list.co.uk/fi lm 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 ✽12 Years a Slave (12) ●●●●● (Steve McQueen, US, 2013)
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael K. Williams, Michael Fassbender. 133min. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. McQueen’s third feature (and follow-up to Shame) features a stellar cast. See review, page 80. General release from Fri 10 Jan. 47 Ronin (tbc) (Carl Rinsch, US, 2013) Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kou Shibasaki. Reeves plays a samurai (natch) who hooks up with a group to avenge the killing of their master in this fictional tale loosely based on real events. General release from Thu 26 Dec. After Tiller (PG-13) (Martha Shane/ Lana Wilson, US, 2013) 85min. A documentary looking at the availability of abortion services for women in America following the 2009 assassination of Dr George Tiller. Selected release from Fri 10 Jan. Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (tbc) (Arnaud des Pallières, France/Germany, 2013) Mads Mikkelsen, Mélusine Mayance, Delphine Chuillot. 122min. In the 16th century in the Cévennes, a horse dealer by the name of Michael Kohlhaas leads a happy family life. When a lord treats him unjustly, he raises an army and puts the country to fire and sword in order to have his rights restored. Selected release from Fri 3 Jan.
✽All Is Lost (12A) ●●●●● (JC Chandor, US, 2013) Robert Redford.
106min. After a sea-based collision, a sailor finds himself confronting his own mortality. See review, page 82. General release from Thu 26 Dec. American Hustle (tbc) (David O. Russell, US, 2013) Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper. 129min. The Fighter director O Russell reteams with Bale for this drama about a con artist forced to work with a federal agent. General release from Fri 20 Dec. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (15) (Adam McKay, US, 2013) Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd. 119min. Sequel to the 2004 comedy about San Diego newsreaders. General release from Wed 18 Dec. August: Osage County (tbc) ●●●●● (John Wells, US, 2013) Meryl Streep, Dermot Mulroney, Julia Roberts. 130min. A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. See review, page 81. General release from Fri 17 Jan. The Christmas Candle (PG) (John Stephenson, UK/US, 2013) Hans Matheson, Samantha Barks, Lesley Manville. 100min. Susan Boyle makes her acting debut in this holiday period drama set in the English countryside, in a town where a blessed candle grants one miracle each year on Christmas Eve. General release from Fri 13 Dec. Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus and 2012 (tbc) (Sebastián Silva, Chile, 2013) Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva. 98min. As Jamie travels in Chile, he invites an eccentric woman to join his group’s quest to score a fabled hallucinogen, a move that finds him at odds with his
new companion, until they drink the magic brew on a beach at the edge of the desert. Selected release from Fri 17 Jan. Delivery Man (12A) (Ken Scott, US, 2013) Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders. 105min. An affable underachiever finds out he’s fathered 533 children through anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years ago. Now he must decide whether or not to come forward when 142 of them file a lawsuit to reveal his identity. General release from Fri 10 Jan. Devil’s Due (tbc) (Matt Bettinelli- Olpin/Tyler Gillett, US, 2014) Allison Miller, Zach Gilford, Steffie Grote. An unexpected pregnancy takes a terrifying turn for newlyweds Zach and Samantha McCall. Selected release from Thu 16 Jan. Fill the Void (PG) ●●●●● (Rama Burshtein, Israel, 2012) Hila Feldman, Razia Israeli, Yiftach Klein. 90min. An 18 year old girl from Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community is pressured to marry her sister’s widower. See review, page 82. Selected release from Fri 13 Dec. The Harry Hill Movie (tbc) (Steve Bendelack, UK, 2013) Harry Hill, Julie Walters, Simon Bird. Surreal big screen outing for the big-collared one. General release from Fri 20 Dec. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (12A) (Peter Jackson, US/New Zealand, 2013) Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage. 161min. Jackson continues his epic Tolkien hexalogy with the second of his films based on The Hobbit. General release from Fri 13 Dec. How to Make Money Selling Drugs (18) ●●●●● (Matthew Cooke, US, 2012) 96min. Documentary that breaks down the illegal drugs industry and the huge amounts of money to be made that make it such a tempting prospect. Selected release from Thu 26 Dec. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (tbc) (Kenneth Branagh, US, 2013) Chris Pine, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley, David Paymer. Branagh directs (and takes on bad guy duties) in another Jack Ryan reboot, this time featuring Chris Pine as the young covert CIA analyst uncovering a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy. General release from Thu 26 Dec. Kiss the Water (tbc) (Eric Steel, US/ UK, 2013) 80min. Documentary on the life and work of Megan Boyd, legendary Scots maker of salmon flies. Selected release from Fri 10 Jan. Last Vegas (12A) (Jon Turteltaub, US, 2013) Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman. 105min. Three 60-something friends take a break from their day-to-day lives to throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their last remaining single pal. General release from Fri 3 Jan. A Long Way from Home (tbc) ●●●●● (Virginia Gilbert, UK, 2013) James Fox, Natalie Dormer, Paul Nicholls. 80min. A couple realise their dream of retiring to the South of France. Their life changes dramatically when they meet another, younger couple. See review, page 80. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 20–Tue 24 Dec. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (12A) ●●●●● (Justin Chadwick, UK/South Africa, 2013) Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Terry Pheto. 146min. Biopic of Nelson Mandela, from childhood to inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa. See review, page 80. General release from Fri 3 Jan. The Missing Picture (L’image manquante) (tbc) (Rithy Panh, Cambodia/France, 2013) 96min. Rithy Panh uses clay figures, archival footage, and his narration to recreate the atrocities Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge committed between 1975 and 1979. Selected release from Fri 3 Jan. The Monuments Men (tbc) (George
Clooney, US/Germany, 2013) George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon. In a race against time, a crew of art historians and museum curators unite to recover renowned works of art stolen by Nazis before Hitler destroys them. General release from Thu 9 Jan. Moon Man (U) (Stephan Schesch, Germany/France, 2012) Voices of Katharina Thalbach, Ulrich Tukur, Corinna Harfouch. 95min. Animated adaptation by Oscar-nominated animation studio Cartoon Saloon of Tomi Ungerer’s best-selling kids’ book. Selected release from Fri 27 Dec. Moshi Monsters: The Movie (U) (Wip Vernooij/Morgan Francis, UK, 2013) Voices of Keith Wickham, Tom Clarke Hill, Emma Tate. 81min. Katsuma, Poppet, Mr Snoodle and pals must stop Dr Strangeglove from destroying the Great Moshling Egg. General release from Fri 20 Dec. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (15) (Christopher Landon, US, 2014) Andrew Jacobs, Molly Ephraim, Richard Cabral. 84min. After being ‘marked,’ Jesse is pursued by mysterious forces while his family and friends try to save him. General release from Wed 1 Jan. The Railway Man (15) ●●●●● (Jonathan Teplitzky, Australia/UK, 2013) Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Jeremy Irvine. 116min. Starring Firth as a veteran of the ‘Death Railway’ – the line from Bangkok in Thailand to Rangoon in Burma constructed by Allied prisoners of war during World War II. In this adaptation of a true story, he sets out many years later to find those responsible for his torture. See feature, page 79 and review, page 81. General release from Wed 1 Jan. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (PG) ●●●●● (Ben Stiller, US, 2013) Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott. 114min. Based on the famous 1939 short story and subsequent 1947 film starring Danny Kaye about an office worker who lives in his own fantasy world. See review, page 82. General release from Thu 26 Dec. Tamla Rose (tbc) (Joe Scott, UK, 2013) Adi Alfa, Alexandra Johnston, Tisha Merry. 112min. Three teenage girls chase their dream to become a famous Motown band and find it puts a strain on their relationship. Selected release from Fri 13 Dec. Walking with Dinosaurs (U) (Neil Nightingale/Barry Cook, UK/US/ Australia, 2013) John Collee, Theodore Thomas. 87min. This combination of live footage and computer effects brings every child’s favourite extinct animals to life. General release from Fri 20 Dec. The Wolf of Wall Street (tbc) (Martin Scorsese, US, 2013) Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey. 165min. Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government. General release from Fri 17 Jan.
STILL SHOWING The Butler (12A) ●●●●● (Lee Daniels, USA, 2013) Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack. 132min. Loosely based on a true story, Daniels’ ritzy crash-course in US history follows Cecil Gaines (Whitaker), who rises from impoverished cottonfield worker to butler at the White House. General release. Black Nativity (PG) (Kasi Lemmons, US, 2013) Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson. 93min. A streetwise teen from Baltimore travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives. Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh, Thu 12 Dec; Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow, Thu 12 Dec; Showcase Cinema Glasgow, Glasgow, Thu 12 Dec.
Index | FILM TOP 5
FILMS OF 2013 As chosen by The List’s film writers
Blue is the Warmest Colour Abdellatif Kechiche’s Palme d’Or-winning love story is at risk of being remembered for all the wrong reasons (the controversy around the lesbian sex scenes and stars Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos’ criticisms of the director) but it remains a raw and tender depiction of first love and heartbreak. Gravity Rightly praised for its technical achievements (director Alfonso Cuarón and his crew had to invent much of the equipment used to film the zero-g space scenes), Gravity also owes a great deal of its success to Sandra Bullock’s standout performance as the astronaut cut adrift in space.
Blancanieves A black and white silent movie in the vein of The Artist, Pablo Berger’s charming, beautiful take on the Snow White story transferred the action to the bullfighting ring of 1920s Spain, with seven dwarf matadors and a seriously wicked stepmother (Maribel Verdú).
Django Unchained What do you do once you’ve killed Hitler? For Quentin Tarantino, the answer was to go back even further and reconstruct the era of slavery with witty one-liners, sharp suits and gunplay galore. Christoph Waltz picked up the best supporting actor Oscar, but it was Leo DiCaprio’s scenery- chewing baddie who stole it.
Captain Phillips Tom Hanks delivered what many considered a career-best performance in Paul Greengrass’ sea-faring piracy drama. Praise was also heaped on Barkhad Abdi, the ruthless leader of the gang which hijacks Hanks’ ship. (Niki Boyle)
12 Dec 2013–23 Jan 2014 THE LIST 83