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 screening times. Submit details of special screenings at least 10 days before publication to events@list. co.uk Film index is compiled by Murray Robertson and Gail Tolley. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
NEW RELEASES American Mary (18) (Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska, US, Canada, 2012) Katherine Isabelle, Julia Maxwell, Antonio Cupo. 100min. Desperate for easy money, a medical student delves into the world of underground surgeries, which ends up leaving more marks on her than it does on her so called clientèle. Selected release from Fri 11 Jan. Boxing Day (15) (Bernard Rose, UK, 2012) Lisa Enos, Jo Farkas, Danny Huston. 94min. Drama from the British director of cult chiller Paperhouse. See review at list.co.uk. Selected release from Fri 21 Dec.
✽ Chasing Ice (12A) ●●●●● (Jeff Orlowski, US, 2012) James Balog, Svavar Jonatansson, Adam LeWinter. 74min. See review, page 94. Selected release from Fri 14 Dec. Crawl (18) (Paul China, Australia, 2011) George Shevtsov, Georgina Haig, Paul Holmes, Andy Barclay. 81min. A seedy bar owner (Holmes) hires a mysterious Croatian hitman to get rid of a local garage owner after a botched business deal between the two. Selected release from Fri 18 Jan. Dabangg 2 (12A) (Arbaaz Khan, India, 2012) Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Vinod Khanna, Prakash Raj, Deepak Dobriyal, Nikitin Dheer. Sequel to one of the most successful Indian films of all time. See review at list.co.uk. Selected release from Fri 21 Dec. Dead Europe (18) (Tony Krawitz, Australia/UK, 2012) Ewen Leslie, Marton Csokas and Kodi Smit-McPhee. 84min. A young photographer taking his father’s ashes to Greece learns about a dark family secret. Selected release from Fri 14 Dec. Django Unchained (tbc) (Quentin Tarantino, US, 2012) Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio. A bounty hunter frees a slave with the intention of making him his deputy, but instead the ex-slave goes in search of his wife, who is still on the plantation. See review at list.co.uk. General release from Fri 18 Jan. Everyday (tbc) (Michael Winterbottom, UK, 2012) Shirley Henderson, John Simm, Shaun Kirk. 106min. This film charts the relationship between a man imprisoned for drug smuggling and his wife and is being shot over the course of five years, a few weeks at a time. See review at list.co.uk. Selected release from Fri 18 Jan. False Trail (Jägarna 2) (15) ●●●●● (Kjell Sundvall, Sweden, 2011) Rolf Lassgård, Peter Stormare, Annika Nordin. 130min. See review, page 94. Selected release from Fri 14 Dec, incl Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Gangster Squad (15) (Ruben Fleischer, US, 2013) Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone. 113min. Zombieland director Fliescher helms this star-studded mobster film. Selected release from Fri 11 Jan. Grabbers (15) ●●●●● (Jon Wright, UK, Ireland, 2012) Richard Coyle, Ruth Bradley, Russell Tovey, Lalor Roddy, David Pearse, Bronagh Gallagher. 94min. When an island off the coast of Ireland is invaded by vampiric aliens, the heroes discover that getting drunk is the only way to survive. See review at list.co.uk. Selected release from Wed 26 Dec.
✽ The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (12) ●●●●● (Peter Jackson, US/New Zealand, 2012)
96 THE LIST 13 Dec 2012–24 Jan 2013
PROFILE
BEN LEWIN
Born Poland, 1946. Raised in Melbourne, Australia.
Background In 1971 Lewin quit his job as a barrister to study filmmaking at the National Film and Television School in London. Lewin’s work to date includes 80s mystery thriller Georgia and 1992 comedy The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish starring Bob Hoskins and Jeff Goldblum. His latest, The Sessions is inspired by the true story of poet and journalist Mark O’Brien who, after contracting polio as a child, spent the remainder of his life confined largely to an iron lung. The film is based on an article O’Brien wrote in 1990 entitled ‘On Seeing a Sex Surrogate’ which documented his experience of losing his virginity in his 30s. It stars John Hawkes as O’Brien, Helen Hunt as the sexual surrogate and William H Macy as Mark’s Catholic priest confidante. On his approach ‘With The Sessions I wanted to avoid politi- cal correctness. The frankness of it is definitely integral to Mark’s article – that’s my being faithful to his account. The irreverence is my sense of who he was; in reinterpreting Mark I used his wit as a key note. I’m in no doubt that he had his bleak moments but I certainly didn’t want that to be the experience of the movie.’ On The Sessions’ explicit depiction of disabled sexuality ‘I didn’t think of it as a taboo. It was the very thing that attracted me to the story. The idea that it was going into new territory was very exciting, it wasn’t off-putting at all.’
On casting John Hawkes ‘Lesson number one, when you’re ready to make a film get yourself a really good casting director. That’s important because Ronnie Yeskel was how I got to John Hawkes and it was as a result of getting John that doors began to open.’ Interesting fact Just like Mark O’Brien, Ben Lewin contracted polio as a child. (Emma Simmonds) ■ The Sessions is on selected release from Fri 18 Jan.
CATALAN FILM FESTIVAL You’ve just got time to catch the final films showing as part of Edinburgh’s first Catalan Film Festival. There’s Pa Negre (Black Bread, Sun 16 Dec, pictured above), the multi Goya-winning drama set in post civil war Catalonia and The Silence Before Bach (Die Stille vor Bach, Mon 17 Dec, Cameo) which considers the link between classical music and the creation of modern Europe. The festival wraps on Sun 16 Dec with a closing party, including a selection of the best films from the festival and plenty of Spanish beer. ■ Various venues, Edinburgh, until Mon 17 Dec.
Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage. 169min. See review page 90. General release from Fri 14 Dec.
✽ The Impossible (12A) ●●●●● (J.A. Bayona, Spain, 2012) Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland. 114min. See feature, page 91, and review, page 95. General release from Tue 1 Jan. Jack Reacher (15) (Christopher McQuarrie, US, 2012) Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins. 130min. Diminutive Cruise essays the titular 6’5” former US Army Major. See review at list.co.uk. General release from Wed 26 Dec. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (tbc) (David Gelb, US, 2011) Jiro Ono, Yoshikazu Ono. 81min. Documentary on 85-year- old sushi master Jiro Ono, his business in the basement of a Tokyo office building, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu. Selected release from Fri 11 Jan. Les Misérables (12A) (Tom Hooper, UK, 2012) Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway. 158min. The King’s Speech director Hooper brings yet another adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel to the screen, with a star-studded cast led by Anne Hathaway. See review at list.co.uk. General release from Fri 11 Jan.
✽ Life of Pi (PG) ●●●●● (Ang Lee, US, 2012) Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan,
Tobey Maguire. 127min. See review, page 92. General release from Fri 21 Dec. May I Kill U? (15) (Stuart Urban, UK, 2012) Kevin Bishop, Jack Doolan, Frances Barber. 87min. Baz (Bishop) is a cycle cop and although at first he appears to be a figure of fun, a freak accident turns him into a psychopath who goes on a spree of what he calls ‘lawful killing’. Selected release from Fri 11 Jan. McCullin (15) ●●●●● (David Morris/ Jacqui Morris, UK, 2013) Don McCullin. 95min. See review, page 93. Selected release from Tue 1 Jan. Midnight Son (18) (Scott Leberecht, US, 2011) Shawn-Caulin Young, Tracey
Walter, Larry Cedar. The story of a young man called Jacob who is confined to a life of isolation due to a very rare skin disorder. Selected release from Fri 11 Jan. Midnight’s Children (12A) ●●●●● (Deepa Mehta, Canada/UK, 2012) Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami, Rajat Kapoor. 146min. See review, page 92. Release from Wed 26 Dec. Neil Young Journeys (tbc) (Jonathan Demme, US, 2011) 87min. Neil Young returns to his birth Canadian province of Ontario to revisit his old haunts and to perform in Toronto’s vintage Massey Hall. Selected release from Fri 14 Dec. Outside Satan (Hors Satan) (15) (Bruno Dumont, France, 2011) David Dewaele, Alexandra Lemâtre, Christophe Bon. 110min. A miracle reveals an unseen side of a village loner. See review at list.co.uk. Selected release from Fri 4 Jan. Parental Guidance (U) (Andy Fickman, US, 2012) Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott. 105min. A couple agree to look after their grandkids and the generation gap causes mayhem. General release from Wed 26 Dec. Pitch Perfect (12A) ●●●●● (Jason Moore, US, 2012) Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson. 112min. See review, page 95. General release from Fri 21 Dec. Playing for Keeps (12A) (Gabriele Muccino, US, 2012) Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Dennis Quaid. 106min. A former sports star starts coaching his son’s football team and has to beat off the local ‘soccer moms’. General release from Tue 1 Jan.
✽ The Pool (tbc) ●●●●● (Chris Smith, US, 2007) Krishna Appa,
Jhangir Badshah, Ganga Chavan. 98min. See review, page 93. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 18–Thu 20 Dec. Quartet (12A) ●●●●● (Dustin Hoffman, UK, 2012) Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins. 90min. See review, page 93. General release from Tue 1 Jan.