In Cinemas this week (17 – 23 January)

Grudge Match

Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone star as old boxing rivals who come out of retirement for one final match. On their first encounter in decades, their long-festering feud erupts into an unintentionally hilarious melee that instantly goes viral. The sudden social media frenzy transforms their local grudge match into a must-see HBO event. Now, if they can just survive the training, they may actually live to fight again.

Cast:
Sylvester Stallone (Henry ‘Razor’ Sharp)
Robert De Niro (Billy ‘The Kid’ McDonnen)
Kim Basinger (Sally)
Kevin Hart (Dante Slate, Jr.)

Director: Peter Segal
Writer: Tim Kelleher, Rodney Rothman
Runtime: 113 min
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

Saving Mr. Banks

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins (1964), he made them a promise – one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation. For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp. It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.

Cast:
Emma Thompson (P.L. Travers)
Tom Hanks (Walt Disney)
Colin Farrell (Travers Goff)
Paul Giamatti (Ralph)

Director: John Lee Hancock
Writer: Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
Runtime: 125 min
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

Diana

During the last two years of her life, Princess Diana embarks on a final rite of passage: a secret love affair with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan.

Cast:
Naomi Watts (Princess Diana)
Naveen Andrews (Dr. Hasnat Khan)
Douglas Hodge (Paul Burrell)
Geraldine James (Oonagh Toffolo)

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Writer: Stephen Jeffreys, Kate Snell
Runtime: 113 min
Genre: Biography, Drama
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

The Fifth Estate

The story begins as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg team up to become underground watchdogs of the privileged and powerful. On a shoestring, they create a platform that allows whistle-blowers to anonymously leak covert data, shining a light on the dark recesses of government secrets and corporate crimes. Soon, they are breaking more hard news than the world’s most legendary media organizations combined. But when Assange and Berg gain access to the biggest trove of confidential intelligence documents in U.S. history, they battle each other and a defining question of our time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society-and what are the costs of exposing them?

Cast:
Benedict Cumberbatch (Julian Assange)
Daniel Brühl (Daniel Berg)
Carice van Houten (Birgitta Jónsdóttir)
Anthony Mackie (Sam Coulson)

Director: Bill Condon
Writer: Daniel Domscheit-Berg, David Leigh
Runtime: 128 min
Genre: Biography, Drama
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D (Greek)

For the first time in movie history, audiences will truly see and feel what it was like when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. WALKING WITH DINOSAURS is the ultimate immersive, big screen adventure for families. Meet dinosaurs more real than you’ve ever seen as you take off on a thrilling prehistoric adventure, where Patchi, an underdog dinosaur, triumphs against all odds to become a hero for the ages.

Cast:
Justin Long (Patchi)
Karl Urban (Uncle Zack)
Tiya Sircar (Juniper)
John Leguizamo (Alex)

Director: Barry Cook, Neil Nightingale
Writer: John Collee
Runtime: 87 min
Genre: Animation, Adventure
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2013

47 Ronin

From ancient Japan’s most enduring tale, the epic 3D fantasy-adventure 47 Ronin is born. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.

Cast:
Keanu Reeves (Kai)
Hiroyuki Sanada (Oishi)
Ko Shibasaki (Mika)
Tadanobu Asano (Lord Kira)

Director: Carl Rinsch
Writer: Chris Morgan, Hossein Amini
Runtime: 119 min
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Rating: 12
Language: English, Japanese
Production Year: 2013

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller directs and stars in THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, James Thurber’s classic story of a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

Cast:
Ben Stiller (Walter Mitty)
Kristen Wiig (Cheryl Melhoff)
Jon Daly (Tim Naughton)
Shirley MacLaine (Edna Mitty)

Director: Ben Stiller
Writer: Steve Conrad, James Thurber
Runtime: 114 min
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

Last Vegas

Billy, Paddy, Archie and Sam have been best friends since childhood. So when Billy, the group’s sworn bachelor, finally proposes to his thirty-something (of course) girlfriend, the four head to Las Vegas with a plan to stop acting their age and relive their glory days. However, upon arriving, the four quickly realize that the decades have transformed Sin City and tested their friendship in ways they never imagined. The Rat Pack may have once played the Sands and Cirque du Soleil may now rule the Strip, but it’s these four who are taking over Vegas.

Cast:
Michael Douglas (Billy)
Robert De Niro (Paddy)
Morgan Freeman (Archie)
Kevin Kline (Sam)

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Writer: Dan Fogelman
Runtime: 105 min
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

Frozen

Anna, a fearless optimist, sets off on an epic journey – teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven – to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom. From the outside Anna’s sister, Elsa looks poised, regal and reserved, but in reality, she lives in fear as she wrestles with a mighty secret – she was born with the power to create ice and snow. It’s a beautiful ability, but also extremely dangerous. Haunted by the moment her magic nearly killed her younger sister Anna, Elsa has isolated herself, spending every waking minute trying to suppress her growing powers. Her mounting emotions trigger the magic, accidentally setting off an eternal winter that she can’t stop. She fears she’s becoming a monster and that no one, not even her sister, can help her. In Greek dubbed by Costas Darlasis, Ilias Zervos, Phivos Rimenas, Christos Syriotis.

Cast:
Kristen Bell (Anna)
Idina Menzel (Elsa)
Jonathan Groff (Kristoff)
Josh Gad (Olaf)

Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Writer: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Runtime: 102 min
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Rating: K
Language: English/Greek
Production Year: 2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

After successfully crossing over (and under) the Misty Mountains, Thorin and Company must seek aid from a powerful stranger before taking on the dangers of Mirkwood Forest – without their Wizard. If they reach the human settlement of Lake-town it will be time for the hobbit Bilbo Baggins to fulfill his contract with the dwarves. The party must complete the journey to Lonely Mountain and burglar Baggins must seek out the Secret Door that will give them access to the hoard of the dragon Smaug. And, where has Gandalf got off to? And what is his secret business to the south?

Cast:
Ian McKellen (Gandalf)
Martin Freeman (Bilbo)
Richard Armitage (Thorin)
Orlando Bloom (Legolas)

Director: Peter Jackson
Writer: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens
Runtime: 161 min
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

Carrie

A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom. Based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King.

Cast:
Julianne Moore (Margaret White)
Chloë Grace Moretz (Carrie White)
Gabriella Wilde (Gabriella Wilde)
Portia Doubleday (Chris Hargensen)

Director: Kimberly Peirce
Writer: Lawrence D. Cohen, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Runtime: 100 min
Genre: Drama, Horror
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

The Counselor

A rich and successful lawyer named Counselor is about to get married to his fiancée but soon meets up with the middle-man known as Westray who tells him his drug trafficking plan has taken a horrible twist and now he must protect himself and his soon bride-to-be lover as the truth of the drug business uncovers and targets become chosen.

Cast:
Michael Fassbender (Counselor)
Penélope Cruz (Laura)
Cameron Diaz (Malkina)
Javier Bardem (Reiner)

Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Cormac McCarthy
Runtime: 117 min
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

The Smurfs 2

The evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world’s greatest sorcerer. It’s up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy and Hackus or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue?

Director: Raja Gosnell
Writer: J. David Stem, David N. Weiss
Runtime: 105 min
Genre: Animation
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

Turbo (Greek)

Theo, a.k.a Turbo, is a garden snail who dreams of being the greatest racer in the world, just like his hero, 5-time Indianapolis 500 champ, Guy Gagne. His obsession with speed and all things fast has made him an oddity and an outsider in the slow and cautious snail community, and a constant embarrassment to his cautious older brother, Chet. Turbo desperately wishes he could escape the slow-paced life he’s living, but his one chance to live proves a near fatal disaster. Demoralized Theo wanders onto a freeway to admire the traffic and gets into a freak accident when he gets sucked into the supercharger of a drag racer, fusing his DNA with nitrous oxide on a street race.

Cast:
Yiorgos Skoufis
Antinoos Albanis
Yiannis Stefopoulos
Fotis Petridis

Director: David Soren
Writer: Darren Lemke, Robert D. Siegel
Runtime: 96 min
Genre: Animation
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2013

Free Birds

After years of fruitless warning of his farmyard brethren of the coming Thanksgiving doom, Reggie the Turkey finds himself spared as the annual Pardoned Turkey. However, Reggie’s easy life is disrupted by Jake, a fanatic turkey who drags him along with the insane idea of going back in time to make sure turkeys are not part of the first Thanksgiving. Through foolhardiness and luck, the pair manage to take an experiment time machine to do just that. Now in 1621 at the Plymouth colony, Reggie and Jake find themselves in the middle of a turkey clan’s struggle for survival. In doing so, their preconceptions of the world and themselves are challenged forever in a conflict from which the world will never be the same. In Greek dubbed by Yiannis Stefopoulos, Dinos Soutis, Tasos Kostis, Petros Spyropoulos.

Cast:
Owen Wilson (Reggie)
Woody Harrelson (Jake)
Amy Poehler (Jenny)
George Takei (S.T.E.V.E.)

Director: Jimmy Hayward
Writer: Jimmy Hayward, Scott Mosier
Runtime: 91 min
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Rating: K
Language: English/Greek
Production Year: 2013