www.list.co.uk/film
COMEDY
HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE
(15) 110min 0..
Toby Young’s semi-scandalous memoir about the period the gobby English journo spent carousing with the rich and famous, while working at Vanity Fair magazine in New York is given a mainstream movie makeover with this enjoyable enough romantic comedy. Young’s episodic recollections have been shaped into conventional rom-com format by British screenwriter Peter Straughan and given a Hollywood polish by Curb Your Enthusiasm director Robert Weide.
The rudely confessional and frequently very funny observations about an unsophisticated Brit seduced and then bruised by his experiences among egotistical and humourless high society Americans remains intact, but they’re now framed by a humdrum romance between Sidney Young (Simon Pegg playing a thinly disguised version of the memoirist) and a compassionate colleague, Alison Olsen (Kirtsen Dunst playing a new
DRAMA GOMORRAH (15) 137min 0000
character written into the film). The will-they- won’t-they love story about these two people who turn out to be more alike than they think is the least interesting thing about the film, and it increasingly dominates proceedings, culminating in a soppy and tediously unoriginal climax.
All of which is something of a shame, because the first two thirds of the film (which draw more heavily on Young’s book) are very entertaining and showcase one priceless performance from Jeff Bridges, who plays Clayton Harding, an even more thinly disguised (than Young) version of Vanity Fair’s silver-maned editor Graydon Carter. Bridges gives a terrific turn as the gruff boss who secretly loathes the glamorous world he lives in and who in a rare sentimental moment employs the unlikely lad he sees something of his former self in. And there’s good support from Danny Huston as Harding’s slimy second-in-command, Gillian Anderson as a PR queen and a scene- stealing Bill Paterson as Sidney’s dad.
(Miles Fielder) I General release from Fri 3 Oct.
Movies like The Godfather have tended to make life in the Mafia seem glamorous. Shakespearean and operatic. Heck. it's so appealing that at times it seems like the Mafioso is the best Italian export since pasta. Now it's time for the more mundane truth to emerge in director Matteo Garrone's intriguing account of the Napoli—based Camorra. adapted from the bestselling book of the same name by journalist Roberto Saviano. who now lives in hiding because of his work.
This excellent ensemble drama does for crime families what Syriana did for the oil industry. Garrone shows us various facets of Mafia life. from the recruiting of young kids to the infiltration of seemingly legitimate industries such as haute couture and segues into the waste management.
The documentary aesthetic, multi-Iayered storytelling and nihilism ensures that the action is satisfyineg disorientating. most obviously at the beginning of the film when it‘s difficult to work out who's who or attune to the different strands of the five rambunctious stories. But what is important. and highlighted by the porgnant symbolic and poetic images. is that the Camorra have soiled their hands. Not to say that the traditions of the Mafia melodrama have been completely lost, as loyalty. blood ties and personal ambition are prominent. (Kaleem Aftab)
I GFT, Glasgow and selected release from Fri 70 Oct.
Drona (12A) 125min 000 Indiana Jones- style Bollywood adventure based on a mythological Indian text about one man's journey through a mystical cosmos. Some good special effects, great locations and a compelling central performance from Abishek Bachchan makes for mild entertainment. Selected release from Thu 2 Oct.
Kidnap (12A) 136min .0 A week before her 18th birthday celebration, Sonia (Minissha Lamba) is kidnapped. An old enemy of her tycoon businessman father wants to settle an old score. Things get more complicated when she begins to fall for her attractive abductor Kabir (Imran Khan). Silly romantic thriller from the director of box office hit Dhoom. Selected release from Thu 2 Oct. The Stone Of Destiny (PG) 96min
0. Charles Martin Smith's hysterical, historical heist film gets a Scotland-only release. Charlie Cox plays lain Hamilton, a student who sets out to liberate the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey and bring it back to Scotland. Without offering any political context for their actions. Smith’s film depicts Hamilton and his gang as bumbling amateurs, and the result in a cinematic non- event. devoid of thrills. excitement or even common sense. Selected release from Fri 70 Oct.
Nights In Rodanthe (PG) 96min 0 Unhappily married Adrienne (Diane Lane) and an emotionally confused doctor (Richard Gere) are drawn together when a storm closes in on the North Carolina hotel. Schmaltzy, dreary and tedious second- chance romancer based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks. whose previous adaptations include Message in a Bottle and The Notebook. General release from Fri 70 Oct. The House Bunny (12A) 97min 0. Predictably pitiful comedy about a recently unemployed Playboy mansion bunny (pictured). Shelly (Ana Farris). who goes to college. This formulaic Legally Blond style comedy still manages to raise a few laughs. General release from Fri 70 Oct.
Mutant Chronicles (18) 111min 0.0 Major Mitch Hunter (Thomas Jane) leads a war against an army of necro-mutants. Impressiver dark and odd horror sci-fl adventure co-starring Hel/boy's Ron Perlman. Minor cult status or a minor franchise beckons. General release from Fri 70 Oct. City of Ember (PG) 100min 00
Students from the amazing underground city of Ember go through a series of adventures in order to sustain their special secret world for another 200 years. Ho-hum but visually impressive children's adventure sci-ii with guest appearances from Bill Murray, Tim Robbins and Martin Landau. General release from Fri 70 Oct.
2—16 Oct 2008 THE LIST 47