www.list.co.uk/film Jaden Smith, Taraji P Henson. 139min. The remake of the 1984 hit in which a bullied boy becomes a karate master delivers a half- decent punch, despite Smith’s lazy performance. The training scenes and a downbeat performance from Jackie Chan playing Mr Han lend the film unmerited but welcome pizzazz and charm. Showcase Cinema, Coatbridge, Glasgow; Showcase Cinema, Paisley, Paisley. The Kid (15) ●●●●● (Nick Moran, UK, 2010) Rupert Friend, Augustus Prew, Natasha McElhone. 111min. See review, page 54. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Knight and Day (12A) ●●●●● (James Mangold, USA, 2010) Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard. 109min. Cruise’s turn as madcap assassin Roy Miller is sadly nothing more than a reprise of his Mission Impossible persona, while his kidnapee, Diaz, flusters her way through the film. This pumped-up spy thriller is a mix of fake CGI and faker romance, allowing neither star to shine. Selected release. The Last Airbender 2D (PG) ●●●●● (M Night Shyamalan, USA, 2010) Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz. 103min. Visually flashy but incomprehensible and joyless action adventure in which young Avatar Aang gets caught up in a tiff between the kingdoms of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Vue Omni, Edinburgh. The Last Airbender 3D (PG) ●●●●● (M Night Shyamalan, USA, 2010) Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz. 103min. See above. Selected release. The Last Exorcism (15) ●●●●● (Daniel Stamm, US, 2010) Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum. 86min. Yet another reprisal of the popular horror mock- doc genre, featuring a Louisiana preacher (Fabian) who sets out to prove that demonic possession doesn’t exist. A couple of gripping performances from Fabian and Bell (as a possessed farmer’s daughter) can’t make up for the nausea-inducing camera work, lack of proper scares and abrupt ending that make this a distinctly underwhelming experience. General release. The Last Song (PG) ●●●●● (Julie Anne Robinson, US, 2010) Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear, Bobby Coleman. 107min. Soppy adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ predictable story about malcontent Ronnie (Cyrus), who travels south to stay with absentee father Steve (Kinnear). For Montana die-hards only. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Laughter in the Dark: Humour in Artists’ Films Since the 1970s Film course looking at the use of humour and laughter in films made by artists, led by Erica Eyres, a Canadian video artist based in Glasgow. The course comprises four illustrated seminars and discussions. Glasgow Film Theatre. Made in Dagenham (15) (Nigel Cole, UK, 2010) Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike. 112min. Sally Hawkins stars as the ringleader of a group of machinists who went on strike at the Ford Dagenham factory in 1968 to demand equal pay for female workers. Preview only. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Magic Roundabout (U) (Dave Borthwick, UK/France, 2005) Voices of Tom Baker, Jim Broadbent, Lee Evans, Joanna Lumley, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams. 81min. Classic 60s children’s series gets a modern day make over. In this big screen verion Dougal and friends embark on a dangerous journey in an effort to imprison their oppressor – the evil wizard ZeeBadee (voiced by Baker). Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow. The Maid (La Nana) (15) ●●●●● (Sebastián Silva, Chile, 2009) Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola. 96min. See Also Released, page 56. Glasgow Film Theatre. Mamma Mia! (PG) ●●●●● (Phyllida Lloyd, UK/US, 2008) Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth. 108min. A bride-to-be tries to find out the identity of her real father in the lead up to her wedding on a Greek island. Faithful film adaptation of
Skeletons/Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Two conscience clearing comedies go head to head as part of a guilt free double Sunday matinee. ■ Cameo, Edinburgh, Sun 19 Sep.
Broadway and West End ABBA song musical mega hit with all star cast. Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Marketa Lazarová (15) ●●●●● (Frantisek Vlácil, Czechoslovakia, 1967) Magda Vásáryová, Frantisek Velecky, Josef Kemr. 162min. Based on a novel by avant- garde writer Vladislav Vancura, this 13th century-set medieval epic concerns the rivalry between two clans, the Kozliks and the Lazars, and a devastatingly fated love affair. The feud is pitched against the brutal conflict of the time between Christian and pagan traditions, a trope crystallised by Vlácil’s intimate knowledge of remote historical sources. This is a strange and beguiling but overlooked masterpiece that is not easily forgotten. Part of Frantisek Vlácil season. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Marmaduke (U) ●●●●● (Tom Dey, USA, 2010) Voices of Owen Wilson, George Lopez, William H Macy. 88min. Crude and unfunny adaptation of popular cartoon strip about the adventures of a clumsy Great Dane dog. General release.
✽✽ Metropolis (PG) ●●●●● (Fritz Lang, Germany, 1926) Brigitte Helm,
Alfred Abel, Gustav Frolich. 124min. See Also Released, page 56. Selected release. 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. A Free Family Films screening. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ Mother (Madeo) (15) ●●●●● (Joon-ho Bong, South Korea, 2009)
Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Yoon Jae-Moon. 123min. This South Korean thriller is a mad mix of ‘obsessive mother’ drama and intricately realised whodunit. Seek it out before Hollywood remakes it. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. My Night with Maud (Ma Nuit Chez Maud) (PG) ●●●●● (Eric Rohmer, France, 1969) Jean-Louis Trintignant, Francois Fabian, Marie- Christine Barrault. 101min. New digitally restored print of quintessential bourgeois drama by late great French New waver Rohmer. The mighty Trintignant stars as a religious engineer whose belief that he will marry a woman (Fabian) he has only seen in church is sorely tested during one long evening. Beautifully shot in black and white by Nestor Almendros, this is the film that
put Rohmer on the international stage as the king of Gallic loquacious pretension. Glasgow Film Theatre. My Son, my Son, What Have Ye Done? (15) ●●●●● (Werner Herzog, USA/Germany, 2009) Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny. 91min. See review, page 56. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Nurture Room (12A) (Matt Pinder, UK, 2010) 90min. Documentary shot over the course of a year by Pinder, following three Glasgow schoolchildren growing up amidst trouble and family problems, and observing the care and nurture that their teachers provide. Screening followed by Q&A with director Matt Pinder. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Other Guys (12A) ●●●●● (Adam McKay, US, 2010) Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L Jackson. 107min. See review, page 56. General release from Fri 17 Sep.
✽✽ Piranha 3D (18) ●●●●● (Alexandre Aja, US, 2010) Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames, Elisabeth Shue. 88min. Aja’s remake of 1978 frat comedy horror Piranha is not as cheap, fun, camp or generically incisive as the original but it is a lot of fun. Aja is all too clearly channelling Spielberg’s Jaws rather than Dante’s B movie but the 3D really helps and the stars are clearly all in on the joke. General release. The Refuge (Le Refuge) (15) ●●●●● (François Ozon, France, 2009) Isabelle Carré, Louis-Ronan Choisy, Melvil Poupaud. 88min. Elegant, unfussy direction elevates this tale of a drug addict who, after an overdosing session in which her boyfriend dies, discovers she’s pregnant and runs away to a country refuge. Followed there by her dead lover’s gay brother, she develops a new understanding and a new friendship. Cameo, Edinburgh. Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D (15) ●●●●● (Paul WS Anderson, UK/Germany/US, 2010) Milla Jovovich, Kim Coates, Ali Larter. 96min. See Also Released, page 56. General release. Robin Hood (12A) ●●●●● (Ridley Scott, USA/UK, 2010) Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Matthew MacFadyen. 140min. Ridley Scott’s fifth film with Crowe never quite musters up the epic power of its predecessor Gladiator, yet still, with Scott going for a gritty take on the legend of the outlaw who robbed the rich to give to the poor, at least Crowe lends the character a level of credability Kevin Costner never attained. Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh. The Runaways (15) ●●●●● (Floria Sigismondi, US, 2010) Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon. 106min. See review, page 54. Selected release.
Index Film
Salt (12A) ●●●●● (Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, US, 2010) Phillip Noyce. 100min. Dubbed ‘Bourne with boobs’ but a mere faded facsimile of that groundbreaking franchise, this chase thriller stars Jolie on proficient, humourless, butt-kicking form as CIA agent/possible Russian mole Evelyn Salt. It’s all competently enough done, but bland in the extreme. General release.
✽✽ Scott Pilgrim vs The World (12A) ●●●●● (Edgar Wright, US,
2010) Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin. 112min. The first big-budget blockbuster from serial subverter Edgar Wright (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead) doesn’t disappoint. Typecast geek Cera plays Scott, an unemployed musician who falls hard for Ramona Flowers (Winstead) only to find he must defeat a succession of evil ex-boyfriends in fights to the death based on videogames ranging from Rock Band to Street Fighter. Although the plot neccessitates some repetitiveness, that’s more than made up for by great production design and some cracking visual gags. General release. Screen Debates: Playground (E) (Libby Spears, US) 150min. Film screening and panel discussion organised by the Women’s Support Project with GFT and The Nest Foundation, Los Angeles. Playground explores the sexual exploitation of children and young people, focusing on the story of Michelle, a young American girl who has disappeared into the underworld. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Secret in their Eyes (El Secreto De Sus Ojos) (18) ●●●●● (Juan José Campanella, Argentina/Spain, 2009) Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago. 129min. The surprise winner of 2010’s Best Foreign Film Oscar, and deservedly so. A richly satisfying and unashamedly old-fashioned piece of film noir storytelling, following a retired prosecutor as he researches a novel based on a brutal and still unsolved case from early in his career. An exceptional blend of clever whodunit, slow-burning romance and political commentary. Cameo, Edinburgh. Shrek Forever After 3D (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 batchelor years. A warmed-over sequel that lazily re-configures familiar elements to mildly pleasing effect. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Sirius (E) ●●●●● (Frantisek Vlácil, Czechoslovakia, 1975) Michal Vavrusa, Vladimir Jedenáctik, Jana Hlavácková. 50min. Children’s film from Vlácil about a boy and his best friend, the wolfhound Sirius. Screening together with two Czech shorts, Mean Barka (Lakoma Barka) and A Neanderthal Man (Clovek neadrtalsky). Part of Frantisek Vlácil season. Glasgow Film Theatre. 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. Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Some Like it Hot (PG) ●●●●● (Billy Wilder, US, 1959) Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe. 120min. Two impecunious male musicians inadvertently witness the St Valentine’s Day Massacre and take refuge in Florida with Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators, an all-female band. Brilliant, brittle, crackerjack farce with all concerned at a peak in their careers. A Club Noir Film Club screening. Grosvenor, Glasgow.
Got an opinion? You can now Comment on all our articles at list .co.uk 9–23 Sep 2010 THE LIST 59