VIDEOS
RENTAL Rounders (15) 116 mins
Desprte O\'vrng a huge gamhlrng debt to the Russran rnafra, college h0y l‘~.lrke (Matt Damon: rs seduced hack to the card table when hrs chridhood pal Worm r'Edward Norton rs released from prrson Drrector' John Dahl rsn't only rnterested It‘ the dramatrc tensron of r'arsrng the stakes he takes the poker engrne apart, g'eefully shov.rng us rn c‘lose detarl hov. the game \.'.or‘-<s NorIOn, seen recently rn Amer/can History X, makes Worm as self-atz'are as he rs self-destruc ‘uve, ar‘d rs the ace rn the pack I'Buena Vrsta :Aldt
Blade
(18) 115 mins
What starts promrsrngly \.'-.rth a hloodhath rn a techno cluh full of the Undead ultrmately degenerates rnto an FX drrven cartoon gorefest Kr'rs Krrstofferson rs good value as a gr'r/xled mentor, tavhrle Stepher‘ Dor'ff seems to have found a role surted to hzs meagre talent, playrng a snotty pank l_)loodSucker Any (ornrc hook adaptatron stands or falls by rts hero, however, and Wesley Snrpes rs B/ade's brggest asset, str‘uttrng hrs stuff n'tagnrfrcently rn a mood as black as the leather tn v.'hrc h he's cloaked rEntertctrnrnent' IRE-
If Only
(15) 91 mins
The Douglas Psychos Henshall bandwagon Just careers manrc'ly on Here he plays Vrc tor Bukotxskr, an actor who as out of v.ork and out of relatronshrp vuth hrs true love 'Lena Headeyr Unfortunately, she rs about to get vved to another o'oke Fortunately, he stumhles upon a parr of Spanrsh scaffres who somehov.’ possess the pov.er to grant Vrc to" an ooportunrty to turn back the (lock and start agarn But \Vllf he Just make the same mrstakes second trme around7 \‘thty, charrnrng and sad rFox Pattie -'BD'
The Players Club (18) 99 mins
The hoy/ 'n the hood take a hac kseat rn Ice Cubes drrectorral dehut, '~.'.hr( h revolves around the slea/y (I()IY‘.(}s-().'I land clothes cornrng off at the
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Partick bristle: Peter Mullan has more than one brush with the law in My Name Is Joe (Film Four, 15, 101 mins, *ttt). Available to rent from Mon 24 May
eponynrous strrp Jomt The events leadrng no to the club herng burned down are seen, not through the eyes of 'ts prnzp ovn‘er or rts ( 'rentele, hut through Drana, a smart young \'.()It‘r(itt \.‘.'l‘ose nrght-trme strrpprng grg funds her college (‘dlr( atron Credrole enough, but the siac k drrec tror‘ adds up to lrttle n‘ore tha" an exerc rse r".
trtrllatron ‘[illtt’lirilltl'lpllt' MI-
Dollar For The Dead (18) 95 mins
leftover soaghettr, anyone7 An
ac tron-pac -<ed trrhute to Sergro Leone, trumpets the ‘ront cover, Jast rn case drsplayrng a (heroot-suc kzng E'nrlro Esteve/ and havrng 'Dollar" Ht the trtle ‘.'.asn't enough of a gr\.e-.‘:‘.'.ay There's ‘un to he had cloc krng the reference pornts Woo and Pec krnpah, as \.'.'ell as Sergro hrrnself hut ulternately Gene Qurntarto lacks the courage of hrs convrctrons, grvrng the tac rtur't n‘an .'.r‘.h no name (“arac te." t'ar too many duff ler‘es Of rnrr‘or curaosrty’ ‘.'a'ue only 'r".larguee Prctures' «RF
Future Sport
(15) 87 mins
It's 2025 and North Arnehc a s or‘, t'.e verge of a" '.'.:t." t"e l-la'.‘.‘arra". Lrl)erat'on Organrsat.on So as :lov.n to superstar athlete Tre Ramsey to :ead hrs tearh to vrc tory and save h:s (()llt‘.l"'/ ‘.'.hat \.'.rtl: the outc one of ‘triure azars oerng dec 'ded on sportrng results Future Sport has just a couple of' pornts of rnter'est a (an‘eo py \‘fesiey Surpes as the Rasta (oac h and drrectror‘. hy Irrnest D'c kerson, Sptke lees for'ner crnerrratogr'apher It’o/Ifer‘rm/r’ drd the sc r- Y'r sport schtrck petter (olurnhra
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The Pass
(18) 90 mins
lnrs s meant to he a 'taut non-stop tlirrlier' and a ".'.l‘..te knuckle ride of claustropholu terror" Um, 'frard not \‘Jhrie en route to Reno, Charles Duprey ’\'r'r||ra'h l-orsythe prcks up a hrtc hh.ker ‘~.'.ho, .rrrst:rprrsrngly, happens to he a psyc hotrc murderer, serit hy Dupr'ey's ‘.‘.'f(‘ and best frrend ‘.‘.ho are out to get a hefty rnsurance payout The r'takers must have made a chec klrst of US 'no\.re thrriler (lrc hes and then carefully t ( '-<ed off exery
srr‘gle one Inlarguee Ptctures 'SBr
RENTAL
Elizabeth (1S)119mins- t ,-
Whoever decided that Cate Blanchett was unworthy of an Oscar for her portrayal of Elizabeth must have had their head missing. Her performance in Shekhar Kapur’s epic drama is what they like to call a tour de force as she plays the Virgin Queen, battling against all- comers to assert her authority as both monarch and woman.
Mid 16th century England is torn asunder by religious intolerance, riven by murderous conspiracy and crippled by economic instability. As Queen Mary (Kathy Burke) veers closer to death, she steps up a policy of repression against those of the Protestant faith. Her half- sister Elizabeth is next in line but being a Prod, the establishment want her dispatched to hell before this heretic takes the throne. Fortunately, the original ginger spice knows what she really wants and no one — lover, assassin or traitor - will be allowed to get in her way.
This unforgettable piece of cinema
reviews VIDEOS
Who's Queen?: Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth
has a raft of images which stay in the mind long after the credits have rolled away. Scenes of torture, painfully slow death and beheading are in there, but there are gentler and equally powerful moments through the superb central performances from Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Chris Eccleston and Joseph Fiennes. And decent contributions are made from the edges by Eric Cantona, Richard Attenborough and Fanny Ardant.
Get fans of the Old Firm in a small room, make them watch this and let them see the folly of their ways. Or kill each other. (Brian Donaldson)
Avar/ah/e to rent on Po/yGram from Mon 77 May
RETAIL Dark City (15) 96 mins
Alex Prc yas takes the superror' dark v;sror‘ of hrs prevrous frlm, The Crow, to the extreme ill a retro-futur'rstrc' norr, rr‘sprred as mac h by Edward Hopper as Rene ItIagr'tte l'hrs rnetropolrs rs ruled oy the sznrster ’Str'angers', \vho transform the (rty nrghtly by sheer force of vvrrl Rufus Se\.vell's Kafka- esgt.e protagonrst awakens rnto thrs hrghtrrrar'e, loc ked rn a room \vrth a murdered woman and sufferrng from total amnesra V‘Jrldly rmagrnatrve, Dark (‘rty nevertheless suffers from a plot as chaotrc as the c rty rtself rErttertarrtrrtent {1‘199v'lxlI-r
Twin Town
(18) 95 mins
lr‘accurately 't rlled as the \"v'elsh I'rarnspottrrrg on rts (rnema release, Far/r) "ran/n Is very drffer'ent to rts Scottrsh (ousr‘ Rl‘ys Ifans and Llyr' Evans star as a parr‘ of malcontent brothers who spend therr‘ days On drugs and rn other people’s cars The parr reak havoc as they attempt to exact r'exenge on a local gangster who cons therr father An enter'tarnrng black comedy \vrth a fee. plot twrsts to keep thrngs trc krng over for the talented, rf under-used cast :41 Front £5 99’ rMRI
Star Kid
(PG) 96 mins
Nerdy Spencer" rs hullred at school, has trouhles at home and rs too shy to ask a classmate on a date When he
drscovers Cy, a robotrc sort of armoor crash landed on Earth from a planet far, far away, he turns hrs Irfe around. But when a bully of the rntergalaCtIC type arrrves on Earth, Spencer must come to Cy’s ard Neat so-fr adventure for krds «who'll be wantrng therr own ('ybOTSUIISI and a moral message to ooot. rEntertarnment £12 99) IMF)
Keep The Asprdrstra Flying
(PG) 96 mins "r 7*
Socral satrre re-rnvented as Sunday tea~ trme vretvrng, thrs Is a teprd screen versron of George Orwell’s novel of a horny non-conformrst and would-be \vrrter As Gordon Comstock, chhard
E Grant rs a lrttle too restrarned, espeCrally when compared to hrs other rebellrous (reatrons, Wrthnarl and the drsrllusroned protagonrst of How To Get Ahead /n Advert/sing Helena BOnham Carter fares better as Cornstock’s long sufferrng love Interest, but the frlm rs further, fatally andermrned by a syrupy score from Mrke ‘Womble' Batt. (Columbra Trrstar E t 3 99) (RFI
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE:
Srmone Barrd, Brran Donaldson, Mrles Frelder, Roh Fraser, Alan tvlorrrson, Mark RobertsOn
STAR RATINGS
r, Unmrssable i h i t Very good . . t. Worth a shot V l Below average « You've been warned A
13—27 Hay 1999 THE US! 99