Film
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
The American Astronaut ( IS)
.0. ((‘ory .\le.’\hee. l'S. 300] l ('ory McAhec. Rocco Sislo. (iregoi') Rtlssell (’ook. ()lmin. lintertaining and quirk} l'S indie come hlack and white space \sestern musical uritten. directed h} and starring the man from News York hand The Bill} Na} er Show. Part of (‘elluloid Jam. (‘('.'l. (fltlfi'f’fill‘.
Apne ( lZAl 0.. (.-\nil Sharma. India. 2007) Dharmendra. Sunn} l)eol. Bohhy l)eol. Shilpa Shell). l.iSinin. Ageing e\- hoxer Baldc\ (I)harmendrat tries to \ ilif) his tarnished reputation through training sons Karan and Angad (his real—life sons Sunny and Bobby Deol l. ’I't‘agedy ensues and famil) lo_\alties are tested in this solidl} entertaining drama. (‘inmm-li/ rem/m- Stn'cl. (iluiemi’: ()(lemi I’ur! Kinmtinl. Edinburgh.
Are We Done Yet? ( PG) .0
(Steve (‘arr. l'S. 2007i lce (‘uhe. .\'ia Long. .-\leisha Allen. ‘)lmin. (iron ling sourpuss Nick l’ersons ((‘uhei and his anno) ing step- kids try to ll\ up the famil} ’s ne“ counlr}
home for his pregnant \\ ife Sti/anne (Long l.
But assorted wildlife. architectural faults and ('huck Mitchell (.\lc(}inle} l conspire against him in this crude remake of ll(' Potter's l‘l-lS classic .llr Blunt/mes Built/s His Dream Home. lint/tire (lit/chunk. (Yule/Junk: ()(lt'nll l’url Kinnuinl. lz'rlin/mrgli.
Barnyard (Pt il .0 (Stew ()cdekerk. [3. Zoom voices of KM in James. (‘ourteney (‘o.\. Satn lilliott. 80min. (‘omputer-generated animation feature centered on the single unfunn} premise that farimard animals do mad things \\ hen no one is watching. With the cast and \\ riters iii\'ol\ed. this should he half decent. hut it's actually \‘er} pool‘. More manure for minors. .St'lt't‘lt'rl I'(’/(’(1.\('.
The Big Lebowski ( 18) I... ('oen. [18. 1997) Jeff Bridges. John (ioodman. Ste\ e Btiscemi. 1 13min. 'l‘he (‘oen hrothcrs gixe their unique In ist to a (‘handler-esque |.:\ noir. as 70s hipp}
lliI‘o“ hack Jeff "l'he l)ude' l.eho\\ ski (Bridges) is draxs n into the sordid affairs of his millionaire namesake. Suddenl} he has to sleuth his on} through disorganised crime. 'I‘radeniark oddhall characters. surreal imagery and excellent performances grace this \‘il’llloso coined}. (iron-mini:
(Joel
(i/us'gmi.
The Borrowers ( t 'i 000. (Peter lie“ in. l‘ls'. l‘)‘)7l John (loodman. Jim Broadhent. ('elia lmrie. 86min. Only four inches tall. the Bornmers hide in \s all ca\'ities and live heneath the floorboards of the Lender household. When a mist} lan'ser tries to S“. indle the humans out of their inheritance. families hig and small join forces. The design and effects create a
strangel} familiar. oddl) unplaceahle “mid.
and children \sill ha\'e little difficult}
1—,}
l'alkirls ('ouncil
Goya’s Ghosts (15) Thurs 2 Aug 7 :30pm
Falkirk Town Hall
Tickets and further information from The Steeple Box office or on the day
from the hall
(01324 506850)
44 THE LIST 19 Jul 2 Aug 200/
suspending enough dishelief to he speilhound h} the magic of the film. (imsi‘enm: (i/useim;
Bridge to Terabithia (l’(i) 000 ((iahor ('supo. l'S. 200.7l Josh llutchcrson. Annasophia Rohh. Zooe} l)eschanel. 95min. Artistic kid Jess tllutchersonl is getting hullied at school and at home until outsider Leslie (Rohhi mo\ es in lieu door and the l\\o hegin to huild an imaginar) world in a neai'h} \sood. This faithful adaptation of Katherine l’aterson's coming of age children's hook is \sorth a look for adults and kids alike. Part of Books lnto l-‘ilm “eels. Sl’lt’l‘lt't/ I't’lt'tl.\('.
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia ( IS) .0... (Satn l’eckinpah. Mexico/l'S. l‘)74l Warren ()ates. lsela Vega. Rohert \Vehher. 1 13min. Brilliant. nihilistie. unforgettahle drama ahout an itinerant .'\merican piano Pl;t}L‘l' (()atesi in Mexico who hecomes in\ol\ ed in a famil} feud and hount} for one unfortunate man's head. .-\ true masterpiece frotn one of the greatest periods of [S cinema. .\
l’s} chotronic ('inema presentation. (i/useun' I'ilm I'lu'ulri'. (i/ltxemi;
:2: The Chase ( is» 0000 (.-\rthur Penn. l'S. 190m Marlon Brando. Jane Fonda. Rohert Redford. 134mm. Sheriff (‘alder (Brandoi is a puppet of rich oilman Val Rogers tli(} Marshall) and local haddie Buhha Ree\es (Redfordi has escaped prison in this tale of h_\pocrac_\ and \ iolcnce in the deep South of the [S (please note: this lilm is still to he conlirmed at time of going to press). Part of Marlon Brando retrospectne. Film/muse. l‘frliii/mruli.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (ll
0... (Ken llughes. l'ls'. I‘loh’i Sall} Anne Hones. Dick \‘an H} ke. l.ionel Jeffrics. l-lSmin. length}. ellects-lilled children's ad\enture concei\cd iii the \sake of .llurr l’uppmx' huge commercial succes hut \\ ith a charm (and great songs) all of its (mn. Dick Van D} kc is the mad ins entor
\\ hose ll} ing car propels his children and romantic interest lloues to a far-off land of adventure. Part of Books lnto l‘ilm \Veek. l'i/m/iouw. lit/inlmreli.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tl’(ii 0 (Andrew :\d;ttnson. l'S.
3005i (ieorgie llenlc}. William Moseley
Skandar Kc) nes. James Niel-Mo}. Ra} \Vinstonc. Damn l-"rench. Tilda stinton. 125mm. This. the first of se\en proposed children fantas} hlockhusters hased on ('S l.e\\is' nutch lo\ ed allegorical no\ els. is an ahsoltite stinker. and one made all the more unpalatahle h} the fact that the \er} unchrislian greed of its producers is so utterl) palpahle o\ er its seemingl} endless running time. Proof that great hooks can make trul} appalling films. Part of Books lnto l'ilm \Veek. l'i/m/muu'. I-.i/1'Iilm;‘eli. The Chumscrubberi IS» 0..
(Arie l’osin. l'S/(ierman). 2005i (‘amilla Belle. Jamie Bell. Justin ('hatss in. l07min. it‘s all sinister undertones. hlack L‘Ulllt‘tl} and seed} goings on in suhurhia in this tale of \\ hat happens \\ hen a high school drug dealer hangs himself and his remaining friends/clients llll‘ll dctccli\e. ('(IHH’U. [Jilin/)ure/I.
Conspirators of Pleasure l is) 0... (Jan Smukmaicr. ('/ech Repuhlic. 10%; 85min. 'l‘he ('Iech surrealist third feature is a li\e action hlack coined} that makes a v. ickcd. slightl} disturhing fora} into the hi/arre sc\ttal fantasies that lurk in the human mind. Sparing in the Use of his trademark stop— motion animation. Smnkmajcr manipulates his actors instead and draw s on the \sork of De Sade. lireud. .\la\ lirnst and Bunuel to illuminate his characters' desires. Part of S\ankma_icr season. (i/meun' I‘ll/n 'l’ln'ulrc. (i/iiwmi‘.
Dead Silence 1 l5i C. (James \Van. l‘S. 2007i R}an K\\antcn. :\niher Valletta. Laura Regan. 89min. When
new I) \\ eds Jamie ( szanteni and l.isa .'\shen (Regan) disco\ er an eerie. lifelike \entrilotluist's dumm} in their nexs apartment. the) get more than just a \aude\ illc act. Simple. loss -kc) horror
\\ hich trel'resliingl} I itses gore \\ ith discretion to delixer some old fashioned shocks hill the ainhitious plans are undone h) appalling acting and une\ en characterisation. ('t'm'u‘ur/il lx’t'n/n'n Street. (i/memi’: ('ml'n (tr/(l l'ft/i/i/ttu'e/I. Iii/Inluu'u/i.
Die Hard 4.0 t 15) .0. il.en \Viseman. l'S. 2007i Bruce Willis. 'l‘imoth} ()l}phant. Maggie Q. llSmin. Renegade cop and one man destro} er of
Full Metal Alchemist/Robotech Shadow Cluonicles
Sunday afternoon. Based on the bestselling comic by Hiromu Arakawa, the phenomenally successful Full Metal Alchemist (pictured), a tale of magic and brotherly rivalry has already taken Japan and the US by storm and looks set to repeat that success in the UK. The slightly less impressive Robotech Shadow Chronicles is more your bog standard futuristic transforming robots anime, but still fairly entertaining.
I Cameo. [.kl/nlmrg/i. Sun 25) Jul.
municipal propert) John .\lc('lane tWillisl steps up to the plate. older hut not much
\\ iser. to contend \\ ith a hunch of iiher geek terrorists ‘.s ho ha\c kidnapped his estranged daughter l.iic} t.\lar_\ lili/aheth Winstead l. (iood o\ er the top action pieces and lots of reactionar} quips make this a north} inclusion to the franchise. (lem'ml It'lt'llfit'.
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing
( l5) ... (Barhara KoppleK 'ecelia l’eck. l'S. Zoom Natalie .\laines. Mattie .\laguire. liinil} Rohison. ‘Ninin. .\ t'ocktttncnlat‘) folloxs ing the ('hicks o\ er three tumultuous _\ears. after an off-the- cul'f remark at a concert in l.ondon in 3003 ahout heing ashamed of President Bitsh coming from their home-state of 'I‘esas. sass them hlacklisted h} the media. countr) radio stations and their core redneck fans. :\ searing indictment of ‘)/l l’s effect on free speech and some seif-promotion for the spunk} milsicians. (i/usumi' I'i/m 'I‘ln'um'. (i/mgmi': l'i/Hi/tuttu'. [filth/Hugh. Donnie Darko ( l5) 0... (Richard Kcll}. ['S. 2002) Jake (i) llenhaal. l)re\\ Barr} more. l’atrick Sua} /e. l l.imin. Kell} 's dehut feature is a mesmerising science fiction fahle that pushes the concept of cinematic litne tra\el into a “hole ness dimension. lls somnamhulant teenage protagonist seems to slip into a parallel ttni\erse. \s here a giant demonic rahhit called l‘rank proclaims that the \sorld \\ ill end in IS da) s. 0 hours. 42 minutes and II seconds. Set in IUSS. this genre-hending film is not onl} an intriguing meditation on time traVel and a decpl} disturhing horror tno\ ie. it is also a John Hughes-st) lc comingof-age mo\ ie and a hlack comic satire on Reaganite greed. indi\ idualism and (‘hristian l'ttndamcntalism. (inner). Iii/inlim'e/I.
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