Fllm index
Index contlnued
The Mummy Returne (12) 000 (Stephen Sommers. LS. 2001) Brendan Fraser. Rachel Weisz. John Hannah. tbc mins. The plot of the sequel to the smash hit period adventure revolves around Rick and Evie O'Connell's (Fraser and WeisZ) pilfering of ancient Egyptian tombs. a dark cult located in the British MUseum and the legend of a warrior who promised his soul to the god Anubis 5.000 years ago. Absurdly high octane action cinema. tipping the balance right over into comedy and sometimes farce. Good fun. and a good deal more than a lazy sequel. See feature and review. General release.
The Mummy(12) 0.. (Stephen Sommers. US. 1999) ) Brendan Fraser. Rachel Weisz. John Hannah. 125 mins. The plot meanders and it‘s cheesy as hell. but this new version of the Egyptian myth scores big by borrowing heavily not from old Boris Karloff horror movies rather Indiana Jones-style boy‘s own adventures. Thus rollocking action. tongue-in-cheek characterisations and creepy special effects combine to provide that Staurday morning cinema serial feel. New Picture House. St Andrews.
Myeterlee Of lgypt (L') (Bruce Neibaur. US. 2001) Omar Sharif. Kate Maberly. mins. Omar Sharif stars in the first National Geographic film to appear in IMAX. imparting tales of tombs. treasures and the amazing achievements of this anicent civilisation. lMAX Theatre. Glasgow.
0 Brother, Where Art Thou? (12) 0”. (Joel Coen. US. 2000) George Clooney. John Turturro. Tim Blake Nelson. 107 mins. Preston Sturges‘ Sullivan '5 Travels and Homer's The Odyssey are the starting points for this 30s-set screwball comedy. Smooth-talking Everett L'lysees McGill (Clooncy). simpleton Delmar (Nelson) and maladjusted Pete (Turturro)
are members of a chain gang on the run looking for buried loot. Theirjourney 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 still a rare treat. A truly captivating confederacy of dunces. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
102 Delmetlene (L') 000 (Kevin Lima. L'S/L'K. 2000) Glenn Close. Gerard Depardieu. loan Gruffudd. 90 mins. Cruclla'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. [02 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. Lumiere. Edinburgh.
OAOne AndA'hNo (YIYI)(15) eeee
(Edward Yang. Taiwan. 2(X)l ) Wu Nianzhen. Tnag Ru-yun. Elaine Jin. 173 mins. Remarkable study of a middle class Taiwanese family in crisis. A One AndA Two unfolds in present day Taiwan. where company exec NJ is having woman trouble: his mother-in—law‘s in a coma. his wife's left him for a religious sect and an old flame has appeared after 30 years. Meanwhile. NJ‘s son is having trouble at school and his daughter‘s finding her first love. Deservedly the winner of the Best Director Prize at Cannes. See review. GFT. Glasgow; Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
One nght At McCool'e (15) ee (Harald Zwart. US. 2001) Liv Tyler. Matt Dillon. John Goodman. 93 mins. This comic film noir of forced laughs and unlikeablc characters follows three men (Dillon‘s
a Qateh‘t cocktail of exvfofi/e footwork / Quantity fikjihj and littuofo guitar flayikj flan Jouttieflt Sea?“
THEATREI :( )‘\."/\I i ‘.I A: 1( ii )w 7 8, 3 June 2001, 7,15pm Box Office 0141 332 9000 TICKETS £8 - £15
40 TH. LIST 10—24 May 2001
Qullle (18) 000
bartender. Goodman's detective and Paul Reiser's attomey) ensnared by the same femme fatale (Tyler). who relate their collective sob story from different perspectives. Rashomon style. L'nlike. say. Linda Fiorentino in The Last Seduction. this film offers no funive pleasure in watching an intelligent. amoral woman have her wicked way. and becomes increasingly improbable as the one-note Tyler gives the sad trio what they deserve. General release. Pretty Women (15) 0000 (Garry Marshall. L'S. 199(1) Richard Gere. Julia Roberts. Ralph Bellamy. 120 mins. In this hugely succesful comedy-romance. Gere stars as an unfeeling financial wheeler- dealer discovering he is human after all when he spends a week in the company of Roberts' downhome goodtime girl. Conversely. she rediscovers her self-esteem by flawlessly carrying off the role of his high society companion. so the audience can feel happy for both of them. The outline might be as hackneyed as they come. but television veteran Marshall hasjust the right lightness of touch. Odeon. Kilmamock. The Prince Of Igypt (L') eee (Brenda Chapman. Steve Hickner. 1998) Voices of Val Kilmer. Ralph Fiennes. Sandra Bullock. Michelle Pfeiffer. 99 mins. The Exodus story. animated for the big screen. With some artistic licence. it follows Moses from his discovery as a baby by Pharaoh‘s wife. through his formative years as a Royal Prince to his fall from grace when he discovers his true Hebrew background. The familiar tale is told in an imaginative and inventive fashion. yet in aiming for such a bold. epic approach the human focus is lost. GFT. Glasgow.
Proot Of LIT. (15) 0.. (Taylor Hackford. US. 2001) Russell Crowe. Meg Ryan. David Morse. 135 mins. Set in fictional South American country Tecala. rife with corruption. drugs and civil war. the story revolves around the kidnap of an
American engineer (Morse) working on a ‘ dam project. Negotiations for his release
start and Crowe's expert takes the case at the behest of the kidnapped man‘s wife (Ryan). A predictable blossoming of forbidden love ensues enlived by some jungle combat. but there‘s little in the way of on-screen
' magnetism. surprising considering the post-
production affair between Crowe and Ryan. Cameo. Edinburgh.
(Philip Kaufman. CS. 2001) Geoffrey Rush. Kate Winslet. Michael Caine. 124 mins. The film version of Doug Wright‘s play finds the Marquis de Sade (a gloriously camp RUsh) confined within the walls of Charenton Asylum for his last days. There. his writing is indulged by saintly Abbe Coulmier (Joaquin Phoenix). unaware that the 'pomography‘ is being smuggled out by maid Madeleine (Winslet) and published. much to the chagrin of Napoleon. Strait-laced Dr Royer-Collard (Caine) is promptly dispatched to ‘cure‘ de Sade with methods that wouldn‘t be unfamiliar to the Spanish Inquisition. At times Quills seems haunted by the saucy spirits of Sid James. Kenneth Williams et al — Carry On De Sade anyone? — but by the third act Quills has taken a disturbing turn. spiralling into a nightmare of rape. torture and murder. MacRobert. Stirling.
Requlem For A Dreem (18) eeeee (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 (Connelly) 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 hean-rending drama thanks to the gutsy performances. particularly Burstyn’s devastating turn that‘ll have grown men weeping in isles. New Picture House. St
Andrews.
Rlng (18) O... (Hideo Nakato. Japan. 1998) Nanako Matsushima. Miki Nakatani. Hiroyuki Sanada. 95 mins. A horror film phenomenon in southeast Asia. the story turns on an escalating urban myth with a body count. It begins with a teenage girl telling her friend about a mysterious videotape that works like a very nasty chain letter. L'npleasantly. myth turns out to be fact. The original indUstrial-electronic score by Kenji Kawai delivers its share of the chills. while the sudden flashbacks and moments of spiritual connection between the murders in the modern day and the past come at you hard and out the blue. A terrifyingjoy to behold. Adam Smith Theatre. Kirkcaldy.
Rugrete In Perle: The Movle (L') .0. (Stig Bergqvist. Paul Detneyer. US. 2001 ) Voices of Christine Cavanaugh. Susan Sarandon. Debbie Reynolds. 77 mins. The antics of those diaper-clad under-5s. Tommy. Chuckie. Dil. Phil and Lil. and tormenting big cousin Angelica. make a great kids cartoon. Better than its predecessor. Rugrats In Paris has the gang descending on Euroreptarland (read Eurodisney). where conniving Angelica fixes up motherless Chuckie and his gullible father. Chas. with the villainous Coco La Bouche who hates children. To save Chuckie the kids hijack the giant robotic Reptar and race for Notre Dame to stop the wedding.
Lively. well-paced entertainment for
younger children. and just smart enough for
most adults. General release.
save The Leet Dence ( 12) eee (Thomas Carter. US. 2001) Julia Stiles. Sean Patrick Thomas. 1 12 mins. The premise. as we'll recall from dance films like Footloose. is simple: two kids from disparate backgrounds are thrown together by a common love of dance music. In this instance. recently bereaved ballet student
Sara (Stiles) sparks a clash of cultures when
she enrols in a predominantly black Chicago high school and meets Derek (Thomas). a young. gifted and black hip hop enthusiast.
' To be accepted. Sara must learn the joys of batty shaking and Derek. as we‘d expect. is
only too happy to help. It's all very sweet and if you're susceptible to teen-flicks and dance movies. this will almost certainly leave a warm feeling in your tummy. Selected release.
Shedow O! The Vemplre (15) O... (E. Elias Merhige. US. 2001) Willem Dafoe. John Malkovich. Eddie Izzard. 91 mins. Illuminated by a remarkable performance from Dafoe. this sly horror follows the filming of F. W. Mumau‘s silent classic Nosferatu. Arriving
in Eastern Europe for location shooting.
Mumau (Malkovich) wams his crew that the man who is to play Nosferatu (Dafoe) is a method actor who inhabits his roles completely. What Mumau hasn‘t told them is the extent of his lead‘s familiarity with the ways of the undead. As the incident-filled shoot continues and Mumau becomes blindly obsessed with finishing the picture. the film ultimately becomes a tongue-in- cheek meditation on directors who will do anything to get the perfect shot. L'Cl Clydebank.
Slng-e-longe wlth Seven lrldee For Seven Irothere (PG) eeee (Stanley Donen. US. 1954) Howard Keel. Jane Powell. Russ Tamblyn. 103 mins. This 'showstopping' cowboy musical certainly benefits from ex-choreographer Donen‘s camerawork and Michael Kidd‘s acrobatic dance moves. In fact. it‘s a dance heavy
musical. but seeing as this is a live sing-a-
long screening. the volume oughta get turned up. Grovesnor. Glasgow.
Snatch (18) .0 (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 samejuvenile 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