Arriving twenty years after the eponymous game's popularity peaked, Dungeons And Dragons should nevertheless appease fantasy enthusiasts until The Lord Of The Rings appears at Christmas
Noland. a ilag»bcarei ior I'S capitalism and can-do kinda guy. Is marooncd on a deserted island In the South l’acilic alter his (‘ln‘istmas l'.\ e ilight crashes during a icrocious storm. At a stroke. he's stripped oi all the accoutiements oi modern ci\ Ilisation and returned to the Stone .' litit like l)eloe\ hcio. ('huck is an l:\ cry man who embodies the \alues oi his age. here: energy. rcsi>urceiulness and consummate problem stil\ Iiig. (ieneral release.
Centre Stage t I2I it I.\'Icholas llytiicr. l'S. Ititil i .Aiiiaiida Schull. '/.oe Saldaiia. Susan May Pratt. ll5 mins. Rarer since l'ttlllt’ and /"/tI\/iI/unt (' back in the Nils. has a lllttl locttsetl so spccilically on dance. ('t’Ii/I't'Sitiet' spotlights three determined tltilicets. Jotl}. l'.\.'i and Maureen. desperately try Iiig to get into the American Ballet (‘ollege As Atlllitl cspcct. things don‘t go to plan: a low triangle. boy lricnds. bleeding toes and eating disorders. it could get quite interesting. But it doesn't. 'l‘he story lines are too cheesy to be taken seriously. and are Interrupted by esceedingly long dance scenes. Sce t‘e\ ieys. Shim case (‘iiieintL (ilasgoys. Charlie's Angels l ISI *** i.\lc(i. t'S. Itititii ('ameron l)Ia/. l)t'e\\ Bai‘ryiiiorc. l.ucy l.iu. ‘iti mms. this update ol the 'l"\' series has three chicl attractions \\ Inch are so pleasing on the eye it almost gets auay \t ith
e\ery thing else: ilie gorgeous trio ol I)Ia/. Barry more and tin. the outlits and action sequences. 'l'hei‘e’s nothing belieyable abotit these three crime lighters and that’s \\ hy girls needn‘t get c\cited about this being a rare action iilm lead by \yomen but the lack ol realism is also one ol the lilm‘s strengths; its thrills and spills hate a cartoonish. Ian s oi nature-der mg brilliance. ()n the other side ol the coin. the plot Is pants. the characters are \saieivtlnn and the |okes aren't ball as lunny as they ought to be. ('ameo. lidinburgh. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang l t 'I **** iKen lluglies. t'K. lliois'I Sally Anne lloues. Dick Van l)y ke. l.ionel .lellries. HS mms. l.engthy. ellects—lillcd children's adx eniure concei\ ed in the \takc ol .lluri I’o/i/n'm‘ huge commercial success but \\ ith a charm taiid great soiigsi all ol Its ottti. Dick Van l)y ke is the mad inyeiitor \\ hose lly mg car propels his children and romantic Interest llott es to a lar— oli land oi ad\enture. (iilmorelnll(il2. (ilasgots.
Chopper: lts’I *irtrt t:\titll‘e\\ Dominik. Atistralia. Itititii Iiric Baiia. Simon l.y ndon. l).'t\ itl l'ilCltl. “3 Hints. littsetl on the lite ol Mark ‘(‘hopper' Brandon Read. Australia's seli-proclaimed gangster number I. (limp/NT Is .i sa\agely lunny \oyagc through the rationale ol a criminal mind. l)ominik questions the myth ol a man \\ ho gained notoriety by chopping oil lns o\\ n ears in prison to escape a rital gang. and later remoyed lingers and toes ol others. The considerable e\plicit \ iolence slides uncomloi'tably along a t‘a/or edge betysceii realism and lantasy and raised a round ol critical assaults. And central to the iilm is a beguiling perlormance by top Australian comedian Bana as (hopper. a tiitscliie\otts piece oi' casting that really piles on the Irony l’l‘ll ('inema. I-‘alkirk.
Cinemamed Shorts ino certi IVaI'iotis. 'l‘uIiisia/lii'ance/l.elxinon/l‘K. lW‘ti mins. Short iilm selection lrom 'l‘unisia. lirance. Lebanon and the l'ls'. Part oi' ('inemamed Arab Mediterranean Iiilm liesti\al. l-ilmliouse. Iidinburgh.
The Citadel (Al Kalaa) It’( ‘.I I Mohamed (‘hoqulL Algeria. VHS) 95 mins. \\'ry attack on rural Algeria \t here \\ ile beating and polygamy are common. Part oi ('Incmamed Arab Mediterranean Iiilm I‘estiyal. l'llllllitillse. Iidinburgh.
The Claim t tSI * t t * t.\liclttiel \Viiiterbottom. I'K. Zillll i Peter Mullan. Mila .lti\ti\tcll. Nastassja Kinski. Sarah Polley. l2” turns. The prolilic .Michael \Vinterbottom's tlli'li'onit' 'Io Sum/w. lliuu/w‘lulitli most ambitions directorial \enture to date is a post- gold rush drama. \slncli is loosely inspired by 'lliomas llardy 's The .lluror ()i (inter/Witter. the principal setting is the mining community ol Kingdom ('ome. a remote output ellectiyely (m ned and run by Irish Immigrant Dillon tMuIlani. \s ho harbours the gtiiltiest ol secrets concerning his \\ ile Iilena t.\'astassja Kinskii and daughter llope
Il’olley i. Anchored by Mullan's typically potterlul central perlormance. this relentlesst sombre tale stands proudly in the tradition ol re\ isionist Westerns like Robert Altman's .l/(‘Oit/H’ (llltl Ali's .Ui/lr’l'. Selected release.
A Clockwork Orange I tIs’I **** tStanley Kubrick. I'K. l‘)7l i Malcolm Mcl)o\sell. Patrick Magee. \Vari'en (‘larke. l3? mins. The night ol ‘ultra-\ iolence' committed by Alex t.\lcl)o\\elli and his gang ol ‘droogs' giyes it its notoriety. But subsequent \ ictimisation by the State still pro\ ides much lood lor thought. This table oi Ian and disorder. crime and punishment might easily be recast in 21st century Britain. So, it's about time the British public got to see the late master's most inlamous iilm. (‘ameo. Iidinburgh.
Closely Observed Trains Ino certi *ttt tJiri Men/cl. (‘Iechoslotakia mom ()2 mins. (‘lassic ol (’/ech Next Wave cinema. a coming-ol-age tale about a trainee railuay guard set during the (ierman occupation. Lumiere. lidinburgh.
The Closer You Get t IZI it (Aileen Ritchie. t'ls'. 3000) Ian llart. Sean Mc(iinley. .\'iamh (’usack. ()2 inins. 'I'lie ('lowr lin (in is set in the sort ol small Irish \ illage u here loy eable \\ asters and long- suliering stomen are as obligatory as a pint oi (iuinness. Disappointed that the local ladies aren't up lor romance. the men decide to place an adyert in an American netsspaper. hoping that sexy Stateside talent \\ ill llock to the limerald lsle. Their lemale neighbours aren't impressed. In her short liltiis. Scottish tlit'ectot' Aileen Ritchie
slio\\ ed sympathy and alleetion tor her characters. but here she's badly sery ed by a script that resembles a Ital/rkimmgel reject. Lumiere. Iidinburgh.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon t lZI *tttt tAng l.ee. ('liina/l'S. Zoom Michelle Yeoh. (‘hots Yun-I-‘at. [hang Xiy i. (‘hang ('hen. 120 mins. Jane Austen meets Bruce l.ee in Ang ‘St'nw Am] Sensibi/iit‘ l.ee's astonishing martial arts period drama. In a iictionalised \ersion oi early l‘)th century (him. a \sorld ol heroic \tarriors and deep philosophical \tillies. l.ee seamlessly ltitct‘\\ett\es the stories oi ttso sets oi loyers. and a reyeiige tale ts ith a lcminist t\\ N. The tight scenes are groundbreaking. as choreographed by e\pert Yuen Wo Ping. At once breathtaking and beautiltil. ('muclu’nu ’liet'r‘s also a cinematic landmark: lts lusion ol the best elements lrom Iiast and West cinema has created something \s holly next. (icneral release.
Dancing At Lughnasa It’(;I * t * It’ai ()‘(‘onnor. Irelandt‘ls' I‘S. I‘NSI Meryl Street‘. Michael (iambon. (‘atherine .\lc(‘ormack. ‘5 ruins. the screen \ersion oi Brian I'I'Iel‘s successiul and much lo\ ed play is strong In its sense oi a commume and a tniie rural l)onegal in 19% but doesn I quite deyelop any character outside oi the the sisters at the centre ol the story It's a strong ensemble piece that doesn't let any one perlormance tip the acting scales; nor does director Pat ()'(‘onnor underline any ot Its themes \\ ah the hem y -handed red Ink oi a school esam test. l.unnere. Iidinburgh Daughter Of A Good Family (Bent Familia) i III [\titll't Bou/Id. ltltitslti. I‘M-i 112 mms. 'l'yto \somen begin to question their ll\ es \shen they meet an Algerian relugee. Part oi (‘inemamed Arab Mediterranean liilm l-‘estiyal. I-‘ihnhouse. lidmburglr
Death Watch t 15 i t t t l Bertrand 'l‘ayernier. l‘it'tttlce/“Iest (iermany. l‘iS‘tiI Romy Schneider. llaryey Is'eitel. Harry Dean Stanton. l_‘st) mIiIs. Bertrand 'l‘ayernier's thought-prosoking science llctloli table. set in a near luture city. \s here a terminally ill \toman‘s iinal day s become a real-lite ’l‘\' soap. li only that had been the case \\ ith [he [trot/1m: l‘ilmed lli (ilasgost. location manager lam Smith is on hand to talk about his esperiences. (il‘vl‘. (iltisgoyt.
Digital Monsters: Digimon The Movie tl’(ii it it t'l‘akaaki Yamaslnta. llishashi .‘s'akatama. Masasliiro Ai/au a. Japan/t 'S. Ztitil i 88 mins. l)igimons are not retain es oi Pokemons but do share some traits. being odd-looking and lighting \s hen requested by pre-teen masters. lissentially Digimon oilers a beginners guide in three parts. It esplains hots the little monsters came about tthey 're ironi the digital world). describes a \sorltl- or net» threatening adyenture and litnslies \t ith the personal story ol one boy and his Digimon gone rogue. All in glorious Japanese animation \\ Ith loud rock music and a battle e\ery iilteen minutes. Adult brains are kept aliye \sith asides like. ‘Maybe \\ e should call Bill (iates‘. and email account-holding. mobile phone-\yielding under His will be in their element. See t'e\'le\\. (ieneral release.
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Dinosaur l P('II tit Itiric l.eighton. Ralph Xondag. I‘S. Zoom \‘oices oi: l).B. Syseeney. Julianna Margulies. loan Plo\s right SI mms. 'l‘his latest computer animated oliering lrom Disney lolloys s the iourney oi Aladar the lfillttttiatloti as he ilees across the meteor-
ra\ ished \\.Istel.iiid oi prehistoric Iiarth alone attei being separated irom his iamily. Initially. the c\citement is contagious: the
('( il scenes are so realistic it‘s not that hard to belies e \\ hat you are \satching could be real 'l‘hen tragedy strikes. the lemurs talk. And talk. Yet as the predictable and. ultimately. boring storyline oi llinostmr uniolds. that \\ Inning Disney lormula is guaranteed to keep any dinosaur cra/y i'our- year-old pinned to his or her seat \\ Ithout scaring them too much. Selected release Disney's The Kid It’(‘.I 1H: t: tloti 'l'urteltaub. I‘S. Zoom Bruce Willis. Spencer Breslin. HM inms 'l‘his A'ii/ bears great similarity to the body snap tilms ot' the mid Stis Ili’ie. \it (i Ii'i‘stii. \shere characters got the chance to re-e\aluate their lixes by seeing the world through their on n younger ey es. I’or career tlt‘t\ en image consultant Russ l)urn/ t\\‘IllIsi this is an unexpected l\\lsl in his other“ ise carelul planned Me. as he comes lace-to-lace \\ ith his podgy. rather gauche eight-year-old sell. Rusty tBreslini ()ltl-lttsliltitietl entertannnent that passes the time and raises a smile or tsso along the \say (iros\enor. (ilasgoys.
Dolphins tt'I'l‘lie producers oi the most stlccesslttl l.\I:\.\ tiio\ ie eser. Ift't'l't'xl. take us undersea into the aquatic home oi dolphins. \Vith narration by Pierce Brosnan and music by Sting. IMAX Theatre. (ilasgots.
Dr Strangelove tl’( i) * tr ii i * (Stanley Kubrick. IS. 1063) Peter Sellars. (ieorge ('. Scott. Sterling llayden. 93 mins. Subtitled
‘( )r. lion I learned To Stop Worrying And l,o\ e The Bomb'. Kubrick and \sriter 'l‘erry Southern‘s superb black comedy satire shots s us. step by carelul step. iusi hots easily looIIsli politicians and military egos could start a nuclear war. (‘ameo. Iidiiiburgh.
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15 Feb—1 Mar 2001 THE LIST 35