Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder
The Adventures Of Elmo In Grouchland (tr 000 (Gary Halvorson. l'S. Zillltli Mandy Patiiikin. Vanessa l.. Williams. Kevin (‘lash. 72 mms. The pre«school. educational appeal of Sesame Street's cute lurry red stalwart doesn't really transfer to cinema as well as his spiritual cousins. The Muppets. lilmo loses his security blanket dow n ()scar the (irouch’s trashcan. Once inside. he is tr.’insported to thc hellish (irotichland. where he must retrieve it from the hands of the land's most abhorrent resident Huxley (Patmkini. Despite sturdy support from all the Street regulars: Big Bird. ()scar. ('ookie Monster. Bert and lirnie. this is strictly for the littlest family members. MacRobert Arts ('entre. Stirling.
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert ( no 00.. (Stephan lilliott. Australia. l‘l‘Hi Terence Stamp. Htigo Weaving. Guy Pearce. HM mins. Two transvestites and a trans-sexual team up for a trip across the Atistralian outback for a drag show in Alice Springs. Serious issues pop up from time to time. but the emphasis is on the camp humour of the iii-bus bitchiness and otitrageous musical set-pieces. (it‘osvenoi'. (ilasgow.
GAimee And Jaguar ( W 0000 (Max Farberbock. (iermany. 2()()l ) Juliane Kohler. Maria Schrader. 120 mins. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. It's N43. wartime Berlin. l.il|y (Kohler). paragon of Na/i iiiothei‘hood. bra/enly conducts affairs while her soldier husband is at the front. Felice (Schrader). a Jewish lesbian posing as a (ientile. works for a .\'a/i newspaper while supplying the underground with information. Two more unlikely bedfellows could not be found. But the pair become lovers. An inspiring. thrilling. moving and completely true tale. (ilasgow Film 'l‘heatre. (ilasgow. Alien Adventure (H O... (200! l An alien race looking for a planet to colonise. find earth and unfortunately enter a theme park where they cause much amusing mayhem. Four simulation rides. visceral and slightly nauseous. Sit at the front for the full effect. l'(i(‘ ('ineiiias. lidinburgh. Amores Perros (Love’s A Bitch) ( 18) “O” (Alejandro (ion/ale/ lrritu. Mexico. Ztltll ) limilio lichevarria. (iael (iarcia Bernal. (ioya Toledo. 153 mins. lnarritu's debut feature is billed as ‘the Mexican Ptilp Fiction'. a description which sells it short. The Tarantino comparison is a useful starting point: the film tells three overlapping stories - a teenager drawn into the world of illegal dog-fighting. the infidelity of a middle-aged media executive and an elderly homeless man ~ by using shifting time—frames. tangentially linked characters and jagged verbal rhythms. Fierce humanity underpins lnarritu's beautiful. grainy visuals and (itiillermo Arriaga Jordan's multi-layered script. The bes. film of the year so far. and unlikely to be surpassed. ('ameo. lidinburgh.
Bande a Partth .000 (Jean-[Ate (iodard. France. (904i Anna Karina. Sami Frey. ('laude Brasseur. 95 mins. It's been said of (iodard that he enjoys such critical fayour because he turns viewers into critics. It‘s certainly a valid comment in this self- conscious take on the heist movie as Frey and Brasseur persuade Karina to help them break into her employer's house. Yet such archness curiously doesn't result in a smug moy ie. \Ve‘re turned not into knowing
\ iewers so much as sensitive. unsure spectators. as (iodard here creates a meaningful film out of undermining specific. easily consumable slick meaning. Great stuff. (ilasgow Film Theatre. (ilasgow'. Being John Malkovich ( IS) 00000 (Spike Jon/e. [’S. 200th John ('tisack. (‘ameron Dial. (‘atherine Keener. John Malkovich. 1 l2 mins. Frustrated puppeteer (‘raig Schwartz ((‘tisackt takes a job as a
filing clerk and discovers a portal into the actor John Malkov ich's brain. What could have developed into a one-gag film. becomes a gender-bending extravagan/a with a cra/y network of love triangles. w hieh climaxes with a lesbian relationship between two people of the opposite sex. A bew ildering number of possibilities are added to the central premise and important questions about personal identity and self- fulfilment are raised. ('ameo. Tidinburgh. Blow t lb'l ... (Ted Demme. is. 20m l Johnny Depp. Penelope (‘ru/. Franka Potente. 123 mins. The story of the rise and fall of drug smuggler (ieorge Jung (play ed by Deppi. who progresses from smuggling marijuana in the late-(stls to importing cocaine on an industrial scale in the 70s. It's a time of high Jinks in more than one sense and Demme finds a style to match. employing free/e framing and lurching looms. We could be in an episode of The Monkees. lf Blow is intended as a modern morality play. however. then its ethics remain unclear. We never see the social costs of his freebooting entrepreneurinip; Detnme fails to give tis the wider picture. ()deon At The Quay. (ilasgow. Bread And Roses ( 15).... (Ken l.oach. PK. 3001) Pilar Padilla. Adrien Brody. lilpidia (‘arrillo. llt) mins. Bread And Roses bravely dramatises the daily struggle of l.os Angeles' immigrant Hispanic population. Maya (Padilla) is a gorgeous. gutsy young Mexican. who escapes kidnapping by smugglers to toil alongside her sister. Rosa ((‘arrillol. cleaning offices. In a downtown office block. she meets passionate white activist. Sam (Brody l. who is running the Janitors For Jtistice campaign. l.oach has forsaken neither of his trademark concerns the drama within the mundane. the indomitable spirit of the oppressed. This is essentially a film about victory. and the tone is surprisineg upbeat. Adam Smith Theatre. Kirkcaldy. Breakfast At Tiffany’s ( IN 0000 (Blake lidw'ards. IS. 1%! ) Audrey Hepburn. (ieorge Peppard. Patricia Neal. Buddy libsen. Mickey Rooney. llS mins. ‘How Do I look‘.” asks original waif Hepburn in the role of borderline schi/ophrenic Holly (iolightly. ‘\'ery (iood. I must say I'm amazed' replies Peppard in the role of frustrated writer and part-time gigolo Paul Varjak. The iconic Hepburn has never made neurosis look so good. and while the film may have numerous redeeming features (not least the exquisite cinematography by Fran/ F. Plane and the swinging soundtrack by Henry Mancini). it is she who remains responsible for making it such a well-loved classic adapted from the novel by Truman (‘apote. l'(‘l. (ilasgow. Bridget Jones’s Diary ( 1m 0000 (Sharon Maguire. l'S/l'K. Ztltll J Renee
'/.ellweger. Hugh (Brant. (‘olin Firth. 96 mins.
Bridget Jones‘s Diary is that rare thing. an adaptation that vastly improves on an over- rated original. in this case Helen Fielding's bestselling newspaper column-cum-book. Jones has a rather nice job. and looks rather nice. but worries a lot about her appearance and career. In between weighing herself and ranting about the modern male. she entangles herself with nasty boss Daniel (‘leaver ((irant l. before taking up with nice Mark Darcy (Firth l. On paper. Jones was a snivelling. neurotic wreck. on film she's a .snivelling. neurotic wreck who also happens to be consistently hilarious. And Zellweger adds a touch of warmth to what is essentially a wholly unsympathetic. brittle character. Selected release.
The Broken Hearts Club ( lit
0.. (Greg Berlanti. l'S. 3001 l Ben Weber. Timothy ()Iy phant. John Maloney. 9-1 mins. This poignant. heartfelt comedy drama about a group of gay friends in downtown l.os Angeles explores notions of alternative families. coiiimitment-phobia and feeling ancient apprtxiching the big 30. How much it will appeal to a wider audience is open to question. but it‘s a nicely acted ensemble piece with lots of truth and gentle humour. Sometimes there's too much dialogue and American reference but that said. its largely unknown cast are interesting and all too human. Adam Smith Theatre. Kirkcaldy.
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