Film
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ( 18) secs (Stephan Iilliott. Australia. 1994) Terence Stamp. Hugo Weaving. Guy Pearce. 104mm. Two transvestites and a transsexual team up fora trip across the Australian outback for a drag show in Alice Springs. Serious issues pop up from time to time. but the emphasis is on the camp humour of the in-bus bitchiness and outrageous
catalyst for big time self improvement: he quits his job. digs out his old rock albums and scores marijuana from the kid next door. And these teenage kicks return to Lester what's been missing from his life for years: pleasure and happiness. So so comic essay on the state of the American dream. C electric. Edinburgh.
Appleseed ( IS) oo (Kazuyoshi Katayama. Japan. 1991 ) 71min. In a future world. run by a singular corporate entity. policewoman Dunan and cyborg sidekick Bularis track down terrorist AJ Sebastian. whose criminal acts threaten the delicate balance of their utopian city. The character animation is rudimentary. even by manga standards; the backgrounds don't even
Linklater‘s remake of the over-familiar property of 1976 Michael Ritchie/Walter Matthau comedy The Bad News Bears comes up with a fresh. light take on the material that makes the genre cliches easy to bear. Thornton steps into Matthau's shoes as the offbeat individual who moulds a group of misfit kids into a coherent unit. although this time it's Little League baseball which provides the setting. It's hardly essential viewing but it is unpretentious. amoral fun. Selected release. Barsaat (PG) (Suneel Darshan. India. 2005) Bobby Deol. Bipasha Basu. Priyanka ChopraBig budget remake of Raj Kapoor‘s 1949 love story about a naive but intelligent young man who comes to the big city from
gallop. and should intrigue adults as well as younger viewers. C electric. Edinburgh. Blithe Spirit (PG) .0” (David Lean. ITK. I945) Rex Harrison.Constance Cummings. Kay Hammond. Margaret Rutherford. 9(imin. A cynical novelist and his new wife are haunted by the mischievous ghost of his first wife. Noel Coward‘s stage play glides successfully onto the big screen Using dated. but adequate. special effects and wonderfully British dialogue. C electric. Edinburgh. Bombon el Perro (15) cos
(Carlos Sorrin. Argentina. 2004) Juan Villegas. Walter Donado. 98min. In the rough land of Patagonia. a 52-year-old mechanic. Juan Villegas. hits hard times
aspire to the .rikira class. and only the hardware seems to have been drawn with relish which says a lot about the filmmakers and more about the target audience. ('ineii'orld Ren/rew Street. Glasgow. Glasgow.
the countryside and finds love. Selected release.
The Battleship Potemkin (PG) .0... (Sergei Eisenstein. USSR. 1925) A. Antonov. Vladimir Barski. Grigori Alexandrov. 75min. Made for the 20th
when he loses his job. His fortunes turn when he repairs a car and receives payment in the shape of a bound named Bombon. For Juan. this is the first step towards a career as a dog exhibitor. Charming road movie from the director of anniversary of the 1905 revolution. Historias Mininias. Glasgow Eilni Theatre. Iiisenstein‘s all-time classic follows the Glasgow.
mutiny by the crew of the Prince Potent/tin . * Born to Fight ( l8) 0.. and the support given by the local civilian Rittikrai. Thailand. 2004) Chupong population. who are mown down by the Changprung. Nappon Gomarachun.
Czar‘s troops in the famous ()dessa Steps Santisuk Promsiri. Dan Chupong. 91min. sequence. Iixpressive camera technique and See review. page 27. Cineii-orld. Renfrew
a grasp of editing that wrote the textbooks Street. Glasgow.
are just some of the innovations that put Brodeuses (A Common Thread) Iiisenstein and Russian film firmly on the ( 18) 0.. (Iileonore Faucher. France. cinematic map. Part of Eisenstein season. 2004) Lola Naymark. Ariane Ascaride. Film/louse. Edinburgh. Thomas Laroppe. 89min. See review. page Bewitched (PG) .0 (Nora 25. Eilnihouse. Edinburgh.
Iiphron. ITS. 2005) Nicole Kidman. Will The Business (18) 0” (Nick Ferrell. Shirley MacLaine. Michael Caine. Love. UK. 2005) Danny Dyer. Tamer Jason Schwartzman. 101mm. Dire. one Ilassan. Geoff Bell. Georgina Chapman. dimensional. high concept reworking of the 96min. See feature. page 7. and review. erstwhile TV show that lacks magic. Jack page 28. Selected release.
(Ferrell). an actor whose career is on the The Cave ( 12A) .0 (Bruce Hunt. wane. takes the role of square husband US. 2005) Cole Hauser. Morris Chestnut. Darrin in a remake of a classic sitcom — in Iiddie Cibrian. Rick Ravanello. 97min. See the hope that it will revive his career. To review. page 25. General release.
protect his star status he insists that an Cedar Bar ( 18) (Alfred Leslie. US. unknown be cast as Samantha. Iinter Isobel 2002) 84min. A provocative audio-visual (Kidman). who by a quirk of fate is a witch trip. which sees Leslie pitching a selection desperate to live life as a mere mortal. of his home video recordings (of
General release. pornography and the holocaust. amongst Big (PG) .0. (Penny Marshall. other things) against a 1997 stage reading 1988) Tom Hanks. Elizabeth Perkins. of his play The Cedar Bar Eilnihouse. Robert Loggia. 104min. 'I‘welve-year-old Edinburgh.
Josh (David Moscow) has no luck with the Charlie and the Chocolate
school beauty because of his diminutive Factory (PG) 0... (Tim Burton. stature. However. upon discovering a US/UK. 2005) Johnny Depp. Freddie neglected fairground wishing machine. he Highmore. David Kelly. Helena Bonham wakes next morning to find himself Carter. Noah Taylor. 1 15min. [Excellent and wrapped in adult packaging (Hanks). Of all faithful adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic the body-swap movies. Big is by far the 1964 book. Bizarre and beautiful to look at. most successful. because Hanks offers a this is Burton at the top of his game.
most appealing characterisation as the General release.
dopey innocent at large. and because it Un Chien Andalou ( I8) .0... (Luis treats the situation with a little intelligence. Buriuel. France. 1928) Simone Mareuil.
C electric. Edinburgh. Pierre Batcheff. Jaime Miravilles. Salvador Billy Elliot ( 15) 0... (Stephen Dali. Luis Bunuel. sundry dead donkeys. Daldry. 17k. 2000) Jamie Bell. Julie 17min. Classic Spanish surrealism. with the Walters. Gary Lewis. I 1 1min. Billy (Bell) famous eyeball-slitting scene and a great finds release from life‘s daily drudgery. deal of bizarre imagery and obscure through ballet dancing. As unlikely a meaning. Seventeen minutes not easily leisure pursuit as that might be for a forgotten. Part of Francis Bacon season. teenage boy growing up in the recession-hit Eilmhouse. Edinburgh.
Yorkshire of the 80s (and that‘s the point). The Clan (Le Clan) ( l8) 0..
it becomes young Billy‘s ticket out of hard (Gael Morel. France. 2004) Nicolas Cazale. times. Making his film debut. theatre Stephane Rideau. Thomas Dumerchez. director Daldry handles the political 90min. See review. pag 25. Glasgow Film backdrop and dramatic foreground with Theatre. Glasgow; I-‘ilrnhouse. Edinburgh. equal assurance. The dance routines Countess Dracula ( 18) «0
provide much of the film‘s humour and (Peter Sasdy. CK. 1970) Ingrid Pitt. Nigel quite overwhelming feelgood factor. C Green. Sandor Files. 93min. Pitt gives a electric. Edinburgh. memorable performance as the decadent Black Beauty (l’) 0.. (Caroline vampire inspired by Countess Elisabeth Thomson. LS. 1994) Sean Bean. David Bathory. although the other actors around Thewlis. Peter Cook. 82min. The most her aren‘t in the same class. Blood. virgins. famous horse in children's literature returns depravity — all in a day's work for Hammer. in a faithful screen version by debut C electric. Edinburgh.
director Thomson. whose work as a * Crash ( 15) C... (Paul Haggis. screenwriter — The Secret Garden. Edward [IS/Germany. 2004) Sandra Bullock. Don Si‘iswrhands. The Nightmare Before Cheadle. Matt Dillon. Jennifer Iisposito. Christmas taps into a darker current of 1 13min. A car accident brings together a group of strangers in Los Angeles. Impressive polemical drama investigating racism in modern day LA. An insightful and occassionally brilliant treatise supported by some very fine acting. General release.
* Czech Dream (12A)”OO (Vit Klusak/Filip Remunda. Czech Republic.
2004) 87min. See review, page 27.
Film/muse. Edinburgh.
musical set-pieces. C electric. Edinburgh. The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl (t') oo (Robert Rodriguez. US. 2005) Taylor Lautner. Taylor Dooley. Cayden Boyd. George Lopez. 93min. A boy‘s imaginary superhero friends come to life and joins Around the World in 80 Days (PG) him on a series of adventures. Bland post- .0 (Frank (‘oraci . ISA. 2004) Spy Kids kiddie flick from Rodriguez. Jackie Chan. Steve Coogan. Jim Broadbent. General release. Cecille De France. 120mm. Slapstick. Agatha and the Storm (Agata e la comic update ofJules Verne‘s classic Tempesta) ( l5) (Silvio Soldini. ltaly/ adventure story with an all star cast. Jules Switzerland/ l'K . 2004) Licia Maglietta. Verne's Victorian novel is repackaged as a Giuseppe Battiston. Iimilio Solfrizzi. vehicle for Fast-West martial arts superstar 124mm. Soldini turns his hand to romantic Jackie Chan and British comedian Steve comedy with his Bread and 'I'ulips muse (‘oogan with terrible results. Fidelity to Licia Maglietta the sexy older woman of Verne is largely abandoned as many Italian cinema. Maglietta plays Agata. a characters have been recast and. to put it bookshop owner in Genoa whose yuppie bluntly. this action-comedy isn't funny. architect brother discovers he is adopted Grosi-eno); Glasgow. and his real parents are peasants. (‘onveyed Baadassss ( l5) 0.. (Mario Van through a bizarre love triangle. this lushly Peebles. LS. 2003) Mario Van Peebles. Joy shot film is a capricioUs romantic tale of Bryant. TK Carter. Terry Crews. 108mm. mid-life crises. Glasgow l-‘ilm Theatre. [)ramatised documentary about the making Glasgow of Melvin Van I’eeble's classic 1971 American Beauty ( 18) 0... (Sam blaxploitation movie made by his son Mendes. 1999) Kevin Spacey. Annette Mario. Weirdly nepotistic but fascinating. Bening. Thora Birch. 12 l min. Suburban l'ilmlmtis‘e. Edinburgh. husband and father Lester Burnham The Bad News Bears ( 12A) .0.
(Richard Linklater. l'S. 3005) Billy Bob
Thornton. Greg Kinnear. Marcia Gay
Harden. Sammi Kane Kraft. 1 13min.
(Panna
(Spacey. giving a career best performance) hates his life. but a close encounter with his daughter‘s gorgeous school friend is the
childhood vision. The pace sets off at a
. ° ' John Maybury’s brilliant 1998 film about artist Love IS Francis Bacon’s seven year relationship with small-time villain, model and muse George Dyer gets a rare theatrical screening. Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig as Bacon and Dyer respectively are remarkable. Love is the Devil is showing as part of the Francis Bacon: Portraits and Heads short season of films which tie with the current exhibition showing at the Scottish National Gallery of Art.
I Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh (Tue 30 Aug only).
30 THE LIST 25 Aug—8 Sci) 2005