FILM index
FILM index continued
A Day At the Races (Hi) isiiii \Vwitl, t:s, 1937) The Marx Brothers, Allan Jones, Maureen ()'Stillivan, Margaret llumorit. I l l mins. Not the best of the Marx llrotliets’ films - the musical lllllll'iL'IS and ti irriantic subplots are a bit too plentiful» but it times have a fair quota of classie comedy set pieces and dialogUe sequences, As tor the plot, it has the Hrotliers' ti} mg to help out a
girl Who owns a sariatoriairi and a zacehorse.
Edinburgh: l‘ilmhoiise
Deep Blue Sea (15) (Re-tiny llatlltl. tis, 1999) Saffron Burrows. Saiiitiel L. Jackson. LLCool J. 104 mins. With its leiocious action, heart-stopping suspense and rib- shaking explosions, llarlin's hugely entertaining ‘smart shark' niov ie pulls out all the stops. lashed l‘j. a tropical storm, an Aquatica marine research laboratory is rapidly turned into a 0- otlcil environment that suits the mutated. predatory sharks better than their human prey. Isle ol Arrarit Brodick Cinema. largs: Ilai'rtields ('inenia. Dogma (l5) (Kevin Smith. I S. I999) Matt Damon, Ben Allleck. x\l:tll Rickiiian 130 mins. Smith, creator of ('lwks and himself a devout believer, Confronts the conilict between personal faith and the institutionalised religii not the ('atholic Church. Meanwhile slacker prophets Jay and Silent Bob prm ide the Usual casual 0bscenities.1)ogmu is vulgar and irreverent, and features a ‘poop lllt'llSlL‘i ' and Alanis Morrisette as God. It's also tindiserplinetl. shambolic and boring. As a satire, it doesn't have a prayer. See feature and review Glasgow: ()deon (‘ity ('cntre, li(‘I Clydebank. lidiribuigli‘ Al’it‘ Multiplex, Cameo, UCI.
The Dolly Sisters (Ii) (Irv iiigt tiiiiiiiings. US,1945)Betty(irabledtitieII.i'.ei 114 mins. ’Ihis story of a tamous vaudeville act has got all the glamour a Hollywood musical could want. Io\ eiy legs, great song and dance routines, lavish sets and loi. ely legs. Supported by a Paramount flt'-'~\lCL‘I from I945. Edinburgh; Lumiere
Doug's tst Movie (U; i Maurici- Ji-yte. L’s.
rum!) 77 mins. 'I‘he animated adventures of quirky adolescent Doug liiiniiie graduates from its popular Saturday morning slot on American teles isiori to big screen glory. coiirtes} of l)isne_v. Movie no. 1 sees the twelv e year old torn between taking action against I'll\ iiiiiinierital pollution and taking his l‘cloxcil I’atti Mayonnaise to the high sehiol dance. Edinburgh: Odeon. Wishaw: Arrow Multiplex.
East Is East ( l5) (Damien O'Donnell, UK, 199") ()rii Putt, 1 inda Bassett, Jordan Itotitletlge. ‘r‘o mins. Based on Ayub Khan- llin's play, first /\ [first draws its perfectly
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Post-colonial angst: Greta Seacchi and James Wilby in Cotton Mary
balanced mix of belly laughs and tears from the conflict within a multi-racial family living in Salford in the 705. Head of the Khan household, George attempts to force his sons into arranged marriages in a belated effort to preserve tradition, but, born in England, the sons are having none of it. General release.
Ed“! (12) (Ron Howard, US. 1999) Matthew McConaughcy, Ellen DeGeneres, Woody Harrelson. 123 mins. DeGeneres plays a TV executive whose inspiration for improving ratings comes in the shape of no- hoper Normal Guy, Ed (McConaughey). In what amounts to The Truman Show with a consenting protagonist, Ed's every waking moment is beamed across the nation on its own channel as a real life soap opera. But the entire premise becomes a mere vehicle for some unoriginal 'fame is empty, TV more so' satire, and a lethargic love story with which to pad it out. Glasgow: Odeon At The Quay, UCl, Virgin. Edinburgh: Virgin Megaplex. Kilmamock: Odeon. Paisley: Showcase.
8 And A Half Women (15) (Peter Greenaway. Luxembourg/ Netherlands/ Germany/UK, 1999) John Standing, Vivian Wu, Toni Collette. 120 mins. After the death of his wife, an ageing businessman (Standing) rekindles his sex life by bringing a variety of lovers from East and West to his Geneva chateau. Partly a tribute to Fellini, it's also a laconic reassessment of male sexual fantasies post-Ale and a self~ conscious foray into more mainstream narrative filmmaking. Yet it remains unmistakably Greenaway. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Elizabeth (15) (Shekhar Kapur, UK, 1998) Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Ecclestone. 120 mins. Not your typical frock flick, Kapur's film may be ravishing to look at, but it's altogether darker and more disturbing than you’d expect. A political thriller from Tudor history. in which Blanchett's performance turns cherished notions about England‘s Virgin Queen on their head. A gripping and intelligent work. Kilmarnock: Odeon.
End Of Days (18) (Peter Hyams. US, 1999) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, Robin Tunney. 122 mins. At the end of this apocalyptic action movie, Amie raises his eyes to heaven and prays, ‘Please God, help me.‘ Indeed, for this is a wildly inconsistent mish-mash of 705 devil movies. 805 action pics and 905 computer-generated sfx. Byrne is the handsome human host for the dark angel whose procreative lust must be thwarted by Schwarzenegger's vodka- sodden, rocket-launcher~toting non-believer. General release.
The English Patient (15) (Anthony Minghella, UK/US, 1996) Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas. 162
mins. A mysterious stranger, suffering from horrific burns, is cared for by a Canadian nurse during the final days of WWII. In flashback, we discover more about the great romantic affair whose tragic climax brought him to this state. Anthony Minghella alters the focus of Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel to concentrate more on boiling passions in the North African desert. Spectacularly filmed on location, the film boasts magnificent performances from each and every one of the leads. Edinburgh: Filmhousc.
Everest (U) 40 mins. Although the lwerks experience impresses on a technical level, this is entertainment as lumbering fairground attraction. Everest is a dry-as- sand account of a recent expedition up the big yin. Filmed in the style of a Sunday afternoon docudrama, it also has the dubious honour of rendering a remarkable adventure mundane. Edinburgh: Virgin Megaplcx. Evita (12) (Alan Parker, US, 1996) Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce. 135 mins. Parker's genuine epic, based on the Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, boasts huge crowd scenes (up to 40,000 extras, according to sources) and stars on top form. The film belongs very much to Madonna in a gift of a role, which follows the rags-to-riches life of Eva Peron from poverty to her place in the hearts of a nation. It's narrated in song by sardonic revolutionary Che Guevara (Banderas), but once the audience becomes accustomed to the style, the sheer scale of the movie should take effect. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
the Exorcist (18) (William Friedkin, US. 1973) Linda Blair. Ellen Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. 110 mins. Earnest priest Von Sydow steps in to save poor little possessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Now re- relcased in remastered form, with a super stereo soundtrack (so you can hear those Obscenities in full). Dead good. dead scary. dead priest. Glasgow: Odeon. Odeon At The Quay. Edinburgh: Odeon.
Fight Club (18) (David l’incher. US. 1999) Brad Pitt, Ed Norton, Helena Bonham Carter. 135 mins. Masculinity is in a mess and consumerism is to blame. Men have become docile spectators of life according to Fight Club, Fincher's controversial adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel. In reckless response to this late twentieth century malaise. Norton's docile spectator teams up with Pitt's mischievous Tyler Durden to form an arena for men to beat each other to a pulp and thus reconnect with the world. It's hit and miss, but enough of the punches connect to startle even the most docile of viewers. General release. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (PG) (Howard Hawks, US, 1953) Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell. Charles Coburn. 9] mins. Two girls from Little Rock make it big in Paris.