Jupiter Ascending (3D) (12A)
three stars
Dirs: The Wachowskis
With: Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne
Running time: 127 minutes
IN Chicago, Mila Kunis scrubs toilets and tries to convince as a dowdy cleaner named Jupiter Jones. On another planet entirely, Eddie Redmayne reduces his voice to a rasp, dons black leather, and has a stab at being a baddie. Meanwhile, wearing special flying boots - what else? - Channing Tatum is a space hunter out to keep peace in a universe populated by English baddies, talking lizards and Flash Gordon lookalikes. It can only be the latest movie from the perennially wacky Wachowskis, makers of The Matrix and Cloud Atlas. There is not a lot of point trying to make sense of the plot, which may or may not involve Kunis as the reincarnated mother of Redmayne. Best advice is to sit back and watch the 3D spectacle as destinies collide, Tatum finds an excuse to take his top off, and Kunis wields a toilet brush. Part early Star Trek, part panto, all bonkers.
Still Life (12A)
three stars
Dir: Uberto Pasolini
With: Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt
Runtime: 92 minutes
EDDIE Marsan stars as John May, a mouse of a London council official who organises funerals for those with no-one left to do the job for them. May's "clients" are the lonely and forgotten, but he at least tries to do his best by them. It is in the handling of one such case that May comes into contact with an equally timid soul, Kelly (played by Joanne Froggatt). Could his own loneliness be coming to an end? The subject matter of Uberto Pasolini's drama is such that Still Life could be a 92-minute downer, and the sedate pace will not be to everyone's liking. But its saving grace, apart from the performances of the always terrific Marsan and Froggatt, is the sly, gentle sense of humour which permeates the piece. A surprisingly powerful, and lovely, film.
Glasgow Film Theatre, February 6-12
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