RENTAL Run Lola Run (15) 77 mins ** as“
Yes, Lola runs, she runs a lot. But rf your beloved was about to lose hrs head for mrsplacrng hrs gangster boss's money and you were hrs only hope, y0u'd probably move pretty qurckly too. Lola has twenty minutes to frnd 100,000 Dlvl to save her boyfrrend’s skrn. Her story’s told three trrnes »- each versron startrng the same, but wrth vastly drfferent results — to a poundrng German techno soundtrack. The clock rs trckrng, the adrenalrne rs pumprng, and 77 mrnutes goes way too fast, (Columbra Trrstar/£19.99 on DVD) (SB)
Eyes Wide Shut (18) 152 mins w x. *
Just when you thought Stanley Kubrrck was rncapable of rnakrng a bad movre, he chose hrs swan song as the moment to grve rt hrs best shot. Strll, thrs tale of sexual obsessron, heart-rrppmg Jealousy and srlly masks starrrng lvlrs Crurse and Mr Krdman strll has hrnts of the frlmmaker's mastery. But rt's all let down by the dralogue, the marrJuana scene and the endrng, all of whrch make you thrnk that Stan rs not so much turnrng as guffawrng rn hrs grave. (Warner/ £19.99 on DVD) (BD)
Made In Hong Kong (15) 108 mins w x v
The frrst frlm made rn Hong Kong srnce the rsland reverted to Chrnese rule shares the rmpossrbly cool style of other urban dramas such as Chungkrng Express and Kitchen. ere those frlms, Frurt Chan's drrectrng debut ‘ made on a shoestrrng budget of $800,000 — concerns love and crrme among the metropolrs' drsaffected young. Chan's vrew of crty lrfe rn transrtron rs pretty bleak one young lover has a fatal drsease, her partner rs a drsrllusroned petty crrmrnal, Not upbeat, but on the beat. (Palm Prctures) (MF)
Taxi (15) 86 mins e
Wrrtten but not drrected by Luc Besson, Taxr rs a hrgh-octane thrrller that parodres everythrng from Scorsese to Tarantrno. The plot concerns a przza delrvery lad turned taxr drrver who gets rnvolved rn a war between the lvlarserlles polrce and a gang of German bankrobbers. All-actron and wrlfully dumb, Taxr rs nevertheless too stooprd for rts own good. And Besson's a cheeky grt for takrng the prss out of better frlmmakers than hrmself (lvletrodome/ £19 99 on DVD) (MF)
Vampires (18) 103 mins xx
Drrected but not wrrtten by John Carpenter, Vamp/res rs a Supernatural thrrller that opts for macho struttrng over genre rnnovatron or parody, The plot concerns James Woods' New
114 THE “ST 30 Wat-~13 Apr 2000
Mexrco varnprre hunter who gets rnvolved rn an age—old war between the Vatrcan and the lord of the undead. All-actron and wrlfully dumb, Vamp/res rs nevertheless too stooprd for rts own good. And Carpenter's a sad sod for plurnbrng such depths after makrng genre classrcs such as Halloween. (Columbra Trrstar/f 1 9.99 on DVD) (MF)
RETAIL An Ideal Husband (PG) 100 mins fir x w it:
Desprte the trtle, thrs sparklrng adaptatron of Oscar erde’s classrc play rs not Just for the ’laydees'. Rupert Everett shrnes as the JOCUlar Lord Gorrng, a wealthy bachelor whose skrlls are called upon to help hrs frrend Srr Robert Chrltern av0rd an embarrassmg scandal. Causrng a cornmotron rs the wrcked lvlrs Cheveley, played wrth relrsh by Julranne Moore. Verbal sparrrng, pent-up lust and an excellent cast rncludrng Cate Blanchett and Mrnnre Drrver cornbrne to create a playful comedy of manners. (Pathe £9.99/ £19.99 on DVD) (LP)
Hamam — The Turkish
Bath (15) 96 mins ,, ,.
Francesco (Alessandro Gassman), a successful ltalran desrgner, rnherrts a hamarn (a Turkrsh steam bath) from hrs estranged aunt. Arrrvrng rn Istanbul Wrth the rntentron to sell, he clrscovers
through letters and accounts from frrends — hrs aunt's colourful lrfe, leadrng Francesco to not only stay rn Turkey and restore the hamam but to questron hrs own lrfe and sexualrty. Beautrfully shot wrth a mesmerrsmg sOundtrack, Ferzan Ozpertek’s drrectorral debut rs a rnovrng portrayal of cultural drfferences and provrdes an rnsrght rnto the tradrtrons and steamy world of the Turkrsh bath. (Palm Pictures £13.99) (HM)
Human Traffic (18) 95 mins l.“ 5" e
Thrs debut frlm from Brrtrsh drrector Justrn Kerrrgan rs about a weekend rn the lrfe of a group of Cardrff clubbers - Shaun Ryder‘s’twenty-fow hour party people’. Yes, rt's farrly accurate —' boredom rn work and lrfe rn general rs c'ounteracted by full-on hedonrstrc: adventures rnvolvrng chemrcal, booze and sexual hrghs- but the themes are explored better rn other rnovres, such as D0ug eran’s Go. There's somethrng rnrssrng here sOuI. The krds rnrght be alrrght, but rt's hard to care. (Metrodome £1.41 99) (MR)
Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (U) 133 mins t r:
The most eagerly awarted preguel ever, George Lucas’ fourth Star Wars frlm
turned out to be an overdose of CGI effects strung together wrth a few
RENTAL/DVD
The Last Broadcast (18) 86 mins :t— a 1e
The Last Broadcast: its makers insist it not only came before Blair Witch, but may even have been a direct inspiration
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a bunch of amateur filmmakers armed only with lo-tech equipment and high hopes go into the woods in search of a mythically murderous monster. They fail to return and some footage of their experiences is uncovered, offering clues to their collective fate. Is it a hoax or is the carnage for real?
But this is not the low-budget Blair Witch wonder that briefly spooked Hollywood by showing what can be done with an internet connection and no cash. This is the plot of The Last Broadcast, a production its makers insist not only came before the Myrick/Sanchez project, which revamped the horror genre, but may even have been a direct inspiration.
‘A certain amnesia set in with the press when they were hailing Blair Witch for its innovative concept and brilliance of its website; this was all the same stuff we had done two years before,’ says co-creator Stefan Avalos, while also maintaining that his film is more a commentary about the media and the way it manipulates images and people than a generic kids-lost-in- the-woods horror film. ‘To be honest though, in the end it worked out to our benefit; wherever Blair Witch went and did well, our movie followed.’
In The Last Broadcast, the hosts of lurid public access TV show, Fact Or Fiction? (played by Avalos and joint director Lance Weiler), go in search of The Jersey Devil, accompanied by a sound man and a psychic called Jim Sueard who claims he can help them on their mission. Unfortunately, the venture ends in bloody slaughter and all evidence points to Sueard as the atrocity's perpetrator. Fortunately, there is‘footage of the trip which is collected by a documentary-maker called David Leigh who aims to prove that Sueard is innocent. Later, reels of damaged film turn up at Leigh's home which may provide the key to the case.
Shot with a mixture of technologies — video, film, digital - this is further evidence of a counterculture filmmaking industry that proves you don’t need funds which could wipe out many a nation’s debts to make an effective movie.
'l'm not anti-Hollywood as such but what bothers me is that they are stuck in a particular method of how to make movies,’ Avalos says. ’There are all these remakes of TV shows and sequels and rehashes of old movies; they’re just not that creative. Though in a way, I can understand why they play it so safe; I can't think of any other business where if one product fails it can wipe out a company.’
No chance of that happening to Avalos and Weiler. (Brian Donaldson)
-. The Last Broadcast is released on rental and DVD on Mon 70 Apr. The frlm also appears as part of the Dead By Dawn horror frlm festival at the Edrnburgh Fr/mhous‘e on Sat 7 Apr. See feature, page 20.
REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE:
Srrnone Barrd, Brran Donaldson, l\lrles Frelder, Helen l\rlonaghan, Loursa Pearson, (\lark Robertson
scrappy lrve actron scenes Lrarn Neeson and Ewan lvlc Gregor (as young Obr-Wan) are merely allowed to go through the ac'trng rnotrons as Jed: bodyguards to Natalre Portrnan's‘ prrncess Only Jake Lloyd brushes wrth drama as young Anakrn Skyttalker, who's doomed to become Darth Vader Only good brt the pod race rnsprred by Ben Hur (Fox {16 99 ftrllsc reen/f 1 7 99 wrdesc reen) (Ml)
STAR RATINGS
Unmrssable
Very good
Worth a shot
Below average You've bee."- \xarr‘eo