Film index
Lilo 8. Stitch (1')... (Dean I)ehlois and (‘hris Sanders. IS. 2002) Voices of I)aveigh (‘hase. ('hris Sanders. Tia (’arrere. 85min. This is all abotit being bad. It‘s a Disney canoon that pits a wilful toddler. I.ilo (pronounced Ice-low). against a genetically engineered space creature (Stitch) programmed for maximum mischief. Thus the mawkish route beloved of Disney animators is well and truly blocked. OK. so it's a minor movie it doean have the budget or vision of a .Ilmislt'rs. Iiit‘. and just because it's got water-colour backdrops doesn't make it hum/m but what it does. it does with freshness and inventiveness. not to mention gags for the grown-ups. (ieneral release. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (the) .00. (Tony Richardson. I’K. I962) Michael Redgrave. Tom Courtenay. Alec .‘\Ic(‘owen. l l-lmin. Adapted by Alan Sillitoe from his own story. this is a fine example of (i0s British cinema in the social realist vein. ('otirtenay excels as the rebellious yotith who is send a boy‘s reform school after robbing a bakery and pushes himself to turn his life around. l'(i('. (ilasgow.
Lost in La Mancha (15) .000 (Keith
Fulton and Louis Pepe. l‘K. 2002) 89min. 1.0x! in [u .Iltlllt‘llu operates around two very cruel ironies: Terry (iilliam failing to complete his ten year journey to make a movie based on (’ervantes' Don Quixote. the story of a deluded old man undertaking a chivalrous
“THIS I
quest. The second irony is that although (iilliain's production of The Man who Killed [)on Quitoie fell apart. two other filmmakers. Fulton and l’epe. who were on hand shooting at ‘making of‘ documentary. got a film ottt of (iilliam's failure. All of which makes Lost in [u Manchu morbidly interesting viewing and provides an insight into the tortuous process of making movies. I’l'il Cinema. Falkirk. Ma Femme Est Une Actrice t 15)
O. (Yvan Attal. France. 2002) (‘harlotte (iainsbourg. Yvan Attal. Terence Stamp. 95min. In this Anglo/French language romantic comedy. Attal casts himself as a sports journalist and the jealous husband of his real life wife. (iainsbourg playing. oddly enough. a famoUs French actress called Charlotte. When (‘harlotte is sent to London to shoot some steamy scenes with Stamp. Yvan's jealousy moves into hyper-drive aitd the farcical scenes that ensue lead to the will tliey".’/won‘t they’.’ stay together denouement. It's a paper-thin idea and. ultimately. an indulgent exercise. ('(‘A. (ilasgow.
The Man Without a Past (Mies Vailla Menneisyytta) (tbc) (Aki Kaurisinaki. Finland/Gerritany/France. 2002) Markku I’eltola. Kati ()utinen. 97min. Preview screening of Kaurisinaki's new film. which begins with a man being mugged on the streets of Helsinki. lie makes a miraculous recovery but suffers complete memory loss and subsequently wanders through the city. finally taking tip with some homeless people who live in empty freight containers on the docks. liventually the man without a past meets and falls in love with a Salvation Army woman and memories begin to return to him. Btit are they his memories? See Rough cuts. The FiltnhoUse. iidinburgh.
The Matrix ( l5) .0... (The Wachowski Brothers. L'S/Australia. 1999) Keanu Reeves. Laurence Fishburn. (‘arrie-Anne .‘vloss. 136mm. Absolutely gob-smacking science fiction thriller boasting cutting edge special effects. rocking action sequences. a smart story aitd an immensely entertaining cartoon
sensibility (the film was sloryhoarded by comic artist (ieoff Darrow). In the future day- to-day life is merely a scam. a matrix camouflaging reality: a imst-apocalyptic nightmare world in which humankind are a power source for domineering super- computers. ()n|y Reeves' cyber hero. Neo. and a gang of hacker pirates stand between the evil technology and their race's extinction. The Filtnhouse. Edinburgh.
Memento ( IS) 00000 ((‘hristopher Nolati. IS 2000) (itiy Pearce. (‘arrie-Ann Moss. Joe l’antoliano. 1 16min. Beginning where most other films would end with an act of vengeance. writer-director Nolan tells his story by gradually working backwards in time. Leonard Shelby (Pearce) is obsessed with avenging his wife's rape and murder. Trouble is Leonard suffers from a condition of short- term memory loss. and so he relies on an elaborate system of mementoes maps. polaroids. body tattoos to piece together the
Emma Wright. COMPANY
Specs appeal: Harry Potter and the Chamberof Secrets
clues in his investigation. A compelling. elliptical reconstruction of the revenge thriller. which skilfully examines the connections between memory. identity and perception. FTII Cinema. Falkirk.
Men in Black II (PG) 000 (Barry Sonnenfeld. [S 2002) Will Smith. Tommy Lee Jones. Lara Flynn Boyle. 103mm. The tagline for Mm in Black II sums tip the film quite succinctly: ‘Same planet. New scum'. ()r. to ptit it another way: Satne film. New special effects. Once again we are introduced to the quasi-official government agency. .\IIB. which secretly polices the multitude of alien immigrants who. unbeknown to Joe Public. have made a home on Earth. And once again Agents Jay (Smith) and Kay (Jones) don shades and black suits to save the world in cool. laconic fashion. The gags come thick and fast. the chemistry between Jones and Smith remains and Sonnenfeld directs with the kind of “are he completely lost on the
DEFINITELY THE MOVIE OF THE MONTH.”, ****
max BEESLEY
sanjeev BHASKAR
Mi)...
~ H H M ' Ii "'5' ii
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34 THE LIST M —28 Nov 2002
kathy ayesha omid lynn meera Christine mark BURKE DHARKER DJALILI REDGRAVE SYAL TREMARCO WILLIAMS and introducing BRSJVSaTER and crfisggfip
ti) MIA S M’i on W E ' is) 'ov‘: iviis-Eité R221 2”"
Screenplay by Meera Syal based on her best selling novel