FILM LIST
Allen Nation (18) $2 (Graham Baker, US, 1988) James Caan, Mandy Patinlrln, Terence Stamp. 98 mins. Los Angeles, 1994, and we are three years atter the lirst massed alien landings, which brought 300,000 humanoid beings to our planet. Genetically bred
as slave labour, the extraterrestrials are now being gradually integrated into society, but, commonly called Newcomers, they are derisively treated as second class citizens.
Enter hard-boiled cop James Caan, who’s joined by Mandy Patinlrin as the first Newcomerto maire detective, and in the course of investigating a series of downtown slayings they uncover a deadly drug ring, run by Mr Big, Terence Stamp (himself not of this earth), which could threaten the future of the entire alien nation.
What we have here is the reverse of all those classic Hollywood Sci-ti efforts of the Fifties, like Don Siegel’s ‘Invaslon of The Body Snatchers’ or the Howard Hawks production ‘The Thing’, that used the idea oi the invader as a locus for the McCarthy—inspired political paranoia that gripped the country at the time. These days
intermittently hilarious farce. successful enough to spawn two highly avoidable sequels. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I Camille Claudel (PG) a (Bruno Nuytten, France. 1988) Isabelle Adjani, Gerard Depardieu. Laurent Grcvil. 175 mins. See panel. Glasgow: GFT.
I Croque La Vie ( 15) (Jean-Charles Tachella. France. 1981) Brigitte Fosscy. Carol Larue. Bernard Giradeau. 105 mins. Eight years in the lives ofthrec friends. as their experience matures from the hopes of youth to a pragmatism sculpted by marital tensions and the cruel hand of fate. Well-observed fare from the mainstream of French film-making. Glasgow; GET.
I The Damned (PG) (Joseph Loscy. UK. 1961) Macdonald Carey. Shirley Anne Field. Alexander Knox. 87 mins. Extremely strange Losey outing begins as a youthful love story set amongst early sixties biker gangs. but moves to a mysterious cliff-face cave where a dedicated scientist keeps a group of radioactive children sealed off from the outside world's corruption. Pompous and confused SF drama, which manages to salvage a few genuinely perverse moments from a weird mishmash. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Dangerous Liaisons ( 15) (Stephen Frears. US, 1988) Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer. Keanu Reeves. 120 mins. Christopher Hampton adapts his stage version of Choderlos dc Laclos' novel for the screen, with Americans Close and Malkovich starring as the central pairing ofMadame de Tourvel and the Vicomte de Valmont, two treacherous 18th century aristocrats weaving a web of erotic duplicity around one another.
British director Frears makes a notable Hollywood debut by guiding his east through a difficult set ofnarrative piroucttes. and the crisp dialogue is handled with a certain asperity. Yet for all the pent-up emotion on screen. little fervour seeps through to the audience and the result is a rather cold and calculating piece of work. Glasgow: Cannon
Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon.
Strathclyde: AMC Clydebank.
I The Dead Pool ( 18) a (Buddy Van Horn. US. 1988) Clint Eastwood. Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson. 100 mins. Fifth in the
ALIEN NATION ____________'___s
however, movie-makers would like to thinlr that we live in more tolerant times, and ‘Alien Nation' is a plea that we love our brothers and sisters with the funny egg-shaped heads and no ears (ie, substitute a racial minority oi your choice).
So far, so good. A laudable enough notion with its own genre possibilities, so it’s a shame that the end result resembles nothing more than a depressineg predictable buddy cop
Dirty Harry series has Clint as tough cop Harry Callahan investigating a series of brutal murders. All the victims‘ names appear on a list made for fun by eccentric movie director Peter Swan (Neeson). of the people he thinks will not live out the year. As the bodies pile up, the death trail gets closer to our hero.
Ho hum actioncr. as sluggish and tired looking as its star, who must be getting a bit old for all this by now. Still he probably had to make this in exchange for Warners financing the wonderful Bird, so maybe we can excuse the old boy. Glasgow: Cannon Clarkston Road, Cannon Sauchiehall Street, Salon. Edinburgh:
Cannon. Central: Allanpark. Caledonian.
Cannon Falkirk. Strathclyde: Cannon Kilmarnock. Kclburne. Rialto. WMR.
I Dead Ringers ( 18) (David Cronenberg. US. 1988) Jeremy Irons, Genevieve Bujold, Heidi Palleske. 115 mins. Extraordinary David Cronenberg movie examining the destructive effect ofsexual jealousy on identical twins. Jeremy Irons plays gynaecologists, arrogant Elliot and the more studious Beverly Mantle . who fall in love with fading actress Claire Niveau. As the emotional turmoil mounts up. the trio become involved in a frightening downward spiral of drug-induced mania.
Deeply melancholy. irrationally powerful exercise in wayward psychology and the entanglements of identity. which boasts a magnificent achievement in carefully differentiated characterisation by Irons. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Die Hard ( 18) (John McTiernan. US, 1988) Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman. Bonnie Bedelia. 131 mins. On a Christmas visit to his estranged wife in California. New York cop Willis is trapped in a new tower block when the corporate party he is attending with his spouse is attacked by international terrorists after the millions in the company safe. So it’s left to Willisto bump off the baddies and save the hostages while the LAPD and FBI languish incptly on the sidelines.
Unbearably tense actioner that gets good mileage out of yawning lift-shafts and flying bullets, while Willis is convincing as an ordinary guy trying to cope with i; all. Glasgow: Grosvenor.
I Dogs in Space ( 18) (Richard Lowenstein. Australia, 1986) Michael
movie. Caan doesn’t do badly with a role that requires a gradual softening of the tough guy tetchiness he could do in his sleep, but you can only watch poor Patinirin, Stamp and a myriad of extras as they attempt to deliver pertormances out at a head encased in mottled pinlr latex. Though having said that, the visual absurdity of the thing adds some interest to a plot-line that could easily have served as a dutt ‘Supertly’-type piod. (Trevor Johnston)
Hutchence. Saskia Post, Chn's Haywood. 109 mins. Set in 1978 Melbourne the ramshackle plot centres around Sam, the lead singer in a punk band called Dogs in Space, and his girlfriend Anna, who are two of the inhabitants of a drop-in anytime house populated by punks. vegetarians, students and anyone else interested in an alternative lifestyle incorporating parties. gigs. TV, random discussions and Ioadsa drugs. Many ephemeral incidents transpire, the most significant ofwhich is the arrival of a new supply of heroin that leads to one death by overdose. Critic-dividing jamboree hailed as a serious work about ‘the end of an era and the coming down to earth out of the orbit of fun-seeking irresponsibility‘ or dismissed as a loosely directed series of diverse elements lacking ‘style and subtlety’ . A certain sympathy with the punk ethos probably helps. Edinburgh: Cameo, Filmhouse. I Eureka (Nic Roeg. US. 1982) Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, Rutger Hauer, Mickey Rourke. 129 mins. Hackman‘s prospector finds gold in the Arctic waste and later settles down to a life of luxury on his own Caribbean island. But his daughter‘s relationship with a dashing playboy, and the attentions ofa consortium of property developers combine to disrupt his peace ofmind. Impressive story of lust for flesh and material wealth. with metaphysical overtones thrown in. It‘s a heady brew all right. though the scenes amidst the frozen tundra are the most memorable and the climactic trial lets the film down badly. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Exorcist 2: The Heretic ( 18) (John Boorman. US, 1977) Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Linda Blair. 1 10mins. The horror film that once turned heads receives an unworthy sequel in this silly mumbo-jumbo about priest Burton trying to understand the demons still lurking within the hapless Miss Blair. Strathclyde: Paisley Arts Centre. I A Fish Called Wanda (15) (Charles Crichton, UK. 1988) John Cleese. Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin. Tom Georgeson. 108 mins. Stuffy English lawyer Archie Leach (Cleesc) gets unwittingly involved with a gang of diamond thieves, including brash American Kline and stammering animal
lover Palin. because he has access to information that will help them lay their hands on the swag. Glamorous Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) steps in to romance him into talking. but love is to rear its head.
Remarkably effective comedy. with the absurdly black humour of the Python generation given a narrative control and sense of timing that only a veteran’s steady band could provide. Edinburgh: Dominion.
I Fright Night ll ( 18) Q (Tommy Lee Wallace, US. 1988) Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdalc. Julie Carmen. 104 mins. Ragsdale has been in therapy for three years to convince himself that the events in Tom Holland‘s original movie, where he and former horror movie star McDowall dispatched Chris Sarandon‘s suave vampire, were just a dream. Now however he finds himself and his friend the subject of the seductive attentions ofthe demon‘s sister. who‘s thirsting for revenge.
Rather hackneyed sequel to a pretty rollicking forerunner. which substitutes a sense ofoId-fashioned ghoulish glee with a charmless overdose (admittedly excellent) special effects that will beguile only the most undemanding audience. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Strathclyde: AMC Clydebank.
I Full Metal Jacket ( 18) (Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1987) Matthew Modine, Dorian Harewood. Lee Ermey. 109 mins. Technically effective but soulless depiction of raw Vietnam recruits as they endure basic training and the even greater horrors ofthe 1968 Tet offensive. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman. US, 1984) Bill Murray. Sigourney Weaver. Dan Aykroyd. 105 mins. Three wacky unemployed parapsychologists pursue a little private enterprise as exterminators in spook—infested New York. Wildly over-rated comedy. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Gentlemen Prefer Blondes(i’(i) (Howard Hawks, US, 1953) Marilyn Monroe. Jane Russell. Charles (‘oburn. ‘91 mins. Two girls from Little Rock make 1 it big in Paris. Inconsequential comedy musical from the Anita Loos novel, made watchable by the ebullient stars and the number ‘Diamonds Are A Girl‘s Best Friend‘. Edinburgh: Cameo. I Gorillas in The Mist ( 15) (Michael Apted, US, 1988) Sigourney Weaver. Bryan Brown, John ()mirah Miluwi. 129 mins. The story of Dian Fossey. an American naturalist who went to central Africa in 1966 with no experience, yet who over the next two decades was to devote her life to the pioneering study ofthe mountain gorilla. and became ruthlessly determined to protect the species from the unwelcome attention of poachers. However, her uncompromising attitudes to the welfare of the gorillas made her many enemies, and her murder in 1985 has still not been adequatelyexplained.
Priceless footage of the real wildlife. shot on location in the Rwandan jungle, and Sigourney‘s convincing rapport with the gorillas. are the prime reasons for catching this patchy biopic. which suffers unduly from a sagging and cluttered narrative.
I Iron Eagle II (PG) (Sidney J. Furie, US, 1988) Louis Gossett Jr, Mark Humphrey, Stuart Margolin. 98 mins. Gung-ho antics as US Air Force pilot Gossett and his young charge Humphrey are assigned on a. highly classified mission. Arriving at a secluded Israeli airbase, they soon discover that they are to join up with a squad of Russian flyers to knock out a nuclear missile site on foreign territory hostile to both the superpowers, though perhaps their greatest challenge is to break down the mutual mistrust that exists between them.
Rather unnecessary sequel to a pretty flat original. but at least the politics are not.
15 The List 7 — 20 April 1989