Film
The Da Vinci Code I l2.~\ l 0.
(Ron llouanll S. Zoom 'Ioiii llatilxx. Audie} 'Iautou. laii \Ielx'elleii. I’aul Bettaii} l-lh’iiiiii Ilouard'x tno and a hall hour };t\\ll-IL'\I dixpl.i_\x the uotxt Iialliiiaikx ol a lloll}\‘~ood ruxli-job. reiiiorxelexxI} eaxliiiig iii on a populai tad l)expite iiiee Ioeationx. uhai \xax a deeeiit page-turner eiiieigex ax a buiii-iiuiiibiiig iiielodiaiiia ol little iiiterext iii teiiiix ol either eineiiia oi tabloid llieolog} Iiu lat/iiilimeli ()l um. Izi/iIi/iure/i. Document Screenings tilk'l i\‘arioux. I K. Variouxi "lliiiiii. 'I‘hiee xliort Iiliiix iiiuxing on the Hillel) axked qtiextioii: doex iiiental iiixtabilit} aid the ei'eatioii ol art',’ l‘lllll\ are In .llll\l\ (lull/1' In St hijopliri'niu. ('eiling Han and :l Dill/'4 ii/I ( 'uu'. (‘( Ll. (llll\'."l’lt.
ET - The Extra-Terrestrial it'i O... iStexeii Spielberg. l'S. I‘l82/2llo2i I)ee \Vallaee-Stoiie. lleiir} ‘I'lioiiiax. l’eter ('otole. Illliniii l'ttl' the Illtli aiiiiixerxai') ol tIiix lable about a peaeeliil alieii iiiai‘ooiied on Izaitli. Spielbeig dtixted oll Iiix beloxed oiigiiial and ie»i‘eleaxed it iii a next and iiiipio\ ed loriii Ieattii’iiig digital tinkering tl;'l"x eiex. loi' example. liai e been ‘eiiliaiieed' to make Iiiiii appear more alieiii and iiexei‘ bel'oi'e xereeiied xeeiiex xiieli a.x Ii’I' lia\ mg a bath. Btit iiioxt iiitei'extiiig ix the exeixion oI all the Iii'eariiix the .>\inei‘iean authoritiex eliaxiiig III and Iiix liuiiiaii l'i‘ieiid lzlliot are non armed \\ itIi nothing more threatening than iiiobile [llltlllt‘\. 'l'Iiei‘e'x \oiiietliiiig a bit preeioux about thix kind ol' eleaiixiiig ol' the Iiliii. Still. ax a I'antax) adteiittiie lor kidx and “adult Ixidx' alike. ITI’ i‘eiiiaiiix xome kind ol' iiiodei‘ii elaxxie. I’art ol 5‘) Yeai'x ol Iill’l' xeaxoii. (i/‘oxi‘i'nm: (i/tiigon .‘ l‘l/Ill/ltlllu'. Ill/III/Illl't'll.
Eight Below 1 I’( it 0.. ll'lttlllx .\lai'xlial|. l'S. loom Paul Walker. Bruee (il'L‘ClHHNNl. Moon Bloodgood. Jttxoti lllggx. Illliiiiii. When an .-\iitai'etie expedition IaIIx Iotil ol’ ei‘aekx in the ice. the bra\ e Iitixkiex xa\ e hotli ol' the Iiuiiiaiix' lix ex b) li'aiixportiiig them to a iiearb} baxe. bttt \\ itli an L‘lllL'l'fJL'llL‘}‘ exaetiatioii lllltlL‘l'\\(l}. poor .\la_\a. Shadow Short}. .\la\. 'I‘i'tiiiiaii. and I)e\xe_\ are Ielt to tough out the \\ iiiter alone. Likeabl} old laxhioiied aetioii ei‘eattii‘e leature. (iliiseun' I’i/m 'I'lu'uire. (iliixgon'. Etre Et Avoir (To Be and to Have) il') 0... (Nieolax I’hilibert. I“i';iiiee. Zooli (ieoi'ge I.ope/. llHiiiiii. I’Iiilibert'x doeiiiiieiitai'iex are \tell i‘eeogiiixed for managing to equal the emotional depth iioi‘iiiall} pi'odtieed through great lietioii. and tliix liliii ix eoiixidered liix iiioxt xueeexxt'ul to date. Iiax'iiig premiered at IiII-‘Ii I}: lie and lo Illll't' doetiiiieiitx one )etil' ill (ieorge Lope/.x otiC-t'ootit xeltool Iiouxe in the remote daii'} Iarming region ol‘ :\ii\ergiie. I’ai‘t ol' 5‘) Yearx ol lillil‘ xeaxoii. [Vi/Hiliouxe. Iz'ili'nliurgli.
Friese-Greene: The Open Road ll’( il t('laude l:l.IL‘\L'-( il'L'CllL'. IVK. quhl Mmiii. :\ii audio-x ixual \L‘llxol‘} treat “llll a xei'eeiiiiig ol' I’i‘iexe—( ireeiie'x traVelogtie ol' inter-\xai‘ Britain. \xith an experimental eolotii~ proeexx. and iiitixieal aeetiiiipaiiiiiient Irom piaiiixt .\'eil Brand. (i/itxgmi‘ [Vi/m I'lit’tilri’. (i/uwun. Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties il'i i'l'iiii Hill. [8. Zoom Breekin Meyer. Jeiiiiiler I.o\e Ilexxitt. Bill} ('oiiiiolly. BiII Mtii'i‘a). laii .-\bei‘eroiiibie. Roger Reex. Sliiiiiii. Iii liix return to the big xei‘eeii. the ele\'ei‘ ginger Ieliiie (\oieed b} Murra} i. takex a trip to Blight). and through a eaxe ol~ iiiixtakeii ltlclllll) eiidx tip ruling ox er a rather lIain} eotiiitr} pile. The iielarioux l.ord Dai'gix ((‘oiiiiolh l liax other ideax tliotigli. (intern! release. Goal! l IZ.-\i 0. (Damn ('aiion. l'S. ZlNI-li Kiiiio Beeker. .-\Ie.xxaiidro Nixola. .\lareel ltit'ex. .-\iiiia I‘i‘iel. I |.\‘miii. 'I‘liix lirxt tilm iii a piopoxed footballing trilog} xerx ex up a highl) xaiiiti/ed \ien ol‘ top—leiel xport. It‘x a eoiix‘eiitional i‘agx-to-riehex aeeouiit about a good-looking and exeeptioiiall) talented young planer Santiago Nunez (Becker). xx ho traveIx l‘rom l..-\ to attend a trial at Neneaxtle l'iiited. But Iiax Iie got the xtamiiia. dexire and eapaeit} t’or teamwork to proxper at the Iiigliext leer‘.’ Tired. pedextriaii and uniiixpired .xportx melodrama. and guexx \x'hat‘.’ ’l‘here'x more to come. (iltispeon' l’i'lni II-Ilt'dll't'. (I‘lllAt’UHZ
22 THE LIST 1017 Aug 2006
MYSIEHY IANIAESY
LADY IN THE WATER (PG) 110min oo
Watching the film that Disney execs wrote off with the instantly infamous line, ‘I don’t get it’ (which resulted in Spielberg protégé M Night Shyamalan taking his box office friendly brand of supernatural thrills to Warner Bros), it’s difficult to see what all the fuss was about. It’s not as if Shyamalan has made a radical departure from his previous plot twisting fantasies, nor is this quasi-religious parable impenetrable to interpretation. In fact, it’s about as subtle as the proverbial brick. And pre-empting those dimwits who might not ‘get it’, the film comes complete with a totally unnecessary and plot-spoiling pre-credit explanatory cartoon sequence.
The set-up, familiar from Signs, The Village, etc, introduces a hermetic community populated by a bunch of endearing eccentrics. In this case it’s an apartment complex centred on a swimming pool called the Cove (shot on location in Leavittown, nearby
Shyamalan’s hometown Philadelphia). There, oddly named building janitor Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) immerses himself in the mundane life in order to bury a trauma of the past, until fantasy in the form of a water nymph Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) enters his life. The symbolically named nymph appears to have splashed up on the east coast to put herself in peril and thus bring out the best in local humankind.
This potentially interesting scenario (which all too apparently has its origins in a bedtime story Shyamalan made up for his kids) muddles along plot-wise with the always marvellous Giamatti just about holding things together in his first leading man role (doing 3 Richard Dreyfus circa Close Encounters), until it descends from wishy-washy liberalism into the kind of happy clappy sappy sentiment not endured by anyone outside of a born again evangelical circle. Maybe those Disney execs, understandably, just didn’t want ‘to get it’. (Miles Fielder)
I General release from Fri 7 7 Aug.
The Goat Horn (Kozijat Rog) 1 1m 0... (Nikoloai \'ole\. Bulgaria. I‘I‘Ml .'\lCl\\illltlr Morl‘ox. Iileiia I’etroxa. Valentin (ianei. I’etar l’ttp)tlrtlttllti\. Rdoxlaia Mileiima. 33min. .-\ xtoi'} ol' i'exeiige: alter a Bulgarian goatherd'x \\ it‘e ix raped and murdered Iie takex to the iiiountaiiix to maxk Iiix daughter ax a xoii and train her to light. l’art ol 5‘) Yearx ol lill'l" xeaxoii. I'i/ni/ioiixt'. Iz'diriliureli.
Golmaal i l3.»\i tRoliil Shem. India. Zoom H‘Imiii. I‘tiii unlimited ix pi'oiiiixed iii tIiix Boll} \xood tale of tour gu} x bound together h) cltildixlittexx and good old lttxliiotted lraud. ()i/t'on xll The Quai. (i/uxgoii'; ()(lt'illj I'iirl Kinnuinl. Edinburgh.
Good Night, and Good Luck l l’(il O... i(ieorge(‘|ooiie_\‘.
Japan/France“ ' K/l '5. 2t )(I5l I)a\ id Strathairii. Robert Donne} Jr. (ieorge (loom). I’atrieia ('larltxoii. Frank Langella. Ra} \\'ixe. 92min. Jouriialixt and broadeaxter lid R .\Iurro\x 'x eaiiipaigiix xx ere man} and lair-handed but he ix xtilI bext kiioxtii for This I.\ London. hix World War II radio xhou
and Iiix tight to xtop the red xeare that gripped the ['5 iii the I‘l5llx eourtex} ol Seiiatorx .\le(‘artli_\' and ('oliii. It ix the latter period that direetor ('Iooiie) ehooxex to
eoiieeiitrate on in Iiix modext xeeond leature.
I‘or ('BS. Murroxx. I-rieiidl} and the entire xtal'l' ol' the current at'lairx inon See I! Nun the eoxt \t ax huge. but the di\ ideiidx v. ere greater. It" you eare 'that good llL'\\x eaiiiiot eome lTUlll bad praetiee'. then tliix it ill xend tiiiglex do“ ii _\our xpiiie. (Mum .-li 'I'Iie Qiiui'. (i/ux‘eon.
Hearts and Minds i IS) 0000. (Peter l);t\ix. l‘S. 1074i I I2iniii. l)a\'ix‘ hard- Iiittiiig. iiiaxterl'til anti-\tar doetiiiieiitar} xought to explore the \'ietiianiexe people‘x
Check out the
onpaqe4
\ ien ol the “ill louglit met their eotiiitr). Itx aiial_\xix ot Amerieaii attitudex and propogaiida ix arguabl} xllll pertinent toda}. l’an ol 5‘) Yearx ol I'.ll'l' \L'itxtill. I'i/ni/iniixi'. lztliIi/iiu'eli.
Hell on Wheels (H6llentour) ll’(il il’epe I)aiiquart and Werner Seliiiei/er. (ieriiiaii). 2005i I33miii. l'p eloxe and perxoiial aeeouiit ol the 30m Tour de I-raiiee l'oeuxiiig on the (ieriiiaii teaiii \Hlll a little xeiixationalixiii and a lot ol zttlllllfillltlll. (i/uxgmt I‘ll/n llli'iill‘t'. (iliiiuun. Highlander l l5) .0. lRttxxell Muleah)‘. l'K. I986) ('Iirixtopher Lambert. Beatie Izdney. Sean ('oiiiier}. l I Iiiiiii. A IiaiidIuI ol' iiiiiiiortalx battle through the eeiituriex to xx in a lll}llllL‘;ll pri/e. A eurioux mixture ol romanee in With eentur} heather and ear eliaxex in prexeiit da} Nev. York. the lilm ix an ineIegaiit. ()llL’ll ludieron. but enjoyath daily adxeiiture. Lanihen xeeiiix more at hoiiie “llll the eonteiiiporar) paxxagex and oiin the ex er wonderful Connery hux the requixite xtyle for the kilxch Scottixh xeenex. (irmwnnr. Glasgow.