Film index
Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron it?) .0. (Kelly Ashury and l.orna Cook. l'S. 2002i Matt Damon. James Cromwell. Daniel Studi. 84min. Spirit is an animal fahle in which none of the non-human characters speak. We do. however. get inside the heart and head of the movie‘s eponymous equine hero thanks to narration by Matt Damon (conveying Spirit's thoughts) and songs by Bryan Adams (his feelings). Above all. Spirit. a wild mustang living in the Old West. yearns to run free - until a lasso lands him in the hands of the US cavalry. While some viewers will he roused hy Spirit's questioning of the US myth of Manifest Destiny. others will he stirred hy the quality of the animation. which seamlessly integrates traditional hand-drawn animation with computer-generated images. (‘ineworld. Falkirk.
Spy Kids 2 - The island of Lost Dreams (U) 0.. (Roberto Rodriguez. US. 2002) Alexa Vega. Daryl Sahara. Roherto Rodriguel. (‘arla (iugino. Min the. Taller and considerahly more tenacious. ('armcn and Juni (‘orte/ are feeling pretty damn confident after saving their super spy parents from peril in the first instalment of what will undoubtedly hecome a family adventure series. .\‘ow serving in an all new Spy} Kids suh- division of the ()SS organisation. the plucky prepuhescents are all set for their first solo mission to discover the lost island of l.iki Liki where they must locate and destroy a 'I‘ransmooker device capable of shutting down all electricity on earth. Although this sequel does riot. could iiol match the originality of Spy Kids. it's still great fun to watch. (ieneral release. Stanley Kubrick - A Lite in Pictures ti’(ii (Jan Harlan. l'K/l'S. 200i i l42min.Informative documentary about the great filmmaker made by Harlan (Kubrick‘s producer since 1975) two years after his death. i-‘ilnihouse. lidinhurgh.
Lifeboats
Strictly Ballroom fl’( ii 0... (Hal l.uhrmann. Australia. l‘Nl i Paul .\ler'curio. Tara Morice. Bill Hunter. 94min. Dancefioor hopeful Scott Hastings incurs the wrath of the .-\ustralian Dance l’ederation by rising his own steps in competition. loses his partner and his friends. but liiids love and artistic integrity with the local wallfiower. The ultimate feelgood movie. it is crammed with colour. glitter. music and spectacle. .\lacRohert. Stirling.
Stuart LNG 2 fl.) .. (Roh Minkoff. VS. 2002) Michael J. Fox. (ieena Davis. Hugh Laurie. 77min. 'l’he inev itahle money-spinning sequel to the unlikely yarn of a sriiall. white motise adopted hy a middle-class New York family. .-\ new playmate for Stuart arrives in the shape of a small canary. who falls into the passenger seat of his toy car as Stuart races through the city streets. Stuart invites his new friend hack to his house. hut an evil falcon is on his tail. It doesn't get any more twee than this. The voices work w ell enough and the (‘(il animation is good. if not adventurous. The prohleiii is that it‘s distinctly lacking in humour. for hoth kids and adults. (ieneral release.
Svankmajer Shorts (the cell) tlan Svankniaier. (‘lechoslovalkia l‘)h-l~«S'tS'i Retrospective of the work of the master animator pf the surreal. 74min. i‘ilmhouse. lidinhurgh.
Sweet Sixteen i no .000 (Ken l.oach. l‘K. 2002i .\fartin (‘ompstorr WilliamRuane. (iary .\lc('orrnack. Itionnn. ('heeky w est coast Scotland ned Liam i(‘ompstoni is awaiting his mother's release from prison. l’a‘s not around. so Liam. determined to give his riia a new home and a better life. hegins dealing drugs. l.oach's no frills working method sits well with screenwriter l’aul i.averty 's straightforward storytelling. which prioritises character development over fancy plotting. In his first screen role (ireenock local ('ompston evcels
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40 THE LIST 31 Oct—14 Nov 2002
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The One and Only - ‘Our Friends in the North’-lite
as the tough kid with a tender heart. and it‘s his performance which lifts the film. rmhuing it with both warmth and humour and countering the halance hetw ecn worthy polemic and highly watchahle drama. (ieiier‘al l't‘lt‘asc.
Talk to Her t |5i 0000i. tl’edro .\lmodovai'. Spaiii. 2002i Javier ('aniara. Dario ( irandrnetti. Rosario lilorcs. Leonor \Vatling. f 12mm. llcriigno i(‘amarai and Marco i( irandrriettii are in love with two women . hoth of wliotli are hospitalised ill comatose states. liemgno hecame a nurse so that he could care full time for his
helov ed once aspiring hallerma Alicia i\\'at|ing i. In the hospital room nest door .\lttl'cti \ tslls l.ytllti tl‘liif'csl. a lL‘llttilc hiillfighter who was hutchcred m the ring. (hit of these tragic circumstances a friendship forms hetw een the two men. Iii/A Io llt'I' is mature :\|modovar: Spain's most famous filmmaker on top form. descrihing complev characters and complicated emotional states in cvpert storytelling fashion. from the gorgeous photography. design and music to the script and remarkahlc performances. Iii/A io [It’l' is a flaw less film and a treat for cinema lovers. ('(‘.v\. (ilasgow; New l’ictiir'c House. St :\ndrew s.
Tape 1 15i 0.. iRichard l.mklater. l‘S. 2002i litlian llawke. l‘ma ‘l‘hurman. Rohert l.eonard. Stimiri .\ reunion of hiin school friends \‘ince rflaw kei and Johnny ilconardi turns sour when \‘incc accuses .lohniiy of raping his childhood sweetheart. The dialogue spices up when the girl in question. .-\my i'l'hurriiani. turns tip and destroys the picture of a rape that the guys have built up. lzach version of that nights events iristrfies the protagonist's personal standpoint. so it's drffictilt to know who to helieve. Set entirely ill a motel room and played out in real time. the theatrical roots of ltl/H‘. adapted from a Stephen Helher play. are accentuated hy l.mklater who opts to film in the style of the great (ierman auteur Rainer \\erner l‘asshinder f lflt’ li’tll'y o/ l’eim ion lv'tiiil. Ill particulari. l'(’|. lidnihurgh.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre t lxi O... i'l'ohe Hooper. l‘S. I‘F4i .\larrlyn Burns. (iunnar llansen. .v\l|en Dan/iger. S-lmin. .\ group of kids may cl to a hroken dim It house ill the lllftltllc Ul nowhere and meet cannihalrstrc degenerates who pick off the cast one by one. Perhaps the most I'L‘lclfllcss \llce till terror L‘H‘l' [illl till screen l'ilmliouse. lzdmhurgh.
They t l5! 0. tRohcr't llarniori. l'S. 2002i laura Regan. .\larc Blucas. lithan linihry. S‘lmin. I'lii'v has a marv ellotisly scary opening scene. involv ing a small ivoy w ho can‘t sleep hecanse he fears something wicked this way comes out of a thunderstorm. Hill as with so many llollywood chillers. the film fails to live up to its initial premise. Brendan liood‘s script never develops into a coherent plot the idea that childhood monsters in the closet are real and that they come hack to haunt the
more disttirhed kids once they are fully grown adults. Harmon. who made in his l‘LS’ti film I’lii' llilt'lii'r a thriller llitchcock might have heeii proud of. handles
indiv rdiral scenes w ell. hut a handful of handsome set pieces does not a wicked mov ie make. See review. (ieneral release. The Tree of Liberty tthc certi t'l'imothy Neat. l‘ls'. I‘)S'7i 73min. Award winning documentary exploring folk music and the poetry of Rohei't liiirns. l-iliiihouse. lidirihurgh.
2'3 28 Days Later r Isi 00.
«Danny Boyle. l‘ls'. 2002i ('illian .\lurphy. Naomie. I 13mm. The latest proiect from the filmmakers w ho hrought 'l'minv/mlliii'c' to the hig screen there collaborating w llll 'I’lu' Bi tic/i author :\le\ (iarland. opens w llll some rather careless animal rights activists who unvv ittingly unleash a ‘i'age v irirs' on the British populace. Twenty eight days later. cycle courier Jim t.\lurphy i wakes up from a coma to find the streets of l.oridoii eerily deserted. That is until the ‘infected‘ start chasing him. Shot entirely on digital video. this post apocalyptic chiller looks fantastic. But despite some genuinely
terrify irig scenes. the script lacks coherent dev elopriient and the dialogue ain't evactly Shakespeare. See prev rew and rev rew. (ieneral l'v‘lc‘the.
24 Hour Party People 1 Isi 0000-0 r.\lichael \Vinterhottom. l'ls'. 2002i Steve ('oogan. l’addy (‘oiisidine. Shirley Henderson. l 10mm. The whole cra/y tale of l‘aclory records. the llacieiida arid all things .\ladchester is retold by writer l'r'ank (’ottrell Boy ce who has done something quite eytraordinary turned 'l‘ony \Vilson's dysfunctional adventure from W20 to now into a post modern romp that never takes itself too seriously. Boy ce's regular collahorator. \Viiilerhottom. directs like a man possessed hy the conioined spirits of Jean l.uc (ititlttl'tl tilltl l,llltl\;t_\ Anderson. and is more than up to the task using a variety of scratchy. quirky. punky devices to tell tales lr'om .i cantankerous city. Douhle lop .\lacRohert. Stirling.
The Vagabond King «M i.\lrchael (‘ui'ti/. l'S. l‘fioi Kathryn (iray son. Rita Moreno. (’edric llardwicke. SSmrii. .\iiisicals set in HM. at which time l'l‘t‘llv‘ll nohles fearing King l.ouis X] may ser/e their lands. loin forces vvrtli the rehelhous Duke of Burgundy to overthrow the king. St Bride's ('entre. lidmhurgh. Victor/Victoria f Iii 00. (Blake lidwards. l'ls'. I‘lS2i Julie Andrews. James (iar'ner. Rohert l’reston. l.esley Arm \\arren. I i-lrnin. l’aris I‘HJ: linglish singer .'\lltll'k‘\\s is persuaded to rev iv e her flagging career by pretending to he male. The aplomh with w lircli she does so wins her puhlic acclaim. and the hemused admiration of ( iar'iier'. a hetei'osevual who can't understand what he finds so attractive about this 'man'. This is .i rela\ed. rather endearing musical comedy. with the .iridrogy notis Andrew s particularly effective. (il’l'. (ilasgow.