Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective ( 12» 0. (Tom Shadyac. l'S. I‘M-l) Jim ('arrey. Sean Young. (’ourtney (‘o.\. 86min. When Snowllake. mascot of the Miami Dolphins. goes missing. there's only one man for the job - Ace Ventura. a cross between Phillip Marlowe and Dr Doolittle. (‘arrey's wacky persona doesn't outstay its welcome in this funny and bizarre tnovie. (’ electric. lz'ilittbtitjgh.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ( IX) one (Stephan lilliott. Atistralia. I994) Terence Stamp. llttgo Weaving. Guy Pearce. 104mm. Two transvestites and a transsexual team tip for a trip across the Atistralian outback fora drag show in Alice Springs. Serious issues pop tip from time to time. but the emphasis is on the camp humour of the in-bus bitcliiness and outrageous musical set-pieces. (' electric. Edinburgh.
* Agatha and the Storm (Agata e la Tempesta) ( I5) .0. (Silvio Soldiiii. Italy/ Switzerland / l'K . ZOO-ll l.icia Maglietta. (iitlseppc Battistori. limilio Solfriz/i. 124mm. Soldirii turns his hand to romantic comedy with his Bread and Tulips- muse l.icia Maglietta the sexy older woman of ltaliari cinema. Maglietta plays Agata. a bookshop ow ner in (ienoa whose yuppie architect brother discovers he ls adopted and his real parents are peasants. (‘onveyed through a Name love triangle. this ltishly shot film is a capricious romantic tale of mid-life crises. (ilaygnw' I'ilnt lheatre. (ility'gim'.
Alien ( 18) 0.00 (Riilley- Scott. t'S. I‘)7‘)t Sigourney Weaver. lari llolm. John Hurt. l lbmin. Agatha (‘hristie in outer space as a freighter lands on a mysterious planet and is ingeniously invaded by a ravenous intruder which proceeds to chomp its way through the cast list. Iidge-of-the-seat suspense thriller with a strong cast and ghastly special effects. (electric. Edinburgh.
Aliens ( IS) 0... (James Cameron.
l'S. 198m Sigourney Weaver. Michael Biehn. 137mm. Revived from a 57-year .stioo/e iii deep space. Warrant Officer Weaver is cajoled into joining a marine rescue mission to the planet that is home for the original alien beastie. l'nrelentingly
ThePerfectMan
paced with a terrilically gutsy iwrformance from Weaver. this nerve-shredding sequel not only matches its predecessor btit cannily surpasses it. An Oscar winner for special effects. (' electric. I'fditiburgh.
American Pie ( IS) 00. (Paul and (‘hris Weitz. l'S. l‘)‘)‘)) Jason Biggs. litigene Levy. (‘hris Klein. ()(tllllll. The latest in 1999‘s bumper crop of teenage comedies turns otit to be a surprisingly sweet—natured account of adolescent sexual frustration. What disappoints is American I’ie's ultimate conventionality. lintertaining. btit hardly in the comic league of There 's' .S'mnething about Marv. (' electric. Edinburgh. American Pie 2 ( ISI .0 (JB Rogers. l'S. 2()()l ) Jason Biggs. Iiugene Levy. Meiia Suvari. |(l5min. Despite the fact that the opening scene (featuring another sexual mishap) will be reassurineg familiar to fans of the first movie. it is not entirely representative of what is to come. llaving gone to college. our horny heroes are made to mature. (‘ollege comedies. in the tradition of Animal House and I’arkv's. are supposed to be all-out bawdy. brainless fun. The problem with American Pie 2 is that despite the gross-out humour and preoccupation with sex. it is a film which ironically also tries to be responsible and mature and the lwojltsl don‘t work together. ('electt‘ic. lat/inbia'gh.
American Pie: The Wedding ( t5) 0. (Jesse Dylan. IS. 3003) Jason Biggs. ()(innn. The third film in the American Pie series. Jim and Michelle are getting married so they are going to have a blow otlt wedding that nobody is going to forget. (. electric. Edinburgh.
Appleseed ( I5) 00 (Ka/iiyushi Katayama. Japan. 1991 t 7 I min. In a future world. run by a singular corporate entity. policewoman [)unan and cyborg sidekick Bularis track down terrorist AJ Sebastian. whose criminal acts threaten the delicate balance of their titopiaii city. The character animation is rudimentary. even by manga standards; the backgrounds don't even aspire to the xlkll‘il class. and only the hardware seems to Iiave been drawn with relish which says a lot about the filmmakers and more about the target audience. (.ttti'ii‘ul'ltl ReIt/t'eti' Street. (ilaygnii; (ilaygmi:
Back to the Future Part 2 (PG) 0... (Robert '/.emeckis. l'S. I980) Michael J Fox. ('hristopher Lloyd. Thomas [5 Wilson. lthmin. I-‘inishing with a big tease sequence of highlights for the mid- l‘)‘)() scheduled Back to the Future Part .3.
this could be the longest movie trailer in Ilollywood history. Once again Michael has to outfox Biff. this time morning forwards as well as backwards in the time machine. Directed and play ed with terrific verve. Ill/"2 moves so fast from one set-piece to the next that there‘s no time to reflect on the basic ridiculousness of the plot. ('electric. Edinburgh.
Back to the Future Part 3 (PG)
.0. (Robert Zemeckis. I'S. I990) Michael J Fox. (’hristopher l.loyd. Mary Steenburgen. l I‘lmin. After the elongated trailer of It'll-'2 we're back in ISBS for the third and absolutely final instalment of the series. in which Michael Iias to face tip to longstanding enemy Biff and save the Doc from certain death. except that the latter is much more interested in falling for Mary Steenburgen. The end result is not quite a bad
film. but. as with almost every other sequel of
a sequel there's an overall slackness which prevents it from lifting off in the way that it sliotild. In almost every sense. w e've been here before. (' electric. lidin/mrgh.
’l‘ The Bad News Bears ( I2.-\i
.0. (Richard l.inklater. 1S. 2005) Billy Bob 'l'hornton. (ireg Kinnear. Marcia (lay Ilarden. Sammi Kane Kraft. l l3min. See review. page 18. (ieneral release.
The Band Wagon (l’( i) 0.00 (V'incente Minnelli. IS. 1953) Fred Astaire. (‘yd Charisse. Jack Buchannan. I l lmin. ()ne of the great Minnelli musicals. Btichannan is a highbrow producer who wants to turn Astaire's comeback into an arthouse take on Faust. There are some fantastic lloward [hell/Arthur Schwart/ numbers and Astaire and (‘harisse take the opportunity to show off with an array of different dance styles. (ilasgmv I'ilnt Theatre. (ilttsgim:
Barsaat (tbc) (Stiiieel l)arshan. India. 2005) Bobby l)eol. Bipasha Basti. I’t‘iyanka (‘hopra. the min. Big budget remake of Raj Kapoor's I‘H‘) love story about a naive but intelligent young man who comes to the big city from the countryside and finds love. Selected release.
Batman ( l2) .0. (Tim Burton. I‘S. HBO) Jack Nicholson. Michael Keaton. Kim Bassinger. llemin. Nicholson is on top form: psychotic. witty and Ianier than ever. btit the real triumph is Keaton's. With less screen titnc than the (ireat l'pstager. he produces a [wrformance of memorable subtlety and power. which gives credibility to the Bruce Wayne/Batman character. while remaining true to the comic strip. With eerie angular design by Anton I‘tlrsl. a terrific
Another year, another Hilary Duff movie. Duff, in case you’re not aware, is a kind of fundamentalist Christian version of Lindsay Lohan and the films she appears are
usually absolute garbage. Not that we can actually tell you what this one is like because the distribution company dealing with the film has decided not to show it to the press. All you need to know is that it’s about a nice teenager who tries to set her flaky single mum up with the perfect partner.
I General release.
20 THE LIST 18 as Aug 9005.
score by Danny Iilfman. a suitably wacky script and a strong supporting cast. (‘ electric. Ifdinburgh.
Bewitched (I’( it .0 (Nora liphron. I'S. 3005i Nicole Kidman. Will I'ei'rell. Shirley Macl.aitie. Michael ('aine. Jason Schwart/man. Itllmin. See review. page IS. (ieltet'itl release.
Billy Elliott I5) .0. (Stephen I)aldry. l‘k’. 3000) Jamie Bell. Jtilie Walters. (iary Lewis. I l linin. Billy (Bell) finds release from life's daily drudgery. through ballet dancing. As unlikely a leisure pursuit as that might be for a teenage boy growing up in the recession-hit Yorkshire of the S()s (and that's the point t. it becomes young Billy 's ticket oitt of hard times. Making his film debut. theatre director I)aldry handles the political backdrop and dramatic foreground with eqttal assurance. The dance routines prov idc much of the film's humour atid quite overwhelming feclgood factor. (' electric. Edinburgh.
Black Beauty ( l it ... ((‘aroline Thomson. l'S. I‘M-ll Sean Bean. I)avid 'I'liewlis. l’eter (‘ook. 82min. The most famous horse iii children‘s literature returns iii a faithful screen version by debut director Thomson. w hose work as a screenwriter The Secret (iitt'ilett. I'll/HUN] .S'i‘ivvurltattily. The Nightmare lie/tire ('hristntav taps into a darker current of childhood \ ision. The pace sets off at a gallop. and should intrigue adults as well as younger viewers. (' electric. lidin/mrgh.
The Borrowers (Ii 0000 (Peter llewitt. l'K. l‘)‘)7t John (ioodman. Jim Broadbent. ('elia lmi'ie. Soiiiin. Only four inches tall. the Borrowers hide in wall cavities and live beneath the floorboards of the lender household. When a nasty lawyer tries to swindle the humans out of their inheritance. families big and small join forces. The design and effects create 2t strangely familiar. oddly unplaccable world. and children will have little difficulty suspending enough disbelief to be spellbound by the magic of the film. (ilasgon I'ilnt 'I‘heatre. (ilavgmi. Bravehearti ISI .00 i.\tet (iibson. IS. 1995! Mel (iibson. I’atrick .\lc(ioohan. Sophie Marceau l77ltlltl. Mel (iibson's long and bloody account of the life of Scottish warrior hero William Wallace boasts some remarkable battle scenes and great performances. Aiming to entertain on a wider scale than the more literate lv’nb Rm. lil'tll't’llt’ul'I‘S Scottish passion ts tempered by a few llolly wood moments touches of sentimentality and ‘dramatic‘ historical inaccuracy. (’inenurld li’enlreii Street. (ilasgou. (i/avgmv.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s ( ISI .0. (Blake Iidwards. l'S. I‘)(il t Audrey Ilepburn. (ieot‘ge l’eppard. I’att'tcia Neal. Buddy libsen. Mickey Rooney. l ISmin. ‘llow do I look." asks original waif llepburn iii the role of borderline schi/ophi'enic llolly (iolightly. ‘\'ery good. I must say I'm ania/ed.' replies l’eppard in the role of frustrated writer and part-time gigolo l’aiil V'arjak in this adaptation from the novel by 'I'i'uman (‘apote The iconic Hepburn has never tnade neurosis look so good. and while the Iilm may have numerous redeeming features (not least the eyqiiisite cinematography by I‘ran/ I" l’lane and the swinging soundtrack by Henry Mancinit. it is she who remains responsible for making it such a w ell-Iov ed classic. ('e/ectric. Ifdinlmrgh.
Brief Encounter ( M ii .00 mm id l.eati. I‘K. I‘MSI (‘elia Johnson. 'l‘rcvoi' lloward. Stanley llollovvay. Shmin. Still upper lips and emotionally charged brushes of the hands are all that Johnson and Howard will allow themselves as their evtra- marital ‘affair' doesn't dev elob much beyond unspoken longings at a railway station. l‘or some. the tears will still flow; for others. the ungiv ing morality is exasperating. (iiven the rigidity of this linglisli romance. the Rachmaninov soundtrack is tmlittingly sweet. ('electrte. l‘.tltltltttt'glt.
A Bug’s Life (1') 00. (John I.asseter. IS. 1008) Voices of: Day e l-‘oley. Kev in Spacey. I);t\ ltl Hyde Pierce. Denis Leary. 05min. Made by I’ivai‘ Animation Studios ( 'liiv Stu/“v i. .-l b’ug 'v lite takes its to