Film index

Ice Age tl') C. ((‘hris Wedge ck (‘arlos Saldanha. IS. 3002) Voices of John Legui/amo. (ioratt \'isnjic. Jack Black. 8] mins. 'l'here's a faint air of cynicism in this story of a morose mammoth. a humhling sloth and a wily tiger who join forces. despite all their hetter instincts. to return a hutnan hahy to his father. .-\s the planet gets

colder. they head in the opposite direction of

the animal migration. to hattle snowdrifts. volcanoes. ice caves and predators. eventually delivering their charge. The animators try desperately to make you fall in love with this unlikely hand of creatures. to make you see the good hearts heneath the frosty exteriors. hut they don't deliver that all important charm. wit. flair and imagination. See review. (ieneral release. The Idiots t l8) 0... (Lars von Trier. l)enmark/l-‘rance/ltaly/NetherlandsK iermany /Sweden. 1999) Bodil Jorgensen. Jens Alhinus. l 14 mins. In l.ar.s von 'l‘rier's

follow up to Breaking The llin'c's. a hunch of

"idiots' run a little hit amok in their village. get thrown ottt of tea-rooms. make w'hoopee at the swimming haths and disrupt hoard meetings. But these misfits are as sane as you or I. with a simple aim to test society 's attitudes to the disahled. .-\ppreciation naturally conquers enjoyment hut 'I'In' Idiots is a challenge w ell worth taking up. Part of the .»\hle To Be film festival. The Iiilmhouse. lidinhurgh.

In The Bedroom t )5) 0000 (Todd liield. I'S. 2()(ll ) Sissy Spacek. Tom Wilkinson. Marisa 'l‘omei. 130 mins. Inspired hy Andre l)uhus' short story Killings. In IIH’ [In/room is an exceptional dehut feature from actor-turned-liltnmaker 'l‘odd l’ield. It examines. with great sensitiy - ity and insight. the aftermath of an unex- pected hereavetnent when the son of Matt and Ruth l-‘ow'ler tWilkinson and Spacek) is murdered. Stylistic indulgences are prudent- ly kept at hay. and it's also hlessed with a series of expertly calihrated performances. not least from Wilkinson and Spacck. .-\nd there's no clear-cut closure or cheap redemption. Selected release. In The Mood For Love tl‘(i) (Wong Kar-Wai. Ilong Kong. 2()()()) Maggie (‘heung. Tong l.eung. ()7 mins. In Kar-Wai's new lilm. set in (ins llong Kong. an adulterous romance is happening elsewhere - hetw een the hushand of secretary (‘hetmg and the wife of l.eung‘s journalist. Kar- W'ai's interest lies with the cuckolded. and the way that something even more intense. personal and fortuitous develops out of their shared ‘adulteree' status. With .\'at King (‘ole on the soundtrack. regular (‘hris l)oy le behind the camera and heguiling wardrohe design. Kar-Wai offers a seductive surface texture that's undercut hy the director's trademark emphasis of the accidental over the clearly intentional. Suhtly stunning lilmmaking. lidinhurgh l‘ilm (iuild. lidinhurgh. Into The Deep tt') (300] ) IMAX Presentation. IMAX 'l'hcatre. (ilasgow. Iris t IS) 0... tRichard liyre. I‘K. 2()()l) Judi l)ench. Kate Winslet. Jitn Broadhent. 00 mins. The love story of two of this centttry 's

38 THE LIST 111 78 Mar ’, ()0?

most significant w riter-academtcs. Iris Murdoch and John Bay ley. is loy ingly created from Bay Icy ‘s recent memoirs. It ultimately plots Murdoch's descent into the agonising 1-0:: of:\l/heimer's. hut is inter-cut \\ iIlt sL‘eltes ol- the early. tcntatiye loy e

hetw cen these [\yo ( )\fot‘tl slttt‘lels. Although the later years are more llt\t)I\ mg than the early ones. tltc two narratives switch with (IL‘l-I slic‘lsltess. 'l'illsk' tissues. you might need a few. (icneral release.

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius tt') .O. (John :\. l);t\ is. I'S. 2(l()2)\1)iees of l)ehi l)erryherry. Megan ('ayanaugh. Patrick Stewart. 82 mins. Jimmy Isaac Neutron‘s inventions often cause more prohlems than they solve. so when he contacts an ultra-intelligent alien life form. the hoy genius sets off a chain of events that lead to the Yokians imagine an egg with a see-through shell and green yokes kidnapping all of the parents in Retroville. So Jimmy leads an expedition of fellow l‘)5(ls retro-sly led classmates into space to i'escue their parents. :\s is the norm since 'Iov .S'Iorv. .Iimnn .\'i'ulron is packed w ill) pop-references. hut lacks sufficient sophistication to appeal to adults. See review. (iencral release.

Just Visiting tI’( i) O. (Jean-Marie (iauhert. l-‘rancc/l ‘S. ltlttl ) Jean Reno. ('hristian (Javier. Malcoltn Mcl)ow ell. 88 mins. When Medieval I‘rench nohletnan ’Ihihault (Reno) accidentally kills his w ifc on the eve of his w etltlittg ltL‘ ilttplot'es his potion-concocting w i/ard Mcl)ow ell to send him hack in titne to right the wrongs. Btit

.. f i“

Ali G lndahouse and keepin’ it real on the big screen

the w i/ard mistakenly sends Thihault and his devoted servant Andre t(’lavier) forward to 2 1 st century (’hicago where they have ‘hilarious adventures' with indoor plumhing

and electrical appliances. While the original.

In li.\I!¢'HI‘y exuded a certain I’ythonesque charm with its petit hourgeoisie parody and schoolhoy vulgarity. this slttshy remake is saddled with an anaemic. witless script co- written hy 80's teen flick director John Hughes (The Break/m! ('luli). Selected release.

King Of The Hill 1 l3) 0... (Steven Sodcrhergh. IS. 1993) Jesse Bradford. Jeroen Krahhc. l.isa liichhorn. l()3 mitts. Why Soderhergh‘s heautifully moving portrait of St Louis during the Depression failed to spark any interest during its London release is heyond tne. When his father is forced to go off in search of work and his mother is sent to a sanatorium. twelve-year—old Aaron has to rely on his

w its to survive. .-\n engaging. atmospheric rites-of-passage movie that doesn't treat its young hero with condescension. Rcct)tnntcnded. ('ameo. lidinhurgh.

Last Orders t IS) .0. tl-‘red Schepisi. I'K. lefll ) Michael ('aine. Boh lIoskins. I)ay id llemmings. 'l'om ('ourtney. Ray Winstone. IDS mins. Jack ((‘aine). a hutcher from Bermondsey. has died. Joined hy Jack‘s son (Winstonc). his three hest friends (Courtney. llemmings. lloskins) set off on a road-trip lo Margate to scatter the old man's remains. (’onverting (iraham

Sw ift's reinarkahle novel of loss. friendship and life‘s cruel decline into a movie was

I" I . 00 I. o

always going to he something akin to catching salt in the w ind. Schepisi has lost the fehrile sense that this sad story is huilt on odd tender moments snatched froin eternity. This is. however. a soap opera acted out by a right royal east. l’l'll ('inema. lialkirk; Adam Smith Theatre. Kirkcaldy. Legally Blonde ( )2) COO tRohert I.uketic. IS. 200) ) Reese Witherspoon. Luke Wilson. Selma Blair. ()7 mins. Lego/Iv lilo/tile is adapted from Amanda Brow n‘s unpuhlished novel. an anthropological study of the ‘law student species‘ drawing on her experiences as a hlonde attending law school. By contrast. Karen Mc(‘ullah law and Kinsen Smith‘s t It) Things I Hate About You) screenplay focuses on the ‘clueless' nature of protagonist lille \Vootls (Witherspoon). a ('alifornia hahe w ho finds herself to he a fish out of water when she follows her hoyfricnd to Harvard. It also resorts to a deeply conventional narrative ahout honesty and integrity w inning the day. 'l'hus. Legal/v Mom/v lacks the hite of other teen satires such as I'.I('('IIUII. another film starring Witherspoon. hut one which lived up to the actor's impressiy e talents. ()deon. Kilmarnoek.

The Lord Of The Rings tl’(i)

(Peter Jackson. .\'ew Xealand/I'S. 300] ) lan Mcls'ellen. liliiah Wood. Liv Tyler. ('atc Blanchett. \‘iggo Mortcnsen. 78 mins. At long last. a sword and sorcery adventure that really delivers the goods. J.R.R. 'l'olkien‘s great achievement was to create an linglish mythology. located in a fantastical yet helievahle world. Jackson's great

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