBt
RETAIL
Breakdown
(15 ) 90 mins
Sweaty, nrghtnrarrsh thr'riler' rn the tradrtron of (but not gurte the same
league as) Duel and The Vanrshrng. Kurt Russell rs the orcirnary Joe whose fancy car and brg crty smarts prove useless when hrs wrfe clrsappears and a bunch of srnrster' rednecks turn a deaf ear to hrs rncr‘easrngiy desperate pleas for help Russell rs utterly cont'rnc‘rng en route to the end of hrs tether, and the late JT Walsh turns rn one last rnernor‘able performance as a menacing trucker rTwentreth Century Fox £12 99 rRl‘
The X Files Movie Special Edition
(15)"? mins ‘v <
One reason behrnd Mulder and Scully’s transfer to the brg screen was to show stuff the TV watchdogs wouldn’t allow Whrle the clynamrc duo don’t go anywhere near far enough, those wrth phobras for berng stung, free/rng to death or berng bur'red alrve may shuffle uncomfortably as Dave ’n' GIII go about tlrerr normal busrness You know, rhvestrgatrng explodrng burlclrngs and extr‘a-ter'r'estr‘ral bees wrth as mac n lilt‘.(ll‘dli((‘ from therr masters as possrble A reveal-al: documentary adds to the spooky fun :Twentreth Century Fox £15 99/£16 99
r.'.rdesc teen. «80‘
Amy Foster (15) 109 mins
Based on Joseph C onrad's story, Rachel '"r’ers/ rs the eponyrnous Arr‘y, tlie strange grr‘l shunned as a wstc h by her \.'ill<i(]0 Vrncerrt Perex, ‘r'esh tom the Carpateran mountarns, rs washed up on shore, sole survrvor of a shrpwreclc Rac hel grves hrrn a bath and the two fall rn star-c r‘ossed low larr r'vlc Kellen provrdes ster‘lrng support as the scept=cal, r.‘./rcro\.*.'ed doc tor who grows attached to Pere/ and Jealous of «‘v’ersx, :n a well c'aftecl guasr-weepre All cr‘ashrng waves and nasty \rllagers perfect Sunday afternoon fare rColurnbra Trrstar' £12 99' 'Dl.’
The Big Lebowski (18) 112/136 mins
Not l y any rneans a Coer‘. Brothers (IdSSi(, but a typrcaily offbeat romp, nonetheless Jeff Brxdges, :n hrs best performance for ages as 70s r'elrc The Dude, gets rnto all lcrnds of bother when a spot of the old tr‘rstakerr rcrentrty Involves krdnapprng,
Beat Generation Terrorists: Steven Mackintosh and Lisa Palfrey as Welsh Kerouac Obsessives in House Of America (First Independent, 15, 94 mins, 9: *t). Available to buy from Mon 12 Apr, priced £12.99
RENTAL Buffalo 66 (15)105 mins .v : .:- .
Actor/director Vincent Gallo is an acerbic, cocksure, egocentric dude, unlike the character he plays in this idiosyncratic black comedy. Owing to an extremely selected cinema release, the film was seen only by those willing to complete a Crystal Maze series of challenges in order to find a picture house screening it.
On his release from prison, perpetual outsider and underachiever Billy Brown is more lost than he was on the inside. In a bid to impress his parents, he
kidnaps tarty dimwit Layla (Christina Ricci) from her tap dancing class and
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reviews VIDEOS
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Buffalo 66: Gallo’s humour
tries to pass her off as his wife. Unfortunately his parents (brilliant character turns by Anjelica Huston and Ben Gazzara) are not prepared to let a trifle like their son's freedom get in the way of a good ballgame on the telly — although his dad seems quite taken with Layla's ample bosom.
Buffalo 66 is an inventiver shot tragicomedy populated by the saddest, most ineffectual individuals. Its parade of endearing eccentrics and misfits, its nebulous road movie feel and its ability to look stylish despite being filmed on what looks like a budget of 5p are all reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch’s wonderful Stranger Than Paradise.
Billy Brown really does seem alone in this sparsely populated small-town environment and despite being completely maladjusted manages to curry sympathy. By the end it seems perfectly acceptable that he should experience redemption through the love of a clearly desperate, clingy woman. What the hell — she makes him feel special, and no one else is going to be mug enough to give him the time of day. A quirky gem.
(Fiona Shepherd)
Avar/ab/e to rent on Co/umbra Trrstar from Mon 12 Apr
drsmernberrnent and Per‘sran rugs John
Goodman rs a mrte rr'rrtatrng whrle Steve Buscernr and John Turturro are wasted lift a non-Dude way, rnrncl' If you fancy rt on wroesc reen, theres the bonus of a ‘lvialcrng Of' cloc.rnrentary rPolyGram £14 99/£ 1 S 99 wrdesc reenr :BDr
Ally McBeal
(12) 92 mins
How much apch thrs two-eprsocre comprlatron horcrs depends entrre:y on yotr" fondness or' otl‘er‘wrse for Calrsta Floc'rchart's attrac trve, :ntellrgent but .nsecure legal eagle If you're a fan, you'l. be delrghtecl to fznd the famrfrar' rnnc of courtroorr‘ sharp practrce, offrce poirtrcs and r‘era’ronslnp c rrses If not, you'll probably spend the vrewrng trrne wrnc rng at the forced cuteness and self-consc rous postmoder'nrsm of the whole enter‘pr'rse V\/natever carnp you belong to, few coulcr resrst Peter
lv'lac Nrcol's weaselly turn as the senror partner (Twentreth Century Fox
£12 99r rRl‘
Character (15) 125 mins
Based on the Dutc l‘. lrterary crassrc of the same name, Char‘ac ter rs the story of one man ancr nrs clad and therr' lrfelong mutual ioathrng whrc h explodes rnto a frenzy of vrolence lvlrlce van Drem's debr.t feature rs set rn 1920s Rotterdam concer‘nrng farnrly, business and love and the power r'elatrons between those eierner‘ts The frlrn has the nrghtrnarrsh feel of the s'rlent era rnfused wrtlr a modern brooclrng "terrace and a tw:sty ending wnrc h proves that drew rs :ndeecl two srcles tc) every story rl'artan {1‘3 99' (BDI
Fist Of The North Star -
Volume 1
(15) 75 mins
Der‘rt'atrve of the post-apoc a not c Clad f/lax frlrns, ‘.‘.:t:‘ niar‘t-a thrown ~n, the ‘rrs‘. pa”. o‘ f": s c:- 1980s An nie tere‘. so" se'.es s..“c='s ‘c; at: ooo'
fron‘ .rnrrnagmat ‘.e ntot'." cruairty anan‘at-or‘r l"e at)s.."c: '. se" -:)..s tone croesnt hero in "us a"c: s undermrnecl by fine ilcrt)l)(‘(2 .\'r‘t‘-' ca" vorces For a crualrtfi,’ expenenc c- rnot l\.lanc;a, ‘.'..".‘( '1 1: Japanese cornrcs, . . sernrna. Arcrra -r'v.la"c;a f '2 99 7."
Dream For An Insomniac
(15) 84 mins
A fex‘. drag "efe"e"ces, a cra'. cc:..::-. thth one r”. the cose'. , (tsp-aire- rntel'ect..a~ spar" ."g a":: dis :>‘
r.'-.o."crs crori't awaits c;..a'a"‘.e«.= a " n
romantic come Ir‘c‘g. ce'ia " , 1:;3'”. rn the case of Dream , 1" :tac: ac trnc) on t"e part o‘ io"e Say a"::
Slll)(‘l‘l.(r<il sc 'zt)’. exe." ‘o' a 'ct"‘a"c e destroyrnc; .ts coo. asrtrrat o"s T'ea'. hor.‘-.ever', iarce a" out anc: oat ti)"‘c"(l‘. and Jennifer ,\",sto" s atte"‘::ts a ‘.'ar':ot.s accents l .:>.. " ‘ is c:‘ laughter and tears ( 1:.."‘:>:a " sta'
£9 99 SB
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: S.'nc)r‘eBa.'c:,B'(rr‘13c>".rc2son, _'.', es Irelcle", Rot) l‘rase', {Darr‘ e". .o.e, P we Shepne'cr
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