that blue, hooked nosed . . . thing. No one is really sure what Gonzo is, so when he gets a message which he believes is from space, the race is on to make contact with his extra terrestrial brethren. Muppets From Space captures the spirit of the first movie and the original TV series where the subsequent films never did. General release.
Music Of The Heart (PG) (Wes Craven, US, 1999) Meryl Streep, Aiden Quinn, Gloria Estefan. 130 mins. Streep plays Roberta Guaspari who, after being left to bring up her two boys alone by her cheating husband, heads for New York where she takes a post teaching the violin to pre-teens at a Harlem school. While it’s clear that this is material close to Craven’s heart, the film never rises above the level of a proficiently executed made-for-TV movie. It's nice to see Craven finally moving outside the narrow confines of horror. It's just a pity that his first effort is as ordinary as its protagonist. See review. Glasgow: Showcase. Edinburgh: Virgin Megaplex. Paisley: Showcase.
Mystery Men (PG) (Kinka Usher, US, 1999) Ben Stiller, William 11. Macy, Janeane Garofalo. 122 mins. Although it's a spoof, Mystery Men is more knowing about the conventions ofAmerican comic book superheroes than other comic adaptations - that's largely down to Mystery Men's origins in Bob Burdcn's Dark Horse Comic, Flaming Carrot. Caped crimefighter Captain Amazing has been kidnapped by super villain Casanova Frankenstein and it's up to underachiever heroes: the Mystery Men to save the day. General release.
101 Dalmatians (U) (Stephen Herek, US, 1996) Glenn Close, Joely Richardson, Jeff Daniels. 103 mins. Disney turns one of its favourite animated films into a live action pantomime with spodges of Home Alone buffoonery, making sure there are plenty of dogs to make the kids go ‘aaahhh'. The story remains pretty much untouched - vile villaincss Cruella De Vil (Close) kidnaps enough spotty pups to make a stunning coat, but the animal world gets the better of her — and so does the old-fashioned morality, which stresses the sanctity of marriage and that a woman’s place is by her man‘s side. Edinburgh: Odeon.
One More Kiss (12) (Vadim Jean, UK, 1999) Valerie Edmond, James Cosmo, Gerald Butler. 97 mins. Edmond plays the dynamic Sarah, whose cancer diagnosis drives her to rebuild burnt bridges. Returning to her hometown of Bem'ick-Upon-Tweed, she attempts a reconciliation with both her distant father (Cosmo) and her first love, Sam (Butler). An emotional minefield for the characters, then, but also for the filmmakers. Thankfully, sentimentality is downplayed in favour of powerful characterisation and a genuinely affecting atmosphere of building tension and impending tragedy. See feature and review. General release.
Onegin (12) (Martha Fiennes, UK, 1999) Ralph Fiennes, Liv Tyler. 106 mins. Alexander Pushkin's epic poem, Evgeny Onegin, is the source of Fiennes's impressive debut film, which hurls its characters through an intensity of passion, betrayal and unbearable loss within the thoroughly elegant and codified context of the Russian aristocracy of the 1820s. Ralph Fiennes’s Onegin is an initially arrogant, cynical man who learns his own heart when tragic circumstances force him to re-evaluate his feelings for a woman. Glasgow: Grosvcnor. Edinburgh: ABC, Cameo, Dominion. Lumiere. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Stirling: MacRobert. Out Of The Past (15) (Jacques Tourneur, US, 1947) Robert Mitchum. Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Virginia Huston. 96 mins. Gripping, moody and expertly mounted flashback noir, starring Mitchum as the condemned man, a private detective whose investigation of Douglas's girlfriend Greer takes him to Mexico and eventually a confrontation with death. Classic B-movie with a hallucinatory, almost existentialist atmosphere. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Point Blank (18) (John Boorman, US, 1967) Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn. 92 mins. Revenge-ridden Marvin is bent on justifying 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. Boorman‘s impressive first American feature is made memorable by Marvin‘s brilliant
portrayal of an outmoded gunman confusedly taking on a world overrun by technology. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Poor Cow (18) (Ken Loach, UK, 1967) Carol White, Terence Stamp. 101 mins. Poor cow, indeed. Saddled with a marriage to a criminal doing time and living with prostitute aunt, White's teenage girl has no luck whatsoever. When she falls for her husband‘s charming friend (Stamp) things begin to look up, but this being a Ken Loach film . . . Poor Cow‘s footage of the then youthful Stamp appears in the actor's new film, The Limey. Glasgow: GFI‘.
Rancid Aluminium (18) (Edward 'lhomas. UK, 1999) Jospch Fiennes, Rhys lfans, Tara Fitzgerald. 98 mins. After the death of his father Pete Thompson (lfans) takes over the running of the family business. To rescue it from the brink of bankruptcy, he does business with the Russian Mafia, as you do. Of course, things do not go to plan. A self-styled tough thriller sporting a fine cast of young Brits also including Sadie Frost and Nick Moran. See review. General release.
Ratcatcher (15) (Lynne Ramsay, UK, 1999) William Eadie, Tommy Flanagan, Mandy Matthews. 93 mins. Seen through the eyes of twelve-year-old James Gillespie, a sensitive boy haunted by the drowning of a neighbour's son, Ratcatc/ier paints a bleakly realistic picture of Glasgow family life. Ramsay uses meticulous framing, unusual camera angles and atmospheric images to capture the subtle textures of everyday life, as well as complex inner feelings. Falkirk: FTH Cinema. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Ride With The Devil (15) (Ang Lee, US, 1999) Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich. Jeffrey Wright, Jewel. 138 mins. Ride With The Devil is a dusty epic of Gone With The ll’ind proportions, set amid the bloody chaos of the same war. Jacob Roedel (Maguire) rejects his father's Unionist beliefs to follow best friend Jack (Ulrich) in fighting the Confederate cause. An Oscar-worthy and unashamedly traditional Hollywood war movie that benefits from Lee's deft way with the intimate, the ambiguous and the morally complex. Glasgow: GET.
Romance (18) (Catherine Brcillat, France, 1999) Caroline Duccy, Rocco Siffredi, Francois Berleand. 95 mins. Our female protagonist is very young and wears either nothing or a white frock throughout. She weeps constantly and nags her boyfriend for attention; denied this, she embarks upon a small-scale sexual odyssey. Long, static shots show a series of sterile, joyless physical encounters, while a morose and pretentious monologue describes her feelings. She concludes that the only true fulfilment comes from motherhood. The great Bill Hicks dismissed the controversy around Basic Instinct with the observation that said film merited no such kerfuffle, being a ‘piece of shit'. Indeed. This is worse. Edinburgh: Cameo. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
The Rugged Island (U) (Jenny Brown, UK, 1934) 35 mins. John Grierson protege Jenny Brown's ‘story documentary" about a young Shetland couple torn between duty to ageing parents and a new life in Australia. Screening with Eris/my -A Poem OfRemore Lives (Werner Kissling, UK, 1935) 65 mins. Account of the lives of the Gaelic speaking inhabitants of the remote Hebridean isle. Glasgow: Gl—T The Secret Garden (U) (Agnieszka Holland. US, 1993) Kate Mabcrly. Maggie Smith, John Lynch. 102 mins. The unusual combination of the director of Europa Europa and the writer of Edward Scissorhands conspires to create an authentic and affecting version of the children's classic novel. Shipped back from India, lonely orphan Mary makes friends with a local lad and her sickly cousin, exerting a magical recuperative process on the latter and a hidden walled garden. Touching and uncontrived. Glasgow: GF'T.
The Secret Of Roan Inish (PG) (John Sayles, US/lreland, 1994) Jeni Courtney, Eileen Colgan, John Lynch. 103 mins. Master filmmaker Sayles delivers a wonderfully wistful Celtic fantasy that should appeal to older and younger viewers alike. Capturing the mood of rural Ireland and the legend of the half-human, half-seal selkies, he spins a rich tale of everyday magic which taps into the cultural identity of the setting without a hint of condescension. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Continued over page
index FILM
By Neil Simon _ STARRING m Tom Conti “
FEB 0 TICKETS FROM £6.00
WOMEN ON THE VERGE... GET A I.II=El
. By Marie Jones
The hilarious sequel to Women on the Verge of HRT - continuing the saga of A W... Daniel O’Donnell fans Anna 8. Vera 3.; ""'
lllltilll
MON 21 TO SAT 26 FEB 0 TICKETS FROM £9.50
.R'I'
The International Broadway and West End
phenomenon ' STARRING m Nigel Havers,
Roger lloyd Pack and Barry Foster
MON 13 T0 SAT 18 MAR 0 TICKETS FROM £6.00
FILTH
By Irvine Welsh m
STARRING Tam Dean Burn "*3
TUES 28 MAR T0 SAT I APR 0 TICKETS FROM £7.00 DON GREGORY PRESENTS
LESLIE RISIELSEN
CLARENCE DARROW
BOX OFFICE 0131 529 600 GROUPS Oil“ 529 6005
tutu" x 4 lion W Ieluctm
‘69W9YRQH' 00.0.00000000000000000
20 Jan—3 Feb 2000 THE LIST 9