FILM listings
FILM LISTINGS continued
Some Voices (18) * (Simon Cellan Jones, UK, 2000) Daniel Craig. Kelly Macdonald. 101 mins. Ray (Craig) is trying to readjust to life after a stint in a psychiatric institution. As he wanders through West London he stumbles into Laura (Macdonald), with whom he becomes infatuated and the unlikely romance blossoms. Adapted by playwright Joe Penhall from his own successful stage play, the characters fail to transfer to the silver screen. The somewhat predictable descent into madness fails to provide much of an insight into the nature of Ray's mental health, neither does the film present a believable account of a couple in love. Disappointing, considering the talent involved. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (U) *‘k‘k (George Lucas, US, 1999) Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman. 132 mins. On the surface, the plot structure isn't a million light years away from the original Star “hrs. In visual terms, The Phantom Menace stands alone in the cinematic universe. At times you'd think there was more animation than live action on screen - and maybe it's this toning down of the human element that has left the film lacking soul. Edinburgh: Odeon.
Stir Of Echoes (15) *it (David Koepp, US, 2000) Kevin Bacon, llleana Douglas, Kathryn Erbe. 99 mins. Tom Witzky (Bacon) sees dead people, a spooky insight that only comes about when he's hypnotised by sister-in-law Lisa (Douglas) as a party trick. The supernatural material allows Koepp (working from Richard Matheson's 1958 novel) a narrative means of getting beneath the surface sheen of modern American life. At the centre of the sudden scares and the low key special effects, Bacon gives the film a sense of blue collar reality. Edinburgh: Cameo.
Stuart Little (U) *** (Rob Minkoff, US, 2000) Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie. 92 mins. Live action with a computer generated talking mouse voiced by Michael J. Fox, Minkoff‘s adaptation of EB. White's classic childrens' book sees the sweet wee rodent orphan being adopted by affluent Manhattanites the Little family. Stuart's problems begin with a new nemesis, the mean-spirited, inappropriately-named family cat Snowbell. The message of the film is clear — little guy discovers the meaning of family, loyalty and friendship — but of more interest to viewers both small and large will be the Tom AndJerry-style antics. General release.
Sullivan's Travels (U) ***** (Preston Sturges, US, 1941) Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake. 91 mins. In equal parts crazy and clever, Sturges‘ screwball comedy lurches wildly from slapstick comedy to tragedy to social comment and back again. It starts with John I.. Sullivan (McCrea), a Hollywood movie mogul who attempts some first hand research of his planned social conscience film, () Brother, Where Art Thou? (which gives its title to the Coen brothers' new film), by taking to the road as a hobo. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
Sweet And Lowdown (PG) **** (Woody Allen, US, 2000) Sean Penn,
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Wisconsin Death Trip (15) 7:30pm Wed 20th Sep Janice Beard: 45wpm (12) 7:30pm
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Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman. 95 mins. Penn is simply awesome as 1930s musician Emmet Ray, the self-proclaimed second best guitar player in the world. Respect for the ‘gypsy guitar man' Django Reinhardt is Ray‘s sole element of humility; he is rude, egomaniacal and utterly selfish and the one who suffers most is the mute Hattie (the splendid Morton). Visually, musically, dramatically and comedically, SweetAnd Lowdown can sit comfortably among Woody Allen's best works. And with the passing of cinematic time, they will surely be reflected upon as his lead pair's finest hour and a half. Dunfennline: Odeon. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Largs: Vikingar Cinema.
Tarzan (U) *‘ki‘k (Kevin Lima and Chris Buck, US, 1999) Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Nigel Hawthome. 88 mins. Disney has finally turned its attention to the second most filmed character in Western cinema (Dracula is the first) and has created some astonishing images. Storytelling-wise, Tarzan remains reasonably faithfully to Edgar Rice Burrough's original. Shipwrecked on a tropical island, baby Tarzan looses his human parents to a terrifying tiger and is adopted by an ape clan. All grown up, the Ape Man is reunited with man and womankind when a trophy hunting/ anthropological expedition arrives and Tarzan meets Jane. Ayr: Odeon.
That Sinking Feeling (PG) *tti (Bill Forsyth, UK, 1979) Robert Buchanan, John Hughes, Janette Rankin. 89 mins. Forsyth's debut feature, remarkable for the paucity of the resources at his disposal, uses a cast from the Glasgow Youth Theatre to tell the story of unemployed youth driven by boredom into an audacious robbery of kitchen sinks. The easy-going performances and sprightly wit still catch the attention, and were an early indication of Forsyth's quirky genius. Glasgow: GET.
There's Only One Jimmy Grimble (12) iii (John Hay, UK, 2000) Lewis McKenzie, Gina McKee, Robert Carlyle. 105 mins. Life could not be worse for 15- year-old Jimmy Grimble (McKenzie). The poor lad dreams of becoming a professional footballer, but the moment he hits the pitch his skill deserts him. Everything changes when a tramp gives Jimmy an old pair of football boots, which turn him into a demon on the pitch and also affect everyone around him for the better, including his cowed PE teacher (Carlyle). Despite a title which proclaims the uniqueness of its hero, there's nothing surprising or particularly individual about this cute urban fairy tale. Glasgow: Odeon, Odeon At The Quay, Showcase. Edinburgh: UCI, UGC Cinemas. Dunfennline: Odeon. Paisley: Showcase. Thomas And The Magic Railroad (U) ink (Britt Allcroft, UK/US, 2000) Voices ofAlec Baldwin, Peter Fonda, Michael E. Rodgers. 79 mins. This adaptation of the Reverend Wilbur Awdry books is aimed squarely at under tens. Whilst children will be lapping up the tale of Thomas The Tank Engine aiding The Conductor (Baldwin) against the evil Diesel train, accompanying guardians will be wondering what happened to Allcroft's classic series narrated by Ringo Starr. Surely it was never thisjuvenile! General release.
Three To Tango (12) it (Damon Santostefano, US, 2000) Neve Campbell, Matthew Perry, Oliver Platt. 98 mins. Straight architect Oscar (Perry) is mistaken for gay architect Peter (Platt) by his boss, Charles (Dylan McDermott), who is having an affair with free-spirited artist Amy (Campbell). Being the jealous kind, Charles encourages Oscar to hang out with Amy in order to spy on her, but matters are complicated when Oscar and Amy fall in love. This set-up compounds Hollywood stereotyping of gay men as asexual clowns, while preaching about tolerance between the gay and straight communities. Best quickly forgotten. lrvine: Magnum Theatre. Through A Glass Darkly (PG) *ttt (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1961) Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Max Von Sydow, Lars Passgard. 91 mins. A young woman's descent into insanity at her lonely summer home is played against a cold background totally lacking in familial affection. Bergman turns what could so easily have become melodrama into a fascinating character study, not only of the
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The Tigger Movie (U) *ttt (Jun Falkenstein, US, 2000) 77 mins. Identical in many ways to 1977's The ManyAdvenmres ()f Winnie The Pooh, this new yarn based on A.A. Milne's characters finds Pooh, Piglet, Tigger et al still living a charmed life of tea parties and afternoon naps. Only this time, the wee stripy fella‘s decided being one of a kind isn't quite as cool as he’d first thought and so a literal quest for the Tiger Family Tree ensues. A happy ending eventually makes its presence felt, because even Tigger is smart enough to recognise that with friends like Pooh, Piglet, R00 and Eeyore, who needs family? Edinburgh: Lumiere. Dunfennline: Odeon.
Time Code (18) *** (Mike Figgis, US, 2000) Safi'ron Burrows, Salma Hayek, Stellan Skarsgard, Jeanne Tripplehorn. 97 mins. Another audacious, experimental feature from Figgis, interweaving four improvised stories shot in real time and projected on to a split-screen simultaneously. The characters' lives criss- cross in time and space, as they enter and leave different locations, interact face-to- face or on the phone, and slowly converge upon the office of Indie film production company Red Mullet Inc., where a tyrannical director is in the final stages of casting his new movie. lntellectually invigorating, technologically bold and — perhaps most surprisingly given the technical nature of the project — always emotionally involving. Edinburgh: Cameo. Titan A.E. (12) *i** (Don Bluth/Gary Goldman, US, 2000) Voices of Matt Damon, Bill Pulman, Drew Barrymore. 95 mins. Earth has just been creamed by the unspeakany evil alien Drej. Humankind's fate rests (literally) in the hands of humble astro-mechanic Cale Tucker (Damon) who is part of the small number of human refugees sprinkled about the universe. A rip-roaring space adventure like they certainly never used to make ‘em, Titan Ali. (After Earth) is animation imitating live action, and is markedly post-Armageddon and Independence Day both in look and outlook. Glasgow: UGC Cinemas. Edinburgh: UGC Cinemas. Stirling: Carlton.
Truly, Madly, Deeply (PG) tint (Anthony Minghella, UK, 1990) Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Bill Paterson. 103 mins. Nina, a young translator, thinks her life is falling apart when her lover dies. But when he returns, albeit with a cold and looking a little paler, she begins to question her previous notions of happiness. A wonderfully literate screenplay by first-time director Minghella and a faultless performance by Stevenson raise Truly, Madly, Deeply above the level of its American counterpart, Ghost. Edinburgh: Lumiere.
‘Min Falls Idaho (15) **** (Michael and Mark Polish, US, 2000) Michele Hicks, Michael and Mark Polish. 120 mins. A call girl (Hicks) visits a seedy hotel in an unnamed American city, where she encounters a pair of Siamese twins, Blake (Mark Polish) and Francis (Michael Polish). In this melancholic fable, plot takes second- place to the eerie atmosphere. An imaginative variation on the traditional love- triangle, the filmmakers use the central relationship between Blake and Francis as a
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metaphor to examine notions of dependency and attachment, separation and loss, jealousy and loneliness. Edinburgh: Filmhouse, UGC Cinemas.
U-571 (12) **** (Jonathan Mostow, US/ UK, 2000) Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Kcitel. 115 mins. Mostow plays fast and loose with WWII history; the first successful attempt to secure an Enigma coding device from a German U-Boat was achieved by the Royal (not US) Navy. But his aim isn‘t gritty realism. Instead, this is a rollicking, old fashioned adventure that‘s more in the style of The Guns ()fNavarone than 005 Boot. McConaughey comes over like a movie hero from the mould that broke when Mitchum and McQueen hit the dirt. Falkirk: FTH Cinema.
Une Liaison Pornographique (15) bit (Frederic Fonteyne, France, 2000) Sergi Lopez, Natalie Baye. 80 mins. An anonymous man (Lopez) and woman (Baye) separately recount to an unseen interviewer the nature of their ‘liaison pornographique'. In flashback, we learn of their sexual fantasy, a routine repeated on a weekly basis. The film, whilst retaining a sense of mystery around the couple‘s erotic encounters, does achieve a measure of poignancy through the subtle, credible performances of Lopez and Baye. Edinburgh: Cameo. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. The Virgin Suicides (15) **** (Sofia Coppola, US, 20(X1) Kirsten Dunst, Kathleen Turner, James Woods. 96 mins. American suburbia in the 19705. When the five beautiful Lisbon sisters begin killing themselves one-by-one, there's nothing the local and adoring boys can do but watch, and afterwards carry into their adult lives regret, confusion and loss. Coppola's adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides‘ novel is shot through with a beautiful, melancholic nostalgia for lost youth. The central mystery is never resolved, and the film remains all the more powerful for it. Dunfermline: Carnegie Hall. Stirling: MacRobert. Whatever (Extension Du Domaine De La Luttle) (18) *‘kit (Philippe Harel, France, 2000) Philippe Harel, Jose Garcia. 120 mins. Harel's character sees the world as a mixture of winners and losers, not just financially but sexually also. Where men control the economy, women are in charge of the sexual purse strings, thus leaving our comfortably off hero without sex for two years. As much a study of male rage as male incompetence, and, in consequence, an impressive if dodgy mixture of the sardonic and the heartfelt. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. X-Men (12) **** (Bryan Singer, US, 2000) Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman. 104 mins. This adaptation of the popular Marvel Comic sees super-powered mutants outlawed in America of the near future. Magneto (McKellen), the master of magnetism and Holocaust survivor, will not stop at mass murder to protect his own kind; Professor Xavier (Stewart), a telepath, seeks peaceful co-existence with humankind. To further their ends the two old foes employ rival teams of mutants in a deadly game of chess. It's a difficult balance, satisfying the fans without alienating those unfamiliar with the comic book. X-Men pulls it off with speedy pacing, imaginatively staged action set pieces and a smart script full of witty dialogue and a message about race prejudice that’s not overplayed. General release.