www.list.co.uk/film
Four Lions (15) ●●●●● (Christopher Morris, UK, 2010) Benedict Cumberbatch, Alex MacQueen, Julia Davis. 101min. Post- 9/11 worthiness put aside, Morris hits the right note as he pokes fun at prejudices with some hapless British Muslims who want to blow themselves up as part of a misconstrued notion of Jihad. Selected release. 4.3.2.1 (15) ●●●●● (Noel Clarke, UK, 2010) Emma Roberts, Tamsin Egerton, Ophelia Lovibond. 116min. With this second film about four girls who have the weekend from hell, Clarke pushes against British drama traditions, telling interconnected stories with a cast of oddball characters. But while the resulting mash-up is entertaining,4.3.2.1 is ultimately less than the sum of its parts. General release. Furry Vengeance (PG) ●●●●● (Roger Kumble, US/United Arab Emirates, 2010) Brendan Fraser, Brooke Shields, Ken Jeong. 91min. A band of angry animals teaches an ambitious real estate developer (Fraser) a lesson when his housing development encroaches on their wilderness habitat in this likeably silly, family comedy with a welcome ecological message. General release. The Ghost (15) ●●●●● (Roman Polanski, UK, 2010) Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall. 127min. This adaptation by Polanski and Harris of the latter’s ‘what if?’ novel is a wintry Hitchcockian thriller in which McGregor’s everyman figure – an unnamed ghostwriter offered $250 million for four weeks work – becomes embroiled in a conspiracy where nothing is quite what it seems. If this doesn’t register as a major Polanski work, it still demonstrates his ability to create through mise-en-scène a mood of disquieting claustrophobia. Cameo, Edinburgh. Ghostbusters (PG) ●●●●● (Ivan Reitman, US, 1984) Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd. 105min. Three wacky unemployed parapsychologists pursue a little private enterprise as exterminators in spook-infested New York. Of its time but still an enjoyably dated comedy. Part of West End Festival. Grosvenor, Glasgow. The Girl on The Train (E) ●●●●● ( André Téchiné, France, 2009) Emilie Dequenne, Catherine Deneuve, Michel Blanc. 102min. A gripping work of cinematic fiction inspired by a real-life case that provoked a political furore in France six years ago, when a young woman confessed to having entirely made up her claim that she had been the victim of a vicious anti-Semitic attack. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Great Expectations (PG) ●●●●● (David Lean, UK, 1946) John Mills, Bernard Miles, Finlay Currie. 118min. Lean’s adaptation of the Dickens novel remains cinema’s definitive version, even after half a century. An orphan meets an escaped convict and is introduced into a new world of adventures and finely observed characters. Photography and design at its best. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Greenberg (15) ●●●●● (Noah Baumbach, US, 2010) Ben Stiller.
107min. See review, page 53. General release. Hannah and her Sisters (15) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, US, 1986) Mia Farrow, Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey. 107min. An achingly funny, insightful and well cast celebration of some surprisingly upbeat romantic perambulations within a family circle as only Woody knows how. Part of Allen retrospective. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Happiest Girl in the World (15) ●●●●● (Radu Jade, Romania/Netherlands, 2009) Andreea Bosneag, Vasile Muraru, Violeta Haret. 100min. See review, page 53. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Happiness (18) ●●●●● (Todd Solondz, US, 1998) Cynthia Stevenson, Lara Flynn Boyle, Philip Seymour Hoffman. 139min. Three sisters, two small boys, one psychologist and a phone-harassment specialist. Out of these unlikely elements Todd Solondz has wrought pure cinematic
gold, which veers from belly laughter one moment to stark pathos in another. See profile, page 58. Cameo, Edinburgh. Hot Tub Time Machine (15) ●●●●● (Steve Pink, US, 2010) John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson. 99min. Pink (Grosse Point Blank) returns to Cusack and the 80s when a bunch of friends end up in 1986 after a hot tub malfunctions. With little character development and too many comedic opportunities missed, sometimes it’s better to leave the past alone. Selected release. How to Train Your Dragon 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Dean DeBlois/Chris Sanders, US, 2010) Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera. 97min. Commendable new DreamWorks animation set in the mythical world of Vikings and dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell. Hiccup, a Viking teenager, befriends a dragon. Selected release. Hubble 3D (U) (Toni Meyers, Canada, 2010) 44min. Leonardo Di Caprio narrates the latest 3D IMAX space adventure. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Husbands and Wives (15) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, US, 1992) Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Sidney Pollack, Judy Davis. 107min. The Roths (Allen and Farrow) find their domestic life rocked by the news that their best friends are splitting up. More than a life-imitating-art movie, given the then allegations about the Allen household: it is a searching and incisive character comedy, his best since Hannah and her Sisters. Part of Allen retrospective. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The I Heart Revolution: We’re All in This Together (E) (Joe Houston, Australia, 2009) 85min. Documentary filmed over two years following the Australian worship band Hillsong United, from their beginnings playing in a church band to their later world tours. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow; Odeon, Edinburgh. Ice Age (U) ●●●●● (Chris Wedge & Carlos Saldanha, US, 2002) Voices of John Leguizamo, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black. 81min. There’s a faint air of cynicism in this story of a morose mammoth, a bumbling sloth and a wily tiger who join forces, despite all their better instincts, to return a human baby to his father. As the planet gets colder, they head in the opposite direction of the animal migration, to battle snowdrifts, volcanoes, ice caves and predators, eventually delivering their charge. The animators try desperately to make you fall in love with this unlikely band of creatures, to make you see the good hearts beneath the frosty exteriors, but they don’t deliver that all important charm, wit, flair and imagination. Grosvenor, Glasgow. Iron Man 2 (12A) ●●●●● (Jon Favreau, US, 2010) Robert Downey Jr, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow. 124min. Favreau returns to direct Downey Jr as the man in the metal suit. As expected, the action is big, bold and brash, the first appearance of Rourke in his Whiplash guise at the Monaco Grand Prix is a masterpiece of flying debris and crackling electricity. But it is Downey Jr who steals the show, playing Tony Stark as Bruce Wayne minus the guilt, revelling in his wealth and the public’s adoration of his Iron Man persona. Lovingly made multiplex action fodder with street smarts, it won’t change the world but it’ll keep you giddily entertained for two hours. General release.
✽✽ The Killer Inside Me (18) ●●●●● (Michael Winterbottom, US, 2010) Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba. 109min. With this vicious character study of a seemingly contemplative cowboy (Affleck) who is sent to the outskirts of town to run off a prostitute, Winterbottom utilises Jim Thompson’s controversial pulp novel to explode the myth that the 1950s was a time of innocence. Fascinating, but not for the squeamish. Selected release. Killers (12A) ●●●●● (Robert Luketic, US, 2010) Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck. 100min. See Also Released, page 54. General release. Leap Year (PG) ●●●●● (Anand Tucker, US/Ireland, 2010) Amy Adams, Matthew Goode. 100min. Hanging on the purportedly well-known Irish tradition that a woman is allowed to propose to her man on the 29th
February, after Anna’s (Adams) boyfriend misses a tailor-made opportunity to propose, she decides to do the deed herself. Various things then get in the way in this joyless, laugh-free embarrassment of a movie. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Lebanon (15) ●●●●● (Samuel Maoz, Israel/France/Germany, 2009)
Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen. 93min. This muscular, technically bravura work revisits the 1982 invasion of southern Lebanon by the Israel Defence Forces in which many civilians died and many young Israeli military conscripts, including Maoz himself, were marked by the carnage they witnessed. It’s lean, powerful stuff aided by a terrific cast and an economy of scale on Maoz’s part. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Letters to Juliet (PG) ●●●●● (Gary Winick, US, 2010) Amanda Seyfried, Marcia DeBonis, Gael García Bernal. 105min. Airy, lightweight trifle which takes inspiration from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and, more peculiarly, the alleged phenomenon that many lovelorn people write letters to said Juliet. General release. Life During Wartime (15) ●●●●● (Todd Solondz, US, 2009) Shirley Henderson, Ciaran Hinds, Allison Janney. 97min. Solondz’ sequel to his 1998 film Happiness is slickly (and sickly) achieved but pathetically irrelevant. Ten years on and we are back in the suburbs of Miami, incarcerated paedophile Bill (Hinds) is released and his ex-wife Trish (Janney) is about to be married again. The perverse, unhinged, abhorrent, disaffected and disturbed again looms large and of course, it all means nothing. For die-hards only. See profile, page 58. Cameo, Edinburgh. The Losers (12A) ●●●●● (Sylvan White, US, 2010) Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. 97min. This comic book adaptation following a group of soldiers as they attempt to clear their names of a crime they didn’t commit, is a loosely strung together collection of stylised set pieces that puts tongue-in-cheek revelry above hyper violence. Oddly appealing in spite of its flaws. Selected release. The Lovely Bones (Senior Screening) (12A) ●●●●● (Peter Jackson, UK/US/New Zealand, 2009) Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon. 135min. The problems with Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s popular novel run much deeper than the usual stumbling block of having a macabre subject matter. The casting is seriously misjudged, and, shirking away from the darkest elements of the novel, the tone and the aesthetic are completely wrong – where in the book, Susie (Ronan) resides in a 14-year-old’s idea of heaven, Jackson seems to have designed the movie equivalent in a Salvador Dali museum. Empire, Clydebank. MacGruber (15) ●●●●● (Jorma Taccone, US, 2010) Will Forte, Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer. 98min. See review, page 54. General release. Manhattan Murder Mystery (PG) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, US, 1993) Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Alan Alda. 108min. When her elderly neighbour dies mysteriously and suddenly, Carol Lipton (Keaton) does some amateur sleuthing along with the New York literary set. Allen returns to the comic formula that first made his name – neat plot, snappy one-liners – making this a much more approachable and enjoyable experience than his more serious work of late. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Moving to Mars (PG) ●●●●● (Mat Whitecross, UK, 2009) 83min. Documentary following two Burmese families over the course of a year as they move to the UK from a Thai refugee camp. Part of Refugee Week. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Nightwatching (18) ●●●●● (Peter Greenaway, Poland/Netherlands/Canada/UK/France, 2007) Martin Freeman, Emily Holmes, Eva Birthistle. 134min. Amsterdam, in the middle of the 17th century. Successful artist Rembrandt accepts a commission to do a huge military portrait, but as he prepares the painting he believes he has uncovered a murder conspiracy among the regiment. A muscular, adult, clever, funny and
Index Film unapologetically perverse reading of the events that led to the creation of one of the world’s greatest paintings. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Panjaban (12A) (Gaurav Trehan, India, 2010) Miss Pooja, Athar Habib, Harish Verma. 150min. A pair of twin sisters struggle to square the traditional values of Punjabi society with their relationships and careers. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Plan B (15) (Marco Berger, Argentina, 2009) Manuel Vignau, Lucas Ferraro, Mercedes Quinteros. 103min. Bruno’s efforts to win back his ex take an unexpected turn when he falls for her gorgeous new boyfriend. Part of London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Please Give (15) ●●●●● (Nicole Holofcener, US, 2010) Elizabeth Keener, Rebecca Hall, Elise Ivy. 90min. See Also Released, page 54. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time (12A) ●●●●● (Mike Newell, US, 2010) Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley. 115min. This video game adaptation sees Gyllenhaal star as a prince who must keep a powerful, mythical object called the Sands of Time out of the hands of villains. Tedious, zero chemistry big budget adventure. General release. The Princess and the Frog (U) ●●●●● (Ron Clements/John Musker, US, 2010) Voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David. 97min. Set in 1920s Louisiana and featuring Disney’s first African-American Princess, this culturally important, beautiful and evocative (of a New Orleans that no longer exists) film may not have the standout musical numbers of some of its stablemates but is an old fashioned treat all the same. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. The Purple Rose of Cairo (PG) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, US, 1985) Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels. 84min. A dowdy waitress meets the man of her dreams when a matinee idol steps down off the movie screen and into her life. Unfortunately, the studio bosses are not amused as the character involved is their property, and the actor who played the role worries about the possibility of a paternity suit. Basically a one-joke movie, it’s admirably worked out, offering a few barbs of wisdom on the illusory nature of romance. Part of Allen retrospective. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Raajneeti (12A) (Prakash Jha, India, 2010) Naseeruddin Shah, Arjun Rampal. 167min. Indian political thriller. Selected release. Radio Days (PG) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, US, 1987) Mia Farrow, Seth Green, Diane Keaton. 89min. Amiably laid-back family recollections of the early 1940s and the golden age of the wireless. Pot-pourri of modest charm held together by an armful of reliable performances from old lags and the usual flashes of wit and wisdom. A pleasant time-filler for both director and audience. Part of Allen retrospective. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
10–24 Jun 2010 THE LIST 59