Lift to the Scaffold d’t it .00. tl.ouix .\la|lc. lirancc. 1057i Jeanne .\loreatt. Maurice Ronct. (ieorgcx l’oujoul}. 00min. ('onxidcrcd quite a gripping thriller in itx da}. .\lalle'x lirxt dramatic l'eaturc hingex on a perl'cct crime ol' murder that

doex not go according to plan. The cool noir

L‘lc‘mc‘ttlx at'c‘ xlill cllt‘c‘llu‘. lltL‘ .\lllC\ l);t\ ix xcore xtill xetx a decadent tone. and .\lorcau ix xtill glo\\ing on xcreen. lidtnburgh i-ilm (iuild. lidinburgh.

Like Mike tl’(it O tJohn Schultx. l‘S. 2002i l.il Bo“ \Voxx. .\lorrix ('hextnul. ('rixpin (ilo\ er. l00min. A hall-hearted baxketball ('indcrella. A pair of \teathercd xncakct‘x bcaring the iconic baxkctball legend‘x initialx. ‘.\lJ' lead the little orphan ('aliin to feign xkillx on the court at a Knightx baxketball gatiie. Recruited l'or tlte xtrtiggling .\'BA teaitt. ('al\ in leadx the team to xtlc‘c‘cxx. Acting xktllx ltcl't‘ ttt'c‘ quextionable and depth ol character litnited. l‘niinaginatne dialogtie tallx t'oul “illilll the predictable. L‘lit‘c‘x} plttl. \Vttl'xc. lltc‘ baxketball xequcncex arc l‘oi‘mulaic. \xhilc canieo appearancex of .\'BA xtarx and a l'aii'}ta|e ending do not imprcxx. Sec i'e\ ie\\. (icncral l’t‘lcztxc‘.

Lilo & Stitch 11‘) .0. il)ean l)ebloix and (Mix Sandei‘x. l'S. 2002i Voiccx ol l)a\ cigh (‘haxe. ('hrix Sandcrx. ’l'ia (‘arrcre 85min. 'l‘hix ix all abotit being bad. lt'x a l)ixne} cartoon that pitx a \\ ill'ul toddler. l.ilo (pronounced lee-lo“ i. agaian a geneticall} engineered xpacc creature iStitchi programmed for ma\imum mixchiel'. 'l‘hux the man kiin route bclm ed ol [)ixne} animatorx ix u ell and trul) blocked. ()K. xo it‘x a minor moxie it doexn't ha\ e the budget or \ ixion of a .llmtilt'rx. Inc. and iuxt becauxe it'x got \\ttlL‘l'-c‘t)l0tlt’ backdropx doexn't itiake it Hunt/m btit \xhat it docx. it doex \tith l'rexhnexx and imenthenexx. not to mention gagx lor tlte groun-upx. (ieneral releaxe. Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner ( 12A» oooo lion} Ric‘ltttl‘dxttti. ['K. l‘)()2i Michael RL'tlgl';t\ L'. 'l‘om (‘ourtenay Alec .\lc('o\\en. l l-lmin. Adapted It) Alan Sillitoe lrotn hix tt\\ll xtot'}. thix ix a line e\amp|e ol ()(l\ Britixh cinema in the xocial realixt \ein. (‘ourtena} L‘\ccl\ ax the t‘c‘lk‘lliottx )tilllli “ll” ix xL‘ttd ;t bo_\ x rel'orm xchool alter robbing a baker) and pttxhex himxell to turn hix lite around. l‘ilmhouxe. lidinburgh.

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring il’( it 0.... (Peter Jackxon. .\'e\\ [caland/l'S. 200| l Ian \lL‘KL‘llL‘n. lilijttlt \Vood. l.i\ l} lL'l'. ('atc Blanchett. Viggo .\lortenxen. 17Smin. At loitg laxt. a xuord and xorcer} ad\enture that reall} de|i\erx the goodx. J.R.R. 'l‘olkien‘x great achic\emcnt “ax to create an linglixh lll}llittl0:_"\. located in a lantaxtical )c‘l lit‘licuililc \Htt'ld. Jtickxon'x great achie\ement ix to bring the author\ 1000 page tome to me. not merel} realixing the lantaxtic elementx \\ ith xpccial ell'cctx xpcctaclc tlhough the} are ten xpectaculart. but through xtor}telling flare and

man clloux perl'ormancex li'om hix caxt. Vixccral and breathtakingl} drantatic. ‘I‘lic' l’t’lll’ll \lii/i of [he Ring ix an inxpired labour ol lo\ e and a tnontnnental achic\cntcnt. Selected relcaxe.

0 The Lord of the Rings: The No Towers 1 12A» tl’ctct‘ Jtic‘kxoti. l'S/Neu /.ealand. 2002i liliiah \Vood. Viggo .\lortenxen. l.i\ 'l'_\‘ler. l7‘)min. ’l‘he xccond three hour inxtalment ol Jackxon'x mammoth adaptation oi JRR 'l'olkeiii'x epic \“ttl'tl arid xorcct‘} lantax} ad\cntttrc imprexxex on a larger xcalc. btit ix darker in tone than the lirxt lilm. 'l'hc l‘ellou xltip ol' the Ring haxe xcparated. mm. on dil‘l'erent iiiixxioiix to mercome the H il t'oi‘cex ol Sauron and ultimatel} dextro} the ring. 'l'txo lull) computer anitnatcd charactcrx. (iollttttt. and 'l‘reebeard. are being hailed ax xomething ol an intimation in ('(il technolog}. \\lillL‘ the digitall} generated |0.000 xtrong inhuman arm} ix. like. “on? See prc\ ietx. (ieneral releaxe.

Meet Me in St Louis dd 00.0 (Vincente Minnelli. l'S. I‘M-1t Jud) (iarland. Margaret O'Brien. .\lar} Axtor. llhtiiti. Releaxed during wartime. thix inuxical \\ ax an optimixtic attempt to

emphaxixc lamil} \alttex. btit Minnelli nc\ er \\ttllti\\x in noxtalgia. lnxtead he combatx it “uh xpark} and xark} laiiiil) d}naitiicx. Set in 1003. the put-upon lather \\antx to llltt\ c hix hand} from St l.ouix to .\'c\\ York btit lacex rcxixtance l'rom hix gaggle ol‘ girlx

u ho ha\ e romancex to get on \\ ith. and the laxt-approachtng \Vorld l'air to enjo}. l’crliect caxting and pci'l'iirmancex. along with xongx likc ‘lla\ c Yourxcll A .\lerr} l.ittlc (‘hrixtmax' add to tlte \xarm glou. l‘lil (’inema. i‘alkirk.

Moral Tales l IS» i\'arioux. (‘Icchoxlmakia 10-73 2002i 85mm. (’/cch animated xhort lilmx. dating back to the earl)‘ l‘)70x. (il’l‘. (ilaxgott.

Morvern Callari lSi 0.... ll._\ nnc Ramxa). l'K/Canada. 2002i Samantha .\lorton. Kathleen .\lcl)ermott. 07min. Small toun hedonixt and cltcck~out girl .\lor\ crn ('allar t.\lortoni auakex one morning to lind her bo_\ lriend hax comntitted xutcide. \Vhen xhe lindx the linixhed manuxcript of her bo_\ l'riend‘x tto\ cl xhe piitx her natne on it. xellx it to a publixher aitd goex on holida) \\ ith her bcxt triend Lanna t.\lcl)ct‘tttoll t. lnitiall}. the \acation ix little more than a jaunt to lbi/a. btit (‘allar xoon lindx her e\pectationx ot me change e\en ax her I'riend remainx dc\ottt to her xhithccl me it] a dead cttd ttmtt. Ramxc}. co-xcrccnuriter l.iana l)ognini and Morton lia\e done a remarkable job ol tranxpoxing thix quirk). dtxtant character and her a“ kuard xtrange ioui'nc) to the xcreen. In an age ot xaccharine and xpice and all thingx predictable thix ix xurprixingl}. bra\ e cerebral lilmmaking. Selected rcleaxe.

Mr Deeds t I2Ai O. (Ste\en Brill. l‘S. 2002) Adam Sandler. \\'inona R}dcr. John 'l‘urturro. ‘ltimin. Sandler gctx to beat the crap ottt ol a lot ol' people in tltix cartoon coined) remake ol l’rank (‘tlttt'a'x .UI' l)('('(/.\ (imw In limit. Ul'igltlttll} it guide and xUlltL‘\\ hat xentimental )ttl'ti about a xmall-totxn poet \\ ho inhcrilx a not t'orttine and Hum Ne“ York on i'x heelx \\ itlt litx do“ n-homc countr} \alucx. llith the xubtlet} that xcr\ ed (‘apra xo \\ ell ix gonc then. replaced it ith tlte American exet‘}i11;iii'x lic';i\}-lt;iiitlc-tl heroixm in thix t'etxorking ol a reuork‘ing ol the l)a\ id and (ioliatlt narrati\c. Againxt all the oddx. the common titan triumphx ox er corporate greed. iii the procexx \\ ringing a ten laughx l'rom the neckx ol xtibxcriberx to the Dumb and Dumber xchool ol' xlapxtick. Selected rclcaxe.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding «Pm 0.. (Joel thick. l'S. 2002i \ia Vardalox. John (‘orbeL (ii (‘aridex. Wimin. (icclx‘) (it‘cck-Atncrican loula (Vardaloxi ix ne\ cr going to get a man. A Item} girl \\ itlt huge glaxxex. xlic ix dextined to “ink aua} her xpinxter lite in tire lami|_\ 'x rextaurant. ‘Dancing [orba'x'. llcr lantil} are read) to dexpair all the} \\;lltl ix for her to lind a nice (ircck ho} xo xhc cart cook lotx ol l'ood arid pop otit more little /.oi'bax. 'l‘hcn xhc lindx a gu}. laii t('orbeti. But hc'x not (ireekfl Oh no. \xhat are the} going to do'.’7

'l‘hc lilm‘x iokcx and itx e\ploration ol croxx-culture ix \aguel} in tlte xame \ein ax I'fml ix [aim] or Hun/1'! like link/mm. biit

\\ ithoul an) ol' the hard edge. S} rtip} meet in partx. momentx are ax hard to x\\;tllti\\ ax ti xltul til. ( )tI/(t. Selected t‘c‘lL‘ttxc.

My Little Eye l [Si 0... (Marc li\anx. l'K/l‘S. 2002) Sean ('\\ Johnxon. Krix l.emeche. Laura Regan. 051nm. 'I‘he ximple premixc. \xhich rillx on TV xhou x xtlclt ax Ill"; HI'HI/lt'l'. xccx the

t\\ ent} xomcthingx attctnpting to xta} l'or xi\ monthx in an ixolated houxc ax part ol a \\cb~baxcd realit} xltim. the caxh pri/e l'or “lilL’ll ix \l million. The unxccn hoxtx do their l‘k‘Sl l0 xcat'c the contcxtantx titlt til the houxc and the pri/e mone}. btit thingx going butnp in the night tailx to la/e the obno\ioux kidx . until. that ix. the) lind otit \xh} the} 're rcall} there. The action ix prexented \ ia xp_\ camx dotted all in er the houxe. ax though \\ e \\ ere the \xcb xlto\\ ‘x audience. and tlte building xenxe ol ixolalion. malign obxcr\ation and paranoia makex l'or chilling \ text ing. l-‘l’ll ('inenia. i-alkirk.

North By Northwestit’m .0000 (Allied llitcltcock. l'S. WSW ('al') (irant. li\c .\larie Saint. .lamcx .\laxon. .\lartin Landau. l.i(imin. ()iiintexxential Hitchcock coined} -actioner \\ ith (iranl perl'ect ax the eter}da_\ adntatt pitclted into a li‘eeulieeling expionage ad\enturc. it here ttohod} belie\ex hix innocence btit he lindx xell- north and romance alotig the \\a_\. (‘laxxtc xcquenccx abound. including tlte crop- duxting routine and tlte .\lount Rttthorc clima\. Brilliant entertainment. l-ilmhouxe. iidinburgh.

Ocean’s Eleven l lSi oooo «Sit-ten Sittlct'lici'glt. l-S. 2(llll i (icorgc (ilttttlic‘y Brad Pitt. Julia Robertx. lltmtin. ()l'l~ the cult ix the operati\e lcrm tor Stc\ en Sodcrbcrgh'x rcmakc ol‘ the l.ax \cgax caxino hcixt thriller that l'i‘ankic and l)ino and their Rat Pack had xo tnuch l'tm making back in Not). But \\ here the Rat Pack raxcalx tixed tltc original lilm ax an excuxc to run riot in their adopted ltome cit} Soderbcrgh. xcrccim riter 'l'ed (irillin and art all-xtar caxt ha\ e \xorkcd to produce a tightl} -xcripted xt_\ lixlt ltto\ ic. ()nc.

ho“ e\ er. \xhich remainx at all timex xeltl conxciottxl) tlirotxaua} l'un. Not quite ax cool ax the original. btit a better lilin. (‘ameo. lidinburgh.

One Hour Photo l IN .00 l.\l;ll'l\ Romanek. l‘S. 2002i Robiii \Villiamx. ('onnic \iclxcn. liriq La Salle. 05min. S} l’arrixh. a lonel} photo tccltniciatt \\ ho lindx to} in tlte precioux momentx ol' other people'x In ex. moxt nolabl} a picture- perlcct lamil) \xho'tc \ ixited the Satinart mini-lab \\ here S} \xorkx xincc the birth ol' their nine-‘_\ear-o|d xon. llix t)\\ll lil'e de\oid ol colour and humantt}. ax reprcxcntcd b) hix “orking em ironment the great \xhite church ol conxumerixm S} triex to take hix place in the Name ol' tlte ideal lamil). \Vltc‘lt ltL‘ liltdx the picture [it lic‘ lt'xx llttttt perl'ect. S} takex matterx into hix oun conxidcrabl} [tx}c‘ltt\llc‘ handx. 'l'hc caxting

index Film

ol' Robin \Villiamx ix inxpired Iikeable bccauxc hc‘x good old .\ll'x l)0tllillit'c and tend} in; hit the xame reaxon. ('oncernx that pop promo director Romanek hax made a lilttt tlttit ix xl_\ lL‘ 0\ Ct \ttlixlztttc‘c ix tttil x0 clear cut. lio\\e\ er. .\lacRobert. Stirling. The Philadelphia Story tl’( h 0.... t(ieorge ('ukor. ['S. l‘)-l0) Katharine Hepburn. ('ar} (irant. Jamex Stexxart. l l2min. Splendidl} xophixticated lloll) \tood coined} \\ tllt Ste“ art ax ti xcandalxhcet reporter co\ cring tlte xociet} \tedding ol recentl} di\orced Hepburn. ex- hubb} (irant lurking in the \\tttgx. and rontancc rccurdling dcxpite itxell‘. Sparkling dialogue and charixmalic pet't'ormancex all round make thix one ol‘ the bext ol' itx kind. Remade ax the muxical. lite/i Snitch; lidinbttrgh l‘ilm (iuild. lidinburgh. Possession t 12A) oo i.\‘eil l.aBtitc. IS. 2002) (i\\}llL‘lli l’altrou. Aaron lickhart. Jerem} .\'ortham. Jennifer lihle. l02min. Adapted l'rom AS B}att‘x Booker l’ri/e-u inning nmel. I’U\\(’.\.\lt’ll takex place in txxo time lramex. ln prcxent-da} London. lt)\\l} unnerxit) rexearcher Roland .\lichell tlickhartt and brilliant l'eminixt don .\laud Baile} ti’altrou i are llil't)\\li together b} the dixco\ er} iii a cache oi letterx that xuggcxt that tuo Victorian poetx Randolph Henry Axh t.\'orthami and (’hrixtabel l.a.\lotte ll'illlL‘l \\ ere \L‘L't‘t‘l ltn erx. But ax lllL' academicx purxue a xeriex ol' cltiex. their

on n experiencex begin to echo the 19th- ccntut'} lo\ L‘i'\. While l.aBute can't hope to replicate the pleaxurex ot' the page. he doex bear out Bytll'x xl_\ [ltc‘xlx tltat ltc‘t' Victorian couple are lexx hung-up about low arid xex than their angxt-ridden modern counterpartx. .\lacRobert. Stirling.

The Powerpuff Girls «Pm t('raig .\lL‘(.l'ilL'l\Cll. [3. 2002) \tilCLN ()l' (HIllt) ('a\adini. Tara Strong. lili/abcth [)ail}; 73min. Baxed on the animated American TV xeriex. bttt looking much like a Japanexe animc. ‘I’ltt’ Potter/mil (iirlx .llot‘it' proVidex ux \\ ith the origin ol xupergirlx Bloxxoin. Bubblex and Buttercup. ('reated b} l’rol'exxor l‘tonium alter he accidentall} mixex the \xrong chemical compoundx. lltcxt‘ c‘tlllcx L‘Utlt‘xc hatoc tl‘. 'l‘oxxnxVille “hen the) pla} a game ol' xuper tag. (‘arlton. Stirling.

Quadrophenia ( Is) 000 it-‘rank Ruddttttt. l.i\: l‘n‘)! l’litl I)anielx. l,L‘xltL‘ Axh. l’hilip l)a\ix. Stiitg. l20min. .\lodx attd rockerx li\e it tip on Brighton beach b} xxtapping bucketx atid xpadex tor chainx and xtickx. l.i\el) lirxt hall hax enough energy. muxic. \ iolcncc and period llaxour to carry it along. bttt all too xoott it degenerach iitto xome xort ol' treatixe on the tttot‘alil} ol' )outh. xct to tunex b_\' The Who. l'(’l. liaxt lx'ilbride.

The Quiet American (1958) (Put iJoxeph l. .\lankie\\ic/. l'S. IQSX) Atidie Murphy .\lichael Redgra\e. ('laude l)auphin. (iiorgia .\lo|l. Bruce (‘abot. Richard l.oo. l20min. The 1058 adaptation ol ( iraham (ireene'x tto\ el t\\hich he hated) e\cixing the book'x critical comment on America'x earl} imolxement in Vietnam. l‘iltnliouxe. iidinburgh.

FTH

Wed 78th Dec The Importance of Being Earnest (U) 7] for 7 7.30am cuppa/81 7 '30pm

Thu/s 79th Dec

My Little Eye (18) 7:30pm fv’iO/i 0“ Meet Me In St Louis (PG)

I 7 for 7 7:30am (cuppa! The Grinch (PG)

.'.‘.‘" mares fo' are "are c.‘ Petr/K; 3009/77

Tickets and further information from The Steeple Box office

(Tel: 01324 506850)

or on the day from the hall

:03 THE LIST 43

3." [Mi L‘Cuix‘ .’ .i'att