FILM | Index Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (U) ●●●●● (Debbie Isitt, UK, 2012) David Tennant, Jessica Hynes, Marc Wootton, Pam Ferris. 105min. Tennant takes over starring duties from Martin Freeman in this sequel to the 2009 British festive hit. General release. The Oranges (15) ●●●●● (Julian Farino, US, 2011) Hugh Laurie, Leighton Meester, Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt. 90min. A family friendship is tested when a young woman enters an affair with the head of the other family. Selected release. Rent-a-Cat (Rentaneko) (tbc) ●●●●● (Naoko Ogigami, Japan, 2012) Mikako Ichikawa, Reiko Kusamura, Ken Mitsuishi, Maho Yamada, Kei Tanaka, Katsuya Kobayashi. 110min. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 14–Mon 17 Dec. Rise of the Guardians (PG) ●●●●● (Peter Ramsey, US, 2012) Voices of Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher. 97min. A set of childhood unite to combat Pitch the Bogeyman. General release. Rust & Bone (De rouille et d’os) (15) ●●●●● (Jacques Audiard, France/ Belgium, 2012) Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts. 120min. The director of The Beat That My Heart Skipped returns with a much anticipated adaptation of a short story collection by Craig Davidson. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 14–Thu 20 Dec. Seven Psychopaths (15) ●●●●● (Martin McDonagh, UK, 2012) Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko, Tom Waits. 110min. Alcoholic screenwriter Marty (Farrell) has a title for his new script but no story, until his unstable friend Billy (Rockwell) kidnaps the beloved dog of a crime boss (Harrelson). General release. Sightseers (15) ●●●●● (Ben Wheatley, UK, 2012) Sara Stewart, Alice Lowe, Seamus O’Neill. 88min. Bone dry, very British black comedy that successfully blends shocking violence with odd poignancy. Selected release. Silver Linings Playbook (15) ●●●●● (David O. Russell, US, 2012) Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro. 122min. Golden boy Cooper teams up with rising star Jennifer Lawrence in Russell’s tale about a man who loses everything before teaming up with a stranger to get his life back on track. General release. Skyfall (12A) ●●●●● (Sam Mendes, UK, 2012) Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe. 145min. When cyber-terrorists steal an MI6 hard drive, 007 is ordered to recover it. General release. So Undercover (12A) (Tom Vaughan, US, 2012) Miley Cyrus, Alexis Knapp, Joshua Bowman. 94min. Cyrus stars in this film about a tough private eye hired to go undercover in a college. General release.
Watch Films Online Now
www.filmhousecinema.com/player 100 THE LIST 13 Dec 2012–24 Jan 2013
BABETTE’S FEAST Based on a short story by Karen Blixen (author of Out of Africa), Babette’s Feast was the first Danish language film to win the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 1988. Directed by Gabriel Axel, the film is set in 19th century Jutland and tells the story of two sisters and how they come to take in a Parisian cook. Babette’s Feast is an exquisite slice of cinema that recalls the work of both Ingmar Bergman and Carl Dreyer. This December the BFI release a new digital transfer of the Scandinavian classic so you can see it in all its mouth- watering glory. ■ Babette’s Feast is on selected release from Mon 17 Dec.
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (12A) (Reema Kagti, India, 2012) Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukerji. Selected release. Tu seras mon fils (You Will Be My Son) (tbc) ●●●●● (Gilles Legrand, France, 2011) Niels Arestrup, Lorànt Deutsch. 102min. A winery owner chooses another man’s son as his successor over his own flesh and blood in this story of complex father-son relationships. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 14–Thu 20 Dec; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 13 Dec. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (12A) ●●●●● (Bill Condon, US, 2012) Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. 115min. The tween vampire romance comes to its conclusion. General release. When Santa Fell to Earth (Als der Weihnachtsmann vom Himmel fiel) (U) (Oliver Dieckmann, Germany, 2011) Alexander Scheer, Noah Kraus, Mercedes Jadea Diaz. 107min. Festive film for kids based on the story book by Cornelia Funke. Selected release.
ONE-OFFS, SEASONS AND FESTIVALS 1st Catalan Film Festival Scotland A collaboration between CinemaAttic and Scotland’s Catalan Centre, this festival offers a selection of documentaries and short films. See preview, page 96. Cameo, Edinburgh
and La Tasca, Edinburgh, Sun 16 Dec– Sat 22 Dec, cinemaattic.com. Alexander Mackendrick A season of films from the Scottish-American film director, including The Ladykillers, The Maggie and Whisky Galore. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 14 Dec–Mon 7 Jan. Arthur Christmas (U) ●●●●● (Sarah Smith, UK/US, 2011) Voices of James McAvoy, Bill Nighy, Hugh Laurie. 97min. Arthur Christmas (McAvoy) is the overlooked star of the Santa team, but when it looks like a small girl’s present may not get delivered, he enlists the help of his curmudgeonly grandfather (Nighy). Presented by the Southside Film Festival Film Club and The Glad Cafe. The Glad Café, Glasgow, Sat 15 Dec; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 21–Mon 24 Dec.
✽ Babette’s Feast (U) (Gabriel Axel, Denmark, 1987) Stephane Audran, Jean-Philippe Lafont, Bibi Andersson. 103min. A delicious gastronomic experience and an exquisite, boisterous slice of cinematic narrative with real feeling. See preview, above. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, Fri 28 Dec–Thu 3 Jan; Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 21–Thu 27 Dec; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Mon 17–Sun 23 Dec. Baraka (PG) (Ron Fricke, US, 1992) 96min. Beautiful footage of planet Earth is juxtaposed with man’s harmful relation to it, with the Big Statement being pushed forwards by a series of powerful images. A genuine spectacle. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 14–Wed 19 Dec. Bedknobs and Broomsticks (PG) ●●●●● (Robert Stevenson, US, 1971) Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall. 117min. An apprentice
witch and three English kids make their contribution to the war effort via some enjoyable set pieces (the animals’ football match) and some less than wonderful songs. Eastwood Park Theatre, Glasgow, Sun 13 Jan. Big Miracle (PG) (Ken Kwapis, US, 2012) Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell. 107min. Romantic drama ‘inspired by the incredible true story’ of a new reporter (John Krasinski) and his efforts to save a family of whales in Alaska. Grosvenor Cinema, Glasgow, Sat 15–Sat 22 Dec. Black Christmas (18) (Bob Clark, US, 1974) Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder. 98min. Yuletide stalk’n’slash fun as a group of sorority girls are picked off by a mysterious killer. Cameo, Edinburgh, Sat 29 Dec. Die Hard (18) (John McTiernan, US, 1988) Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia. 131min. Willis takes on Rickman at his wife’s Christmas party in this classic actioner. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 21 Dec; Cameo, Edinburgh, Sat 22 Dec. Elf (PG) ●●●●● (Jon Favreau, US, 2003) Will Ferrell, James Caan, Edward Asner. 96min. Buddy (Ferrell) is a big elf who, though accepted in his Elvish community at the North Pole, manages to wreak havoc on a daily basis. Cameo, Edinburgh, Mon 24 Dec. Gremlins (15) ●●●●● (Joe Dante, US, 1984) Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates. 106min. Cute and cuddly mogwais become malevolent monsters if not properly cared for and wreak havoc in idealised small town America. Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, Thu 20 Dec; Cameo, Edinburgh, Sat 22 Dec.