reviews
Ratcatcher (15) 90 mins w s i 9:
This slab of magic realism is a welcome breath of fresh air, despite its somewhat stinky subject matter
Film of the year. The future of Scottish filmmaking. The finest female director of her generation. The finest debut in living memory. These and many other sweeping adulations were bestowed upon Lynne Ramsay and Ratcatcher when it made its debut appearances at the 1999 Cannes and Edinburgh film extravaganzas. And let's face it, in a cinematic world rammed to capacity with existential samurai, psychic nippers and egomaniacal jazzmen, this slab of magic realism is a welcome breath of fresh air, despite its somewhat stinky subject matter.
19705 Glasgow and it‘s as grim as it gets. The binmen are on strike and the rubbish is piling higher than family debt and deeper than the trouble that twelve-year-old James (William Eadie) finds himself in. As his guilt over an avoidable tragedy worsens and his nascent love grows for the local bike (Leanne Mullen), he dreams constantly of escape.
Those dreams become ever more fanciful (yellow cornfields, mice floating to the moon) and help lift the film away from the constraints of a Ken Loach-like rawness, while saying as much as he ever has about the state of a certain Britain. Aided by tremendous performances from Eadie, Mullen, the parental pair played by Tommy Flanagan and Mandy Matthews, and an almost too strong sense of time and place, Ratcatcher is pretty much everything that has been said about it. We await her Morvern Callar with
heavy anticipation. (Brian Donaldson)
RENTAL
leune
(15) 99 mins . r ~
Kresten, an asprrrng yuppre, rs thwarted when hrs father dres, leavrng hrs mentally handicapped brother and a ramblrng farmhouse untended. Returnrng to the roost, matters are further complrcated by an attractrve housekeeper (lben HJGJIG, soon to be seen rn High Frde/rty) and a Jealous farmer. The Jury rs strll out on the vrabrlrty of frlms made by Dogma 95 rules ~ worthy, naturalrstrc exercrses or raw, crnematrc drsasters? — but thrs thrrd Dogma frlm rs, desprte (Cr because of?) unrefrned treatments of lrghtrng, s0und and scrrpt, a charmrng and rnsrghtful tale. (Allrance Atlantis; also avarlable on retarl £15.99) (Catherrne Bromley)
Muppets From Space (U) 84 mins yr r‘r A-
What rs Gonzo? It's a questron whrch troubles the lrttle blue guy untrl one day he recerves a message from outer space to say hrs people are returnrng
for hrm. Before long the whole Muppet gang are embrOrled rn a hrlarrous actron-packed adventure. Kermrt, Mrss Prggy and all the old fav0urrtes are there, along wrth new faces from the TV serres. Star turns from Ray Lrotta, Andre McDowell and lab rat techanran Davrd Arquette add to the chaotrc fun, not to mentron a grade A funk SOundtrack. (Columbra)
(Loursa Pearson)
Blue Streak
(12) 91 mins a «‘r
After two years rn Jarl, Mrles Logan (cheeky comedran Martrn Lawrence) has one goal: to get back the dramond he stole prror to hrs arrest. One problem: the burldrng rn whrch he hrd rt rs now a polrce statron, and so the only way he can retrreve the loot rs by posrng as a detectrve. The comedy potentral of thrs srtuatron rs fully explorted, and for the most part, pays off. An enjoyable farce Wrth some truly funny moments. (COlUlleld)
(Krrsty Knaggs)
- Hold Back The Night
(15) 99 mins 1: ir a
Set rn the Scottrsh Hrghlands, thrs road movre follows teenage runaway Charleen (Chrrstrne Tremarco) as she hooks up wrth eco-warrror Declan (Edrnburgh's Stuart Srnclarr Blyth) and lone traveller Vera (Sherla Hancock). Thrs unlrkely threesome travel north on therr own personal voyages of drscovery. The Jerky plot-lrne holds no great SurprlseS, and trres too hard to tug the heart-strrngs at the expense of good characterrsatron, but ultrmately the gorgeous scenery carrres the frlm thr0ugh. (Metrodome) (Phrl Mrllar)
Let The Devil wear Black (18) 91 mins yr
There‘s much to recommend rn Stacy Trtle's follow up to her hrghly entertarnrng black comedy thrrller The Last Supper, so rt's unfarr that rt’s ended up rn strarght-to-vrdeo hell The frne cast features Jacquelrne Brsset, Mary LOurse Parker, Maury Chaykrn and PT. Anderson's favourrte performer, Phrlrp Baker Hall. The plot, about a commrtment-phobrc yOung man forced to face up to hrs responSrbrlrtres after h:s father dres, rs a modern re-workrng of Hamlet set rn Los Angeles, whrch Trtle shoots as a frlm nOrr. (Hrgh Flrers) (Mrles Frelder)
The Muse
(PG) 93 mins 4:
Hollywood scrrptwrrter Steven (Albert Brooks) rs experrencmg a career nose- drve, so hrs successful frrend (Jeff Brrdges) recommends hrs muse, Naturally. Enter Sarah (Sharon Stone), lrterally the mythrcal frgure who rnsprres creatrvrty, and Cue a catalogue of upsets as she takes over Steven's lrfe. Stone rs the real star of the movre and revels rn the demandrng drva role. Grven the all-star cast — rncludrng amusrng cameos by Martrn Scorsese
- and James Cameron — and potentrally
rnterestrng rdeas, rt should be better. (Entertarnment) (Maureen Ellrs)
Stigmata
(15) 109 mins *
When Patrrcra Arquette suddenly begrns to suffer the strgmata (Chrrst’s wOunds), Gabrrel Byrne rs sent to rnvestrgate. On drscoverrng she’s berng used to channel a message that could destroy the Church, he and corrupt Cardrnal Jonathan Pryce begrn a battle for her soul. 'It wrll scare the hell rn to you' promrses the straplrne. Well, rf the Slght of three top actors starrrng rn what rs a truly rnsrprd frlm rs the krnd of stuff that grves yOu nrghtmares, then those ad execs are rrght. (MGM) (Krrsty Knaggs)
RETAIL
Venus Beauty
(15) 102 mins ‘51- a
Angele (Natalre Baye) rs a cynrcal beauty theraprst. who rs approached by secret admrrer Antorne (Samuel Le Brhan). Inrtrally repelled by hrs advances, she learns to love agarn desprte the fact that Antome already
reviews VIDEO/ DVD
HMV
Recommended DVD releases Stigmata
Bicentennial Man
Eurythmics - Peacetour
Bringing Out The Dead
Perfect Blue
Willo The Wisp - Complete
r. tepdogfordvd
f * Steres‘at
it Edinburgh Princes St & St James
Glasgow Argyle St, Sauchi'ehall St. ‘ . Union St, Braehead Centre
, . . ‘& Olympia Centre, East Kilbride
has a francee who rs one of her regulars. Patrice Leconte (Tango) may have been able to get away wrth thrs sort of achrngly mrddle-class mrsogyny ten years ago, but Tonre Marshall doesn’t. French drrectors lrke Mathreu Kassovrtz (La Har’ne) and Gasper Noe (Seu/ contre tous) have thankfully broken the mould srnce then. (Metro Tartan £15 99) (Paul Dale)
STAR RATINGS
w a at t a Unmrssable
u t a r. Very good
a t '4 Worth a shot 4. k Below average
You've been warned
22 Jun—6 Jth 2000 THE “ST 111