FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
The Offence (18) *iii (Sidney Lumet, UK, 1972) Sean Connery, Trevor Howard, Ian Bannen, Vivian Merchant. 113 mins. Tortured by the awfulness of his past experiences, police inspector Connery develops an explosive desire to break the spirit of a suspected child molester in for questioning, which culminates in disaster. Excellent performances dominate a slightly overwrought psychological thriller. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Film Guild at the Filmhouse.
Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (18) **** (Sam Peckinpah, US, 1973) James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan. 106 mins. Bloody version of the Western legend, with Peckinpah and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer reaching for a moody, brutal American tragedy. Years after their work was re-edited by the studio, the film was restored to the Director’s Cut. Dylan fans will want to catch him in a decent stab at acting. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
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 '5 Redcoats during the American War of Independence. The Patriot is epic, action-packed stuff and there ‘5 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. Falkirk: FTH Cinema.
The Perfect Storm (12) it (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.
Phantom of the Opera (PG) whit (Rupert Julia, US, 1925) mins. Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kelly. The best ever Phantom make-up by silent star Chaney haunts this early version of the classic story. Many creaky moments that are easily forgiven when the highlights come along. Tragic love, monster style. Bathgate: The Bathgate Regal.
Plano XXI Film Screenings (Various, Portugal, 1993—2000) A series of documentary and short film screenings at 012, playing as part of the Plano XXI showcase of Portuguese art from the 905 on show at various venues around the city. Glasgow: GilmorehillGlZ.
Play It To The Bone (15) *t* (Ron Shelton, US, 2000) Antonio Banderas, Woody Harrelson, Lolita Davidovitch. 124 mins. Banderas and Harrelson play a couple of fighters who have been chewed up and spat out by the corrupt boxing business. But the boys are given one last chance to fight (each other) for big money when a warm-up spot for a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas comes up at the last minute. So they convince Caesar's savvy girlfriend (Vince's ex), Grace (Lolita Davidovich), to drive them to Vegas. En route pre-fight tension mounts, personal secrets are revealed and home truths are arrived at. And so by the time the boys enter the ring we really care about the outcome. This fella Shelton, he boxes clever. See review. Glasgow: Odeon At The Quay, Showcase. Edinburgh: UGC Cinemas. Paisley: Showcase.
Playing By Heart (15) ir (Willard Carroll, US, 1999) Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, Dennis Quaid. 119 mins. This is a kind of self-contained soap set in LA over eight days and nights, which features a number of famous faces, and which attempts to say something about love and relationships through a seemingly unconnected group of people. Unfortunately,
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Clint, Tommy, James and Donald attempt to get in shape to save NASA’s ass in the grumpy old men in space caper. Space Cowboys
none of the relationships really holds water, and soPIayt’ng By Heart seems dilettante, self-absorbed and basically misguided. Perhaps for the mawkish, but definitely not for the cerebral. Glasgow: Odeon. Pokemon (U) it (Michael Haigney/ 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 Pokemon, 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 (?!). The stupor induced by viewing the film strand of the phenomenal Pokemon franchise (computer game, collecting cards, etc.) as an adult, convincingly confirms that it’s a kid thing, good or bad. Edinburgh: Odeon. Ayr: Odeon. Kilmamock: Odeon.
Pola X (18) ** (Leos Carax, France, 2000) Guillaume Depardieu, Catherine Deneuve, Delphine Chuillot. 134 mins. Pierre (Depardieu) is a successful young writer, who enjoys a blissful existence with his adoring mother (Deneuve) and beautiful fiancee (Chuillot). But his life is turned upside down by the appearance of Isabelle (Katerina Golubeva), who claims to be his long-lost, illegitimate sister from Yugoslavia. Eight years after the patchy Les Amants Du Pont Neuf, Carax returns with this bizarrely updated adaptation of Herman Melville's Gothic novel Pierre Or The Ambiguities which sorely lacks narrative coherence. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Relative Values (PG) tit (Eric Styles, UK, 2000) Julie Andrews, Colin Firth, Stephen Fry. 89 mins. Noel Coward’s satire of the British class system circa 1954 sees spoilt brat Nigel (Edward Atterton) upset the Marshwood household when he brings American actress Miranda (Tripplehom) home to announce his engagement. Modern audiences may find it difficult to identify with Coward‘s now dated play — with its patronising upper classes, servile lower ones and misogynist attitude to women — but if you can put your own values on hold, there are some laughs to be had. Stirling: Carlton. Repulsion (18) *1Hr* (Roman Polanski, UK, 1965) Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser. 105 mins. Left on her own in her sister's flat for a few days, a sexually repressed young woman gradually deteriorates towards complete mental breakdown. Polanski's first English language movie remains one of his best, a genuinely disturbing exploration of intense paranoia and claustrophobia that unflinchineg picks at the audience's deepest neuroses. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Rien Sur Robert (18) mu (Pascal Bonitzer, France, 1998) Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Valentina Cervi. 107 mins. The life of Parisianjoumalist Didier (Luchini) changes dramatically after he turns in a scathing review of a Bosnian film he hasn't actually seen. He’s attacked by the intelligensia, cheated upon by his girlfriend (Kiberlain) and falls for another (two) women. Marvellously meandering pitch- black comedy. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Ring (18) fifth (Hideo Nakato, Japan, 1998) Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani,
Hiroyuki Sanada. 95 mins. A horror film phenomenon in southeast Asia, the story turns on an escalating urban myth with a body count. It begins with a teenage girl telling her friend about a mysterious videotape that works like a very nasty chain letter. Unpleasantly, myth turns out to be fact. The original industrial-electronic score by Kenji Kawai delivers its share of the chills, while the sudden flashbacks and moments of spiritual connection between the murders in the modern day and the past come at you hard and out the blue. A terrifyingjoy to behold. See review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Road To El Dorado (U) *** (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. Uber-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. Glasgow: UCl. Edinburgh: ABC. Dunfermline: Odeon. Largs: Vikingar Cinema. Paisley: Showcase. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (18) **** (Jim Sharman, UK, 1975) Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Meat Loaf. 100 mins. The cult film to end all others, this rock spoof on old horror movies has created a breed of Rocky Horror crazies, and packs them in at late shows everywhere. The film has its moments, and Curry is splendidly camp as the bisexual Frank N. Furter. Stirling: MacRobert. Rules Of Engagement (15) *‘k‘k (William Friedkin, US, 2000) Samuel L Jackson, 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. Campbeltown: Picture House.
Saving Grace (15) ** (Nigel Cole, Uk, 2000) Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson. 94 mins. Saddled 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 feelguod British comedy, Saving Grace attempts to recapture the magic of the Ealing classics; instead it merely feels out of touch with modern life. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Scary Movie (18) *‘k‘k‘k (Keenen Ivory Wayans, US, 2000) Marion and Shawn Wayans, Carmen Electra, Shannon