Film LISTINGS
✽ Chariots of Fire (PG) (Hugh Hudson, UK, 1981) Ben Cross,
Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers. 123min. Worryingly jingoistic vision of the 1924 Paris Olympics and the exploits of runners Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell that, in its numerous slow-motion races, is to blame for Vangelis soundtracks becoming synonymous with athletics. Nevertheless, it won a fair few Oscars. General release. Cocktail (12A) (Imtiaz Ali, UK/India, 2012) Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty. 144min. Romantic comedy about three people sharing a home in London. Selected release. The Collector (15) (William Wyler, UK/ US, 1965) Terence Stamp, Samantha Eggar, Mona Washbourne. 119min. Auteur Wyler adapts John Fowles’ novel about a lonely lepidopterist who stalks and kidnaps a young art student. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Crimes and Misdemeanours (15) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, US, 1989) Martin Landau, Anjelica Huston, Woody Allen, Alan Alda. 104min. Accomplished Allen offering which effortlessly blends the Big Questions side of his art with the one-line wit we’ve taken for granted from him. Part of the Woody’s Goodies season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Dark Horse (15) ●●●●● (Todd Solondz, US, 2011) Jordan Gelber, Selma Blair, Christopher Walken. 84min. Still living at home, toy collecting man-child Abe (Gelber) forms an unlikely relationship with the dysfunctional Miranda (Blair) leading him to question his life and the opinions of the people around him. Moving and funny, but Happiness director Solondz favours comedy over compassion for his immature protagonist. Selected release.
✽ The Dark Knight Rises (12A) (Christopher Nolan, 2012) Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway. 164min. Batman returns to save Gotham from a new terrorist threat in this concluding part to Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. See review at list.co.uk. General release. Despair (15) (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Germany/France, 1978) Dirk Bogarde, Andréa Ferréol, Klaus Löwitsch. 119min. Fassbinder directs Tom Stoppard’s adaptation of Nabokov’s novel featuring Dirk Bogarde as a Russian chocolate magnate who loses his mind between the two World Wars. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Desperately Seeking Susan (15) ●●●●● (Susan Seidelman, US, 1985) Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn. 104min. Fun and fizzy, role- swapping feminist fantasy comedy set in the Big Apple. Scotsman Screening Room, Edinburgh. Detachment (15) ●●●●● (Tony Kaye, US, 2011) Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden. 97min. Henry Barthes (Brody) is a substitute teacher in tough NYC public schools who, in the course of moving from school to school, finds himself increasingly detached from the people around him. Kaye wastes a remarkable cast with a self-important and humourless approach that pushes the film towards self-parody. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (15) ●●●●● (Luis Buñuel, France, 1972) Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Stephane Audran. 102min. A group of friends find their dinner gathering interrupted by a series of bizarre, mostly dreamt-up events. Not as savage a satire as Buñuel’s earlier work, but he is certainly more assured as he fires at his constant targets – the church, the state and the army. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre. Dolphin Tale (U) (Charles Martin Smith, US, 2011) Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Ray McKinnon. 113min. Freeman and Judd lend their talents to this family story about a boy’s relationship with the ocean’s friendliest mammal. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Dr Seuss’ The Lorax (U) ●●●●● (Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda, US, 2012) Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Danny DeVito. 86min. See review page 57. General release from Fri 27 Jul. Electrick Children (15) ●●●●●
60 THE LIST 19 Jul–2 Aug 2012
(Rebecca Thomas, US, 2012) Julia Garner, Rory Culkin, Liam Aiken. 95min. See review, page 56. Glasgow Film Theatre; Cameo, Edinburgh. The Fairy (La Fée) (12A) ●●●●● (Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy, France/Belgium, 2011) Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Philippe Martz. 93min. Directed by Belgian-based mime artist trio Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel and Bruno Romy this whimsical, Tati-esq fairytale plays like a live action cartoon with absurdist gags and improbable chases. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre. The Five-Year Engagement (15) ●●●●● (Nicholas Stoller, US, 2012) Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt. 124min. Segel and Blunt are charming as a pair whose long betrothal drives them to infidelity, but given that it’s a rom-com the real dramatic weight and pathos aren’t balanced with enough laughs. General release. Fußball wie noch nie (Football Like Never Before) (tbc) (Hellmuth Costard, West Germany, 1971) 105min. German director Costard’s documentary tribute to George Best. Screening organised by the Goethe Institute as part of the pop-up open air cinema on the Brunswick Street outdoor stage. Part of the Merchant City Festival. Brunswick Street, Glasgow. Giants (Les Géants) (12A) ●●●●● (Bouli Lanners, Belgium, 2011) Paul Bartel, Zacharie Chasseriaud, Marthe Keller. 84min. Teenage brothers Zak (Chasseriaud) and Seth (Nissen) are stranded at their late grandfather’s house in the country, but when they meet local kid Danny (Bartel) their adventures begin. If the script is sometimes a little puerile, it’s beautifully shot with credible performances and an undercurrent of casual melancholy. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glyndebourne: The Fairy Queen (E) (Jonathan Kent, UK, 2012) Lucy Crowe, Claire Debono, Carolyn Sampson. 221min. Revival of the riotous and riotously successful 2009 production. Selected screenings on Sun 22 Jul. Grease (Sing-Along) (PG) ●●●●● (Randal Kleiser, US, 1978) John Travolta, Olivia Newton John, Stockard Channing. 110min. Thirty years on, Danny, Sandy, Rizzo Kenickie and the whole gang prove that Grease is still the word. Join in the fun and You’ve Been Trumped
sing along. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Gregory’s Girl (PG) ●●●●● (Bill Forsyth, UK, 1981) Gordon John Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Clare Grogan. 91min. A seminal piece of Scottish cinema screening in the open air. Part of the Merchant City Festival. Brunswick Street, Glasgow. 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. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Ice Age: Continental Drift (U) ●●●●● (Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier, US, 2012) Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo. 92min. Still struggling to avoid extinction, Sid, Manny and Diego encounter teenage mammoths desperate for independence, shifting continental plates and a gang of unusual pirates. Polished animation but with an unoriginal script and banal characterisation. General release.
✽ In Your Hands (Contre Toi) (15) ●●●●● (Lola Doillon, France, 2010)
Kristin Scott Thomas, Pio Marmaï, Jean- Philippe Écoffey. 80min. See review page 56. Glasgow Film Theatre. Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (PG) (John Schultz, US, 2011) Jordana Beatty, Heather Graham, Preston Bailey. 91min. Tween comedy adventure based on popular book series. Glasgow Film Theatre. Katy Perry: Part of Me (PG) (Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, US, 2012) Katy Perry. 97min. Pop starlet Katy Perry reveals what goes on behind the scenes of her latest tour in this popumentary. General release. Killer Joe (18) ●●●●● (William Friedkin, US, 2011) Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple. 103min. A sickly funny, down-at-heel Texan noir about dislikeable characters doing unspeakable things. It’s twisted, trashy fun, and features the most perverted use of a chicken drumstick you’ve ever seen. Selected release. King of Devil’s Island (12A) ●●●●● (Marius Holst, Norway, 2010) Stellan Skarsgård, Kristoffer Joner, Benjamin Helstad. 116min. See review page 57. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre. Kosmos (12A) ●●●●● (Reha Erdem,
Turkey/Bulgaria, 2010) Sermet Yesil, Türkü Turan, Serkan Keskin. 122min. Kosmos (Yesil) rescues a small boy from drowning, an act of kindness that draws him into an ambiguous relationship with the boy’s sister Neptun (Turan). Erdem’s metaphysical fable has great visual power and beauty, but the meaning is frustratingly elusive. Cameo, Edinburgh. Little Nicholas (Le Petit Nicolas) (tbc) ●●●●● (Laurent Tirard, France/ Belgium, 2009) Maxime Godart, Valerie Lemercier, Kad Merad. 91min. Little Nicholas (Maxime Godart), mistakenly worried that his parents are having another baby and will no longer want him, makes a plan for a gangster to kidnap his new sibling. A light soufflé of a film that will appeal to indulgently sentimental adults rather than thrill-seeking kids. Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Glasgow Film Theatre.
✽ The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (PG) (Alfred Hitchcock,
UK, 1927) June, Ivor Novello, Marie Ault. 74min. A serial killer named ‘The Avenger’ is killing London-dwelling blondes in Hitchcock’s early silent feature, setting out many of the director’s idiosyncrasies. Presented with a live score by Nitin Sawhney who takes part in a Q&A afterwards. Glasgow Film Theatre. Lost In Translation (15) ●●●●● (Sofia Coppola, US/Japan, 2003) Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Akiko Takeshita, Kazuyoshi Minamimagoe. 105min. This culture clash, fish out of water, pan-faced pseudo comedy marked Sofia Coppola’s second outing as director. Part of the Summer of Love season. Glasgow Film Theatre. Magic Mike (15) ●●●●● (Steven Soderbergh, US, 2012) Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Olivia Munn. 110min. Portrayed as boisterous soft porn for the hen night market, this comedy from Stephen Soderbergh in which a young stripper is shown the ropes by a more experienced colleague is an insightful and smart exploration of male friendship. A conventional Hollywood plot but Tatum and McConaughey ooze charisma. General release. The Man Inside (15) ●●●●● (Dan Turner, UK, 2012) Ashley Thomas, Michelle Ryan, Peter Mullan. 99min. See review page 57. Selected release from Fri 27 Jul.
Coming to cinema screens just as US business tycoon Donald Trump opens his £100m Aberdeenshire golf course, You’ve Been Trumped is the shocking, true Local Hero-style story of a group of Scottish homeowners challenging plans to redevelop one of Europe’s most environmentally sensitive stretches of coastline. A funny, informative and at times infuriating documentary revealing how Scottish authorities have put a wealthy American’s business interests before their country and its people. ■ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Wed 18 – Thur 19 Jul. There’s a Q&A with director Anthony Baxter after the screening on Wed 18 Jul.