A SINGLE MAN ***** A mesmerising journey into the heart and soul of a man who has lost the love of his life and needs to come to terms with the loss that overpowers his existence. Colin Firth delivers an astounding and controlled performance as a man whose life and dreams are shattered. Julianne Moore is a revelation in her powerhouse performance as a friend who shares his loss. Equally captivating is Matthew Goode as the idealistic lover and Nicholas Hoult is sensational as the guardian angel. Tom Ford's articulate direction aptly captures the frenzied mindscape of a man who has been blinded by love and whose loss creates an awareness that allows him to see the world around him for the first time. The story focuses on a 52 year old British college professor who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner. He dwells on the past and cannot see his future as we follow him through a single day, where a series of events and encounters, ultimately leads him to decide if there is a meaning to life after Jim. George is consoled by his closest friend Charley (Moore), a 48 year old beauty who is wrestling with her own questions about the future. A young student of George's, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), who is coming to terms with his true nature, stalks George as he feels in him a kindred spirit. A Single Man is the ultimate romantic tale of love interrupted, and the exploration of the isolation that is an inherent part of the human condition, and ultimately the importance of the seemingly smaller moments in life.  Read more
THE ROAD *****  A dark post-apocalyptic tale that tells of the survival of a father (Viggo Mortsensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they journey across a barren America that was destroyed by a mysterious cataclysm. Unassuming and unobtrusive, this honest and candid exploration of the human condition is hard-hitting and disturbing; although the subject matter is depressing it celebrates life through death, and affirms that there is hope in the worst of circumstances. From Cormac McCarthy, author of No Country for Old Men, comes the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of the beloved, best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, adapted by Award-winning writer and director Joe Penhall, who was described by The Financial Times as "one of the finest playwrights of his generation." It boldly imagines a future in which men are pushed to the worst and the best that they are capable of--a future in which a father and his son are sustained by love.  It is an adventure story, a horror story, a road movie and ultimately a love story between a father and his son, between a man and his wife, as it is a celebration of the inextinguishable will to live.  It is a thrilling evocation of human endurance and an unflinching examination of people at their worst--and at their best. For every mother, every father who's ever had a child, for every son of a father, THE ROAD will be a journey into the human spirit. It is a survivor's story in which the heroes carry the fire that is the life force that keeps hope alive no matter what.  Read more    Explore the art of adaptation
THE LOVELY BONES ***** Although it is a difficult story to pull off, Peter Jackson masterfully transforms the impossible into a taut and gripping tale, vividly bringing a great screenplay to life, with top performances from the cast. It is an imaginative journey into the realm of the afterlife and a hard-hitting exploration of a 13-year-old girl who has been murdered and watches over her family and her killer from heaven. Based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Jackson & Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens, it centers on the young girl who must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. It features a great performance from Saoirse Ronan as the young girl, with great support from Stanley Tucci as the evil-minded serial abductor and Mark Wahlberg as the grieve stricken father who firmly believes that his daughter is sending him a message from beyond.  Read more
BRIGHT STAR **** Obsession is a deadly force to be reckoned with on the big screen. In Jane Campion's exquisite romance, the obsessive nature of creativity and love are interwoven in a delicate story of two souls whose connection throws their lives and destinies into turmoil. The project had been a dream of director Jane Campion's for several years, who fell in love with the secret romance between the 23-year-old English poet Keats (Ben Whishaw), and his muse Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), who was an outspoken student of fashion. Campion was "drawn to the pain and beauty and innocence of their love affair," depicted in Andrew Motion's book.  "They were so young; it was a true life Romeo and Juliet story well-documented but one I had not known.  I found myself weeping at the end of it. The story is so tragic and tender." Keats's poetry provided the inspiration for the structure of the story for Campion, whose long-time collaborator Jan Chapman (The Piano, Lantana) produced the film and consulted with Campion on the development of the screenplay. A must for hopeless romantics, Campion perfectly captures the intimate silence of pure love and the innocence of doomed romance.  Read more  Read more about the art of adapting real life stories
IT'S COMPLICATED **** Writer/director Nancy Meyers ("What Women Want," "Something's Gotta Give," "The Holiday") directs Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in "It's Complicated," a comedy about love, divorce and everything in between. Jane (Streep) is the mother of three grown kids, owns a thriving Santa Barbara bakery/restaurant and has--after a decade of divorce--an amicable relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake (Baldwin). But when Jane and Jake find themselves out of town for their son's college graduation, things start to get complicated. An innocent meal together turns into the unimaginable--an affair. With Jake remarried to the much younger Agness (Lake Bell), Jane is now, of all things, the other woman. Caught in the middle of their renewed romance is Adam (Martin), an architect hired to remodel Jane's kitchen. Healing from a divorce of his own, Adam starts to fall for Jane, but soon realizes he's become part of a love triangle. Should Jane and Jake move on with their lives, or is love truly lovelier the second time around? It's... complicated. Read more  Read a question and answer with Nancy Meyers

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BOOK OF ELI *** In the not-too-distant future, some 30 years after the final war, a solitary man walks across the wasteland that was once America. Empty cities, broken highways, seared earth all around him, the marks of catastrophic destruction. There is no civilization here, no law. The roads belong to gangs that would murder a man for his shoes, an ounce of water...or for nothing at all. But they're no match for this traveller. A warrior not by choice but necessity, Eli (Denzel Washington) seeks only peace but, if challenged, will cut his attackers down before they realize their fatal mistake. It's not his life he guards so fiercely but his hope for the future; a hope he has carried and protected for 30 years and is determined to realize. Driven by this commitment and guided by his belief in something greater than himself, Eli does what he must to survive and continue. Only one other man in this ruined world understands the power Eli holds, and is determined to make it his own: Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the self-appointed despot of a makeshift town of thieves and gunmen. Meanwhile, Carnegie's adopted daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) is fascinated by Eli for another reason: the glimpse he offers of what may exist beyond her stepfather's domain. But neither will find it easy to deter him. Nothing-and no one can stand in his way. Eli must keep moving to fulfill his destiny and bring help to a ravaged humanity.  Read more
CRAZY HEART *** An intimate portrait of man in search if himself and the life he left behind. Jeff Bridges delivers a commanding performance as a man on the brink of destruction, with great support from Robert Duvall. Jeff Bridges received a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor for his performance as the richly comic, semi-tragic romantic anti-hero Bad Blake in the debut feature film from writer-director Scott Cooper.  Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who's had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can't help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean (Maggir Gyllenhaal), a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician.  As he struggles down the road of redemption, Bad learns the hard way just how tough life can be on one man's crazy heart. Also with Colin FarrelL and Robert Duvall. Read more
DEAR JOHN **** A touching love letter to anyone who has ever been in love, Lasse Halstrom perfectly anchors this romance in the endearing relationship between a father and son, with Channing Tatum delivering a moving performance as  a young soldier in search of himself, and Richard Jenkins equally impressive as the father who desperately needs to connect with the world around him.  The film has a naïve innocence that is utterly charming and an honesty that is appealing. Rekindle the romantic inside you with this heartfelt story that delivers much more than it promises. Based on the novel by best-selling author Nicholas Sparks, it tells the story of a young soldier home on leave, and , the idealistic college student he falls in love with  (Amanda Seyfried)during her spring vacation. Over the next seven tumultuous years, the couple is separated by John's increasingly dangerous deployments. While meeting only sporadically, they stay in touch by sending a continuous stream of love letters overseas--correspondence that eventually triggers fateful consequences. Read more
FANTASTIC MR. FOX Mr. and Mrs. Fox (Clooney and Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson).  But after twelve years of quiet domesticity, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr. Fox's wild animal instincts.  Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community.  Trapped underground without enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers - Boggis, Bunce and Bean - who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost.  In the end, he uses his natural instincts to save his family and friends. It marks visionary director Wes Anderson's first animated film, utilizing classic handmade stop-motion techniques to tell the story of the best-selling children's book by Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach).  Directed by Wes Anderson and written for the screen by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, the film features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and Jarvis Cocker.  Read more   The Art of animation The Art of adaptation
FROM PARIS WITH LOVE **A low-ranking intelligence operative (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) working in the office of the U.S. Ambassador in France takes on more than he bargained for when he partners with a wisecracking, fast-shooting, high-ranking U.S. agent (John Travolta) who's been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack. Read more
HALLOWEEN II Although horror fans embraced Zombie's updated, relentless take on the classic story of Michael Myers, the writer-director was reticent to "complete" the vision he began in  the first film.  Picking up where Halloween ended, and then jumping ahead one year, Halloween II follows Laurie Strode as she deals with the aftermath of the previous year's events, Dr. Loomis who is trying to capitalize on those events by publishing a new book that chronicles everything that happened, and Michael Myers as he continues his search for Laurie so that he can reunite with his sister. The film sees the return of lead cast members Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, and Tyler Mane. Read more   Read more about remakes
JOZI *** James (Carl Beukes) is a successful comedy writer. There is only one small problem, he lives in Johannesburg and has completely and utterly lost his sense of humour. Crime, politics, pessimism and feather duster salesmen have invaded every cell of his body causing him to lose the very spark of humour which enables him to earn his living. He has other problems too - his girlfriend has left him for the most boring man in the world; his entire family has emigrated; he has thrown his producer's computer out the window and developed a serious drug problem.  In the maddest of madcap journey James must travel through the highways and byways of South Africa from Daspoort Rehab back to Johannesburg to try and find his elusive sense of humour as well as his ability to love and laugh again. Directed by Graig Freimond, with , Lionel Newton, Jena Dover, Nick Boraine, Lindi Matshikiza,Read more   
MY NAME IS KHAN Theirs was a storybook romance told against the shadow of a great American city, until a series of life-changing events threatened more than just their own happiness. Imagine what happens when a single act from a determined man seeking forgiveness and love lost can do to inspire the hearts and minds of a wounded nation. In MY NAME IS KHAN, Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol Devgan inhabit the most challenging roles of their careers. Rizvan Khan is an honorable Muslim man from India, living with Asperger's Syndrome, who falls unconditionally for the beautiful Mandira, a Hindu single mother living out her version of the global dream of success. Yet, when an unspeakable act of cowardice tears their family apart, Khan selflessly embarks on a powerful journey through a contemporary America that is as complex as the terrain of the human heart. He innocently becomes that most unlikely act of defiance, one of peace and compassion.  Read more   The art of World Cinema
PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTING THIEF *** It's the Twenty first century, but the gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters have walked out of the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts and into his life.  And they're not happy: Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.  Even more troubling is the sudden disappearance of Percy's mother.  As Percy adapts to his newly discovered status as a demi-god (his father is Poseidon), he finds himself caught between the battling titans of Mt. Olympus.  He and his friends embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true lightning thief, save Percy's mom, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves. Directed by Chris Columbo, with Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Sean Bean, Kevin Mocked. Read more
SAMSON AND DELILAH Samson and Delilah's world is small - an isolated community in the Central Australian desert. When tragedy strikes they turn their backs on home and embark on a journey of survival. Lost, unwanted and alone they discover that life isn't always fair, but love never judges. Written-directed and photographed by Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton. Read more
THE SPY NEXT DOOR Jackie Chan was instantly attracted to the script and the comic possibilities of Bob Ho's particular challenge: winning over the distrustful children of the woman he loves. After meeting with Simonds in China he quickly signed on to the project. "The script has a little bit of everything," says Chan. "Action, comedy, romance, adventure - everything." A family action comedy with Jackie Chan as Bob Ho, an undercover CIA superspy who decides to give up his career in espionage to settle down with his next-door neighbor and girlfriend, Gillian (Amber Valletta). But Bob has one more mission to complete before Gillian agrees to marry him: winning over her three opinionated kids. Directed by Brian Levant (ARE WE THERE YET?), the screenplay was written by Jonathan Bernstein, a screenwriter, author and journalist; Maui-born Gregory Poirier; and novelist and screenwriter James Greer, who is currently working on a rock musical about Cleopatra for Steven Soderbergh starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, and a slurry of other movie and literary stuff. Read more
TOY STORY 1 (3D) ***** Set in a world where toys come to life when people are not present, "Toy Story" is a sophisticated "buddy comedy" . It focuses on the rivalry between Woody (voice of Tom Hanks), a traditional pull-string talking cowboy, and Buzz Lightyear (voice of Tim Allen), the coolest space action figure ever made. With the kinds of bells and whistles that make him any boy's dream, Buzz is a pain in the neck as far as Woody's concerned. Buzz suffers from the delusion that he's not a toy but the actual intrepid defender of the galaxy, sent to save the universe from the evil Emperor Zurg. The return of these DisneyPixar classics to the big screen kicks off a Disney Digital 3D "Toy Story" celebration that culminates in "Toy Story 3," a brand-new adventure coming to theaters June 25, 2010.  Read more about Toy Story, Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 3
VALENTINE'S DAY *** A flaunting trip down lover's lane, following the intertwining storylines of a diverse group of Los Angelinos as they navigate their way through romance and heartbreak over the course of one Valentine's Day.  What first drew director Garry Marshall to the film was the original screenplay, written by Katherine Fugate, who says that she created the interwoven stories in the screenplay "to show how love was approached from different angles and different generations--from the unjaded 10-year-old boy with his first crush, to the thirtysomethings dealing with their relationship, or lack thereof, all the way to the older married couple looking back at the journey of love they have taken together.  Love also takes on many different faces that go beyond romance, but at the end of the day, love always brings us back to what is most important in life."   Read more 
WHITE LION **** The real Lion King makes his bow on the big screen from the heart of South Africa. The lions of The Kingdom of the White Lion who star in the film, in particular Thor who performs most of the principal action, all deserve Oscars for their moving performances. The White Lion is not animated, animatronics, talking or singing lions, but the real thing, dominating the action with their mighty roars.  It is refreshing to watch a film where the animals are real and performing without using dubbed voices to express their thoughts. In the tradition of 'Born Free' comes this superb treat for anyone who has ever had a close bond with animals.  Magnificently narrated by John Kani, who plays the storyteller, It follows the life of a white lion, Letsatsi, who is born into a tawny pride in the wilds of Africa. His color difference makes life very difficult for him, forcing him to find his own way in the world, amidst numerous obstacles.  When a white lion is miraculously born into that valley, a young Shangaan named Gisani, finds himself destined to protect this rare and magnificent creature at all costs.   When this  brave young  lion is  cast  from  his  pride  he is  forced  to embark upon a perilous journey of survival.  Shot on  location, at The Kingdom of  the White Lion, an enterprise 50 miles  outside  of  the  city  of  Johannesburg,  along  the  Crocodile  River,  established especially for this film. This  marks  the  first  production  - entirely  about  lions  -  starring  'real'  lions  from  South Africa. Read more   Interview with Lion Whisperer Kevin Richardson Interview with screenwriter Janet van Eeden
THE WOLFMAN *** The torment and anguish of being banished as an outsider are magnificently realised by Joe Johnson, who casts this tragic tale in a traditional mould.Inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman brings the myth of a cursed man back to its legendary origins.  Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro (Che, Traffic) stars as Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes.  Reunited with his estranged father, Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal), Talbot sets out to find his brother…and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself. The Wolfman is directed by Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III, Hidalgo) and the action-horror film is written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Sleepy Hollow, Se7en) and David Self (Road to Perdition, Thirteen Days), based on the motion picture screenplay by Curt Siodmak (1941's The Wolf Man)The master creator of seminal werewolf effects in film, six-time Academy Award-winning creature designer Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London, as well as Men in Black, The Nutty Professor), designs the signature characters for The Wolfman. Read more   The art of remakes

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