list.co.uk/fi lm Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz. 130min. Raimi’s visually lush prequel to The Wizard of Oz, spawned from L Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, finds Oz (Franco) deciding which side of the curtain of good and evil he’ll end up on. General release. Papadopoulos & Sons (15) ●●●●● (Marcus Markou, UK, 2012) Stephen Dillane, Georgia Groome, Ed Stoppard. 109min. After the economic crisis leaves him broke, an ex-millionaire strong-arms his estranged brother into re-opening the chip shop they ran in their youth. Predictable plotting, stilted performances and emotional manipulation all contribute to the feeling that this low-budget effort might have been more effective as a TV series Limited release. The Place Beyond the Pines (12A) ●●●●● (Derek Cianfrance, US, 2012) Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes. 140min. Luke (Gosling) is a stunt motorcyclist who takes to robbing banks on his bike, until ambitious cop Avery (Cooper) starts to trail him. This ambitious thriller tries to tell a complex story over two generations, but despite good performances the oddly broken- backed narrative prevents it from finding an emotional pay-off. General release. Reality (15) ●●●●● (Matteo Garrone, Italy, 2012) Aniello Arena, Loredana Simioli, Nando Paone. 115min. Luciano (Arena) is a likeable Neapolitan fish-seller determined to make it onto the Italian version of Big Brother. More stylised than Garrone’s earlier Gomorrah, it’s a powerful metaphor for Berlusconi-era Italy, and Arena, a convicted former Mafia hitman who discovered acting in prison, is compelling. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Mon 22–Thu 25 Apr. Robot & Frank (12A) ●●●●● (Jake Schreier, US, 2012) Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard, James Marsden, Liv Tyler. 89min. Frank (Langella) is an elderly ex-burglar fighting the onset of dementia whose son gives him a robot butler (voiced by Sarsgaard) to look after him – then Frank decides to enlist Robot for one more job. Charming, funny and affecting, with a memorable double act from Langella and Sarsgaard. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Sat 20–Wed 24 Apr. Sammy’s Great Escape (U) ●●●●● (Vincent Kesteloot/Ben Stassen, Belgium, 2012) Voices of Wesley Johnny, Isabelle Fuhrman, Billy Unger. 92min. This charmless sequel to 2010’s forgettable A Turtle’s Tale would be better titled Sammy’s Painfully Long Incarceration. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Sat 20 Apr. Scary Movie 5 (15) (Malcolm D Lee, US, 2013) Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Anthony Anderson. 85min. Fifth entry in the bafflingly popular perennial horror spoof series. The perfect opportunity to devise a drinking game based on sex jokes. General release. Shell (15) ●●●●● (Scott Graham, UK, 2012) Chloe Pirrie, Tam Dean Burn, Morven Christie. 91min. Shell (Pirrie) is a lonely teenager manning her father’s isolated garage in the Highlands. The expanded short has occasional forced symbolism and gloomy arthouse clichés, but Graham has a definite way with actors, and it’s eloquent and atmospheric. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Fri 19 & Sat 20 Apr. Side Effects (15) ●●●●● (Steven Soderbergh, US, 2013) Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law. 106min. Announcing early retirement, Side Effects could well be Soderbergh’s last film. This thriller set in the world of prescription medicines boasts a fine cast, an authentic milieu and a script that flirts with the experimental. But it also underwhelms in the crucial final third. Limited release. Silver Linings Playbook (15) ●●●●● (David O Russell, US, 2012) Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence,
Index | FILM
BAFTA SHORTS The world of short films can be a daunting one to get into – without the higher profile of feature-length movies, it’s hard to get an idea of which short works are worth seeing. Thankfully, there’s an element of quality control in the BAFTA Shorts programme – the seven films featured have already been decreed awards-worthy. It’s also an arena where established filmmakers can produce some of their most interesting work, included in the selection is We Need to Talk About Kevin director Lynne Ramsay’s experimental short Swimmer, commissioned as part of the London 2012 Olympic celebrations. (Niki Boyle) ■ GFT, Glasgow, Sun 21 Apr, followed by a Q&A with Will Anderson, director of The Making of Longbird (pictured).
Robert De Niro. 122min. Golden boy Cooper teams up with rising star Jennifer Lawrence in Russell’s tale about a man who loses everything before teaming up with a stranger to get his life back on track. Cameo, Edinburgh, Thu 18 Apr. The Spirit of ‘45 (U) ●●●●● (Ken Loach, UK, 2013) 94min. Documentary about the Attlee government’s post-war creation of the welfare state, the sense of national consensus that it created and how many of its achievements were attacked by the Conservatives. Admirable and persuasive, but it could do with a little more lightness of touch. Macrobert, Stirling, Thu 18 Apr. Spring Breakers (18) ●●●●● (Harmony Korine, US, 2012) Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, James Franco. 94min. Four girls on spring break find themselves in the midst of an increasingly dark adventure when they get involved with the booze, gun and drug-obsessed gangster Alien (Franco). Korine has created a surreal, immersive and uncompromising film, but in the end it pulls its punches and wallows in its own self-conscious awfulness. Limited release. Stoker (18) ●●●●● (Chan-wook Park, US, 2013) Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode. 98min. Following a mysterious car accident that kills her father, India Stoker’s charming Uncle Charlie suddenly arrives, taking refuge with India’s emotionally unstable mother. An unusually intense slice of American Gothic, the brooding air of suspicion that permeates the film recalls Hitchcock’s 1943 film Shadow of a Doubt. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 26 Apr–Thu 2 May. Trance (15) ●●●●● (Danny Boyle, UK, 2013) James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel. 101min. Boyle follows up his Olympic show with this thriller about an art auctioneer who becomes embroiled in a heist to steal a
painting. After losing his memory, it’s up to a hynotherapist to help him find out where the artwork now lies. General release. Wreck-It Ralph (PG) ●●●●● (Rich Moore, US, 2012) John C Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch. 108min. This cleverly-targeted family romp set in the world of videogames marks a step up both commercially and artistically for the non-Pixar side of Disney animation. The script is brilliantly witty, the visuals sweep, swoop and sparkle, and the message about flawed individuals finding their own way to be heroes is a kindly one, intelligently expressed. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Sat 27 Apr. ONE-OFFS, SEASONS AND FESTIVALS Alois Nebel (15) (Tomás Lunák, Czech Republic/Germany, 2011) Voices of Miroslav Krobot, Marie LudvÍková, Karel Roden. 84min. Based on a graphic novel trilogy by Jaroslav Rudis and JaromÍr 99, this Czech-made noir sees the title character (Krobot) suffering disturbing, visceral hallucinations in the fog that see his present collide with the ghosts of World War II. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Mon 22 Apr; Glasgow Film Theatre, Tue 23 Apr. Part of Made in Prague Festival. The Amazing Spider-Man (12A) ●●●●● (Marc Webb, US, 2012) Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans. 136min. This Spider-Man spin-off explores the story of young Peter Parker as he struggles to come to terms with abandonment and his early confrontations with Dr Curt Connors’ giant lizard. Director Webb and star Garfield breathe new life into this Marvel favourite. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Sat 20 Apr. BAFTA Shorts (Various directors, UK) 108min. This year’s reel of
BAFTA-nominated short films and animations, prefaced by an introduction and followed by a Q&A. See preview, above. Glasgow Film Theatre, Sun 21 Apr; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Thu 25 Apr. LIVE SCREENING Bolshoi Ballet: Romeo and Juliet (2013) This revival of Yuri Grigorovich’s acclaimed 1978 production features outstanding choreography, sumptuous costumes and some of the composer’s most lyrical music. Cameo, Edinburgh, Sun 12 May. A Cat in Paris (PG) (Jean-Loup Felicioli/Alain Gagnol, France/ Netherlands, 2010) Marcia Gay Harden, Anjelica Huston, Matthew Modine. 70min. An intriguing animation about the wanderings of a cat who is, by day, a friend to a little girl, but by night accompanies a big-hearted burglar around Paris. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Sat 20 & Sun 21 Apr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (U) (Ken Hughes, UK, 1968) Sally Anne Howes, Dick Van Dyke, Lionel Jeffries. 145min. Lengthy, effects-filled children’s adventure conceived in the wake of Mary Poppins’ huge commercial succes but with a charm (and great songs) all of its own. Scotsman Screening Room, Edinburgh, Sun 28 Apr. Daniel Day-Lewis: Presented by Drambuie The Filmhouse pays tribute to the famous Method actor with screenings of his 1993 flick The Age of Innocence, about 19th century New York high society (Thu 25 Apr) and 2005’s The Ballad of Jack and Rose, about a dying man who asks his lover and her sons to live with him (Tue 23 Apr). Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Tue 23, Thu 25 Apr.
✽Dead by Dawn Celebrating 20 years of cinematic scares, the
Filmhouse’s horror fest ups the ante with a selection of blood-curdling shorts and features, including Indonesia’s Modus Anomali, the 2013 American flick Big 18 Apr–16 May 2013 THE LIST 67