www.list.co.uk/film arrive on their farm. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Opium War (15) ●●●●● (Siddiq Barmak, South Korea/Afghanistan/Japan, 2008) Peter Bussian, Joe Suba, Fawad Samani. 93min. Tragicomedy from Afghan filmmaker Siddiq Barmak, following the encounter of two US soldiers with an opium-growing family that lives in a Soviet tank. This screening is followed by a Q&A session with the director. Part of Barmak season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Osama (12A) ●●●●● (Siddik Barmak, Afghanistan/Ireland/Japan, 2003) Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar. 83min. Writer/director and editor Siddiq Barmak’s debut feature film exposes the plight of Osama (Golbahari) – a 12-year-old girl whose life under the Taliban is blighted by poverty and oppression. When her mother loses her job after the Taliban close down the local hospital, she becomes her mother and her grandmother’s only chance of survival. Her mother chops off her hair and dresses her as a boy. At first the child finds some work in the shop owned by a friend of her father. But things start going wrong when the Taliban start training up the local boys in response to Bin Laden’s call to arms against the infidel. Only street urchin Spandi (Arif Herati) stands between the girl and discovery. Stunning and frightening award-winning drama from Afghanistan. Part of Barmak season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Otolith III (18) (The Otolith Group, UK, 2009) 48min. Produced by the mysterious Otolith Group with an unused script by Satyajit Ray (for The Alien, which would have been the first contemporary sci-fi to be set in India, had it been made) as its basis, this is a self-styled ‘premake’ in which the fictional characters rebel against their creators in an attempt to seize control of their own existence. CCA, Glasgow. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (PG) ●●●●● (Chris Columbus, Canada/US, 2010) Brandon T Jackson, Steve Coogan, Uma Thurman. 118min. Big screen adaptation of Rick Riordan’s first fantasy adventure novel featuring Greek mythology-baiting child Percy Jackson. Selected release. Please Give (15) ●●●●● (Nicole Holofcener, US, 2010) Elizabeth Keener, Rebecca Hall, Elise Ivy. 90min. Oddly saccharine comedy of bad manners in which Keener plays a morally bankrupt New Yorker who makes no secret of the fact that she wants her neighbour dead so she can make her apartment bigger. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Predators (15) ●●●●● (Nimród Antal, USA, 2010) Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne. 106min. Mysterious monstrous alien creatures hunt a tribe of elite warriors. General release. Pretty Woman (15) ●●●●● (Garry Marshall, US, 1990) Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Ralph Bellamy. 120min. In this hugely successful comedy-romance, Gere stars as an unfeeling financial wheeler- dealer discovering he is human after all when he spends a week in the company of Roberts’ downhome goodtime girl. Conversely, she rediscovers her self-esteem by carrying off the role of his high society companion with charm, so the audience can feel happy for both of them. The outline might be as hackneyed as they come, but television veteran Marshall has just the right lightness of touch. This free screening is part of the Venus Get Close film season; see www.venusgetclose.com for details and to book free tickets. Cameo, Edinburgh. The Princess and the Frog (U) ●●●●● (Ron Clements/John Musker, US, 2010) Voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David. 97min. Set in 1920s Louisiana and featuring Disney’s first African-American Princess, this culturally important, beautiful and evocative (of a New Orleans that no longer exists) film may not have the standout musical numbers of some of its stablemates but is an old fashioned treat all the same. Selected release. A Prophet (18) ●●●●● (Jacques Audiard, France/Italy, 2009) Tahar Rahim,
Index Film
Bhutto Jessica A Hernandez’ fascinating new documentary about the life and controversial times of Pakistani politician and Prime Minister Bhutto gets a one night only outing.
■ Cameo, Edinburgh, Thu 29 Jul. Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif. 150min. Naïve youth Malik (Rahim) enters prison with a view to keeping his head down, but murderous circumstance see him aligned to the Corsican mafia who run the prison. As prison population demographics begin to shift, the cunning Malik uses all his resources to elevate his financial and hierarchical status. Plotted and executed with a slow burn complexity and rare grace, this is a wonderfully mature piece of filmmaking. Cameo, Edinburgh. Pulp Fiction (18) ●●●●● (Quentin Tarantino, US, 1994) John Travolta, Samuel Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis. 150min. Much more ambitious than Reservoir Dogs, the most awaited second feature of the 90s has many scenes that crackle with Tarantino wit, and a few others that fall flat as the writer-director bravely experiments. Interlocking stories in the pulp crime manner concern hitmen, ailing boxers, gang bosses and their molls, drug fiends, and assorted riff-raff. Part of Summer Sundays. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Rebound (15) ●●●●● (Bart Freundlich, USA, 2009) Catherine Zeta- Jones, Justin Bartha, Kelly Gould. 95min. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a newly separated woman in her forties who takes up with younger-man Aram (Justin Bartha) for a bit of fun. When he turns out to have a little more to him than she expected, they begin to wonder whether they can form a lasting relationship. See Also Released, page 47. General release. Red Beard (PG) ●●●●● (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1965) Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Yosio Tsuchiya. 185min. 19th century Japan, and ageing doctor Mifune instils into his young and ambitious new intern Kayama the rewards of working in the poorer sections of the community. Kurosawa’s overlong and discursive medical drama sometimes lapses into sentimentality, but the period recreation and Mifune’s towering central performance impress nevertheless. Part of Kurosawa season. Glasgow Film Theatre. Remember Me (12A) ●●●●● (Allen Coulter, US, 2010) Robert Pattinson, Emilie De Ravin, Pierce Brosnan. 112min. A US box-office belly flop, this overwrought drama sees ‘RPatz’ play rebellious rich boy Tyler Hawkins, a misfit New Yorker who unwisely gets into a punch-up with a police sergeant (Cooper). Memorable only for its crass attempt to exploit genuine tragedy for entertainment purposes. Empire, Clydebank. Sex and the City 2 (15) (Michael Patrick King, US, 2010) Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon.
146min. Here come the girls again. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Shrek Forever After 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Mike Mitchell, US, 2010) Voices: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz. 93min. A fourth and final instalment, rebooting the flagging franchise with a new alternate-reality twist which sees Shrek escape fatherhood for a one-day return to his bachelor years. A warmed-over sequel that lazily re-configures familiar elements to mildly pleasing effect. General release. Shrek Forever After 3D (PG) (Mike Mitchell, US, 2010) Voices: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz. 93min. See above. Skeletons (12A) ●●●●● (Nick Whitfield, UK, 2009) Ed Gaughan, Andrew Buckley, Jason Isaacs. 93min. A darkly fanciful British comedy about two on-call ‘emotional exorcists’, who come laden with their own woeful baggage. Cameo, Edinburgh.
✽✽ South of the Border (15) ●●●●● (Oliver Stone, USA, 2009)
77min. See feature, page 43 and review page, 45. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Splice (15) ●●●●● (Vincenzo Natali, Canada/France/USA, 2009)
Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac. 104min. See review, page 44. Selected release. Star Trek (12A) ●●●●● (JJ Abrams, US/Germany, 2009) Chris Pine, Jennifer Morrison, Simon Pegg. 126min. A quirk in the space-time continuum allows both a sequel and prequel to the already vast Star Trek oeuvre, in which Lost creator Abrams surpasses his previous film efforts to reinvent the whole dynamic of the USS Enterprise. Emotional struggles from Pine as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Vulcan Spock mix with adrenaline packed adventure to ensure that Star Trek is that rare thing, a blockbuster with humour and guts. A Science and Film screening. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Stranger (PG) ●●●●● (Siddiq Barmak, Afghanistan, 1987) Salam Sangi, Adela Adim, Ibrahim Toghyan. 40min. A peasant couple’s simple life is disrupted when their landlord’s son takes an interest in the wife, on account of her beautiful singing. Screening together with The Wall, a short film made by Barmak during his time in the USSR. Part of Barmak season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. StreetDance 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Max Giwa/Dania Pasquini, UK, 2010) Nichola Burley, Charlotte Rampling, George Sampson. 98min. Carly (Burley) and her crew attempt to triumph at the UK Street
Dance Championships with the unlikely help of some ballet students. Cultures clash, romance is found and the kids find new ways to express themselves – a conventional story, which brings absolutely nothing new to the genre. Vue Omni, Edinburgh. Tetro (15) ●●●●● (Francis Ford Coppola, US/Italy/Spain/Argentina, 2009) Vincent Gallo, Maribel Verdú, Alden Ehrenreich. 126min. Coppola’s first original screenplay since 1974, Tetro moves in the familiar territory of the failure of the family unit. Alas, his tendency for over-indulgence takes over, with poorly shot flashbacks, a preposterous twist, and a storyline that runs out of steam. Glasgow Film Theatre. 35 Shots of Rum (35 Rhums) (12A) ●●●●● (Claire Denis, France/Germany, 2008) Alex Descas, Mati Diop, Grégoire Colin. 100min. Accessible, tender and warm-hearted film centring on a delicate but loving bond between a father and a daughter. Although Denis’ newest film is less opaque than previous efforts, it is no less complex, and proffers a complex investigation of the negotiation between ‘self’ and ‘other’ and the difficulties of forming and sustaining any human relationship. Part of Denis season. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Tooth Fairy (PG) ●●●●● (Michael Lembeck, US, 2010) Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd. 101min. Leaden fantasy in which The Rock plays a a cynical ice- hockey player who is whisked to Fairyland when he cruelly disabuses a toddler of the notion that the tooth fairy exists, and is sentenced to a punishment of two weeks hard graft as a fairy. Selected release. Towards Mathilde (15) (Claire Denis, France, 2005) 84min. Denis examines French contemporary choreographer Mathilde Monnier, with a soundtrack by PJ Harvey. Part of Denis season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Toy Story 3 2D (U) ●●●●● (Lee Unkrich, USA, 2010) Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack. 108min. See review, page 46. General release.
✽✽ Toy Story 3 3D (U) ●●●●● (Lee Unkrich, USA, 2010) Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack. 108min. See above. General release. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (12A) ●●●●● (David Slade, US, 2010) Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. 123min. The epic relationship between Bella (Stewart) and undead Edward (Pattinson) falters when her new lupine friend Jacob (Lautner) is added to the mix. Will humans, vampires and werewolves ever get on? The fun of Twilight is seeing
22 Jul–5 Aug 2010 THE LIST 51