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of twin children. For a children’s movie, the crude humour is inappropriate at any age. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. The Other Bank (Gagma napiri) (15) (George Ovashvili, Georgia/Kazakhstan, 2009) Tedo Bekhauri, Tamar Meskhi, Archil Tabukashvili. 90min. The first feature film from Ovashvili and a moving story of a young Georgian boy who goes in search of his father in war-torn Abkhazia. Part of Beyond Borders season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Our Hospitality (U) ●●●●● (Buster Keaton, Jack Blystone, US, 1923) Buster Keaton, Natalie Talmadge, Joe Roberts, Ralph Bushman. 70min. Typical, but excellent Keaton affair sporting a family feud and a Romeo and Juliet-style romance, with live musical accompaniment. Cameo, Edinburgh. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (PG) ●●●●● (Chris Columbus, Canada/US, 2010) Brandon T Jackson, Steve Coogan, Uma Thurman. 118min. Big screen adaptation of Rick Riordan’s first fantasy adventure novel featuring Greek mythology- baiting child Percy Jackson. Possible franchise? We think so. Grosvenor, Glasgow. Pianomania (tbc) (Robert Cibis/Lilian Franck, Austria/Germany, 2009) 93min. Documentary following professional piano tuner Stefan Knüpfer as he tours the world’s great concert halls, maintaining the instruments of maestros. Cameo, Edinburgh. Pina Bausch Tribute (tbc) (Anne Linsel/Pit Weyrich, Germany, Various) 119min. Two films forming a tribute to the influential German choreographer, most famous for her work with Tanztheater Wuppertal. The first is a documentary about her life and work made by Anne Linsel in 2006, just three years before Bausch’s death, and the second is a recording of Bausch’s legendary staging of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, made in 1976. Part of Dance:Film10 Fringe. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Piranha 3D (18) ●●●●● (Alexandre Aja, US, 2010) Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames, Elisabeth Shue. 88min. See Also released, page 105. General release. Planet 51 (U) ●●●●● (Jorge Blanco/Javier Abad, US, 2009) Voices of Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Beil, Gary Oldman. 90min. Dull, mildly offensive Spanish animated feature about one astronaut’s adventures as an illegal alien on a far-flung planet. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. 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. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh.
✽✽ The Refuge (Le Refuge) (15) ●●●●● (François Ozon, France,
2009) Isabelle Carré, Louis-Ronan Choisy, Melvil Poupaud. 88min. Elegant, unfussy direction elevates this tale of a drug addict who, after an overdosing session in which her boyfriend dies, discovers she’s pregnant and runs away to a country refuge. Followed there by her dead lover’s gay brother, she develops a new understanding and a new friendship. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Robin Hood (12A) ●●●●● (Ridley Scott, USA/UK, 2010) Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Matthew MacFadyen. 140min. Ridley Scott’s fifth film with Crowe never quite musters up the epic power of its predecessor Gladiator, yet still, with Scott going for a gritty take on the legend of the outlaw who robbed the rich to give to the poor, at least Crowe lends the character a level of credability Kevin Costner never attained. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Salt (12A) ●●●●● (Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, US, 2010) Phillip Noyce. 100min. See review, page 104. General release. Sanjuro (15) ●●●●● (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1962) Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yuzo Kayama. 96min. A sequel to Yojimbo Kurosawa has the eponymous hero dancing a jig round the big would-be samurai boys and cleverly taking the mickey
Steve McQueen: King of Cool Arguably the coolest American screen actor of the last 50 years, the McQueen season continues through another damp August.
Highlights include Love with the Proper Stranger – actor/director Robert Mulligan’s misguided but interesting attempt to make an American kitchen sink drama set in the early 1960’s underground jazz scene – and, of course, Bullitt. Ticket deals available. ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh until Thu 2 Sep.
out of the action adventure movies of the time. A stunning climax however. Part of Kurosawa season. Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽✽ Scott Pilgrim vs The World (12A) ●●●●● (Edgar Wright, US,
2010) Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin. 112min. See review, page 104. General release.
✽✽ The Secret in their Eyes (El Secreto De Sus Ojos) (18)
●●●●● (Juan José Campanella, Argentina/Spain, 2009) Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago. 129min. The surprise winner of 2010’s Best Foreign Film Oscar, and deservedly so. A richly satisfying and unashamedly old-fashioned piece of film noir storytelling, following a retired prosecutor as he researches a novel based on a brutal and still unsolved case from early in his career. An exceptional blend of clever whodunit, slow-burning romance and political commentary. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Seperado! (12A) ●●●●● (Dyl ‘Goch’ Jones/Gruff Rhys, UK/Argentina/Brazil, 2009) 84min. Super Furry Animal Rhys takes a trip to Patagonia to trace a branch of his family and discovers a Welsh/Argentinean film legacy he never knew about. Fascinating, funny and warm- hearted road doc. Cameo, Edinburgh. Shrek Forever After 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Mike Mitchell, US, 2010) Voices: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz. 93min. A fourth and final instalment, rebooting the flagging franchise with a new alternate-reality twist which sees Shrek escape fatherhood for a one-day return to his bachelor years. A warmed-over sequel that lazily re-configures familiar elements to mildly pleasing effect. Selected release. Shrek Forever After 3D (PG) (Mike Mitchell, US, 2010) Voices: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz. 93min. See above. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (PG) ●●●●● (Jon Turteltaub, USA, 2010) Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina. 111min. From the combination that brought us Pirates of the Caribbean comes a sadly less exciting fantasy, with an uninspired ‘dweeb becomes chosen one’ plot. Too much is made of sappy romance instead of indulging in duels, the acting is dry and dusty and the film lacks the magic it promises. General release.
Soylent Green (15) ●●●●● (Richard Fleischer, US, 1973) Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Leigh Taylor Young. 97min. Film adaptation of Harry Harrison’s highly-regarded novel Make Room! Make Room! sets up a plausible vision of a future world teeming with hungry millions. Heston is a tough cop trying to discover exactly what the ingredients of Soylent Green are, a synthetic foodstuff that’s been cooked up to help feed the planet. The final revelation might be obvious from a long way off, but it’s very logical in a Swiftian sort of way. Part of Gourmet Glasgow. Grosvenor, Glasgow. Space & Light Revisited (PG) (Murray Grigor, UK, 2009) 20min. A short film about the disused modernist masterpiece that is St Peter’s Seminary in Cardross. This screening is followed by a discussion with Grigor and author Brian Smith, who has just completed a novel set in the seminary. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Step Up 3 2D (12A) ●●●●● (Jon Chu, USA, 2010) Alyson Stoner, Sharni Vinson, Rick Malambri. 107min. A group of underground street dancers from New York City team up with freshman Moose (Adam G Sevani) and find themselves pitted against the world’s best hip hop dancers in a life- changing showdown. Silly but euphoric and enjoyable street dance flick. If you like this kind of thing. Selected release. Step Up 3 3D (12A) ●●●●● (Jon Chu, USA, 2010) Alyson Stoner, Sharni Vinson, Rick Malambri. 107min. See above. General release. Super Size Me (12A) ●●●●● (Morgan Spurlock, US, 2004) 100min. Comical documentary in which Spurlock puts himself through a golden M-only diet for 30 days, in the process causing him grievous bodily harm. Spurlock’s is an enjoyably cheeky satirical approach to the undertaking but beyond the playful humour and the disturbing self-abuse he makes a serious inquiry into the connection between obesity and fast food and the American way. Grosvenor, Glasgow. 10 Minutes of Democracy (15) (Various, Georgia) 117min. Films exploring ideas of democracy, nationalism and obedience commissioned from three Georgian filmmakers. Part of Beyond Borders season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh
✽✽ They Made Me a Fugitive (PG) ●●●●● (Alberto Cavalcanti, UK,
1947) Trevor Howard, Sally Gray, Griffith Jones. 100min. An ex-RAF officer turned petty crook (Howard) is framed by a malicious spiv in this British noir classic. Reissue. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The Time That Remains (Chronicle of a Present Absentee) (15) ●●●●● (Elia Suleiman, UK/Italy/Belgium/France, 2009) Elia Suleiman, Saleh Bakri, Samar Qudha Tanus. 109min. Suleiman again interweaves the personal and the political in the third film in his wryly observed Palestinian trilogy. Inspired by his own memories, his father’s diaries and his mother’s letters to exiled relatives, this eloquently conveys the absurdity of everyday existence for Palestinian citizens in Israel. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (U) ●●●●● (Bradley Raymond, USA, 2010) Voices of Michael Sheen, Lucy Liu, Mae Whitman. 76min. Tinkerbell teams up with a rival to keep a secret from humans. Further adventures of the mischievous fairy for the little ones. General release. Tooth Fairy (PG) ●●●●● (Michael Lembeck, US, 2010) Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd. 101min. Leaden fantasy in which The Rock plays a a cynical ice- hockey player who is whisked to Fairyland
Dorian Gray The Brothers Bloom (12A) (15) Fri 20 Aug 11:00 Wed 4th Oct (cuppa), 19:30 11am, 2pm, Wed 25 Aug 19:30 7:30pm 19–26 Aug 2010 THE LIST 107