Film LISTINGS
Hope Springs (12A) ●●●●● (David Frankel, US, 2012) Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell. 100min. Gentle marital comedy featuring fine central performances, albeit with an incessantly upbeat soundtrack and picture-postcardish visuals. General release. The Hunter (15) ●●●●● (Daniel Nettheim, Australia, 2011) Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor, Sam Neill. 102min. Martin (Dafoe) is a mercenary hired to track down the presumed extinct Tasmanian Tiger. macrobert, Stirling, Sat 22–Wed 26 Sep. Ice Age: Continental Drift (U) ●●●●● (Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier, US, 2012) Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo. 92min. Polished animation but with an unoriginal script and banal characterisation. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Sat 6 Oct. The Imposter (15) ●●●●● (Bart Layton, UK, 2012) 99min. Documentary about a twentysomething French drifter who successfully passed himself off as a missing American teenager. Cameo, Edinburgh, Thu 20 Sep; The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Thu 20 Sep. Jackpot (Arme Riddere) (15) ●●●●● (Magnus Martens, Norway, 2011) Kyrre Hellum, Henrik Mestad, Marie Blokhus. 85min. Black comedy in which a syndicate of workers at a Norwegian artificial Christmas tree factory win big on the pools. macrobert, Stirling, Thu 20 Sep. Lawless (18) ●●●●● (John Hillcoat, US, 2012) Tom Hardy, Shia Le Beouf, Guy Pearce. 115min. A prohibition era drama about three brothers making a living from brewing and smuggling liquor until a vicious enforcer halts their easy-going relationship with the local law. General release. ParaNorman (PG) (Chris Butler/Sam Fell, US, 2012) Voices of Kodi Smit- McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse. 92min. Animated family film where a misunderstood young misfit realises he has the ability to speak to the undead. General release. The Possession (15) ●●●●● (Ole Bornedal, US, 2012) Natasha Callis, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick. 92min. This po-faced horror provokes laughs rather than shocks, and despite nicely underplayed acting it’s all a bit moth-eaten. Selected release. Premium Rush (12A) ●●●●● (David Koepp, US, 2012) Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Jamie Chung. 91min. Gordon-Levitt is a charismatic leading man as a bicycle courier, Shannon a formidable villain, and the breathtaking stunts make for an exhilarating piece of cinema. Selected release. Queen – Live in Budapest (Varázslat – Queen Budapesten) (12A) (János Zsombolyai, Hungary, Canada, US, 1987) 118min. Vintage concert film from Freddie Mercury and co’s 1986 outing in the Hungarian capital. Selected release. Shadow Dancer (15) ●●●●● (James Marsh, UK, Ireland, 2012) Andrea Riseborough, Aidan Gillen, Domhnall Gleeson. 101min. An adaptation by Tom Bradby from his own 2001 novel, this thriller deals with the calamitous fallout when a young IRA member is forced to turn informant for MI5. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Sat 22–Sun 23 Sep. The Snows of Kilimanjaro (15) ●●●●● (Robert Guédiguian, France, 2011) Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan. 107min. A dockworker and union rep who takes early retirement finds his socialist principles clash challenged in this drama. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 20–Thu 27 Sep; Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 20 Sep; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, Fri 21–Thu 27 Sep. Tabu (15) ●●●●● (Miguel Gomes, Portugal, Germany, Brazil, France, 2012) Teresa Madruga, Laura Soveral, Ana Moreira. 118min. In Lisbon, Pilar becomes concerned for her paranoid neighbour Aurora, which starts an investigation into her roots. Dundee Contemporary 70 THE LIST 20 Sep–18 Oct 2012
Arts, Dundee, Thu 20 Sep; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 20 Sep. The Three Stooges (PG) ●●●●● (Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, US, 2012) Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos, Will Sasso. 91min. The Farrelly brothers attempt to revive the Three Stooges for modern audiences. Showcase Cinema Glasgow, Glasgow, Thu 20 Sep; Showcase Cinema Paisley, Paisley, Thu 20 Sep; macrobert, Stirling, Sat 29–Sun 30 Sep. Step Up 4: Miami Heat (PG) ●●●●● (Scott Speer, US, 2012) Kathryn McCormick, Ryan Guzman, Stephen Boss. 99min. In the fourth film, bad boy Sean (Guzman) falls for Emily (McCormick) over a shared love of dance. macrobert, Stirling, Sat 22–Sun 23 Sep. The Sweeney (15) ●●●●● (Nick Love, UK, 2012) Hayley Atwell, Damian Lewis, Ray Winstone. 112min. Reboot of beloved British cop show, with Winstone as foul-mouthed, fist-happy Detective Regan and Drew (aka rapper Plan B) truly impressive as his partner Carter. General release. Take This Waltz (15) ●●●●● (Sarah Polley, Canada/Spain/Japan, 2011) Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman. 116min. Happily married Margot (Williams) falls for an artist neighbour. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Sun 30 Sep–Mon 1 Oct; macrobert, Stirling, Fri 28–Sun 30 Sep. Ted (15) ●●●●● (Seth MacFarlane, US, 2012) Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane. 106min. A resolutely filthy but loveable bromance from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. Selected release. To Rome with Love (12A) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, Spain/US/Italy, 2012) Woody Allen, Penélope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg. 112min. Allen’s latest film continues his recent practice of translating an American tourist’s view of European culture onto the big screen. General release. 5 Broken Cameras
Total Recall (12A) ●●●●● (Len Wiseman, US, 2012) Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel. 118min. Director Wiseman, striving to be different from Paul Verhoeven’s delirious 1990 adaptation of the same Philip K. Dick story, only succeeds in being dreary and unoriginal. General release. The Watch (15) ●●●●● (Akiva Schaffer, US, 2012) Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill. 101min. When a colleague is mysteriously killed, suburban Costco manager Evan (Stiller) cobbles a bunch of misfits (Hill, Vaughn, Ayoade) into a neighbourhood watch. Selected release. When the Lights Went Out (15) ●●●●● (Pat Holden, UK, 2012) Kate Ashfield, Nicky Bell, Alan Brent. 86min. In 1970s A family move into their new house and soon encounter unearthly terror as poltergeist starts to act up. Selected release ONE-OFFS, SEASONS AND FESTIVALS
2012 Film London Jarman Award (tbc) A screening of the ten shortlisted films vying for this year’s Jarman Award. Featuring work by Brad Butler & Karen Mirza, Aura Satz and Benedict Drew. CCA, Glasgow, Thu 20 Sep. Airplane! (PG) (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, US, 1980) Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Peter Graves. 87min. A trio of fresh alt.comedy film buffs present an hour of stand-up, variety and surprises before the screening. Cameo, Edinburgh, Sat 22 Sep. All Night Horror Madness (18) All night horror with back-to-back screenings of I Drink Your Blood, Fright Night, Tenebrae, Phantasm and Hellraiser. Plus vintage horror trailers and a free raffle.
Cameo, Edinburgh, Sat 13 Oct. All the President’s Men (15) ●●●●● (Alan J Pakula, US, 1976) Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden. 138min. A classic of the much abused crusader journalist genre. Followed by a debate chaired by Rosalind McInnes, solicitor for BBC Scotland, and speakers from UNISON and CFoIS. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 28 Sep. Arsenic and Old Lace (PG) (Frank Capra, US, 1942) Cary Grant, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre. 118min. Priceless black comedy has Grant upping the double- take factor when sinister criminals Massey and Lorre come to stay with his two sweet aunts. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, Sat 13 Oct. Berberian Sound Studio (15) ●●●●● (Peter Strickland, UK, 2012) Toby Jones, Cosimo Fusco, Antonio Mancino. 92min. In the 1970s, a British sound technician (Toby Jones) is brought to Italy to work on the sound effects for a gruesome horror film. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, Thu 20 Sep.
✽ Berwick Upon Tweed Film and Media Arts Festival Film festival
straddling the England-Scotland border with an interesting mix of documentaries, archive footage, site-specific installations, live events and specially commissioned projects. Various venues, Wed 19 Sep - Sun 23 Sep. Big Boys Gone Bananas!* (tbc) (Fredrik Gertten, Sweden/Denmark/ Germany/US/UK, 2011) Fredrik Gertten, Alex Rivera, Alfonso Allende. 90min. A company wages a campaign to stop a pair of filmmakers from showing their film depicting a lawsuit against the company over poisoning. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, Tue 9 Oct. The Bird (12A) (Yves Caumon, France, 2011) Sandrine Kiberlain, Clément Sibony, Bruno Todeschini. 90min. A French drama about grief and the liberation of a trapped
Nominated for two awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, 5 Broken Cameras is the true story of Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat. Originally getting a camera to capture his young children growing up, he begins to document his non-violent resistance to the Israeli army. As part of Take One Action Film Festival, two screenings are taking place, one in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh, both followed by a Q&A with Burnat himself. This is a rare chance to see the film before it officially comes to cinemas in October. See review at list.co.uk. ■ Part of Take One Action Film Festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 28 Sep; GFT, Glasgow, Fri Sat 29 Sep.