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Your support makes all the difference.HANDS (AKA PALMS) (PG)
Director: Artur Aristakisyan
The director of this harrowing semi-documentary has been compared to Pasolini and Tarkovsky, the press notes assure us, but though this is an imaginatively realised rumination on the workings of the modern world, the picture is deadening in a way that those directors' best work never was. The film is simple and precise in its methods; as images of downtrodden and forgotten citizens - amputees, beggars, the very young, the elderly - are played out before us in a moving collage, a man narrates a message to his unborn child, who may be being aborted even as he speaks.
West End: Renoir
HE GOT GAME (18)
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich
The plot of Spike Lee's muddled tale is pure poppycock: Jake Shuttleworth (Denzel Washington) is doing time for the murder of his wife, but is offered a deal, out of the blue, which could cut short his sentence. It has come to the attention of the Governor that Jake's son, Jesus (Ray Allen), is the country's hottest new basketball star. If Jake can convince Jesus to sign with the Governor's alma mater, then he can look forward to early release. Jake agrees, and is dispatched into the outside world on this errand. However, there is one seemingly insurmountable obstacle in Jake's path - his son has vowed never to forgive him for his mother's murder.
West End: Odeon Kensington, Odeon Swiss Cottage, Ritzy Cinema, UCI Whiteleys, Virgin Trocadero
THE LAND GIRLS (12)
Director: David Leland
Starring: Catherine McCormack,
Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel, Steven Mackintosh
This gentle comedy from David Leland (director of Wish You Were Here) leads you into familiar territory, but manages to infuse the experience with warmth and wit. Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel and Catherine McCormack are the "land girls" called upon in WWII to pick up the discarded ploughs and take the place of the farmers who have departed for war. Nothing surprising - sexual awakening, broad laughs, a smattering of tragedy - but nicely done.
West End: Screen on the Hill, UCI Whiteleys, Virgin Fulham Road, Virgin Haymarket, Warner Village West End
THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO (15)
Director: Whit Stillman
Starring: Chloe Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Chris Eigeman
In the fictional club at the centre of Whit Stillman's dry and slightly sad comedy, everything sparkles - under the light from the glitterball, the dancers are united in their absent-minded beauty, and pockets of glitter fall from the ceiling even as the club is being busted by cops. But you couldn't accuse the picture of being nostalgic - as with Stillman's previous films (Metropolitan and Barcelona), actions and emotions unfold with a knowing wink toward the future. West End: ABC Tottenham Court Road, Clapham Picture House, Odeon Camden Town, Odeon Kensington, Richmond Filmhouse, Rio Cinema, Ritzy Cinema, UCI Whiteleys, Virgin Chelsea, Virgin Haymarket, Warner Village West End
SPECIES II (18)
Director: Peter Medak
Starring: Michael Madsen, Natasha Henstridge, George Dzundza
Ludicrous science-fiction horror about a strand of deadly alien DNA carried back to earth in the bodies of astronauts. Cornball dialogue and a healthy abundance of sex and violence make this passable B-movie fun.
West End: Elephant & Castle Coronet, Empire Leicester Square, Hammersmith Virgin, Odeon Marble Arch, UCI Whiteleys, Virgin Chelsea, Virgin Trocadero
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