Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
After Life l 15) ... (Alison Peebles. l'K. 2003) Lindsay Duncan. Kevin McKidd. Paula Sage. Shirley Henderson. 104mm. May (Duncan) looks after Roberta (Sage). her 21-year»old daughter with Downs. Her other child Kenny (McKidd) is an ambitious journalist. He drifts in and out of their lives. always putting the stress of his workload over spending time with his old mum and sis. But then .May discovers she has cancer and Kenny has to re-evaluate his life. Moving. if fairly predictable drama. l'(i(‘ Ren/rew Street. Glasgow; Glasgow; Ster ('enturv ('inerna. Ifdinburjeh.
The Alamo ( 12A) 0. (Joht) l.ee Hancock. l'S. 2004) Dennis Quaid. Billy Bob Thornton. Jason Patric 13(iniin. See review. page 1-1. (ii'rtel'ul release.
Around the World in 80 Days (PG) 0. (Frank (‘oraci . l'SA. 200-1) Jackie ('han. Steve ('oogan. Jim Broadbent. (‘ecille De France. 120mm. Slapstick. comic update of Jules Verne's classic adventure story with an all star cast. Jules Verne's Victorian novel is repackaged as a vehicle for Fast-West martial arts superstar Jackie (‘han and British comedian Stcv c (‘oogan with terrible results. Fidelity lo Verne is largely abandoned as many characters have been recast and. to put it bluntly. this action-comedy isn't funny. Brunlon 'l'heatr'e. lz'dinburjeh.
As Good as it Gets ( IS) 000
(James I. Brooks. l’S. 1997) Jack Nicholson. llelen lltitit. (ireg Kinnear. 139mm. Neurotic writer Melvin suffers from obsessive-compuIsive disorder. btit compensates for his lonely life by becoming a master of abuse. ('arol. the waitress in a local restaurant. is the only person tough enough to take him on. As romantic comedies go. it's an odd pairing. but the match works thatiks to a sharply witty script and spot-on performances from Nicholson and lltiiit. ()deon a! the Quay. (flax-govt; (ilus‘gou:
Asterix and Obelix Take on Caesar (PG) 000 ((‘laude Zidi. France/ Belgium. 2000) (‘hristian (‘1avier. (ierard Depardieu. Roberto Benigni.
1 10min. (‘lavier and Depardieu lead the way as the film's dynamic (iaulish duo. juiced tip on their secret super strength- giving potion. dispensing with the Roman army iii a slapstick and downright chirpy way. Benigiii also pops up as the Roman army crook who plans to overthrow Caesar. Asterix can take its place alongside Superman and Batman as one of the successful comic conversion jobs. (ir‘ovv'enoi; (ilavgoii‘.
At Five in the Afternoon (Panj E Asr) (L’) 0.. (Samira Makhmalbaf. France/Iran. 2003) Agheleh Rezaie. Abolgani Yousefrali. Razi Mohebi. 106mm.
Sylvie Testiid gets
the Fear and Trembling te land of the rising sun
The Taliban have lied and Kabul lies in ruins. A determined young woman. Noqreh (Re/are). dreams of becoming president of Afghanistan and receives encouragement from a recently returned poet (Mohebi ). Makhmalbaf's allegorical account of post- Taliban existence. providing a v iv id portrait of a shattered country tentativer emerging from its collective nightmare. (1 1-1. (iluvumi.
Bad Education (La Mala Educacion) ( 15) 00000 (l’cdro Almodovar. Spain. 2001) (iael (iarcia Bernal. Fele Martinez. Daniel (iimene/ ('acho. l.lui's llomar. 105mm. A successful young movie director linrique (Martinelr receives an unexpected visitor ~ someone claiming to be his childhood friend and lover Ignacio (Beriial ). who now prefers to be called Angel. He shows linrique a short story The 1'ivii about a transsexual singer Zahara (also Bernalr who sleeps with a married admirer called linrique and who attempts lo blackmail the priest Father Manolo ((‘aeho) who abused her schoolboy self. But who exactly is Angel and why is he carrying around lganacio's work'.’ And What! is the connection between Manolo and the mysterious Berenguer (llomarr'.‘ Possibly the finest ‘x‘slinodrama' to date. this si/lles with llitchcockian verve and Ripleyesque menace. At) absolute delight. Almodovar is undoubtedly one of the finest filmmakers working in liurope today. ('( 1-1. (ilaxgon:
Before Sunset ( IS) 0000 (Richard l.inklater. l'S. 200-1) lithan llaw kc. Julie Delpy. 80min. l.ink|ater's beautiful follow up to his 1995 film lie/ore Sunrise. (amen. Ifdin/mrgh.
The Best of Youth Part 2 (La Meglio Gioventu) ( IS) 0000 (Marco Tullio (iiordana. Italy. 2003) Adriana Asti. Sonia Bergamasco. Alessio Boni. Fabri/io (iifuni. Luigi l.o (‘ascio. 183mm. Second part of this superb sweeping epic about one Italian family. two brothers and a whole lot of political unrest. We are into the 8le now. but what will happen to our idealistic protagonists'.’ (amen. Edinburgh.
The Bourne Supremacy ( IBA) 0... (Peter (ireengrass. l'S/(ierniany. 200-1) Matt Damon. Julia Stiles. Brian ('ox. Joan Allen. 108mm. Bourne's back and he still can’t remember a thing. (iener‘a/ release.
Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) ( IS) .0... (Jean-late (iodard. France. 1959) Jean-Paul Belmondo. Jean Seberg. 90min. A chic Parisian petty criminal (Beliiiondo) and his American girlfriend (Seberg) drift through a world of stolen cars and aimless romance towards an inexorable downbeat finale. (iodard‘s debut feature provoked quite a stir in its day for its carefree arrogance with the conventions of filmic grammar. but today it stands as a casual love letter to the American B-movie crime picture. I‘i/rnhouse. Edinburgh.
Bugs! 3D (1') (Mike Slee. l'K. 2003) ~10min. Dame Judi Deticli narrates this giant screen 31) film which focUses on the life cycles of a praying mantis and a butterfly from their birth to their inevitable demise in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia.
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Catwoman ( 13x» 0 (Pilot. t's‘. 2004) llalle Berry. Sharon Stone. Beniamin Bratt 10-1niin \\ her) mousy graphic designer Patience Phillips (Berry accidentally learns dangerous secrets about an .lllllulg'clllg‘ cream soon to be launched
by a global cosmetics corporation she is flushed down a waste pipe into the river. where she drowns litll .t lityslcl'lolls lagyptian cat breathes iicw lite itito her and she is reborn as ('atvvonian. Dreadtul. trite. big budget superhero flick that manages to waste the talents of all involved in ll (it'lli'l'ul I'i'li'riu'.
The Cement Garden ( Is) 000 (Andrew Birkin. l'K/(iermanyr'France. 1993) ('harlotte (iainsbourg. Andrew Robertson. Sinead ('usack. 105mm, Based on the acclaimed book by Ian Mcliw an. Birkin's aw ard-winniiig film intertwines themes of incest and death w ill) innocent insight. Not so much a coming-ol-age movie as a regression into childhood. it is meticulously observed and contains flaw less performances from its young cast. I'i/rnhouve. Izdinbur'eh.
The Children’s Midsummer Night’s Dream (1')... ((‘liristiiic lid/ard. FR. 2001) 115mm. liveryone and their mother has been attempting to re- imagine Shakespeare for. y'know. kids: MT\' Romeo and Juliet. shrew s being latncd in American high schools ( III 'I'hrncv Illate Aboui You). Btit this version of Shakey 's romantic fantasy gets that bit closer lo the kids by filling tls cast of princes. queens and fairies with. yep. kids. ()rdinary kids from ordinary schools taking a shot at Shakespeare. Ftill marks. (ilaveon l'ilrn 'I'healr'e. Glasgow.
The Chronicles of Riddick ( 15)
O. (Dav id 'l‘wohy. l'S. 200-1) Vin Diesel. ('olm Feore. Thandie Newton. Judi Dench. 1 19min. See review. page 15. (it'llenl/ I'i'lt'tlvt'.
A Cinderella Story (Po) 0
(Mark Rosinan. l'S/(‘anada 2004) Hilary Duff. Jennifer Coolidge. (’had Michael Murray. Dan Byrd. 95min. ('inderella (Duff) is a (low (1} schoolgirl. forced to work all hours of the day in a diner by her wicked step mum (Coolidge). ller Prince ('harining (Murray) is the captain of the hiin school football team and they communicate ov er the internet and by text using pen names. Then the movie starts to go downhill. ll. you can believe that. General release.
Connie and Carla Do LA ( l2..\)
0. (Michael l.embeck. 1S. 2004) Toni (‘ollette. Nia Vardalos. 97min. After a botched drug deal in ('hicago airport. frustrated entertainers (‘onnie (Vardalos) and ('arla (Collette) head for LA. reinventing themselves as male drag queens to escape mob attention. Really rubbish take on Some Like it Hot. written by Vardalos. the lady who gave the world the equally cxcreable My Big Fat (ir‘eek Bedding. A few good show tunes though. ()deon. lz'dinbur'gh.
Dhoom (tbc) (Sanjay (iadhvi. India. 2004) Abhishek Bachchan. l'day Chopra. John Abraham. lisha Deol. Rimi Sen. 127mm. Gangs. birds and high speed motorcycle chases get the Bollywood treatment in this new film from the makers of Hum Tum. ()deon a! the Quay. Glasgow. Glasgow; Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (12A) 0.. (Rawson Marshall Thurber. US. 2004) Vince Vaughn. Ben Stiller. Christine Taylor. Rip Tom. 92min. Average Joe gym owner Peter La Fleur (Vaughn) has 30 days to raise $50,000 or (ilobo owner White Goodman (Stiller) will bulldoze his gym. Luckily there's a dodgeball
toumament in Sin (‘ity with a grand prize of
(take a guess)? Demented basketball/sports movie satire that contains enough sight gags and humorous quips to allow one to overlook the simplistic plot. Siiller's borderline insane body builder is hilarious. General release.
Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut (15) C... (Richard Kelly. (S. 2002) Jake (1y lienhaal. Drew Barry more. Patrick Sway re. 1 13min. Kelly 's cult debut feature. with an extra 20 minutes added. See preview. page 12. (’arneo. Edinburgh.
index Film
26 Aug-9 Sea 203-”. THE LIST 17