In Cinemas this week (16 – 22 Jan.)

Bank Bang

Two brothers, Mihalis and Nondas, work at a funerals office. Nondas has trouble with the Greek mafia and should immediately find a large amount of money. Thus, he proposes to Mihalis to start robbing banks. The situation gets out of control when Mihalis falls deeply in love with a bank clerk.

Cast:
Vassilis Charalampopoulos (Michalis)
Dimitris Imelos (Nondas)
Thanos Samaras (Doukas)
Costas Voutsas (Ermolaos)
Marissa Triantafillidou (Lena)

Director: Argyris Papadimitropoulos
Writer: Vassilis Charalampopoulos
Runtime: 90 min
Genre: Comedy
Rating: K
Language:Greek
Production Year: 2008

Role Models

After being arrested for trashing a company truck on an energy drink-fueled bender two salesmen, Danny and Wheeler, are given a choice: do hard time or spend 150 hours with a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn’t look half bad. Once the center’s ex-con director gives them an ultimatum, Danny and Wheeler are forced to tailor their brand of immature wisdom to their charges, Augie and Ronnie. And if they can just make it through probation without getting thrown in jail, the world’s worst role models will prove that, sometimes, it takes a village idiot to raise a child.

Cast:
Seann William Scott (Wheeler)
Paul Rudd (Danny Donahue)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Augie Farks)
Bobb’e J. Thompson (Ronnie Shields)

Director: David Wain
Writer: Paul Rudd, David Wain
Runtime: 99 min
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2008

City of Ember

For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember’s once powerful generator is failing … and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city’s existence, and help the citizens escape before the lights go out forever.

Cast:
Bill Murray (Mayor Cole)
Tim Robbins (Loris Harrow)
Harry Treadaway (Doon Harrow)
Lucinda Dryzek (Lizzie Bisco)

Director: Gil Kenan
Writer: Caroline Thompson, Jeanne Duprau
Runtime: 95 min
Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2008

Igor (Greek)

Igor may have been born with a brilliant mind, but unfortunately everyone around him is too distracted by his pronounced hunchback to notice. Forced to serve as a lowly lab assistant to nefarious scientist Dr. Glickenstein, Igor longs for the day he will become a mad scientist, take top prize at the Evil Science Fair, and finally win the heart of village vixen Gretchen. Every year, mad scientists from all of the local villages converge on Malaria to compete in the annual Evil Science Fair, an event that always features an abundance of death rays, earthquake generators, and man-eating plants.

Voices:
Vassilis Charalampopoulos
Costas Darlasis
Demetris Kotsaris
Giannis Stefopoulos

Director: Anthony Leondis
Writer: Chris McKenna
Runtime: 87 min
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
Rating: K
Language:Greek
Production Year: 2008

Twilight

Bella Swan has always been a little bit different, never caring about fitting in with the trendy girls at her Phoenix high school. When her mother re-marries and sends Bella to live with her father in the little town of Forks, she doesn’t expect much of anything to change. Then she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen, a boy unlike any she’s ever met. Edward is a vampire. Soon, they are swept up in a passionate, thrilling and unorthodox romance. But the closer they get, the more Edward must struggle to resist the primal pull of her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. But what will Edward and Bella do when a clan of new vampires come to town and threaten to disrupt their way of life?

Cast:
Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan)
Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen)
Billy Burke (Charlie Swan)
Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen)

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Writer: Melissa Rosenberg, Stephenie Meyer
Runtime: 122 min
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2008

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (English)

The sequel to 2005’s “Madagascar”, in which New York Zoo animals, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo, still stranded on Madagascar, start to leave the island. All of a sudden, they land in the wilderness of Africa, where Alex meets the rest of his family, but has trouble communicating with them after spending so much time at the Central Park Zoo.

Voices:
Ben Stiller (Alex)
Chris Rock (Marty)
David Schwimmer (Melman)
Jada Pinkett Smith (Gloria)

Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Writer: Etan Cohen
Runtime: 89 min
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family
Rating: K
Language:English
Production Year: 2008

Bedtime Stories

Skeeter Bronson is a hotel handyman whose life is changed forever when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to mysteriously come true. He attempts to take advantage of the phenomenon, incorporating his own aspirations into one outlandish tale after another, but it’s the kids’ unexpected contributions that turn Skeeter’s life upside down, such as when his niece says that he will die.

Cast:
Adam Sandler (Skeeter Bronson)
Keri Russell (Jill)
Guy Pearce (Kendall)
Courteney Cox (Wendy)

Director: Adam Shankman
Writer: Matt Lopez, Tim Herlihy
Runtime: 95 min
Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Rating: Κ
Language: English
Production Year: 2008

Australia

In northern Australia at the beginning of World War II, an English aristocrat inherits a cattle station the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country’s most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.

Cast:
Hugh Jackman (Drover)
Nicole Kidman (Lady Sarah Ashley)
Shea Adams (Carney Boy)
Tony Barry (Sergeant Callahan)

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writer: Baz Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie
Runtime: 165 min
Genre: Adventure, Drama, War
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2008

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.

Cast:
Elizabeth Banks (Miriam Linky)
Seth Rogen (Zack Brown)
Brandon Routh (Bobby Long)
Jason Mewes (Lester)

Director: Kevin Smith
Writer: Kevin Smith
Runtime: 102 min
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2008

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (Greek)

The sequel to 2005’s “Madagascar”, in which New York Zoo animals, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo, still stranded on Madagascar, start to leave the island. All of a sudden, they land in the wilderness of Africa, where Alex meets the rest of his family, but has trouble communicating with them after spending so much time at the Central Park Zoo.

Voices:
Gerasimos Gennatas
Diamantis Karanastasis
Katerina Girgis
Thanos Kalliris

Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Writer: Etan Cohen
Runtime: 89 min
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family
Rating: K
Language:Greek
Production Year: 2008

Four Christmases

When a couple tries to fly away from their family for Christmas, as they do every year, their fun turns around when all flights have been canceled. Now they have to go to four houses to celebrate Christmas while going through memories they don’t want to go into and surprises they can’t handle while they have to use a safe word to get out of situations.

Cast:
Vince Vaughn (Brad)
Reese Witherspoon (Kate)
Robert Duvall (Howard)
Jon Voight (Creighton)

Director: Seth Gordon
Writer: Matt Allen, Caleb Wilson
Runtime: 88 min
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rating: Κ
Language: English
Production Year: 2008

Elias of the 16th

Three friends, Elias, Thomas and Vangelis, who face many financial difficulties and owe money to banks, insurance companies etc, decide to snitch money from Labros. Labros who is Vangelis’ boss is a cafeteria owner, a pawnbroker and a fence. Thomas will attempt the breaking and entering and Elias will be disguised as a police-officer for …security reasons. However luck plays funny games and the “police-officer” is being asked to solve a case concerning jewelry theft in a nearby house.

Cast:
Petros Philippides
Thanasis Tsaltabasis
Costas Apostolakis
Themis Bazaka

Director: Nikos Zapatinas
Writer: Katia Kissonergi
Runtime: 120 min
Genre: Comedy
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2008

High School Musical 3

As seniors in high school, Troy and Gabriella struggle with the idea of being separated from one another as college approaches. Along with the rest of the Wildcats, they stage a spring musical to address their experiences, hopes and fears about their future.

Cast:
Zac Efron (Troy Bolton)
Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella Montez)
Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay Evans)
Lucas Grabeel (Ryan Evans)

Director: Kenny Ortega
Writer: Peter Barsocchini
Runtime: 112 min
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2008

Saw V

Following Jigsaw’s grisly demise, Mark Hoffman, the final apprentice to the serial killer is deigned a hero. Meanwhile, Agent Strahm is tested and puts the pieces together. While Strahm realizes that Hoffman is helping Jigsaw, five seemingly unconnected people face a horrible lesson about teamwork.

Cast:
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw / John)
Costas Mandylor (Mark Hoffman)
Scott Patterson (Agent Strahm)
Betsy Russell (Jill)

Director: David Hackl
Writer: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan
Runtime: 92 min
Genre: Action, Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2008