film
index
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate. credits. brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Alan Morrison.
The Addiction( 18) (Abel Ferrara. US. 1995) Lili Taylor. Christopher Walken. Annabella Sciorra. 82 mins. New York philosophy student Taylor finds herself abstractly questioning the nature of life‘s morality until she is passionately bitten one night by a beautiful woman (Scion'a) and launched into a subversive. bloodthirsty lifestyle. Shot in black and white. and accompanied by an urban rap soundtrack. The Addiction captures the energy and power of addictive behaviour. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Air Force One (15) (Wolfgang Petersen. US. 1997) Harrison Ford. Gary Oldman. Glenn Close. 124 mins. Kazhakstani terrorists hijack the White House's private 747. so President James Marshall (Ford) has to put his own life on the line to save the day. There‘s no attempt to take the piss out of US gung-ho positivism. so instead we have an overextended excuse to show American resourcefulness triumphing once again. The whole ass-whuppingjingoism of it all is particularly virulent. Glasgow: Showcase.
An American Werewolf In Paris (18) (Anthony Waller. US. 1997) Tom Everett Scott. Julie Delpy. Vince Vieluf. John Landis's 1981 movie An American Werewolf In London was an entertaining mix of scares and black comedy. British director Waller managed the same balance in his debut. Mute Witness. so could be a good replacement — and digital technology promises even better transformations. General release.
L'Appartement (15) (Gilles Mimouni. France. 1996) Vincent Cassell. Romane Bohringer. Jean-Philippe Ecoffey. 116 mins. Young exec Max (Cassell) finds himself
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drawn into the mystery of his own past when a chance encounter in a cafe sends him hot on the trail of the girl he loved and lost. Mimouni marshals the switchback between past and present with effortless élan - it’s all very Hitchcockian. but the film‘s emotional component stops it from being mere pastiche. Quite possibly the coolest French debut since Diva. Glasgow: Andrew Stewart. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Batman 8 Robin (PG) (Joel Schumacher. US. 1997) George Clooney. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Chris O‘Donnell. 130 mins. Moving even further way from the Gothic melancholy of Tim Burton’s first two films. the fourth Batman movie brings in Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) and disaffected scientist Dr Freeze (Schwarzenegger). Thurman's scene-stealing performance saves the film from total failure. while Clooney does exactly what's required. but no more. Noisy. empty and without a hint of wit or intelligence. Falkirk: ABC. Bean (PG) (Mel Smith. UK. 1997) Rowan Atkinson. Peter MacNicol. Pamela Reed. 97 mins. Bean the movie makes an attempt to broaden the range of Atkinson's tremendously successful TV sight-gag character by sending him off to California to be mistaken for an art expert. Most gags are agreeably daft; several are tiresomer lavatorial; eventually. however. the film upholds family values and true blue American schmaltz. General release. Black Beauty (U) (Caroline Thomson. US/UK. 1994) Sean Bean. David Thewlis. Peter Cook. 82 mins. The most famous horse in children‘s literature returns in a faithful screen version by debut director Thomson. whose work as a screenwriter - The Secret Garden. Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas — taps into a darker current of childhood vision. The pace sets off at a gallop. and should intrigue adults as well as younger viewers. Glasgow: GFT. Brassed Off (15) (Mark Herman. UK. 1996) Ewan McGregor. Tara Fitzgerald. Pete Postlethwaite. 105 mins. When the local pit is due to be closed down. it's the end of the day for the colliery brass band as well. even though they‘ve got a chance at winning the national competition. Politics are the heart of the story. but writer-director Hannen has created a film that balances nicely between pithy humour and heartbreaking poignance. Performances are excellent. particularly Ball_vkissangel‘s Stephen Tompkinson. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Chasing Amy (18) (Kevin Smith. US. 1996) Ben Affiect. Joey Lauren Adams. Jason Lee. 111 mins. The third film by the writer/director of Clerks is a wry and surprisingly mature look at twentysomething relationships. Comic book artist Holden (Affleck) falls desperately in love with Alyssa (Adams). but she prefers gals to guys. Sexual desire and a crisis of masculinity come under the microscope in a film that's bloody funny in a risque way. See preview and review. Glasgow: GFT. Odeon Quay. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCl Contact (PG) (Robert Zemeckis. US. 1997) Jodie Foster. Matthew McConaughey. James Woods. 150 mins. Based on the Carl Sagan bestseller. this epic story of man's first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence is beset throughout by arrant nonsense and miscalculation. Foster is the researcher specialising in the monitoring of radio waves from the ether who picks up a communication signal from another planet. Zemeckis has inherently fascinating subject matter throughout. but shows a truly depressing lack of imagination in bringing it to the screen. Glasgow: ABC Film Centre. Irvine: Magnum. Paisley: Showcase. The Craft (15) (Andrew Fleming. US. 1996) Robin Tunney. Fairuza Balk. Neve Campbell. Rachel True. 101 mins. A newcomer to an LA school falls in with a trio of misfits — ‘the bitches of Eastwick' — who turn out to be a teenage witches coven. Revenge on their tormentors begins to backfire however. as queen goth Balk goes out of control. Scarier than a lot of teen horror. particularly in the slimy. creepy- crawly department. but only for an adolescent audience. Glasgow: GFT. Darklands (18) (Julian Richards. Wales. 1996) Craig Fairbrass. Rowena King. Jon
Finch. 90 mins. Billed. with good reason. as the Welsh Wicker Man. this low budget horror movie manages some scares and tense moments within its limitations. Fairbrass plays a reporter whose investigation into the death of a steelworker uncovers a hidden world of pagan rituals by contemporary druids. Shown welcoming arms by genre critics at its recent release in London. this might prove its only Scottish big screen outing before video demise. With Therapy? and Photek‘s paranoic video for Loose. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Dead Ringers (18) (David Cronenberg. US. 1988) Jeremy Irons. Genevieve Bujold. Heidi Palleske. 115 mins. Extraordinary examintion of sexualjealousy. with lrons playing twin gynaecologists — arrogant Elliot and studious Beverly Mantle — who fall in love with a fading actress (Bujold) when their clinic treats her infertility. Deeply melancholic. irrationally powerful exercise in wayward psychology. which boasts magnificent and carefully differentiated characterisation from Irons. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Deep Crimson (l8) (Arturo Ripstein. Mexico. 1996) Regina Orozco. Daniel Giminez Cacho. 1 14 mins. Two social and physical misfits — fat Coral and bald Nicolas — forge a murderous alliance to marry and rip off rich women. This remake of 60s thriller The Honeymoon Killers is warmly hued and darkly humourous. but bleak remains the over-riding adjective. See review. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Enigma 0f Knut Hamsun (PG) (Bentein Baardson. Norway. 1996) 113 mins. The works of Knut Hamsun are among the most filmed of Norwegian literature. despite the slur on his name that arose due to his support of the Nazis dun'ng WW2. A short season of film adaptations begans with a feature-length version of the Norwegian TV mini-series The Enigma 0f Knut Hamsun. which is based on a biography by Robert Ferguson. The writer introduces the screening. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Eraserhead (18) (David Lynch. US. 1976) John Nance. Charlotte Stewart. 90 mins. You may never eat jelly babies again after the repellent but compelling tale of Henry. his haircut. his girlfriend. his strange offspring and a sizeable quantity of pus. Disturbing stuff. mercifully filmed in black and white. and showing a distinctive otherworld surreality that filters through Lynch's later work. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Event Horizon (18) (Paul Anderson. US/UK. 1997) Laurence Fishburne. Sam Neill. Joely Richardson. 91 mins. The crew of a rescue ship discover that hell has been unleashed inside a missing craft that reappears near Neptune. as their deepest fears begin to terrorise them in physical form. Event Horizon boasts stunning ‘Techno Medieval' design; but tight editing leaves the characterisation and story stripped to within an inch of their lives. Glasgow: Odeons. Edinburgh: Cameo. Odeon.
The Evil Dead (18) (Sam Riami. US. 1982) Bruce Campbell. Ellen Sandweiss. Betsy Baker. 85 mins. Five unsuspecting youngsters head off for a healthy weekend in a mountain cabin. only to fall foul of wicked demons whose purpose is — wait for it - wholesale slaughter. Every horror cliche is exploited and subverted in this stylish.
Close shave: Demi Moore in 6.1. Jane
cheapo schlocker-shocker made with imagination by an inventive young team. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Evil Ed (18) (Anders Jacobsen. Sweden. 1996) 88 mins. A mild-mannered film editor‘s mind is corrupted by the images he comes across during his daily work. A couple of gross but cool splatter effects perk up interest. but everything around these remote highlights is leaden. as the actors deliver the stupid script in a thick. pedantic manner. With Marilyn‘s Manson's gothic/spaghetti western-style video Man That You Hate. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Evita (12) (Alan Parker. US. 1996) Madonna. Antonio Banderas. Jonathan Pryce. 135 mins. Parker‘s genuine epic. based on the Tim Rice/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. boasts huge crowd scenes (up to 40.000 extras. according to sources) and stars on top form. The film belongs very much to Madonna in a gift of a role. which follows the rags-to-riches life of Eva Peron from poverty to her place in the hearts of a nation. lt's narrated in song by sardonic revolutionary Che Guevara (Banderas). but once the audience becomes accustomed to the style. the sheer scale of the movie should take effect. Glasgow: Grosvcnor.
Face/Off ( l 8) (John Woo. US. 1997) John Travolta. Nicolas Cage. Joan Allen. 133 mins. FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) undergoes radical surgery to become terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage); but when Troy comes out of a coma and undergoes a similar operation. he too is able to slip into his enemy's domain — domestic and professional. Part horror. part sci-fi. full-on action. with a cast that's uniformly excellent. The day when an action movie could be dismissed as mere popcorn- munchin' entertainment is over. See feature and review. General release.
Fools Rush In (12) (Andy Tennant. US. 1997) Matthew Perry. Salma Hayek. Jon Tenney. 109 mins. Mexican chalk (Hayek) meets all-American cheese (Perry) in this romantic comedy which attempts to convince us that love can triumph over polar differences. The film's failing is that these differences are so coarsely depicted — multi- racial relationships hecome crazy caricatures and howling cliches. Some magnificent shots of canyons. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Showcase. Paisley: Showcase.
Free Willy 3: The Rescue (U) (Sam Pillsbury. US. 1997) Jason James Richter. August Schellenberg. Annie Corley. 86 mins. Boy and killer whale learn up again to drive home an environmental message for the 90s when Willy the orca and family are threatened by the hunters on a whaling boat. Better than its bland predecessor. Free Hill)- 3 develops the usual formula. and benefits from moulding the character of the main
antagonist as an old-style hunter rather than
the corporate villains of previous instalments. General release.
The Full Monty (15) (Peter Cattaneo. UK.
1997) Robert Carlyle. Tom Wilkinson. Mark Addy. 92 mins. Carlyle plays Gary. an unemployed Sheffield steelworker who.
along with an odd mix of former colleagues. decides to go one better than the Chippendale troupes that fill the local halls. Cattaneo's laugh-out-loud film comes from the same tradition as Brussed Off. mixing comedy with a strong social conscience and showing unemployment as an emasculating experience. General release.