Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder
About Adam l l5) 0. l(ierard Stembridge. lreland. ZUUI i Stuart 'l‘ownsend. Kate lltidsoii. l’rances ()'('orinor “)5 mins. lttlllttlly' toying w ith the com erttlotis ol' the boy meets girl stereotype. Steritbridge introduces its to loyely l.ucy ()werrs tlltidsoiii as she meets my sterious Adam t'l‘ow itseridi against the backdrop ol’ a modern day Dublin. A w hirlw ind roriiaiice ensues and alter much saccharine sweetness culminating in a marriage proposal. Steiribi'idge is ready to get his strhy er'siye mission underway. A rather odd ses comedy that's neither l‘tiiiny nor sesy and shuns the moral high ground ol' the classic rom-corii loriiitila to suggest that iitlidelity can iii lact be a good thing. See rey iew. Selected release. The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle tl'i .0. (Des McAnull. lTS. lelll l Robert De .\'iro. Rene Rtisso. Janeane (iarolalo. t)! mins. A hilariously ironic opening sequence to this update ol~ the (ills cartoon. that sees the eporiy mous lly itig squirrel and best pal moose liy ing in art ariiriiatetl world sllllt‘l‘lllg lrom recession. sets the film's play l‘ul post-iiiotlern tone. And when the animated animals‘ iieiiieses. lead by- De Niro’s l‘earless Leader. cross oy‘er into the 'real' world the lilm moy es into the Inc action/ammatron territory ol~ ll'lro l-‘mnrm/ Roger Rulilrrrf’. And like that film. its dialogue is packed with cultural relerences that will hay-e adults laughing harder than the kids. (ieneral release.
Almost Famous l IS) .000 ((‘artieroti ('row e. l'S. 2(X)l i Kate Hudson. l’atr'ick l5ugit. Billy (‘rudtip. l3} mins. Writer'- director (’rowe's atitobitigi'aphical re-y'iew ol' Aiiterica‘s 7le rock scene is seen through
rose-tinted shades. 'l'hough it isn‘t an expose of the underbelly or rock ‘n' roll. it's a magical carpet ride that appropriates the most exhilarating elements or the scene and makes ol‘ them an enormously satisfying. Ullt‘ll yery lunny drama. ('rowe's yery personal lilm. seen through the eyes of teenage rock iourno William Miller (Fugiti. ney'er takes the lazy cliched route. nor does it lapse into parody. which in these post-.S'pniul 'Iirp day s. is no mean teat. And in the luminous Kate Hudson. a star is borit. ('ameo. lidinbur'gh, American Beauty t tar 00000 tSam Mendes. l'S. I999) Key in Spacey. Annette Bening. 'l‘hora Birch. l2] mins. Suburban husband and lather Lester Btirnhaiii tSpacey. giy ing a career best perl‘orriiaricei hates his life. htit a close encounter with his daughter's gorgeoUs school l'riend is the catalyst for big time selt' improyeriient: Lester quits his job. digs out his old rock albums and scores marijuana lrom the kid next door. And these teenage kicks return to Lester w hat's been missing from his life for years: pleasure and happiness. ('austic. touching and hilarious in all the right places a nrodern classic. lidinburgh l‘ilm (Build at l-‘ilmhotise. American Psycho t no .000 (Mary llarr'oii. l'S. 2000i (‘hristiaii Bale. ('hloe Sey‘igny. Willem Dal'oe. It)! turns. llarron does away with the outward excesses murder. torture. misogyny ol Bret liastoii lillis‘ l‘)‘)l rioy'el about the pl‘CVlUlls money- obsessed decade and serves up the essence ol‘ the ll()\‘el in a tnore palatable l‘orm. That doesn't mean her lilm is sol't; it certainly isn't. Btit where lillis pushed his readers away. the director draws the audience in by encouraging us to colltrde with her satiric standpoint. ('ameo, lidinburgh.
An Everlasting Piece t rm .0.
(Barry l.ey'inson. l'S. 200]) Billy (‘oniiollyp Anna l‘riel. Barry Meliy'oy. Ill} inins. ('r'aig l‘ergtison camped it tip as a homosexual hairdresser in The lire 'Ieuse. and now l‘ellow west coast lad Billy (‘ortnolly takes tip the scissors as the balmy ‘Scalper' in this comedy set against a backdrop of troubled
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30 THE LIST 15—29 Mar 2001
1
Bamboozled, Spike Lee’s most controversial film yet, is a searing satire
concerning a black scriptwriter who creates a race-stereotyping
Slls Bell‘ast. An Illt'l'ltH/IHQ /’in t' toctises on the Plight ol two barber‘s. (‘atholic ('olm (Mcliyoy. who also wrote the script. basing one ol the characters on his iatherr and Protestant (ieot'ge tBrian l'. ()'By the i. who l'oriti an unliker partnership to corner the hairpiece market when riyal company lotipee ()r .\'ot 'l‘ottpec threatens to ptit theiir ottt ol business. Selected r'clcase.
Audition t lb') .0. t.\lrlke 'lakaslir. Japan. Zlilil i Ryo lshibasht. l‘.llll Shritia lli iiitiis. 'Where haye all the good girls gone " asks the chatty intstic Yoshikawa or his
w idow ed. iriiddle-aged business partner Aoyania tlshibashi r. The latter thinks he's l'otind one. when he sets tip a series oi auditions it) select it new w llei loi‘riier' ballerina Asamr tShirnar. who‘s young. beautil‘til. and stibiitrssiye. Btit where has e the scars on her legs come limit. and what is the nature other interest in parn',’ Alter a deliberately measured build-tip. 'l'akasht assaults the y iew er's senses w ith a truly nightmarish linale. which threatens to oy'erwhelm the films critique ol rtiale Japanese attitudes to women. (il’l'. (ilasgow; ('ameo, lidiiibtir'gh.
Bamboozled l 15; 00. tsinkt- Ice. ['53. 2()()l i l)amon \Vayaris. Jada l’iiikett Smith. Mos l)el'. IRS iiiitis. l.ee taps into his vast resery'oir ol' creatise energy and educated anger with this searing account ol a black sct'iptw'riter“s attempts to create a 'l’\' show that will appeal to the American rttarristr'eam. What he comes tip with is a New Millennium Minstrel Show in which the Ali‘o>.v\iiiericaii perl’or‘iiiers become the crude racial stereotypes ol' yesteryear. Lo and behold. the show is a sensation and yesteryear pi'tty es itsell~ to he as present as ex er. 'l‘he liliii almost goes belly tip towards the end when all the characters slide into insanity. btit [Jinn/muslnl is a satire and ‘lllslllltilily demands some suspension of disbelrel. See rey'iew. Selected release.
Being John Malkovich l I5» 0000. (Spike Jon/e. l'S. lelllli John ('tisack. (‘ameron l)ia/. ('atherine Keener. John Malkoy‘ich. I ll mins. l’r'ustrated puppeteer (‘raig Schwart/ ((‘usacki takes a Job as a filing clerk and discoy ers a portal into the actor John Malkoy ich's brain. \Vhat cotrld haye developed into a one-gag lilm. becomes a gender-bending extrayagan/a w ith a era/y network of loy'e triangles. w hich eliitrases with a lesbiatt relationshipbetween two people of the opposite sex. A bew ildering number Ul possibilities are added to the central premise and important questions abotrt personal identity and sell-llllllllllelll are raised. (itiest appearance by soundtrack composer (‘arter Btrr’well. See (My late. (il’l‘. (ilasgow.
0 Best In Show t Ilr 0000 (Christopher (itiest. l'S. letll r ('lirtstophei' (iuest. l’arker l’osey. Michael McKean. UH mins. Directed. co-wrttteii by and starring ('hr'istophcr (iuest lbcttci' known as \igel 'l‘utnel the rock guitarist whose amp goes tip to eleycn in 'I'lnt /\ Spinal Iii/ll. lies! In Show adheres to the spool doctiitteritai'y loi> mat of 'Iirp. The largely riiiproy ised action reyoly es around a hunch or dog-loy rng odd- balls who dream ol their canines winning the prestigious Mayflower Dog Show. Bey! In Show is hilarious because it plays the humour straight. .\'o pause tor laughter. this is comedy without the punchline. arid it's delinitely the better tor it. ()deon. (ilasgow;
millennial minstrels show
l'tlriihottse. l dirtbtrigh
The Best Of British it ll\arls|tl\.l ls. Ititil i "ll riiiiis Best being British aitrttiatroit. which has been getting some or the attention it tleseryes since the international success ot ('lrrt A. n It’un (il'l'. (ilasgow
Black Beautytl’titOO Ilarties lllll. l ls. l‘Vl \lark l ester. \\altci \lc/ak. l’attick \lower wild horse stilleis a yairety ot itiistoittiites
llllt rttitis \ii tititaritcable belore lteittg reunited with its young ritaster llo hum \ersiort or the \nrra \ewell children's \ lassic. with the lldllseallllt' l ester as would be c tite as usual (lite loi the
gy irikliana ty pcs perhaps (irliriorehrll( i l .‘. (ilasgow
Blow Dry« IMO. tl’atltly Breathnacli. l is. .flllllr \lait ls’ickiiran. Natasha Richardson. Rachel (iitltitlrs “it turns l/It Iii/l l/urtl‘. writer \irtioir Beatiloy lasliioris this comic tale about hairdressers Set during the itiii tip to the annual British Hairdressing ('liaritpioiiships. the antics coriceiit iryaliy between lot .il toriirci llg'llllllllf.‘ scissorcd salori lt'i't‘tttl l’ltll ichkiiianr and botitlaiit Raymond tBill \ighy i. “re story line is predictable. there's only a streak ol sentiment and the odd highlight or comedy along the way lhe big screen etitiryaleiit ol a bad hair day See
l'L‘\ iew, Selected release
Bread And Tulips (Pane e Tulipani) (llltSllHUStiltllltl. ltaly.21ililli lli iiiiirs Surreal comedy about a woman who Iriids lietsell stranded in \eiiice lot the night l’art ol the Italtaii | iliti l'estiyal See pieyicw (il'l. (ilasgow‘. l'ilrrilioiise. l:diiibtrrj.'l: Brothert lbr 0.. tlakeslri Kiltlllil. Japan/l S ltitil i Beat lakcslii. Hiriar l pps. ('latitle \laki ll‘riiirts Kit;iiitr makes his luriglisli language directing debut. .illl‘- lll_‘.' tit Hollywood w ith this all guns hla/iira' tale ol organised crime waitate. lakeshi play s an old school Yaktr/a gangster who is e\iled to l.os Angeles when two iiyal lokyo crime laiiiilres make peace. Ifrur/it'r is a shockingly \ roleitt liliri. btrr Kitaiio also introduces llls tradeitiaik sly humour and nicely obseryed small iiiorrreiits or human drama lloweyer. Brother is only partly successltil. it plays like a watered down yeisioii ol ls'rtario's pieyious. award winning liliirs. tirade palatable tor Western audiences See leattiie and icy iew (ilfli. (ilgisgtiys.
Bugsy Malonett I...’ (Alan Parker. l'K. llléhl Scull Barn. Jodie l'irsler. .\lartrn km. 9* turns. .\ltrsical spool ol l’i‘oliibititiii-era gangster lilriis. with an all child cast. laiiitly eritertarniireiit pure .rrrd simple. and a true original with ll. (irlittoiehill( i l 2. (ilasgow
CADE: Computer World 4 t 1*. tVarious. . ZUHI r 7H itiriis Best oi international digital ariiiiration (il’l. (ilasgow.
Cast Away 1 l3! ... llstrlierl lenieckrs_ l'S, jtililli 'lorii llaiiks. llelerr lltrrit. ("hirstophei \otli 14‘ units In this solidly told tale ol a modern day Robinson (lustre. llaliks. l'etll‘.\ \_\ slerris t'tlg'rlleel ('htick \olarid. a tlagrbcaier lot ['8 capitalrsiir and cart do kinda guy. is tritir‘trtriletl till a deserted island In the SUttlli l’acillc alter his ( ‘hr'istritas laye lliglit crashes during a lei‘ociotis storm, At a stroke. he's stripped or all the accoutreirients or modern cry ilisatrori and returned to the Stone Age. Btit like l)cloc\ hero. (‘huck is an layei'yirran \sltt) c’tlllititltes (lie \alues til his age. lic‘lt“