www.list.co.uk/film confine her to dating the landed gentry. Penelope is characterised by its subtlety, rejecting easy plot turns and Shrek-esque pop culture commentary, its individuality and intelligence making it a bit of a hybrid freak. Grosvenor, Glasgow. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (15) ●●●●● (John Hughes, US, 1987) Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robbins. 92min. Martin is a harassed Chicago businessman desperate to return home from New York for Thanksgiving. After missing the last flight home he undergoes a series of fraught misadventures, reluctantly enduring the accident-prone Candy as traveling companion. Predictable and sentimental ‘odd couple’ road movie which is nonetheless genuinely funny. Scotsman Screening Room, Edinburgh. Polar Express (U) ●●●●● (Robert Zemeckis, US, 2004) Voices: Tom Hanks, Leslie Zemeckis. 99min. At an estimated cost of $165m plus, Robert Zemeckis’ The Polar Express is the most expensive Christmas shop window display in history. It’s based on Chris Jumanji van Allsberg’s rather more charming 32 page children’s book, and rendered entirely in stunning high-tech animation that resembles a Radio Times cover circa 1985, but it’s a teeth rotting ride. Empire Clydebank, Clydebank. Quantum of Solace (12A) ●●●●● (Marc Forster, UK/US, 2008) Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric. 105min. Quantum of Solace starts with a trademark action sequence involving cars burning rubber around narrow roads and then proceeds to jump from one thrill to another, while moving through locations like pages in a travel brochure. A major plus is Amalric’s turn as the villain Dominic Greene, head of an organisation which exploits energy resources for financial and political gain who are behind an American approved coup in Bolivia. Although the overarching themes are intriguing, some of the plot points don’t make much sense. General release.

Quarantine (18) ●●●●● (John Erick Dowdle, US, 2008) Johnathon Schaech, Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez. 89min. Grimly effective Spanish zombie movie [REC] gets the Hollywood treatment in this scene-by-scene remake. Quarantine purports to be the surviving document of what happens when journalist Angela Vidal (Carpenter) and some Los Angeles firefighters become trapped inside an apartment building where a strain of rabies is transforming its inhabitants into cannibals. Selected release. Quiet Chaos (15) ●●●●● (Antonio Luigi Grimaldi, Italy/UK, 2008) Nanni Moretti, Blu Yoshimi, Alessandro Gassman. 105min. On the very day that he and his brother (Gassman) rescue two women from drowning at the beach, media executive Pietro (Moretti) returns home to find his wife has died in an accident. Feeling numbed by his loss and unable to express his grief, he spends his days in the square opposite the school attended by his 10-year- old daughter Claudia (Yoshimi). Interesting character drama contemplating loss and grief. Cameo, Edinburgh. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (12A) (Aditya Chopra, India, 2008) Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma. 164min. Taani (Sharma) and her geeky husband Surinder Sahni (Khan) take part in TV show Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, where she falls in love all over again with a new, improved and version of her husband. Odeon At The Quay, Glasgow; Cineworld Edinburgh, Edinburgh. Raymond Briggs Trilogy (U) (Various, UK, Various) 78min. Three short animations based on Raymond Briggs’ charming stories: The Bear, Father Christmas and The Snowman. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.

✽✽ The Reader (15) ●●●●● (Stephen Daldry, US/Germany, 2008) Ralph

Fiennes, Kate Winslet, David Kross. 123min. See review, page 53. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Rivals (15) ●●●●● (Jacques Maillot, France, 2008) Francois Cluzet, Guillaume

Canet, Marie Denarnaud. 107min. Based on the autobiographical book by Michel and Bruno Papet Deux Frères - Flic & Truand, Rivals is the story of two brothers in late 1970s Lyon, one a cop, the other a criminal. When Gabriel (Cluzet) is released from jail after a ten year stretch, the former pimp is still adored by his ailing father, much to the irritation of his younger police inspector sibling Francois (Canet). More of a character study than a dynamic thriller, with fine performances from the two leads. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Role Models (15) ●●●●● (David Wain, US, 2008) Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Elizabeth Banks. 91min. See review, page 56. General release. The Romance of Astrea and Celadon (12A) ●●●●● (Eric Rohmer, France/Italy/Spain, 2007) Andy Gillet, Stephanie Crayencour, Cecile Casse. 109min. Romance between a shepherd Céladon (Gillet) and shepherdess Astrée (de Crayencour) at the time of the Druids. Another lush and youthfully optimisic romancer from aging master French filmmaker Rohmer. Cameo, Edinburgh. Royal Opera House: Hansel und Gretel (E) (2008) Join the Royal Opera House for Engelbert Humperdinck’s (1854- 1921) Hansel und Gretel screened in high definition. Cameo, Edinburgh. Royal Opera House: Tamerlano (PG) (Graham Vick, Italy, 2008) Placido Domingo, Monica Bacelli, Ingela Bohlin. 217min. One of the world’s finest opera companies presents this operatic masterpiece. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (U) ●●●●● (Michael Lembeck, US, 2006) Tim Allen, Martin Short, Elizabeth Mitchell. 91min. Once more into the breach steps Santa (Allen) this time battling with an overflowing family and Jack Frost (Short). Do children honestly like this franchised slush?. Cineworld

Index Film

Parkhead, Glasgow; Cineworld Edinburgh, Edinburgh. Santa vs The Snowman 3D (PG) (Various, US, 2002) 32min. IMAX big screen presentation telling the story of a lonely snowman who’s swept away by the magical wonders of Santa’s village. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Saturday Night Fever (18) ●●●●● (John Badham, US, 1977) John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Julie Bovasso. 119min. Remember the Bee Gees music, the white suits, the days when Travolta was a promising young talent? Nostalgia rules again with the revival of this rather ordinary teen rebellion/dance mini-classic in which an ordinary working-class youth finds the only meaning in his life during his energetic peregrinations on the weekend dance floor. Part of Dance-o-Rama. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Saw V (18) ●●●●● (David Hackl, US, 2008) Tobin Bell, Julie Benz, Costas Mandylor. 92min. Hoffman (Mandylor) carries Jigsaw’s legacy in this fifth installment of the horror franchise, but when his secret is threatened, Hoffman must go on the hunt. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. The Seashell and the Clergyman (E) (Germaine Dulac, France, 1928) Alex Allin, Genica Athanasiou, Lucien Bataille. 41min. Dulac’s early surrealist film with a live soundtrack by Steven Severin, who also plays a programme of scores to six short films by emerging avant garde film makers. A special Steve Severin event with live score accompaniment. Cameo, Edinburgh. Got an opinion? You can now Comment on all our articles at list .co.uk

11 Dec 2008–8 Jan 2009 THE LIST 63