Film

The Merchant of Venice (PG)

0. (Michael Radl'ttrd. I'S/l'K/ltaly. 2004) Lynne Collins. Al Pacino. Jeremy Irons. 138mm. The problem witlt Michael Radford's adaptation of Shakespeare's already probletnatical play is tltat it simply fails to conte to terms witlt the vexed issues at the heart of tlte text. The play. although dressed tip as a plea for racial tolerance itt productions over the last century. is really a piece of anti-Semitism. Impressive set design attd l’acino's powerful Sltylock aside. there is little here of any worth to the Shakespearean cinetnatic oeuvre. lirunton Theatre. Iftlllll’lll‘g’ll.

:1: Mighty Celt ( 12m eoee (l’carse lilliot. Ireland. 2005) (iillian Anderson. Robert Carlyle. Sean Me(iinlcy. Ken Stott. 'l‘yrone McKenna. 82min. See review. page 20. (Tncurn‘ld Rentr‘ew Str‘cet. Glasgow. Glasgow: ('irtewor'ltl Edinburgh. Edinburgh.

Millions ( 12A) 0... (Danny Boyle. l'K/I‘S. 2004) Alexander Nathan Iitel. Lewis ()w en McGibbon. James .\'eshitt. Daisy Donovan. 98min. Young brothers Damien (litel) and Anthony (Mc(iibbon) when the boys find a bag of pound notes but they only have ten days to spend it. Director Danny Slur/low Grave Boyle aitd writer Frank 24 Hour Party People (’ottrcll

Boy ce's first foray irtto fatnin entertainment is an absolute joy. Glasgow l’ilrn Theatre. Glasgow.

Napoleon Dynamite (PG) eoee (Jared Hess. IS. 2004) John Heder. John (il'le. Aaron Ruell. 90min. Napoleon (Heder) is a qttirky teenage geek who believes he has the potential to rule the universe through the most oddball means

httt whett his grandmother cracks her coceyx in a motorbike accident. sleazy l'ncle Rico ((iries) is called in as babysitter. Hilarious if uneven tnisfit comedy which pays heavy homage to the 80s ntisfit comedies such as Jeff Kanew‘s The Revenge oft/re Nerds and John Hughes' Weird Science. Part of Fatnily Mediation Scotland Season. Eilnrhouse. Edinburgh.

No Entry (the) (Anees Bannee. India. 2005) Anil Kapoor. Saltnan Khan. Fardeen Khan. Popular Bollywood comedy. ('ineworld Rt'tt/t't‘li' Street. Glasgow. Glasgow.

On a Clear Day( 12A) eee ((iaby l)ellal. CK. 2005) Peter Mullan. Brenda Blethyn. Billy Boyd. Jamie Sives. 98min. See review. page 25. Glasgow I’ilrn Tlteatre. Glasgow: I’ilrnhause. Edinburgh.

The Other Francis Bacon ( 15) (Remy Blumenfield. lfK. 1998) ()(lmin. This doeutnentary presents a new archive of 500 previously tmknown Bacon sketches. revealing a hitherto unseen and extraordinary collection of work ranging frotn the 1930s to the 1960s. This archive is a fascinating discovery as Bacon was highly dismissive of his early work and destroyed the majority of his work up to the mid-~10s. Part of Francis Bacon Season. Eilrnhouse. Edinburgh.

The Pacifier (PG) 00 (Adam Shankman. IS. 2005) Vin Diesel. Faith Ford. 95min. Navy Seal Shane Wolfe (1)ieseI) is assigned to take care of a single- parent suburban family while mysterious tnottt Julie Plummer (Ford) goes off on some dubious government business. Ctte mttclt lish-out-of-water ‘hilarity'. Vue Edinburgh ()cean. Edinburglt.

The Perfect Catch (PG) eee (Bobby Farrelly/Peter Farrelly. US. 2005) Drew Barrymore. Jimmy Fallon. Jason Spevaek. Jack Kehler. 103min. The Farrelly brothers transatlantic take on Homby‘s Fever Pitch replaces football with baseball but retains much of the charm of the book. but with the romance quota upped. With Fallon and Barrymore as the kooky couple this is likeable and amusing but never quite hits a home run. General release.

The Perfect Man (PG) (Mark Rosman. US. 2005) Hilary Duff. Heather Locklear. Chris Noth. Amy Acker. l()()min. Another anodyne Duff (A Cinderella Story) comedy drama. This time out she tries to son her flaky tnum (Locklear) up with a half decent man. Yawntastie. General release.

Pieces of April (12A) 0000 (Peter Hedges. 2003) Katie Holmes. Patricia Clarkson. ()liver Platt. Derek Luke. Sean Hayes. Alison Pill. 79min. April (Holmes) is cooking dinner for her until recently estranged family when she discovers that her oven has broken down. To make matters worse her new black boyfriend (Luke) has tttysteriously gone AWOL and the emotionally volatile April tnust ask her neighbours for help. but this is New York's Lower East Side and her neighbours are as friendly as suicide bombers. April‘s family. led by terminally ill mum Joy ((‘larksonl expect the day to be a disaster. Excellent. frenetic Thanksgiving farce frotn the lnl)iglint (digital and low budget) American film schtml/movement. Pan of Fatnily Mediation Scotland season. Film/rouse. Edinburgh.

Pooh’s Heflalump Movie (ti) 00 (Frank Nissen. L'S. 2005) David ()gden

cumentary tells the history of this most amazing

CinemaNetEurope and docspace presentation. I Film/rouse, Edinburgh (Tue 6 and Wed 7 Sep).

36 THE LIST 255 Atig— 8 Sop 900:3

of Names Wncent Monnikendam's fascinating do of cities through Carravaggio’s altar piece, The Seven Acts of Mercy. Another great

Stiers. Jim Cummings (voices). bilmin. Another camp adventure frotn Thousand Acre Woods. Tigger gets all the best lines a rain. Glasgow Eilm Theatre. Glasgow. Primer ( 12A) 0”. (Shane Carruth. CS. 2004) Shane Carruth. David Sullivan. Casey (iooden. 77min. See interview. page 25. and review. page 28. Glasgow Eilrn Theatre. Glasgow. Project Ability Screening ( PG) (Various. CK. 2005) ()()min. A screening of a selection of filtns by local children involved with developmental ans scheme Project Ability. Filtns include Creepy Cafe. High Elyers. Stranded on an Island. 602 Squadron and Young Carers. Glasgow Eilrn Theatre. Glasgow. Pulp Fiction (18) 00000 (Quentin Tarantino. 1994) John Travolta. Samuel Jackson. Uma Thurman. Bruce Willis. 150mm. Much tnore ambitious than Reservoir Dogs. the tnost awaited second feature of the 90s has many scenes that crackle with Tarantino wit. and a few others that fall flat as the writer-director bravely experiments. Interlocking stories in the pulp crime ntattner concern hittnen. ailing boxers. gattg bosses and their tnolls. drug fiends. and assorted riff-raff. A surprise Cannes Palme d‘()r winner is a trip. all the way. ( ' electric. Edinburgh. Raiders of the Lost Ark (P0) .0. (Steven Spielberg. CS. 1981) Harrison Ford. Karett Allen. 1 15min. Ford plays adventuring archaeologist Indiana Jones. who almost bites off more than he cart chew when he turns tip at the Ark of the Covenant itt Nazi-infested wartime Egypt. Return to the breathless excitement of the Saturday morning serial with this rollereoaster of a movie. which is probably better than either of its sequels. Tongue held very firmly in cheek. (' electric. Edinburgh. * Red Eye ( 12A) 000 (\Vcs Craven. CS. 2005) Raeltel McAdams. Cillian Murphy. Brian Cox. Tina Anderson. 91min. See review. page 27. General release. Reservoir Dogs ( 18 ) eeeee (Quentin Tarantino. US. 1992) Harvey Keitel. Tim Roth. Michael Madsen. l()()tnirt. A gang of hoods. known only to each other by colour- coded nicknames. meets at an abandoned warehouse to figure how out their rigorously planned heist went so drastically wrong. The best debut it) years front writer- direetor 'I‘arantino. whose stylish violence seduces the audience into complicity. Brilliant in every sense of the word. C electric. Edinburgh. Ring ( 18) O... (llideo Nakato. Japan. 1998) Nanako Matsushima. Miki Nakatani. Hiroyuki Sanada. 95min. A horror film phenomenon in southeast Asia. in which the story turns on an escalating urban myth with a body count. It begins with a teenage girl telling her friend about a mysterious videotape that works like a very nasty chain letter. l.’npleasantly. myth turns out to he fact. The original indUstrial-e1ectronic score by Kenji Kawai delivers its share of the chills. while the sudden flashbacks and moments of spiritual connection between the murders in the modern day and the past cottte at you hard and out the blue. A terrifying joy to behold. C electric. Edinburgh. Ring 2(12)... (llideo Nakata. Japan. 2001) Miki .\'akatani. Kyoko Fukada. Yuko Takeuchi. 95min. Part two of the Ring horror trilogy a phenomenon in the liast that's achieved deserved cult status in the West _ develops the original urban legend revolving around a video tape containing a cryptic image of a haunting young woman which visits a terrifyittg death upon anyone who watches it. More is revealed about the woman itt white on the tape. and it falls to a schoolgirl and a young boy with telepathic powers to solve the mystery. Ring 's plotting is messy. but the mix of modern and traditional myths is wholly origittal. and the scares are hair- raising. C electric. Edinburgh. The Rising ( IZA) eee (Kctan Mehta. India. 2005) Aamir Khan. (‘oral Beed. Amin Hajec. Kailash Kher. 135mm. Huge epic set during India‘s First War of Independence between 1857-58. The story focuses on the freedom fighter Mangal Panday (Khan) a soldier in the army of the