Film
The Golden Compass i IBA) ooo (('hris Weill. l,'S/I'K. 3007) Nicole Kidman. Dakota Blue Richards. Ian McKellen. Sam Izlliot. l05min Based on the nose] b} I’hillip l’ullman. this tantas} adventure follows I.) ra (Richards). who has been entrusted with the last remaining ‘alethiorneter'. or golden compass. which she inUst keep from the pow er-cra/ed Magisterium The world Wcit/ has created is beautifulls designed and fascinating. but choppin structured and lacking in riiucli ot what makes the book so complex and provocatisc. lt's l’aradise \lisscd (it/it ml releuu',
Gone With The Wind tl’( ii ooooo (Victor l‘leming. IS. I‘) W) (‘lark (iable. VIVICli Leigh. ()lisia de llasillarid. Leslie Howard. 330mm. This new print has restored the original colour to the classic. 53-year-old tale that brings alisc the era ot the coil war through gripping narratise and characterisation. remaining faithful to Margaret Mitchell‘s powerful nos cl. Slots/nun St renting Room. IatIiIi/iure/r The Good Night t IS) O (Jake Paltrow. l'K/l'S/(ierman). 3007) l’eiielopc (‘rti/. Martin l‘TCL‘ltttttt. (iwyreth l’altrow ‘Hrnm. ('ommercial tingle-w ritcr (iar} (Freeman) is stuck between his grim working reality and his ltisli dreams ()l professional model Anna (( 'ru/i. (me big yawn. (‘IIIH’H'HI'lt/ Rt'li/n'ii Street. (Ifll\L'Uit’,' ('i'neii'orld Ift/ilihitreli. Iz't/i'Ii/iiu'g/i. Grandhotei ( I5) (l)a\ id ()ndricck. ('/ech Republic. 3006) Marek taclik. Klara Issosa. Jaroslas' l’lesl.'l'he infamous architecture of the communist-era Jested (Brand llotel looms over a northern (’Iech cit). In it resides Vlasta lileischman. i‘epairiiian and amateur meteorologist. lis'crsdti} Vlasta dreams of escaping from the oppressch hotel tiiitil one day. lira. the beautiful kleptomaniac maid arris'es. Part of Slade in Prague season. I'il/ii/iouse. Iz‘i/i'lihrujeli. Happily N’Ever After ( t ') oo
(Paul J Bolger. Yvette Kaplan. l'S/(ierman). 3007) Sarah Michelle (iellar. l‘rcddic l’i'in/c Jr. John Di Maggio. Sigourne} Weaser. 86min. 'I'wo bumbling sorcerer's apprentices. a pig called Munck (Wallace Shawn) and a cat called Mambo (And) Dick) accidentally allow evil w itch I'ricda (Sigourney Weaver) to alter the balance of good and evil in the magic kingdom. Disappointineg familiar contemporar} take on olde lairy tales. (‘riieii'orlt/ Iz‘rliri/mijeli, faithfully/i.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ( 12A) oo (DélVltl Yates. l‘K/l'S. 3007) Daniel Radcliffe. Rupert (irint. Iimma Watson. IRSmin. Will) Ilari') 's fifth return to Hogwarts comes the realisation that Voldemort's return to power is not the orin factor that will trouble him and he is forced to confront a different force that matches his growing pains. Row Iing's most complex and unes en book has prmeii to be the most diflicttlt to adapt. Missing the talents of a big name director this still contains some enjoyable moments L‘UllflL'S} of newcomer Imelda Stauntori. plasing the latest Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Sadly exposition oser action is this film's real undoing. ('ineii‘orlrl Iz‘tliriliiufeli. Iz‘t/rii/iiirgli. Robson's Choice it') oooo (l)a\ id Lean. UK. I954) (‘harles Laughton. Brenda De Ban/ie. John Mills. l07min. 'I‘his working-class coined) charts the descent into alcoholism of Ilenr} llobson (Laughton). a boot maker in I‘lth ccnttir‘} Salford. Delightful screen Version of Harold Brighouse's popular pla}. Sr Bride's ('entre. Edinburgh.
Hostage t l5) (Constantine (iiannaris. Greece/Turkey 3005) Stathis l’apadopoulos. Theodora 'I‘Iimou. (iiannis Stankoglu. 95min. In an act of revenge an illegal immigrant hijacks a bus and demands that he be paid a ransom and allowed safe passage to his homeland of Albania. 'I‘he hijacking. along with its entourage of police
52 THE LIST 31 clan—14 Feb 2008
and tclcsision crews. is transmitted li‘. c on Greek tclcs isron Based on a true stors. (iiannaris' liliii draws a bleak picture ot the media and the claustrophobic soc iets ll mlornis l’art ot (ircek l‘lllII l'estisal l'i/Inliouu' Ia/in/imgh
Hotel Harabati i 1%.... (tinct- (‘ausin frame. 300’): laurcnt l ucas. llclcnc l‘illicrcs. .-\nouk -\imcc 05mm Sec res iew, page 4!) (i/ttu'iiii [If/r1 lfii tiff! (i/iiigow. film/intro I'afi/i/iiirg'h
I Am Legend i 15) 0.. tl‘t.tttct\ Lawrence. LS. 3007) \\ ill Sriiith. \\ illow Smith. I)arrcl| l-ostci l00iiiin Siirprisingls solid adaptation of Richard \Iatlicsoiis much~tilmcd nox cl about the possible last man on earth (Smith) and his attempts to liiid a cure lor the iiian-iiiadc bacterial \ irus that has kllletl oil L'\L't)i)ttt' clsc. l‘at a few mutant \ampires. (ft‘lll'l'll/ I‘t'ft'tlu'
In the Valley of Eiah l )5) oo
il’aul llaggis. LS. 300") 'I’omm) Lee Jones. ('harli/c 'l'hci’on. Stisan Sarandon l3lii)in Drcar} 'war at home" diaiiia from the
w liter/director ot .-\cadeiii} .»\ward winner (‘I'(l\/l. .St’ft't It't/ Ii'fi'ilu
It’s Gonna Get Worse ( . . . a Bude Hur!) (l2) tl’etr \lkttlttLW. (‘/ccli Republic. 2007) Shmm. .-\ bold. raw portrait ot south adritt iii l‘)70s ('Icchoslosakia Based on the lcgciidar) 1030s cult iimcl. l’art ot Made iii l’ragltc season I'i/Iii/ioitu. Izt/iIi/mre/i.
9‘ Juno ( I3) 0... i lasoii Reitman. LS. 3007) l'.llL'II l’age. .\lichacl (era. Jcnnilcr ( iarner. 05min. See pres icw. page 4-1 and res icw. page 45. (init'm/ I't’ft'tlxt'. Kaalai ( I3:\) i'I'artin (iopc. India. 3003‘") Silaiiibarasan. \edhika. .\'i|a. l3()mmmin. 'I‘amil action thriller about underworld gangsters, (.I-Ilf'HU/ftl Rt’It/I't'ii .S'Il't't'l. Glasgow.
The Killing of Sister George ( Is) 0.. (Robert .-\ldrich. I'S. turns) Bersl Reid. Stisannah York. ('oral Browne. l3ls'min. Reid plass an ageing actress tired from IV soap. and finding her life in general and her relationship with her girlfriend (York). in particular. collapsing around her. Aldrich. the master of '( irand (itiigiiol' e\ccss like ll'litili’i‘er Hap/tenet! lo lJu/n June". was cntireI) the wrong director for this screen \crsioii of Hank .\Iarcus's celebrated pla). and the result is a Ieei'ing piece of grotesqucric that lacks compassion or understanding of the central characters. .-\ l’s)‘c‘hoti'oiiic‘ (’inema presentation. I‘ilnilioim'. I'fi/tiiliiu'g/i.
The Killing of John Lennon ( IS) 0... (Andrew l’iddington. LR. 3007) Jonas Ball. Joe Abbate. Sofia Dubrawsk}.
l l4min. Powerful. lean and intelligent dramatisation of the esents that led to the
U
Greekan
assasinatioii ot John I ennon Ball as ultimate psschotic tanbos \Iark (‘hapinan is trcriiendotis ( rmaura.”1...":Irbarc'i; Ixu’iiflwugi:
The Kite Runner 13 \» oooo ~,\l.itc l‘(‘I\lt‘r. I S 300V Khalid -\bdalla. l hsan \iiian. \ sesolotl Bardashcs IISmin (iripping and moxiiig adaptation ot the II('\t‘l l‘} klldlc‘tl lliHsc‘tIIt \( fit .‘t if It It u‘\( Lady Godivaitjhe «\icks
.lew son. I ls. 300M l’hocbe lhoiiias. \latthew ('haiiibei‘s ‘l‘niin In Iiei debtit lcaturc 3l _\eai old writer director Jew son relocates the lltli centiiis iiisth to the dicaiiiing spires ot citIIlt'IIII‘UI.tI_\ (lstord tor a cliche ridden romantic melodrama. wheie lose blossoms between a .‘0 something teacher at a prisate school and a handsome local cclebr'it} (‘ontioiitcd with an
uncons inc mg and ci)ltltl\ ed script. the cast are lett tloundermg. while the music promo st_\ lc sequences are plain embarrassing Show on (if/ll "III. ( our/nit er. (i/trseon, Show me (in: ma. l’iiis/m. l’tiis/t'x
>i< The Lady Vanishes (l l.... (Allied llitclicock. I'K. I‘MM \IaIgatct Lockwood. \lichael Rcdgiase. Dame \Ia} \Vliitt} 05min Sec ic\ icw. page -35 liliii/intro; lat/iIi/iiue/i
Lions for Lambs I IS) eoe (Robert J{L'(ll(inl_ LS Still-i) \lt'l}l SIIL‘L‘I‘. RHlK‘t'l Rcdtord. 'I'om ('i'tiisc. \ndrew (iartield ‘l3iiiiii .'\tlltlll.tl)lt‘ in its critical stance on the .-\iiierican adiiiinistiation's war on terror. and shot tliioiigli with an appropriate scnsc ol tltgt'ttc'}. this political drama tails to match its intent with cinematic craltsiiiaiiship Strong pcrloimanccs tron) Rcdtoid. ('ruisc. Sheep and new comer (iarticld are tuned in the pi‘oicct's creak} stage origins (it was originall} conccised as a pla} ) and stibsuiiied iii the o\ erl} didactic nature of the [tlL‘SL‘ttlttIltttt lfl'lllllttlt Illt'llll't'. l‘aflll/Hll'g‘ll.
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) i IS) oooo it-Iorian llciickel \ott Doiiiier‘siiiaick. (iL'I'tlt;tlI}. 300m Martina (icdeck. l’lrich \luchc. Sebastian Koch. l37min. l'.\ccllciit cold w ai thriller about \tll'\ eillance and cultural l'rccdom in Last Berlin under the Stasi (secret police). :\ liliii that manages to be both horrit_\ing and humorous. llighl) t'L‘L‘t)lttlltetttletl. (‘lllt'iilllf(l Rt’ltll‘t'ii .Sll't'i’l. (i/iisgoii _' ('iiit'iiorlt/ lzt/iIi/iirre/i. lat/iIi/iure/i. Lust, Caution I IS) 0... (.-\ng l.cc. I'S.-\/('hina/laiwan/llong Kong. 3007) loll} Leting ('liiu Wai. Wei ’I‘ang. Joen ('hcn. Lee-Ilom Wang. 158mm. Lee‘s newest outing is an espionage thriller. In WWII Shanghai. Wong (‘hia (‘hi (Wei 'laiig ). under the ttitclagc ot Kuang Yu Min (Lee
"J i
. In
Greek cinema old and new is trumpeted in this short season of films from the home
of philosophy. There’s something here for everyone, from Tassos Boulmetis' blockbusting (in Greece) historical epic A Touch of Spice, real-life hijack drama Hostage and Nikos Singapore Sling Nikolaidis’ final film The Zero Years to tragicomic Athenian melodrama One Day in August (pictured). This is an enticing and eclectic selection of films.
www.filmhousecinema.com
I Fi/mhouse. Edinburgh from Fr) 7 Feb.
www.list.co.uk/film
Iloru “mg i. goes undercos ei to terrct out Japanese collaborator .\Ir \ce (l cung)
l ushls designed and tull ot csccllcnt rx-rtoimances this is the kind ot compelling and mature tiliiimaking that lee has made his own Recommended (‘iric'iioria’
Rt 'ttlt u \{u t .' I'tiiriiiiuei: Madeline il )0. (Daiss \on Scherlci. l'S. I‘NS) l‘f.tttct‘\ \choriiiand. \igel Hawthorne. Ilatts Jones S‘lmm \Iadelmc is a hsbrid ot the "adorablt" pie teen cltlltltt‘tls heroine -\s intelligent as
(flow L'( in I ii’nihi 'UH‘.
\latilda. she's also as precocious as l’ippi longstocking .iiid. like -\niiie. she's an orphan She liscs ma l‘aiisian boarding school with elcscii other girls and is tutored bs Sister (‘lasel Made in the spirit ol childreiis' films ot b) gone times. this well iiiteiitioiied tiliii is ncserthclcss desperatels tlttll '\ lake 3 [‘tt‘selttaltott (Hinton l'l/m Iftt'tlll't.(r/t1\uii)i
The Man in Grey il‘(}) .0. (I eslie ,-\iliss. l'ls'. l‘l-li) \laigaiet l ockwood. James Mason. l’hsllis (Iilsert. Stewart (iiangcr lloiiiin l'lor'id. lull blooded costume iiielodiariia so belosed ot wartime British audiences. in which iiiiposerishcd. wicked latl_\ l (K‘kwotxl ts belttclttlt'tl b) school chum ('alsert and later rcpa_\s the kindness b} tr'_\iiig to lure awa) her husband (iood fun and a maior step in the adsanccment ot all concerned's career l'i/m/initu'. lat/in/iiue/i
Man in the Chain I2.-\) oo
i.\lichael Schroeder. LS. 3007) ('hristophci l’lummei. .\Iicliael :\ngaiano. M laminet Walsh 100mm .-\n old man. I'lash il’lummei ). and .i _\oting upstart. (‘ameion tx\ltg;tt';ttto). lttitttl (i\ er the” lt)\ e (il rebellion and cinema When ('ameroii enters a student liliii contest. the reselation that flash is a Iloll_\wood galler and the oiil} sunning crew member trom ('irixrii Kline can on!) make things more interesting. (ilttllIIlL‘k} btit occasionall} interesting itor tans of Orson Welles .it least) drama. Show me (illlf'INtl. l’riis/ei. Pun/(W.
Mee-Shee: The Water Giant ll’(i) 0. (John llendeison. l'K/t it'fllltttt}. ZUUS) Bruce (it'cctiwood. l)atttel .Vlttgtlct. Joel 'lobeck. 95min, .-\ )oting bo_\ is desastatcd when the planned \acation with his lather is cancelled due to an ciiiergenc} salsagc mission at a remote ('anadian lake Btit when he discosers the lake is known as the home of a iii}thic‘ti| creature. .‘slac makes it his iiiissioti to prose there's more to the stor_\ that) [list lolklot'c. ('iIit'iun'lt/ l’urk/ieml. (i/meoii .' (‘im'iiurltl l;tliIi/)itl'eli, [Lt/IIl/lult‘ll.
Michael Clayton t IS) oooo i't‘on} (illro), LS, 3007) (ieorge ('lt)tiirc-)_ Sean ('ullcn. 'I'ilda Swmton. Tom Wilkinson.
l l‘lmin. Inspired conspirac} thriller in which (‘loones plass an iii-house 'liter' at a large New York corporate law firm The career of litigator Karen ('i'owder (Swiritoii) rests on the multi-iiiillion dollar settlement of a class action suit that Clinton's firm is leading to a \L'Cllttttg'l) successful conclusion Btit when the firms guilt-ridden attorne} Arthur Izdcns (Wilkinson) sabotages the case. (Liston laces the biggest challenge of his career. ('iiimmrli/ Rt'It/I'c'ii .SII’I't'I. (i/usgmi ,' ('Int'iinrld lit/inhureli. Iztliiihitre/i
A Mighty Wind ( I3A) 0.. ((‘hristopher (iuest. LS. 3003) llarr) Shearer. Michael McKean. ('hristopher (ittcsl. Izugene Les). Bob Balaban. Mart}. Belatsk}. ()lttllli. So so lolk innsic documentar} spool from the Spinal 'Iup l)t))s. (il‘nst‘t'nor, (r/(lsglm.
Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (l') .0 (Arch llclm. LS. 3007) Natalie I’ortinan. Zach Mills. DUstin Hoffman. ‘J-lmin. Moll). Mahone)‘ il’ortinan) is the awkward and insecure manager of .\Ir Slagorium's Wonder Izmporium. the strangest and most fantastic to} store in the world. But when Mr Magoriurn bequeaths the store to her. a dark and ominoUs change comes t)\ er the Izmporium. Besides the irresistible high of seeing I’onman finding her witchcraft. nothing has much resonance here. .S'hmuuw (‘irie/riu. ('nulhridge. (i/mgrm; Shmuuw ('ineniu. Puts/e). Pat's/es.