At the movies with Daniel Dercksen   

Film of the Week: The Descendants

The Descendants *****
This is a great coming-of-age story that explores a man embracing his true self and the re-discovery of the love he has for his wife and daughters; it is also the coming-of-age story of two sisters who are reborn through the actions of their father. It is a feel good and sincere observation of what it takes to truly live life at its fullest and overcome obstacles, no matter how challenging. It is also a great exploration of the generation gap and looks at how the world can change through new perspectives that are mostly avoided. It's a fun, although heartbreaking story of love and the impact our emotions have on those who embrace it. Alexander Payne's direction of this first-rate human drama underlines his unique understanding of the human condition and his detailed observation of how people cope with unavoidable circumstances;  Payne never wallows in sentimentality but allows this feel good story to speak for itself and allow its vivid characters to add colour to the grayness of stormy days.  Read more and go behind the scenes. 

New releases

Ratings: ***** Must See  **** Excellent  *** Entertaining   ** Average   * Dull

The Iron Lady ***** An exceptional and dignified master work that affords anyone a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of one of the most famous women in history and grasp an understanding of fame, glory and infamy. It tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!)  and written by Abi Morgan (Brick Lane).  Read review and interviews

Hugo ***** The story of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. With the help of an eccentric girl, he searches for the answer to a mystery linking the father he recently lost, the ill-tempered toy shop owner living below him and a heart shaped lock, seemingly without a key. Based on Brian Selznick's award winning and imaginative New York Times bestseller, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," this magical tale is Academy Award-winner Martin Scorsese's first film shot in 3D.  Go behind the scenes

Safe House  ***
Denzel Washington plays the CIA's most dangerous traitor, who stuns the intelligence community when he surfaces in South Africa.  When the safe house to which he's remanded is attacked by brutal mercenaries, a rookie (Ryan Reynolds) is forced to help him escape.  As the masterful manipulator toys with his reluctant protégé, the young operative finds his morality tested and idealism shaken.  Now, they must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead. Go behind the scenes

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (3D) A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… Twenty-two years ago, these words first flashed across movie theater screens around the world, and a modern legend was born.  The Star Wars saga is a modern-day fairy tale reflecting the vision of George Lucas.  Lucas imbued this new myth with pieces of American pop culture, including movie westerns, swashbucklers and - for seasoning - Japanese samurai epics.  Now Lucas takes us back to the beginning.  Read more

Films now showing

Live Theatre on the Big Screen

Listed alphabetically     

A Little Bit of Heaven **** A young, beautiful, and wildly funny women is afraid of opening herself up to true love and commitment. Until a life-changing visit to her doctor (Gael Garcia Bernal) sends both of them on an eye-opening adventure of mutual discovery, leading to revelations neither thought possible.  Read more
The Adventures of Tintin ***** Adventure with a capital A! Spielberg is back in top form with a breathtaking and spectacular masterwork.  Read more   Interview with Steven Spielberg See The Write Stuff
Beginners ***** A magical life-affirming (and life changing) observation of life, love and loss.   A young man who discovers that his father came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life. Read more
Brighton Rock  ***** An exquisite masterwork showcasing British filmmaking at its finest; brimming with sexual tension, nail biting suspense and captivating intrigue, writer director Rowan Joffe is an exceptional visualist and storyteller, filling each frame of this stylish romantic noir thriller with meticulous detail.  Read more
Courageous Four men, one calling: To serve and protect; When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Read more
Darkest Hour * A 3-D post-apocalyptic action thriller about a band of young jetsetters in Moscow who live through an unexplained global catastrophe and struggle to survive against an unknown alien threat as they try to escape the once vibrant metropolis. Read more 
Dolphin Tale ***** Inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin called Winter and the compassionate people who banded together to save her life. Read more Interview with screenwriters Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi
Drive ***** Brutal and excessively violent, with hardcore scenes that will upset sensitive viewers, Drive is a well crafted and hard-hitting journey into a world where violence begets violence.  Read more
The Ides of March ***** With sharp, quick-witted dialogue and set against the spectacle of modern world power and politics, The Ides of March is an intense tale of sex, ambition, loyalty, betrayal and revenge. Read more 
Jack and Jill Adam Sandler stars in the title roles. Jack sets into motion several schemes that he hopes will return Jill to where he loves her most - the other side of the country. Go behind the scenes
J. Edgar ** Clint Eastwood's film explores the personal and public life and relationships of a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it during a life devoted to his own idea of justice, often swayed by the darker side of power. Read more
Machine Gun Preacher ***** The inspirational true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing criminal who undergoes an astonishing transformation and finds his unexpected calling as the saviour of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children in war-torn Sudan. Go behind the scenes Read interview with screenwriter Jason Keller   
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol  ***** If you love spy thrillers, this is first rate entertainment and ultimate escapism. Read more  See The Write Stuff  Win a fun Ghost Protocol puzzle and Mission Impossible III DVD
The Muppet Movie (3D) Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater. Read more
31 Million Reasons Corrupt Durban cop is given the opportunity to go legit by a cash-in-transit guard... but only by orchestrating the biggest cash heist in South African history.  Read more
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows **** Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his formidable colleague, Dr. Watson. Read more   
Seeking Justice Nicolas Cage stars as a high school teacher who bands with a group of vigilantes in order to avenge a violent crime against his wife in this  thriller from director Roger Donaldson.  Read more
Trespass A wealthy family fight back against a gang of ruthless criminals during a violent home invasion in this relentless nail-biter from director Joel Schumacher (8MM, Phone Booth). Read more
Underworld Awakening brings a stunning new dimension to the epic battle between Vampires and Lycans, as the first film in the franchise to shoot in 3D.  Read more about a new vision of Underworld  See The Write Stuff

Smokey Joe's Cafe
The Sensational Broadway musical Smokey Joe's Café showcases rock and roll, rhythm and blues songs at Cinema Nouveau on Feb 4 and 5.  Read more

The Enchanted Island
The Met Opera's Gleeful Baroque Mash-Up is formed from hidden gems of other Baroque operas from the likes of Handel and Vivaldi. From February 10. Read more

Combat
Nataniël appears on the big screen for the first time ever in Combat, an up-tempo show which investigates and celebrates the uniform from Feb 3.Read more

Top 10 Films to see

Listed alphabetically
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo *****A captivating and arousing experience for discerning audiences that explores two hunters who collide on a journey to solve a mystery: Lisbeth Salander, a headstrong and wounded, but ingenious investigator (featuring a brilliant performance by Rooney Mara), and Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig in another commanding performance), a financial reporter determined to restore his honor. Read more  Interview with David Fincher  Interview with screenwriter Steven Zaillian

Man on a ledge **** A thrilling and nail biting suspense thriller that is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Its cunning plot and intriguing storyline offers plenty twists and turns so be careful to not know too much about what happens as it will definitely spoil the outcome of your viewing pleasure. Read more

Margin Call ***** This brainy and perceptive human drama plays like a savvy chess game where every move, word and gesture manipulates the action and heightens the suspense and intrigue.  Read more  Writer-director J.C. Chandor talks about his  15-Year Journey to make the film    See The Write Stuff

Martha Marcy May Marlene ***** Sean Durkin's first-rate debut film is a rare gem that masterfully asserts the power of understatement and naturalness, raising complex issues of identity and belonging that deftly defines who we are and the world we live in. Durkin's unassumingly raises questions like what happens when we are stripped of our identity?  The film tells of young woman (Elizabeth Olsen in her feature film debut) who undergoes an explosive crisis of identity after escaping the confines of a rural cult-like farming community. Read more  Interview with writer-director Sean Durkin  See The Write Stuff

Midnight in Paris ***** Imaginative and bold, Woody Allen's fertile imagination gallops at full trot in this amusing and charming romance. Obsession and passion unite gloriously, turning the mundane existence of a troubled novelist upside down and inside out when he finds himself trapped between two worlds. Read more

Moneyball ***** A captivating and compelling journey into a world ruled by money, where people becomes pawns trapped in a war zone that is a sport field and its warriors the sportsmen, managers and corporate giants caught in endless bidding wars. Based on the true story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), a once a would-be baseball superstar who, stung by the failure to live up to expectations on the field,  takes on the system by challenging the fundamental tenants of the game and hires Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), a brainy, number-crunching, Yale-educated economist.  Go behind the scenes. 

The Music Never Stopped ***** An overly critical father gets a unique opportunity to reconnect with his estranged son, if he can only embrace the music that once divided them in this uplifting family drama. Read more

The Skin I Live In ***** Obsession can indisputably annihilate the soul. Retribution can cultivate an unfathomable evil malevolence.  In Pedro Almodovar's masterful suspense thriller, the fusion of these malignant emotions is deadly.

We Bought a Zoo ***** A highly entertaining, heart-warming adventure and family event, inspired by the amazing true story about a recently single dad (Matt Damon) who dreams up the coolest, most unusual gift a parent could ever give his family: a zoo.  Together with his kids, he travels from the city to their new home in the wilds of upstate New York where -- through the restoration of their ramshackle zoo -- the family reconnects and gets a fresh start Go behind the scenes .Read an interview with director and co-writer  Cameron Crowe

We Need To Talk About Kevin ***** is an emotional thriller, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Lynne Ramsay (Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar) and starring Tilda Swinton. Eva puts her ambitions and career aside to give birth to Kevin. The relationship between mother and son is difficult from the very first years. When Kevin is 15, he does something irrational and unforgivable in the eyes of the entire community. Eva grapples with her own feelings of grief and responsibility. Did she ever love her son? And how much of what Kevin did was her fault?  Read more   Interview with screenwriter-director Lynne Ramsay   See The Write Stuff

Sneak preview: upcoming films

Listed alphabetically                             Click here to read more about these titles

Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within *** (From Feb 24) The sprawling slum that surrounds Rio De Janeiro is one of the most dangerous places on earth, so as the head of Rio's Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE), Captain Nascimento has seen his share of intense situations.  

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (From Feb 24)  In this follow-up to the 2008 worldwide hit "Journey to the Center of the Earth," the new 3D family adventure "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" begins when young Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson, reprising his role from the first film) receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist. 

Material (From Feb 17) Riaad Moosa plays a young Muslim man who discovers a hidden talent for comedy; a passion is sparked within him like nothing previously in his life

My Week with Marilyn ***** (From Feb 17) The true story of one magical week a young man spent alone with the world's biggest star… the week he spent with Marilyn.

Semi-Soet *** (From Feb 17) Workaholic Jaci (Anel Alexander) will go to any lengths to protect the boutique advertising agency she works for from being bought and dismantled by a ruthless businessman known as 'The Jackal' (Nico Panagio).

This Means War (From Feb 24) Two of the world's top secret agents (Chris Pine, Tom Hardy)  are best friends who never let anything come between them -- until they inadvertently fall for the same woman (Reese Witherspoon).  It's all-out war between them, as the two spies battle each other with high-tech surveillance, advanced tactics, and an arsenal capable of bringing down a small country. At the same time, she struggles with the difficult task of choosing between two very different, but equally attractive romantic propositions.

War Horse ***** (From Feb 24) From director Steven Spielberg comes an epic adventure, a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War