Inconscquential comedy musical from the Anita boos novel, made watchable by the ebullient stars and the production number “Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend'. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Guest house Paradiso (15) (Adrian Edmondson, UK, 1999) Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Simon Pegg. 86 mins. Richie (Mayall) and Eddie (Edmondson) are the manager and bellboy, respectively, of the self-proclaimed Worst hotel in Britain, where, amazingly, a fair few oddballs naively come to stay. The television series, Bottom crystallised the on-screen relationship between Mayall and Edmondson, which here is a set of ill- thought out sketches carelessly spliced together. General release.
The Hanging Garden (15) (Thom Fitzgerald, Canada, 1997) Chris Leavins, Kerry Fox. 91 mins. When Sweet Williams, an openly gay man, returns to his home in Nova Scotia for the wedding of his sister, he reunites with his dysfunctional family and has visions of his childhood. Directed with dark humour, the anguish of William‘s story is lightened by word play and floral symbolism. Intelligent and moving. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Film Guild.
Happy Texas (12) (Mark Illsley, US, 1999) Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn, William H. Macy. 98 mins. Into Happy‘s crime-free smalltown haven roll a pair of escaped convicts (Northam and Zahn) posing as gay directors of a beauty pageant for little girls. The ensuing camp antics and gender bending could have been less funny than a squashed armadillo and as PC as a KKK clan member, but thanks to lively central performances and a light touch from the filmmakers, Happy, Texas jaunts along. Glasgow: Odeon, Odeon At The Quay. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Hold Back The Night (15) (Phil Davis, UK, 1999) Stuart Sinclair Blyth, Christine 'I‘remarco, Sheila Hancock. 104 mins. Road movie meets gritty social drama in this story of three outcasts who become improbable travelling companions: abused Charleen ('I‘remarco), crusty eco-warrior Dcclan (Blyth) and terminally ill Vera (Hancock). Steve (.‘hambcrs's under-developed script fails to do the performers justice and it's not a problem director Phil Davis solves. See preview and review. Edinburgh: Virgin Megaplex. Paisley: Showcase.
Inspector Gadget (U) (David Kellogg, US, 1999) Matthew Broderick, Rupert Everett, Joely Fisher. 79 mins. Disney's take on the French kids' cartoon follows the part human, part gizmo Gadget's (Broderick) quest to become a proper. respected cop. Unfortunately, the dastardly Claw (Everett) has a scheme for world domination, which includes creating an evil doppelganger of the trenchcoated wonder. The Inspector '5 many contraptions will delight younger viewers, and oldies will be amused by the plentiful self-referential moments. General release.
Iron Giant (U) (Brad Bird, US, 1999) Jennifer Aniston, Harry Conick Jr, Vin Diesel. 86 mins. In this animated film adaptation of Ted Ilughes's classic children's story about a boy who befriends 50ft. robot from outer space, the action is transported from rural England to small- town America in the late 19505. The resulting film is a fast-moving thrillfest featuring bongo-beating beatniks, a great rockabilly soundtrack and explosive destruction on a grand scale. This being a kids film, through, it's violence with a conscience. General release.
It's A Wonderful Life (PG) (Frank Capra, US, 1946) James Stewart, Donna Reed, Ilenry Travers, Thomas Mitchell. 129 mins. Small-town boy Stewart runs into financial difficulties and is on the brink of suicide when an elderly angel descends to earth to show him all the good his life has done for those around him. Archetypal Capra sentimentality with a superbly detailed fantasy framework and one of Stewart's most lovable performances. One to warm even the most glacial heart. Glasgow: GFT. Falkirk: FI‘H Cinema.
Jack Frost (PG) (Troy Miller. US, 1998) Michael Keaton, Kelly Preston, Mark Addy. 102 mins. Negligent husband and father Jack Frost chooses to go on a road trip with his band rather than a holiday with his
family and is killed in a car accident. However, he gets a chance to begin afresh when he is reincarnated as, errn . . . a snowman. Despite cloying sentiment and obvious humour Jack Frost has a simple, puerile charm that eight-year-olds will enjoy. Glasgow: Odeon At The Quay. Edinburgh: ABC. Ayr: Odeon. Kilmamock: Odeon.
Jean De Florette (PG) (Claude Berri, France, 1986) Gerard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil. 121 mins. Provence, during the 19205. Depardieu's indomitable hunchback struggles against impossible odds to make a success of his inherited farmland, unaware that his neighbours are plotting to drive him from his land. Beautifully photographed, with flawless performances, this is a towering tribute to the highest aspirations of French storytelling. A BAFTA winner for the film of the year. Glasgow: GFI‘.
John Carpenter‘s Vampires (18) (John Carpenter, US, 1999) James Woods, Thomas Ian Griffith, Sheryl Lee. 107 mins. Based on the novel Vampires by John Steakley, it pitches the obsessive mercenary Jack Crow (Woods) and his Vatican-backed band of vampire slayers against Valek (Griffith), a 600-year-old blood-sucker. A few years back, the title John Carpenter 's Vampires might have quickened one ’5 pulse. But this Vampire Western feels like a throwback to the bad old days of 19705 gore movies, it wastes Carpenter’s directing skills and Woods’ considerable acting talent on a pedestrian plot littered with gratuitous female nudity and repellent violence against women. Wishaw: Arrow Multiplex.
Last Night (15) (Don McKellar, Canada, 1999) Don McKellar, Sandra Oh, David Cronenberg. 94 mins. There are six hours left until the world ends, but there's no Bruce Willis blasting asteroids here: Last Night is about real people experiencing real emotions. As their particular brand of anger, grief, wonder or frustration works its way towards a resolution, each character fulfils his or her dream in an against-the-clock scenario. Falkirk: FTH Cinema.
The Last Yellow (15) (Julian Farino, UK, 1999) Mark Addy, Charlie Creed-Miles, Samantha Morton. 88 mins. Bragging about his former SAS service, overweight and unemployed and single Frank (Addy) becomes involved in Kenny's (Creed-Miles) scheme to avenge his brother, severely brain damaged after being mugged in a pub by a thug. Jerking uncomfortably from Carry On- style humour to traumatic drama, The Last Yellow's fine cast nevertheless manage a partially-successful rescue mission. Glasgow: Odeon At The Quay, Showcase Cinema. Paisley: Showcase.
The legend Of 1900 (15) (Giuseppe Tomatore, Italy, 1999) Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Mélanie Thierry. 125 mins. A baby is born and abandoned aboard a transatlantic liner on the first day of the 19th century. Named 1900, he leads a life that becomes increasingly more fabulous, never setting foot on land. The innocent figure is so easily a cliche and so the film's success depends upon it striking a chord of emotional truthfulness which defies our powers of reasoning. That it does strike that chord is debatable. See review. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Dominion.
The Limey(18) (Steven Soderbergh, US, 1999) Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Luis Guzman. 89 mins. Stamp‘s criminal cockney reject, Wilson is off his manor and in hos Angeles to avenge his daughter's death in Soderbergh’s take on 605 cinema and the British crime movie. But this is no simple revenge caper, although the action thrills and the one- liners are smart. The casting 60$ icons Stamp and Fonda as Wilson's nemesis, record producer Terry Valentine, is inspired. Edinburgh: Cameo.
The Living Sea (U) 40 mins. Although the lwerks experience impresses on a technical level, this is entertainment as lumbering fairground attraction. The visually wondrous The Living Sea is an ‘edutaining' look at mankind's relationship with the sea (with voice-over from Meryl Streep). Edinburgh: Virgin Megaplex.
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