FILM index
FILM LISTINGS continued
Dog Day Afternoon (15) (Sidney Lumet, Us, 1975) Al Pacino. 130 mins. Pacino's grandstanding as the anxiety-ridden New Yorker attempting to rob a bank to pay for his gay lover's sex change operation confirmed his status as one of his generation's leading actors. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Dogma (15) (Kevin Smith, US, 1999) Matt Damon, Ben Affieck, Alan Rickman. 130 mins. Smith, creator of Clerks and himself a devout believer, confronts the conflict between personal faith and the institutionalised religion of the Catholic Church. Meanwhile slacker prophets Jay and Silent Bob provide the usual casual Obscenities. Dogma is vulgar and irreverent, and features a ‘poop monster' and Alanis Morrisette as God. It's also undisciplined, shambolic and boring. As a satire, it doesn't have a prayer. General release.
Doug's 1st Movie (U) (Maurice Joyce, US, 1999) 77 mins. The animated adventures of quirky adolescent Doug Funnie graduates from its popular Saturday morning slot on American television to big screen glory, courtesy of Disney. Movie no. 1 sees the twelve-year-old torn between taking action against environmental pollution and taking his beloved Patti Mayonnaise to the high school dance. Edinburgh: Odeon. Stirling: MacRobert.
East Is East (15) (Damien O'Donnell, UK, 1999) Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Routledge. 96 mins. Based on Ayub Khan- Din's play, East Is East draws its perfectly 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.
81/2 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. Glasgow: GFI‘.
End Of Days (18) (Peter Hyams, US, 1999) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byme, Robin Tunney. 122 mins. At the end of this apocalyptic action movie, Arnie 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. Byme is the handsome human host for the dark angel whose procreative lust must be thwarted by Schwarzenegger’s vodka- soddcn, rocket-launcher-toting non-believer. General release.
Extreme Screen: Everest and The living Sea (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 an 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 Megaplex. Eyes Wide Shut (18) (Stanley Kubrick, US, 1999) Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sidney Pollack. 159 mins. Had Kubrick chosen to stage his adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's Dream Novel in its original fin de siecle Viennese setting, audiences might have found the whole primitive Freudian mess easy to stomach. Transposing the would-be decadent psychosexual shenanigans to contemporary Manhattan, however, proves disastrous. What makes Eyes Wide Shut just about watchable is the screen presence of its two stars. Falkirk: FI‘H Cinema.
Fargo (18) (Joel Coen, US, 1996) Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy. 97 mins. Hoping to make some bucks, a car salesman attempts to have his wife kidnapped by hitmen; but quickly blood is spilt. As the pregnant police detective on the case, McDormand provides
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a wann-hearted centre for the movie, while the absurdist plot and weird local colour gain momentum. It'll be considered a classic, given time. Edinburgh: Cameo. Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (18) (Terry Gilliam, US, 1998) Johnny Depp,. 118 mins. As adaptations of cult books go, Gilliam‘s take on Hunter S. Thompson's assassination of the American Dream is a glorious mess of a movie. It remains true to the author's vision of moral torpor and psychosis, whilst injecting a good shot of Gilliam's own obsessions. Flawed, certainly, but epically degenerate. And thus pure gonzo. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Fight Club (18) (David Fincher, 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. Edinburgh: Cameo, Virgin Megaplex.
Following (15) (Christopher Nolan, UK, 1999) Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw, Lucy Russell. 70 mins. Struggling young writer Bill (Theobald), who randomly follows strangers around London for inspiration, is caught and apprenticed by compulsive burglar Cobb (Haw). Peopled by noirish archetypes, Following is taut and engrossing, and touches on the theme of voyeurism as Cobb's showman exploits Bill’s stalker impulses. Nolan‘s film could prove to be as significant a debut as Blood Simple. See preview and review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Get Carter (18) (Mike Hodges, UK, 1971) ) Michael Caine, Britt Ekland, John Osborne. 112 mins. Get Carter stands out as a highlight in the artist formerly known as Micklewhite’s career. His superbly controlled performance as the relentless avenger on a score-settling trip to the North East of England only makes you wish Caine had played more villains. Hodges grimly effective direction proves that you don’t need to be as worthy as Ken boach to make a document of social history. Glasgow; GFI‘. Glory (15) (Edward Zwick, US, 1989) Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman. 122 mins. The film charts the progress of the fightin' 54th, the first all-black regiment (formed
during the American civil war), as they gradually emerge as disciplined combat unit under their young, inexperienced and white Colonel (Broderick). It is the palpable assumption of dignity by the black troopers, rather than the somewhat hackneycd plot, that sticks in the mind. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Go (18) (Doug Liman, US, 1999) Sarah Polley, Desmond Askeu, Katie Holmes. 100 mins. Liman's follow up to Swingers comprises three interlocking stories about slacker kids at work, play and getting into trouble in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Go may not have Swingers’ Rat Pack jokery, nor Jon Favreau's quirky dialogue and borrows its structure from Tarantino's film, but the cumulative impact of the story mixing is enormously entertaining. Right here, right now, Go is the movie equivalent of Big Beat music, much of which is featured on its great soundtrack. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Happiness (18) (Todd Solondz, US, 1998) Cynthia Stevenson, Lara Flynn Boyle, Philip Seymour Hoffman. 139 mins. Three sisters, two small boys, one psychologist and a phone-harrassment specialist. Out of these unlikely elements Todd Solondz has wrought pure cinematic gold, which veers from belly laughter one moment to stark pathos in another. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Shot Andy Warhol(15) (Mary Harron, US, 1999) Lili Taylor, Jared Harris, Lothaire Bluteau. 106 mins. Biopic of Valerie Solanas, founder of SCUM (the Society for Cutting Up Men) and the woman who shot New York's premiere art poseur. Taylor is superb in the lead, as are the supporting players — Harris as Warhol, Stephen Dorff as Candy Darling - while recreation of the Factory scene is perfect. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
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's 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 Hughes's classic children’s story about a boy who befriends
Miss Saigon: Three Seasons
50ft. robot from outer space, the action is transported from rural England to small- town America in the late 19508. 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.
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, erm . . . a snowman. Despite cloying sentiment and obvious humour Jack Frost has a simple, puerile charm that eight-year-olds will enjoy. Glasgow: Grosvenor, Odeon At The Quay. Kilmamock: Odeon.
Jour De Fete (U) (Jacques Tati, France, 1948) Jacques Tati, Guy Decomble. 87 mins. A rural French postie sees a film about the efficiency of the American mail service and decides to smarten up his act. Charming debut feature by Tati, effortlessly building visual set-pieces and establishing the amiable duffer of a central role that was later to become the unforgettable M. llulot. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Journey To The Sun (15) (Yesim Ustaoglu, Turkey/Germany/thherlands, 1999) Newroz Baz, Nazmi Qirix, Mizgin Kapazan. 104 mins. Journey To The Sun is that rare and beautiful thing — a movie polemic that moves the emotions on nearly every level without once spiralling into hysteria. When Mehmet, a dark skinned Turk from the West, befriends Berzan, a Kurd from the East, in Istanbul, his life is changed. 'Ihrough misfortune and mistaken identity Mehmet‘s life becomes politicised as he is forced to live as a marginalised Kurd, a lifestyle that eventually compels him to undertake a remarkable journey across Eastern Turkey. Glasgow: OFT.
Kes (PG) (Ken beach, UK, 1969) David Bradley, Lynne Perrie, Colin Welland, Brian Glover. 109 mins. In the run-down industrial north, a young boy learns some harsh lessons about life from the fate of his pet bird. Classic piece of British realism which showed that Loach's television work could transfer to the big screen. A very humane sense of humour leavens what is in effect a tale of some desolation. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Kind Hearts And Coronets (PG) (Robert Hamer, UK, 1949) Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Valerie llobson.