www.list.co.uk/film 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 Adjustment Bureau (12A) ●●●●● (George Nolfi, US, 2011) Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie. 105min. See review, page 67. General release.
(John Huston, UK, 1951) Humphrey ✽✽ The African Queen (PG) ●●●●● Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley. 105min. Splendid World War I adventure has the marvellous pairing of grizzled Bogey and spinsterish Hepburn as they make their way up the Congo fighting swamps, the Hun and each other to quite thrilling effect. See Also Released, page 68. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Aguirre, Wrath of God (15) ●●●●● (Werner Herzog, West Germany, 1972) Klaus Kinski, Cecilia Rivera. 95min. Seventeenth century conquistadors on a mission to explore the Amazon court disaster when the zeal of their leader remains undampened after a number of encounters with hostile Indians. Part of Werner Herzog season. Cameo, Edinburgh. Alexandra (Aleksandra) (PG) ●●●●● (Alexander Sokurov, Russia/France, 2007) Galina Vishnevskaya, Vasily Shevtsov, Raisa Gichaeva. 95min. Poignant Chechnyan tale from Sokurov, Russia’s most fêted living filmmaker. Part of An Introduction to European Cinema. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. All American Orgy (18) ●●●●● (Andrew Drazek, US, 2009) Laura Silverman, Ted Beck, Adam Busch. 98min. See Also Released, page 68. General release. An American Werewolf in London (15) ●●●●● (John Landis, US, 1981) David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne. 97min. Classic horror as an American backpacker is bitten by a werewolf on the moors. Glasgow Film Theatre. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (12A) ●●●●● (Adam McKay, US, 2003) Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Paul Carell. 94min. Snappy comedy vehicle for Saturday Night Live veteran Will Ferrell that’s set in the sexist days of the 1970s TV news media. Sloans, Glasgow.
✽✽ Animal Kingdom (15) ●●●●● (David Michod, Australia, 2010) Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, James Frecheville. 113min. Featuring a who’s who of Australian character actors, writer/director David Michôd’s Sundance prize-winning debut is a riveting drama about a teenager (Frecheville) who becomes trapped in a life of crime with his three uncles. Selected release. Another Fine Mess with Laurel and Hardy (U) (Various, UK, 1928/29) Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy. 90min. Triple bill from the accident prone pair: in Liberty they’re escaped convicts trying to recover their trousers, in Big Business they’re messing up a business transaction, and in You’re Darn Tootin’ they are dismissed from a band and have to make a living by busking. With live piano accompaniment from Neil Brand. Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Anuvahood (15) ●●●●● (Adam Deacon & Daniel Toland, UK, 2011) Adam Deacon, Femi Oyeniran, Ollie Barbieri. 88min. See Also Released, page 68. Selected release. Apnea (Apnoia) (15) (Aris Bafaloukas, Greece, 2010) Youlika Skafida, Sotiris Pastras, Andrianna Babali. 87min. Film about a brooding swimmer, made by a director who was himself a former national swimming champion. Part of Greek Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. ✽✽ Archipelago (15) ●●●●● (Joanna Hogg, UK, 2010) Tom Hiddleston, Kate Fahy, Lydia Leonard. 115min. See review, page 65. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Attenberg (18) (Athina Rachel Tsungari, Greece, 2010) Ariane Labed, Giorgos Lanthimos, Vangelis Mouridis. 95min. A young Greek woman sets out to inform
INDEX Film
herself about love and sexuality, inspired by her hero David Attenborough and his studies of wildlife. Part of Greek Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Bad Timing (18) ●●●●● (Nicolas Roeg, UK, 1979) Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel. 123min. As surgeons fight for the life of a young American in Vienna, we learn of a university lecturer’s obsessive and often violent relationship with her. Typical Roeg, with elliptical editing and an explosion of ideas: the result is an extraordinarily powerful film. Part of Nick Roeg season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Ballast (15) ●●●●● (Lance Hammer, US, 2008) Micheal J Smith Sr, JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs. 96min. See Also Released, page 68. Selected release. Barney’s Version (15) ●●●●● (Richard J Lewis, US, 2010) Paul Giamatti, Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike. 133min. A rambling and unfocused exploration of the failed romantic history of a middle-aged cynical schlub, enlivened by solid turns from Giamatti and Pike. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Batman (12) ●●●●● (Tim Burton, US, 1989) Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Bassinger. 120min. Nicholson is on top form: psychotic, witty and zanier than ever, but the real triumph is Keaton’s. With less screen time than the Great Upstager, he produces a performance of memorable subtlety and power, which gives credibility to the Bruce Wayne/Batman character while remaining true to the comic strip. Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow. Battle Los Angeles (12A) ●●●●● (Jonathan Liebesman, US, 2011) Aaron Eckhart, Ramon Rodriguez, Ne-Yo. 116min. See Also Released, page 68. General release. The Battle of Algiers (15) ●●●●● (Gillo Pontecorvo, Algeria/Italy, 1965) Brahim Haggiag, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi. 140min. Brilliantly realistic documentary- style reconstruction of Algeria’s struggle for liberation. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Benda Bilili! (PG) ●●●●● (Renaud Barret/Florent de la Tullaye, Democratic Republic of the Congo/France, 2010) 85min. See review, page 67. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Betelnut (tbc) (Yang Heng, China, 2005) Qi Dai, Yi Gao, Yu Liang. 112min. Two teenage boys experience a summer of love and crime in a dead-end town on the banks of the Yangtze river. Part of Takeaway China season. CCA, Glasgow. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (PG) ●●●●● (John Whitesell, US, 2011) Martin Lawrence, Brandon T Jackson. 107min. FBI agent Malcolm Turner and son pose as Big Momma and Charmaine to infiltrate an all-girls performing arts school. General release. The Big Sleep (PG) ●●●●● (Howard Hawks, US, 1946) Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers. 114min. Witty, sultry, atmospheric, mainstream film noir with Bogey and Bacall doing their excellent double act. Part of Hawks season. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Bird People in China (15) (Takashi Miike, Japan, 1998) Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi, Wang Li Li. 118min. A Japanese trader travels into rural China to investigate a business prospect and comes across a remote hill tribe whose children wear wings made from bamboo and paper. Part of Japanese Cinema Since the Mid-90s season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Biutiful (15) ●●●●● (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Spain/Mexico, 2010) Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib. 147min. Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Barcelona underworld hustler Uxbal (Bardem) has just months to put his chaotic life in order. Sentimental but visually impressive storytelling from writer- director Iñárritu. Cameo, Edinburgh. Black Swan (15) ●●●●● (Darren Aronofsky, US, 2010) Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis. 107min. In an Oscar-winning turn, young ballerina Nina (Portman) finds herself thrown into a maelstrom of conflict, backstabbing and mental manipulation when she is cast as both the white and black swans in a lavish production of Swan Lake. Dark and powerful. General release.
3–31 March 2011 THE LIST 69