BACARDI BLACK REVIEW FILM
3 off to claim some land in Oregon, albeit with Pinkerton detectives on
BAD GIRLS E their tail. Pretty soon romantic THUMBELINA The Ballad Of Little Jo may have made , “3'50"5. Sexual degrafiaimflsr
a reasonable stab at filtering ; revenge, life-threatening escapes and
revisionist feminism into the western l 00"“ iaces "0m "19 P_3§i mUddle
genre, but sad ems shows that it ; together as several familiar elements
takes more than waging a woman in are added to the mix while director
the saddle to set up an agenda that . Jonathan Kaplan turns a blind eye to
doesn’t just pander to male fantasies. the Tempe.- . .
that said, if you’ve got a healthy ;: Far too little attention has been paid
liking for a quartet of buckskinned T to establishing ha"5‘9""!!le it}! the babes consisting of Madeleine Stowe, i “hammers MFG" WWW explaln the" Andie MacDowell, Mary Stuart 9'9?“ gmupmg and Sllbsequeni nfew _. and ' actlons. But hand'held aCtlon
rm happy to admit to a 50 per cent photography flies around, Stowe appreciation factor — then there will , makes 3 90°“ "9'0""? and Bailymme
Don Bluth's 'I'lttmthelina.
always be something on screen to ' is a"°“’°d,t,° take ?"°t,h°' 5‘99 back , like shon- lwrite. shares a divert the male viewer’s attention '"io "’hab'l'med "mel'gm- Enioyablet I T preoccupation with little from the somewhat wayward plot. 1 but Pmbab'y i‘" a“ "‘9 “"ong 'easons- i ; people. princes and happy
endings (oops. gave it away). Indeed. Bluth has said that he wants ‘to
After shooting a drunken customer in ' (“3" Moms”) self-defence, four prostitutes working . a Colorado saloon in the 18905 take Bad Girls (15) (Jonathan Kaplan. US,
their destinies into their own hands — i 1994) Madeleine Stowe, Andie ' i Tciivcfilic 918:3? N no hanging about for Clint and the E MacDowell, Drew Barrymore, Mary . , .‘ 3 3232:1111:illhimatgrton boys ‘0 take command theif 3 Stuart Masterson. 98 mm. From Fl'l ~ Disney's Sivan-"g Bealln,‘
counterparts in Unforgiven - and head Geneml Iciease.
ghosts still haunt Bluth‘s work ill a series of —i t _ that proves surprisingly beneficial. I similarities. not least of 1 Law’s film creeps up on you, a which is his U18? Olgiodi ' ' Benson (Arie ln lsney's ' I The little Mermaid) for The influence of Jim Jarmusch
. Thumbelina‘s voice. 3 evidently casts a long shadow. ln deadpa" “"ts bi" 500" becomes a
. . . Despite its Barry Manilow Macawbom director Clara Lawis more human affair, peering through soundtrack and iif_y0u_
I fourth feature Mystery Train tourist the Pha'aciefs, surface “35”” m Willy—he]iCi'C-in-youmcif- . Masamsm Hagase once more ways outlinethelr Innerrnost aches, . you-can-overc0lne-many- the stranger in a strange land, his renew.“ a" the F'!““'.a' trad't'ops’ “W891” “19833th .
. dissolute Japanese youth 1.0km romantic and familial ties that might [hm ‘8 1} iii-“incl dhhgcr "
' yet solidify their barely articulated “my “me” ‘hc “Y'iiially
stumbling through downtown Hong Kong. Equally adrift is local schoolgirl Wai (Li Pu Wai), waiting out the last
hard-hearted. (Gabe Stewart) 'l'llitmht'litlu (U) (Don
melancholy into a sense of belonging. Modestly scaled, perhaps even a tad
. days of term before joining her tollts Sm" °" "3”3‘!“ lime! ""i “'m’5 mum. US. 1994) With the ' in Canada, further statistics in the happy'sad ""Pmat'ons 0'.‘ me and "we i‘Uit‘v-i‘ (if/ml!” Benson.
' “8,1997 stream of immig'afion. Her are both confident and wise. (Trevor i Carol (.‘Itttttttittg. John
l pals have all left she’s wondering how Johnston) ’ ""1 [’t‘W’U’f’ .CWk- 87
. far to go with he; nominai showriend. Autumn Moon (15) (Clara Law, liong . "1715'. I-mm I-rt /. General ' ’ re (use.
3 and so a sturdy shoulder is just what ' “WE/Japan, 1992) "asaiosm Hagaser
she needs_ What they both get, Li Fu Wal. 198 mins. From Mon 4: « , though, is each other, a fleeting and umbuigh Filinhouse- _ “mm” mm“ '3 d°°°PiiV° "lame" rather unlikely platonic relationship .
. LONDON
By no means a straight- forward city guide. Patrick Keiller‘s London heads for the heart of the capital via a fictionalised i narrative by the friend and i former lover of a chap I called Robinson. We are l taken on three exploratory (journeys: from in: lTwickenham to Vauxhall; from Stockwell. via the City, to Stoke Newington; I and along the banks of the River Brent in the north- ‘ west of the city. London's literary and artistic past iclashes with r. Icontemporary events from 1992 — IRA attacks. the General Election. political demos. This i.. not documentary as verité investigation. but rather a well-crafted piece of writing skilfully linked to visual images. (Alan Morrison) London (U) (l’utrir‘k Keillor. UK, I993) With the l’(li(‘(’ of Paul St'ojit'ld. i 84 mins. From Fri 1: Edinburgh Film/rouse. From Mon 4: Glasgow
_ i AARDMAN COLLECTION ;
llick Park’s singular British success at . the Academy Awards this year won more than another Oscar for him and his beautifully observed Plasticine models. UCI Cinemas - and give them 3 full credit for this - are touring a l package of Park’s best animations around the country. Aardman films I have in the past brought big audiences to arthouse screenings, but it’s rare
for a collection of shorts —- particularly animated shorts — to get a chance to hold their own in the commercial cinema market.
Not only do we get the unflappable Wallace and semi-divine Cromit in . both The Wrong Trousers and A Grand i Day Out, but also the hilarious and § inspired Oscar-winning Creature Comforts. Completing the selection is the superior pop video Sledgehammer, which was created for Peter Gabriel and includes several scenes by Park, and Peter Lord’s Adam. Treat yourself: see them on the big screen. (Thom I Dibdin) Aardman Collection (PC) From Fri 1. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI
c|ydebank, uc| East Ki|bride_ i The Aardman Collection: 'the unflappable Wallace and semi-divine Cromit' [xi/m yywumr
sponsored by BACARDI BLACK
The List l—-l-1July 1994 27