Need For Speed (3D) (12A)
Need For Speed (3D) (12A)
Dir: Scott Waugh
With: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper
Runtime: 132 minutes
INSPIRED by the gazillion-selling video game, this boys and their toys racing drama is the stuff of driving instructors' nightmares and Top Gear fans' dreams.
Jesse Pinkman breaks off from Breaking Bad to play Tobey, a nice guy and mechanic with the titular need for speed, while Dominic Cooper nabs the Dick Dastardly role and takes him on in a high stakes race run by Michael Keaton's mysterious mogul.
Meanwhile, Imogen Poots looks pretty in the passenger seat. Cue insanely expensive sports cars, deranged driving, and much revving of testosterone. As deep as a puddle and ridiculously long, it is a glam Hollyoaks with hand-brake turns but will doubtless impress cinema-goers too young to have a licence.
Plot For Peace (12A)
Dirs: Mandy Jacobson, Carlos Aguilo
FEW have so far heard of the French businessman known as "Monsieur Jacques" and his part in dismantling apartheid.
Mandy Jacobson and Carlos Aguilo's documentary sets out to change that. It is a measure of the significance of Jean-Yves Ollivier that such notables as Winnie Mandela and former president Thabo Mbeki turn out to explain how the entrepreneur's pan-African contacts were instrumental in showing the apartheid regime that its time was up and Nelson Mandela had to be released.
A fascinating subject, but this is a film that is too busy examining each tree in turn to see the wood as a whole.
That said, the excellent use of archive footage and those stellar talking heads give it an unmistakable cachet.
Filmhouse, Edinburgh, tomorrow to March 20; Glasgow Film Theatre, March 28-30
The Stag (15)
Dir: John Butler
With: Andrew Scott, Peter McDonald
Runtime: 94 minutes
BEING the tale of a bachelor party set in Ireland, John Butler's comedy will inevitably be labelled the Irish version of The Hangover, but never fear, it is much smarter than that.
Fussy Fionan (Hugh O'Connor) is a Groomzilla and his idea of hell is a vulgar stag party, especially one attended by his odious future brother-in-law, The Machine (Peter McDonald, who also co-wrote the screenplay). Can best man Davin (Sherlock's Andrew Scott) find a compromise?
John Butler's picture has its mushy interludes as friendships are cemented and fractured, and it goes for the easy laughs at times (bare male bottoms, anyone?), but plenty of clever lines and an array of winning performances ensure a grand time will be had by all.
You might even end up liking U2 by the end. Really.
See The Herald tomorrow for an interview with Andrew Scott
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