FILM listings
FILM LISTINGS continued
Road Trip (15) **** (Todd Phillips, US. 2000) Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Tom Green. 94 mins. Four college pals set out on a road trip from New York to Texas when Josh cheats on his childhood sweetheart Tiffany, and has four days to intercept the mailed videotape of his infidelity. En route the boys learn about the important things in life: the rules of cheating on your partner. the best way to donate sperm, stealing from the blind and ancient Greek Philosophy. The star of the film is undoubtedly MTV cult phenomenon Tom Green. IIis performance is guaranteed to have you in stitches as he gives a university tour, woos girls, eats mice and does battle with a python. Stupendous fun. General release.
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. New Picture House, St Andrews.
Salo(18) **** (I’ier Paolo l’asolini, Italy, 1975) Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Uberto P. Quintavalle. 117 mins. Banned for many years, Pasolini's version of the Marquis de Sade's 120 Days Of Sodom still shocks. Set in Italy in 19-14, it concerns four men who marry each others daughters and then retreat to a mountain retreat with a group of young men and women on whom they perpetrate abhorrent acts of sado-masochism. Some said it was meaningless exploitation; of course it‘s not: Pasolini intended it as a comment on the nature of Fascism. Not for the faint-hearted. See Frontlincs. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Scary Movie (18) **** (Keenen Ivory Wayans, US, 2000) Marlon and Shawn Wayans, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth. 88 mins. Poking fun at the whole teen slasher movie phenomenon, the plot
follows the first Scream movie (originally to be titled, yup, Scary Movie): A masked murderer stalks and murders high school kids in a self-consciously ironic manner. It parodies The Usual .S'uspects, The Matrix. The Blair Hitch Project, The Exorcist and anything else that gets in the way, and the surprising thing is it actually works with the gags coming thick and fast. Big Stoopid Fun. Magnum 'Iheatre, Irvine.
Shaft ( 18) *ii* (Gordon Parks, US. 1971) Richard Roundtrec, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi. 100 mins. Male model Roundtree is the eponymous hero, whose job it is to find and rescue the daughter of black Mafia boss Bumpy Jonas (Gunn). ()n his travels Shaft encounters the local black power movement, a handful of uptight, doughnut-eating cops, and a number of shady hitmen up for what Shaft calls ‘kicking my black ass'. A huge commercial success in the US, Shaft opened the eyes of American studio bosses to the potential black cinema market. which had relegated black actors to Uncle Tom roles. It may look dated, but it captured a moment in time and did so with style. GI’I', Glasgow.
Shampoo And Set (Waschen Und Legen) (PG) (Alice Agneskirchncr, Germany. 1999) 90 mins. If you need to know where to get your hair cut in Berlin, this film is for you. This witty documentary comes up with four answers: a Turkish barbershop, a celebrity stylist, an ultra-cool salon and a cosy neighbourhood business. Snip snip. Part of the German Film Festival. GET, Glasgow. Short Cuts (15) (Steven Morrison, UK, 1999) 39 mins. Steven Morrison's Frog — an imaginative nightmare fairy tale about giant frogs that steal people's eyes (to eat) and replace them with clockwork mechanisms — headlines this short film showcase of top Scottish talent who make personal appearances to discuss their work. The programme of award-winning films also includes Morag McKinnon's Home, Adrian J. McDowall's Who '3 My Favourite Girl, Jackie Oudney Station and David MacKenzie‘s Somersault. Lumiere, Edinburgh.
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A Simple Plan (15) iii (Sam Raimi, US, I998) Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda. 121 mins. Two close but very different brothers accidentally stumble upon 34m in a wrecked plane, and decide to hold onto the cash. But of course, their illegal lottery jackpot is just the start of a nightmarish descent into greed, suspicion and murder. Cameo, Edinburgh.
The Skulls (15) * (Rob Cohen, US, 2000) Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker,Hi|l Harper. 107 mins. True, there actually is a long,— standing secret society at Yale University called the Skull And Bones, among whose invited members have numbered former CIA men and business tycoons. This little fact-ette, however, is more intriguing, exciting and thought-provoking than anything else in Cohen's pulpy thriller, which blends po-faced seriousness with knuckle-headed incompetence to ultimately laughable effect. Connoisseurs of dumb Hollywood plotting will have a ball. General release.
Sleepy Hollow (15) **** (Tim Burton, US, 1999) Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken. 105 mins. During the final days of 1799 ambitious young policeman Ichabod Crane (Depp) is sent to the fog-shrouded village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of decapitations, but his scientific beliefs are shaken when he comes face to space with the Headless Horseman. Burton gives Washington Irving's Gothic folktale a distinctly British colouring, as he borrows merrily from the Hammer films of the 50s and ()0s, while Depp brings the right note of comedy to the dark proceedings. Cameo, Edinburgh. Small Time Crooks (PG) tit (Woody Allen, US, 2000) Woody Allen. Tracey Ullman, Hugh Grant. 92 mins. Allen’s strike rate dips again with this slight tale of Ray (Allen), a bumbling, insecure thief who convinces his wife Frenchy (the splendidly shrill Ullman) that his next job is fool-proof. Ray’s plan takes a while to get off the ground. Meantime, Frenchy’s covering role as cookie-maker earns her celebrity status. So far, so fairly funny. Then, in drops Hugh Grant as a posh suitor given the task of making sophisticates out of the common pair. Pygmalion without so many laughs. See review. GF'T, Glasgow.
Snatch (18) it (Guy Ritchie, UK, 2000) Brad Pitt, Benieio Del Torro, Vinnie Jones. 102 mins. Ritchie insists that Snatch is not a sequel to Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. And he is right; it‘s practically a remake. There's the same swaggering facetiousness, the same juvenile obsession with underworld villains, and the same cod- Cockney accents. Ritchie's penchant for baroque plotting is also in evidence, although Lock Stock‘s mildly confusing denouement was crystal clear compared to the opening of Snatch. The acting is a notch up from the first film, while some of the gags and situations are genuinely funny. Magnum Theatre, Irvine.
Some Came Running (PG) *ttt (Vincente Minelli, US, 1958) Frank Sinatra,
John Waters, the Pope of Porn, King of Trash, is back with Cecil B. Demented
Dean Martin. Shirley Maelaine. 13o mihs. Sinatra goes on a voyage of discovery through the bars and gambling dens of small-town USA. torn between two women and his dream of becoming a writer. Marvellous melodrama populated by types rather than characters. Edinburgh I-‘ilm Guild at the Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Space Cowboys (1’0) it (Clint Eastwood, US, 2000) (‘lint Eastwood, James Garner, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland. 130 mins. The first half of Space Cowboys could be called Four (irumpy Old Men, as we're introduced gradually to each ageing member ofTeam Daedalus, an aborted space project in the 50s. Then halfway through the film Eastwood flicks a switch and it becomes Apollo 13, except full of old folks. And a million times more daft. The first part works better. Let's face it, this acting combo has got a few miles on the clock, but not even this cast can salvage much respect from this lame duck of a film. Lumiere, Edinburgh.
Stuart Little (U) *** (Rob Minkoff', US, 2000) Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, Hugh Iaurie. 92 mins. Live action with a Computer generated talking mouse voiced by Michael J. Fox, Minkoff's adaptation of E.B. White’s classic childrens‘ book sees the sweet wee rodent orphan being adopted by affluent Manhattanites the Little family. Stuart‘s problems begin with a new nemesis, the mean-spirited, inappropriately-named family cat Snowbell. The message of the film is clear — little guy discovers the meaning of family, loyalty and friendship — but of more interest to viewers both small and large will be the Tom AndJerry-‘style antics. Selected release.
Sun Alley (Sonnenallee) (12) (Leander Haussmann, Germany, 1999) 90 mins. This raucous comedy set in 70s East Berlin focuses on the pop music-loving Sun Alley gang who party while mere yards away in the West tourists ogle the communist youths. A bygone era recreated on film with a funky Rolling Stones soundtrack. Part of the German Film Festival. GI’I‘, Glasgow. Sweet And Lowdown (PU) shunt: (Woody Allen, US, 2000) Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman. 95 mins. Penn is simply awesome as 1930s musician Emmet Ray, the self-proclaimed sCCond best guitar player in the world. Respect for the ‘gypsy guitar man' Django Reinhardt is Ray's sole element of humility; he is rude, cgomaniacal and utterly selfish and the one who suffers most is the mute Hattie (the splendid Morton). Visually, musically, dramatically and comedically, SweetAnd Lowdown can sit comfortably among Woody Allen's best works. And with the passing of cinematic time, they will surely be reflected upon as his lead pair's finest hour and a half. Odeon, Glasgow.
There's Only One Jimmy Grimble (12) tint (John Hay, UK, 2000) Lewis McKenzie, Gina McKee,.Robert Carlyle. 105 mins. Life could not be worse for fifteen-year-old Jimmy Grimble (McKenzie). The poor lad dreams of