Film

Cowboys and Aliens

Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in film rarely rising to cartoonish mayhem title promises

12 Aug 2011

(12A) 118min Comic-book adaptation Cowboys & Aliens is two genre films in one. It mashes up the western with sci-fi – a strategy which worked well in the outer-space frontiers of Star Trek and Star Wars, but creates frustratingly patchy results in…

One Day

Director of An Education tackles David Nicholls' novel

12 Aug 2011

(12A) 108min Following An Education, Danish director Lone Scherfig attempts to conjure the same magic on another slice of hit Brit lit – David Nicholls’ One Day. Fans of the book have already been protesting that the casting of Anne Hathaway as…

The Room

Gloriously awful Rocky Horror-style particapatory film screening

11 Aug 2011

The midnight movies phenomenon is well documented – starting in the 1970s at fleapit cinemas, movies that were too bizarre, too violent or too extreme for the mainstream were shown to cult film-loving audiences in the dead of night. The Rocky Horror…

Profile: Eyad Zahra - Director of Muslim punk scene film The Taqwacores

Film adapts novel by Michael Muhammad Knight

10 Aug 2011

Name Eyad Zahra Born 20 Safar 1403 AH (Islamic calendar) in Cleveland, Ohio. Background Zahra’s family is Syrian. He was the first of his family born in America, his older brother was born in Syria. Growing up, his mother taught him about…

Project Nim

Excellent ape project documentary a complex meditation on human nature

9 Aug 2011

(12A) 99min It’s not surprising that director James Marsh has chosen to follow his Oscar-winning 2008 documentary Man On Wire by taking an approach often favoured by bands following up a hit album: don’t mess with the formula, just try and do the…

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Expertly mixes intelligence and spectacle to hugely impressive effect

9 Aug 2011

(12A) 106min After the folly that was Tim Burton’s remake of Planet of the Apes in 2001 many questioned the wisdom of trying to breathe new life into the franchise when this prequel was first announced. But Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of…

The Salt of Life (Gianni e le Donne)

Warm and sincere bittersweet comedy with loose, naturalistic style

9 Aug 2011

(12A) 89min Rome-born Gianni Di Gregorio is one of Italian cinema’s late starters. Having studied acting as a young man, he spent many years working as assistant director and screenwriter before beginning a fruitful collaboration with young…

The Devil's Double

Rambunctious romp with career changing performance from Dominic Cooper

9 Aug 2011

(18) 106min Subtlety is not in director Lee Tamahori’s repertoire. His excellent 1994 debut, Maori drama Once Were Warriors was full of well caught masculine bravado and tearful repercussions but the director’s career went wayward and reached its…

The Taqwacores

Exploration of identity set within American Muslim punk scene

9 Aug 2011

(15) 83min Eyad Zahra’s adaptation of Michael Muhammed Knight’s novel set in the American Muslim punk scene is in the tradition of early 80s music scene movies such as Penelope Spheeris’ Surburbia and Edo Bertoglio’s Downtown 81. First generation…

Elite Squad 2 - The Enemy Within (Tropa de Elite: O Inimigo Agora e Outro)

Returns to Rio's criminal world with pace, plot and violent set pieces

9 Aug 2011

(18) 114min Returning to the favela killing fields of his reactionary 2008 thriller, the schizophrenically talented writer/director Jose Padilha (Bus 174, Garapa) resurrects Captain Nascimento, but this time the right wing, law and order sympathies…

Beautiful Lies (De Vrais Mensonges)

9 Aug 2011

(12a) 104min Despite the efforts of a fine French cast – which includes Nathalie Baye, Sami Bouajila and Audrey Tautou – this visually unremarkable romantic comedy from writer/director Pierre Salvadori (Wild Target, Priceless), in which mother and…

Captain America: The First Avenger

Despite a clumsy second half, the Cap sets the stage well for 2012's Avengers

4 Aug 2011

(12A) 124 min Captain America might be subtitled The First Avenger, but he is, in fact, the last of the Marvel Comics superheroes to receive blockbuster movie treatment before he assembles alongside Hulk, Iron Man and Thor in next year’s superhero…

The Interrupters

Intimate documentary exploring gun crime in the US

4 Aug 2011

(12A) 125min Best known for his epic account of teenaged African-American basketball hopefuls Hoop Dreams, director Steve James returns in collaboration with the writer Alex Kotlowitz to inner-city Chicago for this sprawling documentary, which…

Play Poland Film Festival screens Polish cinema UK-wide

Little Rose, General Nil and Mystification among highlights

3 Aug 2011

Film-lovers have reason to be cheerful this month, following news that mobile filmfest Play Poland has landed on our shores. Screenings and events, which began on 2 Aug, will run until 25 Sep throughout Scotland, mostly at the Glasgow Film Theatre and…

Film Socialisme

Jean-Luc Godard tells story of Europe in decline

29 Jul 2011

(PG) 101min Jean-Luc Godard’s Film Socialisme is about as difficult a film as you’ll see this or any other year, but if some will conclude the film is unwatchable, it might be useful to say why that is so, why it may even be partly intentional on…

Super 8

JJ Abrams sci-fi a loving homage to the way blockbusters used to be

29 Jul 2011

(12A) 112min Lost creator JJ Abrams’ Super 8 may be heavily inspired by the early films of Steven Spielberg but if you’re going to borrow from someone, why not make it a master? It’s a science fiction adventure that harks back to the…

Sarah’s Key (Elle s’appelait Sarah)

Wartime drama based on deportation of 13,000 Parisian Jews

29 Jul 2011

(15) 111min Like the recently released The Round-Up, this respectful adaptation of Tatiana de Rosnay’s best-selling novel revisits one of the most shameful episodes of 20th-century French history, namely the Vel d’Hiv raid on July 16 1942. Some…

The Tree

Psychological drama starring Charlotte Gainsbourg is a fine study of loss

29 Jul 2011

(12A) 100min It seems trees are the new black: Terrence Malick wins the Palme d’Or with The Tree of Life, Win Win shows the central character’s life on track as he finally takes down the tree outside his garden, and La Quattro Volte gives a tree a…

The Referees (Les Arbitres)

Revealing study about the much-maligned professional whistle-blowers

28 Jul 2011

(15) 77min Following on from Fire in Babylon and Senna, The Referees is another impressive sports-related documentary. Belgian filmmaker Yves Hinant and his co-directors Eric Cardot and Lehericey Delphine were given full access by UEFA to the…

Focus on events at Edinburgh International Film Festival

22 Jul 2011

One of the departures the revamped Edinburgh International Film Festival took this year, in moving away from the glitz and glamour of red carpet premieres and must-see movies, was an increased emphasis on film-related events. By moving the festival’s…

A Better Life

Chris Weitz's immigration drama is admirable but predictable

21 Jul 2011

(12A) 97min There’s no denying American comedian Pat Paulsen’s dictum that the problems the United States faces today can be traced to the American Indian’s slack immigration policy. A Better Life is the mainstream cinemagoing public’s worst…

Poetry

A deeply moving portrayal of an elderly woman's struggles in rural South Korea

21 Jul 2011

(12A) 139min The quest to write a single poem becomes a heroic act in Poetry, a poignant, intricately plotted melodrama from Secret Sunshine director Lee Chang-dong. Poetry won the Best Screenplay at Cannes but it is the central performance from…

The reviewers reviewed: Terence Malick's The Tree of Life

What we said, and they said, about the Brad Pitt-starring Canne-divider

21 Jul 2011

The Tree of life What we said: ‘The result is a sprawling, sometimes unfathomable epic on the endless conflict between "the way of nature and the way of grace".' The List What they said: ‘Cinema that’s thinking big. [Director Terrence] Malick…

Cult bad film The Room set for Edinburgh Festival Fringe screenings

Tommy Wiseau's 2003 film now has cult following

20 Jul 2011

The Room is infamous as one of the worst films ever made. Yet its popularity just keeps on increasing. Ahead of debut Fringe screenings, John Darley looks at the story so far, revealing the true horror behind the ‘Citizen Kane of bad movies’

World War Z to be filmed in Glasgow with locally-sourced zombies

Brad Pitt star in Max Brooks zombie adaptation

19 Jul 2011

The streets of Glasgow will no doubt be a little quieter with the onset of the Edinburgh Festival this August. All that is about to change this year with parts of the city centre undergoing a transformation into a post-apocalyptic 'zombie land' for the…

DVD reviews: The Kingdom, Giallo, The Pack, Bloodrayne 3, Evil Rising and Lake Mungo

Summer horror DVD round-up

18 Jul 2011

Forget Hollywood – this month we embark on a European horror odyssey. First up, Lars von Trier's superlative haunted hospital drama The Kingdom (Second Sight ●●●●). Collecting both of his four-part Danish TV series into one boxed set for the first time…

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

The boy-wizard franchise goes out on a high

18 Jul 2011

(12A) 130min It gives this critic great pleasure to confirm that the final film in the franchise adapted from JK Rowling’s boy wizard publishing phenomenon is among the top three of the eight-part series. Since the series hit the ground running ten…

Profile: Chris Weitz, director of A Better Life

Director known for American Pie, About a Boy and The Golden Compass

18 Jul 2011

Name Chris Weitz Born 30 November 1969, New York City Background Weitz began his career co-directing the hit teen comedy American Pie (1999) with his brother Paul. After another successful collaboration, 2002’s About A Boy, Weitz’s first solo…

Trust

David Schwimmer’s powerful movie should resonate with every parent and teenager in some way

18 Jul 2011

A hard-hitting look at the dangers posed by internet predators, as witnessed by a family whose lives are torn apart by the grooming and eventual rape of their teenage daughter, the film stems from Schwimmer’s decade-long involvement with Santa Monica’s…

Beginners

Whimsical, autobiographical drama from Mike Mills, starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer

13 Jul 2011

(15) 104min You cannot accuse Beginners of lacking ambition. Directed by Thumbsucker's Mike Mills, this wistful, intensely autobiographical drama combines a love story, a reflection on the ties that bind the generations and a history lesson on the…

Arrietty

Studio Ghibli takes on The Borrowers and delivers charming results

13 Jul 2011

(U) 94min Over three decades, the Studio Ghibli brand of animated storytelling has become a worldwide phenomenon through beloved classics My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and the recent Ponyo. Although not directed by the studio’s co-founder Hayao…

Horrible Bosses

Seth Gordon's comedy rides high with the titular bosses, but is let down by their minions

13 Jul 2011

(15) 97min The blunt title of Seth Gordon’s star-packed comedy might lack finesse but it is certainly accurate: Horrible Bosses features three utterly repulsive Los Angeles-based line managers as its villains. Dr Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) is…

Cars 2

Uninspired sequel fails to keep the Pixar engine running

13 Jul 2011

(U) 112min After 25 years of animation production and a run of critical and commercial smash-hits, the super-smooth Pixar production line finally blows a gasket with Cars 2, a colourful but overstuffed, noisy and heartless sequel that feels more like…

Zookeeper

Kevin James stars in woefully bad family rom-com

13 Jul 2011

(PG) 101min Part rom-com, part Doctor Dolittle style family comedy, Zookeeper, starring lardarse comic actor Kevin James (The Dilemma, Grown Ups), is a wholly unsatisfactory experience for all but the most juvenile minds. The latest offering from…

Qatsi trilogy with Philip Glass live score highlight of Edinburgh International Festival

EIF 2011 screening of Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi

5 Jul 2011

One of the earliest Edinburgh screenings of Koyaanisqatsi, the first of Godfrey Reggio’s remarkable trilogy of films scored by minimalist composer Philip Glass, was in an old porn cinema opposite what is now the Festival Theatre, then a bingo hall.

The Beaver - Jodie Foster interview

The director on working with Mel Gibson on comedy drama

1 Jul 2011

The Beaver is the third directorial effort from the iconic Jodie Foster. The 48-year-old actress burst onto the international scene as a child star in 1976 with films such as Taxi Driver, Bugsy Malone and Freaky Friday. Lauded as a teenager for her…

The Princess of Montpensier - Bertrand Tavernier interview

The cineaste speaks on his inspiration for returning to the past

1 Jul 2011

In a career spanning four decades and some 27 films, the French director Bertrand Tavernier has often been drawn to historical subjects: think for example of his 17th century swashbuckler D’Artagnan’s Daughter, or his dramas set in the aftermath of…

Green Lantern

Intergalactic special effects spectacle

1 Jul 2011

(12A) 114min So many adaptations of superhero comic books have received the blockbuster treatment it’s now safe to say we have seen the best of them. And its questionable what more or different there is that can be done with the super-powered…

Julia's Eyes

A very well made chiller in the stalk ‘n’ slash tradition

1 Jul 2011

(15) 112min In addition to directing visionary adult horror-fantasies (The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth) and outstanding Hollywood blockbusters (Hellboy and its sequel), Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is also carving a second career for…

X-Men: First Class

Latest in franchise makes clever use of Cold War-era setting

30 Jun 2011

(12A) 132min The novelty of the Hollywood franchise reboot has worn thin, but this re-launch of the initially excellent adaptations of the Marvel comic book benefits from a canny central concept that takes the mutant superhero team back to their…

The Governor, Being Human and Traffik among DVD highlghts

The old school fares well against newbies in TV drama releases

29 Jun 2011

The Governor ●●●● features a curious performance from Janet McTeer, just four years before her 1999 Oscar nomination for Tumbleweeds. In the first season of Lynda La Plante’s excellent prison drama, she switches between giggling schoolgirl and feisty…

Lock Up Your Daughters Glasgow clubnight

Collective responsible for Glasgow’s only ‘network for creative queers’

29 Jun 2011

Take Lock Up Your Daughters (LUYD), the collective responsible for Glasgow’s only ‘network for creative queers’. They make zines, run music events and are now delving into LGBT-friendly filmmaking to add another string to their bow. It might make you…

Outside The Law (Hors La Loi)

Forceful thriller about 1950s Algerian freedom fighters

29 Jun 2011

(15) 138min Franco-Algerian writer-director Rachid 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. Like its predecessor, this…

Red Hill

Australian modern-day western makes up for lacks in originality with bravado and tension

29 Jun 2011

(15) 97min With its tale of a convict on the loose and a rookie cop on his first day on the job, Red Hill is hardly original. Written and directed by debuting Aussie director Patrick Hughes, if you crossed No Country For Old Men with Assault on…

The highs and lows of Harry Potter’s outrageous fortunes

An evaluation of each of the films from the Harry Potter series

28 Jun 2011

Having earned £6 billion worldwide, Harry Potter is the highest grossing film franchise of all time. And while the critical reception hasn’t always matched the commercial one (no Academy Awards yet), the films have been as successful as JK Rowling’s…

Ben Miller interview - Actor/director on cycle crime, Thandie Newton and urine

Moving Wallpaper actor directs first feature film Huge

28 Jun 2011

The Moving Wallpaper actor has taken time off from his comedy partnership with Alexander Armstrong to direct a feature film, Huge. He confesses to abusing his banana privileges

Hanna

A wonderfully curious, bold and original film

28 Jun 2011

(12A) 111min What a wonderfully curious and beguiling film this is. Hanna is the story of the eponymous 16 year-old (Saoirse Ronan), trained in the arts of combat and survival in the remote wilds of Finland by her ex-CIA father (Eric Bana).

DVD review - Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle

Uncompromising, awkward and confrontational style and content cements reputation

28 Jun 2011

(2entertain) The second series of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle will do very little to alter the entrenched opinions on both sides of his critical fence. Those detractors will switch off in their droves at the uncompromising, awkward and…

Senna

Fast-paced documentary on life and death of Formula One racing driver

28 Jun 2011

(12A) 106min This fast-paced documentary about the life and death of the legendary Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna plays more like a dramatic biopic than a feature-length doc. Taking his lead from and building upon dramatic documentaries such…

Strong EIFF short film programme includes Night Mayor, The Great Race and Pentecost

Edinburgh International Film Festival shorts round-up

27 Jun 2011

Sometimes the short film programme can look like a lesser sibling of the main festival, but this year it was one of the few aspects of EIFF that was in better health than ever. With a fancy new venue in the form of an upgraded George Square Theatre, a…