www.list.co.uk/film Index Film
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (U) ●●●●● (Carlos Saldanha/ Mike Thurmeier, US, 2009) Voices of Simon Pegg, Seann William Scott, John Leguizamo. 93min. Life is changing for Scrat, Manny, Ellie and co in many different ways in this the latest installment of popular animated series. Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. In the Night Garden: Everybody All Aboard the Ninky Nonk (U) (Dirk Campbell, UK, 2009) Voice of Derek Jacobi. 28min. An episode of the soothing BBC TV programme that readies children’s minds for bed while freaking out parents. Glasgow Film Theatre; Cameo, Edinburgh. In the Night Garden: Upsy Daisy Dances with the Pinky Ponk (U) (Dirk Campbell/Alex Kirby, UK, 2009) 28min. Upsy Daisy and Pinky Ponk get up to their usual chilled out tricks. Glasgow Film Theatre; Cameo, Edinburgh. The Informant (15) ●●●●● (Stephen Soderbergh, US, 2009) Matt Damon, Clancy Brown, Tony Hale. 108min. Soderbergh comes across as something of a conceptual show-off with this stranger-than- fiction biopic about a whistle-blower who’s more than a little implicated in the scandal he tries to uncover. Intent on capturing the look and feel of a 1970s caper flick (and he succeeds), the director has sadly managed to forget essentials like a comprehensible plot and well-developed characters. Selected release.
✽✽ It’s a Wonderful Life (PG) ●●●●● (Frank Capra, US, 1946)
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Henry Travers, Thomas Mitchell. 129min. Small-town boy Stewart runs into financial difficulties and is on the brink of suicide when an elderly angel descends to earth to show him all the good his life has done for those around him. Archetypal Capra sentimentality with a superbly detailed fantasy framework and one of Stewart’s most lovable performances. One to warm even the most glacial heart. Glasgow Film Theatre; Scotsman Screening Room, Edinburgh. Laura’s Star (U) ●●●●● (Piet De Rycker/Thilo Rothkirch, Germany/Bulgaria, 2004) 80min. Sickly sweet animation about a seven-year-old girl who finds a lucky star which she must return to the sky before it dies. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Law Abiding Citizen (18) ●●●●● (F Gary Gray, US, 2009) Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Colm Meaney. 108min. Messily attempting to juggle crowd-pleasing retribution with cheap pot shots, this tale of one man’s fight against the corrupt judiciary system and the ambitious attorney (Foxx) that set free his wife’s murderer is undermined by a dubious morality and an unpleasant glorification of violence. General release. Limits of Control (15) ●●●●● (Jim Jarmusch, US/Spain/Japan, 2009) Isaach de Bankole, Alex Descas, Jean-François Stévenin. 115min. See Also Released, page 51. Selected release. MFA Screening (E) (Various, UK, 2008)Films from students on the prestigious Master of Fine Art programme at Glasgow School of Art. Featured artists include Emily Donnini, Chris Dyson, Matt Rodda, Sarah Peck, Chad Arnholt, Tobias Wooten, Deniz Uster, Yasi Ghanbari and Collin McRae. CCA, Glasgow. The Man Who Wasn’t There (15) ●●●●● (Joel Coen, US, 2001) Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini. 116min. Set in the Californian backwater town of Santa Rosa circa the 1940s, The Man Who Wasn’t There takes its cue from the cynical world of pulp crime writers like James M Cain. The tale turns on a regular fella, Thornton’s mild-mannered barber Ed Crane, who is unwittingly the catalyst for a spiralling series of events beginning with infidelity and extortion and Check out the GreatOffers on page 6
ending with, well, maybe you can guess. A wry-humoured, retro-styled, wickedly- plotted, moody gem. Cameo, Edinburgh. Me and Orson Welles (12A) ●●●●● (Richard Linklater, UK, 2008) Ben Chaplin, Claire Danes, Zac Efron. 113min. See preview, page 48 and review, page 50. Selected release. The Men who Stare at Goats (15) ●●●●● (Grant Heslov, US/UK, 2009) George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey. 95min. A light-hearted yet intelligent trippy hippy satire on the strange-but-true story of the US military experiment to create a New Earth Army of ‘psychic soldiers’ preaching a creed of love not war. Witty and slickly directed, Heslov’s film features a cast on top form and is a definite crowd-pleaser with its sharp mix of humour and drama. General release. The Merry Gentlemen (15) ●●●●● (Michael Keaton, US, 2008) Kelly Macdonald, Michael Keaton, Tom Bastounes. 96min. See Also Released, page 51. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Dominion, Edinburgh. Mon Oncle (PG) ●●●●● (Jacques Tati, France, 1958) Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servatie. 116min. Working in colour for the first time, Tati presents Monsieur Hulot befuddled by the modern factory where his brother-in-law has given him a job, and by the all-mod-cons apartment where he visits his young nephew. Superb catalogue of sight gags centring around the dehumanising effect of the new technology. Part of French Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Muppet Christmas Carol (U) ●●●●● (Brian Henson, US, 1992) Michael Caine, Steven MacKintosh, Meredith Braun. 86min. It’s Christmas time, and nasty old miser Scrooge (Caine) needs to be taught a lesson by three seasonal ghosts. Colourful version of Dickens’ classic tale that will please the kids and keep the adults smiling with its little irreverent spices. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. National Matters (E) (Roger Boire/Jean-Pierre Roy, Canada, 2009) 90min. The fates of Quebec, Scotland and Catalonia are explored in this documentary about nations still striving for sovereignty and independence from a larger state. Dominion, Edinburgh. Nativity! (U) ●●●●● (Debbie Isitt, UK, 2009) Martin Freeman, Marc Wootton, Ashley Jensen. 105min. Surprisingly enjoyable British family drama about one school’s attempt to put on the best nativity play in Britain by getting the media involved. Freeman and Wootton as the two primary school teachers at the eye of the storm are excellent. General release. 1 Day (15) ●●●●● (Penny Woolcock, UK, 2009) Dylan Duffus, Chris Wilson. 101min. Well-meaning and yet fresh, that this ‘hip-hop musical’ plays so well is largely down to the courageous and painstakingly observed realism of writer/director Woolcock. The stylised action that at times risks drowning out the sobering message is also what makes the exuberant musical scenes flow, and the whole package does an important job in giving a voice to a disenfranchised sector of society. Matinees only. Cameo, Edinburgh. Paa (12A) (R Balki, India, 2009) Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan. 140min. Bollywood drama about Auro (Bachchan), a 13-year-old boy who suffers from a progeria-like syndrome makes him look older than he is. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Pantomime in Scotland Talk (E) (Various, UK) 90min. Join researchers from the Pantomime in Scotland project (based at the University of Glasgow) for an informal introduction to the history of Scottish pantomime. Featuring rarely seen footage of Scottish pantomines from the 1930s to the 1950s. Glasgow Film Theatre. Parade (U) ●●●●● (Jacques Tati, France/Sweden, 1974) 89min. Master French comic Tati plays the genial ringmaster Monsieur Loyal in this, his final acting and directing escapade. Part of French Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
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3–17 Dec 2009 THE LIST 55