to camera as he recounts his life story growing up in New York's Little Odessa.
friends or family. He has a trophy wrfe iBrrdget Moynahani and his brother
iJared Letor is a coke fiend. It's this fact. underlined by Nrccol's lithe serrpt. that makes Lord of War a great critique of the arms trade and indeed the few flaws arise when Niccol tries pandering to the imagined sensibilities of marnstrearn audiences. Otherwrse highly recommended. (Kaleem Aftabi
I General release from Fri 74 Oct. See feature. page 20.
As the film moves rnto vorce-over narration we see Orlav‘s ill-fated attempts to improve his lot before he tries his luck selling arms. The end of the Cold War proves a boon and Lord of the li/ar Jumps into overdrive as Orlav runs from one war /one to the next. Orlav remains amoral throughput. We never grow to like him or any of hrs
ANIMATED FAMlLY COMEDY WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE- RABBIT
(U) 85min 0000
This rs the long-awaited feature-length debut for Nick Park's plasticrne master and mutt Wallace & Gromit. and. to coin a phrase. it's a grand day out. This trme. the cheese-loving Wallace rvorced. as eyer. by Peter Sallrs: and hrs canine
SPACE OPERA SERENITY (15) 119min I...
Talk about clouds and silver linings. Having had his post-Buffy the Vampire Slayer television science fiction space opera Firefly cancelled by the Fox network, creator Joss Whedon got Hollywood’s Universal Studios to finance a blockbuster big screen continuation of the series, and the result is the film George Lucas should have been making instead of the last three episodes of Star Wars. Boasting an intriguing plotline, breakneck pacing, characters with depth and a good deal of knowing humour alongside some gobsmacking special effects, Serenity is the true successor to Lucas’ ruined empire.
Set 500 years in the future (and six months after the events of the final episode of Firefly), Serenity reunites the crew of the titular spacecraft. Lead by buccaneer Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion doing a fine Han Solo), the interstellar outlaws continue to out-fox the evil galactic corporation known as the Alliance. Things heat up for Mal and his crew when they adopt telepathic River (Summer Glau), who the Alliance has trained to be a killing machine. When the Alliance find out they immediately dispatch a super assassin known as the Operative (a show-stealing Chiwetel Ejiofor) to reclaim her.
From the outset, Serenity impresses with a series of alternately ingenious and spectacular set pieces. Some, such as River’s rescue from the Alliance’s weapons lab, repeatedly and cleverly wrong-foot the audience. Others, such as a drag race between the Serenity’s hovercraft driving crew and a gang of cannibal marauders known as the Beavers, provide visceral thrills. And between these highly cinematic set pieces there’s some very entertaining character interplay (‘She is starting to damage my calm,’ the ship’s strong man Jayne says of ticking bomb River), as well as a subtle line in the kind of corporate criticism and anti-war sentiment that lead to Murdoch’s own evil empire cancelling Firefly after airing just 11 of the 14 episodes made.
It’s not often a critic says this, but: sequel please. (Miles Fielder)
I General release from f’fl /' Oct.
chum have reinvented themselves as a humane pest control outfrt — ‘Anti- Pesto'. The neigthurhood's Grant Vegetable competition i8 imminent. and when a mysterious '\.v(->re-rat)brt' begins scoffrng the local produce. the show's vegetarian host Lady Tottrngton Helena Bonham Carteri hires Anti-Pesto to sort the problem. Wrth Wallace enamoured by Lady T. the oniy problem seems to be her snobby surtor. Vrctor Ouartermarnt‘; iRalph Frennesi. who is looking to hiast both barrels 0? hrs shotgun into the nearest rabbit hole.
Thrs rs co—drrected wrth Park by Steve Box. and the transition from the half- hour format used for previous W8C} adventures to feature-length appears as smooth as Wallace's head. Peddling a brand of saucy postcard humour that ‘xrouidn't offend your granny, as well as the usual Aardnian brand of '.'.irstful nostalgia. the story is also ripe \ivrth references to horror films. from the Unrversal monster lll()‘.’l()S to Cronenberg's The Fly. With each frame lavrsnly detailed. every square inch of stop-motion movement has been milked for all its worth. The result is close to perfection. ‘James Mottrarn. I General release from Fri 7-! Oct. See Big Picture. page i l.
l'ANlASY THRILLFH MYSTERY NIGHT WATCH (NOCHNOY 00208) (15) 114min 000
its present day Moscow — light and dark ‘other's' walk wrth human li‘Cl‘léllS. A truce has been reached whereby each WI“ patrol the other's areas: a peace rs rnarntarned until the ‘Chosen One' arrives to tip the balance towards (3|lhOl' good or evil.
The last ten years have seen territories like South Korea and South Amerrca produce aggressive. rnyeritrve. unique and, crucially. culturally specific genre rnovres. But sadly. 'l‘rnior BOkllléllltl)()l()‘~."f; Night l"./a.'~:‘n has little in rt to herald the arrryal of what is essentially Russia's first fantasy horror film. as rt seems primarily concerned Wlllt being srrnple enough to appeal to those markets that will exert the right financial leverage to ensure US D
Film
Rough Cuts
Film news and giveaways for beautiful cineaste types
I Don’t miss Document 3: International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, 22-24 October at CCA, GFT and Gilmorehill G12, Glasgow. This year’s highlights include a showcase dedicated to central Asia. For full programme details visit www.docfilmfest.org.uk or contact the organisers on doctest©gmail.com. Call 0141 248 6168 for tickets.
I The highly acclaimed feature length documentary I Was Jonathan Pitt will have a free preview screening on Thursday 20 October at 6pm at GillmorehillGi 2. The film is an observational documentary about a filmmaker’s search for his biological mother 30 years after he was given away for adoption.
I Edinburgh Cine 8. \fideo Society’s new moviemaking season commences on 6 October. The club meets at 7.30pm on Thursdays and Fridays between October and April at its clubrooms at 233 Fettes Flow, Edinburgh. For more details visit www.ecvs.co.uk.
I Tickets are now available for the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival 2005 from branches of Tiso and Alien Rock Climbing centres. This year's festival runs from 21—23 October, with a total of six film and lecture sessions, plus a party and climbing master classes. Full details of the line-up and events are available on wwwedinburghmountainffcom
WIN THE BROWN BUNNY DVD
The List has copies of Vincent Gallo’s controversial and sexually explicit film The Brown Bunny to give away. To be in with g a chance of winning one, send an email marked ‘BROWN BUNNY’ to promotions@thelist.co.uk or a postcard to The List, 14 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1TE by no later than 18 October 2005. Please include a daytime telephone number and postal address.
.73'. .‘ I :3 THE LIST 41