Melville's Gothic novel Pierre ()r The Ambiguities which sorely lacks narrative coherence. Edinburgh: UGC Cinemas. Relative Values (PG) *** (Eric Styles, UK, 2000) Julie Andrews, Colin Firth, Stephen Fry. 89 mins. Noel Coward's satire of the British class system circa 1954 sees spoilt brat Nigel (Edward Atterton) upset the Marshwood household when he brings American actress Miranda (Tripplehorn) home to announce his engagement. Modern audiences may find it difficult to identify with Coward's now dated play — with its patronising upper classes, servile lower ones and misogynist attitude to women — but if you can put your own values on hold, there are some laughs to be had. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.
Ridicule (l8) **** (Patrice Leconte, France, 1996) Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Fanny Ardant. 102 mins. A young engineer travels to the court of bouis XVI to secure funding for a drainage project and discovers a cruel society where savage wit can open doors or slam them in your face. Verbal duels give the film a literate spark, and the portrait of a decadent world manages to achieve several contemporary parallels. A costume drama with depth beneath the costumes. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Rien Sur Robert (18) iii (Pascal Bonitzer, France, 1998) Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Valentina Cervi. 107 mins. The life of Parisianjournalist Didier (Luchini) changes dramatically after he turns in a scathing review of a Bosnian film he hasn‘t actually seen. Ile's attacked by the intelligensia, cheated upon by his girlfriend (Kiberlain) and falls for another (two) women. Marvellously meandering pitch- black comedy. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Ring Of Bright Water (PG) **** (Jack Couffer, UK. 1969) Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna. 107 mins. Modest story of one man and his otter. Perfect, credible filming of a heart-warming animal story. A treat for adults and children alike, with lovely wildlife photography. Glasgow: GFT.
The Road To El Dorado (U) *** (Eric ‘Bibo' Bergeron, Don Paul, US, 2000) Voices of Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh. 90 mins. DreamWorks' animated travelogue moves from ancient Egypt to 16th-century Latin America for this enjoyable if safe musical comedy adventure. Uber-thesps Kline and Branagh provide the voices for Tulio and Miguel, two Spanish ne‘er-do- wells who end up in possession of a map revealing the location of El Dorado, mythical city of gold. Ransacking Aztec and Mayan culture for visual ideas and themes, the co-directors introduce lots of bold colour and rich design into the tale. General release.
Rules Of Engagement (15) tit (William Friedkin, US, 2000) Samuel L Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones, Guy Pearce. 127 mins. When the evacuation of the US ambassador from the riot-torn embassy in Yemen culminates in the massacre of more than 80 men, women and children by Colonel Terry Childers (Jackson) and his unit of Marines, military lawyer Colonel Ilays Hodges (Jones) reluctantly agrees to defend the man who saved his life in Vietnam. Friedkin‘s pot-boiler quickly loses all credibility in the visually and morally murky courtroom scenes. Its simplistic view of military ethics implies that decisions made in the heat of battle exist above the petty expediencies of everyday morality. Glasgow: Odeon At The Quay, Showcase. East Kilbride: UCI. Paisley: Showcase. Saving Grace (15) it (Nigel Cole, Uk, 2000) Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson. 94 mins. Saddled with crushing debts after the sudden death of her husband, keen horticulturist Grace (Blethyn) transforms the greenhouse of her Cornish mansion into a marijuana plantation with the assistance of her Scottish gardener, Matthew (Ferguson). Already being touted as this year's feelgood British comedy, Saving Grace attempts to recapture the magic of the Ealing classics; instead it merely feels out of touch with modern life. Edinburgh: Lumiere. Rothesay: Winter Garden. Stirling: MacRobert.
Scary Movie (18) tutti (Keenen Ivory Wayans, US, 2000) Marlon and Shawn Wayans, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth. 88 mins. Poking fun at the whole
teen slasher movie phenomenon, the plot follows the first Scream movie (originally to be titled, yup, Scary Movie): A masked murderer stalks and murders high school kids in a self-consciously ironic manner. It parodies The Usual Suspects, The Matrix, The Blair Hitch Project, The Exorcist and anything else that gets in the way, and the surprising thing is it actually works with the gags coming thick and fast. Big Stoopid Fun. See review. General release.
Scream 2 (18) *** (Wes Craven, US, 1998) Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, l.eiv Schreiber. 120 mins. Two years after the Woodsboro murders, Sidney Prescott (Campbell) is now a college student, trying to piece her life back together. But when an audience member is slashed to death during the premiere of horror movie Stab, the nightmare begins again. The film fails to fully integrate the many in-jokey references to horror sequel conventions, but it's still streets ahead of what passes for horror nowadays. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Scream (18) *‘k‘kt (Wes Craven, US, 1996) Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore. 111 mins. The teenagers of Woodsboro know they're typical stalker fodder, so when a killer hits town, they gather in an enormous house to watch horror movies as the real bad guy gets closer. Self- conscious references are good fun, the opening sequence is genuine white-knuckle material, and - if you know the rules — you'll find it perfectly scary and funny. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Shaft (18) iii (John Singleton, US, 2000) Samuel L Jackson, Jeffery Wright, Richard Roundtree. 100 mins. Despite what the title may suggest this is neither a remake nor a sequel; its more of a 29 years on here’s what happenin‘. Jackson runs the show as ‘young‘ John Shaft, nephew of the eponymous 70s private dick played once again by Roundtree. It‘s a pretty good action movie with some snappy dialogue and a few nifty set pieces, but this Shaft wavers towards a rather unsatisfying end. Singleton (Boyz ‘N' The Mom!) was quite clearly a victim of studio bigwig interference (Jesus, it‘s Shaft and there‘s no shagging!) and because of that it's a disappointment. See feature and review.
Shanghai Noon (12) *** (Tom Dey, US, 2000) Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Owen Wilson. 110 mins. The flimsy plot of this ‘East meets Western' is merely an excuse for gags and set-pieces, with Chan cast as Chon Wang, a 19th century Imperial Guard who travels to the States to rescue abducted princess Pei Pei (Liu) from the villainous Lo Fong. Things don't go smoothly, however, and Chong finds himself teaming up with an incompetent yet affable criminal, Roy O‘Bannon (Wilson). Filmed in widescreen, Shanghai Noon affectionately sends up the characters and conventions of numerous Westerns, while the ever-smiling Chan's martial arts stunts are still a joy to behold. General release.
The Sixth Sense (15) **** (M. Night Shyamalan, US, 1999) Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osmcnt, Olivia Williams, Toni Collette. 107 mins. Nine-year-old Cole Sear (Osmcnt) has a terrible secret. He can see the dead walking the earth; they're around him all the time and it's scary as hell. Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Willis) takes his case and spends all of his time, at the expense of his marriage to Anna (Olivia Williams), attempting to help the boy. Shyamalan’s clever script suggests much and explains little, keeping the audience guessing. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Snatch (18) it (Guy Ritchie, UK, 2000) Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Torro, Vinnie Jones. 102 mins. Ritchie insists that Snatch is not a sequel to Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. And he is right; it‘s practically a remake. There‘s the same swaggering facetiousness, the same juvenile obsession with underworld villains, and the same cod- Cockney accents. Ritchie‘s penchant for baroque plotting is also in evidence, although Lock Stock's mildly confusing denouement was crystal clear compared to the opening ofSnatch. The acting is a notch up from the first film, while some of the gags and situations are genuinely funny. General release.
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