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 Pluto Nash (PG) 0 (Ron l'nderwood. US. 2002) liddic Murphy. Rosario Dawson. Randy Quaid. ‘)-tmin. tfnderwood does a very nice job of tnassaging Murphy's ego by casting him as a super smooth smuggler turned nightclub impresario turned king-of-the-hill on a luna space city called Little America. Saving his mate from gangsters. Pltito must then thwart more dastardly gangsters in a series of space age shootouts. Satire. such as it. involves comtnent on cloning and t'S batik notes bearing the head of Hilary Clinton. and plot. such as it. can be likened to Total Recall for idiots. What's most upsetting about l’lum Nash. however. is the number of talented actors subjugated to Murphy‘s law in the film. Quaid. Pain (irier. Alec Baldwin. l.lfis (iunnan and John ('Icese all bow down and bend over. and that truly is a sad and sorry sight to see. (‘ineworld. Falkirk. L’Adversaire (The Adversary) (18) (Nicole (iarcia. France. 2002) Daniel Autcuil. (iéraldine Pailhas. Francois (‘lu/et. 129mm. Drawn from the tragic true story of Jean- (‘laude Romand (Auteuil ). (iarcia‘s filtn explores the life of man who lived a life of crime under a variety of assumed identities. even lying to his own family for eighteen years as to what he did for a living. (ilasgow Filtn Theatre. (ilasgow; The Filrnliouse. Edinburgh.
AKA ( l8) (Duncan Roy. t'K. 2002) Matthew l.eitch. George Asprey. Lindsey (‘oulson l20min. liighteen year old Dean feels hampered by his working class background
in Britain circa the late 70s. llis solution is to assume another identity and enter high society. where he attracts the attention of a number of characters including an older gay man and a young hustler from Texas. Drama notable for its use of split screen to tell Dean's story from multiple perspectives. l'(i(' Renfrcvv Street. (ilasgow. (ilasgovv.
All or Nothing ( Is) 0000 (Mike Leigh. l'K. 2002) Timothy Spall. Lesley Manville. Alison (iarland. l2ls’min. Phil Basset (Spall) is a dow n-at-liecl mini cab driver living on a South London estate. witli wife Penny (Manville) and children. Money is a constant issue. as is the disrespect the perilously overweiglil Rory shows Penny. As alcoholism. depression and various forms of social and sexual dysfimtionality run rife on the estate. each of the film's multiplicity of characters reaches for the few unhealthy escapes available. There's less humour than Leigh‘s previous work. and the piece slowly assumes the power of a lingerie ()‘Neill tragedy. but with unpatronised working class characters. At times the tone makes the film a ghastly watch. but there's an unquestionable strength in Leigh's use of close-up. while the performances froin the central ensemble are superb. Selected release.
Anita and Me ( 12A) 000 (Mean lluseyin. (K. 2002) ('handeep t'ppal. Anna Brewster. Kathy Burke. ()(tllllll. It's 1972 and twelve-year-old Meena (l'ppal) lives in a Midlands mining village with her struggling Indian parents when the blonde. mysterious Anita (Brewster) enters her life with her deeply dysfunctional family. Meena becomes besotted with this Aryan vision. but it is a friendship that is to test her family along with her sense of cultural heritage. Mecra Syal has done a great job of adapting her novel for the screen. managing to preserve the tone of long summers and displaced loyalty that permeates the book. More problematic. however. is lluseyin who handles this tender coming-of-age drama with all the subtlety of a Leatherhcad
WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS 'I'O
GAIA OPENING AND A MOVIE PASS
to celebrate the opening of the new Warner Village Cinema in Edinburgh on Friday 15 November,
we've rolled out the red carpet to offer One lucky reader and a guest the chance to attend the glittering private gala opening and the sumptuousvparty‘ afterwards on Thursday 14 November from 6.45pm. the winner will also receive a six month movie pass for the new cinema for them and a friend.
At the after show party the lucky winners will be able ,to sample delectable food, cooked by Harvey Nichol's Michelin starred chef, Stuart Muir, quaff champagne, dance to some serious tunes spun by 0] Sam totalee and rub shoulders with Edinburgh’s glitteratti.
With stadium seating, and premiere sized screens, the new multiplex has a view you have to see to believe and digital surround sound to blow you away. Be a part of the film. Feel it. touch it. live it. this is cinema like you've never seen before.
to enter, just tell us:
What date does the new_.flamor_ Village open its doors to the public?
_ Answers, on .emaiIQn this tiny,” “t ‘ h - w.-
. -- Kb? (jltltI'Eltla
terms a (onditions:
tvzctti-Lle-lzmxm : ,t-mm’
26 THE LIST 14—28 Nov 2002
cricket ground grass roller. See review. Selected release.
Apocalypse Now Redux ( IS) 0000 (Francis Ford Coppola. US. l979/200l) Martin Sheen. Marlon Brando. Robert
Duvall. 202mm. (‘oppola's new, longer cut of
his Vietnam war masterpiece includes more of Duvall's crazy chopper commander Kilgorc. a second encounter with the Playboy Bunnies. a new sequence set on a remote French plantation adding historical background and Brando expounding upon the insanity of war. It isn't an improvement. but considering the circumstances under which it was filmed - in the Philippines where everything from hurricanes to heart attacks plagued the cast and crew -— you want to see everything they got on film. t'(i(‘ (‘inemas lidinburgh. Iidinburgh.
Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (PG) (Alain (‘habat. France. 2002) (‘hristian (‘lavier. (ierard Depardieu. Monica Bellucci. l08min. Screened with subtitles. (ioscinny and t'derzo‘s (iattlis'h heroes make the leap from comic book to big screen for the second time in twice as many years.('lavier and Depardieu reprise their roles frotn Asterix um/ ()heli'x Yiike on ('m'sur as. respectively the small blond terrier and the big red-headed lummox. This time around the boys leave their village with its wild boar banquets behind to come to the assistance of the young architect lidifis (oh ha. ha. the punnery) who has been ordered by the Queen of the Nile (Bellucci) to complete the construction of a lavish palace for the Roman ruler. MacRobert. Stirling. Atlantis: the Lost Empire (l?)
.0 (Kirk Wise. (iary Trousdale. l'S. 2001 ) Voices of Michael J. Fox. James (Earner. John Mahoney. 96min. The basic premise of Disney's latest. the discovery of the lost. mythical empire of Atlantis. is a scenario with so much scope for magic and enchantment it should be impossible to fail. But it is realised with all the visual and imaginative panache of a jaded artist. Furthermore. it sorely lacks an eyebrow- arching. ptipil-narrovving. gloriotisly caricatured villain. Similarly. Milo. the geeky hero (voiced by Fox) is deficient of charm and arouses little sympathy. As Disney‘s raison d'etre is the good/bad dichotomy. it seems not only was the limpire lost. but a grand opportunity too. Selected release. L’Auberge Espanole (Euro Pudding) (IS) ((‘edric Klapiscli. France. 2002) Romain Duris. Judith (iodreche. Audrey Tautou. l20min. In this feelgood film Xavier exchanges student life. his girlfriend and his fatnily for the chance to learn Spanish and live in Barcelona and reconsiders his priorities. influenced by his new experiences and the students he shares his new apartment with. (llasgow Film Theatre. (ilasgovv’. The Filmhouse. lidinburgh.
Auld Reekie on the Screen (tbc) tbcmin. Local filtntnaker lan Rintoul presents a filtn programme of lidinburgh's bygone days. North lidinburgh Arts ('entrc. lidinburgh.
Cross-cultural obsessions in Anita and Me
A Beautiful Mind (12) 000 (Ron Howard. l7S. 2002) Russell (‘rowe. Jennifer (‘onnellyu Paul Bettany. 135mm. A Beautiful Mind once more presents (‘rowe with the opportunity to alternate his tough guy roles ((r'lurliurur) with ‘serious acting' (see The Insider). llere (‘rowe plays John Nash. the mathematics genius during his college days in America in the 1940s. but also a paranoid- schizophrenic. who was nevertheless awarded the Nobel Prize late in his life. On the negative side of the equation. Howard‘s direction stinks. llis efforts to make math interesting fail dismally. A for ()scars effort. but (‘ - for contribution to the field of biopic cinema. MacRoben. Stirling.
Bellany: A Life, Death and Resurrection ( l2A) (Pete and Terry Wolsey. tTK. 200l ) 48min. Documentary about the life and work of Scottish artist John Bellany. notable for depicting the hardship of those who lives are dependent upon the sea. (ilasgow Film Theatre. (ilasgovv. Benjamin Dove (PU) ((iisili Snaer lirlingsson. lceland. IWS) lljorleifur Bjornsson. (iunnar Atli ('authery. Pcilmi (icstsson. 91min. In this kids' drama four boys make their dreams of chivalry and knighthood come true. but discover some games can change from innocent to deadly. MacRobert. Stirling.
Big Shot’s Funeral (PG) (Fcng Xiaogang. l.'S/(‘hina. 2002) Donald Sutherland. (ie You. Paul Mazursky. 100mm. In this culture clash comedy from popular mainland (‘hina director Xiaogang. out of work cameraman Yo Yo (You) is hired to make a documentary about legendary filmmaker Don Tyler (Sutherland) who is filming a remake of Bernado Bertolucci's film The his! lint/mm: Bill as Tyler prepares to shoot a lavish scene in the Forbidden City. he suffers a creative block and soon after is fired from the film by Hollywood studio boss Tony (Mazursky). Thereafter. Tyler suffers a breakdown and just before falling into a coma asks Yo Yo to carry out his final wish: to mount an extravagant ‘comedy funeral'. See preview. t7(}(‘ Renfrew Street. (ilasgow. (ilzisgovv‘.
Birdcage lnn (tbc) (Kim Ki-dock. Sotith Korea. l998) 100mm. Pointedly' unsentimental tale about a young woman who moves to her cousin's rundown seaside home. There she spends her time walking. painting and screwing the locals. The l'TlltthtHlSC. Edinburgh.