Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder
G Abouna (My Father) (PG) 0000 (Maharttat-Saleh llaroun. ('had. 2002) S-lmin. In this lovely little filtn from (‘had two brothers cope with the disappearance of their father. llarourt combines a calmittg colour scheme chiefly made up of terracottas and sky blues not it seems for some cumbersome symbolic purpose but to create a tranquil feel that keeps tlte usually dramatic events at one remove. With his minimally moving camera often holding on tlte medium shot. or shadowed close-up. the director follow s the boy s' harsh life as tltey get carted off and detained in Korartic school. 'l‘here's alvvay s a sense of characters being contained by a purpose wider than their own irtdiv idtral existence. See review. l‘ilmhouse. lidinburgh.
Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights f l2:\) (Setl) Kearsley. (IS. 3002) Voices of Adam Sandlet'. Jackie Titone. Austin Stout. 7(tmin. Sandler flexes ltis vocal chords to play the lead pans it) this animated cotttedy musical with a festive flavour. Davey Stone (vocal part ortc) is a regular joe vvhose party animal behaviour gets hint in trouble will) the law and sees the fella forced to undertake comrmtnity service over the holiday period. Said service involves playing assistant to youth basketball referee Whitey Duvall (second Sandler part ). a goml-ltearted eccentric who unwaverirtg optimism works at odds with Davey's unwavering trouble-making. (’ra/y nights ensue. SB('. Hamilton.
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (t') coo ((iary Halvorson. [S 2000) Mandy Patinkitt. Vanessa l.. Williams. Kevin (‘lash. 72min. The pre-school. educational appeal of Sesame Street's cute furry red stalwart doesn't really transfer to cinema as well as his spiritual cousins. The Muppets. lilmo loses his security blartket down ()scar the (irouch's trashcan. Once inside. he is transported to the hellish (iroucltland. where he must retrieve it from the hands of the land's most abhorrent resident Huxley (Patirtkitt). l)espite sturdy support frotn all the Street regulars: Big Bird. ()scar. (’ookie Monster. Bert and lirnie. this is strictly for the littlest family members. MacRobert. Stirling.
Anita and Me ( 12A) .0. (Metitt Husey in. l'K. 2002) (‘handeep l'ppal. Anna Brewster. Kathy Burke. 06min. It's 1072 and 12-year-old Meena (l'ppal) lives in a Midlands mining village with her struggling Indian parents when the blonde. mysterioUs Attita (Brewster) enters her life with her deeply dysfunctional family. Meerta becomes besotted with this Aryan vision. but it is a friendship that is to test her family along witlt her sense of cultural heritage. Meera Syal has
FTH
Tues 74th Ian
Rare Birds (12A) 7:30pm Thurs 76th Jan
Morvem Callar (15) 7.30pm Tues 2 lst Jan
Maelstrom (15) 7 530,0")
Tickets and further information from The Steeple Box office
(Tel: 01324 506850)
or on the day from the hall
30 THE LIST 2» 1i;.J;irt Home;
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 Ht'iseyin who handles this tender coming-of-age drama with all the subtlety of a Leatherhead cricket ground grass roller. ()deon At The Quay. Glasgow.
Antwone Fisher ( 15) 000 (Denzel Washington. LS 2002) Derek Luke. Denzel Washington. l l7min. How Washington chose Antwone Fisher's autobiographical memoir for his directorial debut is art extraordinary story. Fisher was working in the Sony studio’s gift shop when the ()scar- winning actor committed himself to telling l’isher's harrowing but ultimately life- affirming story of survival. Abattdoned by his mother to the care of a foster home. where he suffered years of physical. mental arid sexual abuse. Fisher ended up in the IS .‘s'avy. Here he found a surrogate family. but his unresolved past meant that he was always irt trouble. mostly for fighting. Such a story. in which a sympathetic shrink helps a young black man come to terms with the shame and anger engendered by a cruel childhood. could easily ltave been reduced to TV-movie platitudes. Washington's restrained direction. however. is candid bttt never exploitative. inspirational but never sentimental. (‘ameo. lidinburgh.
Asterix and the Big Fight (t')
0.. (Keith lngham. (K. 1080) With the voices of Bill ()ddie. Michael lilphick. Andrew Sachs. 82min. Asterix celebrates his 30th anniversary with this new animated feature it) which he arid his band of plucky (iallic mates take on the might of the Roman army. ('('A. (ilasgow.
Avalon ([7) .0 (Barry Levinson. l'S. I000) Armin Mueller-Stahl. Elizabeth Perkins. Joan Plowright. Aidan Quinn. ltlomin. Japanese artirtte wi/ ()shii (Ghost in the Shell) makes a foray into the live action arena with this sci-fi thriller revolving around a virtual reality game ttatned Avalon. Set in art unttatned liastern liuropean country (arid filmed irt Polish) at an unspecified future date. the action revolves around a group of young people who are addicted to the game in which they don body armour and hi-tech weaponry to do battle with automated opponents. As you'd expect. ()shii engineers sortie pretty stunning visuals. tnixirtg retro communist liastern liurope sets and props with contemporary digital effects innovations. However. the story is as old as Marshall Tito's father‘s granddad. Worse. though. is the geek factor: from references to role playing games through muddled Arthurian legends to soulless (ioth heroes and heroines. Ara/(m is decidedly adolescent. See review. l-‘ilmhouse. lidinburgh. BAFTA Shorts ((cert tbc)) (Various. l'K. 2002) 70min. Award-wirming short and animated films. (‘(’A. (ilasgow.
Barney’s Great Adventure (1') 0... (Steve (iomer. [S 1008) George Hearn. Shirley Douglas. 72min. A kids TV phenomenon. Barney the purple dinosaur's big screen debut finds him down on a farm with a trio of kids itt search of a magic egg. The all singin‘. all dancin’ Barney struts his way through the simple story with regular singalongs. making the filth perfect for under-fives. MacRobert. Stirling.
Bay of Love and Sorrows ( 18) (Tim Southam. ('anada. 2002) 05min. Set ii) the early 1070s. this sombre drama concerns a rich kids social experiment to share his wealth which goes disastroust wrong. (it’ll (ilasgow; liilmhouse. lidinburgh. Blood Work ( 15) 0 ((‘lim liastwood. l'S. 2002) (‘lint liastwood. Anjelica Houston. Jeff Daniels. Mitt tbc. After succumbing to a ltcart attack while pursuing a killer. liBl profiler Terry Mc('aleb (liastwood) is given a transplant. Two years later. the organ donor's sister shows up attd tells Mc(‘aleb her sibling was murdered. But liastvvood's a bit old for the action sequences nowadays attd age also seems to have affected his lilmmaking. Scrappy directing and sloppy editing do no favours to anyone involved. The dialogue. loosely based on Michael (‘onnelly‘s novel. flops onto the screen rather than lings. This
could be any 70s TV crime series. Selected release.
Blue Planet (l') (Various. 2001) Mitt tbc. An awesome trip around. above and beyond our planet on the [MAX giant screen which prompted the tilts/tritium) Post to write: ‘If a picture is worth a thousand words. one image from Blue Planet is worth a zillion'. lMAX. (ilasgow.
The Blue Room (cert tbc) (Various. t'K. 200i ) Mitt tbc. Art evening of short films by new and established local filmmakers. follow ed by discussions of what you‘ve seen. If you wartt your film to be considered for future gatherings. then send a VHS copy to Film And Video Access (‘entre. 25a South West Thistle Street l.ane. lidinburgh. IiH2 lliW. Or call 0131 220 0220. (‘ameo. lidinburgh.
The Bourne Identity ( IZA) .00 (Doug l.iman. (S. 2002) Matt Damon. l-‘ranka Potertte. (‘live ()wen. (‘hris (‘oopert l IXmin. Damon plays a l‘S-trained master assassin who. during the film's opening. is fished out of the Mediterranean riddled with bullet holes and suffering from amnesia. As he attempts to piece together the jigsaw puule of his past (with the help of Potente‘s (ierman traveller Marie). his Stateside bosses activate three more killers to silence him. Loosely adapted from Robert l.itdlum's Xlls spy novel. this espionage thriller works to undermine the cliches of the genre. but ultimately plays like a souped-down Bond filttt. However. l.iman keeps the action lively and beefed-up Damon acquits himself well. ('ameo. lidinburgh.
Bowling for Columbine ( )5) .000 (Michael Moore. IS. 2002) l 10mm. The all-conquering Moore asks this question about America: ‘Are we a nation of gun nuts‘.’ ()r are we just nuts." Provoked by the events of 20 April I000. the day 13 people were sltot dead by two pupils at ('olumbine High School irt l.ittleton. (‘olorado and the day the [S cortducted its largest bombing action in the Kosovan War. the inquisitive filmmaker arid renowned satirist looks far attd wide to hard to find the answers to some pretty tough questions. ()n the way he meets (ioth rock figurehead Marilyn Manson. members of the Michigan Militia who argue that ‘being armed is an American responsibility". and finally president of the NRA. ('harlton Heston. Some may find his shock tactics and use of dark humour reprehensible. but as the 20 April I000 showed. desperate times call for desperate measures. Selected release.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s ( IS) 0000 (Blake lidwards. l'S. l0ol ) Audrey Hepburn. (ieorge Peppard. Patricia .\'eal. Buddy libsen. Mickey Rooney. l 15min. ‘How Do I look'." asks original waif Hepburn in the role of borderline schi/ophrenic Holly (iolightly. ‘Very (iood. I must say I‘m ama/ed‘ replies Peppard it) the role of fr'ttstrated writer and part-time
gigolo Paul Varjak. The iconic Hepburn has never ittade neurosis look so good. and while the filttt may have numerous redeeming features (not least the exquisite einentatogt'aphy by liran/ l5. Plarte and the swinging soundtrack by Henry Mancini). it is she who remains responsible for making it such a well-loved classic adapted from the novel by 'l'rutttan ('apote. l‘ilmltouse. iidinburgh.
Brigadoon (P( t) O. (Vincertte
Minnelli. l'S. 105-1) (iene Kelly. ('yd Charisse. Van Johnson. l08min. Two yanks on vacation in Scotland discover a sleepy village that comes alive once every hundred years. Rather flat arid uninvolv irtg Minnelli musical. especially in comparison with his other Fifties work. with the unconvincing
(artd unintentionally hilarious) Scots background the main problerrt. (El-T. (ilasgow.
Bundy t 18) .0 (Matthew Bright. t'S. 2002) Michael Reilly Burke. Alexa Jago. Diana Kauffmart. 00min. ()ne of America‘s more prolific serial killers. Ted Bundy is suspected of over l50 murders between the years I073 and 1078. In this film. shown from Ted's perspective. Bright focuses on the dichotomy betvv eett the apparent Joe Normal and the inhuman killer. ()ccasional original footage is the extent of the documentary drive. however. as no attempt is made to examine Ted's psychology. Those with a genuine interest in serial killers would do better to seek out one of the many chillingly monotorted documentaries. t'(i(' Renfrew Street. (ilasgow.
City by the Sea ( IS) 00 (Michael (‘aton-Jones. IS. 2002) Robert De .\'iro. Frances Dormand. James l-‘ranco. l0h’min. De .\'iro plays New York homicide detective Vincent l.a.\larca. who lives a life of solitude and dedication to his work. He keeps his girlfriend. Michelle (Dormand. wasted here). at arm's length until one day he has to confront his past when he returns to his old stomping ground Long lslattd to investigate a drugs-related murder. The rnairt suspect turns out to be his long forgotten abandoned son ‘Joey' Nova (Franco). It's a great story; it should be it's true. based on a newspaper article by Mike McAlary. However. this is pedestrian stuff that litttps towards its compromised attd predictable conclusion. See review. (ieneral release.
0 City of God ( 18) ooooo (l-"ernando Meirelles. Bra/il. 2002) l20mirt. The international resurgence of Latin American cinema show s no signs of slowing dowrt. l‘ollowing the likes ()t~ ('entru/ Station. :lntul‘r'y l’erms. l' 'Iir .tlrtmu 'limt/tten and .Vine Qtu't'tty comes at) exhilarating Bra/ilian drama. ('t'tv o/timl. Based on Paulo l.ins's sprawling novel and spanning some three decades. its an epic account of the growth of organised drug-dealing in a slum housing project. the so-called ('ity of (iod irt Rio de Janeiro. See preview and review. Selected release.
Comfort and Joy (PG) 000 (Bill l'iorsyth. l'K. 1084) Mitt the. Bill Paterson. lileattot' David. Patrick Malaltide. Rikki l‘ulton. A quirky Scottish comedy. along the littes of l'iot'sytlt's earlier (it‘egutjv'y (itrl. which doesn't quite hit the mark in the same endearing way. Paterson is it) fine forrtt. though. as a disc jockey with more personal problems than he cat) handle who tnanages to get caught up in an underworld dispute over the territorial rights of ice cream vans. (il’l‘. (ilasgovv.
The Crooked Mile (t') (Stephen Kane. Ireland. 200i ) 77min. Quirky road titov ie in which an odd couple. an unusually mature nirte-yeaitold and a tvv'entysomething college drop out. embark on a trip. (‘ue flash cars artd fast tractors plus a film icon from the l050s. (il'wl‘. (ilasgovv. Cyberworld (Po) (Various. 3002) Mir) tbc. .\'evv 3D film for the giant screen featuring animated characters from Ant: to The Sinrpsmts. IMA.\'. (ilasgovv.
The Dancer Upstairs ( IS) 0000 (Joltn Malkov iclt. l'S/Spain. 2002) Javier Bardem. Laura Morante. Juan Diego Botto. 133mm. Malkovich‘s first film as a director is set in an unnamed Latin American country where honest. underpaid police
ilt\ estigator AugtIstin Reias (Bardem) is trying to track down the shadowy leader of a ruthless terrorist organisation. The state strikes back with ferocity of its ow I). but Rejas strives to remain uncorrupted. ltts only solace a developing roittantic friendship with his daughter‘s ballet teacher (.\lorante). lts portrait of violent fanaticism all too timely. 'I‘lte Ihtneer ('pstur'rs is chilling. morally complex. psychologically astute and sorttetimes mordantly funny. .-\s you‘d expect. its also superbly acted. above all by the magnificent Bardem. l'(i(' Renfrevv Street. (ilasgow: l’(}(‘. lidinburgh. Deathwatch ( )5) 0 (Michael J Bassett. l'K. 2002) Jamie Bell. 03min. A World War 1 ghost story vvlticlt lacks