everything one has a right to expect from a supernatural moyie terror. suspense. atmosphere. eyen a ghost. A squad of British soldiers is stranded behind enemy lines. Taking refuge in a fog-bound nearby trench. they immediately sense that something is wrong. Where are the (ierman soldiers who were holding this position’.’ Then. one by one. members of the squad start meeting with inysterious. Violent deaths. Images and ideas are equally Vague and murky. forcing the actors to act in a mist of confusion. [filly Iz'l/intl star Bell's limited acting abilities are cruelly esposed by the sloppy dialogue. which is littered with historical anomalies. including modern military slang. A comprehensiy e disaster. t'(}(‘ Renfrew Street. (ilasgow: Sli(‘. Hamilton.
The Decline of the American Empire ( l8) .0. (Denys Arcand. Canada. 1986) Dominique Michel. l)orothee Berryman. Louise l’ortal. t0lmin. If the only ‘safe' xe\ left is the purely \ei'bal then this non-stop talking shop must be the safest film ey'er made. liight beings. four per sex. eat. drink. work-out and talk endlessly about their sexual hang-ups. fears and frustrations. Sometimes witty. sometimes insightful. often truthfully close to home but ultimately this is an o\ er-genei'ous dollop of interminable discourse. (il’l‘. (ilasgow’. i‘ilmhouse. lidinburgh.
Die Another Day( )2.-\) 000 (Lee 'Iiitnahori. l'K/t'S. 3002) Pierce Brosnan. llalle Berry. Rick Yune. l35min. ‘Bond 20' opens with 007 betrayed during a mission to assassinate rogue North Korean ('olonel Moon. which although successful sees him subsequently left to rot in prison. Released 1-1 months later. Bond makes the unearthing of the indiy'idual who betrayed him a personal yendetta. So far. so divergent from the standard Bond plot. 'l‘hereafter. how ey er. Die .-\Iu)I/1¢'I' I)(1_\' relaxes back into the familiar formula: globe—hoping. girls and gadgets. The appearance of Berry 's American agent. bikini-clad from the (’aribbean sea. is a direct reference to t'rsultt Andress‘ memorable entrance in Dr No. And the new film thus celebrates the Bond film franchise's 40th anniyersary by paying homage to pi‘ey'ious films. Howey er. Die Another Dar is a top heayy film. with a great opening set-piece and disappointing finale. Still. Brosnan remains more than up to the role. (ieneral release.
Dirty Pretty Things ( IN) 0.. (Stephen l-‘rears. l'K. 2002) 2003. 90min. In this gritty tale of London's illegal inunigrants Nigerian ()kw e lijiofor) and Turkish Senay ('l‘autou) make a dark discoy-ery about goings on at the hotel which they botl) work nights: the sale of human organs. The leads are good. particularly lijiofor. who elicits real sympathy as the wary Nigerian. Amelie star 'l’autou also impresses in her speaking part. Veteran director l‘t'carx knows how to get good performances out of his cast despite the language difficulties. But it's a shame none of the aboy e talents w ere sery ed w ith a
decetit script. one not full of cliched dialogue and unimaginatiye thriller genre cony entions. Selected release.
The Driver( 15) 0... (Walter Hill. t'S. l‘)7.\') Ryan ()‘Neal. Bruce l)ern. Isabelle Adiani. Ulmin. Hill‘s second film can be \ iew ed as either an e\istenlial thriller. or a car chase moy ie about an ice- cold getaway dt‘iyet' and the obsessiye cop trying to nail him. ’l‘ak‘e your pick. The dynamic chases riyal e\ en the most famous screeching w heelfest of them all in Bull/'11. l-'ilinliouse. lidinburgh.
8 Women t 15).... tl‘rancois ()/on. l‘rance. 200i) 103mm. A classy cast of l'i'ench diyas including ('atherine l)eneuye and Isabelle lluppert find themselyes embroiled in a murder mystery in the l‘rench country side. Which of these glamorous women is guilty.’ l’art musical. part w hodunnit with plenty of bitchiness. w it and Lu ish tinery. Selected release.
0 1 1’ 09” 01 - September 1 1
( IZA) 0... (Various. l‘rance. 2002) 135mm. lileyen films renowned international film directors that each last I l minutes. 0 seconds and 1 frame and which reflect their feelings about the 'l‘w in low ers tragedy. l‘rom ligyptian director Youssef ('hahine's whimsical take on how we sanctify certain dead aboy e others through Ken l,oach's documentary detailing the mum of I! September 1070 when America helped remoye the demm‘ratically elected socialist ('hilean goy ernment by bankrolling the l’inochet led coup to Amos (iitai'x cley er and funny condemnation of the media. what this group of directors hay e to say is both pow erlul and in most cases dismisxiye of the party line. ('ameo. lidinburgh.
De Niro on autopilot in City by the Sea
Elvis Live -That’s the Way it Is (t') .0. (Denis Saunders. t‘S. l‘)70) lily is l’t'esIe). l0Sniin. A celebration of the King's return. alter nearly a decade in the doldrums. to liye performance. Saunders' largely uncritical documentary combines footage of l’resley ‘s l.as Vegas concerts
w ith interyiews with fans and entourage. ()odles of material for I'.l\ is ohsessi\e\. but only the odd glimpse of former glories to enthuse the uncommitted. (it"l‘. (ilasgow. Enough ( 15) C. (Michael Apted. IS. 2002) Jennifer l.ope/. Billy (‘ampbelL Juliette l.ewis. llSmin. l.opc/ plays Slim. a feisty waitress who is swept off her feet by Mitch ((‘ampbell ). who is as handsome as he is charming as he is wealthy. 'l'hey moye into a big house. get hitched and lime a kid. Bliss. l-tilil Slim disco\ ers the hard way that hubby is a wife beater. Slim eyentually decides that. yep. enough is enough. This is where the film. tlitis far largely belieyable and reasonably compelling. becomes frankly i'idictilous. Realising that she needs to confront her abuser. Slitn become a ninja and attempts to kill her man. A case of too much and not enough. SlK'. Hamilton.
Everest (l‘i (Various. t'S. 2002) .\lin tbc. IMAN big screen presentation. l.\lA.\. (ilasgow.
Gangs of New York t IN) 0.. (Martin Scorsese. t‘S. 3003) l.eonardo l)i('aprio. (’aiiieron l)ia/. l)aniel Day— l,ewix. lols'min. Thirty years in the making and plagued with production problems. Scot'sese\ long cherished lilttt ahout the brutal street gangs who fought for control of a corner of late NH) New York (it) finally ai'riyes. and it's a big disappointment. the most noticeable flaw
index Film
is that Scorsese‘s efforts to tell an epic story. which encompasses prototype mobsters. the immigrant experience. racism. corrupt politicians and the Civil War. are serioust undermined by a flimsy romantic subplot iny'oly‘ing l)i('aprio's street urchin and Diaz's purse-snatcher. This has the unwanted result of compromising a fascinating history lesson with teen-pleasing romantic nonsense. 'l‘hink (imu/li'l/us meets 'Ii'mnit‘. But exert a poor film by Scorsese' standards is an interesting one by anyone else's. And if for no other reason. (Janey is worth seeing for Day -l.ewis' towering performance as the terrifying. charismatic anti-immigration gang leader Hill the Butcher. See featttre and (ex iew. (ieneral release. GoodFellas ( tis') .0000 (Martin Scorsese. t'S. l‘)‘)0) Robert De Niro. Ray l.iotta. Joe l’esci. Lorraine Braeo. l’aul Soryino. 145mm. l.iotta play-s Henry Hill. a real-life nut/low. with De Niro as his mentor in crime. And while the bullets. lists and can ing kniyes fly. Scorsese brings its back to that unay'oidable question yes. it's glamorotis and lucratiy e to liye this way. but can anyone really the with the consequences'.’ Winner of HAITI‘A awards for best lilttt. director and screenplay. and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Joe l’esci. SB('. Hamilton. 0 The Good Girl ( IS) 0000 (.‘yliguel Arteta. IS. 2003) Jennifer Aniston. John ('. Reilly. 'l'im Blake Nelson. 03min. Aniston breaks away from her safe image as ‘that kooky actress from l'i‘iemls' by making a film with director Arteta and scribe Mike White. who first made their mark with the (naryellously edgy (‘liiu‘k uml Burk. Here they cast Aniston as dowdy‘ supermarket girl Justine last. a prom queen w ho'x lost her crown and whose painter hubby l’hil (Reilly ) spends more time with his best friend Bubba (Nelson) than he does with het. Her chance for a great escape comes in the shape Holden (Jake (iy llenhaal ). the Salinger-obsessed checkout boy who falls for her. With less focus on her image. Aniston giyes a \ ulnerable and accomplished performance. And though The (final (itr/ lacks the anarchic energy of (‘Inu‘k and Buck. it is neyertheless indie lilmmaking at its best. See rey iew. Selected release. The Grinch (t’(}) 000 (Ron Howard. t'S. 3000) Jim (‘arrcy. 'l‘ay lot' .\lomsen. Jeffrey 'l‘ambor. l05min. Surprisingly. 'I‘lu’ (irinrli is the first the action feature to be adapted frotn the work of the world‘s best-selling children‘s author. Dr Seuss. And beneath sf\ magician Rick Baker‘s green costume (‘arrey the world's highest paid comedian wrecks glorious hayoc on his cloy ing sweet neighbours. the \Vhoy ians of \Vho-y illc. Howard lays the book‘s moral ('hristmas is about family not presents and the sickly -sw eet sentiment on pretty thick. [in Stun _‘ got the cross generational appeal right; golly gosh II()wat‘d\ (irint'li hasn't. ('arrey 's great though. .\lacRobert. Stirling.
11'09"llt MS?“
{I A.” 5'" '5‘ 3" 1 TIME OUT “£,It‘,'?:fi‘i.£71?'§ 'l" " THE GUARDIAN 1.53:5. " '- :‘ THE EVENING STAN AI‘ID
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FROM FRIDAY 10
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OFFICIAL SELECTION VENICE FILM FESTIVAL 2002 i FIPRESCI cnmcs’ PRIZE - KEN LOACH FOR BEST SHORT FILM
A FILM BY 11 DIRECTORS
SAMIRA MAKHMALBAF
CLAUDE LELOUCH
YOUSSEF CNAHiNE
DANIS TANOVIC
IDRISSA OUEDRAOGO
KEN LOACH I _ , ALEJANDNQ GONZALEZ INARRITU AMOS GITAI
MIRA NAIR
JANUARY
an: CAMEO tiara
SEAN PENN SHOHEI IMAMURA
(1 .).t" THE LIST 31