FILM listings
FILM LISTINGS continued
The Last September (15) it (Deborah Warner, UK, 2000) Keeley Hawes, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon. 104 mins. Adapted by John Banville from Elizabeth Bowen's novel, the film charts the end of British rule in Ireland through the eyes of the aristocratic Naylor family. There the conflict between the IRA and the Army creates a stifling atmosphere for budding debutante Lois (Hawes). Bowen‘s vision is awkwardly realised in celluloid. As costume dramas go, it's respectable enough, but given Wamer’s reputation for innovative spin on canonical works, it’s something of a disappointment. Stirling: MacRobert.
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (18) (Guy Ritchie, UK, 1997) Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones. 107 mins. A cocky young bunch of ‘entrepreneurs‘ set up a card game with East End London criminal Hatchet Harry. Of course, things don't work out in their favour and they find themselves owing the gangster plenty of dosh. Witty homage to the British crime thrillers of the 1960s, with appropriately seedy, underworld locations and Streetwise dialogue. Edinburgh: UGC Cinemas.
le-Z (15) iii (John Woo, US, 2000) Tom Cruise, Thandie Newton, Dougray Scott. 124 mins. Evil ex-super spy Scan Ambrose (Scott) has stolen a lethal chemical weapon, and he wants big bucks not to unleash it. Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is charged with retrieving it and enlists beautiful cat thief — and Ambrose's ex- lover — Nyah Hall (Newton). M.'12 works best and is most faithful to the spirit of the original Mission: Impossible while the operation remains covert, but Woo blows it with a clumsy all-out action finale. General release. A Man Is A Woman (L'homme est une lemme comme les autres) (15) it (Jean- Jacques Zilbennann, France, 2000) Antoine de Caunes, Elsa Zylberstein, Michel Aumont. 99 mins. De Caunes' Parisian clarinettist Simon Eskenazy is the last in the line of Eskenazy Jews. His uncle (Aumont) hopes for a continuation of the family name; he‘s even willing to offer ten million francs for Simon to
switch sexual proclivities. Plenty of room for farce, especially when it looks like Simon‘s going to take up with the eccentric Yiddish soprano Rosalie (Zylberstcin). But Zilbermann‘s muted movie keeps retreating from expectation without finding sure footing of its own. Stirling: MacRobert.
Me. Myself, I (15) *it* (Pip Karmel, Australia, 2000) Rachel Griffiths, David Roberts. 104 mins. Hit with the overwhelming feeling that she left love and happiness behind when she turned down Mr Right at a juncture thirteen years earlier, career woman Pamela Drury (Griffiths) hits crisis point. Ali's not lost however when she magically collides with the Pamela who did marry all those years ago — her alternative self. Despite the film‘s relatively serious undertone about the futility of regret, Me, Myself, I is a great feelgood movie, an upbeat comedy about oneself. Glasgow: Showcase. Paisley: Showcase.
Miss Julie (15) *iti (Mike Figgis, UK, 2000) Saffron Burrows, Peter. 100 mins. Figgis' adaptation of Strindberg's play is almost a period Dogme film. The hand-held cameras loop freely around the central characters, lending the film a live feel, as if recording a theatre performance. Miss Julie and her footman, Jean, skirmish throughout, alternately flirting and hating, both desperate to cross the boundaries of class imposed upon them, both hoping to use the other as a means of escape. A gripping, claustrophobic tale shot at a breakneck pace, in a unique style with career-best performances from the small cast. See feature and review. Glasgow: GET. Mulan (U) *itt (Barry Cook, Tony Bancroft, 1998) Voices of: Ming-Na Wen, Donny Osmond, Eddie Murphy. 89 mins. After Disney‘s tastily designed venture into Greek mythology with Hercules, the studio has brought its lens to bear on the rich and colourful possibilities of Chinese legend. The most striking aspect of this romantic epic is its magnificent animation. Details of character, movement and expression are as fine as should be expected from the world’s best known cartoon studio, but the stunning large-scale set pieces are truly astonishing, while the design team stirs in an authentic flavour of China.
F’iLMHOUSE
gft 0 Brother,
The List is giving away 20 tickets (1 0 pairs) to an exclusive preview screening of the Coen brothers’ (Raizing Arizona, Fargo and The Big Lebowski) new film starring George Clooney at
oft, Tuesday 5th September at 6pm
0 Brother re-writes Homer's odyssey as a screwball comedy set in America's Depression era deep South. There. three escaped chain gang convict. lead by gorgeous George Clooney doing a priceless impersonation of Clark Gable. search for hidden loot and a place called home.
To enter send a postcard to: 0 Brother, The List Ltd, 14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE
All entries must be received by Friday 1 September and please include a daytime telephone number.
20 THE LIST 24 Aug—7 Sep 2000
Edinburgh: Odeon. Ayr: Odeon.
My Dog Skip (U) *i* (Jay Russell, US, 2000) Kevin Bacon, Diane Lane, Frankie Muniz. 95 mins. My Dog Skip is an unashamedly sentimental coming-of-age story about a nine-year-old boy's relationship with his pet Jack Russell terrier, set during World War Two in the small Mississippi town of Yazoo. The film casts a nostalgic glow over the past, but it doesn't shy away from giving us glimpses of harsher realities, including nods to the era's racism and the traumas of war. But the prevailing mood is appropriately one of gentle sweetness. General release.
My Life So Far (12) it (Hugh Hudson, UK, 2000) Robert Norman, Rosemary Harris, Malcolm McDowell, Colin Firth. 98 mins. Everything in Hugh Hudson's film is about to change. Fraser Pettigrew (Norman) is about to go from childhood innocence to sexualised adolescence. The Scottish estate of the elderly matriarch Gamma (Harris) is about to be passed onto a new generation, either her go- ahead capitalist son (McDowell) or her dithering romantic nephew Edward (Firth). Genteel affluence is about to give way to wartime hardship. Loosely based on the memoirs of Sir Denis Fonnan, My Life So Far would love to be a play by Chekhov. Instead it's a mushy piece of nostalgic whimsy. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Nurse Betty (18) **** (Neil LaButc, US, 2000) Renee Zellwegcr, Morgan. 110 mins. When smalltown Kansas waitress Betty (Zellweger) witnesses the murder of her white trash car salesman, she suffers a reality shift that leaves her believing the cheesy melodramatic world of her favourite daytime soap, A Reason To Live, to be real. Much of the film's humour is derived from the disparity between melodrama and real life; the occasions when they intersect are simultaneously hilarious, painful and poignant. Not as misanthropic as LaBute‘s first two films, Nurse Betty is nevertheless far more vital than other Hollywood comedies. See review. Glasgow: 0131‘.
The Patriot (15) **** (Roland Emmerich, US, 2000) Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Jason lsaacs. 160 mins. Swapping his saltire for the stars and stripes, Gibson's revolutionary fervour is back on the boil as he trounces King George‘s Redcoats during the American War of Independence. The Patriot is epic, action- packed stuff and there's something for everyone: corn and cringeworthy American backslaps, adventure and battle scenes, issues of loyalty and honour, and a strong performance from Gibson forming the bedrock of it all. General release.
The Perfect Storm (12) *‘k (Wolfgang Petersen, US, 2000) George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. 129 mins. As the director of one of the best maritime movies of all-time, Das Boot, Petersen was an obvious choice to helm this adaptation of Sebastian Junger's riveting factual book about a fishing boat caught up in the most ferocious North Atlantic storm ever recorded. However, in trying to be true to the actual events, Bill Wittliff‘s pedestrian script suffers from chronic structural flaws, leading to a complete lack of suspense, tension and emotional undertow. If ever a film deserved to sleep with the fishes, then this is it. General release.
Pippi Longstocking (U) ink (Clive Smith/ Michael Schaack/Bill Giggie, Canada/ Sweden/Germany, 2000) 78 mins. There's something vaguely disturbing about a nine- year-old girl who parades down the street singing ‘Oh what a fabulous day, I‘m happy as can be' having just watched her father being washed out to sea. But maybe that‘s being churlish. After all, Pippi Longstocking‘s anarchic behaviour has won her a place in the hearts and on the bookshelves of many a child since Astrid Lindgren first unleashed the world‘s first riot girl. But in an age of sophisticated children's films, Pippi Longstocking with all her exuberance, fails to deliver. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Pitch Black (18) that (David Twothy, US, 2000) 108 mins. Science fiction thriller that's currently ripping up the US box office. Based on Isaac Asimov's story, a group of space travellers are marooned on a planet of everlasting day that's unfortunately experiencing an eclipse which releases some really nasty local inhabitants from deep underground. Inventive effects and constant thrills make this one to watch. Edinburgh:
Filmhouse.
Pokemon (U) it (Michael Haigncy/ Kunohiko Yuyama, Japan/US, 2000) 96 mins. Cloned Pokemon (pocket monster) Mewtwo embarks on world dominance and so hero kids, Ash, Brock and Misty, accompanied by their Poke’mon, set out to make him see the error of his ways. Cue a great deal of gratuitous fighting and an interlude in which it’s explained that fighting is bad (7!). The stupor induced by viewing the film strand of the phenomenal Poke’mon franchise (computer game, collecting cards, etc.) as an adult, convincingly confirms that it‘s a kid thing, good or bad. Dunfermline: Odeon. Stirling: MacRobert.
Psycho (15) ***** (Alfred Hitchcock, US, 1960) Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John Mclntire. 109 mins. Hitch's misogynistic masterpiece has a young secretary take off to hicksville with a bagful of her boss’s money. Unfortunately for her she chooses to put up at the Bates’ Motel, run by that nice Norman boy. The ironic dialogue (‘Mother‘s not quite herself today’) make it a joy to catch anytime around. We liked it didn’t we mother. . . mother? Falkirk: FTH Cinema.
The Road To El Dorado (U) *tt (Eric ‘Bibo' Bergeron, Don Paul, US, 2000) Voices of Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh. 90 mins. DreamWorks' animated travelogue moves from ancient Egypt to 16th-century Latin America for this enjoyable if safe musical comedy adventure. chr-thesps Kline and Branagh provide the voices for Tulio and Miguel, two Spanish ne‘er-do-wells who end up in possession of a map revealing the location of El Dorado, mythical city of gold. Ransacking Aztec and Mayan culture for visual ideas and themes, the co-directors introduce lots of bold colour and rich design into the tale. General release.
The Rugrats Movie (U) rut (Norton Virgien/lgor Kovalyov, US, 1998) Voices of: EC. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie. 80 mins. The weekly animated adventures of the un-cutesy, irritatineg voiced Pickles family is big among kiddies and adults in the States, but the movie is definitely more of a junior entertainment. The film’s message is well intentioned, and it might keep the little ones quiet for a while. Stirling: Carlton. Rules Of Engagement (15) *** (William Friedkin, US, 2000) Samuel LJackson, Tommy Lee Jones, Guy Pearce. 127 mins. When the evacuation of the US ambassador from the riot-tom embassy in Yemen culminates in the massacre of more than 80 men, women and children by Colonel Terry Childers (Jackson) and his unit of Marines, military lawyer Colonel Hays Hodges (Jones) reluctantly agrees to defend the man who saved his life in Vietnam. Friedkin‘s pot‘boiler quickly loses all credibility in the visually and morally murky courtroom scenes. Its simplistic view of military ethics implies that decisions made in the heat of battle exist above the petty expediencies of everyday morality. General release.
Saving Grace (15) it (Nigel Cole, UK, 2000) Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson. 94 mins. Saddlcd with crushing debts after the sudden death of her husband, keen horticulturist Grace (Blethyn) transforms the greenhouse of her Cornish mansion into a marijuana plantation with the assistance of her Scottish gardener, Matthew (Ferguson). Already being touted as this year's feelgood British comedy, Saving Grace attempts to recapture the magic of the Ealing classics; instead it merely feels out of touch with modern life. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Stirling: MacRobert.
Shakespeare In Love ( 15) **** (John Madden, UK, 1998) Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rupert Everett. 120 mins. Joseph Fiennes, a pair of breechcs and a few moody verses and a league of women will leave the cinema wondering why they never figured it out at school: Shakespeare is sex on legs. Tom Stoppard's script is exuberantly confident, irreverent and witty. All the characters are sent up and Will Shakespeare is the butt of so many jokes, it's a wonder he retains his romantic gloss. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Shanghai Noon (12) 1nd (Tom Dey, US. 2000) Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Owen. 110 mins. The flimsy plot of this ‘Iiast meets Western' is merely an excuse for gags and set- pieces, with Chan cast as Chon Wang, a 19th century Imperial Guard who travels to the