www.list.co.uk/film mobile phone. A new cinematic creation from writer/director Potter, Rage uses a radical narrative structure focused entirely on individual performances. Glasgow Film Theatre; Cameo, Edinburgh. Rosetta (15) ●●●●● (Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium/France, 1999) Emilie Dequenne, Anne Yernaux, Fabrizio Rongione. 91min. Rosetta (Dequenne) is seventeen and has one wish: to find a job that will enable her to move out of the caravan that she co-habits with her alcoholic mother (Yernaux). Despite continual disappointments in the job market Rosetta refuses to give up hope and battles on like a bull facing a matador. A marvellous exposition of the continuing importance of cinema in highlighting social barriers and conflict, Rosetta was rewarded with the Cannes Palme d’Or. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. CCA, Glasgow. Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival Submission Showcase (18) (Various) 150min. Exclusive screening of some of the winning films at this year’s festival. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. CCA, Glasgow. The Sea Inside (PG) ●●●●● (Alejandro Amenábar, Spain/France/Italy, 2004) Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas. 125min. Fascinating investigation into euthanasia and man’s right to die, based on the real story of ex-ship’s engineer Ramón Sampedro. Part of Bardem & Cruz season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The September Issue (12A) ●●●●● (RJ Cutler, US, 2009) 89min. In 2007, political documentary filmmaker Cutler received an invitation from Anna Wintour to chronicle the creation of Vogue’s September issue. The result is brilliant and, of course, highly political. Cameo, Edinburgh. Shorts (PG) ●●●●● (Robert Rodriguez, US, 2009) William H Macy, Jimmy Bennett, Jake Short. 88min. 11-year-old Toe Thompson (Bennett) gets hit on the head by a mysterious rainbow-coloured rock, and soon his neighbourhood is swarming with tiny spaceships, crocodile armies and much more. Slyly anti-corporate kiddie caper with an able cast and fun digital effects. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow. Sin Nombre (15) ●●●●● (Cary Joji Fukanaga, US/Mexico, 2008) Paulina Gaitan, Edgar Flores, Kristyan Ferrer. 96min. Fantastic Mexican fusion of gangland thriller and road movie about the loves and tragedies of a group of US bound immigrants from Honduras and Mexico. Compellingly made with great performances, Sin Nombre is really worth checking out. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ Sing a Song of Sex (18) (Nagisa Oshima, Japan, 1967) Ichiro Araki, Koji
Iwabucho, Kazuyoshi Kushida. 103min. Set on Founder’s Day holiday, reinstated in 1967 after the American Occupation had banned it, Oshima’s sad examination of Japanese youth chronicles a group of disillusioned provincial students as they arrive in Tokyo to take university entrance exams. Part of Nagisa Oshima season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Soloist (12) ●●●●● (Joe Wright, UK/US/France, 2009) Robert Downey Jr, Nathaniel Ayers, Catherine Keener. 117min. See review, page 47. General release. Sorority Row (15) ●●●●● (Stewart Hendler, US, 2009) Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis. 101min. Predictable but decent enough remake of 1983 slasher The House on Sorority Row. When a prank goes wrong five girl students inadvertently cause the murder of another girl. They agree to keep the matter a secret but after graduation a mysterious killer comes after them. General release. Space Station 3D (U) (Toni Myers, Canada/US, 2003) 47min. Narrated by Tom Cruise, this big screen IMAX presentation follows real astronauts into the big blue. Impressive, but not as awesome as it should have been. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. The Spiderwick Chronicles (PG) ●●●●● (Mark Waters, US, 2008) Sarah Bolger, Freddie Highmore, Nick Nolte. 95min. Upon moving into the dilapidated Spiderwick Estate, siblings Jared (Highmore), Simon (Highmore) and Mallory (Bulger) find a guide to a fantastical world of faeries and creatures in this adaptation of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi’s series. They must battle against Mulgarath, however, the evil shape-shifting ogre who is also after the key to the fantasyland of faeries. Empire, Clydebank. Star Trek 2D (12A) ●●●●● (JJ Abrams, US/Germany, 2009) Chris Pine, Jennifer Morrison, Simon Pegg. 126min. A quirk in the space-time continuum allows both a sequel and prequel to the already vast Star Trek oeuvre, in which Lost creator Abrams surpasses his previous film efforts to reinvent the whole dynamic of the USS Enterprise. Emotional struggles from Pine as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Vulcan Spock mix with adrenaline packed adventure to ensure that Star Trek is that rare thing, a blockbuster with humour and guts. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. State of Play (12A) ●●●●● (Kevin Macdonald, US, 2009) Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren. 118min. Hollywood has got its hands on the acclaimed 2003 BBC
Index Film TV series. Mirren plays a newspaper editor struggling to maintain editorial principles, McAdams’ cub reporter has built her reputation as an ace blogger and Crowe is an old-school truth-seeking journalist. An investigative journalism movie full of red herrings, surprising twists and corrupt politicians. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow; Odeon, Edinburgh. Straw Dogs (18) ●●●●● (Sam Peckinpah, UK, 1971) Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, David Warner. 118min. A mild- mannered American and his English wife move to her Cornish hometown, only to have violence flare up. Long tarred with the ‘gratuitous’ brush, Peckinpah’s contemporary horror/thriller still retains its power. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ The Sun’s Burial (15) ●●●●● (Nagisa Oshima, Japan, 1960) Masahiko Tsugawa, Kayoko Honoo, Isao Sasaki. 90min. A follow-up to Cruel Story of Youth, Oshima’s film delves deep into the slums where gangs, fanatics and gangsters vie for control of an illegal blood-peddling operation. Part of Nagisa Oshima season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Sunshine Cleaning (15) ●●●●● (Christine Jeffs, US, 2008) Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin. 91min. Two sisters (Adams and Blunt) set up a business to disinfect crime scenes in this small town tragicomedy. A solid if unexceptional script by first time writer Megan Holley offers fodder for some well-tuned performances but the devil is in the details, with the bile and blood being too icky to generate laughs. Empire, Clydebank. Surrogates (12A) ●●●●● (Jonathan Mostow, US, 2009) Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Rosamund Pike. 88min. See Also Released, page 47. General release. Synecdoche, New York (15) ●●●●● (Charlie Kaufman, UK, 2008) Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton. 123min. Detailing the later life of a gifted theatre director Caden Cotard (Hoffman) as he attempts to create a work of brutal realism by restaging his own troubled life with an ensemble cast in a large warehouse in Manhattan, Synecdoche, New York is an ingenious, ambitious conundrum that’s underlined by themes of symbiosis, connectivity, deterioration and an understanding of our dream life selves that is at both beautiful and horrific. Odeon Braehead, Renfrew. 31 North 62 East (15) (Tristan Loraine, UK, 2009) John Rhys-Davies, Marina Sirtis, George Calil. 99min. Psychological thriller. Showcase Cinema, Paisley. Taking Liberties (12A) ●●●●● (Chris Atkins, UK, 2007) 105min. Atkins’ documentary looks at the infringements on civil liberties that he believes have been taken by New Labour: from freedom of speech to prohibition of torture. With contributions from Tony Benn, Boris Johnson and Mark Thomas. This screening will be followed by discussion with the film’s director Chris Atkins and Scottish activists. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Thing (18) ●●●●● (John Carpenter, US, 1982) Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, David Clennon. 108min. Carpenter’s excellent 1982 monster flick revived on digital big screen projection. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails (U) (Greg Tiernan, UK, 2009) Voices of Martin Sherman, William Hope, Togo Igawa. 60min. Everyone’s favourite Tank Engine and his pals. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Three Miles North of Molkom (15) ●●●●● (Robert Cannan/Corinna
‘The world’s first interactive multi-venue film premiere’ as Rage Rage is launched in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow simultaneously, with footage from the London red carpet broadcast live on screen at the other venues and an interactive Q&A with director Sally Potter after the screening. Set in the world of fashion, and eschewing conventional narrative structure, Rage features an impressive cast (including Eddie Izzard, Jude Law (pictured), Judi Dench and many more) in a series of dynamic interviews. Visit www.ragethemovie.com or www.babelgum.com/rage for more info and online release details. ■ GFT, Glasgow; Cameo, Edinburgh, Thu 24 Sep. Villari-McFarlane, UK, 2007) 107min. Seriocomic documentary about the Angsbacka No Mind festival in Sweden, an adult playground of shared consciousness. Recommended. Vue Omni, Edinburgh. The Time Traveler’s Wife (12A) ●●●●● (Robert Schwentke, US, 2009) Eric Bana, Rachel MacAdams, Michelle Nolden. 107min. Adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s best selling novel about a time travelling librarian and the love of his life. Bana and MacAdams are well cast and Schwentke’s execution of a complicated timeline is admirable, but the screenplay is lacking in oomph and passion. Selected release.
24 Sep–8 Oct 2009 THE LIST 51