Film index
Signs ( 12A) 0.. (.\1. Night Shyamalan. IS. 2002) Mel Gibson. Joaquin Phoenix. Rory (‘ulkin l20min. Six months after an event which shattered his religious faith. ex- minister (iraham lless ((iibson) awakes in the middle of the night to find his children in the middle of a corn field staring at a giant crop circle. Is it the work of local pranksters or a navigational aid for aliens'.’ The set-up is self- consciously' reminiscent of The War ({fl/lt’ ll'urli/v. but Shyamalan eschews spectacle in favour of nerve-jangling suspense created out of the most mundane domestic situations. Shyalnalan has a llitehcockian grasp of cinematic technique. keeping audiences in a state of near hysterical anxiety for almost two hours. Sadly. the last five minutes are anti- cliinactic and the film's denominationally unspecific religious message is both dubious and wishy-washy. (icneral release.
Snow Dogs (l') 0. (Brian Levant. [S 2002) (’uba (iooding Jr.. James ('oburn. .\'ichelle Nichols. 99min. This unremarkable Disney comedy follows a .‘vliami-based dentist as he discovers his previously unknown liskimo roots. Though competently made and featuring a reliable lead and cast. it still struggles to raise a decent laugh. .\'ot unwatchablc. but nothing special. ()deon. Ayr; ()deon. Kilmarnock.
La Spagnola ( IS) ooo (Steve Jacobs. Australia. 2002) Lola .\larce|i. Alice Ansara. Lourdes Bardolome. 90min. A black comedy drama about love and revenge. despair and survival. [.11 Spawn/u is set in the Australia ofl‘)(i0. The film's prevailing spirit. however. is etnphatically Mediterranean. and Lola. the Spanish woman of the title. is a walking compendium of Latin cliches: voluptuous. fiery and operatic. When her fellow immigrant liusband Ricardo deserts her l.ola plots revenge. but it is her neglected daughter Alice who seems likely to become the main victim of her obsession. Some will find [.11 Spite/inhi's humour and its cultural stereotypes a little crude to their taste. lior others. its blend of comedy and melodrama
will prove deliciously piquant. UGC. Edinburgh.
The Spice of Variety (t') (Various. t'K. 1930/49) l05min. ('ompilation of l’athetone newsreel footage of some of the biggest stars of the era. including (iracie Fields. Jack llylton and Robb Wilton. liilmhouse. Edinburgh.
Spider-Man ( 12A) 0... (Sam Raimi. [S 2002) Tobey Maguire. Kirsten l)unst.
12 l min. A big budget blockbuster based on a best-selling superhero comic book you'd be right to expect spectacular effects and bland storytelling in a flashy but ultimately dull film. (it) see Attack oft/iv ('lmzm for that particular exercise in bringing in the box office bucks. Spider-Mun. by contrast. is a delightfully unexpected mix of spectacle and engrossing human drama. lt's surprising that Raimi. who made his name with the highly stylised genre pastiche ('I'lii' liril Dem!) should focus so much on character. The cast acquit themselves well. although I)afoe hams up the villainy. But Raimi's lead. Tobey Maguire. brings just the right amount of knowing humour to l’arker/Spidey. which is emblematic of Raimi's whole. winning approach to the film. (ieneral release.
Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron (l')
0.. (Kelly Asbury and Lorna (‘ook. l'S. 2002) Matt Damon. James (‘romweIL I)aniel Studi. 84min. Spirit is an animal fable in which none of the non-human characters speak. We do, however. get inside the heart and head of the movie's eponymous equine hero thanks to narration by Matt Damon (conveying Spirit's thoughts) and songs by Bryan Adams (his feelings). Above all. Spirit. a wild mustang living in the Old West. yearns to run free until a lasso lands him in the hands of the 1S cavalry. While some viewers will be roused by Spirit‘s questioning ol the 1S myth of Manifest Destiny. others will be stirred by the quality of the animation. which seamlessly integrates traditional hand-drawn animation with computer-generated images. Selected release.
i Split Wide Open ( 15) (Dev Benegal.
lndia. 2002) Ayesha [)harker. Rahul Bose. l.aila Rouass. l00min. Set in modern day Bombay. Split Wide Open pits those locals who have embraced the modern world - mobile phones. flash cars - against the impoverished street urchins. Part of lmagineASlA. l‘ilmhouse. lidinburgh.
Spy Kids 2 - the Island of Lost Dreams ll.) ... (Roberto Rodrigttel. VS. 2002) Alexa Vega. I)aryl Sabara. Roberto Rodriguel. ('arla (iugino. Min tbc. Taller and considerany more tenacious. (‘armen and Juni (‘orte/ are feeling pretty damn confident after saving their super spy parents from peril in the first instalment of what will undoubtedly become a family adventure series. .\'ow serving in an all new Spy Kids sub-division of the ()SS organisation. the plucky prepubescents are all set for their first solo mission to discover the lost island of Liki l.iki where they must locate and destroy a Transmooker device capable of shutting down all electricity on earth. Although this sequel does not. could not match the originality of Spy Kids. it‘s still great fun to watch. (ieneral release.
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (PG) 00 ((ieorgc Lucas. t'S. 2002) Natalie Portman. Hayden ('hristensen. liwan .‘vlc(iregor. l43min. A very slight improvement to Episode I. :ltlut‘k nil/tr
( 'Ium's suffers from a bad script and sappy acting. Ten years on. the Republic faces a mounting separatist movement. necessitating the introduction of a clone army to assist the overwhelmed Jedi. ('oupling this plot-line. romance blossoms between Padme Amidala (l’ortman) and Anakin Sky walker (Christensen). lilashy special effects don‘t salvage lltis tension-less series of bloated action scenes. Attack 0/ the ('lmu's will only please the truly besotted fans. ('incvvorld. l‘alkirk.
Stuart Little 2 (1') oo (Rob .\linkoff. 1S. 2002) Michael J. Fox. (ieena I)avis. Hugh Laurie. 77min. The inevitable
money-spinning sequel to the unlikely yarn of a small. white mouse adopted by a middle- class New York family. A new playmate for Stuart arrives in the shape of a small canary. who falls into the passenger seat of his toy car as Stuart races through the city streets. Stuart invites his new friend back to his house. but an evil falcon is on his tail. It doesn't get any tnore twee than this. The voices work well enough and the ('(i1 animation is good. if not adventurous. The problem is that it's distinctly lacking in humour. for both kids and adults. (icncral release.
The Sum of All Fears ( )2) 00
(Phil Alden Robinson. [S 2002) Ben Affleck. Morgan l‘rceman. Alan Bates. min. In I‘M-1’s (‘lmr um! I’nwcn! hunger. Tom ('lancy 's heroic spook Jack Ryan was promoted to Deputy Director of the (IA. liight years on. he has inexplicably been demoted to junior analyst. possibly because he‘s lost two decades off his age and is now embodied by hunky Affieck instead of haggard Harrison l-‘ord. But if Ryan has gone backwards. the world has most definitely moved on. The setting is the present and a nuclear warhead has fallen into the hands of a group of terrorists funded by Bates' neo-Na/i industrialist. The Sum ofA/l l-k'urs' makers would like you to believe they have their fingers on today‘s geo-political pulse. but the film's evasions (the book‘s terrorists are Arabs) and various plotting implausibilities are fatal fiaws. (iencral release.
Sunshine State ( 15) 0... (John Sayles. l'K. 2002) lidie l-‘alco. Angela Bassett. Timothy llutton. min. The Sunshine State is Florida. The fictional setting of John Sayles‘ new film is l)e|rona Beach. a community upon which change is being forced. Property developers are buying up land now seen as a prime location for building condominiums and golf courses for the incoming rich. Say les takes a complicated subject - how little control everyday people have over change in their lives and treats it intelligently. opting not for fiashy spectacle or cheesy sentiment. but well-
killer in their midst...
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lininhoom
TERMS 8 CONDITIONS:
38 THE LIST 1‘.) Son 1’, (Jet 700?
FREE OFFER CT.
The List has teamed up with Glasgow Film Theatre and The Arches to give students great free ticket offers.
I i="'!i';)'; TlYVT'iif-"T' [Tank Pinon? ‘-; Thwart-wt... i ii 2‘43). “39 "W Fillll Till‘illl‘l' l .l] ,
arches
You must be 18+yrs at age and hold a valid tulsbme matriculation card. The offer is subject to availabiity. Dion is no cash alternative. This offer is not valid in coriunction with any other otter. Otter is not available when bookhg i! m by telephone or by internet. Maximum two tickets per reader.
N TO ALL STU DENTS
GFT is screening an exclusive preview of the hottest new indie thriller, My Little Eye on Mon 23 Sep at 6pm which will be followed by a Q&A with the director and producer. My Little Eye (18) is a smart psychological thriller about five young people who apply to live in an isolated house while their every move is filmed. The prize money: $1 million. The rules: if one person leaves, everyone loses. The dilemma: a possible serial
This is a not to be missed event with special give-aways for everyone including a student discount card for both GFT and the Arches and copies of The List's new Student Entertainment Guide which is jammed packed with info and money saving discounts and vouchers. Just bring your copy of The List and a valid full time matriculation card to the box office from 19 Sep and you will receive two tickets for this
bumper evening... but tickets are first come first served so be qm'ck. s
The Arches also wants to give you free tickets to the Funk Room on Fri 20 Sep. The first 50 folks to email inio@thearches.co.uk with 'GET THE FUNK OUT OF HERE' in the subject box will be put on the guest list for the Funk Room.
Now with a regular crowd of 400+ punters a month. the Park Room has established itself as the club to get down to on the third Friday of the month. This autumn Lee Fields, Sugm'l‘hree,
and the New Mastersounds will all guest - keep youreyos on,