TOP 5                            OTHER NEW RELEASES

INCEPTION ***** Visualist Christopher Nolan returns to his solo creative roots (Memento) and delivers an imaginative masterwork that is guuranteed to blow your mind.  Every frame draws you into a world where reality and fantasy blend into a symphony of image and sound, perfectly balancing potent content with spectacular contextual artistry.  This is definately the art of filmmaking and the craft of storytelling at full force. Nolan's perception of imprisoning memories or manipulating the dreamworld is ingenious.  It is one of those films you will see twice to be able to experience it all. The action is captivating and first rate performances make it a must see. Nolan's contemporary sci-fi actioner is set  within the architecture of the mind, travelling around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction: stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Read more

ANTICHRIST *****  A disturbing and sometimes shocking exploration of humanity, taking a daring journey into the soul of evil where Human nature combats Mother Nature. The external story tells of a grieving couple who retreat to their cabin, "Eden," in the woods, hoping a return to the woods will repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse… The surrealistic interior landscape of visionary Lars Von Trier brilliantly probes how fear can rot the beauty of existence, and how the excess of love can be poisonous.  Says Von Trier: "Film is a pale mirror image of reality. If you sit in the cinema weeping, it's a pale imitation of a similar emotion you've had in real life. Film is a second-rate medium that way, because it will always be living on borrowed emotions from real life. If someone gets scared, probably it's because they have some fear they can take out and use in the experience of watching a film. But, film has other qualities than evoking emotions. Take Munch's Scream, which my young son just copied in a drawing. The Scream is an ingenious expression of an emotion, but people don't run screaming from the museum."  Read more

THEMBA - A BOY CALLED HOPE **** One of the best films to emerge out of South Africa since the release of Beat The Drum. This powerful and well-crafted African story from South African writer-director Stefanie Sycholt offers an emotional journey into the heart and soul of an ordinary impoverished black boy, whose extraordinary courage and dignity changes the world he conquers with passion and unwavering determination. Featuring great performances from the entire cast, it is a film you will take home with you. It is also testament to the beautiful game of football and the South African spirit, where many successful players begin their lives and careers in dusty, poverty stricken townships and end up on the playing fields of some of the biggest clubs in the world. Beautifully set and shot in Port St John in the Eastern Cape and Masiphumelele township, south of Cape Town, the film is directed by Stefanie Sycholt (Malunde) who also adapted the screenplay from Lutz van Dijk's book Crossing the Line. Read more                                                    Read an interview with writer-director Stefanie Sycholt

THE BOYS ARE BACK ***** A moving and humorous film from Australian filmmaker Scott Hicks (Shine, Snow Falling on Cedards, Hearts in Atlantis), about a father who has to come to terms with being a single parent and creating a harmonious existence with his two sons from different marriages. It features a commanding performance from Clive Owen as a sports journalist. Based on a memoir, it is a character driven film about family relationships.  The film is a unique take on a modern family that sees Joe Warr fumbling his way through fatherhood when he becomes responsible for two sons. The film charts Joe's journey from part time dad to full-on fatherhood; teaching him how to deal with his own grief and, for the first time, tune in to the needs of his sons. Read more

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET **** A terrifying journey into the hell that lies between reality and fantasy where teenagers are terrorised by an evil pre-teen predator!  This contemporary re-imagining of the seminal horror classic stars Jackie Earle Haley ("Little Children," "Watchmen") as Freddy Krueger. The film is directed by award-winning music video and commercial director Samuel Bayer (Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"), marking his feature film directorial debut. Nancy, Kris, Quentin, Jesse and Dean all live on Elm Street. At night, they're all having the same dream--of the same man, wearing a tattered red and green striped sweater, a beaten fedora half-concealing a disfigured face and a gardener's glove with knives for fingers. And they're all hearing the same frightening voice…One by one, he terrorizes them within the curved walls of their dreams, where the rules are his, and the only way out is to wake up. But when one of their number dies a violent death, they soon realize that what happens in their dreams happens for real, and the only way to stay alive is to stay awake. Turning to each other, the four surviving friends try to uncover how they became part of this dark fairytale, hunted by this dark man. Functioning on little to no sleep, they struggle to understand why them, why now, and what their parents aren't telling them. Buried in their past is a debt that has just come due, and to save themselves, they will have to plunge themselves into the mind of the most twisted nightmare of all… Freddy Krueger. Read more

ALSO RELEASED
Listed Alphabetically
BROOKLYN'S FINEST **** A hard-hitting human drama. In the course of one chaotic week, the lives of three conflicted New York City police officers are dramatically transformed by their involvement in a massive drug operation in this searing new crime drama from director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). Burned out veteran Eddie Dugan (Richard Gere) is just one week away from his pension and a fishing cabin in Connecticut. Narcotics officer Sal Procida (Ethan Hawke) has discovered there's no line he won't cross to provide a better life for his long-suffering wife and seven children. And Clarence "Tango" Butler (Don Cheadle) has been undercover so long his loyalties have started to shift from his fellow police officers to his prison buddy Caz (Wesley Snipes), one of Brooklyn's most infamous drug dealers. With personal and work pressures bearing down on them, each man faces daily tests of judgment and honour in one of the world's most difficult jobs. When NYPD's Operation Clean Up targets the notoriously drug-ridden BK housing project, all three officers find themselves swept away by the violence and corruption of Brooklyn's gritty 65th Precinct and its most treacherous criminals. During seven fateful days, Eddie, Sal and Tango find themselves hurtling inextricably toward the same fatal crime scene and a shattering collision with destiny. The film captures the volatile and deadly world of one of New York's most dangerous precincts through the eyes of the men and women pledged to protect and serve, as they face the wrenching choices that make them "Brooklyn's Finest."
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID Meet the kid who made "wimpy" cool, in a family comedy motion picture based on the best-selling illustrated novel by Jeff Kinney, the first in a series that has thus far sold 28 million books. It chronicles the adventures of wisecracking pre-teen Greg Heffley, who must somehow survive the scariest time of anyone's life….middle school.  To Greg Heffley, middle school is the dumbest idea ever invented.  It's a place rigged with hundreds of social landmines, not the least of which are morons, wedgies, swirlies, bullies, lunchtime banishment to the cafeteria floor - and a festering piece of cheese with nuclear cooties. To survive the never-ending ordeal and attain the recognition and status he feels he so richly deserves, Greg gets all down on paper, via a diary - "it's NOT a diary, it's a journal!" Greg insists. Read more
FOR BETTER FOR WORSE ** A romantic South African comedy which tells the story of Anisa Khan's (Raeesa Mohamed) search for the perfect husband. Anisa is an ambitious 30-year old lawyer who, due to a bad experience in the past, is wary of men. However, she is pressured by her family and friends to get married. They set her up with who they believe to be suitable men leading to disastrous consequences. She meets these dates at a coffee shop. Zak Ali (Simon Morgan), the owner of the coffee shop, is attracted to her but the two are at odds with each other from their very first meeting. Then, there's Anisa's mother, Ayesha (Suria Govender) who is obsessed with getting her daughter married, the father - Yusuf (Afzal Khan) - who is tolerant but would rather his daughter stayed at home, the brother, Farhan (Rahul Brijnath), who doesn't have a job and is involved in one scheme after another and, finally, the younger sister, Tasneem (Kajal Bagwandeen), who is dreaming of being a Bollywood star and thinks studying is a waste of time. The film celebrates the lives of South African Indians, their culture and lifestyle which is something that has hardly been tackled before. The city of Durban within which the film is located is given ample exposure.  The intent of the producers was to make a stylish, slick product moving away from shoddy stereotyping and ghettoising of Indians. Read more

GOAL 3 In the way that Santiago Munez, hero of Goal! and Goal! 2, embarked on an epic quest from playing football in the Mexican amateur leagues of Los Angeles, through to achieving his ambition of playing at the pinnacle of top-flight European football with Real Madrid, the filmmakers of the Goal! movies have realised their own marathon journey, now completing the third of their planned trilogy with Goal! 3, set upon the biggest sporting stage of all, the 2006 FIFA World Cup.Mexican football star Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) is pitted against his Real Madrid team-mates and England players Charlie Braithwaite (Leo Gregory) and Liam Adams (JJ Feild) in a mutual quest to lift sport's ultimate prize: the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Read more
HELLO GOODBYE ** French film icons Gerard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant star in this romantic comedy about a Parisian couple in their fifties who share a comfortable life, a beautiful home, a posh country club and a midlife crisis.
Following a dream vacation to Israel where Alain (Depardieu) explores his Jewish roots, Gisele (Ardant) insists they change their life and move to Tel Aviv. While Gisele, a Jewish convert, finds her new life inspiring; Alain fights to embrace Hebrew, Jewish tradition and a new circumcision. Will Alain and Gisele learn whether Shalom represents Hello or Goodbye?
I HATE LOVE STORIES (Bollywood) Jay (Imran Khan) hates love stories. But his job is to assist Veer, who is one of the most famous romantic film directors in India. So despite his dislike, Jay has to deal with glossy and mushy love stories everyday. Jay now has to work with a new production designer named Simran (Sonam). This is like adding salt to injury because, Simran loves love stories. Jay first encounter with Simran was very strange. Talking about Simran, she is a complete love story freak. So much that even her life begins to resemble one. With her ideal job and the perfect boyfriend, Raj, she lives a blissful, dreamy life; One that is rudely interrupted by Jay's cynicism. The confusion of Jay and Simran's life is coincidental interwoven with the Love Story that they are working on… But will Jay and Simran ever find their own Love Story.
I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS *** A great mixture of dark comedy and satire that shines a spotlight on the unconventional love between two men, and how their love is imprisoned by the norms of society. Fact is definitely stranger than fiction in this true story based on a book by Houston Chronicle crime reporter Steve McVicker. Jim Carey shines in the role of Steven Russell, a married father whose exploits landed him in the Texas criminal justice system, with Ewan McGregor in top form as the object of Russell's affections. The charm of the film lies in the fact that you believe what the characters are experiencing, and through their belief go on an emotional journey that is equally funny and sometimes over the top.  Read more

KNIGHT AND DAY **** In this fast-paced action-comedy Tom Cruise is a covert agent and Cameron Diaz is a woman caught between him and those he claims set him up. As their globetrotting adventure erupts into a maze of double-crosses, close escapes, false identities, and head-spinning romantic snafus, they come to realize that all they can count on is each other.During their glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure, nothing and no one - even the now fugitive couple - are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust. Director James Mangold reunites with his behind-the-scenes team from Walk the Line and 3:10 To Yuma -- director of photography Phedon Papamichael, ASC, editor Michael McCusker, A.C.E., costume designer Arianne Phillips, and production designer Andrew Menzies (the latter collaborating with Mangold only on 3:10 to Yuma) - who bring to life Knight and Day's sleek action, humor and edgy suspense in an array of spectacular locations. Read more
THE MAID A woman feels she must fight to hold on to her place in the household where she's been a servant for much of her life in this drama from writer and director Sebastian Silva.  One of the major hits at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, The Maid was acclaimed with two jury prizes at Sundance, is a microcosm of Latin social hierarchy while also focusing on one woman's journey to free herself from a mental servitude of her own making. Read more

MEDITERRANEA La Scala Ballet brings to the Teatro degli Arcimboldi what could be called a "sold out" premiere, which has indeed been the case worldwide for Mauro Bigonzetti's much celebrated Mediterranea, a production that La Scala is adding to its repertoire in world exclusive. Read more
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI Seen through the eyes of a police officer, Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai traces the changing face of the Mumbai underworld. The film, set primarily in 1970-Mumbai, follows the rise of Sultan (Ajay Devgan), and his eventual fall, when his protégé Shoaib (Emraan Hashmi), challenges his supremacy, and usurps power to rule the murky underbelly of Mumbai. IMDB describes the film as, "A tale of two gangsters from the eras of past and present, whose lives enter parallel paths as they struggle to survive within Mumbai's criminal underworld"
OUR FAMILY WEDDING Director Rick Famuyiwa has a genuine affinity for weddings. "What's beautiful about them in general is that you're surrounded by people who are strangers, and then after 'I do,' they're family." In fact, it's his personal philosophy on love and marriage that has brought the Sundance Film Festival winner back to the altar for a second go around.  "Our marriage, their wedding." It's lesson number one for any newly engaged couple, and Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) are no exception. They learn the hard way that the path to saying "I do" can be rife with familial strife. When they return from college and too suddenly announce their marriage plans, they soon discover that their fathers - two highly competitive over-the-top egos - can wreak a major amount of havoc on their special day.With insults flying and tempers running high, it's anyone's guess if the alpha dads (Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia) will survive to make it down the aisle in one piece.  Lucia and Marcus soon discover the true meaning of love and find there is truth to the saying - that when you marry someone, you marry their entire family.  Read more
THE RUNAWAYS **** A coming of age story meets first love (and ultimate obsession). Dakota Fanning delivers a great performance in her break-away role as Cherie Currie, with Kristen Stewart as the androgenous rocker Joan Jett.  It's an insightful journey into a world pimping teenagers as sex bombs, and the destructive drug-induced power of being a rock 'n roll sensation.    The core centers on the relationship between Jett and Currie and follows the formation of the band, its meteoric rise in 1975, their wild life on the road and drug-fueled behavior, eventually leading to the dissolution of The Runways just three years and five albums later.Partially based on Cherie Currie's book, Neon Angel, it is an emotional and empowering tale of five teenage girls, who, enamored by the sounds and style of the likes of rock stars such as David Bowie and Suzi Quatro, set off to prove that serious rock and roll isn't an exclusive boys-only club. It is a non-stop adrenaline shot to the heart of sex, drugs and rock and roll, with an array of visually arresting images-- the colorful crowds of Rodney Bingenheimer's famed LA club English Disco where Jett and Currie met; the arduous and often abusive recording process which led to hits like "Cherry Bomb," and Beatlemania-like reception upon their arrival in Japan. This is contrasted by quieter moments of heartbreak, fear, confusion, and homesickness, played beautifully by Stewart and Fanning, two of today's most gifted young actresses, who plumb the emotional depths of writer-director Sigismondi's script, reminding us that when you kick down the door of convention, you will get bloody and beat up in the process. Read more
SHREK FOREVER AFTER **** Shrek Forever After is as delicious as its predecessors and a lot of fun! Fans won't be disappointed as the world's favourite Ogre bursts into action in 3D!  Shrek is feeling over-domesticated in the fourth installment.  After challenging an evil dragon, rescuing a beautiful princess and saving your in-laws' kingdom, what's an ogre to do?  Well, if you're Shrek (Mike Myers), you suddenly wind up a domesticated family man.  Instead of scaring villagers away like he used to, a reluctant Shrek is now a local celebrity who begrudgingly agrees to autograph pitchforks.  What's happened to this ogre's roar?  Longing for the days when he felt like a "real ogre," Shrek is duped into signing a pact with the smooth-talking dealmaker, Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn).  Shrek suddenly finds himself in a twisted, alternate reality of Far Far Away, where ogres are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin is king and Shrek and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) have never met.  Now, it's up to Shrek to undo all he's done in the hopes of saving his friends, restoring his world and reclaiming his one True Love. Read more
STRAVINSKY AND THE BALLET RUSSES The St. Petersburg Ballet presents an evening of one-act ballets on the music by Igor Stravinsky, exclusively at Cinema Nouveau.
UDAAN (Bollywood) After being abandoned for eight straight years in boarding school, Rohan returns to the small industrial town of Jamshedpur and finds himself closeted with an authoritarian father and a younger half brother who he didn't even know existed.Forced to work in his father's steel factory and study engineering against his wishes, he tries to forge his own life out of his given circumstances and pursue his dream of being a writer.
THE WHITE RIBBON ** A quite and morbid black and white drama was written and directed by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke. The story darkly depicts society and family in village in Protestant northern Germany. It tells of the children and teenagers of a church and school choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the Baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all? According to Haneke, the film is about "the origin of every type of terrorism, be it of political or religious nature….  Audiences are having mainstream cinema and television touch on only the surface of things, and they get irritated when confronted by a more exacting gaze into the depths of our existence. But since its beginnings in the Greek tragedies, hasn't drama sought to examine the depths of human existence?"  Read more and an interview with Michael Haneke
WORLD'S GREATEST DAD A thoughtful but outrageous comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait, it is a story about a man that learns that the things you want most may not be the things that make you happy, and that being lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone. Robin Williams stars as Lance Clayton, a man who has learned to settle.  He dreamed of being a rich and famous writer, but has only managed to make it as a high school poetry teacher.  His only son Kyle (Daryl Sabara) is an insufferable jackass who won't give his father the time of day.  Lance is dating Claire (Alexie Gilmore), the school's adorable art teacher, but she doesn't want to get serious -- or even acknowledge publicly that they are dating. Then, in the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and the greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of all the fame, fortune and popularity he ever dreamed of, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there. Read more



BACK

HOME