Film Index
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry Alice in Wonderland 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Tim Burton, US, 2010) Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter. 108min. A sequel of sorts that takes in elements of both Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, this finds Alice (Wasikowska) as a teenager returning to Underland, which has long since fallen into the tyrannical grip of the Red Queen (Bonham Carter). Dark and visually arresting, yet not quite as emotionally involving as Burton’s very best work. Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh. Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel (U) ●●●●● (Betty Thomas, US, 2009) Voices of Justin Long, Anna Faris, Jason Lee. 88min. The singing chipmunk trio contend with the pressures of high school, celebrity and rival female band The Chipettes. Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Apocalypse Now (Redux) (18) ●●●●● (Francis Coppola, US, 1980) Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper. 153min. Vietnam as The Ultimate Trip. We follow US Army assassin Sheen downriver and deeper into the Heart of Darkness ruled over by Brando’s mad Colonel Kurtz. Alternately pretentious and visually overpowering (the Valkyries helicopter attack, for example), the film grandiloquent folly somehow pierces right to the bone of the conflict. Glasgow Film Theatre. Avatar 3D (12A) ●●●●● (James Cameron, US, 2009) Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez. 166min. Set in 2154, Cameron’s much- hyped Avatar focuses on a paraplegic marine named Jake Sully (Worthington), who arrives on the distant moon of Pandora with a mission to help displace its indigenous population. But, after winning their trust, Jake finds his allegiances gradually shifting. High on technical flair but short on storytelling ambition, this visually stunning sci-fi epic sadly remains deeply flawed. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Babette’s Feast (U) ●●●●● (Gabriel Axel, Denmark, 1987) Stephane Audran, Jean-Philippe Lafont, Bibi Andersson. 103min. In the Jutland peninsula during the late 19th century, exiled French housekeeper Audran wins 10,000 francs in a lottery and uses the money to prepare a sumptuous banquet in honour of a deceased Lutheran dean, whose daughters are sustaining his mission to the poor and needy. But when the shopping list arrives the sisters begin to wonder if a feast is compatible with their piety. A delicious gastronomic experience and an exquisite, boisterous slice of cinematic narrative with real feeling. Part of 25 Years of Filmhouse. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Bad Lieutenant – Port of Call:
The Blind Side (12A) Mon 28 Jun 11:00 (cuppa), 19:30
48 THE LIST 24 Jun–8 Jul 2010
Apocalypse Now (Redux) The Glasgow Film Theatre’s season of early evening Summer Sunday screenings kicks off with the very long version of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam odyssey into the heart of darkness. This is also a tribute screening to the late Dennis Hopper, who has a small but crucial part in the film. Friends and family deals available. ■ GFT, Glasgow, Sun 4 Jul.
New Orleans (18) ●●●●● (Werner Herzog, US, 2009) Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer. 122min. New Orleans police sergeant Terence McDonagh (Cage) saves a drowning prisoner, earning him a promotion and a back injury. Addiction follows and as things spiral out of control momentum and perception change and nothing goes the way one might expect. Repeated viewing is necessary, cult status is guaranteed. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow; Dominion, Edinburgh. The Barefoot Contessa (PG) ●●●●● (Joseph L Mankiewicz, US, 1954) Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart, Marius Goring. 128min. Gardner plays movie beauty queen, Maria Vargas, discovered and given a Hollywood contract, in this witty expose. Told from three different perspectives by those who discovered the star, the story is supposedly based on Rita Hayworth. Part of Jack Cardiff season. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ Black Death (15) ●●●●● (Christopher Smith, UK/Germany,
2010) Sean Bean, Carice Van Houten, Kimberley Nixon. 101min. Set in 13th century England at a time when the country was ravaged by the bubonic plague, this is an entertainingly gruesome hack-and-slash gore-fest with an intelligent but never pretentious political subtext. Its appropriately grim look and feel, together with solid performances and set-pieces easily hold the attention for its modest running time. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Showcase Cinema, Paisley.
✽✽ A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (PG) ●●●●● (Jean-Luc Godard,
France, 1959) Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger. 90min. See Also Released, page 47. Glasgow Film Theatre. Brooklyn’s Finest (18) ●●●●● (Antoine Fuqua, US, 2010) Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke. 132min. The ironic title refers to three police officers that operate within the grey area of the law, where upholding justice and personal interest make uncomfortable bedfellows. Although the acting falls short, Fuqua ensures that there is always something interesting to watch on screen. General release. Brothers (15) ●●●●● (Jim Sheridan, US, 2009) Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal. 104min. Susanne Bier and
Anders Thomas Jensen’s 2004 Danish drama is given a prestige Hollywood makeover, resulting in an engrossing, if flawed drama. Maguire plays Marine captain Sam Cahill, who leaves wife Grace (Portman) and their children to fight in Afghanistan. Erroneously reported missing, Sam’s irresponsible brother (Gyllenhaal) helps Grace to run her family home, leading to confrontation when the soldier finally returns. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Children of God (15) (Kareem J Mortimer, Bahamas, 2009) Johnny Ferro, Stephen Tyrone Williams, Margaret Laurena Kemp. 103min. A heady collision of religion, politics and sexual discovery in the Bahamas, centring on a young man who faces challenges to his homosexuality from family and church alike. Part of London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival 2010. Glasgow Film Theatre. Chocolat (15) ●●●●● (Claire Denis, France, 1988) Mireille Perrier, Isaach de Bankole, Giulia Boschi, Francois Cluzet. 105min. Returning to the remote part of Cameroon where she spent her childhood, the daughter of a colonial civil servant recalls scenes from those early years, including the attraction between her mother and their native manservant. This accomplished debut feature is a nostalgic and gentle mosaic of colonial life, which offers a perceptive look at the Europeans’ varying attitudes towards the Africans. Part of Denis season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Chopin: Desire for Love (E) (Jerzy Antczak, Poland, 2002) 134min. The University of Glasgow and the Polish Consulate mark the composer’s bicentenary with a short recital by fellow Pole Alexander Kudajczyk followed by a screening of 2002 film about his romantic life. Gilmorehill G12, Glasgow. Co-operating on Screen (E) (UK, Various) 90min. Actress Alison Peebles presents films about the joys of co-operation – from the Scottish co-op that gave Sean Connery his first job, to crucial co-ops in Caracas, and Young Co-operative’s drama on autism. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Collector (18) ●●●●● (Marcus Dunstan, US, 2009) Juan Fernández, Josh Stewart, Michael Reilly Burke. 86min. See review, page 47. Selected release. Cyrano De Bergerac (U) ●●●●● (Jean-Paul Rappeneau, France, 1990)
Gerard Depardieu, Jacques Weber, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez. 135min. A stirring adaptation of Rostand’s classic, romantic tragi-comedy. Full of grandly mounted, bustling crowd scenes, it revolves around a typically superb performance from Depardieu as the large-nosed hero. Although performed in rhyming verse throughout (with subtitles by Anthony Burgess), and a touch overlong, the film’s dramatic and cinematic qualities are outstanding. Part of 25 Years of Filmhouse. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Death at a Funeral (15) ●●●●● (Neil LaBute, US, 2010) Peter Dinklage, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana. 91min. A scene-by- scene remake of 2007’s ultra-lame Frank Oz comedy Death at a Funeral, this is a facile, crude, unloved sub-Richard Curtis farce in which a family’s attempts at mourning are repeatedly interrupted. General release. Dirty Dancing (15) ●●●●● (Emile Ardolino, US, 1987) Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach. 100min. Popular ‘girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks’ musical set in an American summer camp in the year 1963. Cameo, Edinburgh. Extraordinary Measures (PG) ●●●●● (Tom Vaughan, US, 2010) Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford, Keri Russell. 105min. Ford and Fraser add some high-powered star wattage to Vaughan’s otherwise formulaic medical drama about a father’s desperate attempt to save his children from a potentially fatal disease. Inspired by an article written by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Geeta Anand, as well as her subsequent book, Extraordinary Measures*. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow; Odeon, Edinburgh. Fly Me to the Moon (U) ●●●●● (Ben Stassen, US, 2008) Buzz Aldrin, Adrienne Barbeau, Ed Begley Jr. 84min. A 3D film describing mankind’s first trip to the moon is a lively sounding prospect, and moments in Stassen’s animation provide a genuine Got an opinion? You can now Comment on all our articles at list .co.uk