Film INDEX
Films screening in the next four weeks are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. See list.co.uk for the most up-to- date list of films screening. Film index is compiled by Paul Dale and Laura Ennor. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (U) ●●●●● (Gary Halvorson, US, 2000) Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa L Williams, Kevin Clash. 72min. Sesame Street’s Elmo loses his security blanket down Oscar the Grouch’s trashcan. Once inside, he is transported to the hellish Grouchland. Strictly for the littlest family members. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Akira (12) ●●●●● (Otomo Katsuhiro, Japan, 1988) Animated by Nakamura Takashi, with the voices of Iwata Mitsue, Sasaki Nozomu, Koyama Mami, Ishida Taro. 124min. Based on the multi-volume graphic novel by Otomo, Akira is a mythical, futuristic tale of post-holocaust Tokyo, where pill-popping biker kids begin to unearth a government project designed to exploit the psychic and telekinetic powers of a group of laboratory-bound children. Superbly animated, with a fantastic visual and narrative imagination, but you’d be well advised to know something of the plot before you see it. Cameo, Edinburgh. Alice in Wonderland (U) (Clyde Geronimi/Wilfred Jackson, US, 1951) Voices of Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Sterling Holloway. 75min. Classic animated Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s fantastical story. Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow.
Yonebayashi, Japan, 2010) Mirai Shida, ✽✽ Arrietty (U) ●●●●● (Hiromasa Ryunosuke Kamiki, Shinobu Otake. 94min. See review, page 53. Selected release. Bad Teacher (15) ●●●●● (Jake Kasdan, US, 2011) Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake. 91min. A foul- mouthed young teacher (Diaz) causes chaos when she tries to seduce a colleague. General release. Bal (Honey) (PG) ●●●●● (Semih Kaplanoglu, Turkey, 2010) Bora Altas, Erdal Besikçioglu, Tülin Özen. 103min. Turkish drama set in the Black Sea region where a six-year-old boy wanders the forests looking for his father, who has disappeared. The third and final part of playwright and filmmaker Kaplanoglu’s Yusuf trilogy. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. The Beaver (12A) ●●●●● (Jodie Foster, US, 2011) Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin. 91min. After an accident, Walter (Gibson) believes that a beaver hand puppet is an extension of his personality, able to voice what he feels and maybe turn things around. Some genuinely funny moments and a committed performance from Gibson really sell the idea. Macrobert, Stirling.
✽✽ Beginners (15) ●●●●● (Mike Mills, US, 2010) Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent. 104min. See review, page 55. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Cameo, Edinburgh. A Better Life (12A) ●●●●● (Chris Weitz, US, 2011) Demián Bichir, José Julián, Joaquín Cosio. 97min. See profile page 52, and review, page 55. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow.
Voulait Vivre sa Vie) (15) ✽✽ The Big Picture (L’homme Qui ●●●●● (Eric Lartigau, France, 2010) Romain Duris, Marina Foïs, Niels Arestrup. 115min. See review, page 54. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee.
Looking for screening times? Visit list.co.uk/events/film for up-to-date film times for every Scottish cinema. 56 THE LIST 21 Jul–4 Aug 2011
Glasgow: Cinema City Kicking off a cross-discipline project exploring and celebrating Glasgow’s rich heritage as both a film location and film screening metropolis, Glasgow Film (the body that oversees both the Glasgow Film Theatre and the Glasgow Film Festival) presents two films shot in and around the city. First up is an early preview screening of David Mackenzie’s science fiction romancer Perfect Sense, starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green, which will be showing with award-winning Glasgow-set short The Pedestrian. Later in August there will be a matinee screening of Terence Davies’ excellent adaptation of Edith Wharton’s classic novel The House of Mirth, starring Gillian Anderson. Visit glasgowfilm.org/cinema_city for more information. ■ GFT, Glasgow, Wed 27 Jul (Perfect Sense) and Sun 28 Aug (The House of Mirth).
Bobby Fischer Against the World (12A) ●●●●● (Liz Garbus, US/UK/Iceland, 2011) 93min. Intriguing documentary about one-time chess champion Fischer and his later delusion and madness. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. ✽✽ Bridesmaids (15) ●●●●● (Paul Feig, US, 2011) Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne. 125min. When her newly-engaged best friend Lillian (Rudolph) asks her to be chief bridesmaid, Annie (Wiig) is delighted, until she meets Lillian’s new best friend, who can only be described as a rich bitch. The cast list overflows with comedy talent and the jokes are very funny. General release. Cape Fear (18) ●●●●● (Martin Scorsese, US, 1991) Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis. 127min. Scorsese’s stunning remake of the 1962 original leaves Silence of the Lambs pallid by comparison. De Niro is terrifying as white trash psycho Max Cady, out of prison and stalking the family of the lawyer who suppressed evidence to put him away. Disturbing sexual undertones, centred on 15-year-old Danny (Lewis), make this an even more uncomfortable, but unmissable, top-notch scare-fest. Part of the Bernard Herrmann season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Captain America: The First Avenger (12A) (Joe Johnston, US, 2011) Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan. 123min. See Also Released, page 55. General release. Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert (E) (Brian Large, US, 1990) 86min. Seminal recording of the Tenors’ 1990 concert in Rome. Part of the Screen Arts Festival. Cameo, Edinburgh. Cars 2 (U) ●●●●● (John Lasseter, Brad Lewis, US, 2011) Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine. 106min. See review, page 53. General release.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams 2D (15) ●●●●● (Werner Herzog, Canada/US/France/Germany/UK, 2010) 95min. Immersive documentary examining the Chauvet-Pont-d-’Arc caves in France’s Ardèche region that contain the oldest ever paintings created by humans, dating back 35,000 years. Despite working under severe restrictions in terms of access and lighting, Herzog’s images instill a sense of awe. Part of the Screen Arts Festival. Cameo, Edinburgh. ✽✽ Cell 211 (18) ●●●●● (Daniel Monzón, Spain/France, 2009) Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann, Antonio Resines. 113min. Juan (Ammann) is shown around a prison prior to starting work as a new guard when a riot erupts. This award- winning Spanish hit takes a clever premise and moulds it into an intense cat-and- mouse tale that combines strong characters and sweaty suspense. Selected release. Chariots of Fire (PG) ●●●●● (Hugh Hudson, UK, 1981) Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers. 123min. Worryingly jingoistic vision of the 1924 Paris Olympics and the exploits of runners Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell that, in its numerous slow-motion races, is to blame for Vangelis soundtracks becoming synonymous with athletics. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Chimes at Midnight (PG) (Orson Welles, France/Spain/Switzerland, 1965) Orson Welles, Keith Baxter, John Gielgud. 113min. A story built around Shakespeare’s fat and lecherous companion to Prince Hal, Sir John Falstaff (Welles). Part of the Screen Arts Festival. Cameo, Edinburgh. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Michael Apted, US, 2010) Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Tilda Swinton. 112min. Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Keynes) Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace (Will Poulter), where they meet up with Prince Caspian (Barnes) for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, and warriors before reaching the edge of the world. CS Lewis’ saga adaptation continues. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow.
Citizen Kane (PG) ●●●●● (Orson Welles, US, 1941) Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead. 119min. Stunningly successful biographical mosaic centring on a Hearst-like media tycoon. Welles’ first film remains scintillating viewing for its sheer technical verve, narrative confidence and spellbinding performances. Part of the Bernard Herrmann season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (PG) ●●●●● (Steven Spielberg, US, 1977) Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Teri Garr. 132min. Dreyfuss plays a power company technician who investigates a mysterious blackout and finds himself facing an alien. A magnificent movie, the master at his best. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. The Conspirator (12A) ●●●●● (Robert Redford, US, 2010) James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline. 122min. This courtroom drama about the woman charged alongside John Wilkes Booth – the man who shot Abraham Lincoln – is clearly just as inspired by more recent politics. The results are intermittently preachy and starchy, better suited to stirring a classroom debate than a cinema audience. Selected release. Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (E) (Alex Stapleton, US, 2011) 95min. Revealing documentary charting the life of Hollywood Maverick Roger Corman from humble screenwriter beginnings to the bestowal of a lifetime achievement Academy award in 2010. Part of the Screen Arts Festival. Cameo, Edinburgh. Countdown to Zero (E) ●●●●● (Lucy Walker, US, 2010) 91min. Featuring a range of high profile talking heads, this fast- paced and absorbing polemic against nuclear armament recalls terrifying moments in recent history when the world was seconds away from nuclear war. At times though, it veers worryingly close to fear-mongering. Maryhill Community Central Hall, Glasgow. Cutter’s Way (18) ●●●●● (Ivan Passer, US, 1981) Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn. 104min. Boozy Vietnam vet prods his aimless mate Bridges into action after he thinks he has witnessed a murder. Welcome reissue of this low-key, downbeat and culty thriller. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee.