www.list.co.uk/film
Private Property ( IS) oooo (Joachim Lafosse. l.uxembourg/Belgium/ France. 2006) Isabelle lluppett. Jeremie Renier.Yannick Renier. 95min. Divorced mother Pascale (lluppett) lives with her cosseted grown-up twin sons (Jeretnie and Yannick Renier) until her plans to sell their hottse upsets their plans. An emotionally complex and mordantly amusing fatttily dratna. in which the boundaries between parents and children have become fatally blurred. ('ameo. Edinburgh.
Queen Margaret University Short Films (15) (Various. l'K. 2007) l20min. Selection of short films and documentaries from graduate students frotn Queen Margaret l'niversity. I'iltnhouse. Edinburgh. Ratatouille (l') oooo (Brad Bird. ITS. 2007) Voices of Patton ()swalt. Brian Dennehy. Brad Garrett. l l0min. The latest Pixar masterpiece follows Remy the rat (voiced by ()swalt) as he chases his dream of becoming a gourmet chef. This is Pixar at its best. offering audiences both three dimensional itnages and storytelling with its thoughtful consideration of the relationship between the creative process and friendship. Yet Bird’s colourful production never stints on fast. furious fun. with plenty of sight gags and chases through the streets. waterways. sewers and dinner tables of Paris. Vue Iidinburgh ()eean. Edinburgh. Romulus, my Father ( 15) (Richard Roxburgh. Australia. 2007) liric Bana. l-‘ranka Potente. Marton (‘sokas lthin. A tale of fatnilial love and loss in an era of Australian post-war immigration. Based on the childhood memoirs of philosopher Raimon (iaita. Romulus. My Father won the Australian Film institute Award for Best l-‘ilm ()f 2007. Part of the London Australian Film Festival on Tour. Glasgow I’llrn Theatre. Glasgow; I'ilnthouse. lz'dinburgh. Savage Grace ( l8) ooo ('t‘om Kalin. Spain/l'S/l‘rance. 2007) Julianne Moore. Stephen l)illane. lilena Anaya. 97min. See review. page 50. ()n Seleeted release from l'ri ll Jul.
Sex and the City: The Movie ( IS) .0. (Michael Patrick King. 1S. 2008) Sarah Jessica Parker. Kim (‘attrall. (‘ynthia Nixon. l-lSmin. A few years on from packing away the series. the characters are back and fleshed ottt. the individual angst of each woman realised enough to engage even the hardened cynics. l.ike life however. the filth isn‘t perfect. the beginning recap is clumsy. the ending is rushed. and the version of feminist power and female solidarity the filth peddles is slightly simplistic. General release.
Shotgun Stories ( 12A) oooo (Jeff Nichols. LS. 2008) Michael Shannon. Douglas l.igon. Barlow Jacobs. 00min. Nichol's slow burn modern \Vestertt features three brothers stumbling their way through luckless lives. At their father's funeral they come face to face with their half brothers and a Shakespearean fetid erupts. iissentially a parable about grief and the futility of hostility. Nichol observes that poverty and hope are the tnain currency traded iti this southeastern part ()f Arkansas. Glasgow I'll"! Theatre, Glasgow.
Shrek the Third (l') O. ((‘hris Miller. LS. 2007) Voices of Mike Myers. iiddie Murphy. (‘ameron Dial. Jttstin 'l‘imberlake. liddie Murphy. Antonio Banderas. 92min. The green ogre (voiced by Myers) runs away from parental and royal resptmsibility to go on a journey with loyal companions Donkey (Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Banderas) to seek out another heir to the throne ('I'imberlakc). The third instalment of this blockbuster phenomenon feels a bit formulaic now btit there are enough low-brow jokes to keep under educated children entertained. Seleeted release.
Some Came Running (l’(i) oooo (Vincente Minelli. L'S. 1958) lirank Sinatra. Dean Martin. Shirley Macl.aine. l.i(miin. Sinatra goes on a voyage of discovery through the bars and gambling dens of small-town America. in doing so he becomes torn between two women and his dream of becoming a writer. New print of marvellotts overlooked melodrama that's populated by ‘ty'pes‘ rather than characters. Part of the Trouble in the 50s season.
Glasgow I"ilm 'Iheatre. Glasgow. Spider Lilies ( l8) ooo (Zero ('hou. 'l‘aiwan. 2007) Rainie Yang. Isabella Leong. John Shen. 94min. When media savvy Jade (Yang) visits a tattoo sttidio she becomes obsessed with an image of a spider. Interesting tale of obsession for the web catn generation. Part of the Lesbian and (iay liilm l‘estival. Glasgow [Vi/In 'I‘heatre. Glasgow. The Spy who Loved Me (l’(i) 0.. (Lewis Gilbert. l‘K. 2008) Roger Moore. Barbara Bach. ('ttrd Jurgens. 125ml”. l)igital restoration of the classic in which Bond must team up with his Russian female counterpart to solve the mystery of the disappearing nuclear missile carrying submarines. 'l‘heir task is tnade all the more difficult by the presence ()f metal-mouthed menace Jaws. 'l'he omnipresent Q pops tip with a selection of handy gadgets to help James finish off the bad guys. I-ilmhuuse. Edinburgh. Step Up 2 the Streets (PU) oo (Jon M ('hu. LS. 2008) Robert Hoffman. Briana livigan. \Vill Kctnp. ‘)7min. Stupid sequel to 2006’s dance romancer Step ('1). ('ineworld I’al'kltead. Glasgow. Superhero Movie ( 12A) oo ((‘raig Ma/in. LS. 2008) Drake Bell. Sara Paxton. ('hristopher McDonald. 85min. Director Malin's attempt to deflate comic- book pomposity comes tip short oi) laughs as it details the transformation of Rick Riker (Bell). This high-schooler is bitten by a rare species ()f insect and eventually harnesses his special pow et's as capcd crusader Dragonfly to fight crime in the nasty fortn of ('hristopher McDonald‘s Hourglass. General release. Teeth (18) ooo (Mitchell Lichtenstein. LS. 2007) Jess \Veixlct'. John Hensley. Josh Pais. 93min. In a 'l‘exan small town high-schooler Dawn (\Veixler) finds her pledged commitment to virginity threatened by a nutnber of prospective lovers. and tnore so by set of ra/or-sharp teeth between her legs (vagina detitata). Despite a half hour of well-observed high- school alienation. 'Ii'eth falls to the level of crude horror comed)‘ long before the film's fitial cheap shot. Showease (inertia. Footbridge. Glasgow: Showease ('inema. I’aisley. l’aisles'. Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (the) (Kunal Koltli. lndia. 2008) Aksltat (‘hopra. Rishi Kapoor. Saif Ali Khan.After Hunt 'liun attd l'anaa. director Kunal Kohli is back with his new film. 'I’hoda l’vaar 'I'hoda .l/Iagie. Selected release. Vera Cruz (PU) (Robert Aldrich. ('8. 1954) Burt Lancaster. (iat'y ('oopet'. Denise Darecel. 95min. A colourful \Vestern chronicling cynical Southerner (Cooper) and calculating crook (Lancaster) as they become increasingly embroiled in Maximillian's imperial court and the Juare/ revolutionaries in l8()0s Mexico. Part of Burt Lancaster season. I’ilnihouse. Edinburgh.
The Visitor ( l5) 0... (Thomas
McCarthy. l'S. 2007) Richard Jenkins. llaa/ Sleiman. Danai (iurira. 103mm. See review. page 50. Glasgow I'ilm Theatre. Glasgow; ('ameo, lzdinburgh. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (t‘) 0000 (Nick Park/Steve Box. l'K. 2005) Voices of Peter Sallis. Ralph liiettnes. Helena Bonham ('arter. 85min. The long-awaited feature- length debut for Park's plasticine master and tntttt Wallace & (iromit. is. to coin a phrase. a grand day out. This time. the cheese- loving Wallace and his canine chutn have reinvented themselves as a humane pest- eontrol outfit ‘Anti- Pesto' and there's a mysterious ‘were-rabbit‘ on the prowl at the local neighbourhood (iiant Vegetable competition. Knowing fun for all the family. ('ineworld I’arkhead. Glasgow. Wanted ( l8) .0. ('l‘imur Bektnambetov. LS. 2008) James McAsoy, Morgan Freeman. Angelina Jolie. l2‘)min. Scottish comic book writer Mark Millar's ultra-violent graphic novel gets the Hollywood blockbuster treatment. l‘ellow Scot McAvoy takes the lead as a super- assassin inductee under the tutelage of action babe l-‘ox (Jolie) arid boss Sloan (Freeman). Toning down the comic‘s darker
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Modernity and Tradition: Film in lnterwar
CentralEurope
This season exploring the cinematic style developed between the world wars continues with a programme of shorts and features, including FW Murnau’s technically pioneering The Last Laugh (pictured), Paul Leni’s wildly expressionist Waxworks and Leni Riefenstahl’s directing debut The Blue Light. The season complements the National Galleries of Scotland’s exhibition, Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918- 1945, which is showing at the Dean Gallery, Edinburgh.
I Film/muse. Edinburgh, from Thu 3 Jul.
elements and ramping up the Slix. iiektttttttthelovK quirky stylistic excesses make up for the script's weaknesses. And McAvoy is quite convincing. General I'('/('(l.\(’.
Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (PG) 0... (Jay Russell. l’S/l‘K. 2007) limin \Vatson. Brian ('ox. Joel 'l'obeck.
l l ltnin. Blending monster thrills with a thoughtful pacifist message. this adaptation of Dick Ktltg-Stttitit's well-loved book tells of the friendship between Angus and the legendary creature Nessie. who he rears from an egg into a full-blown beastie. Although mainly shot in New Zealand to facilitate the involvement of the \Vela l)igtttti ij‘eial-ellects house. the liiltt is firmly set in WWII-era Scotland. Ati old— school alternative to the frantic nature of most children's films. llater Ilorse finally provides our beloved monster with the film it deserves. (illit’H'Ul'lt/ l’orkhead, Glasgow. Waxworks (l’(i) see (Paul Lent. (iermany. 1024) 70min. A film in three
"Check out the
on pages
episodes (erotic humour in Baghdad. sadistic fantasia with lvan the terrible. phantasmagoria in Victorian London) apparently conceived by Lem as an inventory of expressionistic effects and experiments in style. motif atid mood. Part of the Modernin attd 'l‘radilion season. I'ilinhouse. ladinburgh.
What Happens in Vegas . . . ( l2.-\) 0. (Tom Vaughan. LS. 2008) (‘ameron Dial. Ashton Kutcher. Queen Latifah. 08min. This underwhelming romantic cotncdy details the love trajectory of Vegas gamblers Joy (Dial) and Jack (Kutcher). who wake up one morning to find they are married attd has c also hit the jackpot on the tables. ('tte farcical attempts to cheat each other ottt of the money while falling in love. It's watchable enough. bttt ultimately a bit of a waste of time. Showeose (inenut. ('oatltl'tdge. Glasgow.
27 Dresses ( I2A) 0 (Anne i‘letchct‘. LS. 2008) Katherine lleigl. James Mat'sden. Malin Aket'man. l l0min. \Vedding obsessed Jane (lleigl ) juggles gigs as bridesmaids with a rocky love life while the conundrum of how yott should behave when your sister is marrying the man yott love is given short sht'ift. as lleigl attempts to send feministn back to the dark ages. 27 Dresses is as bland as century old wedding cake. Seleeted release.
Ii~t 7' Jul 2008 THE LIST 61