Film index
Scary Movie 2 ( is» O (Keenan \k'ayans. LS. 2001 l Tim (‘urry. James Woods. 82 mins. In a cinematic environment where pastiche. homage. paying tribute (call it what you willi is positively encouraged. this is clear evidence that the trick is very much knowing when to stop. (ieneral release.
The Score ( 18) 0.. (0/ Frank. [S 2001 i lidward .\'orton. Marlon Brando. Robert De .\'iro. l33 mins. (iiv en such a
heavyweight cast. The Score is something of
a disappointment. The set up is line. he .\'iro’s veteran thief wants to retire from crime to run a Montreal ja/l club. But long— time friend and fence. Max (Brando). persuades him to learn up with Norton's cocky. ambitions young thief to pull off one last heist - the theft of a priceless sceptre from Montreal's fortress-like (‘tistoms House. Norton gives the best and tlashiest performance. but the film ultimately sides with the values of the older guard professional. dependable. and just a little dull. (ieneral release.
Second Skin ( 18) O. ((ierardo Vela. Spain. 2000) Javier Bardem. Ariadna (iii. Jordi Molla. I04 ruins. Vela's first feature film is based on an original idea which explores the complexities of passion and desire. and ultimately. its destruction. When iilena ((iill discovers unexplained hotel bills. she suspects that her husband Alberto (Mollai is having an affair. But with a rnan‘.’ ('ue hunky doctor. Diego (Bardemi. And from this moment on. it's a catalogue of emotional upsets. but it's riddled with cliches denoting the angst experienced by the characters. and any sympathy towards them is long gone. The l-‘ilmhouse. lidinburgh.
Shiner( IS) O (In in John. LR. 2001 i Michael ('aine. Michael Marsden. Martin Landau. 9‘) ruins. Billy ‘Sliiner' Simpson ((‘ainei is a small time boxing promoter with big ideas. llis newest tnoney making venture is to pit his son liddie ‘(iolden Boy‘ Simpson against l-"rank Spedding‘s (Landaui l'S champion. The financial future of Simpson and his disturbed daughters rests on the outcome of the light. Things inevitably go wrong. This is Night And The (in crossed with an anaemic episode of liusluiders the script so full of exposition and cliche it physically hurts to watch. \\'itless and without a modicum of humour. it's a cold wallow in an empty bath. l'(i(' (’inemas. iidinburgh. A Shot At Glory( 15» 0.. (Robert l)uvall. l'S/l'K. 2000) Robert l)u\all. Michael Keaton. Ally Mc(’oist. 1 l5 mins. Duvall plays (iordon McLeod. the manager of a fictitious Second Division football club called Kilnockie. ()wner Peter ('ameron (Keaton) wants success. and is prepared to bring in ('eltic‘s one-time superstar striker Jackie McQuillan (ex-Ranger and current tabloid darling Mc(’oisti and consider a move to Dublin to further his aims. He has not. hovvev er. considered the town‘s fanatical support base or the fraught history between the manager and his new striker. Mc('oist acquits himself well. partly because ofthe obvious similarities between
himself and McQuillan. while Duvall is as impressive as ever. Like the team it depicts. A Shot A! (ilorv will never change the world. but in this age of big business football. it's a telling reminder that football can be fun. See preview and review. (ieneral release.
Shrek ( l ’ i 0.... (Andrew Adarnson. Vicky Jenson. l'S. 200i ) Voices of Mike Myers. ('ameron l)ia/. liddie Murphy. 90 mins. Shirk will have Walt Disney turning in his cryogenic free/e tank. This truly subversive arurnated film takes pot shots at fairytale mythology. while singling out lincle \Valt‘s beloved Snow ll'liilr'. ('irirlt’n'llu. I’iltit‘t‘lliu. et al. l'nder the guise of a quest to rescue a princess from a dragon undertaken by the eponymous green ogre (which kids w ill lovei. .S'lirt'k also ruthlessly pillages corporate Disney. satirising its theme parks and executives. And who's behind all this'.’ Producer Jeffrey Kat/.enberg of Disney rival studio I)r'eam\\'orks. also formerly head of. yep. Disney. (ieneral release.
The Sound Barrier (l'i 0..
(David Lean. LR. 1952) Ralph Richardson. I lh’ mins. Playwright Terence Rattigan's ()scar-nominated script secs aircraft designer Richardson realise his ambition to break the sound barrier. at the expense of his friends and family. The Lumiere. lidinburgh. Spy Kids ( l 'i .00. (Robert Rodriguez. l‘S. 200i l Antonio Banderas. Alan (’umming. ('arla (itlgino. 87 mins. Like any young children. (’armcn and Juli (’orte/ harbour hopes of madcap adventure. btrt unlike most children their apparently normal parents are top international super- spies. When they ‘re kidnapped as part of a dastardly plot to destroy the world. cooked up by kooky mastermind liegan l‘loop ((‘umming i. it falls to the children to save the world. Rife with fantasy. special-effects w i/ardry and high-octane thrills. Spy Kids is particularly enjoyable becatrse it‘s the children and not the adults that ultimately save the day. Ster (‘cntury ('inema: lidinburgh. lidinburgh; ('ineworld. lialkirk. Startup.com ( lSi 000 ((‘hristinc lledcgus. Jchane .\'ou_iaim. LS. 2001) NW rnins. Buddies since highschool. Kaleil Isa/a Tit/man and Tom llerman pool their entreprenetn‘ial expertise and launch a startup internet company (Boy-\Vorkscom. But having raised millions of dollars in venture capital. the co-founders find tactical and strategic problems are soon troubling the business. This verite documentary finds an engrossing human interest story in an account of the rise and fall of a high-profile venture. l'sing extensive footage and intimate access to the participants. the filmmakers have constructed a salutary tale of a life-long friendship being jeopardised it) the cut-throat world of business. l'(i(‘ Renfrew Street. (ilasgow.
The Swamp (La Ciénaga) ( Ill
.0. (Lucrccia Martel. Argentina/Spain. 2001 l Mercedes Moran. (iraciela Borges. Martin Adjemian. l02 mins. Sweat drips from every inch of celltiloid in Martel's film in which two families struggle to survive the Argentinean heat. ()ne mother. broken and
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ineffectual wallows in a drunken fog: the other precariously juggles work and kids. Martel has withheld a soundtrack to allow oppressive silences to grow. while shots of moody inaction are beautifully lingered upon. Although the perspective is original. ultimately the viewer is left as frustratingly disempowered as the characters in the him. Just one true breath of clean air would have been welcome. See review. (ilasgow i-‘ilm Theatre. (ilasgow.
0 Sweet Smell Of Success ( 15) 0.... (Alexander Mackendrick. LS. 1057) Burt Lancaster. Tony ('urtis. Susan Harrison. ()6 mins. ('lifford ()dets and iirnest Lehman scripted this brilliant study of the destructive effect of power. Sweet Smell ()fSucwss tells the story of Sidney l‘alco ((‘urtisi. a slimy publicist worming his way to the top via venomous newspaper columnist J. J. llunsecker (Lancaster). The two leads are brilliantly cast against type. James Wong llowe's photography of Broadway at night is as evocative as film noir ever got. while iilmer Bernstein‘s crime ia/z score (with contributions from the .. . (‘hico Hamilton Quinteti completes the impression of a filthy. corrupt city. And astonishingly. the whole film was pulled together by Scotsman Alexander Mackendrick. who until this time was best known for whimsical iialing comedies. See review. The Filmhouse. lidinburgh.
SW9 (cert tbci .0 (Richard Parry. l'K. 200i ) ()0 mins. Set in Brixton. SH“) is a drug-addled trip through the lives of live people who have their destinies rolled together by a paper thin plot that is a rehash of any film that rehashed Pulp Fiction. The film delves into the lives of the conscientious crusty. the dodgy dealer and the social activist. whose lives all spin on the axis of the drug culture and their own personal vanities and hypocrisies. Parry intersperses the film with documentary footage of the anti-capitalist marches validating himself as a director btrt not as a storyteller. The script. which is loaded with political soundbites that miss their target and instead ricochet around the void created on
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With cra/autiful, Kirsten Dunst once again proves that she
can shine in the dullest of teen romance flicks
screen by dodgy acting. See review. Selected release.
Thunderbird Six (t'i 0000 (David Lane. l'K. Whit) 90 mins. Scott. \I'irgil. Lady Penelope ('1 ul. (‘alling International Rescue? Black Phantom back shock horror! ()nly' (ierry and Sylvia Anderson can save (is nova Just as w ell they can spin a decent yarn. Shame they treat the actors like puppets though . . . l'(i(‘ Renfrew Street. (ilasgow.
Thunderbirds Are Go (t'i COO. ((ierry Anderson. l'ls'. wool Scott. Virgil. Alan Brains. Lady Penelope et al. ()0 (runs. The first and wittiest of the 'l‘hunderbird spin-off movies. The 2 l st century version of the Shadows more than makes up for what is otherwise little more than the dragging out of one of the TV episodes. A must for all (ierry Anderson fans. (ilasgow i-‘ilm Theatre. (ilasgow.
Titanic ( 12) C... (James Cameron. LS. 1997) Leonardo l)i(’aprio. Kate \k'inslet. Billy Zane. I‘M ruins. (‘ameron tackles the story of the doomed ocean liner through a touching love story that isn't overwhelmed by the awesome special effects. Rich girl Ruse (\Vinsletl is unhappily engaged to arrogant (‘al (Zane) but falls for third-class passenger Jack (l)i(‘aprioi: love blossoms as the ship hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic. In all its on-screen glory. Titanic does indeed look like the most expensive film ever made. conveying both the scale of the disaster and the feeling of claustrophobia as the water rises. Ster (‘entury ('inema: Iidinburgh. Together ( 15) O... (Lukas Moody‘sson. Sweden. 2000) Lisa Lindgren. (‘rustaf llammarsten. Sam Kcssel. 106 mins. Set in the mid-70s. Moody‘sson's follow-up to the highly-rated Slum- My Love gives a gentle. comic dig in the ribs to the hippy ideal. When lilisabeth (Lindgren) and her children take refuge from a violent husband with her placid brother (ioran (llammarsten) at his commune. named Together. their lifestyles are not the only ones that end up being reassessed. importantly. the film eschews both nostalgia for the period and mockery of it. despite the retro soundtrack (Abba. naturallyi and embarrassing contemporary clothing. Selected release.
Topsy-Tum ( I2) .000 (Mike Leigh. LR. 2000) Jim Broadbent. Allan ('orduner. Martin Savage. 15‘) mins. At the film's core is the turbulent creative partnership between Victorian opera writer (iilbert (Broadbent) and playboy genius composer Sullivan ((‘orduneri. Btrt preparations for their greatest show. The .ilikmln. involve a whole cast who give flaw less performances. This might be Leigh's first period drama. btit it's another excellent ensemble piece engaging with his usual preoccupation: people at work. rest and play. Wynd Theatre. Melrose. La Vache Et Le President tl’(i) O... (Philippe Muyl. France. 2001) Bernard Yerlcs. l‘lorence Pernel. (‘hristinc Buieau. 00 mins. liight-year-old Lucas never met his mother; she died in childbirth. leaving his farmer father to raise him with a heavy heart but lots of love. When a cow on the fatnin farm suffers a similar fate. Lucas