Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder
A.I.tl21... (Steven Spielberg. l'S. 2001 l Haley Joel ()sniont. Jtide Lays; l-ll mins. Stanley Kubrick spent years planning Artificial Intelligence. inspired by a Brian Aldiss short story. ‘Super-toys Last All Summer Long. ()n his death. the project \\ as bequeathed to Spielberg. Together they hay e created a future world where the human body is completely cominodified. l-‘orget ey‘horgs the robots in this film are pure artificial intelligence. The question is. can they be programmed to fall in low'.‘ lloyy'ey er. the immense difference between the bio filmmakers' approach makes this a torturous two hours. as you are ttigged betyyeen tyso extremes: Kubrickiaii cool and Spielbergian sentimentality. See feature and res ieys. (ieneral release.
The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle tl'i .00 (Des .\lc.v\nuff. ('8. 2001) Robert De .\'iro. Rene Russo. Jaiicane (iarofalo. 9| niins. A hilariously ironic opening sequence to this update of the (ills cartoon. that sees the epony mous fly ing squirrel and best pal moose liy'ing in an animated uorld suffering from recession. sets the film's playful post-modern tone. And is hen the animated animals' neineses. lead by De Niro's Fearless Leader. cross oy er into the ‘real' world the film moses into the bye action/aniination territory of Him I'm/net! Racer Rri/iliitf’. And like that film. its dialogue is packed ys ith cultural references that \y ill haye adults laughing harder than the kids. Lumiere. lidinbiirgh.
Afterlife tl’(i) O... tlliroka/ti Korecda. Japan. lWSi Takashi Moelii/uki. Shiori Satonaka. Satoru Kawashima. l lts’ mins. The
after life UI~ the title is it end sery'ice bureaucracy that people go to “hell they die. “en e seen this before it] xl .llulli'l‘ ("flied/1i] Deni/i and the films of l‘rank ('apra tyshieh Koi‘eeda acknoyy ledges \\ illi the lillllis title ill Japan lliiiulerrii/ life). but here fiction is iiitei‘yyoey en \\ ith documentary in the most imaginatiye \say. Lumiere. l-idinburgli.
Alfie t l5l 0.. tie“ is (iilbert. l'K. I‘lbfi) Michael (Kline. lilcnor Bron. Shelley Winters. l H lliitis. Allie (Value) is cleyer \\ itle boy \\ ho u ill not be beholden to one \yomau. Direct to camera he talks us through his many conquests. Ile incy llably gets his coineuppance. but on the \y hole the ‘birds' come off \soi'se. Put in contest of “but “as happening in British cinema at the time. .S'uliirrliiy’ .-lin/ Stun/try .lluriiiiie. Bil/y liiil'. This Spurting life :I/llt' look like the dated misogynist romantic comedy it is. See rey ieys. (il’l‘. (ilasgoyy; l’ilmhouse. lidinburgh l‘('l. (ilasgoyy.
At The Height Of Summer t [to
00 (Tran Anh flung. \ietnani. Ztltfl 1 mins. \guyen-Nliu ()uyiih. l.e Khanh. Tran .\'u Yeii-Khe. l 12 mins. This plaintiye melodrama from Vietnamese-biirn \\ riter- director Tran Anh flung t'I'lie Seen! ()1 (ireeii l’ii/my'u. (ye/oi i'e\ol\es around the romantic e\pericnces of three sisters \\ ho meet up on the anniyersary of their mother's death in suburban Hanoi. Right from its immaculately framed opening scene to the strains of The
\'elyet l‘nderground's ‘l’ale Blue liy es'. .‘II The
Here/it ()I'Simmier announces itself as a \york of languid beauty. .\'e\ertheless. the filiiiiiiakei”s lieayy aesthetic approach feels suffocating. See rey ieyy. l-‘ilinliouse. lidinburgh.
Babe: Pig In The City I Hit 000 t(ieorge Miller. [8. 19081 James ('roniyy ell. Magda S/ubanski. W mins. Jtist as precocious as before. young Babe accidentally injures l-ai‘iiiei‘ lloggett and puts the farm in jeopardy In desperation Mrs II and Babe set off to make a fee-pay iiig appearance at a State l-‘air. But fate is not smiling: uPon the farmer‘s u ife and
What makes theatre work?
GREAT WORKS
Using Digital Video.
Edinburgh International Festival Workshops and Courses at The Hub
Thursdays 11 Oct—20 Dec, 7pm 9pm, £30 (£24)
Music which changed the course of history
Tuesdays 16 Oct—27 Nov, 7pm—8.30pm, £20 (£16) THAT WAS THE YEAR WHEN... Music in context. Fridays 12 Oct—~21 Dec, 11am 12.30pm, £30 (£24) INVENTING A NEW GENDER with John Clifford Exp/ore notions of gender through writing.
Mondays 29 Oct—<10 Dec, 7pm‘9pm, £20 (£16)
VOICES AND FACES with Tom McGrath.
Thursdays 18 Oct 29 Nov, 11amr1.00pm, £20 (£16)
A BOOK AT THE OPERA Opera inspired by great literature. Wednesdays 105 Dec, 2pm--3.30pm, £25 (£20)
TELLING TALES How we tell stories.
Wednesdays 7» 28 Nov, 7pm—8.30pm, £20 (£16)
PROSE WORKSHOP with A.L. Kennedy Weekend course. Friday 26-‘Sunday 28 October, £100 (£75)
A NEW ARTS ACTIVITY FOR FAMILIES -
THE SPARKS FAMILY in association with Hearts and Minds (formerly known as The Drama Practice)
Fun activities for adults and children aged 5—1 2 years.
Saturdays 3 Nov- 15 Dec, 11am 12.30pm
£2.50 each per session for both grown ups & children including a fun, healthy snack. Come to as many or as few of the Sparks Family events as you like. Please call to book in advance.
For details call Hub Tickets on 0131 473 2000 THE HUB, CASTLEHILL, EDINBURGH, EH1 2NE
Edinburtlh ....i-. e- l-‘l \‘2 |\ \I.
28 THE LIST 20 Sep- .1 Oct Qtitit
'Beat' Takeshi's school teacher resorts to rather extreme measures to keep the class in line in Battle Royale
her innocent pig. as their adyentures in the big city begin. A darker film than the original. [iii/lei I’Itl Ill The (in is ncyei'theless entertaining. (’arlton. Stirling.
Bande a Part tl’(ii O... (Jean-[tic (iodard. France. 1064) Anna Karina. Sanii lirey. (‘latide Brasseur. ()5 inins. It's been said of ( iodard that he enjoys such critical fayotir because he turns \ ieysers into critics. lt‘s certainly a \‘tllltl comment in this self- L‘tillscltitis take on the ltetsl ttioy ie as Frey and Brasseur persuade Karina to help them break into her employ er‘s house. Yet such arcliness curiously doesn't result in a smug nioyie. \Vc're turned not into lslitm ing \ ieysers so much as sellslll\e. unsure spectators. as (iodard here creates a meaningful film out of undermining specific. easily consumable slick meaning. (ireat sttiff. Lumiere. l'idinburgh.
0 Battle Royale 1 t.s‘i 0000 tKitlji litikasakti. Japan. ['51 Beat 'l‘akcshi. 'lutsuya l‘iijiyyara. Aki Maeda. I I3 mins. In Japan of the near future teenage hooliganism in schools has become epidemic. In an effort to curb this tune of youthful rebellion. the goyernment introduces the Battle Royale legislation. a kind of tlttllget‘titis sports \ersion of Inn/()1 ill/iv I'fti'y. lts unyy illiiig participants are classes of children. kidnapped and transported to an abandoned island \y here they are forced to kill one another. It‘s \ery \iolent beautiful young school children being blmsii ayyay and hacked to pieces and a morbid on screen bodycotiiit btit \sith brutal images laced \sitli black humour aimed at prosoking thoughts and reactions. this is solid satire. Sec prey icyy and review. (ll-T. (ilasgoys; l‘iliiihoiise. lidinburgh.
Before Night Falls 1 15m... (Julian Schnabel. IS. 2001 i Ht) niins. This biopic of the flu} ('uban author Reinaldo Arenas has been garlanded \s ith praise and ayyards. including a desci'y ed Oscar nomination for leading actor Jay ier Bardem. It's more recognition than its subject achiey ed in his lifetime. an irony the persecuted Arenas might haye found \sry ly amusing. Schnabel‘s film is based on the memoirs Arenas dictated iii mile in Next York. terminally ill \\ ith Aids. before his suicide in l‘)‘)ll. The painter turned director finds a style in keeping \y ith the man and his \sork. mixing truth. poetic hyperbole and magic realism to di/Iy ing effect. MaeRobert Arts ('entre. Stirling.
Blow t 18) 00. i'l‘ed l)eiiime. l'S. Ztltlli Johnny Depp. l’enelope ('rul. l-"ranka l’otente. l23 mins. The story of the rise and fall of drug smuggler (ieorge Jung (play ed by Deppi. \\ ho progresses from smuggling marijuana in the late-(ills to importing cocaine on an industrial scale in the 70s. It's a time of high jinks in more than one sense and l)emme liiids a style to match.employing free/e framing and ltirching /ooms. We could be in an episode of The .llunkees. If “In” is intended as a modern morality play. hoyy ey er. then its ethics remain unclear. “e ney‘er see the social etisls til Ills freebooting entrepreiieiii'ship; Denime fails to giy e tis the \\ ider picture. ('ameo. lidinburgh. Blue Planet t l i) illllll 1 An anesome trip around. aboy e and beyond our planet on the [MAN giant screen \iliich prompted the Bits/interim I’m! to \yrile: ‘If a picture is \yot'lli a thousand \\tlI'tI\. one image from Blue Planet Is \yortli a lillioii’. IMAX Theatre. (ilasgoyy. Bridget Jones’s Diary t 151 0000 tSharon Maguii'e. l'S/l‘ls'. Itltll 1 Renee Zellyseger. lltigli (iraiit. ('oliii l‘irtli. 06 mins. Brit/eel .Inney 's I)iiir\ is that rare thing. an
adaptation that \astly impro\ es on an o\ erv rated original. in this case llelen l‘ielding's bestselling neys spaper colunin-cum-book. Jones has a rather nice job. and looks rather nice. but uoi'ries a lot about herappearance and career. In betyseen \yeighing herself and ranting about the modern male. she entangles herself a ith nasty boss l)aniel (‘leay er t(irant i. before taking tip \\ ith nice Mark Darcy il‘irtlii. On paper. Jones “as a sniyelling. neurotic \yreck. on film she's a sniyelliiig. neurotic
\y reck \\ ho also happens to be consistently hilarious. And /.ell\\eger adds a touch of \yarmth to “hat is essentially a \sholly unsympathetic. brittle character. Dominion tk ()deon \Vester llailes. lidinburgh.
The Broken Hearts Club 1 IS» 000 ((ireg Berlanti. l'S. lelll i Ben \Vebcr. Timothy ()lyphant. John Maloney. ‘H mins. This poignant. heartfelt comedy drama about a group ofgay friends in doyyntoyyii l.os Angeles esploi'es notions of altcriiatiy e families. commitment-phobia and feeling ancient approaching the big Rt). Hon niticli it “ill appeal to a \s ider audience is open to question. but it's a nicely acted ensemble piece \s ith lots of truth and gentle humour. Sometimes there's too much dialogue and .-\merican reference but that said. its largely unknoys n cast are interesting and all too human. l.uiiiiere. lidinburgh.
Calamity Jane Hi 0000 (Day id Butler. IS. 1953) Doris Day. lloyyai'd Keel. Allyn Mcl.erie. (iale Robbins. llll mins. “hell the l)eatl\\ood stage comes on m er the hill bringing the \\ rong Adelaide Adams to the to“ it's music hall. (‘alamity 's in trouble again. and Wild Bill llickok ain‘t too happy either. Bouncy niiisical u ith good songs. great laughs and an engagingly energetic performance from Day as the buckskinned tomboy. (irosyenoi'. (ilasgoyy.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin 1 Hi
0.. iJohn Madden. l'K/l 'S/l-rance.
ltltll i Nicolas (‘age. l’enelope (‘ru/. John Hurt. Ill) inins. This adaptation of [bills dc Ilel'tllel'es. bestseller sees (ii'eecc taken by the ltaliaii Army during World War II. ('aptain ('orelli and his squad of opera enthusiasts arriye on the island of ('ephallonia. causing much uproar. And “hen the (‘aptain is billeted to Dr laiiiiis‘ tlliirti house. (‘orelli and the Doctor's beautiful daughter. l’clagia t('ru/ I. fall in forbidden loy e. Madden has stuck to his guns and made a moy ie at once distinctly litiropean and likely to appeal to American audiences. (‘oiiiiiierciaL unfaithful to the book. but still head and shoulders abose any of the e}e caiid} llollyyyood has to offer. Selected release.
Cats And Dogs (I’m 000 tl.a\\i'ciicc (iuterman. l'S. Itltll i Jeff (ioldblum. lili/abeth l’ei'lsius. Miriam Margoyles. b“ mins. This refreshing approach to cute talking llels lilttls Isa lslllkl(ll-\IIIT\CI'\I\CIti\\1(‘ ltleels .l/IHJHII.‘ [Ill/’(l\\f/’/t'. These tltlg's (It‘ll'l Illsl talk. they use stii‘yeillaiice eqtiipmeiit and haye a solemn mission to protect scientist (ioldbltim as he inyeiits a cure for dog allergies. The cats are ex il. hell-bent on conquering the “mid. their special agents ha\e deadly iiinia skills and \ icious \yeapons, The animatromc effects are of a pretty high standard. btit it's the animal trainers you‘re iii real ayse of. The occasional \yaiidcr into sentimental territory and sloysing tip of pace can be toi'giyen by the madly original idea. liyely action sequences and kiiockabotit humour. (ienei'al ielease.