FILM LIST

I TRIED

EVERYTHING TO SELL

MYSELF IN

An ADVERT

DAILY PAPERS CANT oo IT

any) '5

US. 1989) Robin Williams. Robert Sean Leonard. Ethan Hawke. 129 mins. In a staid private boys‘ school in Fifties New England. an unconventional teacher (Williams) interests his charges in literature and philosophy to such an extent that they form a secret club to investigate them (along with booze and girls) further. Though Williams is on good form. the film focuses mainly on the boys' emotional development and crises. and on the mystery and beauty surrounding their midnight meetings. A sensitive. tense and moving study of the conflict between passion and authority. even if the plot is something of a cliche. Glasgow: Odeon. Edinburgh: Dominion. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride.

I Dead Calm (15) (Philip Noyce. Australia. 1989) Sam Neill. Nicole Kidman. Billy Zane. 96 mins. A psychoon the seven seas disturbs a young couple trying to get away from it all on acruise

along the Barrier Reef. First rate suspense '

follows. in this canny mix ofon-ship claustrophobia and wide open seascapes from Aussie new waver Noyce. Central: Regal.

I Die Hard (18) (John McTicrnan. US. 1988) Bruce Willis. Alan Rickman. Bonnie Bedelia. 131 mins. New York cop Willis is trapped in a Californian tower block when the corporate party he attends with his estranged spouse is raided by terrorists after dosh in the company safe. So it‘s left to Willis to bump off the baddies and save the hostages while the LAPD and FBI languish ineptly on the sidelines. Unbearany 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 it all. Watch out for Brit Rickman as a villain with a sense of humour. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.

I Diner ( 15) Barry Levinson. US. 1982) Mickey Rourke. Ellen Barkin. Steve Guttenberg. 110 mins. Fresh and acutely observed rite of passage story focusing on a group of adolescent friends who hang out together in the late 1950s. The universality of their growing pains is nicely detailed and affectionately acted by a cast offuturc luminaries. Edinburgh: Cameo.

I Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (PG) (Frank Oz. US. 1988) Steve Martin. Michael Caine. Glenne Headly. 110 mins. In this remake of Bedtime Story. which starred Niven and Brando in 1964. Caine is the sophisticated con-man. elegantly separating the rich from their wealth. and Martin plays the interloper who invades his patch in the Sud de France. The two become allies. then rivals. and finally agree to settle their differences with a con-men‘s wager. Despite the obvious skill of its stars. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels fails to stretch them or to take itselfseriously enough. and thus does not fulfil its full potential. Edinburgh: Cameo.

I Diva (15) (Jean~Jacques Beineix. France. 1981) Frederic Andrei. Roland Bertin. Richard Bohringer. 117 mins. The twisted fate oftwo tapes. one an illegal recording of an American opera star. the other exposing a crime ring. is the central strand of this daffy Gallic cult favourite. Style exudes from every sprocket hole. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

I The Dream Team (15) it (Howard Zeiff. US. 1989) Michael Keaton. Christopher Lloyd. Peter Boyle. 113 mins. See review. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride.

I Enter The Dragon ( 18) (Robert Clousc. US/llK. 1973) Bruce Lee. John Saxon. Shih Kien. Jim Kelly. 98 mins. First ina spate of kung-fu films that were to spawn playground imitators throughout the Seventies. Bruce infiltrates a martial arts crew converging on llong Kong in the course of his inquiries into an opium ring. Hard-hitting and doubtless put on in time for Christmas choppers. Strathclyde: Odeon Ayr.

l

Cat Chaser (18) (Abel Ferrara, US, 1989) PeterWeller, Kelly McGillis, Thomas Milian. 90 mins. Abel Ferrara, the director behind Ms 45 Angel at Vengeance and the notorious Driller Killer, gets to make the film at hard-boiled crime writer Elmore Leonard‘s book Cat Chaser. Leonard himself co-scripted the piece, which is pretty taithtul to the original, apart from a lot at compression and a law changes to make it possible. Borrowing the book's elliptical structure has arguably gutted the movie's sub-plot, but Ferrara has never allowed a few holes in the plot to prevent his delivering the goods, and they don’t stop him here. Perhaps wisely, his producers have overlaid the whole with a voiceover. While it’s unclear who the narrator is—and it’s certainly not main protagonist George Moran —this helps to some extent to hold the thing together.

Peter ‘Robocop’ Weller's career should get a good boost trom playing Moran. There’s also Charles Durning, a

CATCHASEB

man who invariably turns in a good periormance when he’s as well cast as i he is here, while Juan Fernanez— given his first screen role years ago in Ferrara’s Fear City— exudes a presence as strong here as in the similarly sleazy Salvador. Cat Chaser’s real ace, however, is a redesigned Kelly McGillis: the Amish girl trom Witness and the lawyer trom The Accused has here turned her screen persona on its head as she plays a notorious temme latale with what can only be described as considerable ability. As iorthe design of the film, it's up there with Parents tor our Art Director of the Year Award. It you‘re still not convinced, the him is topped bit with the best movie score 1 can remember for a long time by jazz composer Chick Corea. (Jeremy Clarke)

Cat Chaser by Elmore Leonard (Penguin £3.50)

From Fri 8. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank. From Fri 15. Strathclyde: Kelburne.

I Ernest Saves Christmas ( l’(i ) (John Cherry. US. 1988) Jim Varncy. Douglas Scale. ()liver Clarke. Noelle Parker. 93 mins. Santa. now aged 151. is gettinga little long in the tooth. and arrives in Florida to pass the job on to a children's television presenter. But the accident-prone Ernest P. Worrell is driving the cab so complications can't be too far away. Silly second feature starring the character originally invented for a milk advertisement in the Southern States. Glasgow: (‘annon The Forge. lidinburgh: Dominion. Strathclyde: Cannon. Regal. UCl (.‘lydcbank. L'(‘l liast Kilbride.

I The EXDfClSl ( 18) (William l‘iricdkin. LS. 1973) Linda Blair. fillcn Burstyn. Max Von Sydow. Ill) mins. liarnest priest Yon Sydow steps in to save poor little obsessed girl in this hugely effective scarefest. Dead good. dead scarey. dead priest. Strathclyde: L'(‘l fiast Kilbridc. \VMR Film Centre.

I Field of DreamS( P0) ( l’hil Alden

Robinson. US. 1989) Kevin Costner. Amy

Madigan. Burt Lancaster. James liarl Jones. mo mins. An unlikely winner from writer director Robinson has (‘ostncr as a hard-working. hard-pressed farmer who risks financial ruin and builds the baseball diamond of his dreams in one of his fields to recapture the innocence of his boyhood. The miraculous emotiy e climax forces him to come to terms with the reponsibilitiesof adult life. Glasgow: ('annon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon.

I Flesh Gordon ( 18) (Michael Bcnveniste. US. 197-1) Jason Williams. Suzanne Fields. William llunt. 8-1 mins. ()ut ofthis

world. space-age sex spoof as our fearless hero conquers the universe with his amazing weapon. Strathclyde: U(‘l (Tydcbank.

I Forbidden Planet (PG) (Fred M. Wilcox. LS. 1950) Walter l’idgeon. Anne Francis. Leslie Nielsen. Warren Stevens. A classic sci-1i version of The 'I‘elnpes'tindcep space. Nielsen arrives on the remote planet and encounters the Prospero figure of l’idgeon. his daughter and their robot (Ariel ). Soon all are plunged intothc struggle against ('aliban. Get the picture'.’ lixccllcnt special effects and acting make it worth seeing. Edinburgh University l‘ilm Society.

I Full Moon in Paris l.es‘ Nails De La l’lctne 1.unc( 15) (Eric Rohmcr. France. 1984) Pascale ()gicr. Tcheky Karyo. l-‘abricc Luchini. lt)1mins.Ayoung trainee textile designer finds her fondness for socialising causes tension between herself and her lugubrious lover. Rohmer‘s typical finesse infuses a great deal of charm in the production. lidinburgh: Filmhouse.

I Ghostbusters 2 (PG) (lvan Reitman. US. 1989) Bill Murray. Dan Aykroyd. llarold Ramis. Sigourney Weaver. 108 mins. Need a seq ucl'.’ Who you gonna call‘.’ The down-at-hecl and discredited slimefighters are back in business. after mayhem once more breaks out on the streets of New York. The effects look less cheap this time. and ifyou liked it first time round you are on a winner herezif you were less than convinced. stay at home ~~ you've seen this one already. (ilasgow: (‘annon The Forge, Odeon.

14 The List 8 21 December 1989