Thanks to a shot of mind-altering Pavlovian treatment during her stay at Her Majesty's Pleasure. the larger than life baddie is released into the community as an animal- loving philanthropist. Only when Big Ben strikes twelve does the spell snap, letting her revert to character, her passion for Dalmatian fur renewed. 102 is a generation on from the original cute canines, but the shape of the story is virtually identical, while the script‘s too caught up in the machinations of the human world to give the dogs enough of a look in. See review. General release.
Paulie: A Parrot's ‘l'ail (PG) tit (John Roberts, US, 1998) Jay Mohr, Tony Shalhoub, Gena Rowlands. 91 mins. Caged in a research institute, Paulie the parrot relates his life-story: from helping a little girl with a stutter to a series of adventures with various adults. Neither as immediately cute nor as bizarrely inspired as Babe, Paulie nevertheless marks a step in the right direction for the DreamWorks studio. Jay Mohr's vocal talents give the parrot a streetwise sense, while the mix of live action and animatronics is always realistic. Carlton, Stirling.
Pilton Video (na) (various. UK. 1991—2000) Mins tbc. Various video works made by residents from Edinburgh's Pilton Housing Estate. Eilmhouse. Edinburgh. Pitch Black (18) *‘k‘k‘k (David Twohy, US, 1999) Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole llauser. 110 mins. Their spaceship damaged by a meteor shower, the members of an inter-stellar mission crash-land onto a parched planet, lit by three suns and inhabited by thousands of voracious flying creatures. The sun-baked planet and hammer-headed predators are strikingly visualised, but it is the internal group dynamics that engage one's attention. Twohy cleverly exploits the relative anonymity of his cast members, subverting our expectations about which of them will survive. Those you think you can trust turn out to be the last ones you can rely on. and vice versa. Smart, mid-budget sci-fi. General release.
‘I’he Policewoman (Die Polizistin) (18) (Andreas Dresen, Germany, 1999) 98 mins. A young police officer, just out of the Academy, is posted in the deprived inner- city area of the eastern Germany port of Rostock. 'Ibere she finds it increasingly hard to keep her emotional distance. Made with conviction, influenced by Ken loach. Part of the German Film Festival. GET. Glasgow. Purely Belter(15) **** (Mark Herman. UK, 2000) Chris Beattie, Greg McLane. Kevin Whatley. 98 mins. Based on Jonathan Tulloch‘s novel The Season Ticket, about two broke Geordie teenagers, Gerry (Beattie) and Sewell (McLanc), who attempt to scrape together enough cash for two season tickets to their beloved Newcastle United‘s St James Park. Their increasingly hair-brained schemes create a number of hilarious set pieces. but Herman’s (Brassed ()fl) film also has more than its fair share of bittersweet realism. The thing that really makes this film, however, is the excellent performances from the two unknown kids, plus a delightful supporting cast. UCl, Edinburgh. Raging Bull (18) ***** (Martin Scorsese, US, 1980) Robert de Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci. 129 mins. Middleweight boxing champ Jake la Motta finds it difficult to sustain his early success and as his career fades. he declines into a travesty of his former self. De Niro's stunning physical presence dominates Scorsese ‘s savagely bleak study of self- destructive machismo. UGC Cinemas, Edinburgh. Ready 10 Rumble (15) tit (Brian Robbins, US. 2000) David Arquette, Oliver Platt, Scott Caan. 107 mins. Arquette and Caan‘s wrestling fans are shocked and dismayed to learn that their hero, Jimmy King (Platt), is out of a job and title when he‘s betrayed by an unscrupulous promoter. So the boys secure the services of Martin landau's legendary coach and attempt to win King back his throne. A good cast head up a run-of-the-mill comedy. Selected release. 1 Red Planet (12) iii (Antony Hoffman, 1 US, 2000) Carrie-Anne Moss, Val Kilmer,
Tom Sizemore. 106 mins. lbe portentous opening voice-over by Moss. about an
ecologically-ravaged Earth and the
terraforming colonisation of Mars with oxygen-producing algae. does not bode well. Neither does the interminable journey
to the planet. during which we learn little about Moss' mission commander and her motley crew including engineer Kilmer. geneticist Sizemore and philosopher Terence Stamp. But once their exploration module crash-lands on Mars. we're on familiar ground. The B-movie heroics never quite match the A-movie production values. See review. General release.
Ring (18) *it* (llideo Nakato, Japan. 1998) Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani. lliroyuki 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
index FILM
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 terrifying joy to behold. MacRobert. Stirling.
The Road 1’0 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 loth-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 eo-directors introduce lots of bold colour
and rich design into the tale. MacRobert.
Stirling.
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