www.list.co.uk/film
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale
Aladdin ll I... (John Mtisker’Ron (‘leiiientcl X, l‘)‘)3i Voices ol Robin \Killiaiiis. Scott \Neiiigei. Linda Larkin ‘Iliiiin It‘s panto time. I)isncy style, .is \Ilt't'l\‘-l\t' thiel Aladdin vsims I’rincess lasiiiine with the help of the (ienie ol the lamp and Illlltllillle' ol the evil Jatar ('olouiliil. entertaining stulf Ioi kids ol all ages \killiaiiis‘ vvhiiling deryish ol a (ienie inevitany steals the shins Part of \Veans' “(llltl lilinli/iiivi, l.iliIi/iiiiuli
Alice in the Cities (LI eeee (\vim \Vendeis. (iei'inany. I‘V-li Rudiger Vogler. Yella Rotlandei. I is.i Kie/er I Illiiiin. A despairing photoiouriialist travelling at ross the I‘nited \lalcs linds hiiiisell on a [ourney back In ( ieiinaiiy in Ilie Ulllll‘itll} iii a nine- year old girl In Ilic search for her family. he finds hiiiisell becoming hei surrogate parent and spiiitual guide, \\ ise. perceptive and beautiliilly shot early \Vendcis New iSmin piiiit Part of \Veiidci's season I‘ll/ll/lllllw’. Ici/iii/iiiIu/i
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem I I51 0 (('olin a (ireg Stratise. LS. 2007) Steven l’asqualc. Reiko :\ylesvsoi'th. John ()i‘ti/ h’hmm. See revicys. page Ix (ii'm'rii/ Ii'li’ilu’.
Alvin and the Chipmunks il'i
0.. ('I'iin Hill. [8. ZINWI Jason Lee. I).i\ iil (toss. ('aiiieron Richardson. ‘llmin. likeablc preschool comedy featuring a bunch of pint si/ed chipmunk pop stars and their long-suffering human guardian (LceI. (ii'lli'l'il/ I'i’li'ilu'.
The American Friend il’(ii eeee (\Vim \Veiiders, \Vest (ieriiiany/Fi'ance. I‘l’wi (iei'niany/I~rance. llinun. Based on tlic I’ati'icia llighsmith novel Rip/m 's (iiiim'. Iliis e\ce||cnt. e\isientialist tilm iiiiir centres on an alienated Hopper at large in (iermany. vs here his task is to locate and motivate a killer vv ithout a track record. He finds his hired man in Ilie innocent (iaiil. but loses his sense of identity in the process. Stirring stult. vs iIh all IIiat eloquent desolation that I.‘l‘llics \Veiidei's‘ work. Part of chders season, l‘llllllll'llu'. Izilinliiirg/i.
American Gangster ( IS) .0.
(Ridley Scott. l'S. 2(l()7i Den/cl Washington. Riissell ('rovve. (‘hivsetel Iillttlnl'. I57miii. :\I close to three hours long. Scott's lengthy cops and robbers game aims for an epic feel but unfolds in disappointineg generic fashion. thanks in part to phoned-in performances from Washington as real-lite heroin kingpin l-‘rank Lucas and ('i‘ovse as his lavs man Ilclitcsls Richie Roberts. Si'li'i'li‘i/ I‘i’li’iMi’. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (ISI 0... (Andrew Dominik. I'SA. 3(Nl7l Brad Pitt. (‘asey .-\llleck. Mary- l.ouise I’ai'kei'. 150mm. Remarkable. breathtaking Western about the last days of one of. .-\merica's most infamous outlavv s. The film opens in I870 in (ilendale. Missouri \\ here the James gang. depleted by arrests. deaths and defections. are about to begin their final crime spree of train and canal robberies. 'I'his brutal. slow and beautifully presented endgame drama is a ioy. and it country rubes. robbery and outlays martyrdom are your thing. it is not to he llllssc'tl. .Vlliiiii‘ilu' Cinema. Pill.\l('_\. Atonement ( I5l eeee (Joe Wright. I'K. 2007i Vanessa Redgrave. Keira Kiiightley. James McAvoy. I23min. It's a rare thing for a film to fuse the literary qualities ol~ a great novel vvith dramatic
povs er and cinematic grandeur. but .'\l("l('"l("ll does iiist that. Fine. heady and emotive performances from the cast and occasional scenes of astounding visual
imagery mean that the tragic love story ot childhood sweethearts Knightley and MtAyoy remains as complex and heanrending as Ian Mclivvan's original novel Sf'll't Ii‘il rr‘li'ilu'
Balls of Fury 1 IZAI eee (Robert Ben (iarant. lb. 300"» Dan Foglcr. ('hristopher Walken. (ieorge Lopel. Robert Patrick ()(lmin Randy Daytona (I'ogleri is a one-time table tennis prodigy recrtiited to avenge the death of his lather Pete (Patrick; by infiltrating a crime lord's island tournament So far so yeah vs hatey er. but the vvelcome arrival of master criminal/ping pong fanatic Feng (Walkeni lilts Ila/Iv of fury onto the xii/plum" level of deadpan parody. (ii'rli'l'ill I'i'li'uvi‘
Bee Movie (Li .0. (Steve IlickneriSimon J Smith. I'S. IllWi Jerry Seinfeld. Renee Zellvseger. Matthew Broderick, 00mm. Barry 8 Ilenson graduates from college to find that he still only has one possible career making honey. Disilltisioned. he moves to Manhattan
\s here he discovers that humans steal and eat honey and resolves to file a law suit against the honey giant. Big Honey. An oddly conceived vehicle for a reluctant star. Bf't’ .‘lfm'ii' deserves a Il-ininus l'or effort (ii-iii'riil ri'li'iisi’.
Beowulf 30 i 13m eeee (Robert Zemeckis. I'S. 3007i Ray Winstone. Anthony Hopkins. John Malkovich. I l-lmin. Zemeckis' I988 llll\CtI up live-action-vsith- cartoons experiment resulted in Who Humi'il Roger Rabbit. Here he shows hovv much the technique has evolved in two decades. bringing the ancient Anglo-Saxon poem to life. Much of the initial wovv factor is down to special effects. but a cracking screenplay by Neil (iaiinan and Roger Avary makes for an all-round superior blockbuster. ('i'm-imrlil Ri’lilri'ii' .S'Iri'i'l. (iliisgnii.
Beyond the Sea ( IZAI 000 (Kevin Spacey. l'S/(iermany/I'K. 2004) Kevin Spacey. Kate Bosvvorth. John (ioodman. Bob lloskins. l Ih’min. Actor/director's Space-y‘s attempt to set legendary singer Bobby Darin's short life into some kind Fosse-esque set piece-led musical drama is both admirable and being very guilty of the label ‘vanity project'. But Spacey hoofs.
vs inces and generally acts his heart out through a series of pretty impressive sequences shame about Paul Qiii: Slime Attanasio and Loren/o Sleepers (‘arcaterra's cheeseball of a script. Still. a revealing (overlongl slice of musical history. 5!
[hide '.\ ('i'nlri'. Edinburgh.
Negatlwidits
Bheema I IZAI (N Lingusvvamy. Sn Lanka. ZIII'I Trisha Krishnan. Vikram. Prakasb Rat IZFmin Tamil action film based on the adventures of heroic warrior Bhima. a character from The .lfiihiilihumiii (‘im'iiurlil Ri'nfri'ii Siri'i'f. (iliiwim Breach i 12m .000 (Billy Ray. (‘8. 3006» Ryan Phillippe. Laura Linney. (‘hris (‘ooper I Illinin Superior political thriller based on the true story of an FBI turncoat “ho created the biggest security breach in the organisation's history Cooper is excellent as FBI agent Robert Hanssen and Phillippe is equally good as the undercover agent following his every move I'm- Edinburgh ()i (an. Edinburgh
The Bride Wore Black ( 12» 0.00 (Francois Truffaut. France lltaly. l9le Jeanne Moreau. Michel Bouquet. Jean- (‘Iaude Brigin Ill7min Rumoured to be the inspiration for Quentin 'l‘arantino's Bride character in the Kill Bill Iilms. the widow in question goes on a murder spree. picking off the five men vs ho accidentally killed her husband on their wedding day no less' This is filmmaker Truffaut at his populist best. Edinburgh I'll/ll (iiiilil. [Zilllll)lll'l"h.
The Cat in The Hat (POI ee
(Bo Welch. LS. 3003) Mike Myers. Alec Baldwin. Kelly Preston. Dakota Fanning. Spencer Breslin. 82min. American classic. perverted and robbed of any charm. Mike Myers‘ golden touch may have Jltsl come to an end. Mind you — this did pretty well in the ['8. but there is. of course. no accounting for public taste. (him-mini: (iliisgiiii:
Celluloid Jam: LOL: The Movie (Iii (Joe Swanberg. US. 2006) Bewcrsdorl.
8 I min. Kevin Bewersdorf' leads a cast of non-professional actors in a ‘murnblecore' exploration of' masculinity in the digital age. ((34. Glasgow
Les Chansons d’amour ( IN
C... (Christophe Honore. France. 2007) Louis (iarrel. Ludivine Sagnier. (‘hiara Mastroianni. 95min. (‘heerful musical in which a couple brings a third party into their relationship. creating a comfortable arrangement but one that also brings out other issues. Poignant and full of ravv images of Paris. this is clearly director Honoré's loving homage to Demy's The Umbrellas riff/lemming. although leading man (iarrcl's flaiiiboyance and quirky ties occasionally detract from the film's central theme of lost love. (ilus‘gmi' Film Tlii'ulri'. Gliisgmi;
This, the first of a series of showcases of underground and experimental artist’s films and
documentaries kicks off with the premiere of Malcy’s Horses (pictured). Directed by Ben Ewart Dean, this documentary follows the artist Malcy Duff as he draws all the horses in his head. The film features original music by Ali Robertson (from the bands USURPER and Giant Tank) and Norman Shaw (nimrod 33, N08). Malcy's Horses will be followed by a Q&A and a second film Gavin’s Feet which will be accompanied by a live scoring by Robertson and Shaw. There will also be an exhibition of work featured in both films. This is a free event. Future Negativnights will be on 31 January, 7, 21 & 28 Feb and 6 March.
I Edinburgh Printmaker's Workshop, 77m 24 Jan.
Name Gann Nugroho
Born 6 June 1961, Jogjakarta. Indonesia
Background During the final decade of President Suharto's 32- year authoritarian reign, Nugroho was virtually the only filmmaker working in Indonesia. The native film industry had suffered an untimely death in the 19905. but Nugroho carried on producing films critical of the soc:al and political situation in his country. After Suharto's New Order government was ousted in 1998. and during the ten years of renewed political and religious violence that followed, Nugroho has continued to address the struggle between local and global issues that impacts on Indonesia in films that encompass the region's multiculturalism. Not only a filmmaker (whose work has been feted at Cannes and Berlin), Nugroho is also an academic. arts critic and political commentator.
What’s he up to now? Having been invited to contribute to the global celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart. a cross- cultural festival titled New Crowned Hope. Nugroho has completed his most ambitious film yet. Inspired by a story of tragic romance from the Asian literary classic The Ramayana. Opera Jawa is a multimedia musical that takes in Javanese song, music. dance. visual art and installation.
What he says about violence In Indonesia ‘I still remember when I first witnessed the start of tribal conflict. when a man was carrying an ear that had been cut off another person. I also remember the people that were hanged and burnt in the remote corners of Java. and I still see the kind of crowd behaviour where people take the law into their own hands on the streets. I have also seen the killing fields on various islands. and in other parts of the world. all in the name of truth. I have come to realise that I live in the midst of a paradox of extremes in which there is no room left to share.’
Interesting fact Opera Jawa was shot in just 14 days. despite containing over 60 dance routines and 70 songs. (Miles Fielder)
I Opera Jawa, Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh, from Wed 30 8 Thu 31 Jan. DVD out Mon 28 Jan (Yume)
17-31 Jan 2008 THE LIST 43