FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Get On The Bus (IS) (Spike Lee. US. I997) Ossie Davis. Isaiah Washington. Charles Dutton. I22 mins. In October I995. a group of black men take a three~day bus trip from South Central LA to Washington DC for the consciousness-raising Million Man March. Lee conceives the bus as a microcosm of black America. but simply ticks off the issues (and the stereotypes) on an agenda. Holding the film together. however. is a performance of enormous dignity from veteran actor Ossie Davis. Stirling: MacRobert.
The Goonies (PG) (Richard Donner. US. I985) Sean Astin. Josh Brolin. Jeff Cohen. “2 mins. Rather dire teenflick. in which seven kids go in quest of buried treasure. leaving their parents arguing over real estate. and are followed hotly by vicious villains vying for the loot. Ajoyride which is slow to start and doesn’t ever depart from well charted highways. Introduced by Falkirk band Arab Strap. Part of In The City. Glasgow: GFT.
Guantanamera (l5) (Tomas Gutierrez Alea/Juan Carlos Tabio. Cuba. I995) l05 ntins. For his final filnt before his death from cancer. Alea reteamed with his co- director front the Oscar-nominated SI!‘(1Wh¢’I‘I‘_\‘/‘Ill/ Chocolate for a satirical stab at modern Cuba's political and financial crises. Three people travelling across Cuba in a funeral car keep crossing paths with a philandering truck driver and his friend. finding bureaucratic frustrations at every stop. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Head Above Water ( I5) (Jim Wilson. US. I997) Harvey Keitel. Cameron Diaz. Billy Zane. 92 mins. Left alone at a remote holiday beach house. ex-party girl Diaz is visited by an old flame. whose naked dead body she finds next morning. The disposing of said corpse is the engine for what could have been a Hitchcockian thriller. but which instead degeneratcs into a laughably implausible farce. Keitel is absurdly tttiscast and Diaz‘s proven acting talents are wasted on a script that relies on ludicrous human behaviour and mechanical plotting. See review. General release.
High Hopes (15) (Mike Leigh. UK. I988) Philip Davis. Ruth Sheen. Edna Dore. llO tttins. Davis attd Sheen play a wholesome. left-wing. working-class couple. looking after his aging mother (Dore). who has been neglected by her appalling daughter. Tensions conte to a head at the old lady‘s birthday party. Caustic and at times excruciatingly painful comedy of embarrasstttent. which rather unsubtly signposts whose side we are meant to be on. A decidedly patchy offering front one of Britain's individual talents. Glasgow: Gf-T. Jackie Chan's First Strike ( 12) (Stanley Tong. Hong Kong/US. I996) Jackie Chan. Clten Chun Wu. Jackson Lou. 84 ntins. No more than a series of set pieces linked by a kind of low budget travelogue. this story of a Hong Kong cop trailing ex-KGB officers across the world fails to give full rein to its star‘s astonishing gymnastic skills and fearless approach to performing his own stunts. Perfunctory. routine and utterly disappointing. See review. General release.
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32 THE IJST 26 Sep—9 Oct I997
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Johns ( l8) (Scott Silver. US. I996) David Arquette. Lukas Haas. Iilliot Gould. 96 mins. Male prostitute John (Arquette) wakes to find his money stolen. then attempts to hustle the money he needs with the help of his friend Donner (Haas). Joltns‘ owes a certain amount to Midnight Cote/my and My Own Private It/(IIIU. but ltas neither the relentlessness of the former nor the lyricism of the latter. Nevertheless the leads imbue the film with moments of real poignancy. Stirling: MacRobert.
Kids (l8) (Larry Clark. US. I995) Leo Fitzpatrick. Justin Pierce. Chloe Sevigny. 93 mins. Photographer Clark brings a gritty yet hip approach to his portrait of urban youtlt overdosed on sex and drugs. Verbally. bttt not visually. explicit. the film is as bleak as it gets. as HIV positive Jennie spends a day tracking down arrogant ‘virgin surgeon‘ Telly. Serious issues are touched on itt an unadorned fashion. btit its tip to us to discuss a way to find the solutions. Glasgow: Gl’l'.
lady And The Tramp (U) (Hamilton Luske. US. I955) With the voices of Peggy Lee attd Bill Thompson. 75 tttitts. Disney‘s first animated feature in einentascope ltas mongrel Tramp helping pedigree pooch Lady out of a sticky situation and falling itt lurve along the way. Richly drawn with hummable tunes and endearing characterisations. this is the classic Disney mix as before. Lovely spaghetti-eating sequence. General release.
The Leading Man (I5) (John l)uigan. UK. I996) Jon Bon Jovi. Thandie Newton. Anna Galiena. I00 mins. Jon Bon Jovi continues his diversion into the cinema. starring as a cock-sure American actor who takes time out front Hollywood to make his London stage debut. Emotional complications follow when he beds the playwright’s wife attd seduces his co-star. Bon Jovi‘s natural confidence and rock star charisma work well. but his delivery of dialogue isn't quite so convincing. See review. General release.
n The Lost World
life Is Sweet (I5) (Mike Icigh. UK. l99l) Alison Steadman. Jim Broadbent. Jane Horrocks. I02 mitts. Domestic cringe-drama which centres on a family with mismatched twin daughters. an inefficient caterer dad attd a generous-spirited ttttittt. Like all leigh‘s work. the drama is laced with a bleak. almost cruel humour. but it's enjoyable. truthful and surprisingly optimistic. Glasgow: Gl’l'.
Life . . . My Passion (PG) (Magdi Ahmed Ali. ligypt. I995) Il() tttitts. Three unmarried women in their 30s ltave stayed single because of their difficult circumstances. bttt that hasn't harmed their sarcastic love of life. A celebration of optimism. shown as part of Glasgow's Salaam! I’estival. Glasgow: (if-'l'.
Looking For My Husband's Wife (PU) (Mohamed Abderrahtttan 'l‘azi. Morocco. I993) 88 mitts. A middle-aged jeweller ltas three wives until he divorces the third; when he decides he wants her back. he ltas to accept that involves giving her to another man. A comedy dealing with the intricate code of lslatttic laws of polygamy. Part of Glasgow's Salaam! I-‘estival. Glasgow: GI’I’. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (PU) (Steven Spielberg. US. I997) Jeff Goldbluttt. Julianne Moore. Pete Postlethwaite. l29 tttitts. Goldblttttt and ('o drop onto a second dittosaur- filled island. which is disrupted by a mixed bttttclt of capitalists attd safari hunters. sending the carnavores on a rampage. The story is far better than Jurassic Park. making fora thrilling adventure with impeccible effects that renders the original as good as extinct. Watch out for the certificate though: sustained scenes of terror suggest it should have been a ‘l2'. General release.
M Hulot's Holiday (PG) (Jacques 'I‘ati. lirance. I953) Jacques Tati. Nathalie Pascattd. Michelle Rolla. 9| mins. M. llulot. the bachelor with the accident-prone touch. arrives at ajaunty coastal resort attd devastation very soon ensues. Comic tinting at its most irresistible. as Tali gets away with a number of memorable. slow-burning gags. all undercut by the stabbing notion that we all ltave an uncle exactly like llttlot. ltttrodttced by Stephen Pastel. Part of In The City. Glasgow; GI‘T.
Mirrorball 75 mitts. One of the tttost exciting new additions to the Iidittbttrgh Film Festival. Mirrorball showcases the best tttttstc videos of the year. pros ittg that there's tttore to this field than just slick marketing. This programttte features some of the tttost stunning work premiered itt August. Part of In The City. Glasgow: (il’l‘. Men In Black (PG) (Barry Sonnenfeld. US. I997) 'I‘omnty I.ee Jottes. Will Stttitlt. Vincent I)‘()nofrio_ 95 tttitts. Stttitlt attd Jottes are two cryptically named ‘cosmic G- men' who monitor extraterrestrial aliens living on Iiarth. wltilc stoppittg the nastier breed of space baddie front colonis’ing the planet. Jones's secn-it-all straight man is the perfect foil for Smith's wide-eyed new kid on the block. wltile Sottncttfcld‘s skilftil integration of the visual effects proves that eye-popping spectacle attd coherent
storytelling need not necessarily be diametrically opposed. General release.
Mrs Brown (PC) (John Madden. UK. I997) Judi Dench. Billy Connolly. Antony Sher. I03 mins. Queen Victoria‘s obsessive mourning for Prince Albert is casting gloom over the entire country. so Highland ghillie John Brown is called down from Balmoral to shake up the stuffy English court. Madden‘s film can‘t match the comic bn'o and visual panache of The Madness 0f King George. but his understated direction undeniably suits the story. The performances are uniformly splendid. with Dench and Connolly (both perfectly cast) giving the film a surprising entotional depth. Edinburgh: liilmhouse.
My Best Friend's Wedding (I2) (PJ. Hogan. US. I997) Julia Roberts. Dermot Mulroney. Cameron Diaz. I05 mins. The director of Australian hit Muriel 3‘ Wedding takes Julia Roberts out of lter usual. wide- eyed role of irritating innocence and re-casts her as a two-faced career girl who tries to scuppcr the wedding of a former boyfriend whom she suddenly realises she is still very ntuclt itt love with. A wonderfully scripted film with a fun performances all round. it ultimately affirms the enduring nature of friendsltip. General release.
My Life As A Dog (PG) (Lasse Halstrom. Sweden. I985) Anton Glanzelius. Manfred Server. Attki Liden. l()l tttins. Wholly captivating rite of passage tale set in Sweden durittg the l95()s. Twelve-ycar-old lngemar copes with ltis mother‘s terminal illness and his family‘s general indifference to hint by indulging iii a high fantasy life. including the pretence that he is a dog. Terrible title; wonderful. unmissable film. Edinburgh; Cattteo.
Night Falls On Manhattan ( I5) (Sidney Lumet. US. I996) Andy Garcia. Ian Holm. Lena ()Iin. ll3 tttins. Veteran director Lumet ( /2 Angry Men. Serpit'u. Network) goes back to his pet subject of police corruption. but with diminishing returns. Hot-shot attorney Sean Casey (Garcia) faces a tttoral minefield when he investigates a drug bust shoot-out itt which his policeman father (Holttt) was wounded. Top class perfornters give the movie a rock-solid bottom for its feverishly uttfolding saga. Glasgow: Quay Odeon.
187 (I5) (Kevin Reynolds. US. I997) Samuel l.. Jackson. Kelly Rowan. John Heard. II9 ntins. Disillusioned science teacher Trevor Garfield (a commanding. charismatic performance front Jackson) relocates to LA following a near-fatal attack by a pupil at a New York ltiglt school. but this tinte is far less prepared to go by the book when dealing with aggressive kids. The film is beautifully sltot itt amber tones. bttt the real triumph is iii the manipulation of audiettce perceptions. Greenock: The Waterfront.
Palookaville ( l 5) (Alan Taylor. US. I996) Williattt l-‘orsythe. Vincent Gallo. Adant Trese. 92 tttitts. The simplest way to nutshell l’tiltmkuville would be to describe it as a heist tttovie starrittg the Three Stooges. lncontpetence causes our heroes to break into a bakery instead of the next door
jeweller‘s. btit tltett their ltuntanity wins over
as they save a security driver's life. The
jokes are everywhere — all over the script. itt
the visuals and off-camera. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Photographing Fairies ( 15) (Nick Willing. UK. I997) Toby Stephens. limin Woof. Ben Kingsley. l()7 utins. Worlds retttoved frottt the citteuta of Merchant-Ivory. this British period fantasy film follows traumatised photographer Cltarles Castle (Stephens) exploit his technical knowledge to debunk supposedly authentic pltotographs of fairies. only to discover a picture he can't explain away. With an obvious affection for Powell and Pressburger. Willing taps ittto our current tttillenttial angst. Largs: Barrfield. Plein Soleil Purple Noun ( l 5) (Rene Clement. l’rance. I960) Alain Delon. Maurice Rottct. Marie I.aforét. IIS tttitts. Clétttent‘s lttsltly filmed reworking of a Patricia llighstttith story hooks viewers ittto its skewed moral universe. Ripley (Delon) nurses a grudge against a friend with girl trouble attd hatcltes a platt to kill hint on a yaclttiug trip. The film -- clumsy in places. over-long itt others v- becomes an absorbing cscercise itt careful plottittg attd spooky eittotiottal tttattoeuvering. Glasgow: GI-T.