made her the toast of London and as she accumulates wealth she becomes obsessed with caddish philanderer Esme (Fassbender). Hilarious and thoroughly entertaining. Matinees only. Cameo. Edinburgh.
Appaloosa (15) em (Ed ilarris. US. 2008) Ed Harris. Viggo Mortensen. Jeremy Irons. 1 15min. Based on Robert B Parker's Western novel. Appaloosa charts two young men‘s attempt to police a small town lorded-over by a rancher. The arrival of a beautiful widow complicates matters further. Traditional but powerful westem which relies on narrative psychology and fine performance work rather than special effects. Following on from 2000‘s Polloek Harris proves himself to be a more than interesting filmmaker. General release. Arctic Monkeys Live at the Apollo (PG) (UK. 2008) 76min. Recording of the
] Arctic Monkeys‘ final gig on their acclaimed 2007 world tour. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow.
Baby Doll ( l8) “.0 (Elia Kazan. US. 1956) Carroll Baker. Karl Malden. Eli
l Wallach. 1 14min. Tennessee Williams and director Kazan took two of the playwright's one act works and turned them into this blackly comic melodrama about a bored teen bride. her clumsy husband and their slyly seductive neighbour. The chaos of the couple‘s house mirrors the broken-down morality of the characters. while the hot ‘n' sweaty Deep South setting keeps passions close to the boil. Wonderful stuff. Part of Tennessee Williams season and (ilasgay! Glasgoii' Film Theatre. Glasgow; Film/muse. Edinburgh.
The Barber oi Seville (ii) ((iioacchino Rossini. Italy. 2008) Roberto Frontali. Rinat Shaham. Francesco Meli. 157mm. Rossini’s most famous work proffers a tangled operatic web of love and costumed deceit.
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
at: Indicates Listpicks entry
The Adventures oi Greytriars Bobby (U) see (John Henderson. UK. 2005) Oliver Golding. James Cosmo. Greg Wise. Christopher Lee. l04min. in 1858. John Gray died and his faithful terrier guarded his grave in Edinburgh's (ireyfriars Kirk for 14 years. This is a whimsical fiction involving dogcatchers. cute orphans and conniving councillors. lt‘s effective as children‘s entertainment. and adults will enjoy seeing the likes of Lee and ()‘Hanlon being upstaged by the wee Westie impostor. Grosvenor. Glasgow.
All the President’s Men (15)
0”. (Alan J Pakula. US. l976) Dustin Hoffman. Robert Redford. Jack Warden. : l38min. Released in I976 during the Carter-Ford presidential campaign. Pakula‘s political thriller traces the real-life story of joumalists Bob thxiward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Hoffman) as they uncover an attempted crime in Washington DC‘s Watergate Complex that led to the Watergate Scandal and Nixon's resignation. A classic of the much abused crusader joumalist genre. Part of Mr President . . . season. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
Allegro Non Troppo (15) see
(Bruno Bozzetto. ltaly. I974) Maurizio Nichetti. Nestor Garay. Maurizio Micheli. 85min. Animation set to classical music with live action sequences and an Italian showcase reel of different animation styles. Edinburgh Film Guild. Edinburgh. Amandla! (12A) sees (Lee Hirsch. I US. 2003) l03min. Award winning documentary Amandla.’ A Revolution in Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
Four I’art Harmony tells the story of black I Bee Movie (U) 0.. (Steve
South African freedom music and the llickner/Simon J Smith. US. 2007) Jerry pivotal role it played in the battle against Seinfeld. Renee Zellweger. Matthew apartheid across the decades. featuring , Broderick. 90min. Barry B Benson intervieWs with Hugh Masekela. Abdullah , graduates from college to find that he still lbrahim and Sibongile Khumalo. Part of i only has one possible career: making honey. Black History Month. Glasgow Film Disillusioned. he moves to Manhattan Theatre. Glasgow. where he discovers that humans steal and Angel (l5) see (Francois ()zon. eat honey and resolves to file a lawsuit France/UK. 2007) Romola (iarai. Sam against the honey giant. Big Honey. An Neill. Michael Fassbender. l 19min. Based oddly conceived vehicle for a reluctant star. on Elizabeth Taylor‘s [957 novel The Real t Bee Movie deserves a B-minus for effort. Life of Angel Deverell. this is the campest l; .S'eleeted release.
tags to riches story you will ever see. I Ben X ( l5) 0.. (Nic Balthazar. impoverished young writer Angel ((iarai) Netherlands/Belgium. 2007) Greg
soon finds her lurid romantic fiction has
Timmermans. Laura Verlinden. Marijke
' Lee Hirsch’s excellent 2003 documentary BlaCk HIStory Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony about the pivotal role played by music in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa will be shown as part of Black History Month in Glasgow this fortnight. The first of the two screenings of the film will be a tribute screening to Nelson Mandela and will be introduced by Brian Filling, Chair of ACTSA (Action For South Africa). There will also be a free lunchtime lecture by Stephen Mullen of Anti Racist Alliance entitled Glasgow, Tobacco, Slavery and Abolition about Glasgow’s not so innocent mercantile past. www.actsascotland.org and www.black- history-month.co.uk
I GFT, Glasgow from Sat 4-Wed 15 Oct.
48 THE LIST 2—16 Oct 2008
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. Film/muse. Edinburgh.
Between Heaven and Earth (Ii) (Frank van den Engel/Masha Novikova. Netherlands. 2006) 72min. Life in Uzbekistan under the rule of Islam Karimov as seen through the eyes of close friends and family circus owners. Achat and Tarsun. C(‘A. Glasgow:
The Birds ( l8) 0.... (Alfred Hitchcock. US. 1963) Rod Taylor. Tippi Hendren. Suzanne Pleshette. l l9min. Brilliant macabre idea from a Du Maurier tale to have our winged friends tumed into malevolent killers. This is Hitch at his most mischevious. ()h and for the amateur psychologists among you. there is a glacial blonde leading lady and she is mistreated. Seotsman Screening Room. Edinburgh. The Bolshoi in Cinemas: Bolt (Ii) (Russia. 2008) Anastasia Yatsenko. Andrei Merkuriev. Morikhiro lwata. 85min. Popular music and dance combine in Dimitri Shostakovich‘s second ballet for the world renowned dance company. ()deon.‘ Brae/lead. R enfrew.
The Bosom Friend (18) see
(Ulrich Seidl. Austria. 1997) 60min. Strange but interesting portrait of forty-year-old former maths teacher Rene Rupnik who lives at home with his mother and nurses an interesting obsession with the busty female form. The loyalty shown to the subject by this always-interesting filmmaker is touching. Part of Seidl season. Film/muse. Edinburgh.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (12A) 0 (Mark Herman. US/UK. 2008) Vera Farmiga. David Thewlis. Rupert Friend. 93min. Bruno (Butterfield) is the nine-year old son of a Nazi Commandant (Thewlis). When his father is seconded to manage a concentration camp. the lonely Bruno makes a new friend. Schmuel (Scanlon). beyond the high wire. Badly acted and clumsily directed. this liberal- guilt-monger-sweeping-cod-historical- nonsense is simply unnecessary. Selected release.
Brideshead Revisited (IZA) see (Julian Jarrold. UK. 2008) Matthew (ioode. Hayley Atwell. Emma Thompson. 132mm. Jarrold's revamp of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel pares back the opulent trimmings of the television series to expose the bare bones of Waugh‘s lament for the civilised past. Charting blithe social climber Charles Ryder ((ioode) on his joumey from humble Paddington digs to the aristocratic arcadia. the film focuses on his halting love affair with prim posho Julia (Atwell). General release.
Cat on a Hot Tin Root (PG) sees (Richard Brooks. US. 1958) Elizabeth Taylor. Paul Newman. Burl Ives. l()8min. inevitably bowdlerised but suitably sweaty version of Tennessee Williams‘ loquacious play. A deceived and cancer-ridden Southern patriarch (Ives) gathers his greedy. iii-lighting family for a birthday celebration. and is met by general sycophancy from all except his strangely distant son. Even in diluted fonn this still packs a punch and the Taylor-Newman teaming is irresistible. Part of Tennessee Williams season and (ilasgay! Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgoii'; Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
The Chaser ( l8) 0.. (Na Hong-jin. South Korea. 2008) Kim Yun-seok. Ha Jung-woo. Seo Yeong-hie. l2-lmin. What starts as an intriguing procedural cobbled together from bits of ()ldbov. The Silenee of the Lambs and dead prostitutes quickly descends into a tenuous game of cat-and- mouse that is buoyed up by frequent gut- chuming violence. Surprisingly. on release this was the largest grossing domestic film in its homeland . ()deon: Braehead. Renfrew.
The Chinese Botanist's Daughters (15) (Sijie l)ai. France. 2006) Mylene Jampano‘i. Xiao Ran Li. Ling Dong Eu.
l05min. ()rphaned by an earthquake in rural China. Li Min (Jampano'i) goes to study under the tutelage of a renowned botanist. She falls in love with her teacher‘s daughter Chan An (Ran Li). but the pair‘s plans for a shared future are tragically blighted. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glasgow:
City of Ember (PG) see (Gil Kenan. US. 2008) Bill Murray. Tim Robbins. Saoirse Ronan. l()0min. Students from the amazing underground city of Ember go through a series of adventures in order to sustain their special secret world for another 200 years. Ho-hum but visually impressive children's adventure sci-f1. General release from Fri 10 ()et. Cyberworld 3D (PG) (Various. US. 2000) Jenna Elfman. Matt Frewer. Woody Allen. 44min. Jenna Elfman is the cyber- host who introduces us to various unrelated segments of cyber animation. The .S'impsons and Ant:. make 3D appearances in a spectacular display of today's most impressive graphic technology. IMAX Theatre. Glasgow.
The Dark Knight (12A) sees (Christopher Nolan. US. 2008) Christian Bale. Heath Ledger. Maggie (iyllenhaal. 152mm. Nolan's revamp of the superhero franchise reaches its apotheosis with this sequel to Batman Begins. a supremely well- imagined. perfectly executed film that combines blockbuster spectacle with indie cinema cool and smarts. Psychotic. chaos- loving clown The Joker (Ledger) is introduced as the dark knight's ultimate nemesis and a thrilling battle slowly terrorises the populace of Gotham. General release.
Day of Wrath (PG) seeoe (Carl Dreyer. Denmark. 1948) Thorkild Roose. Lisbeth Movin. Seigrid Neiiendam. l l()min. Rare outing for Dreyer's stark masterpiece of love and witchcraft in the 17th century. No one has ever come close on the subject of witches and witchcraft with the possible exception of Ken Russell‘s The Devils. Part of the Introduction to European Cinema course. I-‘ilmhouse. Edinburgh.
Death Race ( I5) see (Paul WS Anderson. US. 2008) Jason Statham. Ian McShane. Joan Allen. 10-1min. Rehashed elements from Roger Corman‘s 70s Death Race 2000 with Statham as Jensen Ames. who is forced by prison warden llennessey (Allen) to take part in a three stage Death Race on pay-per-view television. The chase sequences are satisfying and Allen clearly enjoys some action-movie slumming. director Anderson's reboot is predictably stripped of the anarchic humour and political sideswipes of the original. General release.
Deep Sea 30 (PG) (Howard Hall. Canada/US. 2006) Voices of Johnny Depp. Kate Winslet. 41min. A 3-D digital exploration of the ocean's depths and its creatures. liW/lX Theatre. Glasgow: Dinosaurs Alive 3D ( t.‘ ) (David Clark/Bayley Silleck. US. 2007) ~10min. Follow palaeontologists as they scour the globe for sortie fantastic dinosaur finds. then watch the creatures burst into 31) life. IMAX Theatre. Glasgow:
Disaster Movie (12A) 0 (Jason Eriedbcrg/Aaron Seltzer. US. 2008) Matt Lanter. Vanessa Minnillo. Nicole Parker. 90min. New spoof comedy from the Epie Movie/Meet the Spartans folk. Blockbuster flicks as diverse as the Indiana Jones franchise. Iron Man and High Sehool Musieal get lampooned to tedious effect. General release.
Diversity Films: Scottish Mental Health and Arts Film Festival (ii) (Various. UK. 2008) 90min. Diversity l-‘ilms present a selection of films on mental health. refugee issues and the impact of
community engagement on wellbeing.