KEVNS'ICEY £FF m
hOSprtal with the usual rob lot of colorful eccentrics thrown in. all of whom. rather annOyingly, appear to have seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest once too often.
To its credit. K—PAX aVOldS an ending that IDVIIOS tears and Instead Supplies one that encourages Speculation. But there's nothing new here — rust the waste of a decent cast. iFrlthour VHS and DVD rentali iAnna Millarj.
MUSic BIOPIC 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE
(15) 117min «u
9U R I ’w "Y‘Ll w “00' ‘ tan" ‘ '1', a - we
Factory Records was no a normal rec0rd label. but the film of its rise and :ts tragically c mic demise isnt the o'shevelled rudder of extreme highs and lows One might expect. Director Michael Winterbottom spares no- one's blushes: Steve Coogan excels as label impresario Tony WiISOn who :8 iby hrs own admrSSroni a twat: Joy DIVISlOD are awkward geeks spoiling for a fight: and the Happy Mondays are rust plain mental. Wrntt—zrbottom deftly captures the norse and confusion of clubs. gigs and friends buzzing off of a good idea and makes you want to dig out all those brilliant records while cementing Wilson arid Factory's legend as one of wayward. often deluded genius. Inspired. iPathe VHS and DVD rental. ‘Mark Robertsoni
WAR BLACK HAWK DOWN (15) 148mm 0..
Ridley Scott tackles the events of 1993 and the civil war in Somalia. A small contingent of American soldiers went into the capital of Mogadishu to extract a number of prisoners. What was supposed to be a quick in- and-out mission descended into one of the bloodiest conflicts of recent military history. Nineteen American’s died and over 1000 Somalis were killed. The US forces in effect ended up under siege from the entire city in
a bloody, brutal and unruly engagement.
As always Scott handles the action with considerable skill, spectacular frenetic battle scenes filmed in the hyper-real style as popularised by the likes of Saving Private Ryan. Seeing that approximately two hours of the film’s running time is taken up with these scenes you spend most of the film gasping for breath. It’s a Zulu for the modern age, complete with
stunningly realised CGI shots.
However, the cast is so large (taking in names like Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana and Ewen Bremner) that it’s hard to remember who’s who and character development is minimal. With a body count numbering in the thousands you become desensitised to the horror and brutality of war and it soon comes to resemble a brash video game. Shamelesst patriotic and unapologetic in its jingoism, the offhand way that Somalis are mown down (whereas every American death is treated as a tragedy of the highest order) is disturbing. Ultimately, Black hawk Down is a disconcerting, but admittedly exhilarating, celebration of what in reality was a glorious cock-up of epic proportions. (Henry Northmore)
I Available on DVD retail through Columbia iristar from it/i'on lti Se; .
ALSO RELEASED The Ealing DVD Collection l’our must- own comedy classics: The Lady/killers. Kind Hearts and (,‘oro/iets. UK) Man in the ll'i/hite Sort and H10 lavender ll/l/ lt/lol). lWarner DVD retail)
The Deep End lrlda
Svrrnton stars in this smart remake of the 19/19 film rioii lhe Reckless Moment. il ox VHS and DVD retaili lmposter Sci fi thriller
Minority Report “.viitei‘ Philip K Dick. lMetrodonre VHS and DVD rental‘r
adapted from a story by
The Royal Tenenbaums Driliant, (3(I(Z(,‘l‘.i"l(i comedy about fainz'i. dysfunctioi‘ ‘rom \‘y’es Hush/hole Anderson. Duena Vista Vl l8 "enta. The Warrior /'\.'.’t‘i.'tl '.'.-i‘_iiii‘g adyei‘tuie about
£1." illtl'élfl ‘.'.'{l"r(‘.' f1.
similaal .oa"‘ei. to l)t;,t(,(:_
V(I| l :iinl oli' Vi 1E5 'etar'
tv@list.co.uk
COMEDY
CELEB
BBC1, Fri 6 Sep, 9pm .0
Private Fi'e. that satirical bastion of the centre left. is responsible for this disgrace of a comedy. \r'ilell they are and theyre not. Celeb is a three or four frame con‘ic strip that appears in the n‘aga/rne every week li‘()(:klll§] the excess and shallowness of the celebrity iifestyle. It may be light and vaguely aiiiiisrng but it's no excuse for Harry anield to don a Jagger Wig. call ltiii‘self Gary Bloke and ponce around a n‘anor nouse for half and hour poiiting the shakiest sitcon‘ lines since the truly dreadful l/l Fae lily.
Amanda Holden and Leo Bill as his young \.'.’ll(} and pothead son struggle to get a look !ll as l nfield goes off on one ‘.'."lill his grand grotesgiies of sex. drugs and rocke'rcll.
There are a for: laLigns here hos/ever. 'i‘ainly (l0l'l‘.'€(l iro'r Blokes Jeex'esrsh relatonshrp with hs butler. And when Michael Jo ckson coif‘es to stay in episode two. things take a turn for the almost amusmg. iPaul Dalei
Enfield is beyond a Bloke
Hemphill and Kiernan are still milking it
COMEDY STILL GAME BBC1, Fri 6 Sep, 9.30pm 000
Of all the characters in Chem/2' the lat. the oid gee/ers. Jack and Victor. ii‘ighl sound like the least deserving of a Spil‘ off series of their o‘.'.'n. But lord Kiernan and Greg Heinphill hate been guietly (l(}‘.'(?l()l)llltl this geriatric double act fron‘ as long ago as lfilfii' when they produced Still Carrie as a one hour l- dinburgh l ringe shox'r.
they clearly have much affection for these old b >ys. And ‘.'.’llll good reason. A hiin‘anity if; brought to these characters that is rare in comedy. avoiding con‘pletely the temptation to make gags at the expense of the e:derl§.z
the ‘ii'st riistalii‘ent :l‘ this six part lV \c-r'sion .5; ar‘ (?E3l£ll)'lf;liil‘.(_l episode in ".‘.’lll(2ll one pi'eoar'es to mono ll‘ next door to the other ()l‘ tl‘err depressing Glasgon'.‘ 8(Ill(}l“(}. If .t doesn't match tne rat and pathos o‘ the stage show. it has moments of DCllT. and points to c senes that's gomg to build With tin‘e. iMark Fisher.
‘wfrn' "
'r:s~ni .‘ .‘ THE LIST 109