Ghost Rider ( (BA) 00 (Mark Steven Johnson. LS. 2007) Nicholas (‘age. liva Mendes. Raquel Alessi. 1 10min. ('age and Mendes go over the top in tltis spirited. special effects lteavy adaptation of the Marvel (‘omics superhero who's a daredevil stuttt biker by day and a flaming-skulled bounty hunter for the devil by night. (ieneral release. Goal 2: Living the Dream ( 12A)
0. (Jaurtte (‘otlet-Serra. l'K. 2007) Kuno Becker. Alessandro .\'ivola. Anna l‘riel. 1 15min. Mildly tnore diverting than its predecessor. Goal 2 follows Santiago Mttne/ (Becker) as he goes to play for Real Madrid. .S'htrtt'ease ('lnenta. (‘tralbritlgtz (r‘las‘gtrtt‘; .WIUIt‘t‘tlSt’ ('inerna. l’aislev. Paisley.
Gone ( 15) O. (Ringan Ledvvidge. l'K/s‘xustralia. 2007) Atttelia Warner. Sltattn livans. Scott Mechlowicz. 88min. A contemporary psychological thriller in which a yottng British cottple travelling through the .-\ustralian otttback becotne etnbroiled iii a sinister sitttation. Selected release.
The Good Shepherd ( IS) 0000 (Robert de .\'iro. LS. 2006) Matt Damon. Angelina Jolie. Williatn llurt. Micltael (iambon. 167mm. De .\'iro attetttpts to tell the ‘real' story of the (’1A through the prism of operative lidvvard Wilson (Damon). Slippittg back and forth in time. the true horror of the ('lA's WASl’y stonghold on modertt America uttfolds in a model of restraint attd good storytelling. (iener’al release.
Grounded (l’(i) C. (Paul i"eig. LS. 2006) Lewis Black. Wilmer \‘alderrama. 'l’y ler James Williams. 89min. I-‘orccd. sub- John Hughes-tan drama abottt a hunch of divorce victim latcltkey kids stranded iii an airport at (‘hristmas The young cast do their best with a feeble script. ('inett‘orld Park/read. (ilasgon': ('inetrorld Izdinburgh. Ifdinburgh. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (15) O... (Dito.\lontiel.1'SA.2006) Robert Downey Jr. Martin ('ompston. Rosario Dawson. Shia LaBeottf. 99min. Montiel's factually liberal adaptation of his owtt allegedly true biographic novel is based around two narratives: the yottttg Dito (LaBeouf). growing up in l9b’0s New York attd an older Dito (Downey Jr) returning years later. Art untidy film abottt fathers. family. escape attd poverty that cart be pat and a little gauche bill is never dull. ('arneo. lz'dinburgh. HHH: A Portrait of Hou Hsiao-Hsien (12A) 0.. (()livier Assayas. l-‘rance/I'aivvan. 1997) 91 min. Assayas turns the documentary spotlight on the 'l’aiwan New Wave cinema director llsiao-llsien. Part of ('inema (’hina season. (ilasgott' I-ilrn 'I‘heatre. (i/asgon'.‘ l’i/rnhouse. lz'tlirtbur‘gh.
s Olwdado' s (The Young and the bail
La Habanera (l’(i) (Deltcf Sierck. (iermany. 1937) Zarah Leander. Karl Martell. Ferdinand Mariatt. 100mm. 'l‘he filtn that proved to he the passport for its director. Douglas Sirk. to Hollywood. tells of a Swede who falls in love with Puerto Rico and marries a rich landowner. A decade later. however. she yearns for her homeland. ()verly melodramatic in certain sections. it's saved by the director’s obviotts skills and ironic detachment. (r'oethe Instant. (ilasgott'.
Hat Trick (tbc) (Milatt Lttthria. India. 2007) Bollywood cricketing movie. (Mean At The Quay. (ilasgott'; ()deon I‘irr'l Kinnair'd. Edinburgh.
The History Boys ( IS) 0..
(Nicholas liytrter. LR. 2006) Richard (iriffiths. (‘live Merrison. Stephen (‘ampbell Moore. 109mm. The big screen adaptation of Alan Bennett's biggest West lind ltit about a group of 1980s students and the inliuences of their teachers manages to maintain sortie of the humour attd pathos of the original despite changes in the structure attd fate of a central character. Brunton Theatre. Edinburgh. Hollywoodland ( l5) .0. (Allen ('oulter. LS. 2006) Ben Affleck. Adriett Brody. Diatte Lane. 126mm. A lavish period drama and engrossing true life mystery centring around the death in 1959 under suspicious circumstances of (ieorge Reeves. (‘utting back arid forth between the investigations of PI Louis Sittto (Brody) and Reeves' efforts to make it in Hollywood. it draw s parallels between the men with sensitivity and pathos. Se/et‘led release.
Hot Fuzz ( IS) 000 (lidgar Wright. [‘K. 2007) Simon l’egg. .\'ick l'rost. Bill Bailey. 120min. l'nimpeachable London copper Nicholas Angel (l’egg) is moved to a rural beat where he uncovers lttrking danger with only impressionable young l’(' Danny (Host) for back up. A parody of LS action/ buddy/police tnov ies it will be a huge hit. despite being overlong. with a plot that's stretched to snapping poittt. (iener‘al release. How it’s Done (l') (Marcel Lo/.inski. Poland. 2006) 90min. Documentary following marketer Poitr 'I'ymochowic/ on his journey to fittd the perfect politician. Part of New liurope Film Festival. l‘i/rnhouse. lz'dinburgh. “i” (1i) (Raphael Lyon/Andres lngoglia. Argentina. 2001 ) 90min. A documentary that tneditates on the relationship between media attd power. foctrssittg on the lndytnedia project during its first year itt Buenos Aires.
.-l('li. Edinburgh.
I Love Budapest ( l5) (Agnes Inc/e. Hungary. 2001 ) (iabriella llatnori. Martina Kovacs. Sandor (‘sanyi 85min. An unlikely
e..-
The best film you will see anywhere this fortnight is Luis Bufiuel’s brilliant 1950 film about love, life and death in the slums of Mexico City. Los Olvidados was the result of Bufiuel’s brief flirtation with the then popular neo-realist film movement. This being a Bufiuel film, however, there is not only social commentary and political concern but wild invention, vicious wit, outrageous eroticism, humour, surrealism and the kind of filmmaking flourishes that leave all but the best in their wake. If you thought great films about slums and favelas began with City of God you
really need to check this out.
I Film/rouse, Edinburgh. Fri 23— Thu 29 Mar.
foursome of friends gets ittto fun and trouble on the streets of Budapest. Part of New liurope Film Festival. l"ilrnhouse. Edinburgh. The Illusionist (PG) .00 (Neil Burger. (‘lech Republic/US. 2(X)6) Edward Norton. Paul (iiamatti. Jessica Biel. 109mm. The second filttt in as many months about magic in early 20th century liurope. The Illusionist is odder and tnore romantic than Christopher Nolan's superior The Prestige. telling an old fashioned story of a master magician iiisenheim's (Norton) attetnpts to beat the violence and corruption of the age he lives in. General release.
Inland Empire ( 15) 000 (David Lynch. US. 2006) Laura Dern. Jeremy Irons. Harry Dean Stanton. 180mm. Only the tnost die-hard Lynch fan will find merit in this tedious celluloid rune. Lynch and his digital camera venture into the excesses of split narrative. talking rabbits and art obscure storyline about a famous actress (Dern) who gets lost in a filtn role. Glasgow I’ilrn Theatre. (ilasgott‘: ('anteo. Edinburgh.
Iraq in Fragments ( IS) .000 (Jatnes Longley. t7S/lraq. 2006) 94min. See review. page 42. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
I Want Candy ( 15) .0 (Stephen Surjik. L'K. 2007) Tom Riley. Tom Burke. ('armen lilectra. 90min. See Also Released. page ~14. (iener‘al release.
Ju Dou ( 15) 0... (Zhang Yimou. (’hina/Japan. 1990) (iong Li. Li Wei. Li Bao- 'l‘ian. 94min. ln 1920s China. a young man (Li Wei) falls innocently for his tyrannical uncle's third wife Ju Dou (Gong Li). and they embark on a forbidden romance. But the truth will ottt. with tragic consequences. In the confines of the uncle‘s dyeing factory. the story‘s cruel logic is offset by an intense beauty and eroticism. iixceptional filnttnaking frotn the director of Red .S‘orghunt. Part of Cinema (‘hina season. I’i/rnhouse. Edinburgh. Jurassic Park (PG) 0000 (Steven Spielberg. LS. 1993) Sam Neill. Laura Dern. Jeff(ioldblum. I27min. A group of scientists are invited to give their approval to a theme park filled with genetically engineered dinosaurs. but the giant reptiles are soon
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running amok. The dinosaurs themselves are terrifyineg believable. but by the half-way point. it‘s more or less a chase movie with superior technology. (,‘r'neworld Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
The King of Masks (Bian Lari) (PG) (Wu Tian-ming. China/Hong Kong. 1996) Zhang Zhigang. Zhao Zhigang. Zhou Renying. 95min. An ageing mask maker is nearing the end of his life with no one to pass his craft on to. He buys a boy from a market to act as his apprentice but the boy turns out to be more than he appears. I'ilrnhous‘e. Edinburgh.
The Last King of Scotland (15) 0... (Kevin Macdonald. US/UK. 2006) Forest Whitaker. Gillian Anderson. James McAvoy. 123mm. Macdonald's first fictional film sees McAvoy playing Nicholas Garrigan as a smooth-talking lovable rogue who accidentally ingratiates himself with 1970s Ugandan president Idi Amin (Whitaker). With a career best performance from Whitaker and an action packed pace. it makes for a commendable action film rather than an astute political portrait. Selected release. Lawrence of Arabia (PG) 0000. (David Lean. UK. 1962) Peter O'Toole. Alec Guinness. Jack Hawkins. 222mm. Lean‘s mamtnoth desert epic. restored to its director‘s original cut and the big screen. where filmmaking on this scale belongs. ()‘Toolc‘s debut as the enigmatic adventurer still impresses. but apart from the majestic action sequences. it's the disturbing sense of clinical and cold-blooded violence hanging over the highly literate characterisation that today seems especially striking. Eastwood Park Theatre. Glasgow:
Letters from lwo Jima (15) 0000 (Clint Eastwood. US. 2006) Ken Watanabc. Kazunari Ninomiya. Tsuyoshi lhara. 141mm. A companion piece to Flags of ()ur fathers. this film looks at the battle for the Pacific island of lwo Jittta from a Japanese perspective. Less an action movie. the striking humanity gives Eastwood's undertaking a heightened importance in our troubled times. (’inen'orld Edinburgh. Edinburgh.
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15—29 Mar 2007 THE LIST 49