Escape To Life ( tit) .00. (Andrea Weiss/Wieland Speck. t'K/(ierrriany/Swit/land. 2000) mins. ('inematic tribute to the lives of lirika and Klaus Mann 7 the gay offspring of writer Thomas Mann set against the rise of fascism in World War II liurope. KIaUs was a w riter whose work was never published during his lifetime. while lirika was an actress and lesbian who entered into a marriage of convenience with writer W. H. Auden. fixtraordinary. Part of the London Lesbian and (lay Film festival on Tour. l'lllillinllse. lidinburgh.
Evolution (PG) 0. (Ivan Reitntan. l'S. 200] ) David Duchovny. Julianne Moore. ()rlarido Jones. l0l mins. Reititiari reprises his Xfls mega-hit. (iliritthuslers. substituting li'l's for spooks. Iii-oliuimi's ‘alienbusters' are lead by Duchovny's Mid-West school teacher (the wild card role that was previously Bill Murray's) and Moore's current government expert. The plot is pure high concept: a meteorite crashes on liarth leaking alien goo which kickstarts billions of years of evolution in a couple of days. ('ue (‘(}l monsters - hugs. fislt. amphibians. dinosaurs and apes - a non-starter romance between Duchonvy' and Moore and sotne very lame jokes and you've got a summer blockbuster package. (ieneral release.
Faces ( l5) 0... (John (‘assavetes. l'S. I968) John Marley. (iina Rowlarids. Lynn (‘arlin. Seymour (‘assel l30 mins. (‘assavetes on familiar ground - an LA. executive struggles with middle age and a disintegrating marriage — told in familiar ('assavetes‘s style —. overlong. probing. ultimately compelling. Receiving three Academy Award nontinations. Faces became the first truly independent American feature to reach a national audience. (il’l‘. (ilasgow. Forrest Gump ( 12) 000 (Robert '/.emeckis. l'S. I994) Tom flanks. Robin Wright. Gary Sinise. I42 mins. liven those with the lowest le can rise to the top iii the land of the free. as this picaresqttc tale sets otit to prove. Btit despite its incurably sweet hero and its fairly standard love story core. I'ii/‘I'ev! (iunip has a surprisingly dark—tinted view on recent American history As complete with racism. drug and child abuse. war and political assassination. There are some bitter tasting choices hidden among the soft centres. ()deon. lidinburgh.
Gallivant( IS) 0000. (Andrew Kotting. l'K. I996) (iladys Morris. liden Kotting. (30s. l0-1 mins. Director Kotting takes his grandmother and daughter around the entire coast of mainline Britain. catching various eccentrics en route and charting a growing relationship across the generation gap. Villages and seascapes whiu. by at high speed as Kotting concentrates on the mundane and the incidental. btit allows a delicious sense of silliness to perk up interest. The Lumiere. lidinburgh.
Get Over It ( 12) .0. (Tommy ()‘llaver. l'S. 200i) Kirsten Dunst. Ben l‘oster. Martin Short. 90 mins. liver get the feeling itiost couples who get it together iii teen dramas will be lucky to stay together for fifteen minutes after the film ends'.’ Well. Get Over It picks up where itiost of those flicks tail off. Berke Landers (Fosters) is dumped by high school sweetheart Allison at the start of the filrti. but. via a school production of A .Ifiilsuninier Night's Dream. Berke falls for his best friend's exceedingly beautiful sister. Kelly (Dunst). (Jet ()I'(’I' It isn't going to surprise anyone. but it goes through the teen rom-com motions ably enough. Selected release.
0 Ginger Snaps (18) 0000 (John Fawcett. Canada. 200] ) Katharine Isabelle.
Jurassic Park III features more dinosaur attacks, more ridiculous
predicaments for the unfortunate humans, much bigger monsters and the
limily' Perkins. Mimi Rogers. I08 mins. Writer-director l‘awcett's sardortic treattnent of the American bourgeoisie gives this horror movie the feeling of an acutely observational romp. lsabelle‘s blossoming nymph sprouts a tail after a werewolf attack. but after tiitich perplexity' begins to bear it with fortitude spreading her infection with her sexual favours. As her slavishly devoted sister tries to intervene. (iinger transforms from empowered teen to tragic monster. Despite Hollywood‘s long flirtation with lycanthropy, Fawcett's funny. tragic filtn still contrives to be original. (il’l‘. (ilasgow; Cameo, Edinburgh.
Girl ( l5) 0 (David Tolchinsky‘. l'S. I999) Dominique Swain. Sean Patrick Flanery. Tara Reid. 96 mins. (iir/ tells the story of Andrea (an insipid Swain) in her final year of high school and faced with making a choice between being a full time groupie and going to college. So flat it looks and feels like an feature-length episode of Beverley Hills 902/0 with art fatuous sprinkling of sex and swearing. (iirl fails to engage on any level. What really galls is the flaccid. anachronistic soundtrack in a film that is partly about youth‘s obsession with the pop icon. (iirl stays firmly ensconced in (MlTV land. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
A Hard Day’s Night (t') 000
(Richard Lester. L'K. 1964) John Lennon. Paul McCartney. (ieorge llarrison. Ringo Starr. 87 mins. This re-release of the Beatles‘ screen debut. complete with digitally restored soundtrack. sees the Fab Four supposedly preparing for a live TV performance. Actually. jigging with the exuberant energy of youth and the fearless arrogance of those who are adored. they dodge their manager. taunt their fans and make a playground of the streets. Lester's riiock documentary received two Academy Award norttinations. Today. the camera tricks may seem less than impressive. but the innocent upbeat humour comes as a timely relief. Adam Smith Theatre. Kirkcaldy.
High Heels And Low Lifes ( I5)
0 (Mel Smith. UK. 200] ) Minnie Driver. Mary Mc(‘orrttack. Kevin McNally. 86 mins. High Heels Am! Law Lites is so lacking in ambition it‘s depressing. Kim Fuller's screenplay starts with art unpromising idea ~ two gorgeous girls blackmail a gang of crooks out of their hard- stolen dosh ~ and takes it nowhere. .‘viel Smith. who worked with Fuller on Not The Nine ()‘(lm‘k Neii's. directs in a style that's best described as cack-handed. Meanwhile. Driver and McCormack glam it up and act
same, now hackneyed plot
‘kookie' to little effect. The kind of rubbish that gives Brit cinema a bad name. See review. (ieneral release.
I Dream Of My Friends ( I8) (Nikos Panayotopoulos. (ireece. 1993) l H litllis, Spanning a quarter of a century and set in and between West (iermany and Athens. I Dream (Jilin Friends is an evanimation of travels. meetings and personal assessments. Part of the Greek film festival. l‘lllllliUttu‘. lidinburgh.
Imitation of Life (PG) 000 (Douglas Sirk. LS. 1959) Lana Turner. Juanita Moore. John (iavin. 12-1 mins. Sirk's remake of the (’laudette ('olbert weepie lays on the soapie melodrama as the mothers of two intertwining families struggle to bring tip their daughters. (ilit/y. glaitiorous Hollywood wrapped it) a pessimistic shroud. The Lumiere. lidinburgh.
The Indian In The Cupboard (PG) 0.. (Frank ()1. LS. 1995) llal Scardino, Litefoot. David Keith. 9o mins. For his birthday. young ()mri is given a magic cupboard that brings to flesh-and-boiie life his plastic toys. principally Native American Little Bear. l-Lxcellent sfx bring Lynne Reid Banks‘ novel to life. btit aside from that. it doesn't really develop. apart froni some trite moral lessons about showing respect for the lives of others. (il'vll (ilasgow.
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (PG) 0.. (Steven Spielberg. 1989) Harrison l-‘ord. Sean (’onnery. Alison Doody'. Denholm lilliot. 127 mins. The third and supposedly final instalment of Spielberg's blockbuster series. in which the archaeological adventurer is joined by his father (Connery) for a romp through the Middle East in search of the Holy (irail. hotly pursued (as ever) by the Nazis. A rather dodgy quasi-Christian morality and a more- of-the-same-ish plot are offset by strong performances froin Ford and (‘onnery and technical bravura. MacRobert Arts ('entre. Stirling.
0 Intimacy ( )8) COO. (Patrice (‘hereau. l'K/l‘rance. 200l) Kerry Fox. .‘vlark Rylance. Timothy Spall. l20 mins. An erect penis. cellulite. vivid oral sex. regular but urgent intercourse in an emotional vacuum between unhappy strangers in a grubby London flat on a dirty carpet. (‘hereau‘s brave English-language debut (adapted from Hanif Kureshi‘s short stories) jauntily flaunts it all. Intimacy offers much more than a reas- suring dose of voyeurism. A film composed of moments. it brilliantly turns the lens upon often overlooked relationships in middle-age. (norms in on the Use of sex as a powerful
index Film
anaesthetic and captures the self-loathing that often lives inside of lust See preview and rev ievv (il7l'. (ilasgovv
It Happened One Hightd‘t‘.) 0000 (Frank ('apra. l'S. I934) (’lark (iable. (‘laudette (‘olberL Rosscoe Kariis 105 mins Purstied across the States by a rov trig reporter. a runaway heiress eventually falls for his charms The first film to tise buses and motel rooms as a backdrop and still come up trumps. it remains a classy peice of work l‘IllIIllt‘the. ltdinburgh
Jurassic Park III (PU) 000 (Joe Johnston. LS. 3001 ) Sam Neil. 'l‘ea l.eoni. William H Macy 92 mins. The flimsy L'\cti\c to get the cast over to the Park Is a young lad who has become stranded on the dinosaur island An unofficial search party. headed by his parents (.‘vlacy and [com ). hoodwink palaeontologist Dr ( iraiit (Neil. reprising his role) into helping them out (if course. things go wrong as soon as they
arriv e and they are attacked by a Spinosaur. a new and improved T-res. l‘iom there on iii the cast rump from one perilous situation to another. A complete retread of the first two movies with even more dinosaur attacks. more ridiculous predicaiiients and bigger monsters. See review. (ienet‘al release
The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie (lb') 0... (John (‘assavefes. l'S. l9”(i) Bet) (la/lara. Timothy ('arey. Seymour ('assel. lfl‘) iiiitis. ('assav etes iiscs his central plot a bunch of gangsters try to muscle in on the owner of a slea/y nightclub as a metaphor for his own position as a dedicated filmmaker fighting for his artistic independence. llugely contradictory and convoluted. it's still tip there with his best work. thanks to the space he gives his actors and the perforitiances they give in return. (il’l‘. (ilasgow.
King Kong (P(i) 0.... (Merian (' ('ooper. l'S. I933) Robert Armstrong. l'ay Wray. I00 rtiiris. A film producer on safari brings back a souvenir monster which terroriscs New York in one of the all time great monster movies. Ania/ingly. the special effects still impress, btit the film achieves classic stattis by successfully transposing the story of beauty and the beast iitto a Hollywood blockbuster mov ie. l'iliiihoiise. lidinburgh.
Lagaan (P( i) 00.0 (Ashtnosh (iovvariker. lndia. 200l ) Aamir Khan. (ii'acy Singh. Rachel Shelley. 32-1mms, New Bollywood movie from the world's largest film industry. Set in the early days of the Ra). Ixigumi pits Indian fartiier's against their colonial oppressors . over a game of cricket. This is a breakthrough for Bollywood cinema exports, liav ing established crossover appeal for Hindi and non-Hindi speaking audiences, Showing iii llindi with linglish subtitles. l'('l. lidinburgh; ('ineworld. lialkirk.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider( 12) 00. (Simon West. l’S. 200l ) Angelina Jolie. latii (ilenn. Jon \"oight. mins. Jolie is ama/ing as the globe—trotting adventurer pitted against villain Manfred Powell (Glenn) and a secret cult known as The Illuminati. Meanwhile. (‘rol't‘s search for the ‘clock of ages' is underpinned by an emotional quest the mystery surrounding the death of her father (Jolie's real-life father. Voight). But the film betrays a complete lack (if narrative logic. leaving a jerky. fragmented tale that jumps from one 'level' to the next. lndiv idual images. like the stone monkey warriors which spring to life inside the temple complex at Angkor Wat are spectacular. bttt completely lacking in eXcitement. ('ompared to the synthetic silliness of The Mummy. this jUst about makes the grade. (ieneral release.
19 Jul—2 Aug 2001 THE LIST 41