Film INDEX
Howl (15) ●●●●● (Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, US, 2010) James Franco, Jon Hamm, Mary-Louise Parker. 84min. James Franco’s passionate and intelligent reading of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl is placed alongside a recreation of the obscenity trial of its publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The animated translation of the poem is overly literal, but kudos to the filmmakers for bringing Ginsberg’s work to a new generation. Macrobert, Stirling. Jihne Mera Dil Luteya (12A) (Mandeep Kumar, India, 2011) Gippy Grewat, Diljit Dosanjh, Neeru Bajwa. 133min. A love triangle fought out between three students Punjabi students. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Julia’s Eyes (Los Ojos de Julia) (15) ●●●●● (Guillem Morales, Spain, 2010) Belén Rueda, Lluís Homar, Pablo Derqui. 112min. A woman investigates the death of her twin sister while slowly losing her sight. Does the ‘invisible man’ she senses really exist and is he responsible? Mediocre horror produced by Guillermo del Toro. Macrobert, Stirling.
✽✽ Just Do It (E) ●●●●● (Emily James, UK, 2010) 90min Documentary
about the activities of UK climate activists. Will be followed by Q&A. This as a Take One Action presentation. takeoneaction.org. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Knuckle (15) ●●●●● (Ian Palmer, UK/Ireland, 2011) 96min. See Also Released, page 106. Selected release. Kung Fu Panda 2 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Jennifer Yuh, US, 2011) Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan. 90min. Sequel to the popular animated comedy about the martial arts master in a chubby panda body (voiced by Black). General release. Larry Crowne (12A) ●●●●● (Tom Hanks, US, 2011) Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston. 98min. Hanks and Roberts team up for post economic crash rom-com about a recently unemployed company man who forms a crush on a teacher at the adult college he starts to attend. Vue Omni, Edinburgh. Life in a Day (12A) ●●●●● (Kevin Macdonald, US, 2011) 95min. This YouTube project, directed by Kevin Macdonald, asked people around the world to make a film of their life on a specific day, 24 July 2010. From the 80,000 videos submitted, Macdonald and his army of editors have meticulously crafted this overwhelmingly positive, indeed joyful mix of disparate lives. Macrobert, Stirling. Little Rose (Rózyczka) (15) (Jan Kidawa-Blonski, Poland, 2010) Andrzej Seweryn, Magdalena Boczarska, Robert Wieckiewicz. 118min. A beautiful informant is set the task of betraying a Jewish writer in vehemently anti-Semitic 1960s Poland, only to find her loyalties pulled in more than one direction as time goes on. Part of Play Poland festival. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Lynch (Lincz) (15) (Krzysztof Lukaszewicz, Poland, 2011) Leszek Lichota, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Wieslaw Komasa. 81min. In 2005 a sixty-year-old man was lynched by youngsters in a Polish village. The old man had been a habitual offender and had terrorised the town for years and this film explores the issues behind the story. Part of Play Poland festival. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Mr Popper’s Penguins (PG) ●●●●● (Mark Waters, US, 2011) Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino and Angela Lansbury. 94min. See Also Released, page 106. General release. My Winnipeg (15) ●●●●● (Guy Maddin, Canada, 2008) Darcy Fehr, Ann Savage, Amy Stewart. 80min. Recreating his Winnipeg childhood with various actors playing the roles of siblings and veteran actress Savage as his demanding mum, acquired-taste director and postmodernist auteur Maddin gets the balance between acerbic nostalgia and indulgent self- centredness just right. Part of Fringe@Summerhall. Summerhall, Edinburgh. No Show: A Screening of Artists’ Films (E) (Various). 60min. Dutch artist Melvin Moti’s film No Show is a re- imagining of a tour given around the recently-emptied Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg in 1944, describing the paintings
112 THE LIST 4–11 Aug 2011
Senna/Man on Wire
Two remarkable documentaries about two remarkable men – Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna and tightrope walking visionary Philippe Petit (pictured) – go head-to-head for an inspiring double bill. ■ Cameo, Edinburgh, Sun 7 Aug.
that had once hung there. Showing alongside No Show is Moti’s selection of other artists’ films that deal with collections and museums, including Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1970). Part of Edinburgh Art Festival. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) (15) ●●●●● (Rachid Bouchareb, France/Algeria/Belgium, 2010) Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila. 138min. Franco-Algerian writer-director Bouchareb follows his hard-hitting Palme d’Or nominated WWII adventure Days of Glory with this similarly forceful thriller about Algerian freedom fighters in the 1950s. It’s explosive stuff, both cinematically and politically. Macrobert, Stirling.
✽✽ Potiche (15) ●●●●● (François Ozon, France, 2010) Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini. 103min. When Robert (Luchini) is taken ill, supposed trophy wife (the potiche of the title) Suzanne (Deneuve) steps in to take charge of the family business, rediscovering her power and potential. Featuring hidden depths and unexpected layers, nothing is quite as you might have expected in this irresistible Cinderella story. Cameo, Edinburgh. The Princess of Montpensier (18) ●●●●● (Bertrand Tavernier, France/Germany, 2010) Mélanie Thierry, Lambert Wilson, Grégoire Leprince- Ringuet. 139min. Marie (Thierry) is forced to marry the Prince of Montpensier (Leprince-Ringuet). Torn between duty and desire, she captivates her tutor Chabannes (Wilson) and the Duke of Anjou (Personnaz). Based on the 1662 novella by Madame de Lafayette, writer/director Tavernier’s ‘romantic thriller’ feels modern in its treatment of religious fundamentalism and female oppression. See director interview at list.co.uk. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Rio 2D (U) ●●●●● (Carlos Saldanha, Canada/US, 2011) Voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Will I Am. 95min. The team behind Ice Age heats things up in more tropical climes, as a domesticated macaw from small-town America goes on a Brazilian adventure. General release.
✽✽ Sarah’s Key (Elle S’appelait Sarah) (12A) ●●●●● (Gilles
Paquet-Brenner, France, 2010) Kristin Scott Thomas, Mélusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup. 111min. See review, page 105. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow.
The Smurfs 3D (U) (Raja Gosnell, US, 2011) Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry. 102min. See Also Released, page 106. General release.
✽✽ Super 8 (12A) ●●●●● (JJ Abrams, US, 2011) Elle Fanning, Riley
Griffiths, Kyle Chandler. 111min. See review, page 106. General release. Tangled 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Nathan Greno, US, 2010) Voices of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy. 96min. Disney/Pixar funk-up of the classic tale of Rapunzel that is nonetheless traditional to the core, blessed with catchy musical numbers and a plethora of scenes ripped off directly from the studio’s own back catalogue (see Aladdin, Little Mermaid et al). Funny and impressive, but lacking charm. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 2D (12A) ●●●●● (Michael Bay, US, 2011) Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington- Whiteley, Josh Duhamel. 154min. Latest adventure in the Transformers franchise. Our shapeshifting heroes learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, and a race against the bad guys to reach it and unlock its secrets ensues. General release. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3D (12A) ●●●●● (Michael Bay, US, 2011) Shia LaBeouf, Patrick Dempsey, Hugo Weaving. 154min. General release.
✽✽ The Tree (12A) ●●●●● (Julie Bertuccelli, France, 2010) Charlotte
Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies, Marton Csokas. 100min. See review, page 105. Selected release. The Tree of Life (12A) ●●●●● (Terrence Malick, US, 2011) Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain. 138min. The lives of a 1950s family are contrasted with a history of life on earth (including CGI dinosaurs). Soaring music, gliding camerawork, the frequent absence of dialogue and a constant sense of yearning gives The Tree Of Life the feeling of a heartfelt sermon urging a re- engagement with spirituality. Selected release. Whisky Galore (PG) ●●●●● (Alexander Mackendrick, UK, 1949) Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Jean Cadell.
82min. Much-loved Ealing comedy by Scottish filmmaker Mackendrick. A ship carrying a cargo of whisky is shipwrecked off a Scottish island during wartime, so the locals decide it’s time to quench their thirst. Full of wit and charm that others can only hope to emulate. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Who Needs a Heart (E) ●●●●● (John Akomfrah, UK, 1991) Caroline Burghard, Treva Etienne, Ruth Gemmell. 79min. Controversial drama by the Black Audio Film Collective charting the history of British Black Power through the story of a fictional group of friends moving in the same circles as the movement’s central figure, anti-hero Michael Abdul Malik, or Michael X. CCA, Glasgow. Win Win (15) ●●●●● (Thomas McCarthy, US, 2011) Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Shaffer. 106min. An expertly shaken comedy/drama cocktail, Win Win tells of small-town attorney Mike Flaherty (Giamatti), who spends most of his spare time coaching his local school’s wrestling team. Giamatti is his usual flawless self, and his relationship with newcomer Shaffer is to be treasured. Dominion, Edinburgh; Macrobert, Stirling. X-Men: First Class (12A) ●●●●● (Matthew Vaughn, US, 2011) James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence. 132min. The X-Men series goes back to the beginning of the saga to chart the early days of Professor X and Magneto, when they were plain old Charles and Erik. Macrobert, Stirling. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (12A) (Zoya Akhtar, India, 2011) Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif. 124min. Three friends take the holiday of a lifetime before one of their number gets married. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow. Zookeeper (PG) ●●●●● (Frank Coraci, US, 2011) Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb. 104min. James plays zookeeper Griffin Keyes, whose beach-side wedding proposal is turned down by Bibb’s money-grabber. Helping him win her back are Dawson’s shy vet and the various animals he looks after. But no one can breathe life into the tedious script. General release.
Looking for screening times? Visit list.co.uk/events/film for up-to-date film times for every Scottish cinema.