www.list.co.uk/film utopia in Flying Lotus’ Kill Your Co- Workers and psychedelic space rock in The Drift. Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh. Get Low (PG) ●●●●● (Aaron Schneider, USA, 2009) Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek. 101min. A cobwebby comic spin on a 1930s American folk tale. A small town is surprised when curmudgeonly recluse Felix (Duvall) arranges to hold his own funeral before his death to see who turns up. Terrific performances from Duvall and Spacek as his only friend Mattie, but a hokey piece of storytelling. Glasgow Film Theatre. Ghostbusters (PG) ●●●●● (Ivan Reitman, US, 1984) Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd. 105min. Three wacky unemployed parapsychologists pursue a little private enterprise as exterminators in spook-infested New York. Of its time but still an enjoyably dated comedy. Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Glasgow Youth Film Festival Innovative festival for young audiences featuring premieres, screenings, events and special guest speakers. This year’s programme starts with a preview of the new, 3D Yogi Bear film, and also includes screenings of Soul Boy, Neukölln Unlimited and Lord of the Flies, as well as workshops in everything from breakdancing, comedy with the BBC, and pitching a script. www.glasgowfilm.org/festival/gyff for full listings. Various venues, Glasgow Gnomeo & Juliet (U) ●●●●● (Kelly Asbury, UK/US, 2011) James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine. 83min. See review, page 52. General release from Fri 11 Feb. The Green Hornet 3D (12A) ●●●●● (Michel Gondry, US, 2011) Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz. 118min. Gondry’s big budget take on George W Trendle and Fran Striker’s masked superhero is serviceable if very predictable. General release. Harem Suare (18) (Ferzan Ozpetek, Turkey/Italy/France, 1999) 94min. From Hamam to harem as The Turkish Bath director Ozpetek tells the story of the impossible love affair between a Sultan’s concubine and her eunuch in the last Harem of the Ottoman Empire. Part of Middle Eastern Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (12A) ●●●●● (David Yates, UK/US, 2010) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint. 146min. The seventh installment of the wildly popular wizard franchise is an atmospheric but emotionally hollow and rather rushed take on Rowling’s original, with a strong performance from ever-dependable Grint but little else to recommend it other than as an appetiser for next summer’s grand finale. Selected release. Hereafter (12a) ●●●●● (Clint Eastwood, US, 2010) Matt Damon, Cecile de France, Thierry Neuvic. 128min. Damon gives an understated performance as shy medium George Lonegan, whose gift seems to be sabotaging his chances at human happiness until he moves to London and a chance encounter at a book signing opens up an opportunity for him to use his powers for good. Uncomfortable and over- sentimental. General release. His Girl Friday (U) ●●●●● (Howard Hawks, US, 1940) Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy. 92min. Hawks’ dynamic comedy is one of the best Hollywood ever made. Grant and Russell are simply fantastic as the sparring newspaper editor and top reporter drawing battlelines in their professional and personal lives. Hecht and MacArthur’s script from their original play The Front Page, spits out a series of rapid-fire quips and cross-cutting gags, but allows the supporting characters to have their scene- stealing moments too. Don’t miss it. Part of Hawks season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. How Do You Know (12A) ●●●●● (James L Brooks, US, 2010) Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson. 120min. Dreary and tedious romantic comedy centered on a love triangle between a softball player (Witherspoon), an
executive (Rudd) and a partying major- league baseball pitcher (Wilson). A rare misfire from writer/director James L Brooks (As Good as it Gets, The Simpsons). General release. In Our Name (18) ●●●●● (Brian Welsh, UK, 2010) Joanne Froggatt, Mel Raido, Chloe Jayne Wilkinson. 92min. Powerful psychological thriller about British soldier Suzy’s troubled attempts to fit back in to civilian life after serving in Iraq. Froggatt is brilliant as Suzy. Cameo, Edinburgh. Innocence (15) ●●●●● (Zeki Demirkubuz, Turkey, 1997) Güven Kiraç, Derya Alabora, Haluk Bilginer. 110min. A man released from prison, having nowhere else to go, checks into a run-down hotel, where his life becomes entangled with that of a strange family. Part of Middle Eastern Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Interstella 5555 (PG) ●●●●● (Kazuhisa Takenouchi, Japan, 2003) 68min. Animation Battle of the Planets homage seems to be the way to go for Daft Punk since their sales started dipping. This hour and a bit promo seems to hit all the wrong buttons but you have to admire them for trying to traverse the boundaries of self promotion. Cameo, Edinburgh. Iranian Short Films (E) (Iran, Various) A selection of contemporary short films from Iran, selected by the UK Iranian Short Film Festival. Brass Monkey, Edinburgh. John Carpenter’s The Ward (15) ●●●●● (John Carpenter, US, 2010) Amber Heard, Jared Harris. 88min. Execrable stalker horror starring Heard and Harris. Rumour has it that the great Carpenter hardly directed any of it, and just lent his name to it for profit. We really hope so. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Just Go with It (12A) ●●●●● (Dennis Dugan, US, 2011) Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman. 116min. See Also Released, page 52. General release. Kick-Ass (15) ●●●●● (Matthew Vaughn, US/UK, 2010) Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz. 117min. Big screen adaptation of Mark Millar’s massively popular comic in which a bunch of misfit teens don superhero costumes and get stuck into some stylised vigilante action. Successfully celebrating a teen boys’ idea of ‘cool’, Vaughn has a feeling for characters and story arcs that his Lock, Stock . . . collaborator Guy Ritchie has long since forgotten. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh.
✽✽ The King’s Speech (15) ●●●●● (Tom Hooper, UK, 2010)
Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush. 118min. As war approaches, King George VI (Firth) is suddenly placed in a position of power, so hires a speech therapist to cure his speech impediment. Firth’s affable persona lends an edge to the sheer frustration with which the King stumbles his way through public performances and contributes largely to the film’s feel-good twist. General release. A Little Bit of Heaven (12A) ●●●●● (Nicole Kassell, US, 2011) Kate Hudson, Kathy Bates, Gael Garcia Bernal, Whoopi Goldberg. 106min. See Also Released, page 52. General release. Love and Other Drugs (15) ●●●●● (Edward Zwick, US, 2010) Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Judy Greer. 112min. When Gyllenhaal’s flashy young pharmaceutical sales rep meets sassy independent waitress Maggie (Hathaway) the stage is set for a formulaic romance tinged with the special poignancy that can only arise when one of the protagonists is suffering from a debilitating disease. Yawn. Selected release. Madame Curie (U) ●●●●● (Mervyn LeRoy, USA, 1943) Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon. 124min. Garson plays the Madame herself in this Hollywood biopic about the famous scientist and her discovery of radium. A post-screening panel and audience discussion will investigate representations of female scientists in film. A special Women in Science screening. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
The Mechanic (15) ●●●●● (Simon West, US, 2011) Jason Statham, Donald Sutherland, Ben Foster. 92min. Arthur Bishop (Statham) is a ‘mechanic’ – an elite assassin with a strict code and a talent for eliminating targets. When his mentor and close friend Harry (Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop wants those responsible dead. Another lively action thriller featuring the ever-dependable Statham. Director West (Con Air) brings a steady hand to proceedings. General release. Little Fockers (12A) ●●●●● (Paul Weitz, US, 2010) Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba. 97min. The formula remains the same for this third instalment of familial comedy franchise. Gaylord ‘Greg’ Focker (Stiller) and his wife Pam (Polo) now have five-year-old twins. Greg suffers a mid-life crisis, which reactivates his psychotic father-in-law Jack’s suspicions. Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand and director Paul Weitz return for more of the same. Likeable and forgettable. Selected release. Melting Borderline (15) (Various) 90min. Group screening of new work by Japanese female film makers, artists, musicians and animators, featuring everything from experimental films to music videos. CCA, Glasgow. The Misfits (PG) ●●●●● (John Huston, US, 1961) Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift. 124min. Heaven knows what mood persisted on the set of sombre Western, as it ended up being the last film for both Monroe and Gable, while Clift too was in something of a decline, despite his superb performance. Gable plays a cowboy who comes across divorcee Monroe when she’s freeing captive horses with disillusioned rodeo rider Clift. Arthur Miller’s intelligent script is a character study set as dusk falls on the Old West. Valvona & Crolla, Edinburgh. Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (PG) ●●●●● (Jacques Tati, France, 1953) Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Michelle
INDEX Film
Rolla. 91min. M Hulot, the accident-prone bachelor, arrives at a jaunty coastal resort and devastation very soon ensues. Comic timing at its most irresistible, as Tati gets away with a number of memorable, slow- burning gags, all undercut by the stabbing notion that we all have an uncle exactly like Hulot. Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Morning Glory (12A) ●●●●● (Roger Michell, US, 2010) Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford. 107min. Lightweight comedy from Notting Hill director Michell relating the trials and tribulations of TV producer Becky (McAdams) who hires renegade journo Pomeroy (Ford) to salvage the ratings of a moribund breakfast news programme, much to his chagrin. Formulaic but enjoyable. Selected release.
✽✽ Neds (18) ●●●●● (Peter Mullan, UK/France/Italy, 2010) Martin Bell,
Connor McCarron, Linda Cuthbert. 123min. An ugly, disturbing and deeply felt account of social betrayal set in 1970s Glasgow, starring McCarron as a disillusioned yoof drawn into gangland suburban violence and juvenile delinquency. Clever and caustic filmmaking that works hard to dodge the pitfalls of cliché. General release.
✽✽ Never Let Me Go (12A) ●●●●● (Mark Romanek, UK, 2010) Carey
Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield. 103min. See review, page 50. Selected release. The Next Three Days (12a) ●●●●● (Paul Haggis, US, 2010) Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks. 122min. Crash writer/director Haggis’ retelling of 2008’s Anything For Her is not his finest work, with a disappointing performance from Crowe as a schoolteacher whose wife is found guilty of murder. The tone is confused and any potentially interesting rough edges are completely ignored, rendering the film remarkably bland. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Vue Ocean, Edinburgh.
3–17 Feb 2011 THE LIST 55