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and animated action (a la Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Enchanted is one of the nastiest. most insidious children's films adults will have the displeasure of seeing this year. (‘hock full of pseudo (‘hristian ideas. Waspish imperialism. product placement and celebrations of consumer culture this is abottt as evil as Disney gets. Leave your critical faculties. reason and humanity at the door. Grosvenor. Glasgow. The English Patient ( 15 ) .00 (Anthony .‘vlinghella. lfK/lIS. 1996) Ralph Fienncs. Juliette Binoche. Kristin Scott 'I’homas. l(i2min. A mysterious stranger suffering from horrific burns is cared for by a (‘anadian nurse during the final days of WWII. In flashback. we discover more about the great romantic affair whose tragic climax brought him to this state. Minghella alters the focus of Michael ()ndaatje's Booker Prize—winning novel to concentrate more on boiling passions in the North African desert. Minghella commemorative screening. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Even Dwarfs Started Small (PG) 0.... (Werner Herzog. Germany. 1970) llelmut Doring. (ierd (iickel. Paul (ilauer. 96min. Herzog‘s brilliantly bizarre parable about a remote penal colony inhabited by dwarfs. who stage a revolution in the prison warden’s absence. This has to be seen to be believed. unmissable. Part of May '68 season. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow; Film/rouse. Edinburgh.
Expired ( l8) (Cecilia Miniucchi. LS. 2007) Samantha Morton. Jason Patric. Teri (iarr. l07min. Morton plays a quiet traffic attendant. who leads leading a sheltered life caring for her ill mother. Meeting troubled colleague Jay rc-awakens the young woman and a turbulent love story unravels. Part of Birds liye View film festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow:
The Eye ( l5) 0. (David Morcau/Xavier Palud. [TS 2008) Jessica Alba. Alessandro Nivola. Parker Posey. 96min. Alba (in one of her better performances) stars as a blind concert violinist who becomes haunted by terrifying supernatural visions once a corneal transplant restores her sight. Yet another Asian horror remake. this does contain sortie disturbing imagery early on but sticks too closely to formula and brings no new focus to the genre. General release.
The Fighting Cholitas (Ii) (Mariam Jobriani. LS. 2006) 20min. Short
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58 THE LIST 8—22 May 2008
FinsofSegndodeChomén
documentary about a troop of feisty female Bolivian wrestlers. Part of Bird‘s Eye View film festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow:
Film Discussion Group Meet up with film writer iiddie Harrison and lots of other film buffs to swap opinions and perceptions of both art house and big blockbuster recent releases. Held on the second Wednesday of every month. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Films of Segundo de Chomon (PG) (Segundo de (.‘homon. Spain. I902) 67min. A selection of silent shorts by this much overlooked pioneer of cinema will be screened with live musical accompaniment from composer. pianist and accordionist Josep Maria Baldoma. The selection features Barcelona Park at Twilight. The Magic Album. The King of Dollars. Excursion to the Moon and The Electric Hotel. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow. Fool’s Gold (12A) 00 (Andy 'I‘ennant. US. 2008) Kate Hudson. Matthew Mc(‘onaughey. Donald Sutherland. Kevin Hart. 1 12min. Witless. plodding rom-com romp that reunites How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days pretty pair McConaughey and Hudson as estranged husband and wife- cum-treasure hunters on the trail of a legendary treasure ship. assisted by Sutherland's dapper billionaire and pursued by Hart‘s ruthless rapper-gangster. All that glitters is not gold. General release. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (15)
0. (Nicholas Stoller. US. 2008) Jason Segal. Kristen Bell. Russell Brand. 1 10min. Writer and star Sega] is Peter Bretter. a composer who gets dumped by his soap star girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Bell). Heading to Hawaii he bumps into her and her new rock star boyfriend Aldous Snow (Brand). who steals the show in an otherwise predictable and grating romantic comedy. General release.
Four Minutes (Vier Minuten) (15) 0.. ((‘hris Kraus. Germany. 200(3) Monica Bleibtreu. Hannah Herzsprung. Jasmin 'l'abatabai. l l5min. linjoyably overwrought contemporary (ierman melodrama in which ageing prison piano teacher Traude Kruger (Bleibtreu) takes on violent new inmate and child piano prodigy Jenny (Herzsprurng). The series of savage beatings. frenzied musical performance and blazing arguments. mixed with flashbacks to 'l‘raude's lesbian past offers the viewer
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scant chance to breathe. (.‘ameo. Edinburgh.
Funny Games US (18) 0”. (Michael Haneke. UK/US/France/Austria. 2007) Naomi Watts. Tim Roth. Devon Gearheart. Michael Pitt. Brad Corbet.
l l lmin. Shot-by-shot. English language remake of Austrian auteur Haneke‘s post- modem I997 thriller Funny Games. relocated to the US. The tormenting of a family of three (Watts. Roth and Gearheart) by sociopaths Paul and Peter (Pitt and Corbet) while on holiday provide an interrogation of the relationship between violence and voyeurism that remains wholly engrossing and deeply shocking. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
The Game Plan (U) eee (Andy Fickman. US. 2007) Dwayne Johnson. Madison Pettis. Kyra Sedgwick. 1 10min. The Game Plan follows the fortunes of Elvis-obsessed American football superstar quarterback Joe Kingsman (Johnson) and his estranged eight-year old daughter (Pettis) when she enrols him in ballet school. The result is overblown and overlong. bland and formulaic. yet its earnest brand of character comedy for pre- teens pays off. Cineworld Par/(head.
Glasgow; Vue Edinburgh Ocean, Edinburgh.
Garage ( 18) 00. (Leonard Abraharnson. Ireland. 2007) Pat Shortt. Anne-Marie Duff. Conor Ryan. 84min. Like Abrahamson‘s quirky junkie comedy Adam and Paul. Garage is another instance of oddballs living life on the margins of Irish society. which casts stand-up comedian Shortt as village idiot gas station attendant Josie. whose attempts at relationships are painful and heart-wrenching to watch. With lofty ambitions. this sophomore effort suffers from heavy-handed denouement at odds with its winning. srnan observations and offbeat comedy. Cameo. Edinburgh. Glasgow lntemational Bike Film Festival: Seasons/Home ( 12A) (Various) 1 l0min. The inaugural Glasgow Bike Film Festival freewheels into town. aiming to bring together some of the fittest filmmakers at work today and capture the excitement and spectacle of all aspects of the genre. Following seven of the world‘s tnost accomplished riders through four seasons of the year. this screening of
Seasons will have something for every biker.
This will be preceded by a screening of Home. featuring Scotland‘s World
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Considering how prolific he was, Spanish-born filmmaker Segundo de Chomén is the least-known of the very early cinema pioneers who included Georges Melies, Louis le Prince and the Lumiere brothers. This selection of his eye-opening shorts is screened with live musical accompaniment by composer, pianist and accordionist Josep Maria Baldoma. In Glasgow this event is free but ticketed. .F/lmbouse, Edinburgh, Wed 7 May. GFf, Glasgow, Thu 8 May.
Champion rider Ruaridh Cunningham. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow. Happy-Go-Lucky (15) eeeee (Mike Leigh. UK. 2008) Sally Hawkins. Alexis Zegerman. Andrea Riseborough. l 18min. Leigh returns with a familiar. yet reassurineg difTerent film. an aiTectionate portrait of carefree 30-something Londoner Poppy (Hawkins) and the minutiae of her everyday life. About everything and nothing. the downtime and the uptime. this is life- af nning stuff. Selected release. Heartbeat Detector (12A) em (Nicolas Klotz. France, 2007) Mathieu Dulac. Michel Lonsdale. Jean-Pierre Kalfon. l40min. See preview. page 49 and review. page 54. Selected release from Fri 16 May. Helke Sander Double Bill (12A) (Helke Sander. West Germany. Various) 98min. Filmmaker and author Sander sculpted the early women's movement in Germany. Using a hugely unconventional filmic language. Sander skillfully traverses weighty themes such as the contradictions between a collective political consciousness and a programme of personal action. Her 1968 film Break the Power of the Manipulators! is shown alongside her critical take on the Berlin worker's film. A Bonus for Irene. Part of May '68 season. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Film/rouse. Edinburgh. Hellboy (12A) eeee (Guillermo del Torro. US. 2004) Ron Perlman. John Hurt. Selma Blair. 122mm. Mexican horror film auteur Guillermo del Toro‘s labour of love adaptation of Mike Mignola’s cult horror comic delivers on every level. First and foremost. it remains true to the spirit of Mignola‘s inspired strips. which are rich with pulp fiction supematural hocus pocus. wisecracking one-liners straight out of detective novels and the dark visual styling of German Expressionist cinema. Drawing on three of Mignola‘s graphic novels. the film introduces the red-skinned. hom-shawn demon superhero. the Nazi villains lead by Rasputin the mad monk magician. who called forth the hell spawn in the final days of World War II. and his American liberators. who install the beast-man in a secretive govemment agency named the Bureau for Paranonnal Research and Defense. There. joined by other freaks of nature in the present day. Hellboy fights the forces of evil as well as the inner demons. Square-jawed giant Ron Perlman is perfect as Hellboy. bringingjust the right amount of irony t0 the role. Grosvenor. Glasgow. Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (15) (Kim Longinotto, UK. 2007) l()0min. Longinotto turns a compassionate lens to the children at Mulberry Bush boarding school in Oxford. who have been excluded from their normal schools for extreme behaviour. This engaging study of dysfunction leaves the viewer with an overwhelming awareness of the influence held by adults when it comes to making or breaking young impressionable lives. Part of Sheffield lntemational Documentary Festival on Tour. Film/rouse,
Ed 'nburgh. *Honeydripper (PG) 0000 v (John Sayles. US. 2007) Danny Glover. Charles S Dutton. Gary Clark Jr. 122min. See review. page 51 and interview. page 54. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow. Horton Hears a Who! (U) 0”! (Jimmy Hayward. Steve Martino. US. 2008) Voices ofJim Carrey. Steve Carell. 86min. Animators Blue Sky take a break from their ongoing Ice Age franchise to colourfully realise the universe of Dr Seuss' text. Both Carrey and Carrell are allowed full rein for their brand of vocal mugging as co-directors Hayward and Martino skilfully guide Horton towards a comforting moral about size not being all that important. Selected release.