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 The A-Team (12A) ●●●●● (Joe Carnahan, USA, 2010) Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel. 118min. Just like the 80s TV show that spawned it, The A-Team is over the top, macho fun. Now based in Iraq, the old team reunites to retrieve stolen printing plates used for counterfeiting money. But for all its exuberance, this is an overly flashy endeavour and ends up feeling calculated, uncomfortable and empty. General release. Aisha (12A) (Rajshree Ojha, India, 2010) Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol. 135min. Jane Austen’s epic romance Emma is transplanted to Delhi and put to music for a third time following two earlier versions in 1953 and 2000. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. 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. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow; Odeon Braehead, Renfrew. All About My Mother (15) ●●●●● (Pedro Almodovar, Spain, 1999) Cecilia Roth, Penelope Cruz, Antonia San Juan. 101min. Arguably Almodovar’s best film to date. When Madrid hospital worker Manuela’s son is killed in a car accident the grief-stricken woman sets out to fulfil her son’s last wish to know his father, and goes to Barcelona to find the transvestite she ran away from 18 years earlier. Renowned for his portrayal of strong women, Almodovar pays tribute here to their capacity to act, to mother and to create strong bonds of solidarity in the face of extremities. Summer Sunday screening. Glasgow Film Theatre. American: The Bill Hicks Story (15) ●●●●● (Matt Harlock, Paul Thomas,
UK/US, 2009) 103min. Documentary about legendary US comedian. Cameo, Edinburgh. And Then Came Lola (15) (Megan Siler/Ellen Seidler, US, 2009) Ashleigh Sumner, Jill Bennett, Cathy DeBuono. 70min. Lesbian romantic comedy about carefree photographer Lola (Sumner) who has three chances to save both her girlfriend Casey’s (Bennett) design career and Casey herself from the clutches of predatory Danielle (DeBuono). Part of the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival on Tour. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Astro Boy (PG) ●●●●● (David Bowers, US, 2009) Voices of Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Freddie Highmore. 93min. A popular manga in Japan since 1952, and a cult TV show in the US since the early 1980s, Astro Boy makes a bid for worldwide domination in this flashy but flatly realised animation. A robot child cloned by Dr Tenma (voiced by Cage) from the DNA of his dead son, the titular space age Pinocchio (Highmore), is rejected by his father and banished to the robot graveyard that surrounds the city. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Baaria (15) ●●●●● (Giuseppe Tonatore, Italy 2009) Francesco Scianna, Margareth Madè, Raoul Bova. 151min. Sprawling Sicilian familial drama. Cameo, Edinburgh. Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) (E) Rossini’s most famous work proffers a tangled operatic web of love and costumed deceit. Vue Omni, Edinburgh. Beautiful Kate (15) ●●●●● (Rachel Ward, Australia, 2009) Rachel Griffiths, Bryan Brown, Ben Mendelsohn. 101min. British director Ward’s first film is an impressively acted drama about a writer who is haunted by memories of his beautiful twin sister – who died tragically a quarter century – when he returns to the remote family home for a last goodbye to his dying father. Skipping between the decaying, emotionally stifled present and the fertile land of the past, Ward achieves a distinctive visual sensibility for each era. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Black Beauty (PG) ●●●●● (James Hill, UK, 1971) Mark Lester, Walter Slezak, Patrick Mower. 106min. An untameable wild horse suffers a variety of misfortunes before being reunited with its young master. Ho-hum version of the Anna Sewell children’s classic. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Bounty Hunter (12A) ●●●●● (Andy Tennant, US, 2010) Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, Christine Baranski. 110min.
Good Hair Last chance to catch comedian, writer and actor Chris Rock’s fascinating documentary about the crazy world of
African-American hair styling at the cinema. ■ GFT, Glasgow, Mon 16-Wed 18 Aug. 114 THE LIST 12–19 Aug 2010
Comedy about a bounty hunter who is assigned to hunt down his bail-jumping ex- wife. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Bronco Bullfrog (15) ●●●●● (Barney Platts-Mills, UK, 1969) Del Walker, Anne Gooding, Sam Shepherd. 86min. Re-issue of Barney Platt-Mills’ 1969 cult British social drama set in the East End of London in which a young couple try to find some peace and solitude from the suedehead youths that hang around the streets. A genuine off-beat rediscovery, Bronco Bullfrog is a fascinating and moving portrait of forgotten London, one that foreshadows the early polemical TV work of Ken Loach and Mike Leigh and the Punk movement. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore 2D (U) ●●●●● (Brad Peyton, USA/Australia, 2010) Voices of James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate. 82min. Hairless sphinx cat Kitty decides to enslave humans. Likeable but instantly forgettable sequel to 2001’s live action adventure Cats & Dogs. General release. Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore 3D (U) ●●●●● (Brad Peyton, USA/Australia, 2010) Voices of James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate. 82min. See above. General release. Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky (15) ●●●●● (Jan Kounen, France, 2009) Anna Mouglalis, Mads Mikkelsen, Yelena Morozova. 118min. Nuanced and exquisitely detailed but passionless drama about the romance between the queen of couture and the father of modern classical music. Dutch writer/director Jan Kounan (Blueberry, Dobermann) keeps things a little too minimal and cool for comfort, but stars Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen do their best to salvage something from the endless longeurs. Selected release. Desperately Seeking Susan (15) ●●●●● (Susan Seidelman, US, 1985) Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn. 104min. Fun and fizzy, role-swapping feminist fantasy comedy set in the Big Apple. Late night 80s dress up screening. Glasgow Film Theatre. Dog Day Afternoon (15) ●●●●● (Sidney Lumet, US, 1975) Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning. 130min. Pacino’s grandstanding as the anxiety-ridden New Yorker attempting to rob a bank to pay for his gay lover’s sex change operation confirmed his status as one of his generation’s leading actors. ‘Attica Attica!’ This is undoubtedly the greatest heist movie of the 1970s. Or is it? Judge for yourself. Grosvenor, Glasgow. Donnie Darko (15) ●●●●● (Richie Kelly, US, 2001) Jake Gyllenhaal. 113min. Cult small town American fantasy. Cameo, Edinburgh. The Expendables (15) (Sylvester Stallone, US, 2010) Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren. 103min. Huge action movie, starring pretty much every action star you’ve ever heard of (including cameos from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis), as mercenaries go up against a South American dictator. Previews only. General release.
✽✽ Five Easy Pieces (15) ●●●●● (Bob Rafelson, US, 1970) Jack
Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush. 98min. See Also Released, page 113. Filmhouse, 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 wow-factor, but such moments of poetry are fleeting and the majority of this film insanely focuses on the uninteresting plight of three houseflies who stowaway onboard. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Furry Vengeance (PG) ●●●●● (Roger Kumble, US/United Arab Emirates, 2010) Brendan Fraser, Brooke Shields, Ken Jeong. 91min. A band of angry animals teaches an ambitious real estate developer (Fraser) a lesson when his housing development encroaches on their wilderness habitat in
this likeably silly, family comedy with a welcome ecological message. Empire, Clydebank; Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow.
✽✽ Gainsbourg (15) ●●●●● (Joann Sfar, France/USA, 2010) Eric
Elmosnino, Lucy Gordon, Laetitia Casta. 135min. This depiction of Serge Gainsbourg’s life is a humorous, sad and bizarre identity crisis, more enjoyable in its abstract moments than when loitering in traditional biopic territory. While Sfar excels at eccentricity, the movie occasionally falters, particularly in its portrayal of Gainsbourg’s less hedonistic times. Nonetheless, a great introduction to the French singer. Glasgow Film Theatre; Cameo, Edinburgh. The Ghost (15) ●●●●● (Roman Polanski, UK, 2010) Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall. 127min. This adaptation by Polanski and Harris of the latter’s ‘what if?’ novel is a wintry Hitchcockian thriller in which McGregor’s everyman figure – an unnamed ghostwriter offered $250 million for four weeks work – becomes embroiled in a conspiracy where nothing is quite what it seems. If this doesn’t register as a major Polanski work, it still demonstrates his ability to create through mise-en-scène a mood of disquieting claustrophobia. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow; Odeon, Edinburgh. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (15) ●●●●● (Niels Arden Oplev, Sweden, 2009) Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace 152min. Solid adaptation of literary sensation. Cameo, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Good Hair (12A) ●●●●● (Jeff Stilson, US, 2009) 95min. Rock enters
Louis Theroux presenter territory with this documentary on the relationship between African-American women and their hair. Choosing comedy over social political commentary at every turn, this adventure takes him from beauty shops in Harlem to hair manufacturing plants in India. Glasgow Film Theatre. Heartbreaker (L’Arnacoeur) (15) ●●●●● (Pascal Chaumeil, France/Monaco, 2010) Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, Julie Ferrier. 104min. Monte Carlo-set light-hearted romantic comedy about a man who is paid to break up couples by any means necessary. The heartbreaker’s cynical attitude to love is questioned when he’s employed to stop the impending nuptials of Juliette (Paradis) to a seemingly perfect Brit (Lincoln). Dominion, Edinburgh. Here Come The Girls (E) (Various) 98min. Six up-and-coming and established female filmmakers present a variety of shorts that look at all aspects of lesbian life and love. Featuring work from acclaimed writers/filmmakers Cherien Dabis (Memoirs of an Evil Stepmother), Sally El Hosaini (Henna Night), Angela Cheng (Wicked Desire), Christine Chew (Falling for Caroline), Abbe Robinson (Private Life) and Colette Burson (Little Black Boot). Part of the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival on Tour. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. How to Train Your Dragon 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Dean DeBlois/Chris Sanders, US, 2010) Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera. 97min. Commendable new DreamWorks animation set in the mythical world of Vikings and dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell. Hiccup, a Viking teenager, befriends a dragon. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow. Hubble 3D (U) (Toni Meyers, Canada, 2010) 44min. Leonardo Di Caprio narrates the latest 3D IMAX space adventure. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. I Know Where I’m Going! (U) ●●●●● (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, UK, 1945) Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, Finlay Currie, Pamela Brown, Nancy Price. 91min. Beautifully shot in black and white, this is an intriguing comedy romance with dark undertones, in which the young, confident Ms Hiller sets out to marry her rich, elderly fiancé in the Hebrides, but falls instead for Livesey’s sexy young naval officer. The visual symbols, all drawn from the islands’ natural landscape, underline the story’s deeper resonances. CCA, Glasgow.