Film index
Scooby Doc 2: Monsters Unleashed (l’( it C. (Raia (iosncll. l'S_ 300-1) l't'cddtc Prin/c Jr. Sarah Michelle (icllar. Matthew l.il|ard. l.inda (‘ardclltnL Sctli (irccn. Pctcr Boy Ic. 92mm. The second live-action film spawned by the 1070s cartoon series is all atniablc enough. if ctnincntly forgettable romp. Where the first moy ic was pitched somcw here between tribute and send-up of the llanna-lkirbera show. the sequel play s things pretty straight. The gags are a mi\ of pop culture intcrtcstuality arid low-brow silliness: (icllar's Daphne m a tiod to her Buffy role shows off ltcr martial arts chops. w hilc Shaggy attd Scooby rcpcat the first movie's fart iokcs. Younger \ tcw crs w Ill be amIIscd and grown-ups w Ill find the c\pcricncc relatively painless. (fl’llt’l'tl/ H’lt'tlH'. Secondhand Lions (PG) 00 (I‘m: Mc(‘anltcs. IS. 3003) Mtcliacl ('ainc. Robert l)u\a|l. llalcy Joel ()sment. Kyra Sedgwick. \tcky Katt. l0Smin. Anacmic rites of passage drama with “mall and (‘aitic hamming it tip as a couple of eccentric hillbilly uncles froin 'l‘csas who take in Ihcir shy lonely nephew with unc\pcctcd rcsttlts. ()smcnt. you may want to start looking fora new agcttt. (irmii'noi; (i/uwou. The Secret of the Old Woods (ll Segreto Del Bosco Vecchio) ( t2) tlirmanno ()lmi. ltaly. I‘NS) Paolo \‘illaggio. (iiulto Broglo. Silvano ('ctta. lirncsto l)c Martin Modolado. lino Pats Maiden I‘Mmm. ‘l'ltis ttiagtcal fable tliat can be entity ed by all ages. tells lllL' story of an old colonel who moves into a house in the woods. He begins to abtisc his surroundings for his own advantage. bttt soon lcarns better. Part of the Italian film festival. (il‘ll (i/usgmi .' I’ll/tiltouu'. Ift/Ht/turg/i. Shallow Ground ttltc‘t (Sheldon \Vllstttt. ISA. 3001) ‘l'imothy \' Murphy. Marshall Alltiian. Patricia .\lc(‘ormack. Lindsey StoddarIShcrttl Jack Shcpltcrd (Murphy I has to tacc up to his personal demons when a tiakcd teenage boy covered It) blood appears
lnassociation with the Leith Festival I r-
a year after the tiiurdcr of a local girl. The sheriff pursues the case of the boy. iii search of his identity and possibly more \ icttms. Part of Dead by Dawn. l‘f/Hl/H’HH'. lat/in/turuli.
Shaun of the Dead I IS) 000
(lidgar Wright. IX. 2004) Simon l’cgg. Nick l'rost. Kate Ashlicld. Dylan Moratt. l.ucy Davis. Bill Niglty. 09min. The team behind the cttlt TV series Spam] \cntttrc itito film with a likcablc /om-rom-com that pits a bunch of l.ondon slackers against the
undead. Pleasineg pucrilc. (icncm/ I'l'lt'tlH’.
9th '10th 1 th l2tlt June 2004
Bepa I uni experience
Old ships, shops and warehouses
It it?“ HY. ‘_ W . . w gs op.
513:: 5" Mister-c
transformed into unique worlds Original Scripts based on people... places and events in Leifh The Leith Big Shop find out more at one of start-ups for cast, crew, makers and shakers
April
Tuesday 20th 7.30 - 9.30pm Wednesday 28th 7.30 - 9.30pm
Laan House, Burgess St. Leith
Monday3rd 7 - 9pm South LeithParish Church Halls,
Henderson 51'.
For details contact: 0131 554 8923
44 THE LIST '7': L“: .»"s;,' .2
Wife swapping and dirty dancing will always get you to
The Other Side of the Bed
Singing Behind the Screens (Cantado Dietro l Paraventl) ( IS) tlirmanno ()lmi. Italy. 2003) Jun lchikawa. ('arlo Pcdersoli. Sally Ming Zeo .\'i. Bttd Spencer. l00min. A (‘hinese pirate's widow plans to avenge her httsband's murder in ()lmi's most recent film. Demonstrating that he is still a relevant talent. the action carefully evolves behind a backdrop of war and \ iolence. Part of the Italian film festival. (il’l: (i/usgmv: I’ilm/tousc. Iii/tn/ttire/i.
Sleepy Hollow ( IS) 0000 t't'im Burton. l'S. I‘NU) Johnny l)epp. (‘hristina Ricct. ('hristophcr Walker). l05min. During the final days of 179‘), ambitious young policeman Ichabod ('rane (Depp) is sent to thc fog-shrouded village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of decapitations. but his scientific beliefs are shaken when he comes face It) space \\ ill) the Headless Horseman. Burton gives Washington
lry ing‘s (iothic folktale a distinctly British colouring. as he borrows merrily from the Hammer films of the 50s and (Ms. whilc l)cpp brings the right note of comedy to the dark proceedings. (1mm), Iii/iiilttirg/I.
Son Frere ( 15) O... (Patrice (‘hcreau. l‘rance. 2003) Bruno 'lodeschini. liric (‘aravaca. Nathalie Boutefeu. Maurice (iarrcl. 95min. Adapted from Philippe Besson's novel. (‘hcreau's follow -UP to lntintm‘v refuses to traffic in mm ie cliches about disease and medicine. whereby cout'ageotts patients battle heroically against their conditions. ('utting backwards and forward in time between wintry Paris and summery Brittany. Son Fren' examines in detail the process of thirtysomething 'l’homas' bodily decay as he suffers a fatal blood disorder. And while concentrating on the fraternal relationship, this exceptionally acted drama convey s how illness impacts on the wider etnotional lives of sufferer and carer alike. (if/I Glasgow.
Song for a Baggy Boy I I5) 000 (Aisling Walsh. Ireland/l'K/Dentnark/Spain. 2003) Aidan Quinn. lain (ilen. Dudley Sutton. Marc Warren. ('laus Buc. l00min. William l‘ranklin (Quinn). an Irishman who has recently returned from the Spanish (is il \Var. takes a teaching job at a reform school and finds there a brutal regitne every bit as fascistic as l‘ranco's. Subjected to beatings and buggerings by the priests. the boys find in l‘ranklin an adult who treats them with compassion. But try as he might. there seems little the war veteran-Iurned-tcacher can do to stop the brutality. “Titer-director Walsh's film checks the catalogue of brutality with lighter moments. in the scenes between Quinn and his students. in a way the unrelcntingly harrowing .llireilu/wtt' Style/"s didn‘t. But Song for (l Rtl‘flg'V liuv nevertheless hammers home its criticism of
religious institutions. particularly in the violent climax. ("(i(' RUNf/‘(Wt‘ Street. Glasgow; (,"(i('. lit/inlmrglt.
The Soul’s Place (ll Posto dell’anima) ( IS) (Riccardo Milani. Italy. 2002) Michele Placido. Silvio ()rlando, (‘laudio Santamaria. Paola (‘ortellesi. lmma Piro. l0(imin. FocUssing on the struggles of three men and their families following the closure of an American tyre factory employing them. A realistic portrayal of a Southern ltalian community. (JP/I (ilusgmr; I-ilni/tuirw. Edinburgh.
Spellbound (t') ooooo (Jeff Blitz. t'S. 2002) 97min. Brilliant documentary about eight children in their bid to win the 199‘) Spelling Bee championship. Magical. this stayed in lTS cinemas for over 20 months almost unheard of for a documentary. See Buy ll This Fortnight. (TA. (i/usgou; Spirited Away (PU) ooooo (llayao Miyazaki. Japan. 200] ) Voices: l)aveigh Chase. Rumi lliragi. Sidonie von Krosigk. Miyu lrino. Jason Marsden. 125mm. At more than two hours long. any Japanese animation with a children's certificate can only be a hard sell for western audiences. Despite winning the best animated picture ()scar and getting a heavy push from Disney. SpiritedAti'uy' didn‘t get the audience it deserved in the States. Which is a shame because llayao Miy'a/aki‘s film is an animated masterpiece and truly takes you by surprise. (‘hihiro travels through a tunnel into another world. where she happens upon a bathhouse for the spirits. After chowing down greedily on some spiked local produce. (‘hiliiro's parents are transformed into pigs. leaving their suddenly dutiful daughter to seek work in the bathhoUse in order to release them. Philosophy. anime and shamanism this is something really stunning that needs to he seen to be believed. .Vorih [film/Hugh Arts (t'llll't'. Iii/mlmre/i.
Star Trek X: Nemesis ( 12A) 00. (Stuart Baird. l'S. 2002) Patrick Stewart. 'l‘om llardy. Brent Spinner. l lumin. The bare bones of art adventure to do the lititerprise crew proud are here. The script by John Logan (the ()scar-w ining writer of (Hm/tutor) employs the kind of classical storytelling
dev ices that lifted the original television series above the level of mere space soap opera. Drawing on the (ireek tragedy Unit/mi Rm. Logan's script has ('aptain Jean-late Picard (Stewart) face his ultimate nemesis: a youttger version of himself who turns out to he a clone engineered by the Roman-like warrior race the Romluans. l'nfortunately. this interesting set-up bttilds to nothing more than an extended climax involving a dog fight in space. Strr ('i'nttujv. Iii/inhureli.
Starsky & Hutch ( l5) 0.. (Todd Phillips. l'S. 3004) Owen Wilson. Ben Stiller. \‘icc Vaughn. ltllmin. (‘omic duo Wilson and Stiller take the leads iii this big screen pastiche of the classic l97lls American cop show. Wilson' s lackadaisical charms work perfectly as the workshy llutch. atid Stiller excels again as an uptight. but loveable doofus. and the pair do perform sortie real buddy tnovie magic. Snoop Dog plays their snitch. lluggy Bear. and origitials David Sotil and Paul Michael lazer both make catneo appearances. A smattering of corny moments aside. it‘s smartly played and skilfully acted. and for once you don‘t leave the cinema wishing that your beloved originals had never been resurrected. (imcml release.
The Station Agent I IS) .0. (Toni Mccarthy. L'SA. 2003) Peter Dinklage. Bobby (‘annavale. Patricia (‘Iarksoir 88min. Dinklage's l‘inn is a train-obsessed dwarf. who has inherited a disused railway depot in rural New Jersey from an old business partner. He wants to be left in peace to do tip the property. walk the tracks and count the trains that still pass through the area. llis solitude is disturbed. though. by two other lonely tnislits. artist ()livia ((‘lat'ksont and garrulous hot-dog salesman Joe ((‘annavalet. It's a sensitively acted. gently amusing atid carefully crafted film. which ney er leaves as in much doubt as to its final destination. Still. it‘s unafraid to meander along at its own relaxed tempo. and Dinklage prov ides ati impressively understated lead performance. I.(i( ' Rt'It/i‘i'tt Sll't't’f. (;l(1.\_L’(lil .‘ (it/nut. Ift/Ht/Jurg/t.