Prisoners (15)
Prisoners (15)
HHH
Dir: Denis Villeneuve
With: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal
Runtime: 153 minutes
DENIS Villeneuve's picture could have been one of the best crime dramas of the year if not for its excessive running time. When two girls go missing at Thanksgiving, the police, led by detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) think they have an early lead, only for the investigation to stall. Hugh Jackman turns in an outstanding performance playing against type as the crazed-with-fear dad, and the screenplay throws plenty of ideas into the mix about power and its abuse. Gripping and satisfyingly twisty, but it still feels like a punishingly long watch.
Runner Runner (15)
HH
Dir: Brad Furman
With: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton
Runtime: 91mins
IT boasts an attractive cast, exotic locations and a story about the intriguing world of online gambling, but audiences may well feel they've been cheated after seeing Runner Runner. After losing all his money to an online poker scam, Princeton whiz Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) confronts the site's mysterious owner Ivan Block (Ben Affleck), only to be recruited into his world. Initially seduced, Furst soon finds himself out of his depth with the FBI closing in. Brad (The Lincoln Lawyer) Furman's film attempts its own bluff by promising smart and relevant but operating from within a well-worn formula.
Rob Carnevale
Austenland (12A)
HH
Dir: Jerusha Hess
With: Keri Russell, Jennifer Coolidge
Runtime: 97 minutes
UNLUCKY in love Jane (Keri Russell) wishes modern men could be the same as her hero, Mr Darcy. So she blows her life savings on a holiday at "the world's only immersive Austen experience". Jerusha Hess's comedy is faced with an array of screamingly obvious targets, from rich Americans to English snobbery, and goes for every one with a vengeance. It is the kind of picture Christopher Guest (For Your Consideration) could do without breaking a sweat, but Hess is no Guest.
Nothing But a Man R/I (12A)
HHHH
Dir: Michael Roemer
With: Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln
Runtime: 91 minutes
THIS drama from 1964 is a piece of social and cinematic history. Set in the segregated South, the story of a marriage in its first year was made by a white director and cinematographer and filmed in New Jersey. Such is its power it was said to be Malcolm X's favourite film. The story is a deceptively simple one of railway worker meets teacher, but the toxic politics of the time ensure it plays out as anything but straightforward.
Filmhouse, Edinburgh, tomorrow-October 3; Glasgow Film Theatre, October 23-24.
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