FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
Contact (PG) (Robert Zemeckis. US. I997) Jodie Foster. Matthew McConaughey. James Woods. ISO ntins. Based oti 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 front the ether who picks tip a communication signal front another planet. Zemeckis has inherently fascinating subject matter throughout. but shows a truly depressing lack of imagination in bringing it to the screen. Edinburgh: Cattteo.
Cop land (l5) (Jantes Mangold. US. 1997) Sylvester Stallone. Robert De Niro. Harvey Keitel. Ray Liotta. l05 mins." Stallone plays sheriff Freddy Heflin. bossed around by the NYPD men who make their home iit Garrison. New Jersey. When he uncovers deep-rooted police corruption on his turf. he has a one-shot chance to win back his self- respect. Like LA. Confidential. Cop Land has a stormer of a plot. btit is essentially a character-driven movie. The acting is. unsurprisingly. iii a league of its own. with Stallone's lumbering hero providing his best role since Rocky. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Deconstructing Harry ( 15) (Woody Allen. US. I997) Woody Allen. Billy Crystal. 95 mins. Allen's latest film receives a one-off preview screening with proceeds going to Riding For The Disabled. lit it. the director plays a writer who can't fittd inspiration for his latest book. even though he's spent tlte advance. As star-studded as ever. Goes on general release itt May. Glasgow: (il’l'. Desperate Measures ( l 8) (Barbet Schroeder. US. 1997) Michael Keaton. Andy Garcia. Brian Cox. l()() mitts. A desperate cop with a sick son needs an urgent bone marrow dortor. but the only person with a compatible match is an imprisoned psychopath. This silly scenario gets more uptight when said psycho escapes and the cop ltas to go all out to keep him alive. If you want the suspense of this unusual situation. then you ltave to deal quite quickly
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32 THE LIST 6—l9 Mar 1998
Kill and kill again: Denzel Washington and Embeth Davidtz in Fallen
with the idiocy of the premise. lfyou can't. then avoid this filnt. General release.
The Devil's Advocate (18) (Taylor Hackford. US. I997) Al Pacino. Keanu Reeves. Charlize Theron. I45 mins. Hot shot lawyer Kevin Lomax (Reeves) is recruited by a New York firm. but comes to realise its founder. John Milton (Pacino). is head of something a lot more scary than the legal industry. This modern-day morality play allows Pacino to grandstand in a part that's plainly absurd. while Reeves is too wooden for his supposedly charismatic role. Glasgow: City Centre Odeon. Showcase. Edinburgh: UCl. East Kilbride: UCl. Paisley: Showcase.
Dr No(PG) (Terence Young. UK. 1962) Sean Connery. Ursula Andress. Joseph Wiseman. 105 mins. The first Bond movie. and a vintage one at that. A very young- looking and Scots-sounding Connery works his charming (and — in hindsight —- somewhat cantp) way through the diabolical back passageways of Dr No‘s evil empire and the requisite number of floozies. pausing only to take out the occasional tarantula and take in the Caribbean scenery. To say nothing of Ms Andress' spectacular appearance on the beach with that conch shell. Glasgow: OFT.
Dunston Checks In (PG) (Ken Kwapis. US. 1995) Jason Alexander. Faye Dunaway. Eric Lloyd. 88 ntins. There’s monkey business aplenty when a jewel thief sntuggles his orangutan partner-in-crime into a posh hotel. Adults will get even more out of this than kids. because the humour is irresistible. the characters suitably loathsome or adorable. and Sam the Orang a star in the making. Glasgow: Virgin.
The Edge (l5) (Lee 'l‘amahori. US. I997) Anthony Hopkins. Alec Baldwin. Elle Macpherson. “8 mins. Hopkins and Baldwin respectively play an intellectual billionaire and a brash fashion photographer who end tip stranded miles front nowhere in the midst of brutal weather conditions. Cliched lron John bonding gives way to rivalry over Hopkins's lovely young wife (Macpherson). however. The characters are wafer-thin. the narrative ludicrous and the action laughable. General release. Ethnicity, Gender And Media To mark International Women's Day. the GET hosts an afternoon session ( l 2.30-4pm) on issues of representation and access to the ntass media for women front ethnic backgrounds. As well as screenings. panel discussions will allow the audience to have their say. Glasgow: GET.
Event Horizon ( 18) (Paul Anderson. US/UK. I997) Laurence Fishburne. Sam Neill. Joely Richardson. 9| tttins. 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. Effectively a haunted house movie set in space. E vent Horizon boasts stunning‘Techno Medieval‘ design; but tight editing leaves the characterisation and story stripped to within an inch of their lives. Glasgow: Gilmorehill. City Centre Odeon.
Fairytale: A True Story (U) (Charles Sturridge. UK. I997) Florence Hoath. Elizabeth Earl. Paul McGann. 98 mins. ln telling the story of two Edwardian girls who cause a sensation when they capture a photographic image of fairies. Fairytale manages to be more coherent and less downbeat than the similar Photographing Fairies. A carefully judged film that provides moving entertainment for the family audience. General release.
Fallen (15) (Gregory Hoblit. US. I997) Denzel Washington. John Goodman. Embeth Davidtz. I24 mins. An atmospheric serial killer movie with supernatural overtones. Fallen is spoiled by tricksy direction. Denzel Washington is an increasingly paranoid cop who's sure a spate of murders have the mark of a killer he recently saw executed. The final twist is clever. but comes too late to save the film. See preview and review. General release. The Fifth Element (l2) (Luc Besson. France/US. I997) Bruce Willis. Milla Jovovich. Gary Oldman. l27 ntins. New York City in the 23rd Century. and cabbie Korben Dallas (Willis) picks up an unexpected passenger in the shape of Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) — an alien who holds the key to saving the world. Besson's second English language film — following the excellent Leon — is a colourful jumble of cantp designs (by Jean-Paul Gaultier). self- indulgent performances and genre rip-offs which plays for laughs as genuine sci-fi ideas run dry. Glasgow: Gilmorehill. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Flubber (U) (Les Mayfield. US. I997) Robin Williams. Marcia Gay Harden. Christopher McDonald. 93 ntins. This remake of l96l Disney favourite The Absent Minded Professor casts a subdued Williams as a scientist who invents a gravity defying goo. but may well lose his fiancée in the process. Combining many of the worst. most annoying attributes of films designed to have ‘family appeal'. Fluhher merely flops when it should fiy. General release.
Free Willy 3: The Rescue (U) (Sam Pillsbury. US. I997) Jason James Richter. August Schellenberg. Annie Corley. 86 mins. Boy and killer whale team 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 titan its bland predecessor. Free Willy 3 develops the usual formula. and benefits front moulding the character of the main antagonist as an old-style hunter rather than the corporate villains of previous instalments. Wishaw: Arrow.
From Dusk Till Dawn (18) (Robert Rodriguez. US. 1996) George Clooney. Harvey Keitel. Quentin Tarantino. l08 mins. For its first third. this Tarantino-scripted movie is a suspenseful kidnap thriller as two killers on the run (Clooney and Tarantino) hole up with three hostages in a Mexican strip club. Then the tone changes into an sfx-heavy vampire western as the clientele spring fangs. Repetition abounds in a messy. tedious affair that's neither scary nor funny. Edinburgh: Cameo.
From Russia With Love (PG) (Terence Young. UK. I963) Sean Connery. Daniela Bianchi. Pedro Armendariz. ll6 mins. The second and among the best of the Bond flicks. with the usual Cold War shenanigans powered by atmospheric set-pieces. a genuinely witty script and truly inspired performances all round. Glasgow: GET.
The Full Monty (l5) (Peter Cattaneo. UK. I997) Robert Carlyle. Tont Wilkinson. Mark Addy. 92 ntins. 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 Brassed Off. mixing comedy with a strong social conscience and showing unemployment as an entasculating experience. General release.
Gallivant(l5) (Andrew KOtting. UK. I996) Gladys Mom's. Eden Ktitting. 60s ntins. Director Ktitting takes his grandmother and daughter around the entire coast of mainline Britain. catching various eccentrics en route and charting a growing relationshp across the generation gap. Villages attd seascapes whizz by at high speed as Ktitting concentrates on the mundane and the incidental. but allows a delicious sense of silliness to perk up interest. Glasgow: Gilntorehill.
George Of The Jungle (U) (Sam Weisrttan. US. I997) Brendan Fraser. Leslie Mann. Holland Taylor. 9| ntins. Loincloth-clad hero Geroge (Fraser) saves San Fransican socialite Ursual (Mann). but his trip to the urban jungle is shortlived when he hears of the kidnap of his hairy sidekick. Ape (voiced by John Cleese). The plot is the usual blend of humour. action. slapstick. adventure and. of course. romance. while the knowing and punchy script is easily up with the best of modem Disney. General release.
Good Burger (PG) (Brian Robbins. US. I997) Kel Mitchell. Kenan Thompson. Sinbad. 95 ntins. A spin-off front US cable channel Nickelodeon's daytime series All That. this kids comedy is likely to fail through unfamiliarity. Two blokes working in a burgerjoint fight off the advances of the fast-food chain across the road with their new sauce recipe. The next Big Night? I don‘t think so. General release.
Good Will Hunting (l5) (Gus Van Sant. US. 1997) Matt Damon. Robin Williams. Minnie Driver. 126 ntins. A young college janitor (Damon) with a history of abuse is given the opportunity to fulfil his potential as a maths genius by a kindly therapist (Williams). Hot- shot Damon received Oscar nods as Best Actor and for Best Original Screenplay. but its Williants in an understated performance who steals the show. Ait insightful script. tenderly acted. See feature and review. General release.
Hercules (U) (John Musker & Ron Clements. US. I997) With the voices ofTate Donovan. James Woods. Danny DeVito. 9! mins. British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe's designs marry his customary grotesquery with Uncle Walt's softer characterisations. Hades (a magnificently splenetic James Woods) wants to exact revenge on Zeus by destroying his son Hercules. but luckily our hero has Pegasus as his steed and Phil the grumpy satyr (Danny DeVito) as his coach. Edinburgh: Odeon. Falkirk: ABC.
Home Alone 3 (PG) (Raja Gosnell. US. I997) Alex D. Linz. Olek Krupa. Rya Kihlstedt. 95 ntins. Instead of Macaulay Culkin. here comes Alex D. Linz (Michelle Pfeiffer's kid in ()ne Fine Day). but this film is not a patch on the un-PC slapstick and reckless stunting of the original. Stuck at home with the chicken pox. Alex discovers a gang ofhi-tech international criminals trying to locate a top secret microchip. so he sets up increasingly elaborate and sadistic traps. Glenrothes. Wishaw: Arrow.
The Ice Storm (I5) (Ang Lee. US. I997) Kevin Kline. Joan Allen. Sigoumey Weaver. ll2 ntins. ln Nixon era Connecticut. Kline‘s dying affair with neighbour Weaver pushes wife Allen further into a numbed frigidity. just as both families‘ teenage children are making their first sexual forays. Lee's satiric- eye may be acute but he has a compassionate vision of human weakness. and beneath the humour is a sense of profound unease. Scene after scene. deftly directed and beautifully acted by the cast. sends a chill into the bean. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Edinburgh: Cameo.