reviews
RENTAL Bulworth (18) 103 mins
The Clrnton-based Primary Colors garnered more attentron than Warren Beatty’s polrtrcal satrre, but Bulworth rs the frlm wrth real brte. It's 1996 and the electron campargn rs wrndrng down. Belrevrrrg hrs career to be over, Democratrc Senator for Calrfornra Bulworth (Beatty) suffers a nervous breakdown, hrres someone to krll hrm and goes on the road one last trrne to tell hrs voters The Truth: 'You're black and poor, so we don't grve a fuck about your vote’ -~ that krnd of thrng Funny and surprrsrngly shockrng. (Fox Pathe) (MF)
Babe: Pig In The City
(U) 92 mins
Whrle other lrttle prggres are content Wlift gorrrg to the market or stayrrrg at home, Babe the cute and courageous sheep-herdrng champron heads to the brg scary crty rn order to save the Hoggett farm The humour here rs as surreally skewed and dark-edged as the or'rgrnal and, rf anythrng, the subtle computer anrnratron that allows the anrrnals to talk rs even more seamlessly clone 7 you'll soon get over the trrckery and apprecrate the dogs, chrmps, oranc_.;-utan and others as real charactc-rrs. More Dalrl than Drsney. (Unrversal) (AM)
The Opposrte Of Sex (18) 97 mins
Chrrstrna chtcr srnks her teeth rnto the role of whrte trash bad grrl Dedee Trurtt, who runs away from home, barges rnto the lrfe of gay half-l')rothc->r Martrn Donovan and barges out wrth hrs current boyfrrend, $10,000 and hrs prevrous lover’s ashes. Donovan and the dead man’s sprrrster srster (Lrsa Kudrow) take off rn, understandably, hot pursurt. A great cast and agreeably offbeat storylrne. are underrnrrred by drrector Don Roos's clumsy attempts at smart-arse postmodern narratrve. (Columbra Trrstar) (MF)
VIDEOS
The Misadventures Of Margaret (15) 89 mins
Parker Dazed 8/ Confused Posey rs strangely out of place rn thrs srlly, but fun romantrc comedy about Margaret, a successful, but eccentrrc author who seeks strmulatron from parts other than her husband Jettrng off to France she ends up rn the clutches of a swarthy Frenchman and begrns a br/arre love quadrangle where even the clentrst gets dragged rn Thrs rs a 90s female Seven Year ltclr wrth a lrberal sprrnklrng of bare-arsed young men to boot There are a few frrrr moments but nothrng startlrng. (Hrgh Flrers) (MR)
The Wisdom Of Crocodiles
(18) 95 mins
Thrs Brrtrsh art house curro suffers from being fairly preterrtrous as far as varnprre movres go more lrke The l-lunger than Dracula Jude Law rs rrc h, handsome, mysterrous and drrnks blood. Trmothy Spall rs the unusually 'nrce’ polrce rnspec'tor on hrs trarl and Elrna Lott/ensohn hrs latest target What really sustarns Law, though, rs love and so he courts hrs vrc'trms and murders them once they fall for hrrn. Whether or not thrs rs a comment on boys, relatronshrps and comrnrtrrrent problems, rt rs, above all, _r_)retentrous (Entertarnment) (MF)
Stepmom (12) 120 mins
When lulra Roberts’ faslrron photographc—rr moves rnto hunky lawyer Ed Harrrs’s New York loft apartment rt appears to be an arrangement made rn heaven. Unfortunatc-rly, Harrrs has two krds from hrs prevrous partner, Susan Sarandon, and they hate Roberts. Whrch rs farr enough her career woman rs hardly mother materral, whereas Sarandon rs the ernboclrrnerrt of Motherhood. So, there’s a lot of frghtrng before Sarandon rs dragrrosecl wrth termrnal cancer and hands over
Three's allowed: Robert Downey Jr and mates in Two Girls And A Guy (Fox Pathé, - 18. 82 mins, *ttt). Available to rent from Mon 26 Jul
106 THE lIST 22 Jul—5 Aug 1999
RENTAL/RETAIL Funny Games (18) 103 mins .
Boy in the hood: Funny Games
The banality of evil has attracted film-makers from Charlie Chaplin and Monsieur Verdoux to John McNaughton and Henry, Portrait Of A Serial Killer. With Funny Games, Michael Haneke takes it to the limit, twists conventions inside and out, leaving viewers and, you have to suspect, performers drained both physically and mentally. Which is not to say that this is an entertaining rollercoaster — it's a bloody awful experience but one so disconcerting as to eventually drag you back down its malevolent pathways.
A nice middle-class family begin their holiday in the country only for it to be interrupted by a pair of harmlessly attired and mannered youths - their names, Peter and Paul, even point to a biblical or nursery rhyme innocence. An incident over some eggs turns nasty and thereafter, the family are subjected to a series of tortuous mind games and physical beatings which lead them to believe that their lives may well be in danger. But is it all a game going too far or are the trio just another stop-off in the pair's train of assault and murder?
The early shift in music mood from cleansing classical to hardcore punk lets you know immediately that Funny Games is not a straight down the line narrative but one which seeks to have the audience tripping up and second guessing wrongly all over the place. It's not funny, but you will have fun.
(Brian Donaldson)
Avarlable to rent or buy on Tartan from Mon 26 lul, prrced E 75.99.
the krds to her grateful rrval Vomrt- rnclucrrrg serrtrmental tosh. (Columbra Trrstar) (MF)
The Clown At Midnight (18) 85 mins
What starts off as one of the cornrest horror flrcks you’re Irker to see gurckly degc—rnerates rnto one of the cheesrest. Basrcally, Kate’s mum, an opera drva, was murdered by a Jealous clovvn some frfteerr years back. Kate toms some of her school mates to help clean up the theatre where rt all happened v cue vr5rons and lots of screamrng at nothrng. Obvrously, all of the other krds are systematrcally krlled off leavrng poor Kate to face the evrl clown, (Unrversal) (SB)
Meet Joe Black
(12) 172 mins
Moral of the frlm? Brrllrant casts can strll suck. Expect pure tedrum as the camera steadrly shoots one person not sayrng very much before pannrng to the next who does pretty much the same. And for three hours. If you grrmly hang on untrl the very end of what should have been a decent flrck, you are rewarded wrth the cheeSIest endrng thrs Srde of strlton: the happy couple walk rnto the drstance framed by frreworks. Thrs frlm should be prescrrbed for rnsomnracs. (Unrversal) (SB)
RETAIL Re-Animator (18) 86 mins v. r.
While other horror movres rn the 80s relred on punnrng one-Irners at the
porrrt of some vrctrm’s clernrse as a crass means of cornbrnrng scares and laughs, Stuart Gordon’s gore c‘lassrc had ’em rollrng rn the arsles whrle reachrrrg for the barf bucket A demented Frankenstein scenarro remade wrth as much splatstrck as slapstrck, Re-Anrmator rs a leader rn rts blood-soaked freld. Also re-relec’rsed rn the new Tartan Terror serres are Pumpkin/read, Alice, Sweet Alice and Darro Argento's desparrrngly bad Trauma. (Tartan £12.99) (AM)
Lovrng You
(U) 97 mins
It’s vogursh to clarm that Elvrs's frlms reveal tremendous untapped actrng talent, but thrs rs all lres. They’re dumb, shrny star vehrcles, and thrs, hrs second, rs no exceptron. Not that the storylrne regurres much Of a stretch — hrllbrlly rocker rs drscovered and catapulted to the top where hrs swrvels 'n’ sneers drrve the grrls wrld. Whether your own personal Elvrs rs an overrated lardmunchrng redneck or the actual Krng, the songs are great and the rags- to-rrches story rs comfortrngly Srmplrstrc. (Medusa Prctures £12 99) (HM)
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE: Srmone Barrd, Brran Donaldson, Mrles
Frelder, Hannah McGrll, Alan Morrrson, Mark Robertson
* STAR RATINGS
,. . ,1 . unmrssable
w + -. Very good
a r Worth a shot
-. t Below average
1*: You've been warned