FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
House! (15) **** (Julian Kemp, UK, 2000) Freddie Jones, Kelly Macdonald, Jason Hughes. 89 mins. The staff of a crumbling bingo hall in Wales battle impending bankruptcy when a bingo megaplex opens a mile down the valley, a plot lifted from 1957‘s paean to cinemas, The Smallest Show On Earth. At the heart of this assured debut is the rebellion of a small community against encroaching modern business practises, which conflict embodied many a classic Ealing comedy as well as that earlier film. See review. Selected release.
The Hurricane (15) H (Norman Jewison, US, 2000) Denzel Washington, John Hannah, Deborah Kara Unger. 140 mins. An engaging and wholly Oscar-worthy turn from Washington isn’t enough to salvage Jewison‘s controversial biopic of the boxer Rubin Carter. The facts of Carter‘s triple murder case have been massaged into cinematic shape to the extent that gaping holes mar the film‘s narrative, a cowardly tactic that simplifies and finally discredits its message about institutionalised racism in America. The nuts and bolts of the case are glossed over in favour of a fawning glorification of Carter, who is painted as a quasi-mythic martyr saint. Glasgow: GF'T, Odeon, Showcase. Edinburgh: UGC Cinemas.
The Idiots (18) **** (Lars von Trier, Denmark/France/ltaly/Netherlands/Germany /Sweden, 1999) Bodil Jurgensen, Jens Albinus. 114 mins. ln Lars von Trier's follow up to Breaking The Waves, 3 bunch of “idiots' run a little bit amok in their village, get thrown out of tea-rooms, make whoopee at the swimming baths and disrupt board meetings. But these misfits are as sane as you or I, with a simple aim to test society's attitudes to the disabled. Appreciation naturally conquers enjoyment but The Idiots is a challenge well worth taking up. Falkirk: FTH Cinema.
The Insider (15) *‘k‘k‘k‘k (Michael Mann. US, 2000) Russell Crowe, Al Pacino,
Christopher Plummer. 157 mins. Mann’s heist movie. Heat, boasted some electrifying set pieces, yet while The Insider contains virtually no ‘action' there’s a terrific sense of dramatic urgency that drives the film. It all starts in the mid-90$ with Jeffrey Wigand, the corporate man who blew the whistle on the American tobacco industry, triggering a $246 million lawsuit. The performances are excellent and not since All The President ’3 Men has fact and drama merged so powerfully on screen. Edinburgh: Cameo, UGC Cinemas.
The Iron Giant (U) *tttt (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 a 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. Edinburgh: Odeon. Kilmamock: Odeon.
Jaime (12) (Antonio-Pedro Vasconcelos, 1999) 111 mins. ln Porto, northern Portugal adolescent Jaime attempts to help his unemployed father by finding a job, but becomes involved in a dangerous new world. Skilful mix of political and personalised narratives. Part of Sea Changes, the new Portuguese cinema season. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Janice Beard: 4S WPM (15) my“ (Clare Kilner, UK, 2000) Eileen Walsh, Patsy Kensit, Rhys lfans. 81 mins. After Janice’s dad dies of a heart attack during her birth, her mum sinks into ‘post-natal, post-mortem depression'. Reaching her twenties, Janice, now a habitual liar, sets off for London to find mum a medical cure. Further plot convulsions fall short of the often hilarious character comedy, but in the lead newcomer Walsh is simply astonishing as the goofy, endearing Janice. See Frontlines and review. Selected release.
Royal Museum Chambers Street Edinburgh Lecture Theatre
Beyond Paradise
The Wildlife of a Gentle Man Thursday 4 May 2000 at 7.15pm
Christopher Robbie
as Charles Darwin WRITTEN BY Sean Street DIRECTED BY Jo Street
Tickets: £6 (£4 conc.) from the Admission Desks and Museum of Scotland Information Desk (tel. 0131 247 4422).
so IHE US? 27 Apr 11 May 2000
Kevin 8: Perry 60 Large (15) *t (Ed Bye, UK, 2000) Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Laura Fraser. 82 mins. This big-screen spin- off for one of the sketches from TV‘s Harry [infield/Ind Chums follows its two teenage characters on a quest to lose their virginity and become top DJs. The key influence here is the Carry On series, so prepare yourself for a stream of erection, urinating and vomiting gags. There are some enjoyable performances, but there's a nagging sense that, with this predictable satire, Enfield and chums are milking a cash-cow. General release.
Lake Placid (15) **** (Steve Miner, US, 2000) Brendan Gleeson, Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt. 82 mins. Big monster eating people in a lake in Maine. Local sheriff, game warden, scientist and hunter team up to kill it. Plenty of extras get munched. Doesn‘t sound particularly appetising — we‘ve seen it all before in Jaws, Alligator, Pirahna, etc. — except Lake Placid has the smartest, funniest dialogue you‘re likely to hear all year: ‘The sooner we catch this thing, Sheriff, the sooner you can get back to sleeping with your sister.‘ Goes for cheap belly laughs and gets ‘em every time. General release.
The Land Before Time (U) that (Don Bluth, US, 1989) 86 mins. Latest animated feature from Disney graduate Bluth follows the fortunes of orphaned Brontosaurus Littlefoot, who loses his mum to the claws ofa nasty Tyrannosaurus Rex before teaming up with a gang of similarly parentless wee dinos to undertake the hazardous journey across country to the safety of the Great Valley. Classically drawn and chockful of edifying moral lessons, this is solid entertainment perfectly tailored to the demands of its target audience of very young children. Glasgow: Gl’l‘, Grosvenor. Leon (18) *it* (Luc Besson, France, 1994) Jean Reno, Nathalie Portman, Gary Oldman. 110 mins. When his neighbour’s family is wiped out by crooked cops on a bungled drugs bust, ice cool hitman Leon finds himself looking after the sole survivor — twelve-year-old Mathilde. Luc Besson’s first film in English is, nevertheless, a French film in terms of style, editing and its boldness in story and theme. It’s good to see that the director has finally got over the all- style-no-content obstacle. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Les Convoyeurs Attendant (The Carriers Are Waiting) (15) hart (Benoit Mariage, Belgium, 2000) Benoit Poelvoorde, Jean- Francois Devigne. 94 mins. Playing the struggling patriarch determined to make something of himself and his family, Benoit Poelvoorde (the serial killer in Man Bites Dog) has decided his reluctant son (Jean- Francois Devigne) will beat the world record for opening and closing a door within 24 hours: the present record stands at around 40,000. It’s an offbeat device used to work up that old mainstay of father/son tension, but the film requires more than a figurative scenario and vivid locations to sustain its 90 minutes. Glasgow: GFI‘.
The Limey (18) *ttt (Steven Soderbergh, US, 1999) Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Luis Guzman. 89 mins. Stamp's criminal cockney reject, Wilson is off his manor and in Los Angeles to avenge his daughter‘s death in Soderbergh's take on 60s cinema and the British crime movie. But this is no simple revenge caper, although the action thrills and the one-liners are smart. 'lhe casting 60s icons Stamp and Fonda as Wilson's nemesis, record producer Terry Valentine, is inspired. Edinburgh: Cameo. Love, Honour 8: Obey (18) it (Dominic Anciano, Ray Burdis, UK, 2000) Ray Winston, Jude Law. Jonny Lee Miller, Kathy Burke. 97 mins. Written, produced, directed by and starring Anciano and Burdis, this gangster flick has a tightly structured, woefully generic plot that allowed the formidable cast to improvise their dialogue from moment to moment. When this works, the tone is at once darkly comic and frighteningly violent; but when it doesn't, the individual scenes fall flat and the hell- for-leather plotting quickly loses momentum. Glasgow: Odeon At 'lhe Quay, Showcase, UGC Cinemas. Edinburgh: ABC, UCl, UGC Cinemas. St Andrews: New Picture House.
Love's Labour's Lost (U) *Hr (Kenneth
Branagh, US, 2000) Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstonc, Adrian lester. 93 mins. Branagh‘s attempt to make Shakespeare multiplex-friendly will shock textual purists for he has taken the early, wordy, romantic comedy, cut 70 per cent of its dialogue and filled the holes with show tunes from the 305 and 40s. Branagh's most audacious, and frankly maddest, Shakespeare adaptation to date proves to be a funny, engaging, and consistently entertaining trifle. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Dominion. Magnolia (l8) *‘k‘k‘k (Paul Thomas Anderson. US, 2000) Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, Tom Cruise. 185 mins. P.T. Anderson's follow-up to his superb 705 LA porn industry flick, Boogie Nights is a snapshot of the lives of a dozen residents of LA's San Fernando Valley . Their stories are sad, funny and moving without ever becoming overly-sentimental and Anderson's script is full of humble humanity and beautifully observed moments. And the quite stunning miraculous conclusion is audacious but it works —- the same can be said of the whole film. Glasgow: (EFT. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Man On The Moon (15) ***** (Milos Forman. US, 2000) Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courtney Love. I 19 mins. Carrey was unfairly snubbed at the ()scars: as comedian Andy Kaufman (Latka in 'IZLt'i), Carrey gives a career best performance. That Kaufman was best known in the UK as latka -- and little known for his astonishing, often sadistic practical jokes -- works in the film's favour. l-‘orman and his screenwriters from Larry Flynt, Scott Alexander and Larry Karas/ewski, have crafted a film that plays as many tricks with its audience as Kaufman did with the American public. And that‘s the highest honour the film could have paid Kaufman. General release.
Mansfield Park (15) whit (Patricia Rozema, US, 2000) Frances O'Connor, Alessandro Nivola, Jonny lee Miller. ll2 mins. Rozema has supplemented her adaptation with extracts from Jane Austen's own letters andjournals, turning the novel's heroine ~ a poor girl who is adopted by wealthy relatives and taken to live in the grand house of the title — into a quick-