FILM REVIEW
BACARDI BLACK
Fasten seatbelts, extinguish cigarettes, and hope you’re not sitting next to Jeff Bridges. The List heads along the runway, taking in all the films opening in Scotland over the next two weeks.
I Fearless ( 15) Psychologically reborn after surviving a horrendous plane crash. architect Max (Jeff Bridges) becomes alienated front his family as he becomes convinced of his own immortality. In an attempt to bring him back to reality. he is introduced to Carla (Rosie Perez). who lost her baby in the same disaster. Recent press coverage suggests that Bridges is
finally receiving the acclaim he deserves; here. in the hands of director Peter Weir. he brings an almost mystical slant to the emotional turmoil that follows a near-death experience. See preview. I Home Is Bleeding ( l8) British bad-boy gone Stateside. Gary Oldman follows the big budget excess of Bram Stoker It
3 Dracula with an uncomfortably black ~ comedy that will
undoubtedly not be to everyone's taste. Directed by Peter Medak — a
Hungarian lured to
Hollywood via a UK stint during which he directed The K rays — this story of a corrupt cop entangled with his wife. his mistress
and a female assassin does
bring a European edge to
the American noir. See feature.
I Gunhed ( 12) The live action equivalent of the Manga animated videos that seem to be taking over the western world like some virulent computer virus. (illIl/lt'tl is set in a futuristic world following an almost apocalyptic war between computers. robots and humans. A group of treasure hunters land on the island where the worst battles have raged in search of valuable computer chips. and spend much time wandering down Alien War-type corridors dodging the biodroids. A hotch-potch of
hardware references and rip-offs — tick off Transformers. The A Team. Aliens. Blade
Runner — (:‘unhet/ suffers ~ from that brand of quick- ? cut editing and shadowy i photography that confuses and frustrates the viewer
without creating tension. The story is weak. the
special effects far below the standard we've come
to expect. the characters so stereotyped that we‘re
past caring. Nevertheless. the die-hards will want to
turn out for the one-off
late-night screenings at Glasgow ()deon on Sat 30 and Edinburgh ()deon on Sat 7. (AM)
ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE
Anarchic American TV comedy shows, from Saturday flight live to SCTV, have spawned some of the cinema’s most innovative and successful actor- comedians of the last twenty years. And now Jim Carrey’s name must be added to that list. Already a television star in the States for his many crazy characters on In living Colour, Carrey has shrewdly translated that success with the minimum of fuss and change, but adapting his talents to fit one wacky character rather than attempting to showcase the lot in one go. And what a character he is. A cross between Phillip Marlowe and Dr Doolittle, Ace Ventura specialises in tracking down lost animals for their distraught owners. But when Snowflake, the mascot of the Miami
thus threatening their chances at the impending Superbowl - the stakes are , increased ever higher. As life, liberty and the inalienable right of every American to own a dolphin comes under threat, Ace proves himself the only man for the job.
He’s also the only man who would
Ace Ventura: ’cross between Phillip Marlowe
and Dr Doolittle’
want it, but by a combination of his very special skills, pure luck and wanton stupidity in the face of overwhelming odds, he cracks the case and saves the day. Thankfully there are plenty of bellylaughs along
the way, and by keeping the film short, '
this broadly drawn, totally over-the~ top character does not outstay his welcome. Carrey dominates centre stage with ' his antics and rubbery, cartoon-like features and, while the character
might not stretch to a sequel, it has at
1‘ least brought its originator to film
Dolphins football team, goes missing - stardom. indeed, so inventive and
amusing is he, that even having Sean Young as his co-star cannot detract from the enjoyment of a funny and bizarre film. (Anwar Brett)
I Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (12) (Tom
;Shadyac, US, 1994) Jim Carrey, Sean
‘ Young, Courtney Cox. 86 mins. From
; Fri 29. General release.
_ DEADLY ADVICE
Dedly Advice:
Socially and emotionally stunted by their domineering mother (Brenda Fricker), sisters Jodie (Jane Horrocks) and Beth (Imelda Staunton) live a dull life in Hay-on-Wye. The discovery of a book on famous British murders triggers the memory of a chamber of horrors visit for Jodie, which in turn paves the way for the appearance of the town’s most infamous son, Edwardian poisoner Major Armstrong, who has a word or two of advice on how the girl can shrug off her maternal burden. Pretty seen other notable, albeit deceased, killers are guiding Jodle’s actions - axe-maniac Kate Webster, ‘brldes in the bath’ murderer George Smith, Dr Crippen and Jack The Ripper - as her sister Beth becomes too bossy and Beth’s male- strlpper boyfriend Bunny starts to have suspicions.
‘works better on paper than it does on the screen'
If there’s a problem with Deadly Advice, it’s less with the taste and tone than the lack of outright laughs. Taggart creator and writer Glenn Chandler pulls off a scattering of witty one-liners, but the film as a whole works better as an idea on paper than it does on the screen. Nevertheless, the small-town Welsh setting has an amiable and eccentric charm, and the presentation of the murderers kindles nostalgic affection for a Golden Age of British Murder rather than the grisly ghoulishness of today’s fascination with true crime. (Alan Morrison)
, Deadly Advice (15) (Mandie'Fletcher, f UK, 1994) Jane Horrocks, Imelda
I Staunton, Brenda Fricker. 91 mins.
From Fri 29. Glasgow: Ddeon, MGM Parkhead. Edinburgh: Ddeon, llCl. Strathclyde: Ddeon Ayr,
CINEMA PARADISO: THE SPECIAL EDITION
Cinema Paradiso: “more complex finale' This is no mere cash-in job. but director Giuseppe Tornatore‘s original cut of the film. the l70-minute
version which flopped so
abysmally on its first Italian release that it was withdrawn. was truncated by 50 minutes and entered into the 1989 Cannes Film Festival in the hope that foreign success would help its flagging native fortunes. The rest is cinematic history. The supreme irony ofit all. though. is that the film we all know remains .substantially inferior to Tornatore's expansive and roundly satisfying initial version.
Largely unaltered is the nostalgic chronicle of a Sicilian youngster‘s formative relationship with his local movie- house. the Cinema Paradiso. and its wise old projectionist Alfredo; still enshrined are the affectionate performances of cutesy child actor Salvatore Cascio and grizzled old pro Philippe Noiret. The reinstatement of over 40 minutes of material following the much older Salvatore . (Jacques Perrin) on his traumatic return home. however. shows just what
I happens when he meets
up with his never- forgotten teenage paramour (the previously excised Brigitte Fosseyl and alters the whole tone of the film. darkening it considerably in effective counterpoint to the occasional slushiness of the central flashback. Here we experience a catalogue of loss. betrayal and regret which renders the cinematic paean to celluloid romance a more complex finale. bittersweet yet ineffably moving. A masterpiece restored. (Trevor Johnston)
Cinema Paradiso: The
Special Edition (/5)
(Guiseppe Tomatore,
I talv/F rance, I 988) Salvatore C ascio. Philippe Noiret. Jacques
Perrin. [70 mins. Front
Tue 3: Glasgow Film Theatre. Front Fri 6: Edinburgh F ilmhouse.
sponsored by BACARDI BLACK
28 The List 22 April~5 May 1994