Film Index GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra (12A) ●●●●● (Stephen Sommers, US, 2009) Dennis Quaid, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. 107min. See feature, page 23 and Also Released, page 24. General release. The Go-Between (15) ●●●●● (Joseph Losey, UK, 1970) Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Dominic Guard. 116min. Twelve- year-old Leo, on holiday at a friend’s country estate, becomes a messenger in the romance between his friend’s older sister and a local farmer. However, the affair is to have tragic consequences. LP Hartley’s tale of adolescence and lost innocence provides an atmospheric depiction of the destructive British class system. New digital print. Glasgow Film Theatre. Gran Torino (15) ●●●●● (Clint Eastwood, US/Australia, 2008) Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang. 116min. Eastwood attempts a light-hearted reproach to some of the more reactionary values of his previous films in this, his acting swansong. Old-fashioned patriot Walt’s (Eastwood) nonchalant relationship towards the Hmong family who live next door changes when he catches shy young Thao (Bee Vang) trying to steal his car. A film rich in allusion, pride and warm comedy. Empire Clydebank. The Hangover (15) ●●●●● (Todd Phillips, US, 2009) Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Heather Graham. 99min. Two days before his wedding, Doug (Bartha) heads to Vegas with his two best friends and future brother-in-law for a final bachelor blow out. Waking up the next morning, however, the trio has no recollection of what happened the night before or, more importantly, where they might have left Doug. This buddy movie really delivers with its riotous cocktail of memorable characters, outrageous situations and explicit humour. General release. The Happiest Days of Your Life (PG) ●●●●● (Frank Launder, UK, 1950) Alastair Sim, Margaret Rutherford, Joyce Grenfell. 81min. Inspired pairing of Sim and Rutherford in a classic British farce, revolving around a girls’ school that is billeted with a boys’ school. Hilarious. Part of Alastair Sim season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (12A) ●●●●● (David Yates, UK/US, 2009) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma
Watson, Rupert Grint. 153min. While the sixth installment in the Harry Potter franchise does venture into darker, more adult areas than its predecessors it also injects more humour and character development than previous encounters, which doesn’t always make for a satisfying concoction. Yates picks up in the aftermath of a spectacular attack on London by Death Eaters and builds towards the death of a key character that will pre-empt the final confrontation between Harry and Lord Voldemort in two-part finale, The Deathly Hallows. General release. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 3D (12A) ●●●●● (David Yates, UK/US, 2009) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint. 153min. See above. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (U) ●●●●● (Carlos Saldanha/ Mike Thurmeier, US, 2009) Voices of Simon Pegg, Seann William Scott, John Leguizamo. 93min. Life is changing for Scrat, Manny, Ellie and co in many different ways in this the latest installment of popular animated series. General release. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 3D (U) ●●●●● (Carlos Saldanha/ Mike Thurmeier, US, 2009) Voices of Simon Pegg, Seann William Scott, John Leguizamo. 93min. See above. Selected release. An Inspector Calls (PG) ●●●●● (Guy Hamilton, UK, 1954) Alastair Sim, Jane Wenham, Brian Worth. 89min. Film adaptation of JB Priestley’s morality play and thriller featuring a masterly performance from Sim as Inspector Goole. Part of Alastair Sim season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Junebug (15) ●●●●● (Phil Morrison, US, 2005) Embeth Davidtz, David Kuhn, Alessandro Nivola, Celia Weston, Scott Wilson, Amy Adams. 106min. Having crossed the union line for the first time since his marriage to art dealer Madelaine (Davidtz) on an outsider art requisition trip, George (Nivola) takes her to his family home in North Carolina. Welcoming home the besotted couple are his prickly family and his innocently garrulous sister in-law Ashley (Adams). As Madelaine begins to conduct protracted negotiations with an insane local artist, Ashley and Amy find a connection. Lovely, quirky, off-beat familial drama that works as both chamber piece
and cosmic meditation. Cameo, Edinburgh. Kisses (15) ●●●●● (Lance Daly, Ireland/Sweden, 2008) Kelly O’Neill, Shane Curry, Paul Roe. 105min. On a suburban Dublin housing scheme two young people Kylie (O’Neill) and Dylan (Curry) live overcrowded and blighted lives. After a violent altercation with his father, Dylan and Kylie decide to run away to the magical lights of inner-city Dublin. Sweet and warm-hearted portrait of desperate youth. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ Lake Tahoe (12A) ●●●●● (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico, 2008)
Diego Catano, Hector Herrera, Daniela Valentina. 81min. When teenage Juan (Cataño) crashes the family car an absurdist journey unfolds in both ingenious and bewildering ways. Quirky and minor revelations undercut by subtle rumination is the name of the game here, and gentle meditations on boredom, poverty and America’s fuel and labour hegemony appear throughout. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Land of the Lost (12A) ●●●●● (Brad Silberling, US, 2009) Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride. 101min. Dr Rick Marshall (Ferrell) and his research assistant Holly (Friel) are sucked into a vortex and sent back through time to an alternative universe full of crazy prehistoric creatures. Unfunny, inconsistent and very sketchy comedy based on a classic television series. General release. London Belongs to Me (PG) ●●●●● (Sidney Gilliat, UK, 1948) Joyce Carey, Richard Attenborough, Alastair Sim. 112min. Post-war comedy drama set in a south London boarding house. The arrival of an exuberant young man (Attenborough) and an elderly psychic (Sim) disturbs the peace, and the group rallies when the youngster is arrested for suspected murder. Part of Alastair Sim season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (12) ●●●●● (Tony Richardson, UK, 1962) Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay, Alec McCowen. 114min. Adapted by Alan Sillitoe from his own story, this is a fine example of 60s British cinema in the social realist vein. Courtenay excels as the rebellious youth who is send a boy’s reform school after robbing a bakery and pushes himself to turn his life around. Part of British New Wave season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
Looking for Eric (15) ●●●●● (Ken Loach, UK, 2009) Steve Evets, Eric Cantona, Stephanie Bishop. 146min. Shot without frills, this sentimental, feel good comedy is much less conspicuously political than Loach’s previous films. It centres upon protagonist Eric Bishop (Evets), a middle- aged Mancunian postman, who is prone to panic attacks. Gazing up one night over a spliff at a bedroom poster of Cantona, Eric is amazed to see the Frenchman appear, and Cantona proceeds to act as a life coach to the mixed-up Eric. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Love Aaj Kal (12A) (Imtiaz Ali, India, 2009) Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor. 90min. Two couples face different problems in different ages (1965 and 2009) and different cities in this exploration of relationships. Selected release. Meerkats (U) ●●●●● (James Honeyborne, UK, 2008) Paul Newman. 83min. See review, page 24. Vue Edinburgh Omni.
✽✽ Mesrine: Killer Instinct (15) ●●●●● (Jean-François Richet,
France, 2008) Vincent Cassel, Cécile De France, Gérard Depardieu. 113min. See review, page 24. Selected release. Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 (15) ●●●●● (Jean-Francois Richet, France, 2008) Vincent Cassel, Ludivine Sagnier, Mathieu Amalric. 133min. Part two of Richet’s ultra-stylish double bill sees Mesrine (Cassel) continue to evade and frustrate the law. The rogue becomes increasingly burdened by his own celebrity, however, and soon begins to question his thrilling but lonely existence. Cameo, Edinburgh. Monsters vs Aliens 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Rob Letterman, US, 2009) Voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie. 94min. Can a self-doubting but individualist team of monsters overcome a mob of self- confident, mass-produced aliens? Eye- popping to watch, leavened with self- referential humour that makes it easy to digest, but also playing things so painstakingly safe that any resonance evaporates the moment the end credits roll. Grosvenor, Glasgow; Cineworld Edinburgh,.
✽✽ Moon (15) ●●●●● (Duncan Jones, UK, 2008) Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott. 97min. With this cleverly conceived, evenly paced and consistently intriguing old-school science fiction piece Jones eschews special effects and action-oriented clatter, instead delivering a cerebral adventure that’s as thought-provoking as it is thrilling. Rockwell plays a mining engineer working for a corporation that’s found a new source of energy for the clapped-out planet Earth, but as he nears the end of his three-year contract, cabin fever begins to take hold. Selected release. My Sister’s Keeper (12A) ●●●●● (Nick Cassavetes, US, 2009) Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin, Abigail Breslin. 109min. When the daughter of seemingly perfect parents Sara (Diaz) and Brian (Patric) requests not to carry on with the medical donations that keep her leukaemia stricken sister alive they are forced to deal with some deep moral and ethical questions. Tear jerking adaptation of Jodi Picoult’s popular novel. Selected release. Night at the Museum 2 (PG) ●●●●● (Shawn Levy, US, 2009) Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson. 104min. Silly but enjoyable sequel to 2006 comedy. Ben Stiller’s night watchman joins characters from the first film in a battle to save the Smithsonian museum. Vue Edinburgh Ocean. Omerta (15) (Pavel Giroud, Cuba, 2008) Manuel Porto, Kike Quiñones, Teresa Calo. 82min. 1950s Cuba-set drama about bodyguard to one of the best known
Words and Pictures Writers David Peace and Garrison Keillor will both be making an appearance at this short season celebrating fiction and adaptation. Peace will be talking about
The Red Riding Trilogy and Keillor will be talking about A Prairie Home Companion (pictured). There will be screenings of both the trilogy (over three weeks) and Robert Altman’s final film. ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Tue 11 Aug.
26 THE LIST 6–13 Aug 2009
Check out the GreatOffers on page 4