In Cinemas this week (12 – 18 August)

Bad Teacher

Some teachers just don’t give an F. For example, there’s Elizabeth. She’s foul-mouthed, ruthless, and inappropriate. She drinks, she gets high, and she can’t wait to marry her meal ticket and get out of her bogus day job. When she’s dumped by her fiancé, she sets her plan in motion to win over a rich, handsome substitute – competing for his affections with an overly energetic colleague, Amy. When Elizabeth also finds herself fighting off the advances of a sarcastic, irreverent gym teacher, the consequences of her wild and outrageous schemes give her students, her co-workers, and even herself an education like no other.

Cast:
Cameron Diaz (Elizabeth Halsey)
Jason Segel (Russell Gettis)
Justin Timberlake (Scott Delacorte)
Lucy Punch (Amy Squirrel)

Director: Jake Kasdan
Writer: Gene Stupnitsky, Lee Eisenberg
Runtime: 92 min
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

From Prada to Nada

When their dad dies on his 55th birthday, Beverley Hills sisters, Mary and Nora, find themselves destitute, forced by a grasping sister-in-law to move in with their aunt in East L.A. Mary is mortified: spoiled by her dad, ignorant of Spanish, scared of the vatos. Her sister convinces her to finish college, and she promptly decides that one of her T.A.s will be her ticket back to Rodeo Drive. Younger sister Nora, a law student, gets a job as a legal intern, and her supervisor, the brother of the grasping sister-in-law, promptly falls for her. Slowly, the sisters realize what a rich place the barrio is at the same time that they get bruised in the contact sport of love.

Cast:
Camilla Belle (Nora Dominguez)
Alexa Vega (Mary Dominguez)
Adriana Barraza (Aurelia Jimenez)
Kuno Becker (Rodrigo Fuentes)

Director: Angel Gracia
Writer: Fina Torres, Luis Alfaro
Runtime: 107 min
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

Cast:
James Franco (Will Rodman)
Freida Pinto (Caroline Aranha)
John Lithgow (Charles Rodman)
Tom Felton (Dodge Landon)

Director: Rupert Wyatt
Writer: Pierre Boulle, Rick Jaffa
Runtime: 105 min
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Green Lantern

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for millenniums. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors formed by the different races from entire universe sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected for the Corps: a gifted and cocky test pilot Hal Jordan. If Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all.

Cast:
Ryan Reynolds (Hal Jordan / Green Lantern)
Blake Lively (Carol Ferris)
Peter Sarsgaard (Hector Hammond)
Tim Robbins (Hammond)

Director: Martin Campbell
Writer: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green
Runtime: 114 min
Genre: Action, Crime, Fantasy
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Larry Crowne

Until he was downsized, affable, amiable Larry Crowne was a superstar team leader at the big-box company where he’s worked since his time in the Navy. Underwater on his mortgage and unclear on what to do with his suddenly free days, Larry heads to his local college to start over. There he becomes part of a colorful community of outcasts, also-rans and the overlooked all trying to find a better future for themselves…often moving around town in a herd of scooters. In his public-speaking class, Larry develops an unexpected crush on his teacher Mercedes Tainot, who has lost as much passion for teaching as she has for her husband. The simple guy who has every reason to think his life has stalled will come to learn an unexpected lesson: when you think everything worth having has passed you by, you just might discover your reason to live.

Cast:
Tom Hanks (Larry Crowne)
Julia Roberts (Mercedes Tainot)
Cedric the Entertainer (Lamar)
Nia Vardalos (Map Genie)

Director: Tom Hanks
Writer: Tom Hanks, Nia Vardalos
Runtime: 98 min
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Zookeeper

The animals at the Franklin Park Zoo love their kindhearted caretaker, Griffin Keyes. Finding himself more comfortable with a lion than a lady, Griffin decides the only way to get a girl in his life is to leave the zoo and find a more glamorous job. The animals, in a panic, decide to break their time-honored code of silence and reveal their biggest secret: they can talk! To keep Griffin from leaving, they decide to teach him the rules of courtship — animal style.

Cast:
Kevin James (Griffin Keyes)
Rosario Dawson (Kate)
Leslie Bibb (Stephanie)
Ken Jeong (Venom)

Director: Frank Coraci
Writer: Nick Bakay, Rock Reuben
Runtime: 102 min
Genre: Comedy, Family, Romance
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Harry, Ron and Hermione continue their search for Voldemort’s horcruxes. Three of these horcruxes have been destroyed, and three remain. One is known to be the cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. Nagini, Voldemort’s snake, is known to be another. The other’s shell is not yet known. Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s search will take them to Gringotts and Hogwarts, where the final battle between good and evil will decide the fate of the world. Who will survive this epic battle? What really happened 16 years ago when Voldemort failed to kill Harry Potter? Who is the true master of the Elder Wand? These questions and more will be answered in this epic finale. The fate of the world lies on the shoulders of one man: Harry James Potter. Will he have to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to bring peace to the wizarding world? It all ends here.

Cast:
Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
Emma Watson (Hermione Granger)
Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley)
Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort)

Director: David Yates
Writer: Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling
Runtime: 130 min
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Tom Popper grew up having very little interaction with his father who was off exploring the world. When he grows up he spends most of time on his work and ignores his children. One day his father sends him an unusual gift: six penguins. Popper’s penguins turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland – and the rest of his life upside-down. Filmed on a refrigerated soundstage with real Gentoo Penguins.

Cast:
Jim Carrey (Mr. Popper)
Carla Gugino (Amanda)
Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Van Gundy)
Ophelia Lovibond (Pippi)

Director: Mark Waters
Writer: Sean Anders, John Morris
Runtime: 94 min
Genre: Comedy
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Cars 2

Star race car Lightning McQueen and his pal Mater head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix race. But the road to the championship becomes rocky as Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage.

Voices:
Owen Wilson/Sakis Rouvas (Lightning McQueen)
Larry the Cable Guy/Pavlos Kontogiannidis (Mater)
Bonnie Hunt/Vicky Kaya (Sally Carrera)

Director: John Lasseter, Brad Lewis
Writer: Ben Queen, John Lasseter
Runtime: 113 min
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Rating: K
Language: English/Greek
Production Year: 2011

Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage (Greek)

Born on a Baja, California beach in 1959, new hatchling Sammy must do what his fellow newborn sea turtles are doing: race across the beach to the ocean before they are captured by a seagull or crab. After a slow start, Sammy is nearly at the water’s edge when a seagull snatches him. Sammy manages to escape but exhausted after an eventful day, Sammy is unable to continue the last leg of his dash to the ocean. Thankfully, Sammy has landed on a wooden raft that the tide carries out to sea. Thus begins Sammy’s incredible ocean journey. Along the way he meets his best friend, a fellow turtle named Ray, and overcomes obstacles both natural and man-made while trying to fulfill his dream of travelling around the world.

Voices:
Giorgos Kapoutzides (Sammy)
Lina Sakka (Shelly)
Giorgos Lianos (Ray)

Director: Ben Stassen
Writer: Domonic Paris
Runtime: 88 min
Genre: Animation, Adventure
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2010

Tangled 3D (Greek)

After receiving the healing powers from a magical flower, the baby Princess Rapunzel is kidnapped from the palace in the middle of the night by Mother Gothel. Mother Gothel knows that the flower’s magical powers are now growing within the golden hair of Rapunzel, and to stay young, she must lock Rapunzel in her hidden tower. Rapunzel is now a teenager and her hair has grown to a length of 70-feet. The beautiful Rapunzel has been in the tower her entire life, and she is curious of the outside world. One day, the bandit Flynn Ryder scales the tower and is taken captive by Rapunzel. Rapunzel strikes a deal with the charming thief to act as her guide to travel to the place where the floating lights come from that she has seen every year on her birthday. Rapunzel is about to have the most exciting and magnificent journey of her life.

Voices:
Mandy Moore (Rapunzel)
Zachary Levi (Flynn Rider)
Donna Murphy (Mother Gothel)
Ron Perlman (Stabbington Brother)

Director: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard
Writer: Dan Fogelman
Runtime: 100 min
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2010