Film index
Dr Dolittle 2 (Hit 0..
(Steve ('arr. l'S. 2t)()l ) liddie Murphy. Kristen \Vilson. voice of l .isa Kudrow‘. 87 mins. A Mafioxo racoon turns up at the doc'x home and demands that he
visit Beaver. (iodfather of the forest creatures. Beaver'x problem is that two nasty humans want to ‘develop' their home. lfonly Dolittle can mate endangered species bear Ava (voiced by Lisa Kudrow) with circus dude bear Archie. then by law the forest w ill be protected. Simple. cheesy and eco- friendly. (ieneral release.
Easy Ridert ta) 0...
(Dennis Hopper. l'S. l‘)(i‘)i l’eter l-‘onda. Dennis Hopper. Jack Nicholson. ()4 mins. Artlcss. archetypal road tnovie in which two dope-loving bikers travel the highways and by -ways of America. Dated cult attraction with Nicholson stealing the show as a boo/y lawyer persuaded to join tip for the trip. MacRobert Arts (’entre. Stirling.
Enemy At The Gates ( IS) 00.. (Jean-Jacques Armand. l'K/l‘rance. ltltll t Jude Law. lid llarrix. Rachel \Veixl. Joseph l‘iennex. 135 mins. The most expensive litiropean movie ever
recreates the decisive moment dttring World War II when the Russians and the (iermans battled on the liastern l‘ront. Armand condenses the siege of the city of Stalingrad into a thrilling cat-and- lttotlxe game between two snipers
(Soviet working-class hero Law and (ierman aristocrat llarrixi with a love triangle thrown in for commercial common sense. It's a film that‘s full of large-scale spectacle and intimate
details. and in a scene to rival Saving Private Ryan's ()maha Beach opener.
the beauty of cinema hits the ugliness of war with brutal effect. ()deon. Kilmarnock.
ET (ti) 0... (Steven Spielberg. l'S. l‘JSZ) Dee Wallace. Henry Thomas. l’eter ('oyote. ll5 minx. .»\n alien creature gets stranded on earth (the opening sequence of threatening legs and flashing torches is beautifully donei. w here he is adopted by some kids. who help him construct a communication device to summon back his spaceship. All the little guy wanted to do was go home. btit Spielberg made sure he had lots of cute and agreeable adventures first. and slipped in the most tear-jerking psuedo-death since Baloo the Bear in The Jttnglc Book for good measure. ()deon. Kilmarnock. Evolution (Pt il 0.
(Ivan Reittnan. l'S. 2()t)l t David Duchovny. Julianne Moore. ()rlando Jones. 10] tninx. Reitman reprises his 8th mega-hit. (ihoxtbusterx. substituting Ii'l‘s for shookx. livolution's ‘alienbusterx‘ are lead by Duchovny ‘x Mid-\Vest school teacher (the wild card role that was previously Bill Murray's) and Moore's cttrrent govermnent expert. The plot is pure high concept: a meteorite crashes on liarth leaking alien goo which kickstarts billions of years of evolution in a couple of days. ('ue ('(il monsters - bugs. fish. amphibians. dinosaurs and apex - a non starter romance betw een Duchonvy and Moore and some very lame jokes and you’ve got a summer blockbuster package. l'(i(‘ (‘inemax. lidinburgh.
0 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (I’m 0...
(llironobu Sakaguchi. Montonori Sakakibara. l'S/Japan. Ztltll ) Voices of Ming-Na Wen. Alec Baldwin. Steve Btiscemi. 105 minx. liinal l-antasy unquestionably represents a quantum leap for animation. Adapted from the phenom- enally successful Japanese role-play ing computer game series. The Spirits \Vithin tells a new story iii which the liarth of lttofi has succumbed to an alien invasion. ('o—produced by a Japanese and American crew. etHlit‘ected by game creator llironobu Sakaguchi and voiced by Hollywood talent. the liastern spiritualism and questing element of the game is given the standard Hollywood blockbuster treat ment. The results are mixed human movement is still problctnatic but often
14 THE LIST w, 2», Am; 70%
astonishingly believable. The future of filtn has arrived. (ieneral release. Gadar: Ek Prem Kathe (I’m (loot) Asian cinema prexentation. screening in Hindi without subtitles. l'(‘l. (ilztsgow'; l'('l. lidinburgh.
Ginger Snaps ( 18) .00. (Johtt l‘aw cctt. Canada. 200] ) Katharine Isabelle. limin l’erkinx. Mimi Rogers. 108 mins. \Vriterdirector l‘aw'cett's sardonic treatment of the American bourgeoisie gives this horror movie the feeling of an acuter observational romp. lsabelle's blossoming nymph sprouts a tail alter a werewolf attack. but after tnttch perplexity begins to bear it with fortitude spreading her infection with her sexual favours. .'\s her slav ishly devoted sister tries to intervene. (linger transforms lt'otn etnpow cred teen to tragic monster. Despite Hollywood's long flirtation with lycanthropy. l-‘awcett'x funny. tragic film still contrives to be original. ()deon. (ilasgow.
Grease (t’( n O... (Randal Kleiser. IS. 1978) John 'lt‘avolta. ()livia Newton John. Stockard (banning. I It) mins. The colourful goings-on at Rydell lligh particularly the romance of square out-of- tow ner Sandy and totigh guy Danny ix the sttiff of classic movie escapism. In addition to a plot which groans with frostratcd passion. bristles with gang tensions and swings with teen verve. the songs are the soundtrack for a generation. Twenty years on. (ireaxe ix still the word. and still the way we are feeling. (ilaxgow l-‘ilni ’l'heatre. (ilaxgow.
Harriet The Spy ( t’( n 00.
(Bunny en llughes. l'S. l‘)‘)(it Michelle 'l'rachtenberg. Rosie ()'l)onnell. (ircgory Smith. It): minx. l’recociotis schoolgirl llarrict. convinced she has a future ax a writer. notes down the minutae of daily life it] her journal: but when her classmates discover her criticisms of them. she has to work hard to win back popularity. 'l‘rachtenberg gives a fresh. spark} performant e. but the teacherly tone won't amuse accompanying grown- ups. (it'os\etlol'. (ilaxgow. Heartbreakers ( IS) I l )avitt Merkin. l'S. ltttll l Sigonnrey \Veav er. Jennifer I,o\ e llew itt. (iene llacjman. l33 mins. l’rev iew of this entertaining comedy abotit a mtither/saughter grittcr team w ho run scams on wealthy dtitiib men. llackman‘s filthy rich and tilthy in every other way billionaire is \Veavcr and llew itt's latest target. and indeed the locus of their
incestuous rivalry. Smartly scripted and nicely performed. this one‘s a winner. (ieneral release.
Help! I’m A Fish (U) .0.
(Michael llegner. Stefan Fjeldmark. l)enmark/(iermany/lreland. 2001 ) Voices of Alan Rickman. Terry Jones. Teryl Rothery. 78 mins. This cheerful offering involves three kids: jwsky l’ly. his sweet little sister Stella and their geeky cousin ('huck. After sneaking out of the house they cotne across a secret tunnel by the sea. in which lives a professor (voiced by Jones) who‘s created a formula to turn humans into fish. [.o‘ and behold our
junior heroes are soon swimming with the
fishes. trying to find an antidote and doing battle with an evil pilot-fish (villainous Rickman). Younger children should enjoy it. but if you‘re looking for humour or any real moments of high drama. you'll be disappointed. General release.
High Heels And Low Lites (15)
0 (Mel Smith. UK. 2()()|) Minnie Driver. Mary Mc(‘ormack. Kevin McNally. 86 mins. High Heels And Low Lites is so lacking in ambition it's depressing. Kim Fuller‘s screenplay starts with an unpromising idea - two gorgeous girls blacktnail a gang of crooks ottt of their hard-stolen dosh and takes it nowhere. Mel Smith. who worked with liuller on Not The Nine ()'('lock News. directs in a style that‘s best described as cack-handed. Meanwhile. Driver and Mc(‘ormack glam it up attd act ‘kookie' to little effect. The kind of rubbish that gives Brit cinema a bad name. Selected release. In The Heat 01‘ The Night (PG) 0... (Norman Jewison. US. 1967) Rod Steiger. Sydney Poitier. Warren ()ates. Quentin Dean. 10‘) mins. The spate of buddy movies throughout the 80s and ‘)()s has not lessened the impact of this multi-()scar winning original. Steiger is the Mississippi sheriff forced to overcome his own inherent bigotry when Poitier. an arrogant black homicide expert. comes to his small redneck backwater to help with a murder investigation. linough character tension to overcome occasional forays into liberal soapbox territory. MaeRobert Arts ('entre. Stirling.
Inspector Gadget (t1) 0..
(David Kellogg. US. 1999) Matthew Broderick. Rupert liverett. Joely Fisher. 7‘) mins. Disney‘s take on the French kids‘ cartoon follows the part human. part gi/tno (iadget’s (Broderick) quest to become a proper. respected cop.
Help! I’m A Fish, a cheerful animated film from Europe strictly for younger viewers and about three kids who are
turned into fish
Unfortunately. the dastardly (‘law (liverett) has a scheme for world domination. which includes creating an evil doppelganger of the trenchcoated wonder. The Inspector‘s many contraptions will delight younger viewers. and oldies will be amused by the plentiful self-referential moments. Selected release. Intimacy ( 18) O...
(Patrice (‘hereatL UK/l’rance. 2001 ) Kerry Fox. Mark Rylance. Timothy Spall. 120 mins. An erect penis. cellulite. vivid oral sex. regular but urgent intercourse in an emotional vacuum between unhappy strangers in a grubby London flat on a dirty carpet. (‘hereau's brave English- language debut (adapted from l‘lanif Kureshi‘s short stories) jauntin flaunts it all. Intimacy offers much more than a reassuring dose of voyeurism. A film composed of moments. it brilliantly turns the lens upon often overlooked relationships in middle-age. zooms in on the use of sex as a powerful anaesthetic and captures the self-loathing that often lives inside of lust. U(i(' Cinemas. Edinburgh.
Jurassic Park Ill (PG) 0..
(Joe Johnston. US. 2001) Sam Neil. Tea l.eoni. William H. Macy. ()2 mins. The flimsy excuse to get the cast over to the Park is a young lad who has become stranded on the dinosaur island. An unofficial search party. headed by his parents (Macy and l.eoni ). hoodwink palaeontologist Dr (irant (Neil. reprising his role) into helping them ottt. Of course. things go wrong as soon as they arrive and they are attacked by a Spinosaur. a new and improved T-rex. From there on in the cast jump from one perilous situation to another. A complete retread of the first two movies with even more dinosaur attacks. tnore ridiculous predicaments and bigger monsters. (leneral release.
The King Is Alive ( l5) 0... (Kristian l.evring. US/Scandinavia. 2001) Jennifer Jason Leigh. Janet Mc'l'eer. Romane Bohringer. 10‘) mins. The films released under the Danish manifesto (this is the fourth) have enormous power in terms of capturing raw. often physical emotion. In this category alone. l.evring‘s film excels beyond all expectation establishing the dirext of circumstances: a motley crew of tourists are stranded in the middle of the desolate Namibian desert. To lift the company's spirits while awaiting rescue. a retired actor suggests they stage a production of Shakespeare's