FILM index
FILM INDEX continued
The Long Goodbye (18) MM (Robert Altman, US, 1973) Elliott Gould, Sterling Hayden, Nina Van Pallandt. 112 mins. A shock to the system for Raymond Chandler aficionados, this iconoclastic contemporary Marlowe mystery features a shambling, unkempt Gould engagingly shuffling through a troupe of shady characters including a missing pal, a mysterious woman and the alcoholic Hayden. Surprisingly agreeable. Cameo, Edinburgh.
The Lost lover (PG) * (Roberto Faenza, Italy, 2000) Ciaran Hinds, Juliet Aubrey, Stuart Bunce. 97 mins. Adam (Hinds) and Asya (Aubrey) are an estranged Jewish couple who live in Tel Aviv with their annoyingly precocious daughter Daft (Clara Bryant). Adam befriends penniless enigmatic stranger Gabriel (Bunce) who seems to bring some joy into Asya’s life when she takes him on as her personal secretary. When Gabriel suddenly disappears Adam elicits the help of a young Arab boy Na 1m to help him find the one man who can save his sagging marriage. Na lm falls for Dali and she for he. But this is Palestine, get it? Shakespeare, angels, redemption — this adaptation ofAbraham Yehousha's poignant tale of forbidden love in the Holy Land is a syrupy package with wooden acting, ponderous dialogue and sluggish direction. See review. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Lost Souls (15) it (Janusz Kaminski, US, 2000) Winona Ryder, John Hurt. Ben Chaplin. 97 mins. Poor Maya (Ryder with terribly pallid skin and haunted eyes) has had a tough life which has left her with a nose for the supernatural. With the assistance of Hurt's priest, she experiences some hair-raising visitations. but this is merely the starter — Maya attains heroic status through her efforts to save the world from the coming of the anti-Christ. Lost Souls becomes increasingly one-dimensional after Satan’s vessel is located: the faithlessness of Ben Chaplin's successful crime writer promises an interesting conflict of truth-claims, but none is delivered. General release.
McCabe And Mrs Miller (18) *tti (Robert Altman, US, 1971) Warren Beatty, Julie Christie. 121 mins. Ultra-realistic, downbeat western yarn that eschews the traditional approach of glamourising the era. Beatty is in good form as a hustling, two-bit braggart who opens a brothel in a turn-of-lhe-century boom town. Cameo, Edinburgh.
Meet The Parents (12) *** (Jay Roach, US, 2000) Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner. 107 mins. lt’s everyone‘s idea of a nightmare weekend. Having fallen in love, you are forced to spend time of varying quality with your potential in-laws. This is the tricky task which faces Stiller as he prepares for the company of De Niro's Cold War secret agent, his daunting wife and a plethora of friends and family you'd go to the ends of the earth not to have to choose. The beauty or beastliness about Meet The Parents is the safe predictability of the gags. De Niro’s performance is somewhat flat, but Stiller's edgin fatalistic performance is a joy. General release.
Memento (15) ***** (Christopher Nolan, US, 2000) Guy Pearce, Carrie-Ann Moss, Joe Pantoliano. 116 mins. Beginning where most other film would end with an act of vengeance, writer-director Nolan tells his story by gradually working backwards in time. Leonard Shelby (Pearce) is obsessed with avenging his wife's rape and murder. Trouble is Leonard suffers
from a condition of short-term memory loss, and so he relies on an elaborate system of mementoes — maps, polatoids, body tattoos - to piece together the clues in his investigation. A compelling, elliptical reconstruction of the revenge thriller, which skilfully examines the connections between memory, identity and perception. Selected release.
Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil (15) *ttt (Clint Eastwood, US, 1997) Kevin Spacey, John Cusack, Jude Law. 155 mins. Eastwood bites off more than he can chew with this discursive tale of life and crime in the beautifully preserved Old Southern town of Savannah, Georgia. The main narrative concerns the murder of the gay lover of bon viveur Spacey, but Eastwood gets side-tracked by sub- plots. A likeable movie that is subtly ingratiating rather than brazenly insistent. Odeon, Kilmamock.
Moulin Rouge (PG) hurt (EA. Dupont, UK, 1928) Olga Tschechova, Eve Gray, Jean Bradin. 110 mins. This backstage drama about Parisian revue star has a simple romantic triangle story, but its staging is tremendous. The work of European art director Alfred Junge transforms every frame, making it one of the most important early British movies. The Lumiere, Edinburgh. My Dog Skip (U) *A'i' (Jay Russell, US, 2000) Kevin Bacon, Diane Lane, Frankie Muniz. 95 mins. My Dog Skip is an unashamedly sentimental coming-of-age story about a nine- year-old boy's relationship with his pet Jack Russell terrier, set during World War 11 in the small Mississippi town of Yazoo. The film casts a nostalgic glow over the past, but it doesn't shy away from giving us glimpses of harsher realities, including nods to the era's racism and the traumas of war. But the prevailing mood is appropriately one of gentle sweetness. Grosvenor, Glasgow.
Not One Less (PG) *‘ktti (Zhang Yimou, China, 2000) Wei Minzhi. 100 mins. A teacher of a small school in an isolated, impoverished village is forced to leave the education of his 28 pupils in the hands of thirteen-year-old substitute Wei Minzhi for a month. But with poverty forcing over one million students to leave school to look for work every year in China, Wei is set the task of retrieving a desperate student from the big city. Essentially, this is a personal interest perspective on a dramatic social problem. The cast comprises non-professionals, and the calibre of the heart-tending performance by Minzhi makes the film all the more impressive. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Now Voyager (PG) tit (Irving Rapper, US, 1942) Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid. 117 mins. Classically cast, this archetypal tragic love story of the period is unadventurous and even bland, but its stars are more than charismatic enough to overcome its problems. MacRobert, Stirling.
0 Brother, Where Art Thou? (12) **** (Joel Coen, US, 2000) George Clooney, John Tunurro, Ttm Blake Nelson. 107 mins. Preston Stutges’ Sullivan ’5 TraveLs and Homer’s The Odyssey are the staning points for this 305-set screwball comedy. Smooth-talking Everett Ulysees McGill (Clooney), simpleton Delmar (Nelson) and maladjusted Pete (Turtuno) are members of a chain gang on the run looking for buried loot. Their journey up and down the state of Mississippi brings them into contact with assorted eccentrics based on Homer’s mythological figures. A lighter work for the Coens, more Raising Arizona than Fargo, but it's
Television researcher
seeks possible contributors for BBC series on love and life in the let century. I am looking for young professionals who socialise and possibly live together, couples who plan to marry in the near future and
unmarried couples who have decided to buy their first home together.
If you are interested please call Cote on
020 7241 9217
or email cote.holl@wolltowoll.co.uk
34 THE LIST I8 Jan-1 Feb 2001
still a rare treat. A truly captivating confederacy of dunces. Odeon, Edinburgh.
102 Dalmatians (U) tint (Kevin Lima, US/UK, 2000) Glenn Close, Gerard Depardieu, loan Gruffudd. 90 mins. Cruella's back. And this time she's Ella. Thanks to a shot of mind- altering Pavlovian treatment during her stay at Her Majesty's Pleasure, the larger than life baddie is released into the community as an animal-loving philanthropist. Only when Big Ben strikes twelve does the spell snap, letting her revert to character, her passion for Dalmatian fur renewed. 102 is a generation on from the original cute canines, but the shape of the story is virtually identical, while the script's too caught up in the machinations of the human world to give the dogs enough of a look in. General release.
Pay It Forward (12) Ht (Mimi Leder, US, 2000) Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment. 123 mins. This ‘heartwarming‘ drama begins with a cynical journalist stumbling across a series of apparently random acts of kindness, which turn out to be orchestrated within a structure similar to a chain letter, traceable back to Las Vegas school kid Trevor McKinney (Osment). Trevor‘s life isn‘t an easy one. His mother Arlene (Hunt) is an alcoholic go-go bar waitress and his abusive father (Jon Bon Jovi) is absent, but in new teacher Mr Simonet (Spacey), the boy finds a surrogate parent whose class project prompts Trevor to conceive ‘pay it forward‘. Leder handles the storytelling confidently and allows her stars to shine, but there's a horrible sense that this sentimental film was conceived and executed with Oscars in mind. See review. General release.
The Player (15) butt (Robert Altman, US, 1992) Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Peter Gallacher. 124 mins. Altman's satire on the wheeling and dealing of modern day Hollywood is more than just an excuse for cineastes to play trainspotter with the famous faces in cameo roles. It is also a terrific thriller about a studio exec receiving death threats from a spurned writer. Tim Robbins is magnificent in the lead role, while Altman manages to grin as he bites the hand that feeds him. Cameo, Edinburgh. Pokemon The Movie 2000 (PC) in (Kunihiko Yuyama, US/Japan, 2000) 80 mins. ‘Disturb not the harmony of Fire, Ice and Lightning or' . . . they’ll make it the plot of the new Pokemon cartoon movie. The injunction from the ancients is, of course, broken, as a huge Heath Robinson-style flying warship captures three elemental guardian Pokemon from their Oceanic archipelago - and sets off the mother of all El Ninos. Cue our heroes to the rescue, Pokemon trainer Ash, his sweet and dangerous Pokemon Pikachu, Ash’s in-denial girlfriend Misty, and buddy Tracy. All known Pokemon, and a few new ones, are there to help too. General release.
Pourquoi Pas Moi? (Why Not Me?) (15) H (Stephane Giusti, France, 2000) Julie Gayet, Bruno Putzulu, Alexandra London. 94 mins. Congregating at openly gay friend Camille's mum’s expansive retreat, Eva, Nico and Ariane know their parents aren't going to be sympathetic: Ariane's dad‘s a macho bull-fighter; Eva's father a conservative geneticist. The film pads out its hour and a half on two dramatic points. How and when will they tell their parents; and how, once being told, will the parents take the news? Forced into the conventions of the farce by the abruptness of the weekend time span, this is crisis cinema made
FTH
Fatltirk Town Hall
Sun 20th Jan Dinosaur (PG) 3:00pm House Of Mirth (PG) 7:00pm
Mon 22nd Jan House Of Mirth (PG)
Cuppa at I lam for H 30am (if 7 30pm
Mon 29th Jan
Wonder Boys (15) 7 :30pm
Tickets and further information from The Steeple Box office
(Tel: 01324 506850)
or on the day from the hall
easy — bendy doll characterisation conforms instantly to the dictates of the pacey plotting. See review. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Pulp Fiction (18) t**** (Quentin Tarantino, US, 1994) John Travolta, Samuel Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis. 150 mins. Much more ambitious than Reservoir Dogs, the most awaited second feature of the 905 has many scenes that crackle with Tarantino wit, and a few others that fall flat as the writer—director bravely experiments. Interlocking stories in the pulp crime manner concern hitmen, ailing boxers, gang bosses and their molls, drug fiends, and assorted riff-raft. A surprise Cannes Palme d'Or winner is a trip, all the way. Vikingar Cinema, Largs.
Purely Belter (15) *ii* (Mark Herman, UK, 2000) Chris Beattie, Greg McLane, Kevin Whatley. 98 mins. Based on Jonathan 'l‘ulloch‘s novel The Season Ticket, about two broke Geordie teenagers, Gerry (Beattie) and Sewell (McLane), who attempt to scrape together enough cash for two season tickets to their beloved Newcastle United's St James Park. Their increasingly hair-brained schemes create a number of hilarious set pieces, but Herman's (Brassed 0/7) film also has more than its fair share of bittersweet realism. The thing that really makes this film, however, is the excellent performances from the two unknown kids, plus a delightful supporting cast. Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark (PG) innit (Steven Spielberg, US, 1981) Harrison Ford, Karen Allen. 115 mins. Ford plays adventuring archaeologist Indiana Jones, who almost bites off more than he can chew when he turns up the Ark of the Covenant in Nazi-infested wartime Egypt. Return to the breathless excitement of the Saturday morning serial with this rolletcoaster of a movie, probably better than either of its sequels. Tongue held very firmly in cheek. Vikingar Cinema, Largs.
Requiem For A Dream (18) *HH (Darren Aronofsky, US, 2000) Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans. 101 mins. Aronofsky follows his debut, the ingenious sci-ft fable Pi, with an adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr's novel that's as harrowing as it is brilliantly executed. It's a bleak vision focusing on four addictive personalities, Harry Goldfarb (Leto), his mother Sara (Burstyn), girlfriend Marion (Connolly) and pal Tyrone (Wayans), whose vices range from hard drugs to television game shows. Aronofsky creates a strikingly subjective experience with various stylistic tricks, while the eerie retro-futuristic soundtrack by Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet underscores the filmmaker's vision. Yet, bleak as the film is, it's also heart-tending drama thanks to the gutsy performances, particularly Butstyn's devastating turn that’ll have grown men weeping in isles. See preview and review. GFT, Glasgow.
The Road To El Dorado (U) *tt (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. chr-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. GFT, Glasgow.
Run For Money (15) (Reha Erdem, Turkey, 1999) Tancr Birsel, Bennu Ylldirmlar, Zuhal Gencer. 100 mins. Erdcm's film tackles the way money insinuates itself into our lives and destroys our belief systems, values and standards. Thought-provoking new Turkish cinema. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Scottish Shorts (no cert) (Andy Goddard, UK, 2000) 40 mins. Filmmaker Goddard introduces his two short films Rice Paper Stars and Kings Of The Wild Frontier, and leads a discussion in the company of his fellow crew members examining who the films were completed under schemes such as Tartan Shorts. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Sexy Beast (18) *ttt (Jonathan Glazet, UK, 2000) Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, lan McShane. 88 mins. When retired criminal Gary Dove (Winstone) gets a visit from East End headcase Don Logan (Kingsley), who’s to persuade Dove to leave his Costa del Sol villa to do one last ‘job’ for crime boss Teddy Bass (McShane), the sparks fly. Dove stutters a nervous 'No thanks'; Logan screams ‘Yes, you c“t!'. At length. The back and forth between