dircction allow s procccdings to hccomc risihly' mclodramatic. Murphy. who playcd Pig in thc original production. giy-cs a pcrformancc which hclongs on thc stagc. ('assidy's Runt is thc onc thing which imprcsscs. l'(i(‘ (‘incmas. Iidinhurgh.
Dr Dolittle 2 (PG) 0.. (Slcy‘c ('arr. IS. 200] ) Iiddic Murphy. Kristcn Wilson. \oicc of Lisa Kudrow. 87 mins. .\ Malioso racoon turns tip at thc doc's homc and dcmands that hc \ isit Bcay cr. (iodfathcr of thc forcst crcaturcs. Bcaycr's prohlcm is that two nasty humans want to ‘dcyclop' thcir homc. If only I)olittlc can ntatc cndangcrcd spccics hcar .-\\‘a (y'oiccd by Lisa Kudrow t with circus dtidc hcar .-\rchic. tlicn by law thc forcst will hc protcctcd. Simplc. chccsy and cco-fricndly. Sclcctcd I'L‘Icasc.
Ed Gein ( 15).. (('huck I’arcllo. IS. 2001 t Stcyc Railshack. (‘arric Snodgrcss. Ryan Thomas Brockington. 90 mins. Thc trttc story of lid (icin has hccn thc fottndation for thrcc of thc lincst horror moy'ics in thc canon. ('oming at thc talc of this simplc man and scriaI killcr cxtraordinairc in diffcrcnt way s. l’yy-r/io wcnt for thc dominccring mum anglc. 'I’lu' ‘Ii'tus (TININMHV .llussui‘n’ adoptcd thc isolatcd nuttcr approach. \\ hilc ‘I‘lii' Silmcc Off/Iv [um/M llcshcd ottt lid's skin tt'adc. In [21/ (icin. thcrc's a hit of all thrcc. hut thcy‘rc all lilmcd in a ham—listcd. campy and ultimatcly uttcrly hanal way. (irosycnor. (ilasgow.
Eloge de L’amour ( Pt it 0.00 (Jcan-I.uc (ioddard. l’rancc. 200l t Bruno I’tit/ulu. ('ccilc (‘amp. Jcan I)a\ y. ()8 mins. (iodard's Iatcst film sccs him oncc again grappling with two constraints: thc progrcssiyc and thc clcgiac. lIcrc I’ut/ulu plays an artist who in thc film‘s monochromc. cclluloid first half strugglcs toch a projcct off thc ground. In thc colour. \‘idcocd sccond scction. sct a couplc of ycars hcforc. hc intcrxicw s a Rcsistancc cxpcrt and w c watch how what wc scc may hccomc thc sourcc of inspiration for thc lilm I’ut/ttlu wants to tnakc. Blcnding thc old with thc ncw. (iodard offcrs a tcclutical cot't'clatiy‘c to a story that punningly plays on thc many forms t'csistancc may takc. Scc rcy icw. l-‘ilmliousc. lidinhurgh.
England! ( ISI (.-\chim \on Borrics. (icrmany. 2000i lyan Shycdofl. Mcrah Ninid/c. ()8 mins. Thc story of \'alcri Silkot'sls‘i. onc of lltc thousands of soldict's dcploycd to clcan tip thc ('hcrnohyl disastcr. In thc aftcrmath. haying hccn told hc is now tcrntinally ill. \'a|cri hcads off to Iingland y'ia Bcrlin to look for a childhood fricnd. Part of thc (icrman Film I‘cstiyal. (iI’I‘. (ilasgow; I-"ilmhousc. Iidinhurgh. Enigma ( I5) 0... (Aptcd Micltacl. I'K. 2001 ) l)ougray Scott. Katc Winslct. Saffron Burrow s. I 17 mins. 'I‘om Jcricho (Scott L a crack WWII codcht'cakcr. is callcd hack from prcmaturc rctircmcnt to hrcak thc .\'a/is’ ncw cyphcr. ()n his rcturn. hc discoy ct‘s that (‘Iairc (Burrow sl. thc woman who hrokc Itis hcart. has gonc missing and. with thc aid of hcr houscntatc (\Vittslcl l. Ik‘gltts to (“sun cr that shc was not cntircly what shc sccmcd. :\ptcd's sct'ccn adaptation of Rohcrt IIarris‘s hcst-sclling noy cl is. rarcly cnough. hoth rclatiycly faithful and rathcr good. though scriptwritcr Tom Stoppard incrcascs thc loy c intcrcst and liddlcs thc plot a Iittlc. hut thc nti\lurc of cynicism and hcroism that cliaractcriscd Ilarris's charactcrs is undiluch in thc film. Sclcclcd rclcasc.
The Fallen Idol (t’(ii 0... ((‘mol Rccd. IX. 1943) Ralph Richardson. Michcllc Morgan. Bohhy- lIcnt'cy. ()4 lllllls, Rcstorcd and rc-issucd print of('arol Rccd‘s classic (iraham (irccnc adaptation about a casc of adultcry cntanglcd with a murdcr. (il‘T. (ilasgow.
Far Away (Loin) ( ts) (Andi-c 'I‘cchinc. lirancc. 300] l Stcphanc Ridcau. l.uhna :\/aahal. Mohamcd Ilamaidi. l20 mins. 'I‘cchinc's latcst lilm hrings togcthcr a truck driycr who smugglcs hashish. his girlfricnd who drcams of a ncw lifc. and his quictly rchcllious fricnd. Part of thc Iircnch I‘ilm I‘cstiyal. I‘ilmhousc. Iidinhurglt.
The Fast And The Furious ( (5) O... (Roh (‘ohcn. I'S. 200i l Paul \Valkcr. \'in I)icscl. Michcllc Rodrigucl. I08 mins. Roaring off thc start linc in a cloud of hurning ruhhcr. ('ohcn's strippcd- down illicit strcct-racing moyic was a (Icsct'y‘cd ‘slccpcf SUCCL‘SS it] IllC I'S. dcliycring thc purc. adrcnaliscd cntcrtaintncnl that (wcr-powcrcd. poorly- tttncd auto ltloy'iCs such as (four In ()0 Scrundy and I)I‘fl'('ll only proiniscd. 'I'lirough thc associatcd clothing. music and slang. it also capturcs thc multi-cthnic. trihal llayour of a distinctch urhan suh- culturc httilt around fast cars. scx and dcfying authority. That said. this is strictly ’B. moyic stuff. so don‘t go cxpccting originality. ('amco. Iidinhurgh.
Fatma ( Ix) (Khach (ihorhal. Tunisia/I’rancc. 300] .t IZ-l mins. 'I‘unisian filmmakcr (ihorhal's story about onc woman's strugglc with social and scxual incqualitics in contcmporary Tunisia. Part of thc London I-‘ilm fcstiy'al on tour. (iI’I’. (ilasgow.
FernGuIly: The Last Rainforest (I't 0.. (Bill Kt'oyct‘. l'S. I992) With thc \‘olL‘cs of'l’im ('urry'. Samantha Mathis. Jonathan \Vard. Robin Williams. (‘hristian Slatcr. 76 mins. In a sccrct forcst world touchcd by magic. a young fairy shrinks a human lumhcrjack. who thcn has to hpr sayc thc rainforcst from dcstruction. lico- cdgcd animation has a lot to rccommcnd it othcr than its wcll-mcaning intcntions: lush colour. swccping computcr-aidcd camcras. and a dcccnt sct of songs. ()nc for thc grown-ups as w cll as thc kids. Thc I.umicrc. lidinhurgh.
Ferry Up The Amazon (I’(il («\ch Mc('all. I'K. 200i t 90 mins. I)ocumcntary ahout thc Rcycrcnd \\'illic Mcl’hcrson and his schcmc to buy a small c.\-R.\' fcrry. sail it from Scotland to South Amcrica and thcncc up thc :‘yllliI/Ull to hand it oycr as a sourcc of incomc to thc .strcct childrcn of l’cru. I‘ilmhousc. lidinhurgh.
The 5151' State ( IS) 0.. (Ronny Yu. I'S/I'K/(‘anada. 200l ) Satnucl l.. Jackson. Rohcrt ('arlylc. limin Mortimcr. 92 mins. 'I'hcrc's much about this contcdy thrillcr that'sjust plain daft: Jackson's ('alifornia drug dcalcr donning a kill for Ills \ isil to rainy I.i\L‘t'pool. ('arIyIc's scousc thug morc conccrncd with thc l.iycrpool—Manchcstcr footy match than minding Jackson. (‘arly lc's c.\ (Mortimcr) going Statcsidc to hccomc a contract killcr. I)aft. hut fun. Indiyidual clcmcnts. from ()‘I'I‘ pcrformanccs to \ iolcnt gun play. work in isolation. hut thc toncsjar: in onc sccnc you'rc laughing at Ricky 'I‘omlinson playing Rohcrt I)c .\'iro \ ia Jim Roy Ic. thc ncxt yottr rccling at him hcing torturcd in thc most graphic fashion.
SL‘L‘ t'cy icw. (icnct'al I‘L‘IL‘asc.
Fight Club ( IS) 0... (Day id l-"inchcr. l'S. I‘)‘)‘)i Brad Pitt. lid Norton. IIclcna Bonham (’artcr. I35 mins. Masculinity is in a mcss and consumcrisin is to hlamc. Mcn hayc hccomc docilc spcctators of lifc according to I-‘ig/il ('lu/I. I‘inchcr's controy crsial adaptation of ('huck I’alahniuk‘s noy cl. In rccklcss rcsponsc to this latc tw cnticth ccntttry malaisc. Norton‘s docilc spcctator tcams tip with I’itt‘s mischicyous Ty lcr I)urdcn to form an at'cna for mcn to hcat cach othcr to a pulp and thus t'cconncct with thc world. It's hit and miss. hut cnough of thc punchcs CUITIIL‘L‘I to slat'llc cycn lhc most tIocilc of
\ icwcrs. (‘amco. Iidinhurgh.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits
Within (I’( i) O... tIIironohu Sakaguchi. Montonori Sakakihara. I'S/Japan. 300] t Votccs of Ming-Na \Vcn. :\Icc Baldwin. Stcyc Busccmi. l05 mins. I-imi/ /'illll(l.\\‘ tmtlucstionahly rcprcscnts a quantum lcap for animation. Adapch from thc phcnomcnally succcssful Japancsc rolc-play ing computcr gatnc scrics. 'Iilu’ Spirin II'iI/iin tclls a ncw story in which tltc liarth of 2005 has succumhcd to an alicn inyasion. ('o-produccd hy a
Japancsc and Amcrican crcw. co-dircctcd hy gamc crcator IIironoha Sakaguchi and \oiccd by Hollywood talcnt. thc Iiastcrn spiritualism attd qucsting clcntcnl of thc gamc is giycn lltc standard Ilolly wood
hlockhustcr trcatmcnt. Thc rcsults arc mixcd human moy'cmcnt is still prohlcinatic hut oftcn astonishingly hclicyahlc. Thc ftttut'c of film has arriycd. Sclcctcd rclcasc.
Flood Tide (t'i (l‘rcdcrick Wilson. t'K. I949) (iot'don Jackson. Jimmy Logan. Rona :\tltICl‘sott. 90 mins. A classic post- war drama with Jackson as a (‘lydchank apprcnticc who hccomcs a ship's dcsigncr and falls in low with thc hoss' daughtcr. Iiy'ocatiyc social history. Thc Lumicrc. Iidinhurgh.
Garden Pieces (PG) (Various. t’K. l‘)‘)8) I00 mins. (‘ompilation of artists' films on thc suhjcct of gardcns and covering I00 ycars of cincma cttratcd hy I’ctcr Todd. who introduccs thc scrccning. Thc Lumicrc. lidinhurgh.
0 Ghost World ( 15) .00.. ('I’crry 1/.w‘igoff. IS. 2001 ) Thora Birch. Scarlctt Johansson. Stcy'c Btisccmi. I I I mins. I)anicl (‘lowcs adapts his own cttlt comic with 7.wigoff. opting not to translatc par- rot-fashion. but to distiI thc csscncc of thc sourcc matcrial. Thus. charactcrs. sctting and tonc arc spot on. hut thc cpisodic naturc of thc scrialiscd strip is shapcd into a low kcy story rcy'oly'ing around Iiiin school graduatcs Iinid and Rchccca (Birch and Johanssom who tcmpcr disgust with thc hland wcstcrn world of shopping malls and thctnc rcstaurants with cynical hcmuscmcnt. Thc dialogttc. humour. pro- dttction dcsign and pcrformanccs arc a world apart from lcsscr .-\mcrican tccn Hicks. Sclcctcd rclcasc.
The Glenn Miller Story (H 0... (Anthony Mann. I‘S. I954) Jamcs
Stcw art. Junc Allyson. Harry Morgan. (icorgc 'I‘ohias. I In mins. Stcwart is thc unfailingly chtnnmy hand lcadcr with thc rclcntlcssly practical wifc. who makcs it to thc top and thcn takcs onc planc ridc too many. A must-scc for fans of thc hig hand sotiiid of thc latc Mr Millcr. (irosycnoi'. (ilasgow.
Glitter ( I’( i) . (Vondic ('ttrlis- IIalI. I'S. 3001i Mariah('arcy. Max Bccslcy. I’adma Lakshmi. 10-1 mins. In this rags-to-richcs mclodrama inspircd. y'cry looscly. hy' hcr own lifc. (’arcy dcliy'ct‘s a pcrformancc of such incptitudc that it plumhs dcpths of histrionic awfulncss unknown cycn to Madonna and \Vliitncy Ilouston. (‘urtis-Ilall attcmpts to drcss things tip. hut no amount of flashy camcrawork can disguisc thc csscntial hlandncss and prcdictahility of thc matcrial. ()ncc or twicc. thc tcdium is rclicycd hy momcnts of ttttintcntional hilarity that makc tltc \ icw cr hoot with dishclicf. Sadly. thcrc arcn't cnough of thcm to turn (ililli'r into a camp classic. Sclcctcd rclcasc.
Le Gout Des Autres ( IS) 000 (Agnas Jaoui. I‘rancc. 200| t Jcan-I’icrrc Bacri. Annc Alyaro. (icrard I.an\‘in. I I3 mins. Britain docsn't hayc cxclusiy'c rights on lhc provincial class comcdy'. [4’ gm}! shows thc workings of a small town. which arc brought into focus whcn Jacqucs ('astcllo (Bacri) falls for actrcss and Iinglish tutor (‘lara (Alyarol. a hohcmian
index Film
looking for loy'c but hardly cxpccting it from Bacri's crudc factory owncr. Thch arc a numhcr of othcr sub-plots that shows Jaoui borrowing as rcadily from farcc as thc provincial comcdy. Thc surprisc is that thcy'rc comhincd to makc for somcthing morc wistfully winning than cithcr form tisually offcrs. MacRohcrt Arts ('cntrc. Stirling. Grand Canyon (PG) (2001 l. Simulation ridc bringing you thc fulI-hlown wondcr of that rcally. rcally' hig holc in Amcrica. IMAX Thcatrc. (ilasgow. The Grinch (PG) 0.. (Ron Howard. IS. 2000) Jim (‘arrcyz Taylor Momscn. chfrcy 'I‘amhor. I05 mins. Surprisingly. The Grinch is thc first liy‘c action fcaturc to hc adaptcd from thc work of the world's hcst-sclling childrcn‘s author. Dr Sctiss. And hcncath .st magician Rick Bakcr's grccn costumc (army the world‘s highest paid comcdian wrccks glorious havoc on his cloying swcct ncighhours. thc Whoy'ians of Who- y'illc. Iloward lays thc book's moral »- (‘hristmas is about family not prcscnts ‘_ and thc sickly-swch scntimcnt on prctty thick. Toy Story 2 got thc cross gcncrational appcal right: golly' gosh Howard’s (irinc/i hasn’t. (‘arrcy's grcat though. Sclcctcd rclcasc. La Haine ( 18) O... (Matthicu Kttssoy‘lll. lirancc. 1995) \‘inccnt ('asscl. liuhcrt Koundc. Said 'l'aghmaoui. 85 mins. This cdgy'. hlack- and-whitc portrait of racial tcnsion and policc hrutality on a run-down cstatc outsidc I’at'is won twcntysomcthing Kitssoy'il/ thc Dircctor‘s I’ri/c at thc l‘)‘)5 (‘anncs Film l-‘cstiy‘al. Thrcc cthnically mixcd lads conic up against thc cops whcn onc of thcir pals is hospitaliscd aftcr a raid. I'rgcnt. compclling lilmmaking that's as punchy as a blow to thc hcad. ('(‘:\. (ilasgow. Happiness ( 18) 0000. (Todd Solondl. IS. 1998) ('ynthia Stcy-cnson. Lara Flynn Boylc. Philip Scymour Hoffman. I39 mins. Thrcc sistcrs. two small boys. onc psychologist and a phonc-harrassmcnt spccialist. Out of thcsc unlikcly clcmcnts Todd Solond/ has wrought purc cincmatic gold. which y-ccrs from hclly laughtcr onc tnomcnt to stark pathos in anothcr. (iI’I‘. (ilasgow. 0 Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (PG) 0000. ((‘hris (‘olumhus. I'S/I'K. 200] ) I)anicl Radcliffc. Rohhic (‘oltranc. Maggic Smith. John (‘lccsc. Richard Harris. Jttlic Waltcrs. 152 mins. (‘olumhus Iias rcmaincd truc not just to thc spirit hut. in many cascs. thc Ict- tcr of .I.K. Rowling's noy'cI. With only thc occasional nip and tuck. thc film follows closcly thc talc of orphan hoy llarry. who grows up in suburbia littlc rcalising that hc‘s of wizard stock. I.ikc thc ttoy'cl. thc film is unscntimcntal. with no hint of thc icky whimsy. Rathcr. it is sustained by a sct of supcrhly' dry pcrformanccs hy thc all-British cast and rcwardcd hy thc truc. chl-cat'ncd cmotion of an honourahlc qucst .s’ucccssfully fotight. (icncral rclcasc.
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