www.list.co.uk/film 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 ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Adam (12A) ●●●●● (Max Mayer, US, 2009) Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher. 100min. See Also Released, page 24. Selected release. Aliens in the Attic (PG) ●●●●● (John Schultz, UK, 2009) Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Austin Robert Butler. 85min. See Also Released, page 24. Selected release.
✽✽ Am I Black Enough for You? (12A) ●●●●● (Goran Hugo Olsson, USA, 2008) 90min. Documentary about 70s Philly soul music artist Billy Paul, his influence, and his lifelong companionship with his wife Blanche. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ Antichrist (18) ●●●●● (Lars von Trier, Denmark, 2009) Willem Dafoe,
Charlotte Gainsbourg. 108min. When middle class couple Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Defoe’s son dies in a freak accident they retreat to their woodland cabin to heal. But soon guilt, confusion and some undefined eschatological force puts them in a very different place. A fine slice of unbridled and unpleasant pantheistic horror that’s underlined by themes of grief and guilt. Selected release. Anything for Her (15) ●●●●● (Fred Cavayé, France, 2008) Vincent Lindon, Diane Kruger, Lancelot Roch. 95min. Teacher Julian (Lindon) and his wife Lisa (Kruger) seem to have the perfect life. Then she gets arrested for a crime she may not have committed with no hope of parole. Desperate to have the women he loves back, Julian hatches an escape plan that is as preposterous as it is daring. Flashy, badly plotted and begging of the kind of incredulity that is rarely seen outside the US mainstream. Cameo, Edinburgh. Anvil! The Story of Anvil (15) ●●●●● (Sacha Gervasi, US, 2009) 80min. Go on a journey with the unluckiest, hardest working men in rock in this moving documentary. Odeon, Braehead The Awkward Age (15) (Pavel Giroud, Cuba/Spain/Venezuela, 2006) Ivan Carreira, Mercedes Sampietro, Susana Tejera. 90min.
Cuban filmmaker Giroud’s 1958-set sardonic memoir chronicles the life of 10- year-old Samuel, his impressions of Havana, his divorced mother and his fiesty Grandmother. Part of Cine Cuba season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Bandslam (PG) (Todd Graff, US, 2009) Vanessa Hudgens, Gaelan Connell, Lisa Kudrow. 110min. High School Musical veteran Hudgens is joined by newcomer Connell in this further tweenpop, high school adventure. This variation features guitars, Kudrow on adult duty and an annoyingness factor of 11 (Alyson Michalka plays a character called Sa5m ‘the 5 is silent’). Reviewed next issue. Selected release. The Blues Brothers (15) ●●●●● (John Landis, US, 1980) John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Carrie Fisher. 130min. Landis’ enjoyable 1980 musical comedy re-released on digital print in original US edit. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Bolt (PG) ●●●●● (Byron Howard/ Chris Williams, US, 2009) Voices of Miley Cyrus, John Travolta, Susie Essman. 103min. Heart-tugging Disney animation about child actress Penny (voiced by Cyrus) and dog Bolt (Travolta) who star in a hit TV series. The dog believes it’s all real, so when he escapes from his trailer and ends up the other side of the country he is in for a few rude surprises. Cineworld Edinburgh, Edinburgh. Bombs at Teatime (PG) (Various) 80min. A selection of British war-time films from the 1940s. BFI Mediatheque on tour. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Boudu Saved from Drowning (PG) ●●●●● (Jean Renoir, France, 1932) Michel Simon, Charles Grandval, Marcelle Hainia. 85min. The extraordinary confrontation of moral outlook between a tramp saved from drowning, and his well-to-do rescuer who becomes his host, is both charming and disturbing, as Renoir explores relationships between opposite sectors of a polarised community. Part of Jean Renoir season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (PG) ●●●●● (Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1959) Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger. 90min. A chic Parisian petty criminal (Belmondo) and his American girlfriend (Seberg) drift through a world of
stolen cars and aimless romance towards an inexorable downbeat finale. Godard’s debut feature provoked quite a stir in its day for its carefree arrogance with the conventions of filmic grammar, but today it stands as a casual love letter to the American B-movie crime picture. Part of Truffaut/Godart season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Brüno (18) ●●●●● (Larry Charles, US, 2009) Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf
Hammarsten. 82min. Baron Cohen’s much anticipated 19-year-old Austrian TV presenter has been ‘schwarzlisted’ following an unfortunate incident involving his all-Velcro suit at a Milan catwalk event. Leaving behind his pygmy Asian flight- attendant boyfriend, Diesel, Bruno heads to America to become the ‘the biggest gay movie star since Arnold Schwarzenegger’ and the world’s most famous Austrian since Hitler. Crude, politically incorrect, shocking, outrageous, vulgar, and very, very funny. General release.
✽✽ Brüno (Snipped) (15) ●●●●● (Larry Charles, US, 2009) Sacha
Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten. 82min. See above. This ‘Snipped’ version has been brought down to a 15 rating for Brüno’s younger fans. Selected release. Class of Nuke ‘em High (18) ●●●●● (Richard W Haines, Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman, US, 1986) Janelle Brady, Gil Brenton, Robert Prichard. 86min. Radioactive waste starts to mutate the kids at a local high school in this irreverent, gory nonsense from the kings of trash Troma. Features a Q&A with Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman. Cameo, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Cloud 9 (15) ●●●●● (Andreas Dresen, Germany, 2008) Ursula
Werner, Horst Rehberg, Horst Westphal. 100min. Brave, raw and intimate portrait of romance and sex amongst the over 60s. German filmmaker Dresen’s remarkable, powerful and darkly humorous film bears comparison to the work of Mike Leigh at his very best. Cameo, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Coco Before Chanel (12A) ●●●●● (Anne Fontaine, France,
2009) Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola. 110min. This sumptuously dressed biopic of the early years of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel faithfully charts the rising hemlines and torn bustiers of a passionate woman repressed by society, with emotion-driven montages of
Am I Black Enough For You? Taking its title from his most impassioned and radical tune, the life and formidable times of Philadelphia soul legend Billy Paul are
celebrated in Goran Olsson’s engaging, well-researched documentary. ■ GFT, Glasgow from Mon 10-Wed 12 Aug.
Index Film
dressmaking as Coco uses sewing machine and scissors to direct her restless energies into clothing. There’s nothing experimental or innovative here, but it provides undeniably classy entertainment. Selected release. Confessions of a Shopaholic (PG) ●●●●● (PJ Hogan, US, 2009) Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Krysten Ritter. 104min. Vacuous consumer-porn adaptation of Sophie Kinsella’s book about a New York journo with a pesky plastic habit, flawed by misguided product placement, borderline racist portrayals of comedy foreigners and forced slapstick scenes. Vue Edinburgh Ocean. Coraline 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Henry Selick, US, 2009) Voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman. 100min. After her family moves to Pink Mansions, Coraline (voiced by Fanning) quickly becomes bored with the large dusty house, and in particular with her hardworking parents (Hatcher and Hodgman). The fantasy kicks into top gear when she discovers a secret door that leads her into an alternate version of her home. A lush, visually imaginative and freshly entertaining stop-motion adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s children’s novel. Selected release. Cottage to Let (U) ●●●●● (Anthony Asquith, UK, 1941) Alastair Sim, Leslie banks, John Mills. 90min. Tightly-wound whodunnit set during WWII on a Scottish estate. Home to a plotting inventor, a shelter for refugee children and a military hospital, the estate makes for a hotbed of accusation, crossed wires and shifting loyalties. Part of Alastair Sim season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Fermat’s Room (12A) ●●●●● (Luis Piedrahita/ Rodrigo Sopeña, Spain, 2008) Lluís Homar, Alejo Sauras, Federico Luppi. 88min. Four maths geniuses are summoned to a remote location by a mysterious puzzle master who has named himself after the 17th century French number theorist Pierre de Fermat and promises to challenge his guests with a great enigma. Gathered in a sumptuous lounge, the four strangers discover to their horror they have been locked inside a death trap. Imaginatively conceived and smartly executed, this makes for enormously enjoyable viewing. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Film Discussion Group Film buffs swap opinions and perceptions of both art house and big blockbuster recent releases. Held on the second Wednesday of every month. Glasgow Film Theatre. First Days of Spring (E) (Charlie Fink, UK, 2009) Patrick Hyde, Daisy Lowe. 45min. Extended music video and film project from Noah & The Whale. Features a Q&A with the band’s Charlie Fink. Cameo, Edinburgh. French Film (15) (Jackie Oudney, UK, 2008) Adrian Annis, Hugh Bonneville, Anne-Marie Duff. 87min. Oudney’s debut feature film is a bitter romantic comedy about cultural differences between the French and the British in affairs of the heart. Eric Cantona features as a pretentious French cinéaste and self-appointed expert on love. Reviewed next issue. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Frozen River (15) ●●●●● (Courtney Hunt, US, 2008) Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott. 97min. Leo provides a strong central performance as a desperate American mother who becomes involved in a people-smuggling operation. Partnered by a Mohawk Native American woman, the duo drive across the frozen Saint Lawrence river, hiding illegal immigrants in their boot. Although stylistically lacking, Hunt’s no-frills approach successfully chimes with the film’s bleak subject matter. Cameo, Edinburgh. G-Force 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Hoyt Yeatman, UK, 2009) Voices of Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Kelli Garner. 90min. Jerry Bruckheimer-produced comedy adventure about a covertly trained group of guinea pig special agents who are charged with saving the world from disaster. Simple minded and likeable enough. Selected release. G-Force 3D (PG) ●●●●● (Hoyt Yeatman, UK, 2009) Voices of Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Kelli Garner. 90min. See above. Selected release. 6–13 Aug 2009 THE LIST 25