Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star ratings, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Miles Fielder.
Alien (18) ***** (Ridley Scott, US, 1979) Sigourney Weaver, lan Holm, John Hurt. 116 mins. Agatha Christie in outer space as a freighter lands on a mysterious planet and is ingeniously invaded by a ravenous intruder which proceeds to chomp its way through the cast list. Edge-of—the- seat suspense thriller with a strong cast and ghastly special effects. Falkirk: Fl‘ll Cinema.
Aliens (I8) ***** (James Cameron, US, 1986) Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn. 137 mins. Revived from a 57-year snooze in deep space, Warrant Officer Weaver is cajolcd intojoining a marine rescue mission to the planet that is home for the original alien beastie. Unrelentingly paced with a terrifically gutsy performance from Weaver, this nerve-shredding sequel not only matches its predecessor but cannily surpasses it. An Oscar winner for special effects. Edinburgh: Odeon. Falkirk: ETII Cinema.
All About My Mother (15) *tttt (Pedro Almodovar, Spain, 1999) Cecilia Roth. Penelope Cruz, Antonia San Juan. 101 mins. Almodovar's new film is without a doubt his best to date. When Madrid hospital worker Manuela's son is killed in a car accident the grief-stricken woman sets out to fulfil her son‘s last wish to know his father, and goes to Barcelona to find the transvestite she ran away from eighteen years earlier. Renowned for his portrayal of strong women. Almodovar pays tribute here to their capacity to act, to mother and to create strong bonds of solidarity in the face of extremities. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Allonsanfan (15) (Vittorio and Paolo Taviani. 1974) Marcello Mastroianni, Lea Massari, Mimsy Farmer. 110 mins. The title of this Taviani brothers film comes from the first words of the Marseillaise, but spoken with an Italian accent. Set in 1816, the film is an Italian reflection on the themes of the French revolution. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
American Beauty (18) *~k*** (Sam Mendes, US. 1999) Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening. Thora Birch. 121 mins. Suburban husband and father Lester Burnham (Spacey, giving a career best performance) hates his life, but a close encounter with his daughter‘s gorgeous school friend is the catalyst for big time self improvement: Lester quits his job, digs out his old rock albums and scores marijuana from the kid next door. And these teenage kicks return to Lester what's been missing from his life for years: pleasure and happiness. Caustic, touching and hilarious in all the right places — a modern classic. General release. American Psycho (l8) **** (Mary llarron, US. 2000) Christian Bale, Chloe Sevigny, Willem Dafoe. 101 mins. llarron
WINNER
does away with the outward excesses - murder, torture, misogyny — of Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel about the previous money- obsessed decade and serves up the essence of the novel in a more palatable form. That doesn’t mean her film is soft; it certainly isn’t. But where Ellis pushed his readers away, the director draws the audience in by encouraging us to collude with her satiric standpoint. See feature and review. General release.
Angela's Ashes (15) *tti (Alan Parker, UK, 1999) Robert Carlyle, Emily Watson, Joe Breen. 148 mins. Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning childhood memoir of Limerick in the 30s is a publishing phenomenon, loved across the world by those with no connection to the book's three defining elements - Ireland, Catholicism and poverty. Parker can't establish the same level of engagement as McCourt does, but he can train his lens on the faces of his remarkable cast to show a texture of emotions. Sentiment here is a natural ingredient, not a saccharine additive. Glasgow: UGC Cinemas. Greenock: Waterfront.
Any Given Sunday (15) *** (Oliver Stone, US, 2000) Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid. 150 mins. Oliver Stone casts a wandering eye over the big bad world of American Football. Pacino grunts and yells as Tony D'Amato, twenty year veteran coach for the Miami Sharks, who is at odds with the club's new owner, feisty upstart Christina Pagniacci (Diaz). The po-faced power struggles become wearing and while Stone's epileptic editing style captures the power and athleticism of the game. it falls short of the grace and skill. By the final whistle,/lny Given Sunday is frustratingly unrealised. General release.
Ask For The Moon (Chiedi La Luna) (15) (Giuseppe Piccioni, 1991) Giulio Scarpati, Margherita Buy, Roberto Citran. 88 mins. When Marco’s brother disappears, he begins a long journey across Italy searching for him, together with Elena, his brother's girlfriend. On the way, the pair of them meet up with strange people and difficult situations in this touching romance. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Asterix And Obélix Take On Caesar (PG) *‘kt (Claude Zidi. France/Belgium) Christian Clavier, Gerard Depardieu, Roberto Benigni. 110mins. Clavier and Depardieu lead the way as the film 's dynamic Gaulish duo, juiced up on their secret super strength giving potion, dispensing with the Roman army in a slapstick and downright chirpy way. Roberto Benigni also pops up as Roman army crook Detritus, who's plan it is to overthrow Caesar. Astérir can take his place alongside Batman and Superman as one of the few successful cartoon conversion jobs. See review. General release.
Barney's Great Adventure (U) **** (Steve Gomer, US, 1998) 72 mins. A kids TV phenomenon, Barney the purple dinosaur's big screen debut finds him down on a farm with a trio of kids in search of a magic egg. The all singin', all dancin' Barney struts his way through the simple story with regular singalongs, making the
I’RIX LOUIS DELLUC
1998
A film by Cedric Kuhn
rennut
.69
Based on the novel by Alberto Moravia
Starring
Charles Berling Sophie Guillemin Arielle Dombnsle
30 THE UST 13—27 Apr 2000
,. ‘ \ .:
At the close of World War II, Powell and Pressburger were busy building a stairway
to heaven in their terrific 1946 afterlife fantasy, A Matter Of Life And Death
film perfect for under-fives. Glasgow: GFI‘. The Beach (15) *** (Danny Boyle, UK/US, 2000) Leonardo DiCaprio, Guillaume Canet, Virginie Ledoyen. 119 mins. Like Alex Garland’s source novel, The Beach has a sort of breathless, late- adolescent ‘What I did on my holidays’ quality; book and film share the ability to capture the exhilaration and chaos of travel. Screenwriter John Hodge’s adaptation replaces creeping paranoia and discontent with straight-ahead sexual jealousy as a catalyst for disaster. Although the film looks handsome and holds the attention. it finally seems a little hollow and unconvinced of its own purpose. Dunfennline: Carnegie Hall. Largs: Barrfields Cinema.
Before Sunset (Prima Del Tramonto) (15) (Stefano lncerti, 1999) Said Taghmaoui, Vincenzo Peluso, Ninni Brucschetta. 95 mins. This tight, complex thriller is set in a southern Italy peopled by Mafioso and illegal immigrants. In the climax of the film, the destinies of the film's various protagonists converge during a handsomely- shot, tense bank raid. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Being John Malkovich (15) ***** (Spike Jonze, US, 2000) John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich. 112 mins. Frustrated puppeteer Craig Schwartz (Cusack) takes a job as a filing clerk and discovers a portal into the brain of actor John Malkovich. What could have developed into a one-gag film, becomes a gender-bending extravaganza with a crazy network of love triangles, which climaxes with a lesbian relationship between two people of the opposite sex. A bewildering number of possibilities are added to the central premise and important questions about personal identity and self- fulfilment are raised. Glasgow: Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Cameo. St Andrews: New Picture House.
The Body Of The Soul (II Corpo Dell'anima) (18) (Salvatore Piscicelli, 1999) Roberto llerlitzka, Raffaella Ponzo, Ennio Fantastichini. 107 mins. Piscicelli returns after a seven year absence with this experiment in eroticism which mixes moral tales with melodrama. A retired scriptwriter seeking inspiration falls for an uninhibited young girl, and his life is turned upside down in this tale with echoes of Lolita. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GFI‘. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Boys Don't Cry (18) ****~k (Kimberly Peirce, US, 2000) Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard. 114 mins. Writer/director Kimberly Peirce 's first feature is based upon the life of Brandon Teena, the transgendered Nebraska girl who lived her life as a male, and whose love affair with a smalltown girl named Lana Tisdel met a bloody end in 1993. Swank is simply astonishing. The credibility of the film rests entirely upon her performance, but it’s a burden she shoulders with consummate skill and grace. A humbling example of brave, beautiful, brutal filmmaking. See preview and review. Glasgow: GFT. Bringing Out The Dead (18) *** (Martin Scorsese, US, 1999) Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman. 130 mins. When darkness falls on New York, paramedic Frank Pierce (Cage) descends into a bleak world where, night after night, he tries hopelessly to help the homeless, the hookers, the mentally ill. Bringing ()at The Dead grafts a desperate edge onto traditional gallows humour, but while showing bursts of brilliance, suffers from too many lulls and, surprisingly given that it’s screenplay is by Paul Schrader, doesn’t quite pull off its redemption plot. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Stirling: MacRobert.
Bulworth (18) *** (Warren Beatty, US, 1998) Warren Beatty, IIaIIe Berry, Oliver Platt. 108 mins. In the final stages of a political campaign, disillusioned Democratic senator J. Billington Bulworth finds himself unable to mouth the bland platitudes needed to get himself re-elected. So he buys $10 million worth of life insurance, hires an assassin to bump him off, and speaks his own mind for the first time in years. Frustrating political satire which fails to go the distance. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Film Guild at the Filmhouse.
But Forever In My Mind (Come Te Nessuno Mai) (15) (Gabriele Muccino, 1999) Silvio Muccino, Giuseppe Sanfelice di Monmteforte, Giulia Stcigerwalt. 88 mins. Promising director Muccino brings us a tale of first love sprouting amid the student occupation of a Roman high school. Silvio and his friends are distracted from their Marxist fiirtations by their first yearnings for the opposite sex. Part of the Italian Film Festival. Glasgow: GET. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
The Cider House Rules (12) rank (Lasse
i llallstrom. us, 2000) Tobey Maguire. | Michael Caine, Charlize Theron. 126 mins.
Le Guillemin gives
a Iuminously m y" , erious performance’ The New York Times
“Flicth co ,\ ,
r .s oments...fine acting... erformances ”
Variety