www.|ist.co.uk/film
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
=lr Indicates Listpicks entry
A Blonde in Love (Lasky Jedne Plavovlasky) (PG) 00.0 (Milos l'bfiiiilll. ('zech Republic, I965) Hana Brejchova. Vladamir Pucholt. Vladamir Mensik. 82min. l-‘onnan‘s first international breakthrough hit is a near perfect. wonderful. sweet and funny sex comedy about a girl who takes a one night stand a little too seriously. with farcical results. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Alice Adams (PG) (George Stevens. US. 1935) Katharine Hepburn. Fred MacMurray. 99min. Small town girl Alice (Hepburn) hails from the wrong side of the tracks. Yearning for nothing more than middle- class acceptance. she dates well-to-do suitor MacMurray. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Aliens ( l8) moo (James Cameron. LS 1986) Sigourney Weaver. Michael Biehn. 137mm. Revived from a 57-year snooze in deep space. Warrant Officer Weaver is cajoled into joining a marine rescue mission to the planet that is home for the original alien beastie. Unrelentingly paced with a terrifically gutsy performance from Weaver. this nerve-shredding sequel not only matches its predecessor but cannily surpasses it. An Oscar winner for special effects. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging ( 12A) ooo (Gurinder (‘hadha. LS. 2008) Georgia Groome. Aaron Johnson. Alan Davies. 100mm. After the disappointing Bride and Prejudice. writer/director (‘hadha takes a step into younger territory with this adaptation of two of Louise Rennison‘s books. The film lacks the sharp wit of slick American comedies such as ('Iueless and Mean Girls. but earns points for featuring actresses. including lead Groome. who really are the age of the characters they're playing. Selected release.
‘AkiraKurosawa
Arthur and the lnvisibles (U) 0.. (Luc Besson. France. 2007) Voices of Freddie Highmore. Mia Farrow. Ron Crawford. 93min. In an adaptation of his own children‘s book. Besson mixes live- action and (‘GI animation with patchy results. Arthur (Highmore) embarks on a quest to save grandmother‘s (Farrow) house. complete with troll-like Minemoys. an evil wizard and saucy princess. Most entertaining in its live-action sequences. it's heavy on style but light on originality. Filmhouse. Edinburgh. Bachna Ae Haseeno (PG) (Siddhath Anand. India. 2008) Ranbir Kapoor. Bipasha Basu. Minissha Lamba. l52min. Between the ages of [7-30 years old Raj (Kapoor) has relationships with three women. One from Mumbai. one from the Punjab and one from Australia - but what does he leam from these romances‘.’ Bollywood coming of age musical with music by popular electronica composer Vishal-Shekhar. ('ineworld Renfrew Street. Glasgow; ('ineworld Edinburgh. Edinburgh. The Bad Sleep Well (PG) (Akira Kurosawa. Japan. I960) Toshiro Mifune. Kyoko Kagwa. Mori Masayuki. lSlmin. Kurosawa‘s most socially responsible film the first he made for his own production company — deals with corruption. graft and bribery at the public level. Part of Akira Kurosawa retrospective. Filtrtltouse. Edinburgh.
Badlands ( l5) moo (Terrence
Malick. CS. 1973) Martin Sheen. Sissy Spacek. 94min. Rarefied. lyrical US filmmaker Terrence Malick‘s stunning and mega-influential 1973 crime spree drama is brought back to life in a beautiful new 35mm print. Part of Terrence Malick season. Filmhouse. Edinburgh. Ben X ( l5) 0.. (Nic Balthazar. Netherlands/Belgium. 2007) Greg 'I'immermans. Laura Verlinden. Marijke Pinoy. 93min. This mock-documentary introduces us to teen Asperger's sufferer Ben. Moving backwards and forwards between his so-called life of bullying and high school torture and his escape into
online role playing games. the film delivers a doom laden narrative. Balthazar‘s debut feature cleverly dodges and ducks where you would otherwise expect it to run straight. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow. Brief Encounter (PG) see (David Lean. UK. 1945) (‘elia Johnson. Trevor Howard. Stanley Holloway. 86min. Stiff upper lips and emotionally charged brushes of the hands are all that Johnson and Howard will allow themselves as their extra-marital ‘affair' doesn‘t develop much beyond unspoken longings at a railway station. For some. the tears will still flow; for others. the ungiving morality is exasperating. Given the rigidity of this English romance. the Rachmaninov soundtrack is unfittingly sweet. Part of David Lean retrospective. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow; Filmhouse. Edinburgh. Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (PG) .0. (Hana Makhmalbaf. lran. 2008) Nibakht Noruz. Abdolali Hosenali. Abbas Alijome. 81min. This simple story revolves around the efforts of poor six- year-old Afghan girl Bakhtay (Noruz) to get herself an education. But poverty and male attitudes towards women conspire to keep her out of school. and outside it the willful tyke is brutally bullied by local boys posing as Taliban fighters and the occupying US Army. An admirable attempt to dramatise the plight of women and children in Afghanistan. Glasgow Filnt Theatre. Glasgoii'.’ ('ameo. Edinburgh.
Cass ( l8) 0... (Jon S Baird. UK. 2008) Nonso Anozie. Nathalie Press. Leo Gregory. 108mm. Detailing the shenanigans of West Ham's notorious Inter (‘ity (‘rew (ICF) during the Thatcher years. (‘ass stands alongside Alan (‘larke‘s hitherto untouchable hooligan yarn The Firm. at the top of the lilmmaking table. Based on the true story of (‘ass Pennant. the most prominent black football hooligan to be accepted by white working class yobs as one of their own. ('ass tells an eminently cinematic storyline. Showease ('inema.
( 'oatbridge. Glasgow.
A 13-fllm retrospective of the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa kicks off on Friday 22 August with Ran, his astounding adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, and continues with such masterpieces as Seven Samurai (remade by
Charlotte’s Web (U) 0.. (Gary Winick. USA. 2006) Dakota Fanning. voices of Julia Roberts. Sam Shepherd. Steve Buscemi. 97min. Chirpy tot Fern (Fanning) rescues Wilbur the pig from a cruel farmyard fate for lovable arachnid (‘harlotte to eventually save the day in a bittersweet finale that touches on practical matters of life and death. Somewhere between the cutesy Babe and ()rwell‘s political Animal Farm it should draw in children and nostalgic adults alike. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
City of God (18) 0.... (Fernando Meirelles. Brazil. 2002) l29min. The intemational resurgence of Latin American cinema shows no signs of slowing down. Following Central Station. Amores Perros. Y Tu Mama Tambien and Nine Queens comes an exhilarating Brazilian drama. ('in of God. Based on Paulo Lins‘s sprawling novel and spanning three decades. it‘s an epic account of the growth of organised drug-dealing in a slum housing project. the so-called (‘ity of God in Rio de Janeiro. ACE. Edinlmrgh.
College Road “Mp (U) 0 (Roger Kumble. US. 2008) Martin Lawrence. Raven-Symone. Brenda Song. 83min. Kumble‘s family-comedy-drama focuses on trast issues between high-flying teen Melanie (Raven-Symone) and her over- protective father (Lawrence). When Melanie decides she wants to check out the universities in which she might pursue her academic career. Porter decides to be her an uninvited escort. provoking predictable father-daughter disagreements and leading to obvious resolutions. Selected release. Couscous (15) «so (Abdel Kechiche. France. 2007) Habib Boufares. Hafsia Herzi. Farida Benkhetache. 154mm. bl-year-old weary Maghrebi emigre Silmane (Boufares) is in need of a miracle after being made redundant. Choosing to open a North African restaurant rather than retire. the action revolves around Sunday dinner for his extended family. where the depiction of Arab family life rivals that of La Haine and Days of Glory. ('ameo. Edinburgh.
Hollywood as The Magnificent Seven) and Yojimbo (loosely reworked by Sergio leone as A Fistful of Dollars, coming to the Filmhouse in September).
I Filmhouse, Edinburgh
21 Aug—4 Sep 2008 THE LIST 31