Film index
0 Panic Room ( 15) 0000 (Dmitl l’iric‘lier. LS. 2002) Jodie l-‘oster. Forest Whitaker. Jared l.eto. l 12 min. I’unie Rmmt may well be more style than substance btrt it nevertheless soon has the viewer gripped. Jodie Poster's rich. eriiotioiially bruised divorcee and her teenage daughter have barely taken possession of their new Manhattan home when they have need of its fortified. hidden chamber aka the panic room. On their first night in the place. they are forced to take reftrge there when three intruders break it) and what follows is a tense. cunning game of cat and mouse. l‘oster gives shades to her character that the script doesn't deserve. and of the bad guys. Whitaker is doleftil and honourable and l.eto is cartoon-like as the loud-mouthed Junior. See feature and review. (ieneral release.
Pauline et Paulette (PG) 0000. (Lieven Debrauw'er. Belgium. 2002) Dora van der (lroeti. Julienne dc Bruyri. Rosemarie Bergmaris. 78 min. Pauline (van der (iroen) is a (iii-year-old woriiari with a mental age of four. who is looked after by her doting sister. Martha (de Bruyn). However. when Martha dies. her will states that for either of Pauline's stiobby sisters. Cecile and Paulette. to get any money. one of them must look after Pauline. The strength of Debrauwer‘s film lies in its simplicity. as he ptits character before plot. and ensures that the emotion of the film is genuine. Pauline is presented as a person. rather than someone with a disability. with Dora van der (iroeri's unmannered performance being simply splendid. liiltiihouse. lidiiiburgh.
The Pornographert is) I... (Bertrand Boriello. France. 2002) Jean- Pierre Leaud. Jeremie Reriier. Dominique Blane. l0h’ min. Legendary pornographer Jacques Laurent (Leaud) is having to return to making porn filtiis becatrse of money problems. Depressed at how the industry has changed. he suddenly receives a phone call from Joseph (Renier). his long lost son now ati anarchistic student. They meet tip and their lives take different routes from that point. Jacques towards madness. Joseph towards love. Despite the slightly annoying winks (o ('u/u'ers Du Cinema readers around the world. this is still really exciting cerebral filnimakirig. Discursive. intelligent and beautifully structured. l'(iC Renfrew Street. (ilasgow.
Pretty As A Picture: The Art Of David Lynch (the) (Toby Keelcr. LS. 1997) Dtty'itl Lynch. Mel Brooks. Patricia Arquettc. Angelo Badalameriti. 85 min. l'ilmed around the making of l.().\.' Hie/nt'uv. this is a series of interviews with Dav id Lynch‘s friends. family and associates. examining his life as an artist in films. paintings and photography. And check otit the reunion on the set of IfI'uver/ieiul. Pillnhntlse. lidiiiburgh.
The Princess Diaries (P( t) O
((iarry Marshall. LS. 2001 ) Antie Hathaway. Julie Andrews. Heather Mataral/o. l 15 rtiiri. (ioofy' teenager Mia 'l’hertiiopolis (Hathaway) lives with her boho artist other in San Francisco. Although Mia gets the grades rather than the boys. she bree/es happily through life. l'ntil her paternal grandmother Queen Clarisse (Andrew s) arrives at her doorstep and tells Mia she‘s the heir to the throne of the European principality of (ieriov ia. 'l‘hereafter. Mia suffers under the tutelage of her stern royal granny as she is transformed from ugly duckling into a charming princess. Horrible. from sappy wish-fulfilment premise to sugar-coated execution. ()deon. Ay r'. ('itieworld. l‘afkirk.
Queen Of The Damned ( IS) 0 (Michael Rymer. LS. 2002) Stuart Townsend. Aaliyah. Vincent Pere/. ml min. Based on Anne ‘InIe/‘vietv Hill) The lhnipire' Rice‘s novels. The lirmpire ('lirmiie/es. l.estat ('l‘ownserid. reprising Tom Cruise's role in lllll'l't'fl‘n' as not much more than a series of daft facial expressions) attempts to wake the ‘biggest. baddest mother of them all' of the title. by joining a bad rock band and spreading the word through his songs (yes. really). None of the actors get off the hook. with \"iiicerit Peru.
36 THE LIST 25) Apr 0 May (200?
rating a special mention for his camp turn as Marius. an ancient vampire with a set of choppers which. like most of the script. he finds it impossible to get his lips round. (ieneral release.
Rare Birds ( l5) (Sturla (iunnarssori. Canada. 200] ) William Hurt. Andy Jones. Molly Parker. 99 min. When Dave Purcell (Hurt) finds his pathetic life slipping through the cracks. all hope seems lost. His restaurant (The Awk) sits empty and his marriage is on the rocks. All that remains are some vintage wines. a strange neighbour. .-\fphorisus Murphy and a mystery box. Quirky characters have a romp on the barrens of Newfoundland. (il’l’. (ilasgow.
The Return Of The Jedi (PU)
C... (Richard Marquatid. l'S. I983) Mark Hamill. Carrie Fisher. Harrison Ford. I33 min. The third chapter in the Star Wars saga sees Luke Skywalker learn the secrets of his family tree. before getting stuck in to a filial shindig between (iootl and livil. lixpansive and expetisive special effects make this splendid entertainment. liilmhouse. lidiriburgli.
Return To Never Land (l') .0 (Robin Budd & Donovan Cook. ('8. 2002) Voices of Harriet ()weii. Blayne Weaver. Corey Btrrton. the min. Wendy has grown tip and now has two children of her own. The oldest. Jane. having witnessed the devastation caused by the blit/krieg conditions of World War ll. no longer believes iii Peter Pan and stories of ‘faith. trust and pixie dust'. That is until the night before she is to be evacuated to the countryside. when Captain Hook kidnaps her mistakenly believing that she is Wendy. Jane rediscovers the riiagic unfortunately the viewer doesn‘t. Everything about the filrii is dated. from plotting to animation. (iencral release.
0 Road Kill (15).... (John Dalil. LS. 2002) Paul Walker. Steve Zahn. l.eelee Sobieski. 9() min. Ah joy. a movie with no artistic pretensions nor irifiated budgetary requirements to screw tip a wicked idea. here executed with smart script. perfor- tiiarices and direction. Pretty college boy Lewis (Walker) is driving from Colorado to New Jersey with his girl \'enna (Sobieski) and wayward brother l-‘uller (Zahn). After Lewis makes like a girl on the CB and chats tip a truck driver. they attract the attention of a homicidal maniac with sixteen big ole' wheels. What follows is tatit. tense driving stispense. which owes riiticli to Steven Spielberg's early television movie l)ue/. See review. (ieiieral release.
The Royal Tenenbaums ( 15) 00000 (Wes Anderson. (S. 2002) (iene Hackmari. Angelica lltistoii. (iw y'iieth Pallrow. 110 min. The Tenenbaums are no ordinary family. I)escended from a long line of
ov erachievers. these .\'ew York geniuses are now in stultify irig decline. The memory of the brilliance of the young 'l‘erienbaums has since been erased by two decades of betrayal. failure and domestic disaster. most of which is perceived by the family to be the fault of absent father. Royal (Hackman). Then. at the very moment his three grow ti- up children have. for various reasons. till moved back into the rambling home of their mother. Royal decides he wants his family. Willi 'lenenlmiunv. Anderson (Rushmore) has surpassed himself with an enchanting. odd tale of an aw kw ard family and its member's impossible magnetic attraction to each other. Selected release.
The Scorpion King ( )2) (Chuck Russell. LS. 2002) Dwayne Johnson. Kelly lltr. Michael Clarke Duncan. This prequel to and spin-off from The Mummy Returns. is a much less star-studded affair than the lridiaria Jones-style adventure. The Scorpion King remains firmly in ancient ligypt where the evil ruler of the notorious city of (ioiiiorrah is busying himself laying waste to the various nomadic tribes of the surrounding desert. ()n the verge of extinction. the few remaining tribes pool their resources and hire an assassin. Mathayus (Johnson aka The Rock). to infiltrate the enemy camp and kill a sorcerer whose v isions give the (ioriiorrali‘s ruler the upper hand. (ieneral release.
See Spot Run (PG) 000 (John Whitesell. LS. 2001) David Arquette. Michael Clark Duncan. Patil Sorvino. 9() min. This shaggy -isli dog story is about Agent 1 l. the l-‘Bl's greatest sniffer dog . . . who is wanted by the Mafia after taking a bite out of the boss‘ balls during an arrest. Running alongside this story is that of hapless mailman (iordon (Arquette) who is in love with his beautiful neighbour Stepli and w ill do anything to impress her and her son James. Things start to get all too predictable when (lordon ends tip looking after James for several days and the two become the owners of a stray dog who. surprise. surprise. is Agent 1 l.just escaped from ati attempted Malia assassination. Cineworld. lialkirk.
Serendipity ( 13) 0.. (Peter Clielsom. LS. 2001 ) John (‘usack. Kate Beckinsale. Molly Shannon. 90 min. When Jonathan Trager (Cusack) and Sara Thomas (Beckinsale) collide while looking for the perfect pair of gloves for their respective other halves. love is well and truly in the air. But the rules of the rom-com dictate that fate should also keep them apart. And so Jonathan and Sara‘s love is frustrated until. when both are on the verge of marrying other people. their seeds of doubt finally flower into all-out. wide-eyed adoration. A few fine moments of comedy and decent Performances lift it otit of riiediocrity and make this a pleasant piece of seasonal fare. l'Cl. liast Kilhride.
SeTen ( 18) 000. (David f-‘ineher. l'S. I995) Brad Pitt. Morgan Freeman. (iwyneth Pallrow. 127 min. The outline is familiar two cops track down a serial killer - but Seven is a step ahead of its rivals. From its opening title sequence onwards. it's an extremely dark movie which winds through the most twisted recesses of human nature. liach death is a graphic interpretation of one of the seven deadly sins. giving Alien .i’ director l’incher the material for an intense stylistic exercise in horror. l'Cl. Clydebank. Showtime ( I2) 0.. (Tom I)ey'. t'S. 2002) Robert De .\'iro. liddie Murphy. Rene Russo. 95 mins. De .\'iro‘s foray into comedy continues apace with this buddy cop movie that sees his veteran LAPD detective teaming up with Murphy's rookie cop and wannabe actor. When Murphy‘s desire for media attention gets in the way of a bust. De Niro angrily shoots a TV camera and the department insists that. in order to make amends. the pair become partners on a reality cop show. Showtime works thanks to the performances and a healthy quota of decent gags. De Niro may be coasting. btit he gives a reliably solid performance as essentially the straight man to Murphy's
More Dogme filmmaking, but in a lighter vein with the comedy Italian For Beginners
frequently hilarious preening. fame- obsessed fool. See review. Selected release. Shrek ( l’) 0.... (Andrew Adamson. Vicky Jerison. l'S. 200] ) Voices of Mike Myers. Cameron Diaz. Iiddie Murphy. 90 tiiiti. .S'lirelt' will have Walt Disney turning in his cryogenic free/e tank. This truly subversive animated film takes pot shots at fairytale mythology. while singling otit l'iicle Wall's beloved Snow White. Cinderella. I’innee/iiu. et al. l'nder the guise of a quest to rescue a princess from a dragon undertaken by the eponymous green ogre (which kids will love). .S'lrrek also ruthlessly pillages corporate Disney. satirising its tlieriie parks and executives. And who‘s behind all this'.’ Producer Jeffrey Kat/.eriberg of Disney rival studio DreamWorks. also formerly head of. yep. Disney. ()deon City Centre. (ilasgow; ()deon. Dunfermline. Siamo uomini o caporali (PU) (Camillo Yylastrocinque. Italy. 1955) Toto. 9-1 min. In this satire of men against machines. Italy's answer to Chaplin arid Keaton ends tip in an asylum for assaulting a producer who has refused him a film part. He explains his theory on life to the shrink that the world is split between corporals and citizens. (iood old-fashioned slapstick. PlililhtnlsC. lidiriburgli.
Spy Kids (t') .000 (Robert Rodriguez. LS. 2001 ) Antonio Banderas. Alan Cumming. Carla (iugino. 87 min. Like any young children. Carmen and Juli Cortel. harbour hopes of madcap adventure. btit unlike most children their apparently normal parents are top international super-spies. When they‘re kidnapped as part of a dastardly plot to destroy the world. cooked up by kooky mastermind liegati Hoop (Ctiriiriiirig). it falls to the children to save the world. Rife with fantasy. special-effects wizardry arid high-octane thrills. Spy Kids is particularly enjoyable because it's the children and not the adults that ultimately save the day. ()deon. iidiriburgh.
Star Wars (PG) 0.... ((iorge Lucas. CS. 1977) Mark Hamill. Carrie Fisher. Harrison l-‘ord. Alec (iuinness. l2l min. A long titiie ago in a galaxy far away. a band of young heroes fight to rescue a princess and save her planet frorii destruction.
Hugely influential and successful space epic: a modern fairytale with laser swords. l‘ilriihouse. Edinburgh.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (l') 000
(George Lucas. l'S. I999) liwaii Mc(iregor. Liam .\'eeson. Natalie Portman. I32 min. ()n the surface. the plot structure isn't a million light years away from the original Slur Hints. ln vistial terms. The Phantom Menace
stands alone iii the cinematic universe. At