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Film index
Rashomon ( 12) 00000 (Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1951 ) Toshio Mifune. Maehiko Kyo. Masay'uki Mori. 88 min. Responsible for introducing Japanese cinema to the world market. this extraordinary film recounts four people's versions of a violent incident involving a nobletnan and a bandit. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
Recess: School’s Out (L') .00
(Chuck Sheetz. CS. 2001 ) Voices of Jatnes Woods. Dabney Coleman. Dan Castellaneta. 82 min. Disney plunders its own small screen programming for this feature length version of its cartoon series. Recess concerns the adventures of a gang of pre-adolescent kids. whose roll call includes a natural leader. brainy nerd. cute girl. tomboy and. erm. a little boy who sings like a man. For the big screen school outing. the gang put their mischievous ways to good use when an evil cx-principal of their school. Mr Benedict (.Arnold would that be?) hatches a scheme to end summer vacations by causing permanent winter. Carlton. Stirling.
The Red Squirrel ( 18) 0000 (Julio Medem. Spain. 1993) .\'ancho .\'ovo. Emma Suarez. 1 1-1 min. .\'arrower in scope than the director's debut. “was. The Red Squirrel has elements in common with the hysterical sex farces dominant in Spanish filmmaking. but is itself a complex melodrama about deceit. betrayal and love. shot through with angled symbolism. A clever blend of psychodrama and thriller. Cameo. Edinburgh.
Return To Never Land (L') 00
(Robin Budd <3; Donovan Cook. CS. 2002) Voices of Harriet ()w'en. Blayne Weaver. Corey Burton. min the. Wendy has grown up and now has two children of her own. The oldest. Jane. having witnessed the devastation caUsed by the blitzkrieg conditions of World War 11. no longer believes in 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 magic — unfortunately the viewer doesn't. Everything about the film is dated. from plotting to animation. General release.
0 Road Kill (151.... (John Dahl. LS. 2002) Paul Walker. Steve Zahn. Leelee Sobieski. 96 min. Ah joy. a movie with no artistic pretensions nor inflated budgetary requirements to screw up a w icked idea. here executed with smart script. performances and direction. Pretty college boy Lewis (Walker) is driving from Colorado to New Jersey with his girl Venna (Sobieski) and wayward broth- er Fuller (Zahn). After Lewis makes like a girl on the CB and chats up a truck driver. they attract the attention of a homicidal mani- ac with sixteen big ole' wheels. What follows is taut. tense driving sUspense. which owes much to Steven Spielberg's early television movie Duel. General release.
The Royal Tenenbaums ( 15) 00000 (Wes Anderson. 2002) Gene Hackman. Angelica Huston. Gwyneth Paltrow. l 10 min. The Tenenbaums are no ordinary family. Descended from a long line of overachievers. these New York geniuses are now in stultifying decline. The memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums 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 (llackman). Then. at the very moment his three grow n-up children have. for various reasons. all moved back into the rambling home of their mother. Royal decides he wants his family. With ’li'nenhumns. Anderson (Rushmore) has surpassed himself with an enchanting. odd tale of an awkward family and its members impossible magnetic attraction to each other. Selected release.
The Scorpion King ( 12) .00
(Chuck RUssell. LS. 2002) Dwayne Johnson. Kelly llu. Michael Clarke Duncan. min tbc. This prequel to and spin-off from The Mummy Returns. is a much less star-studded affair than the Indiana Jones-style adventure. The Scorpion King remains firmly in ancient Egypt where the evil ruler of the notorious city of Gomorrah 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
40 THE LIST 9—23 May 2002
resources and hire an assassin. Mathay'us (Johnson aka The Rock). to infiltrate the enemy camp and kill a sorcerer whose visions give the Gomorrah's ruler the upper hand. General release.
Sex And Lucia ( l8) 0.. (Julio Medem. Spain. 2002) Tristan L'lloa. Paz Vega. 128 min. After the death of Lorenzo (L'lloa). his long-term girlfriend. Lucia (Vega) retreats to her ex-partner's favourite island to come to terms with her loss and unlock the secrets of a problematic past. The film then flits' effortlessly. if somewhat confusingly. through time to reveal their first meeting six years previously and their subsequent steamy sexual encounters. The eroticism of Medem’s fifth feature will undoubtedly make it his most controversial release. but the story telling. although never completely unengaging. is much weaker than in his outstanding cinematic debut. llu‘us. See review. GET. Glasgow; Cameo. Edinburgh. The Shipping News ( IS) 0000
(Lasse Hallstrom. LS. 2002) Kevin Spacey. Julianne Moore. Judi Bench. 1 17 min. Annie Proulx‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a depressed middle—aged father who takes his daughter off to his family's ancestral home in barren Newfoundland after the unfaithful wife (though love of his life) is killed in a car wreck. is an eccentric black comedy. but also a raw. melancholy yarn. What hope. then. for arch sentimentalist Hallstrom not leaving Proulx‘s masterpiece floundering? .‘s'one it would seem. yet against the odds Hallstrom delivers a watertight piece of drama. directed and acted with beautiful restraint. particularly by Spacey who plays the depressed protagonist Quoyle. Vikingar Cinema. Largs. Showtime ( 12) 000 (Tom Dey. LS. 2002) Robert De .\'iro. Eddie Murphy. Rene RUsso. 95 min. De .\'iro‘s foray into comedy continues apace with this buddy cop movie that sees his veteran LAPl) detective teaming tip 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. Shmvrime works thanks to the performances and a healthy quota of decent gags. De .\'iro may be coasting. but he gives a reliably solid performance as essentially the straight man to Murphy's frequently hilarioUs precning. fame-obsessed fool. General release.
Slackers ( 15) O (Dewey Nicks. LS. 2002) Jason Schvvartzman. Devon Savva. Jason Segel. 86 min. This sloppily-made film has pretentions to be something altogether more original than yet another gross-out American college comedy. Schvvartzman plays Ethan. a variation on his precocious brat frotn Rushmore. who gets wind of three lazy student dudes' scam to hit their grades without lifting finger to keyboard. and blackmails the boys into setting him up with the coolest girl in college. The idea of three boys fooling a girl into sleeping with a guy she has no interest in is likely to offend some. But even those who refuse to be baited by such adolescent silliness aren't likely to find anything to laugh about here. See review. General release.
The Son’s Room (La stanza di flglio) (15) O... (.\'anni Moretti. ltaly. 2002) Nanni .Moretti. Laura Morante. Giuseppe Sanfelice. 99 min. A significant creative departure for ltalian actor-writer-director Nanni Moretti. the Paline l)'()r-w'inning The Sun 's Room makes for a fascinating portrayal of how an unexpected death fragments at previoUsly united middle-class family.
Moretti depicts the chilling practical details of
the funeral arrangements. and then shows how grief is both externalised and internalised by the bereaved. Aided by understated performances and an unobtrusive visual style. this is a film of deceptive simplicity. which engages directly with the spectator's emotions whilst avoiding tearful reconciliations. ()deon City Centre. Glasgow: Adam Smith. Kirkcaldy.
0 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (L') (George Lucas. 2002) Natalie l’ortman. Hayden Christensen. Ewan McGregor. 143 min. Ten years after The Phantom Menace and the Republic is still
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Oscar nominee Sean Penn in I Am Sam
bogged down in a mire of dissension while planets across the galaxy break away forming a huge separatist movement with an as yet unseen force at the head. Meanwhile. a rela- tionship blossoms between Padmé Amidala (Portman) and Anakin Sky-walker (Christensen). But Skyvvalkcr. now a skilled Jedi apprentice under the tutelage of Obi- Wan Kenobi (McGregor) is forbidden to love under Jedi rules. Meanwhile. ()bi-Wan leaves to uncover a plot to assassinate Padme. uncovering something much bigger and alto- gether more sinister. See feature and preview. General release.
Stella Screen In Production (tbc) (2002). Free event during which the First Film Foundation in conjunction with Stella Artois offer film lovers the chance to acquire
behind-the-scenes knowledge of a selection of
Britain's most popular films. Justin Kerrigan. director of Human Traffic and Leslee L'dwin. producer of [ins] Is [ins]. will be there to give insight into the British filmmaking indUstry and advice on how to break into it. GET. Glasgow.
Stray Dog ( 15) (Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 19-19) Toshiro Mifune. Takasha Shimura. Keiko Awaji. 122 min. Classic police thriller in which Kurosawa describes a storm brewing in the Tokyo underworld. Part of the Akira Kurisawa season. Filmhouse. Edinburgh. Stuart Little (L') 0.. (Rob Minkoff. CS. 2000) Michael J. Fox. Geena Davis. Hugh Laurie. 92 min. Live action with a computer generated talking mouse voiced by Michael J. Fox. Minkoff's adaptation of EB. White's classic childrens‘ book sees the sweet wee rodent orphan being adopted by affluent Manhattanites the Little family. Stuart's problems begin with a new nemesis. the mean-spirited. inappropriately-named family cat Snovvbell. The message of the film is clear — little guy discovers the meaning of family. loyalty and friendship - but of more interest to viewers both small and large will be the 'Iinn Aml .Irrrv-style antics. Grosvenor. Glasgow; Pavilion. (ialashiels.
Thomas And The Magic Railroad (L') O. (Britt Allcroft. L'K/L'S. 2000) Voices of Alec Baldwin. Peter Fonda.
Michael E. Rodgers. 79 min. This adaptation of the Reverend Wilbur Awdry books is aimed squarely at under tens. Whilst children will be lapping up the tale of Thomas The Tank Engine aiding The Conductor (Baldwin) against the evil Diesel train. accompanying guardians will be wondering what happened to Allcroft's classic series narrated by Ringo Starr. Surely it was never this juvenile? Cinevvorld. Falkirk.
Throne Of Blood (PG) 0000 (Akira Kurosawa. Japan. 1957)Toshiro Mifune. lsuzu Yamada. Minoru Chiaki. 1 10 min. lt‘s Shakespeare's Scottish play. Japanese-style. as samurai Mifune is spurred on by his wife and the spirits to murder his best friend and then his master. Although the barest plot and striking images remain from the original. Kurosawa's atmospheric settings in mist- shrouded forests give the film a brooding power. l‘ilinhouse. Edinburgh.
Toto Fabrizi e i giovani d’oggi (Tot, Fabrizi and Today’s Young Folk) (tbe) (Mario Mattoli. ltaly. 1960) Toto. Alo Fabrizi. Rina Morelli. 87 min. Based on a script written by Castellano and Pipolo designed to enable them to perform a series of thrilling sketches. Filmhouse. Edinburgh.
Toto, Peppino e la Maiafemmina (Toto, Peppino and the Hussy) (tbc) (Catnillo .\1astrocinque. ltaly. 1956) Toto. Peppino De Filippo, Vittoria Crispo. l 18 min. This is the first in a series of Toto and Peppino double-acts. Inspired by the song ‘Malafemmena’. penned by Toto himself. this surrealist comedy is regarded as something of a masterpiece. Filinlioiise. Edinburgh. Tototruffa (Toto the conman) (tbc) (Catnillo Mastrocinquc. Italy. 1961 ) Toto, .\'ino Taranto. ()rneste Lionello. 107 min. Another screenplay penned by Castellano and Pipolo in the form of a farce. Contains high- comedy sketches. masquerades and a classical scene in which an ltalian-.~\tnerican immigrant is duped into buying the 'l'revi fountain in Rome. The Filmhouse. Edinburgh. 24 Hour Party People ( 18) 00000 (Michael Winterbottom. l'K. 2002) Steve Coogan. Paddy (‘onsidine Shirley
Henderson. 1 10 min. The whole crazy tale of