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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 Adoration (15) ●●●●● (Atom Egoyan, Canada, 2008) Scott Speedman, Rachel Blanchard, Devon Bostick. 101min. See review, page 44. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Alice in Wonderland 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Tim Burton, US, 2010) Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter. 108min. See review, page 44. General release. Alice in Wonderland 3D (PG) ●●●●● (Tim Burton, US, 2010) Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter. 108min. See above. Selected release. Aliens in the Attic (PG) ●●●●● (John Schultz, UK, 2009) Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Austin Robert Butler. 85min. Likeably frenetic sci-fi adventure about a family’s attempt to fight off knee high alien invaders. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel (U) ●●●●● (Betty Thomas, US, 2009) Voices of Justin Long, Anna Faris, Jason Lee. 88min. The singing chipmunk trio contend with the pressures of high school, celebrity and rival female band The Chipettes. General release. Astro Boy (PG) ●●●●● (David Bowers, US, 2009) Voices of Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Freddie Highmore. 93min. A popular manga in Japan since 1952, and a cult TV show in the US since the early 1980s, Astro Boy makes a bid for worldwide domination in this flashy but flatly realised animation. A robot child cloned by Dr Tenma (voiced by Cage) from the DNA of his dead son, the titular space age Pinocchio (Highmore), is rejected by his father and banished to the robot graveyard that surrounds the city. General release. Asyle (15) (Izuru Kumasaka, Japan, 2007) Lily, Hikari Kajiwara, Chiharu. 121min. Centring on The Parku Ando, a ‘love hotel’ in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district where couples can rent a room by the hour, Kumasaka concentrates not on the sexual encounters, but on the rootless teenagers and senior citizens looking for relaxation who inhabit the friendly and open family establishment. Part of Girls on Film season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Avatar 2D (12A) ●●●●● (James Cameron, US, 2009) Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez. 166min. Set in 2154, Cameron’s much- hyped Avatar focuses on a paraplegic marine named Jake Sully (Worthington), who arrives on the distant moon of Pandora with a mission to help displace its indigenous population. But, after winning their trust, Jake finds his allegiances gradually shifting. High on technical flair but short on storytelling ambition, this
visually stunning sci-fi epic sadly remains deeply flawed. Selected release. Avatar 3D (12A) ●●●●● (James Cameron, US, 2009) Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez. 166min. See above. General release. Bag of Tricks Screening (E) (Various) 90min. Video screening in conjunction with The Bag of Tricks exhibition at Intermedia showcasing videos that explore themes of appropriation, re- interpretation and modification. Featuring works by Kristoffer Busch, Maria Lusitano and Steve Reinke. CCA, Glasgow. Battle for Terra 3D (PG) ●●●●● (Aristomenis Tsirbas, US, 2010) Voices of Luke Wilson, Rachel Evan Wood, Brian Cox. 78min. 3D feature concerning a war fought for the resources of a far-off planet between greedy, warlike humans and peaceful aliens. While the 3D animation is as pretty and headache inducing as usual, the slavishly copied narrative eventually yields naive charm. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. The Beyond (18) ●●●●● (Lucio Fulci, Italy, 1981) Kathrine McColl, David Warbeck, Sarah Keller. 88min. A young girl inherits a creepy old hotel . . . which houses one of the Seven Doors of Hell in its cellar. Cue melting faces and crumbling zombies in another Fulci movie which makes an art of the gory gross out. Part of Fulci double bill. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. The Blood of the Rose (15) (Henry Singer, UK/Japan/Germany, 2009) 15min. A biopic and classic whodunit, Singer’s film chronicles the life and plight of filmmaker- turned-conservationist Joan Root, and her struggle to save Kenya’s Lake Naivasha from damage at the hands of illegal fish poachers. A Scottish Documentary Institute presentation. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Bounty Hunter (tbc) (Andy Tennant, US, 2010) Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, Christine Baranski. Comedy about a bounty hunter who is assigned to hunt down his bail jumping ex-wife. General release from Wed 17 Mar. The Boy from Mercury (PG) ●●●●● (Martin Duffy, UK/France, 1996) James Hickey, Rita Tushingham, Tom Courtney. 87min. Eight-year-old Harry (Hickey) believes he has special powers granted him through his birthplace being Mercury rather than Dublin – a belief boosted by visits to the Saturday morning film club and his lack of a father figure. An irresistible tale of memory, loss and the search for a better future. If you manage to sit through this without wilting into jelly at Hickey’s painfully innocent performance, then you have the heart of a tyrant. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Busting (18) ●●●●● (Peter Hyams, US, 1974) Elliott Gould, Robert Blake, Allen Garfield. 92min. Not content with busting small fry criminals, non-bent coppers Vice Detectives Michael Keneely (Gould) and
Limits of Control The mighty Jim Jarmusch’s latest feature film, a kind of comic homage to John Boorman’s
Point Blank, enjoys a slight return to the cinema after being screened for just a few days in November last year. No, we don’t know why either. Catch it while you can. ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Sun 14-Wed 17 Mar.
Patrick Farrel (Blake) go after the kingpin, threatening to bring down the hierarchy of corrupt police on their heads. Underrated, near seminal 70s New York policier. Recommended. Part of Psychotronic Cinema season. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Capitalism: A Love Story (12A) ●●●●● (Michael Moore, US, 2009) 102min. Moore’s credibility has taken something of a dint since the populist, glory days of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko, but his new opus sees him going for broke by taking on the whole capitalist system. But without his old pal George Bush in the White House, Moore simply doesn’t have anyone to focus his righteous ire on, meaning Capitalism: A Love Story comes in a day late and a dollar short. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Cameo, Edinburgh. Case 39 (15) ●●●●● (Christian Alvart, US, 2009) Renée Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane. 109min. See review, page 45. Selected release. Chicago (12A) ●●●●● (Rob Marshall, US, 2002) Renne Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere. 113min. Marshall’s long-awaited screen adaptation of the celebrated musical explodes on to the silver screen, following the exploits of two murderous jazz babies – Roxie Hart (Zellweger) and Velma Kelly (Zeta-Jones) – and their defence lawyer, Billy Flynn (Gere). Moving between the reality of Prohibition-era Chicago and the interior fantasy world of Roxie Hart, where each character becomes an all-singing, all- dancing powerhouse, Marshall skilfully succeeds in a potentially problematic stage to screen adaptation. Lacking enough sass and sexual innuendo, Cabaret this ain’t, but Chicago nonetheless does justice to the stage musical and the dazzling vitality of the business known as show. St Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh. Chloe (15) ●●●●● (Atom Egoyan, US/Canada/France, 2009) Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried. 91min. See review, page 45. Selected release. City of the Living Dead (18) ●●●●● (Lucio Fulci, Italy, 1980) Catriona MacColl, Christopher George, Giovanni Lombardo Radice. 93min. Surreal and sublime zombie antics from Fulci, loosely based on the nightmare visions of HP Lovecraft. Part of Fulci double bill. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2D (U) ●●●●● (Phil Lord, US, 2009) Voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan. 90min. Vivid and likeable animated version of Judi and Ron Barrett’s 1978 children’s book set in the town of Chewandswallow, where the weather comes three times a day, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Empire, Clydebank. Control (15) ●●●●● (Anton Corbijn, UK, 2006) Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara. 122min. Biopic of Ian Curtis, the enigmatic lead singer of Joy Division, based on the biography written by his former wife, Deborah, Touching from a Distance. Corbijn’s decision to shoot in black and white captures the bleak setting of 1970s Macclesfield, and Riley perfectly imitates Curtis’ chilling live performances. A haunting portrait of a man struggling to balance married life, his sudden success, and debilitating epilepsy made worse by his rock star lifestyle. Cameo, Edinburgh. The Crazies (15) ●●●●● (Breck Eisner, US, United Arab Emirates, 2010) Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson. 101min. Eisner directs this timely remake of George Night of the Living Dead Romero’s 1973 survivalist classic about a biological weapon accidentally discharged into the water supply of a small town, turning the inhabitants into rampaging lunatics. General release.
✽✽ Crazy Heart (15) ●●●●● (Scott Cooper, US, 2009) Jeff Bridges,
Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Keane. 111min. Based a novel by Thomas Cobb, leisurely southernfried character study Crazy Heart focuses on the travails of down-on-his-luck western singer-songwriter Bad Blake, played by the remarkable Bridges. Things begin to look up when he hooks up with a young music journalist and single mother
Index Film (Gyllenhaal), but Bad is sadly on a one way ticket to rehab. Selected release. Creation (PG) ●●●●● (Jon Amiel, UK, 2009) Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Jones. 105min. Amiel’s Creation offers a worthy, thought-provoking insight into the story behind Darwin’s earth- shattering publication of his theory of evolution and boasts a terrific central performance from Bettany. Unfortunately this rather strait-laced film doesn’t take as many risks as it should in its effort to avoid re-igniting too many age-old debates. Empire, Clydebank. Did you Hear About the Morgans? (PG) ●●●●● (Marc Lawrence, US, 2009) Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalia Klima. 103min. Fish out of water comedy pairing Grant with Jessica Parker as married thespians going through a rocky patch. Their relationship begins to show signs of recovery when they are sent into a witness protection scheme after clocking a murder. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow. Edge of Darkness (15) ●●●●● (Martin Campbell, UK/US, 2010) Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston. 117min. With this taut adult revenge thriller, director Campbell returns with his usual studied energy to the scene of one of his early successes – the 1985 BBC television series that helped make his name. Gibson is entrancing as a Boston detective investigating the murder of his activist daughter, and as he grunts his way through conspiracies and cover-ups, he soon realises that the personal may just be about to become the apocryphal. Selected release. An Education (12A) ●●●●● (Lone Scherfig, UK, 2009) Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Thompson, Alfred Molina. 99min. Sarsgaard is on top form as seductive cad David, the older man responsible for educating bright but confused schoolgirl Jenny (Mulligan) in matters of love and life in swinging sixties London. With only a few tired stereotypes to detract from a superbly managed depiction of the central relationship, director Scherfig here combines romantic drama and the coming- of-age tale to wholly enjoyable effect. Selected release. Equinox Flower (U) ●●●●● (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan, 1958) Shin Saburi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Ineko Arima. 118min. His first film in colour, Ozu’s Equinox Flower examines familial transitions, with the central character struggling to come to terms with his daughter’s secret engagement. Part of Ozu season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Everybody’s Fine (12A) ●●●●● (Kirk Jones, US/Italy, 2009) Robert De Niro, Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore. 99min. Well-meaning but utterly dull remake of Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1990 film Stanno Tutti Bene. De Niro has plenty of reason to put on his over-familiar raised eyebrows and trademark gurn as he realises that, since his wife kicked the bucket, his four adult kids don’t really spend any time with him. Surprise, surprise he decides to spring unannounced visits on his four bambinos. Selected release.
Nowhere Boy (15) Thu 11 Mar, 2pm (baby friendly) 7:30pm Up in the Air (15) Mon 15 Mar, 7:30pm Wed 17 Mar, 7.30pm 4–18 Mar 2010 THE LIST 47