VDS SEE
Film Index
The Saragossa Manuscript (15) ●●●●● (Wojciech Has, Poland, 1964) Zbigniew Cybulski, Iga Cembrzynska, Elzbieta Czyzewska. 182min. Restored print of this outlandish film set in 18th century Spain where aristocrats, officers, rogues and scheming women slip between reality and the supernatural to create a dreamlike puzzle. A favourite film of Jerry Garcia, Scorsese and Coppola, all of who have been involved with the film’s restoration onto this lovely 35mm print. Glasgow Film Theatre. School for Scoundrels (U) ●●●●● (Robert Hamer, UK, 1960) Ian Carmichael, Alastair Sim, Terry-Thomas. 97min. Cads, rotters and honourable chaps are the order of the day in this quintessentially English comedy based on Stephen Potter’s once in vogue self improvement books. Thomas was born to play the role of utter scoundrel Raymond Delauney. Part of More Laughter in Paradise season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Scrooge (U) ●●●●● (Brian Desmond Hurst, UK, 1951) Alistair
Sim, George Cole, Michael Hordern. 86min. Probably the best screen adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The story concerns the overly-prudent businessman Ebeneezer Scrooge (Sim), whose becomes a saint overnight. But Dickens was never afraid to tackle the big issues: the threat to children’s lives, whether they are privileged or poverty-stricken, is one of the main themes. Still, none of the darkness gets in the way of a cracking tale. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. A Serious Man (15) ●●●●● (Joel Coen/Ethan Coen, USA, 2009) Michael Stuhlbarg, Sari Lennick, Fred Melamed. 105min. An idiosyncratic gem filled with details dredged from the Coen brothers’ fertile imaginations and woven into a tapestry as rich as anything they’ve produced in 25 years of filmmaking. Stuhlbarg is wonderful as a physics professor for whom everything is going wrong, and the rest of the cast is largely unknown, making this the polar opposite of
Shorts for Wee Ones (age 3+) Fri 18 Dec 10:00am The Soloist
(12A) Fri 18 Dec 7:30pm
It’s A Wonderful Life (U) Mon 21 Dec 11:00am (cuppa), 7:30pm
62 THE LIST 17 Dec 2009–7 Jan 2010
the empty and A-list heavy Burn After Reading. Selected release. Sherlock Holmes (12A) (Guy Ritchie, UK/Australia/US, 2009) Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams. 128min. See review, page 57. General release from Mon 21 Dec. Spread (18) ●●●●● (David MacKenzie, US, 2009) Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Sebastian Stan. 96min. See reveiw, page 58. General release from Fri 1 Jan. Singin’ in The Rain (U) ●●●●● (Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen, US, 1950) Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse. 102min. Hollywood undergoes the transition from the silent era to the talkies and reputations rise and fall. Absolutely wonderful musical entertainment, with the slickest of snappy dialogue, enduringly catchy numbers, a cast of genuine charisma, and an engaging picture of the industry in transition into the bargain. Quite splendid. Part of Gotta Dance! season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Stepfather (15) ●●●●● (Nelson McCormick, US, 2009) Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, Penn Badgley. 101min. Director McCormick performs an unwelcome trick by blandly rehashing Joseph Ruben’s solid 1987 sleeper hit. Walsh plays David Harris, a serial killer who targets vulnerable young women and their families. Despite the Hamlet-lite subtext, The Stepfather never amounts to much, with the dozy family taking a protracted ninety minutes to wake up to the titular character’s obvious villainy. Selected release. Séraphine (PG) ●●●●● (Martin Provost, France/Belgium, 2008) Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur, Anne Bennent. 126min. The unsentimental and patiently rendered story of a devout young washerwoman, exceptionally played by Moreau, who spends her evenings painting with foraged materials. In 1914 she is ‘discovered’ by an art dealer (Tukur), who feels an affinity with the misunderstood outcast, and returns later, determined to make her a star. Glasgow Film Theatre. Taking Woodstock (15) ●●●●● (Ang Lee, US, 2009) Henry Goodman, Edward Hibbert, Imelda Staunton. 110min. Focusing
primarily on the personal trials of Woodstock’s organiser, this amiable comedy about how the world’s most iconic music festival came to pass is less about the goings-on on stage and more about the vibes, man. Milder than Lee’s previous work, it nevertheless hints at the dark clouds gathering on the horizon with a late reference to Altamont. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. 3 Idiots (12A) (Rajkumar Hirani, India, 2009) Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Madhavan. 135min. A knockabout comedy journey of two friends searching for their third amigo – Bollywood-style. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Tokyo Story (U) ●●●●● (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan, 1953) Chishu Ryu, Chieko
Higashiyama, Toru Abu. 135min. See Also Released, page 58. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. 2012 (12A) ●●●●● (Roland Emmerich, US, 2009) John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton. 158min. Roland Independence Day Emmerich’s ludicrous apocalypse disaster movie balances spectacular special effects with signposted speeches of withering environmental pomposity. Some old fashioned fun is to be had but there is also some tedium on the way. General release. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (12A) ●●●●● (Chris Weitz, US, 2009) Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. 130min. A faithful reproduction of Meyer’s second book covering the middle ground of the series. The epic relationship between Bella (Stewart) and undead Edward (Pattinson) falters, leaving space for a new lupine love rival and resulting in some close brushes with vampire law-makers the Volturi. For naysayers, this is insipid teen vamp romance, but Twilight followers will enjoy the assiduous casting, convincing CGI and fantastic soundtrack. General release. Unmade Beds (15) ●●●●● (Alexis Dos Santos, UK, 2009) Déborah Francois, Fernando Tielve, Michiel Huisman. 93min. Unfolding against the backdrop of the East End of London’s modern day bohemian scene, Santos’ is a world of rent-free accommodation in warehouse squats,
Forget about the new Robert Zemeckis CG animated version of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas tale – of the Scrooge umpteen adaptations of it this 1951 version starring the marvellous Alistair Sim as the titular old miser is by far the greatest. The atmospheric evocation of the eerie gothic and heart-warming good cheer of Dickens’ story is spot on, and the film makes terrific use of Sim’s uncanny ability to switch in an instant from sinister to charming. ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, from Fri 18 – Sun 20 Dec.
regular parties, and plentiful opportunities for sexual experimentation. Interweaving the elliptical stories of two 20-ish European arrivals, Santos succeeds in crafting a surprisingly tender film, artfully conveying the confusions and yearnings of its characters as they struggle to connect. Cameo, Edinburgh. Up 2D (U) ●●●●● (Pete Docter/Bob Peterson, US, 2009) Voices of Christopher Plummer, Edward Asner, Paul Eiding. 96min. Seventy-eight–year-old curmudgeon Carl Fredericksen and eight-year-old Junior Wilderness Explorer Russell embark on the adventure of a lifetime in South America. While it unfolds on a grand scale, at its heart is a human story that will resonate with viewers of every age. Marrying sadness with triumph, Pixar have created another masterpiece. Selected release. Up 3D (U) ●●●●● (Pete Docter/Bob Peterson, US, 2009) Voices of Christopher Plummer, Edward Asner, Paul Eiding. 96min. See above. Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Vettaikkaran (12A) (B Babusivan, India, 2009) Vijay, Anoushka Shetty. 125min. Two of India’s biggest stars and top choreography features in this Tamil blockbuster. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. We Live in Public (15) ●●●●● (Ondi Timoner, US, 2009) Tom Harris, David Amron, Alex Arcadia. 89min. Fascinating documentary portrait of Josh Harris – Warholian web pioneer and all round crazy man who has spent the last decade using the internet to experiment with the public’s relationship with intense surveillance. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. West Side Story (PG) ●●●●● (Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins, US, 1961) Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno. 152min. Romeo And Juliet revisited against a background of New York gangs. Great songs of course, but the playing of the stylised dancing against a realistic background contrives to make it all look rather camp these days. Part of Gotta Dance! season. Part of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Where the Wild Things Are (PG) ●●●●● (Spike Jonze, US, 2009) Max Records, Pepita Emmerichs, Mark Ruffalo. 100min. Maurice Sendak’s nine-sentence children’s tale about a boy whose bedroom turns into a forest full of huge creatures gets the Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) treatment. Any joy here comes from the brilliant production design of the creatures – Jonze opts to use puppetry over CGI and this gives the action an ethereal quality. Unfortunately the creatures are emotional stereotypes and as such, lack dimension. General release. White Christmas (U) ●●●●● (Michael Curtiz, US, 1954) Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera- Ellen. 120min. New digital print of song and dance troupe Christmas staple. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The White Ribbon (15) ●●●●● (Michael Haneke, Germany/Austria, 2009) Christian Friedel, Ulrich Tukur, Burghart Klaussner. 143min. Featuring the remarkable black and white cinematography of Christian Berger, Haneke’s latest film expertly paints a withering portrait of life in a pre-World War German village that is dominated by feudalism and a particularly sadistic breed of religion. An outstanding, multilayered achievement, dripping with nastiness and resonating with a sense of impending historical doom. Glasgow Film Theatre; Cameo, Edinburgh. The Wizard of Oz (U) ●●●●● (Victor Fleming, US, 1939) Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton, Toto. 102min. Miserable Dorothy runs away from home but is soon whisked up into a magical land where her adventures teach her that happiness is to be found in her own back yard. Classic stuff indeed, just chockful of great songs, characterisation and memorably garish design. Perhaps marginally less enjoyable for the curmudgeonly element rooting for the Wicked Witch of the West though. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.