Iatcst pawn. Saw III is an improyement on its predecessor w hile nicely squaring the circle on this nastin intense and disturbing series. A minor treat for Halloween. Svlei‘u'd I'('l('(l.\('.

* School of the Holy Beast ( Ib'l (.\'orifumi Sir/uki. Japan. l‘)7-l) Yumi 'I‘akigaw a. limiko Yamauichi. ‘)lmin. 1974 Japanese film based in a consent and iny-olying repressed sexual desires. A young woman enters a com ent to investigate the my stei'iotis death of her mother. only to discoy'cr a smorgasbord of \ ice. l)escribed as y isually beautiful. this film is truly excessiye. Part of Wild Japan: ()utlaw Masters. see feature. page 43. Ei/nihousi'. Edinbm‘gh.

Severance ( IS» 000 (Christopher Smith. I'K. 2000) Danny Dyer. Laura Ilarris. Tim Mclnnerny. ()Smin. (‘hristopher Smith's sophomore effort is another melange of horror and comedy. The sales team of Palisade Defence. a multinational arms supplier. become stranded in a mysterious liast Iiurope woodland whilst on a teambuilding w eekcnd and are forced to seek refuge in an abandoned lodge. (iinu'n. Edinburgh.

Sex Mission (Seksmisja) ( 15:

0... (Julius/ Machulski. Poland. I‘JS-l) ()Igierd Lukas/cw ic/. Jer/y Stuhr. Bo/ena Stryikowna. I 17min. Hilarious Polish sci-ti comedy in which two men are fro/en only to wake up 50 years in the future w hen the male sex has disappeared. Part of Polish (’omedy season. I'f/HI/IUILH’. Edinburgh. Shoot First ( 15) (VarioLis. lelloi 75min. Iidinburgh's montth short film slot aims to unearth new talent by making it easier for filmmakers to haye their work shown. Iimail shootfirstw fiIiiiliousecinemacom for more information. I'i/nihnliu'. Edinburgh.

* Shortbus ( 1M 0... (John (‘ameron Mitchell. IS. 2006) Raphael Barker. Lindsey Beamisli. Jtistin Bond. Illlmin. See t‘cyicw. page ()0. and intery iew. p;th 5‘). It] (ill) sCt’liUtt. (Tiltr’u‘nl'ld Rt’II/t‘i’tt' Street. (i/iisgmr: l'i/HI/IUUH‘. Edinburgh.

Sideways ( IS) 00.. (Alexander Payne. l'S/Iiungary. 200-1» Paul (iiamatti. Thomas Iladen (‘hurch. Virginia Madsen. Sandra Oh. 127mm. Two temperamentally opposed middle-aged friends head off on a week's break in ('alifornian wine country. before one of them gets married. l'nfolding

at a relaxed tempo. and unobtrusiyely edited.

.S'idi'w'uyzs~ is a welcome throwback to the I‘)7(Is American cinema of Bob Rafels’on and Jerry Schat/berg. in part simply because it reminds us of what fun it can be to hang out with guys like Jack and Miles for a couple of hours. ('umi'u. Edinburgh.

Slaughterhouse 5 I IS) 000

((ieorge Roy Ilill. l'S. I972l Michael Sacks.

Ron I.iebman. 104mm. Iiy'eryman Billy Pilgrim (Sacks) has time-trayelling adventures that take him back to his wartime experiences in Dresden. and forward in time to face captiy ity on a distant planet. Vagtiely tiat adaptation of the classic Kurt Vonnegut novel. which lacks the loopy sense of unpredictabiIity' that characterises the author's work. l'f/Hl/IUILH'. Edinburgh. Something New (P(i) O. (Sanaa llamri. l'S. Zoom Sanaa l.atham. Katherin Townc. Stanley DeSante. lflllmin. Kenya (I.athani wants a man (tall. black and handsome) but her colleagues set her tip with an eligible white guy (Bakerl. I.ikeabIe. relaxingly paced if totally formulaic culture clash romance. ()dmn I‘or! Kinnuird. Edin/mrgh.

Starter for Ten I DA) .00 (Tom Vaughan. l'K/l'S. 2()()o) Lindsay Duncan. (‘harles Dance. James McAyoy. ()(imin. Brian (McAyoy l is the first member of his family to go to uniyersity'. where he finds the loye of two girls and a perfectly reconstructed ('nn'i'rsily ('lui/li'nei'. While the low story is predictable. the amusing qui/ show story line and e\ccllcnt post-new w a\ e soundtrack almost make up for it. .Si’li'i'fi’d I'l'l(’(l.\('.

Step Up (P(ii 0 (Anne I'letcher. l‘S. Zoom (‘hanning Tatum. Jenna l)ewan. l)amainc Radcliffe. lfl3min. I)ir!\' I)(III('III_(

meets l'imu' as sullen thug Tyler (Tatumi winds up doing community service at the Baltimore Iliin School for the Performing Arts. And ends up partnering .\'ora (Dewan I. This hokey‘. formulaic romantic drama is may bit as appalling as it sounds. (ii'neml ri'li'usi'.

Stolen (PG) 0... (Rebecca Dreyfus. I'S. zoom 85min. It sounds like the plot of a million llollywood films but this art heist is true. In I‘)‘)() two thieyes disguised as cops infiltrated the Isabella Stewart (iardner Mtiscum in Boston. Massachusetts and made off with I l masterpieces. which are as yet tinrecoy-ered. Drey fus iiwestigates conspiracy theories about the art‘s whereabouts as well as the history of the gallery. I-‘ascinating whodunnit. (ilusgnu- I'ibn 'I‘hi’ilfn'. (i/(Isjg'uu'.

Stormbreaker ( t’( i) O. ((icoffrcy Sax. (icrmany /l'K/l 'S. 200(3) Alex Petty fer. Iiwan Mc(iregor. Mickey Rourke. Bill .\'ighy. Alicia Silyerstone. 93min. Young super spy Alex Rider (newcomer Ales Pettyferi battles \ illainotis billionaire DarriUs (Mickey Rourke). The dark Bond- esque series of books which inspired the film base a healthy. aiiti-Ilarry Potter \ ibe. which gets lost in translation. There‘s some redemption in the form of callous MIS boss Bill Nighy and a Q-sty le cameo from Stephen l‘ry and there are a few passable ttL‘llon sL‘qttL‘ltccS. loo. (TIIt’H'UI'ld I’urUli'ild. (i/usgmi'; ('ini'imrld Edinburgh. Edinburgh. * Stranger Than Fiction ( IZAi 0... (Marc I-orster. I'S. Zoom \Vill I‘erreII. Maggie (iy Ilenhaal. Dtistin Hoffman. 1 12min. See rcyicw. page 43. ()(/('()II Ili'm'r Hui/vs. Edinburgh.

* Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter( 18) O... (Yasuharu IIasebe. Japan. l‘)7()) Meiko Kaji. Rikiya Yasuoka. Tatsuya I‘tiji. Jiro ()ka/aki. ‘Jomin. It's rock‘n'roll and gang warfare Japanese-sly lc. as Kaji’s girl gang fight boredom and Vicious yakti/a in this iconic fiick. Part of Wild Japan: ()utlaw Masters. sec feature. page ~12. film/muse. Edinbiirch.

Film

* Sword of Doom ( IS) (Kihachi ()kamoto. Japan. 190m Tatsuya Nakadai. Toshiro Mifunc. IZZmin. Ryunosuke is a samurai without compassion or scniples. When he kills an opponent in a fencing match. he is pursued by the brother of the man he killed. As he eyades him. he gathers more enemies. and builds up to a final showdown. This film is noted for its breathtaking photography and fight scenes. Part of Wild Japan: ()utlaw Masters. see feature. page ~13. l‘i/III/l()ll.\t'. Edinburgh. Teddy Bear (Mis) I IS) (Stanislaw Bareja. Poland. IUSI l Stanislaw Ty m. Barbara Burska. (‘hristine Paul-Podlasky.

l I Imin. A sports team owner is detained at the airport after pages of his passport are discoy ci'cd to hayc been ripped out. Suspecting foul play from his ex-wife. he embarks on a journey to London and a crime. comedy and doubles caper ensues. Part of Polish ('omedy season. I‘f/Hl/IUHH’. Edinburgh.

Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny ( l5) 0. (Liam Lynch. l'S. Zoom Jack Black. Kyle (iass. 94min. A revised history of Jack Black and Kyle (iass' rock band Tenacious D sees the two on a mission to steal the eponymous pick where w ackiness ensues. liycept not so much. The plot is poor. too reliant on star cameos and has been done better in School i’fh’m‘k. One for fans of the I) only. General I‘('/('H.\(’.

The Thistle and the Lotus (t'i ((iraham Kitchener. l'K. BOOM-16min. The l-lth Dalai Lama oIHI'ibct's y isit to Iidinburgh is documented by Kitchener. Part of Interfaith \Veek. l'ihnhousi'. Edinburgh.

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