list.co.uk/film Snow White and the Huntsman (12A) ●●●●● (Rupert Sanders, US, 2012) Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron. 127min. Snow White (Stewart) has been incarcerated for seven years by dastardly Ravenna (Theron) but she escapes, with titular huntsman Eric (Hemsworth) in pursuit. Theron is imperious and Stewart is characteristically expressive, although Hemsworth is uninspiring. But the ribald, all-star dwarves provide precious laughs. General release. Sodankylä Forever: Part One (PG) (Peter von Bagh, Finland, 2010) 59min. Von Bagh’s documentary explores the first filmgoing experiences of filmmakers, including Claude Chabrol, Samuel Fuller, John Boorman, Jim Jarmusch and Milos Forman. Part of Sodankylä Forever season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Sodankylä Forever: Part Two (PG) (Peter von Bagh, Finland, 2010) 59min. This second documentary about the Midnight Sun Film Festival focuses on the experiences of filmmakers including Wim Wenders, Robert Wise and Claude Chabrol. Part three is screened later in the month. Part of Sodankylä Forever season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Solidarity Song: The Hanns Eisler Story (tbc) (Larry Weinstein/ Thomas Wallner, Germany/Canada, 1995) 89min. This documentary focuses on the complicated life of little-known communist composer Hanns Eisler, first persecuted by the Germans, then by the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and finally by the communist government of East Germany. Glasgow Film Theatre. The Source (La source des femmes) (15) ●●●●● (Radu Mihaileanu, Belguim/Italy/France, 2011) Leila Bekhti, Hafisa Herzi, Biyouna. 124min. In a drought-ridden village somewhere between Africa and the Middle East, the men do little while the women are expected to fetch the water in sweltering heat; eventually, Leila (Bekhti) organises a revolt. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Stage Door (PG) (Gregory La Cava, US, 1937) Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou. 92min. Nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, this comedy follows a group of actresses all living together in one New York boarding house. Introduced by EIFF Artistic Director Chris Fujiwara. Part of the Gregory La Cava retrospective. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Stardust Memories (15) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, US, 1980) Woody Allen, Mia Farrow. 92min. A famous director of comedy films undergoes much soul- searching when the public and critics fail to appreciate his attempts at serious cinematic statement. Occasionally shrill and self- pitying autobiographical movie. Part of the Woody’s Goodies season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Storage 24 (15) (Johannes Roberts, UK, 2012) Noel Clarke, Colin O’Donoghue, Antonia Campbell-Hughes. 86min. In this British horror film, a military plane crashes in London, throwing its classified contents across the city. Unaware of the chaos, couple Charlie and Shelley are dividing up their possessions in a storage container after a break up. Bickering between the couple and their friends soon turns to solidarity as the power goes out and the horror begins. General release from Fri 29 Jun. Taxi Driver (18) ●●●●● (Martin Scorsese, US, 1976) Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepherd, Jodie Foster. 114min. The now classic story of an alienated taxi driver in New York who is so repelled by the squalor and the moral decay around him that he is driven to terrible violence. One of the key American films of the 1970s with the Scorsese-De Niro partnership at its peak. Sloans, Glasgow. The Women on the 6th Floor (Les Femmes du 6ème Étage) (12A) (Philippe le Guay, France, 2010) Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Natalia Verbeke. 106min. A man’s unexciting married life is turned upside down when a flock of lively Spanish maids moves into the sixth floor of his building. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; Glasgow Film Theatre.
EIFF: Philippine New Wave
Chances are you haven’t seen a huge amount of Philippine cinema. Yet despite the few films from the country that reach our shores it has a buoyant filmmaking culture that’s increasingly gaining an international reputation. This year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival dedicates a whole strand to the country’s ‘New Wave’ of filmmakers. There’s documentary Philippine New Wave: This is not a film movement, which gives a glimpse into the digital revolution in local filmmaking; Mondomanila; or, How I Fixed My Hair After a Rather Long Journey, a grotesque punk movie about a criminal group; and for the truly dedicated Lav Diaz’s epic six-hour film Florentina Hubaldo, CTE, which, at the director’s request, is screening without an intermission. ■ Edinburgh International Film Festival, Wed 20 Jun–Sun 1 Jul.
Think Like a Man (12A) (Tim Story, US, 2012) Chris Brown, Gabrielle Union, Kevin Hart. 121min. Four couples engage in a comedic battle of the sexes when the men discover that their partners are hooked on advice from comedian Steve Harvey’s book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. General release from Fri 22 Jun. A Thousand Kisses Deep (15) (Dana Lustig, UK/USA, 2011) Dougray Scott, Emelia Fox, David Warner. 84min. A thriller in which a young woman, Mia, sees an old woman leap from a window and finds shredded photographs of herself scattered around the body. Showcase Cinema Glasgow, Glasgow. Top Cat: The Movie (U) ●●●●● (Alberto Mar, Mexico/Argentina, 2011) Jason Harris, Chris Edgerly, Ben Diskin, Melissa Disney, Bill Lobely. 90min. Top Cat (Harris) leads the gang into combat against an evil robot army, with the love of his sweetheart (Disney) at stake. General release. Total Recall (18) (Paul Verhoeven, US, 1990) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside. 113min. In Verhoeven’s playfully-plotted but hugely expensive rollercoaster of violence, Arnie plays a construction worker whose vacational fantasy (implanted by Rekall Incorporated) is to pitch him into a netherworld of assassins and femmes fatales before unleashing the full truth about his nightmares of life on Mars. Cameo, Edinburgh. Touki Bouki (tbc) (Djibril Diop Mambéty, Senegal, 1973) Magaye Niang, Mareme Niang, Aminata Fall. 85min. A cowherd and a student meet in Senegal. They plan to elope to France in what is regarded as Africa’s first avant-garde film. Glasgow Film Theatre. Town of Runners (PG) ●●●●● (Jerry Rothwell, Ethiopia/UK, 2012) 88min. A pretty and thoughtful documentary about the tiny town of Bekoji in Ethiopia, which has produced an astonishing number of champion long-distance runners. Part of the On Your Marks season. Glasgow Film Theatre. Toy Story (PG) ●●●●● (John Lasseter, US, 1995) Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles. 81min. Pixar’s debut is a tale of friendship and self-belief combined with an exciting rescue and against-the- clock tension. Don’t be fooled into thinking these toys are just for the kids. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Toy Story 2 (U) ●●●●● (John Lasseter, US, 2000) Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack. 95min. When Woody is not taken to Cowboy Camp by his owner Andy, he begins to question the meaning of his ‘life’. The emotive range of the animated characters is extraordinary; they say that computer generated images will never replace the real thing, but Toy Story 2 makes you wonder. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Toy Story 3 (U) ●●●●● (Lee Unkrich, USA, 2010) Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack. 108min. Andy has grown up and is on the way to college, so everyone’s favourite toys are packed off to Sunnyside day-care centre. After a whirlwind of close-cut situations, the film manages to retain its good humour and pathos long enough to bring all the characters safely to a satisfying resolution. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. The Turin Horse (15) ●●●●● (Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky, Hungary/France, 2011) János Derzsi, Erika Bók, Mihály Kormos. 154min. A father and daughter scrabble for a living in a remote farm, but their livelihood is threatened when their ageing horse starts to sicken. A compellingly vivid film in which workaday tasks are endowed with mythic grandeur. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. Un Chien Andalou (18) ●●●●● (Luis Bunuel, France, 1928) Simone Mareuil, Pierre Batcheff, Jaime Miravilles, Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel. 17min. Classic Spanish surrealism, with the famous eyeball-slitting
LISTINGS Film
scene and a great deal of bizarre imagery and obscure meaning. Seventeen minutes not easily forgotten. Double bill with L’age d’Or. Glasgow Film Theatre. Victim (15) (Alex Pillai, UK, 2011) Ashley Chin, Ashley Madekwe, Jason Maza. 98min. Action drama about a young man’s attempts to move away from a life of violent crime, with the help of a wholesome country girl who comes to stay with his friend in the city. Selected release from Fri 22 Jun. Videodrome (18) ●●●●● (David Cronenberg, Canada, 1983) James Woods, Debbie Harry. 87min. Woods is a programmer for a pirate cable station who becomes intrigued and then obsessed with an untraceable porn channel that triggers hallucinogenic fantasies. A nasty but intriguing masterpiece. Cameo, Edinburgh. WALL-E (U) ●●●●● (Andrew Stanton, US, 2008) Voices of Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Ben Burtt. 103min. A post- apocalyptic story set in a future in which the Earth has been abandoned by humankind, where a solitary robot named WALL-E executes his now pointless trash collecting programme. At its heart this is a very sweet romantic comedy between ‘bots. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. We Are Poets (tbc) (Daniel Lucchesi, Alex Ramseyer-Bache, UK/US, 2011) 80min. A group of British teenagers express themselves through poetry. This documentary follows them on a journey to the White House at Brave New Voices – America’s most prestigious poetry slam event. Selected release from Thu 28 Jun. What to Expect When You’re Expecting (12A) ●●●●● (Kirk Jones, US, 2012) Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison, Dennis Quaid. 109min. Based on the New York Times best seller of the same name, this comedy focuses on five couples about to have children. General release.
✽ Where Do We Go Now? (Et Maintenant, On Va où?)
(12●) ●●●●● (Nadine Labaki, France/ Lebanon/Italy/Egypt, 2011) Claude Baz Moussawbaa, Leyla Hakim, Nadine Labaki. 100min. See review page 74. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; Glasgow Film Theatre. The Wicker Man (15) ●●●●● (Robin Hardy, UK, 1973) Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, Christopher Lee. 102min. A devoutly celibate policeman (Woodward) arrives at a remote Scottish island to investigate a schoolgirl disappearance and becomes involved in local pagan rituals. A British horror classic, with some extremely scary and erotic moments. Scotsman Screening Room, Edinburgh. Without Limits (12) (Robert Towne, US, 1998) Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, Monica Potter. 117min. One of two biopics about the legendary runner Steve Prefontaine, Towne’s iteration features Crudup as the athlete battling adversity. Part of the Let the Games Begin season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Woody Allen: A Documentary (15) ●●●●● (Robert B Weide, US, 2012) 113min. This UK cinema release of Weide’s documentary is cut down from a much longer American TV special, which explains why it feels somewhat rushed. But there’s much to enjoy, including new interviews and a fascinating look at Allen’s work process. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. You’ve Been Trumped (E) ●●●●● (Anthony Baxter, UK, 2011) Michael Forbes, Donald Trump. 95min. Documentary charting Donald Trump’s plans to build an enormous golf and residential development on land in the north east of Scotland, much to the dismay of the local populace. Followed by a discussion led by a representative of the Humanist Society of Scotland. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; Glasgow Film Theatre. Your Sister’s Sister (15) ●●●●● (Lynn Shelton, USA, 2011) Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass, Rosemarie DeWitt, Tom Birbiglia. 90min. See review, page 71. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; Glasgow Film Theatre. 21 Jun–19 Jul 2012 THE LIST 81