list.co.uk/film psychological drama explores the motive behind two young brothers’ murder of their mother. Part of Kinoteka Polish Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre. Muppet Fairytales (US) (Various) 70min. Two classic tales told in the inimitable Muppet manner: The Frog Prince and The Elves and the Shoemaker. Part of Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Muppet History 101 (PG) (Various) 100min. A collection of rarities examining the origins of the Muppets, including early live TV appearances, commercials and more. Also features excerpts from The Muppet Show pilot. Part of Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Muppet History 201: More Rarities from the Henson Vault (PG) (Various) 75min. The Jim Henson Legacy has tracked down a plethora of unaired clips featuring Muppet appearances from the 1950s to the 1980s. Part of Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Muppet Movie (U) ●●●●● (James Frawley, UK, 1979) Charles Durning, Steve Martin, Bob Hope, Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy. 97min. Numerous guest stars appear on the way as Kermit heads off to Hollywood and stardom. Plenty slapstick for the kids and movie in-jokes for the parents. Part of Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Muppet Music Moments (U) (Various) 77min. A collection of some classic musical numbers as interpreted by the Muppets, featuring Harry Belafonte, Elton John and Linda Ronstadt. Part of Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Muppet Treasure Island (U) ●●●●● (Brian Henson, US, 1996) Tim Curry, Billy Connolly, Kevin Bishop. 99min. The furry gang take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s pirate tale with comic effect. Part of Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Muppets from Space (U) ●●●●● (Tim Hill, US, 1999) Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz. 88min. For their sixth big screen adventure, the focus of our Muppet attentions is Gonzo, that blue, hooked nosed . . . thing. No one is really sure what Gonzo is, so when he gets a message which he believes is from space, the race is on to make contact with his extra terrestrial brethren. Muppets From Space captures the spirit of the first movie and the original TV series that the subsequent films never did. Part of Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Muppets Take Manhattan (U) ●●●●● (Frank Oz, US, 1984) Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear. 94min. The Muppets try to break into Broadway with their college show. Amusing use of New York locations and guest appearances from the likes of Joan Rivers and Gregory Hines mark this out as superior fun for the family. Part of Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson's Legacy. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. National Theatre Live: Frankenstein (15) (Danny Boyle, 2011) Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller. 180min. Mary Shelley’s classic gothic tale, written by Nick Dear and realised by Danny Boyle in his return to theatre. The roles of Dr Frankenstein and the Creature are alternated between Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller. Glasgow Film Theatre. 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. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness. Never Let Me Go (12A) ●●●●● (Mark Romanek, UK, 2010) Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield. 103min. Writer Alex Garland and One Hour Photo director Romanek’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s bleak, existential novel is a triumph of casting, featuring deeply felt performances from Mulligan and Garfield as students of the mysterious Hailsham boarding school. Few details are apparent to start with, and to divulge more would take away from this ambitious, beautiful film. Selected release. The Night of The Hunter (PG) ●●●●● (Charles Laughton, US, 1955) Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lilian Gish. 93min. Mitchum is unforgettable in this atmospheric tale (sadly Laughton’s only film as director) in which he plays a psychotic priest chasing two children for the money stolen by their father. James Agee’s script and Laughton’s stark monochrome visuals mark out an allegorical conflict between good and evil but there’s plenty haunting imagery to make this a mesmerising cinematic experience. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Nikita (18) ●●●●● (Luc Besson, France, 1990) Anne Parillaud, Tcheky Karyo, Jean- Hughes Anglade, Jeanne Moreau. 114min. Parillaud stars as a junkie waif resurrected from her dreary existence by the enigmatic Karyo, an agent for the government’s most secretive undercover organistaion, and pretty soon she’s a top-notch assassin. Scotsman Screening Room, Edinburgh. 9:06 (15) (Igor Sterk, Slovenia/Germany, 2009) Gregor Bakovic, Silva Cusin, Labina Mitevska. 75min. A police inspector becomes obsessed with a suicide case and assumes the victim’s identity. Part of New Europe Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. NLS Film Club: St Kilda (U) (Various, UK, Various) 90min. St Kilda – Britain’s Loneliest Isle and St Kilda – The Lonely Islands, two films depicting the unique island and the painful process of its evacuation, with a soundtrack composed by David Allison. National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Norwegian Wood (15) ●●●●● (Tran Anh Hung, Japan, 2010) Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, Kiko Mizuhara. 133min. The story of a directionless Japanese student and his relationships is one of Haruki
INDEX Film
Murakami’s more straightforwardly accessible tales, but Tran Anh Hung’s contemplative approach and sluggish pacing fail to translate it into substantial cinema. Cameo, Edinburgh; DCA, Dundee. Nostalgia (15) ●●●●● (Andrei Tarkovsky, Italy, 1983) Oleg Jankovsky, Erland Josephson, Domiziana Giordano. 126min. A Russian poet and musicologist researching in the Tuscany hills meets a mysterious stranger who believes the world is about to end. Though often obscure, Nostalgia is still a hauntingly beautiful evocation of exile and the need for faith. CCA, Glasgow. Nothing Personal (15) (Urszula Antoniak, Netherlands/Ireland, 2009) Stephen Rea, Lotte Verbeek. 85min. A solitary young Dutch woman takes a room in the harsh landscape of Connemara, seeking nothing from her landlord and employer other than to be left alone, which is precisely what they want too. As Antoniak’s slow- burning debut progresses, however, curiosity of course begins to get the better of them. Part of Kinoteka Polish Film Festival. 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. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Oceans (12A) (Jacques Perrin, France/Switzerland/Spain, 2010) 104min. This ecological documentary-drama, filmed across the world, is part thriller, part meditation. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. On Tour (15) ●●●●● (Mathieu Amalric, France, 2010) Miranda Colclasure, Suzanne Ramsey, Angela de Lorenzo. 111min. Authentic portrayal of French traveling burlesque show and enjoyable character study of seedy impresario Joachim (writer- director Almaric) as he pulls strings to get his band of buxom American performers onto the Paris stage. Macrobert, Stirling.
31 Mar–28 Apr 2011 THE LIST 71