RENTAL East Is East ,. ,. .. .. it (15) 92 mins
George Khan resides in I970s Bradford With his English Wife and seven kids, most of whom he can barely control, ‘TOVOT mind keep them followmg traditional Pakistani values. This hilarious, but touching film doesn’t have to pull at the heart strings to get a reaction, the script is tight and performances from the family, in particular former EastEnder Jimmy Mistri and downtrodden George (Om Puri) are fabulous. An indication that British comedy doesn't have to involve contrived romantic trysts or bumbling Englishmen to be successful. (FilmFour) (MR)
The Winslow Boy
(U) 100 mins * w s 4:
Nigel Hawthorne stars as the father of a boy expelled from naval academy after being accused of theft. This may not sound like the most exciting of Stll)](‘(lS, but DaVId Mamet’s adaptation of Terence Rattigan’s play is a riveting study of one man’s guest to prove his son's innocence. Before long, the Winslow family's case snowballs into a subject for discussion in Parliament, making front page news and threatening to destroy them financially and emotionally in the process. This is period drama at its best. (Columbia Tristar/El999 on DVD) (l.P)
Detroit Rock City
(15) 90 mins ~»
For a moVie that relies on the premise of four drunk and stoned teenagers trying to get into a 1978 KISS concert, this dumb-ass no- brainer is probably better than we deserve, With ((181 enough plot and character deViations to keep you watching. Lewd, (rude, stupid and, yes, very funny, this timewarp Comedy is ac' ially rather charming With Edward ' :irlong as excellent as ever. This is l eec h and Chong 90s style. Great fni. (Entertainment) (PD)
Bowfinger
(12) 93 mins c: it
Just when you thought that the man who once could do no wrong was incapable of getting anything right, Steve Martin makes a partial return
.
to form as wannabe Hollywood hotshot, Bobby Bowfinger. Director Frank 0/, Eddie Murphy and Heather Graham all make valid contributions towards Martin's rehabilitation. Some of the comedy is heavy- handed, some of it is deft as the flimsiest feather but all of it assures you that Steve Martin may yet have some future gems up his sleeve. (Universal) (BD)
Pushing Tin
(15) 124 mins it v? k
Despite alleged studio interference which knocked Mike Newell’s air traffic control drama into more commercial shape, the billing of four top-notc h performers Cate Blanchett, John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie -- lands the film relatively safely. Set in the world's busiest airport (JFK, New York), Push/rig Tin revolves around the rivalry between top gun Cusac k and ice man Thornton. The plotting of their antics is merely run-of-the- mill and Blanc hett and Jolie are under-used, but the quartet never let you bailout. (PatheHMF)
The Legend Of 1900 (15) 120 mins
This new offering from the director of Cinema Paraci’is‘o tells the story of a talented pianist who never leaves the cruise liner he was born on, and is as emotionally manipulative as Tornatore’s so-called 'masterpiece' This Italian director is in the appalling habit of taking a fascinating story and shooting suc h a wad of saccharine over it as to render it worthless. This is no exception. Only Tim Roth’s presence comes close to saVing it. (Entertainment) (PD)
RETAIL Seul Contre Tous
(I Stand Alone) (18) 89 mins +. ,..
France 1980. An unemployed, bigoted, nationalist horsemeat butcher returns to Paris in search of work and forgiveness from his mute daughter. Instead, his life spirals into a Taxi Driver style cycle of self-hatred and cruel redemption. Despite the parallels to Scorsese’s classic, this is one of the most Wic‘kedly intelligent, putrefying, pus-ridden and electrifying films to come out of
There are shades of screwball comedy in Runaway Bride, the film in which Julia
Roberts becomes that flighty woman every time she approaches the marriage altar. The question is: can Richard Gere successfully play Cary Grant to Roberts' Katherine Hepburn? Available to rent from Buena Vista Home Entertainment from
112 THE “ST l3 N Apr 2000
Mon 17 Apr.
RENTAL/DVD The Blair Witch Project (15) 77 mins
'00 you like scary movies?’ asks the
phone stalker in Scream. For audiences, posed this query after seeing The Blair Witch Project, there was a division of
opinion wider than the budget gap between Titanic and this debut from Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. But whether it spooked you or not,
only the meanest of souls would fail to acknowledge the innovation and all-
round spunkiness of the venture. For those stranded in impenetrable
woodland for the last year and a half,
After the hype, the sacriest film ever?
here is a plot re-cap. Three student filmmakers hike into Maryland's Black Hills Forest to shed some light on the local legend of the Blair Witch and the quasi-repetitions of history from later generations. They jape around, then squabble, then holler as they realise they are lost. But maybe sanctuary can be found in that abandoned house deep in the thicket . . .
It may sound like the cheesiest of ingredients for a teen-slasher-by- numbers effort, but the all-holds barred approach (not one globule of blood is spilled on camera) gives it its edge. This shockumentary creeps up rather than powerdrills you with its effects; you won't be able to look at trees in the same way for a few days afterwards.
A further bonus to the video release is a seven-minute short from Edinburgh duo Duncan Nicoll and Jolyon White. Horsehair stars Alastair Mackenzie (Monarch Of The Glen) as a jobless man who makes a disturbingly hirsute discovery in the shower. Without giving too much away, it gives a spicy twist to the idea of sitting in your chair. (BrianDonaldson)
' The Blair l/VlH l) Project is available for Video and DVD rental and to buy on DVD
pric ed [75.99 on Mon 77 Apr
Europe in a long time It says more about the collapse of the male psyche than the Oscar-glorified American Beauty ever could. A masterpiece. (Alliance Atlantis {1599) (PD)
The Iron Giant
(U) (86 mins)
Ted Hughes popular children's story The Hon 7‘ an manages to make the leap from page to animated screen With all its charm intact, and a little extra humour injected Young Hogarth may no longer be an English farmers' son as in the original, but his struggling single mum (voiced by Jennifer Aniston) adds an extra dimension, as too does the slimy US government agent determined to flush the giant out at any cost. Unusual for a kids' film, this tale of friendship and courage is exciting, funny, touching but completely lac king in saccharine sentimentality. (Warner
{1499M l 5.99 on DVD) (KA)
Alice Et Martin (15) 121 mins
Disappearing after his father's death, Martin (Alexis Loret) shows up at his half—brother Benjamin's (Mathieu Amalric) flat in a fragile state. In an attempt to rebuild his life, Martin embarks on a relationship With Benjamin's flatmate, Alice (Juliette Binoche), a struggling musician, but his unWIIIingness to confront his past threatens to consume him. Andre Tec hine's Alice lt Mart/r) deals well With the tortured drama of a dysfunctional family but the film's |ong-drawn—out flashback seguence into Martin's psychological decline, spoils an othei‘WIse engaging tale. (Artificial Eye {15.99) (HM)
Slam (15) 99 mins
The lead ac tor stinks, the limitations of a humble budget are all too apparent and the melodramatic histrionics of the script tend to oppress rather than inspire Despite all that, this Cannes award Winner about a young black drug dealer's rite of passage through prison to finding himself in Slam (speak it out loud) poetry still packs quite a punch and, if nothing else, is a celebration of the beauty of language. As valid !ll its own way as Matty Ric h’s Straight Out Of Brooklyn, (Tartan £15.99) (PD)
The X-Files: Closure (15) 88 mins
It wouldn't be surprising if some censorious soul screamed 'ban it, burn itl' upon discovering the plot of this double episode yet to be screened on UK teleVIsion Children are disappearing, but not before their parents suffer traumatic Visions of their Violent deaths. What initially seems to a serial killer case becomes something more personal for Mulder when both his mother and a police psychic suggest a link to his sister. A disturbing, melancholy atmosphere prevails in What remains one of America’s best telly exports. (Fox
E )4 99) (MF)
REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE:
Kelly Apter, Paul Dale, Brian Donaldson, l‘tliles Fielder, l-i’elen Monaghan,
Iouisa Pearson, Mark Robertson
STAR RATINGS
s Unmissaple » r v ' Very good a '- Worth a shot ‘ ' Below average You've been warned