has brought its lens to bear on the rich and colourful possibilities of Chinese legend. The tiiost striking aspect of this romantic epic is its magnificent animation. Details of character. movement and expression are fine. btit the stunning large-scale set pieces are truly astonishing. while the design team stirs in art authentic flavour of China. General release.
The Mummy ( l 2) (Stephen Sommers. US. I999) Brendan Fraser. Rachel Weisz. John Hannah. I I5 mins. The secret of the film‘s success lies in its reinvention as an Indiana Jones-style adventure. Rugged hero Fraser. luscious librarian Weisz and comic sidekick Hannah scour l930s Northern Africa for the fabled City of the Dead and unwittingly resuscitate an evil. dead Egyptian priest. (ienet'al release.
My Favourite Martian (PG) (Donald Peti'ie. US. I999) Christopher Lloyd. Jeff Daniels. [Elizabeth Hurley. 92 mins. Breezy famin adventure 'I'V remake that’s amusing and disarmineg entertaining. Some excellent special effects help. as we meet a hapless Martian s isitor who bus crash landed on liarth and is keen to leave as soon as possible. General release.
My Name Is Joe( I 5) (Ken Loach. UK. I998) Peter Mullan. Louise Goodall. David McKay. “)5 mins. A more accessible Loach than we'd normally expect tells the tale of a recovering alcoholic Joe Kavanagh meets and falls in love with health visitor Sarah. but his well intentioned scheme to get a young friend out of the grip of a vicious drug dealer looks likely to backfire on everyone he cares for. Edinburgh: Cameo. My Very Private Map (Sobhi Zobaidi. I998) 2i mins. Documentary made to conunemorate the Nakba (the 'disaster'). the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel. an event which weighed heavily on Palestinian refugees. Part of Descriptions ()f A Struggle. an lsi'acIi/Palestinian filiii season. Edinburgh: I‘Ttllllllill‘kt‘l Gallery.
Night and the City (PG) (Jules Dassin. UK. I950) Richard Widmark. Gene Tierney. Googie Withers. I()l mins. Very fine film noir in which Widmark‘s con man is on the make and the run through the dark streets of London. Rarely has a city been so vividly and menacineg portrayed. Glasgow: OFT. The Night of The Hunter (PG) (Charles Laughton. US. I955) Robert Mitchum. Shelley Winters. Lilian Gish. 93 mins. Mitchuni is unforgettable in this atmospheric tale in which he plays a psychotic priest chasing m o children for the money stolen by their father. James Agee's script and Laugliton’s stark monochrome visuals make this a mesmerising cinematic experience. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The 92 Minutes Of Mr Baum Part of Descriptions Of A Struggle. an Israeli/Palestinian film season. Mr Baum is given just 92 minutes to live. during which time he imagines Iiow his nearest and dearest react to news of his death. Iidiiibui'gli: I‘Ttllllllill'KL‘l Gallery.
Notting Hill (I5) (Roger Michell. UK. I999) Hugh Grant. Julia Roberts. Roger Michell. l 10 mins. Eagerly awaited follow- up lo Four Ilia/(litres Ant/A Funeral has Grant playing William Thacker. the divorced owner of a travel bookshop into whose life walks Robei'ts‘ Hollywood niegastar. and. before you know it. they kiss. General release.
Orphans (I8) (Peter Mullan. UK. I999) Douglas Hensliall. Gary Lewis. Stephen McCoIe. 95 mins. ()ii the eve of their mother's funeral. four grown-up orphans express their grief as storm clouds gather in the skies. I.ess the social realism of Ken Loach. more a surreal expressionism which takes everything to its illogical conclusion. Glasgow: Showcase. lidinburgh: Filmhouse. Paisley: Showcase.
Ostuta (Nizar Hassan. I998) 90 mins. Hassan's lilm documents the plight of a family living in northern Palestine whose lives are torn apart when the I948 war leading to the establishment of the Sate of Israel destroyed their home town. Part of Descriptions ()f A Struggle. an Israeli/Pale.innian film season. Edinburgh: lirtiitiiiarket Gallery.
The Other Side Of Sunday ( l5) (Berit Otto Nesheim. Norway. I996) 97 mins. A vicar's daughter rebels against the stifling orthodoxy of the Christian church in I950s
Norway. The mounting hours she spends in the pew prompts her to reject chastity and embrace sin. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Outfit (I5) (John Flynn. US. I973) Robert Duvall. Joe Don Baker. Robert Ryan. l03 mins. Upon release from prison. Duvall's bank robber takes revenge on a crime syndicate responsible for the murder of his brother. Respectable. if uninspired. adaptation of Donald Westlake's novel. Glasgow: GFT.
Palestine: Story Of A Land (Simone Bitton. I993) ll5 mins. Compiled from film and photographic archives. the film tells the controversial story of Palestine this century. Part of Descriptions OfA Struggle. an Israeli/Palestinian film season. Edinburgh: Fruitmarket Gallery.
Payback (l8) (Brian Hegeland. US. I998) Mel Gibson. Gregg Henry. Deborah Kara Unger. “0 mins. An entertainingly erratic rehash of I967's Point Blank. Pay/rack finds Gibson good. if unlikely. in the Lee Marvin tough guy role. Hegeland‘s impressive directorial debut works partly as a send-up and partly as an homage to John Boorman's original. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Pecket(l5) (John Waters. US. I998) Edward Furlong. Christina Ricci. Lili Taylor. 86 mins. Narrative logic very rarely crops up in Waters' films. replaced instead by filmic flippancy. And that's the case with this rags-to-riches-and-back-to-rags story of a young Baltimore photographer. who briefly becomes the darling of the New York art set until he rejects it all for his hometown. family and friends. Stirling: MacRobcrt.
Perets And The Wolf ( Aniit Goren. l999) 50 mins. Examination of the relationship between man and beast as illustrated through the story of Perets Giladi. a Nature Reserve Ranger and wolfexpert. Part of Descriptions OfA Struggle. an Israeli/Palestinian film season. Edinburgh: Fruitmarket Gallery.
Perfect Blue ( l 8) (Satoshi Kan. Japan. I998) 80 mins. The director of anime feature Roujin Z tells the story of a former pop star whose grip on reality starts to slip when she becomes an actress in a daytime soap opera. Meanwhile. a series of murders appear to be linked to her new. raunchy image. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
The Philadelphia Story (PG) (George Cukor. US. I940) Katharine Hepburn. Cary Grant. James Stewart. I l2 mins. Splendidly sophisticated Hollywood comedy with Stewart as a scandalsheet reporter covering the society wedding of recently divorced Hepburn. ex-htibby Grant lurking in the wings. and romance recurdling despite itself. Sparkling dialogue and charismatic performances all round make this one of the best of its kind. Glasgow: GFT.
Pi (1r)(l5) (Darren Aronofsky. US. I997) Sean Gullette. Mark Margolis. Ben Shenkman. 84 mins. The science fiction of Pi is more Stephen Hawking than Star Trek: its conspiracy theory plot makes most episodes of The X -F iles seem like children's f‘airytales. Obsessed with discovering numerical patterns in life and nature. mathematical genius Max comes across a 2l6 digit sequence that precedes a stock market crash and reveals the hidden name of God. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Plunkett And Macleane ( I 5) (Jake Scott. UK. I999) Jonny Lee Miller. Robert Carlyle. Liv Tyler. IOI mins. Destitute gentleman James Macleane and bankrupt apothecary turned thief Will Plunkett are thrown together in mid- I 8th century London. where they pool their talents to launch a new career as dashing highwaymen. A huger enjoyable if empty- hcaded romp. Stirling: MacRobcrt.
Point Blank (l8) (John Boorman. US. I967) Lee Marvin. Angie Dickinson. Keenan Wynn. 92 mins. Revenge-ridden Marvin is bent onjustifying his dreamlike existence and turning the tables on the mysterious criminal Organisation which employed him in this tense. well crafted thriller that boasts an imaginative and influential treatment of time.
The Polish Bride ( I 5) (Karim Traidia. The Netherlands. I998) Monic Hendrickx. Jaap Spijkers. 90 mins. Set in the Highlands of Holland. Polish woman Anna . escapes the clutches of two deeply unpleasant men to be
taken in by the kindly Henk who lives a lonely farm life. Slowly (well. very slowly actually). their faltering. non-tactile friendship grows into something much stronger and the true test of their devotion comes when danger is brought to their door. Glasgow: GET. Pretty Village, Pretty Flame ( I8) (Srdan Dragojevic. Serbia. I996) I29 mins. This film. made by filmmakers in the former Yugoslavia. charts the destruction of the friendship (and the country) of two young men — a Serb and a Muslim — who take opposing sides after war breaks out. Goes a long way towards an understanding of a horrific civil war. See review. Glasgow: GFT. Stirling: MacRobcrt. Reservoir Dogs (l8) (Quentin Tarantino. US. I992) Harvey Keitel. Tim Roth. Michael Madsen. I00 mins. A gang of hoods. known only to each other by colour- coded nicknames. meets at an abandoned warehouse to figure how out their rigorously planned heist went so drastically wrong. Brilliant in every sense of the word. Edinburgh: Cameo. Rogue Trader (I5) (James Dearden. UK. I999) Ewan McGregor. Anna Friel. 92 mins. Young Watford boy Nick Leeson conquered the Singapore stock exchange. made millions for Barings Merchant Bank of London. then bankrtipted them with a billion dollar debt. Based on Leeson's book. Dearden's version of the events makes for a surprisingly riveting underdog-versus-the- establishment thriller. General release. Romeo 8: Juliet( I 2) (Baz Luhrmann. Australia/US. I996) Leonardo DiCaprio. Claire Danes. Pete Postlcthwaite. I20 mins. The Strictly Ballroom director's treatment of the Shakespeare tragedy is a magnificent riot of colour. action and sexy teen romance. without any need to sacrifice the text. To call it 'MTV filmmaking' misses the point that the camera tricks and in-jokes don't in any way distract from the fact that Ltthrmann has completely grasped the issues at the centre of the play. Edinburgh: Cameo. The Rugrats Movie (U) (Norton Virgien/lgor Kovalyov. US. I998) Voices of:
index FILM
E.G. Daily. Christine Cavanaugh. Kath Soucie. 80 mins. The weekly animated adventures of the un-cutesy. irritatineg voiced Pickles family is big among kiddies and adults in the States. but the movie is definitely more of a junior entertainment. Might keep the little ones quiet for a while. General release.
Saving Private Ryan( I 5) (Steven Spielberg. US. I998) Tom Hanks. Tom Sizemore. Matt Damon. I70 mins. Like no film in recent memory. Saving Private Ryan focuses its attention squarely on the brutalities endured by American soldiers in World War II. Central to this impact is the already legendary opening half hour. brilliantly detailing the carnage of the D- Day landings. Stirling MacRobcrt. Shakespeare In Love (l5) (John Madden. UK. I998) Joseph Fiennes. Gwyneth Paltrow. Rupert Everett. I20 mins. Joseph Fiennes. a pair of breeches and a few moody verses and a league of women will leave the cinema wondering why they never figured it out at school: Shakespeare is sex on legs. Tom Stoppard's script is confident. irreverent and witty. Edinburgh: Cameo. Motherwell: Moviehouse.
She's All That ( I2) (Robert Iscove. US. I999) Freddie Prinze Jr. Rachel Leigh Cook. Matthew Lilliard. 95 mins. While Clueless transforms Emma and Cruel Intentions twists Dangerous Liaisons into an American high school setting. Slieir All That is basically a teen romantic comedy remake of Pygmalion — with a fair amount of stereotyping along the way. General release.
The Split (l8) (Gordon Flemyng. US. I968) Jim Brown. Gene Hackman. Warren Oates. 89 mins. Another Donald Westlake adaptation. following on the heels of the previous year's Point Blank and boasting a similarly impressive cast. Brown assembles a gang ofexperts to rip off the LA. Coliseum. bttt Hackman's dogged cop is on his tail. Glasgow: GFT.
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