The Scotsman

SELECTED FILMS NOW SCREENING

- BEWARE OF MR BAKER (15) THE GREAT GATSBY (12A) STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (12A)

HHHH Perhaps it takes an obnoxious filmmaker interviewi­ng an obnoxious musician to truly get past the usual print-the-legend platitudes that make so many rock docs non-events. That’s certainly seems to be true of this fascinatin­g, knuckle-gnawing film about Ginger Baker, the unapologet­ically irascible Cream drummer who responds to director Jay Bulger’s sometimes willfully inane questionin­g with responses that range from the rude to the violent. But his unwillingn­ess to moderate himself or look at his past through rose-tinted shades makes this truly compelling viewing. bringing former enemies-turnedbrom­antic buddies Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) out of early retirement to help Dwayne Johnson’s hulking Diplomatic Security Service agent to track down a computer chip that’s been boosted from the Russian military. There’s plenty of ludicrousl­y exciting stunt driving to offset the splutterin­g storytelli­ng. Bombastic, impression­istic, sumptuousl­y designed, meticulous­ly photograph­ed, and at times wilfully vulgar, Baz Luhrmann’s take on F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is so over the top it’s frequently in danger of losing any ironic distance from the material, and becoming a flat-out tribute to conspicuou­s consumptio­n. But Leonardo DiCaprio does make a fantastic Gatsby. of satirical self-awareness to offset its otherwise gleeful celebratio­n of old school chauvinist­ic cads clashing with their proto-feminist underlings. Romain Duris stars as an insurance salesman who seeks redemption for his messed-up love life in the form of his new secretary (Deborah François), whom he’s grooming for success in the the world of, erm, competitiv­e speed typing. The incongruit­y of this backdrop is supplies a few laughs, but the film is too desperate to be a crowd-pleaser to really satisfy as one. JJ Abrams’ belated sequel to his exuberant 2009 reboot picks up roughly where that film left off, introducin­g a new villain (Benedict Cumberbatc­h’s deliciousl­y sinister John Harrison) whose terrorist procliviti­es are threatenin­g to embroil Starfleet in an all-out Klingon war. While it’s mostly good fun, there’s also something a little wearying about the warp speed approach. Where the first film gave the characters room to breathe, this one undercuts every moment of reflection with a sudden jolt of action.

 ??  ?? In Byzantium Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) wrestles with her unusual existence
In Byzantium Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) wrestles with her unusual existence

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