Scooby Doo 2: Monsters
Unleashed (PG) 00 (Raja (iosnell. LS. 2004) l-‘reddie Prin/e Jr. Sarah Michelle (iellar. Matthew Lillard. Linda (‘ardellinL Setlt (ireen. Peter Boyle. 92min. The second live-action film spawtted by the l‘)70s cartoon series is an amiable enottgh. if eminently forgettable romp. Where tlte first movie was pitclted somewhere between tribute aitd send-up of the llanna-Barbera show. the sequel plays thittgs pretty straight. The gags are a mix of pop culture intertextuality and low-brow silliness: (iellar's Daphne in a nod to her Buffy role shows off her martial arts chops. while Shaggy and Scooby' repeat the first movie's fart jokes. Younger viewers will be amused aitd grown-ups will find the experience relatively painless. (frost-error: (ilusgott: Shallow Grave ( lit) .00 (Dantty Boyle. ['K. 199-1) Kerry Pox. liwan .‘vlc(}regor. (‘hristopher liccleston. 90min. 'lltree lidinburgh flatmates find their new coltabitattt dead with a stack of money under his bed. so after performing a little DIV on the corpse. they reckon all their worries are over. Bill the cops are closing iii. there are two thugs after the tnoney. attd the psychological tension is beginning to show. Filled with dark humour and cynical one- liners. this Scottish thriller is bloody atid intelligent enough to please the cult audience while remaining accessible enough to be a tiiainstream hit. ('eleetrie. lirli'nlmrgh. Shark Tale (t') 0.0 (Biho Bergeron/Vicky Jenson/Rob Letterman. t'S. 200-1) Will Smith. Robert De Niro. Jack Black. Martin Scorsese. 90min. ()scar (Smith) is a little fish who lives happily in the oceon. But one day he gets in debt to a vegetarian shark (Black) whose maftosi father Don Lino (De Niro) rules the reef. what can he do to get himself ottt of this situation‘.’ Lively. silly if oecassionally flat ((3 animation that is clearly trying to hustle in on Finding .Veniu territory. ('elet‘trit‘. Edinburgh. Shaun of the Dead ( IS) .00 (lidgar Wright. l'K. 2004) Simon Pegg. Nick Frost. Kate Ashlield. Dylan Moran. Lucy Davis. Bill Nighy. ‘Nmin. The team behind the cult TV series Spaced venture into film with a likeable zom-rom-com that pits a bunch of London slackers against the undead. Pleasingly puerile. (‘eleetritz lz'tliiilmreh. Silver City( 15).... (John Say les. l'S. 200-1) (‘hris (‘ooper. Richard Dreyfuss. (‘ajardo Lindsey. lili/abeth Rainer. lZS’min. Sayles' detective story-cum-political satire is a pitch-perfect parody of small town Republican tttores and the detritus that hangs around them. Not classic Sayles btit good enough. (imv-t-enm: (ilusgmt; Singin’ in the Rain (t') .0... ((iene Kelly & Stanley Doneti. l'S. 1950) (iene Kelly. Donald ()'('onnor. Debbie Reynolds. ('y‘d Charisse. 102mm. Hollywood undergoes the transition frottt the silent era to the talkies aitd reputations rise and fall. Absolutely wonderful musical entertainment. with the slickest of snappy dialogue. endurineg catchy numbers. a cast of genuine charisma. atid an engaging picture of the industry in transition into the bargain. Quite splendid. (iluvgmr I-ilm Theatre. (iltivemt. The Skeleton Key ( )5) 0000 (lain Softley. LS. 2005) Kate lltitlsott. (Sena Rowlands. Peter Sarsgaard. John Hurt. l03min. Surprisingly fun psychological thriller. ('aroline (Hudson). a young nurse struggling to make ends meet. answers an advert seeking a carer for an invalid husband (Hurt) iii a big house in an eerie wood jttst outside New Orleans. Tlte Louisiana settiitg gives the cue for great ja/l music. echoes of the Deep South's history of racism attd. most importantly for this story. it's the area in North America itiost associated with black magic. The filmmakers play with the conventions of the genre and mix elements of schlock. horror and thriller that cultttinate in a great Hollywood ending. (ienerul release. The Sound of Music (t') 0000 (Robert \Vise. LS. 1965) Jtilie Andrew s. (‘hristopher Plummer. Richard llaydn. lileanor Parker. Peggy Wood. l73min. In the
24 THE LIST 18—25) Aug; 2005)
ITVSO: Pi
late 1930s. vivacious nttn .‘vlaria (Andrews) introduces the Von Trapp children to the joy s of music. and their widowed father (Plummer) to the joys of love as Na/ism begins to sweep :\tlstt'la. ()ne of the great screen musicals. cotnpletely tincy'nical. atid boasting a host of memorable songs aitd charm-sodden moments. And it‘s all based on a true story. ('elet'trie. lz'tliiilmreli. Spellbound (t') 0.... (Jeff Blitl. t'S. 2003) 97min. Brilliant documentary about eight cltildren in their bid to w in the 100‘) Spelling Bee championship. Magical. this stayed in LS cinemas for over 20 ttiotttlis almost unheard of for a documentary. (- electric. l’.tllltl’ltl‘_g'll.
Spirit Trap ( 15) O. (Dav id Smith. l'K. 2005) Billie Piper. Luke .\lably. limttta ('atherwood. Sam 'I‘roughton. ‘llmin. ('liches abound as four students ttiov e itito a creepy abandoned tttalision. They tinker around with a dilapidated Russian spirit clock aitd soon things are going btitttp in the night as they all come to grips with various dark episodes itt their past. l‘orgettable atid frankly dull Brit flick horror. (‘iiiewor/(l Rent/"en Street. (ilusemt. (iluvemt.
Stand By Me ( l5) 0.. (Rob Reiner. l'S. l‘lt‘v’b) River Phoenix. Will Wlieatoti. (‘orey' l'eldtitan. Jerry ()'('onners. Keifer Sutherland. SSmin. Based on a Stephen King short story. this iilttt recalls a childhood adventure for four small-tow n boys who discover the whereabouts of the corpse of a missing child. and decide to get there before the local toughs. A charming rites of passage movie which Reiner directs with a sure touch. carefully evading sentimentality. ()(It'UIl .‘ll 'l'lie Quuv. (iluvgmr, (i/(ivenvt.
Stealth ( l5) .0 (Rob (‘ohen. IS. 2) Josh Lucas. Jessica Biel. Jamie l‘ovv. Sam Shepard. Richard Roxburgh. 12 l ttiiti. A mildly enjoyable piece of fascist American military propaganda. Stealth is the story of three crack-lighter pilots vv ho cotiie up against a rogue Al w arplane. The actors all seem to have fun; Jamie l‘ovv (pre- (‘olluteru/i aitd Josh Lucas get to play pilot for two hours in what is basically a gamer's movie. t'nfortunately the ttiov ie wears its overbearing awareness of ‘)/l I proudly on its lly ing jacket sleeve. An ultimately tiresome ‘homelaiid intelligence failure' llick. (lettt’l'ttl releuve.
Strictly Ballroom (l’( i) 0.0. (Ba/ Luhritiann. :\tisti'alia. I‘NI ) Patil .\lercurio. Tara .‘vlorice. Bill llttnter. 94min. Dancelloor liopefttl Scott llastings incurs the wratlt of the Alistralian Dance liederation by Using his own steps iii cottipetitioii. loses his partner and his friends. bttt finds Iov e and
This never-ending BFI touring programme rolls on with a fascinating showcase of the small screen work of Harold Pinter. This contains 1963’s The Lover, starring Vivien Merchant and Alan Badel, and 1976's The Collection, with Alan Bates, Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren and Laurence Olivier. Both are very rarely shown.
I GFI'. Glasgow (Wed 24 Aug only).
artistic integrity with the local vvallflow er. The ultimate feelgood llltiv'lL‘. it is cramttted with colour. glitter. music and spectacle. (‘ elet‘trit‘. [nil/liltiu'eli.
Sugart IS) (John Palmer. (‘anada. 2004) Brendatt l‘ehi'. Andre Noble. Maury
(‘hay kiti. 7Stttin. The naive and sheltered (‘liff turns 18 and decides it's tiitte to start living his life. With only his sister‘s spliff aitd her adv ice that he ‘get laid'. he descends into the drug-soaked. sexually perverted world of dovvntovv ti ’l‘oronto. livpect drugs. sex atid a great deal of unpleasantness. Part of London Lesbian and (iay film festival on Tour. (i/uvemr l'ilni llieutl‘e. (flitveun.
Superman (Pt i) 000 (Richard Lester. LS. llltSlll ('hristopher Reeve. Marlon Brando. .\largot Kidder. (ienc llackman. Stisannah York. 142mm. linjoyable bill now very dated first otitittg for Reeves as Supertttan. This franchise did get better before it got worse but this is still great ftiti. ('elet‘trie. litliiilitireli.
T-Rex 30 (Li (Brett Leonard. LS. 1998) 40min. Ania/mg looking l.\l:\.\ tnov ie about a father and daughter itt danger frottt a vicious carnivorous dinosaur. (ireat fttii. /.ll.'l.\' 'l’heutre. (llttveim’.
Team America ( IS) 0... (Trey Parker. LS. 2004) Voices of'l‘rcy Parker. Matt Stone. Kristen .\lillcr. Maurice l.a.\larche. Dat'an Norris. ()Smin. liar from being ait international Rescue-sly le lk'acekeepint-I force. the Mount Rushmore- based gadget-tastic heroes of lean) :llllt'l'lt‘tl are a we-don't-dtrbody counts insurgency squad that apes the current l‘S administration's haw kisli foreign policies. .-\ny Republican with a sense of humour wotild hate this; those without might well love it. (ietiius. (‘elet'trttu lat/iiilriireh. Theatre of Blood ( lis‘i 00... (Dotti—‘las llickov. l'K. l‘)73) Viticcttt Price. l0-lmin. ('lassic lttv v y -based Viticent Price horror. (’eleetrit‘. liilinhureli.
3D Mania (L) (the, LS. 2003) Stuart Pankin. lilvira.l.\l:\.\ 3D animation hell. i-‘or tttasochists and computer render geeks only. l.\l.'l.\. lltt'tlll‘e. (llttvgmt. Trainspotting ( lts’) .0... (Danny Boyle. t'K. NUS) liwan .\lc(iregot'. livven Bremncr. Robert (‘arly le. Jottny Lee Miller. 93min. John llodgc's screenplay perfectly captures the desperate humour of Irvine \Velsltis novel. keeping the episodic structure of junkie scenes for the first half. before concentrating more on chton iit London in the later stages. liast atid stylish direction. ci'eative soundtrack and acting that‘s off-tlie-rails excellent. :\ cinematic blast from beginning to etid. which also
show s a compch and true
understanding of the lure aitd fatal consequences of drug-taking. ('elet‘trie. Iziliiiliureli.
No Brothers (Po) oo (Jean— Jacques Annaud. l’rance/l‘K. 300-1) (iuy Pearce. Jean—('laude Dreyfus. l-‘reddie llighinore. ()anh Nguyen. 109mm. Tiger cubs Ktimal atid Sangha are seperated when legendary merchant Aidan .\lcRory (Pearce) turns tip in the Thai jtiitgle to sei/e some Btiddhist statues. Will the brothers be reunited after their many traumas‘.’ Annaud returns to the same territory of his IUSS hit The Iieur. with exotic. thrilling and occasionally somnambulistic effect. This
w ill jttst about keep kids atid their parents entertained over its excessive lengtlt. (irnst'enur. (iltivemt.
Unleashed ( 18) cos (Louis Leterrier. l‘rance/l'S/l'K. 2005) Jet Li. Morgan lireetttan. Bob lloskins. Kerry (‘ondon 102mm. See review. page IS. (iettet‘ttl reletlve.
War of the Worlds ( 12A) .0. (Steven Spielberg. LS. 3005) Tom ('ruise. Jttstiti (‘hatw in. Dakota l-‘anning. Tim Robbins. Miranda Otto. llttmin. llti Wells’ alien invasion as seen through the eyes of Spielberg and divorced east coast blue-collar dockworker Ray l’errier (('ruise). Despite good attttosphcric work in the first half. pyrotechnics attd noise render this to be only an adeqtiate version of the itttich adapted book. (ienerul re/et/ve.
Wedding Crashers ( IS) .00
(David Dobkin. LS. 2005) ()vv en Wilsoti. Viitce Vattglut. Rachel .\lc.-\dams. (‘hristopher Walken. 1 10min. This boisterous comedy about a pair of divorce tttedtators (Wilson aitd Vaughn) who spend each spring season gate-crashing weddings so they cait score babes is merely an ugly second cousin once rcmov ed to the lovv~ brow likes of Dmlcelm/l and .lleet the l'itt'lvel‘v. (li'ltet‘ul I't'lettve.
The West Wittering Affair ( tbc) (Dav id Scheinmaiin. l'K. 3004) Dav id Annen. Rebecca ('ardtnale. Danny Seheinmann.limbarrassingly funtty sev comedy of errors. tellitig the story of bed swapping and sadistic revenge about fottr confused. Iov e-hungry Londoners on a country break. This is allegedly one of first ever fully improvised feature film debuts to show as part of the l‘ringc l-estival. (' eleetrte. l'ftliiilmrgh.
The Wicker Man ( is) .0000 (Robin Hard}. l'K. 1073) lidward Woodward. Britt likland. Diane (’ilento. ltigrid Pitt. ('hristopher Lee. l03min. .\ devotitly celibate policeman (Woodward) arrives at a remote Scottish island to investigate a schoolgirl disappearance and becoittes involved in local pagan rituals. .\ Hammer classic. w itlt some evtreiiiely scary atid erotic iitottiettts. (‘eleetrit . l-[tlhiliure/i.
A Woman in Winter (Charity Preview) (tbc) (Richard Jtilisolt. lily. 3005) Brian ('ov. Jason l‘lemyng. Jamie Sives. Julie (iay et.(‘harity screening of If) li'urv (if .vllt‘ultul director Johson‘s very interesting sounding metaphysical drama about ait astrottotiier who enters into a destructive relationship with a photographer. :\ (‘)&x\ with Jolison will follow the lilttl. Tickets can be purchased at £10 each frotn w w w.myv tie.com or 087] 23-10 Z-l It). All proceeds go to l'iSl‘ Scotland. which works with some of the country 's most v ulnerablc children and families. this is something well worth supporting. lite lltllllllttI'L’ll. lat/inlriire/i.
Yes ( l5) 0... (Sally Potter. l’K/l‘S. 3004) Joan .-\llen. Simon Abkarian. Sam Neill. Shirley llenderson. Sheila Hancock. lt)0min. The relationship between at) unhappin married scientist (Allen) attd ait eviled Lebanese surgeon w ho has been reduced to working in London kitchens as told in verse. Potter‘s new film is sotitcthmg quite wonderful challenging. thought- provoking atid very brave. in w ill div tde audiences litll (iod kltovv s It deserves considerable praise for its evperimental nature. ()ne of the most interesting British films to be released since .-\lc\ (‘ov's Rt’t't’ttet’l‘v It'ttg't’tlL (illlt'll (it'ltl lv’t'ltll'eit Street. (iluvemt, (i/(tveiitt .' ()(leu/t. lat/inliiirgh.