In Cinemas this week (23 – 29 December)

Puss in Boots

Years before meeting Shrek and Donkey, the adorable but tricky Puss in Boots must clear his name from all charges making him a wanted fugitive. While trying to steal magic beans from the infamous criminals Jack and Jill, the hero crosses paths with his female match, Kitty Softpaws, who leads Puss to his old friend, but now enemy, Humpty Dumpty. Memories of friendship and betrayal enlarges Puss’ doubt, but he eventually agrees to help the egg get the magic beans. Together, the three plan to steal the beans, get to the Giant’s castle, nab the golden goose, and clear Puss’ name.

Cast:
Antonio Banderas/Tilemahos Krevaikas (Puss in Boots)
Salma Hayek/Vicky Nikolaidou (Kitty Softpaws)
Zach Galifianakis/Vasilis Milios (Humpty Dumpty)
Billy Bob Thornton/Fotis Petrides (Jack)

Director: Chris Miller
Writer: Charles Perrault, Brian Lynch
Runtime: 90 min
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Adventure
Rating: K
Language: English/Greek
Production Year: 2011

The Double

The mysterious murder of a US senator bearing the distinctive trademark of the legendary Soviet assassin “Cassius” forces Paul Shepherdson, a retired CIA operative, to team with rookie FBI agent, Ben Geary, to solve the crime. Having spent his career chasing Cassius, Shepherdson is convinced his nemesis is long dead, but is pushed to take on the case by his former supervisor, Tom Highland. Meanwhile, Agent Geary, who wrote his Master’s thesis on Shepherdson’s pursuit of the Soviet killer, is certain that Cassius has resurfaced. As Shepherdson and Geary work their way through crimes both past and present, they discover that Cassius may not be the person they always thought him to be, forcing both to re-examine everything and everyone around them.

Cast:
Richard Gere (Paul Shepherdson)
Topher Grace (Ben Geary)
Martin Sheen (Tom Highland)
Odette Annable

Director: Michael Brandt
Writer: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas
Runtime: 98 min
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates “Ghost Protocol”. Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must find a way to clear his agency’s name and prevent another attack. To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know.

Cast:
Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt)
Simon Pegg (Benji)
Jeremy Renner (Brandt)
Paula Patton (Jane)

Director: Brad Bird
Writer: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec
Runtime: 133 min
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Midnight in Paris

Gil and Inez travel to Paris as a tag-along vacation on her parents’ business trip. Gil is a successful Hollywood writer but is struggling on his first novel. He falls in love with the city and thinks they should move there after they get married, but Inez does not share his romantic notions of the city or the idea that the 1920s was the golden age. When Inez goes off dancing with her friends, Gil takes a walk at midnight and discovers what could be the ultimate source of inspiration for writing. Gil’s daily walks at midnight in Paris could take him closer to the heart of the city but further from the woman he’s about to marry.

Cast:
Owen Wilson (Gil)
Rachel McAdams (Inez)
Kathy Bates Parker (Gertrude Stein)
Adrien Brody (Salvador Dalí)

Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Runtime: 94 min
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked (English)

Playing around while aboard a cruise ship, the Chipmunks and Chipettes accidentally go overboard and end up marooned in a tropical paradise. They discover their new turf is not as deserted as it seems.

Cast:
Jason Lee (Dave)
Justin Long (Alvin)
Matthew Gray Gubler (Simon)
Jesse McCartney (Theodore)

Director: Mike Mitchell
Writer: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger
Runtime: 87 min
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

New Year’s Eve

The film chronicles the lives of several individuals in New York on New Year’s Eve, including two people who become trapped in an elevator, a couple preparing to give birth and a man who enjoys his last New Year’s before dying.

Cast:
Halle Berry (Nurse Aimee)
Robert De Niro (Stan Harris)
Sarah Jessica Parker (Kim)
Ashton Kutcher (Randy)

Director: Garry Marshall
Writer: Katherine Fugate
Runtime: 118 min
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Killer Elite

Based on a true story, Killer Elite pits two of the worlds’ most elite operatives – Danny, an ex-special ops agent, and Hunter, his longtime mentor – against the cunning leader of a secret military society. Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East, Danny and Hunter are plunged into a highly dangerous game of cat and mouse – where the predators become the prey.

Cast:
Jason Statham (Danny)
Clive Owen (Spike)
Robert De Niro (Hunter)
Dominic Purcell (Davies)

Director: Gary McKendry
Writer: Matt Sherring, Ranulph Fiennes
Runtime: 116 min
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

In Time

In the not-too-distant future the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest try to negotiate for their immortality. A poor young man comes into a fortune of time and ends up on the run from a police force known as ‘time keepers’.

Cast:
Cillian Murphy (Raymond Leon)
Justin Timberlake (Will Salas)
Amanda Seyfried (Sylvia Weis)
Olivia Wilde (Rachel Salas)

Director: Andrew Niccol
Writer: Andrew Niccol
Runtime: 109 min
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Arthur Christmas 3D (Greek)

Arthur Christmas reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child’s question: ‘So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?’ The answer: Santa’s exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the center of the film is a story about a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns.

Cast:
James McAvoy (Arthur)
Hugh Laurie (Steve)
Bill Nighy (Grandsanta)
Jim Broadbent (Santa)

Director: Sarah Smith
Writer: Peter Baynham, Sarah Smith
Runtime: 97 min
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2011

Colombiana

A young woman grows up to be a stone-cold assassin after witnessing her parents’ murder as a child in Bogota. She works for her uncle as a hitman by day, but her personal time is spent engaging in vigilante murders that she hopes will lead her to her ultimate target – the mobster responsible for her parents’ death.

Cast:
Zoe Saldana (Cataleya)
Michael Vartan (Danny Delanay)
Callum Blue (Richard)
Cliff Curtis (Emilio Restrepo)

Director: Olivier Megaton
Writer: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Runtime: 108 min
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Happy Feet Two

Mumble, The Master of Tap, has a problem because his tiny son, Erik, is choreo-phobic. Reluctant to dance, Erik runs away and encounters The Mighty Sven – a penguin who can fly! Mumble has no hope of competing with this charismatic new role model. But things get worse when the world is shaken by powerful forces. Erik learns of his father’s “guts and grit” as Mumble brings together the penguin nations and all manner of fabulous creatures – from tiny Krill to giant Elephant Seals – to put things right.

Cast:
Elijah Wood (Mumble)
Robin Williams (Ramon / Lovelace)
Pink (Gloria)
Brad Pitt (Will the Krill)

Director: George Miller
Writer: George Miller, Warren Coleman
Runtime: 100 min
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
Rating: K
Language: English/Greek
Production Year: 2011

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

The Quileute and the Volturi close in on expecting parents Edward and Bella, whose unborn child poses different threats to the wolf pack and vampire coven.

Cast:
Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan)
Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen)
Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black)
Billy Burke (Charlie Swan)

Director: Bill Condon
Writer: Melissa Rosenberg, Stephenie Meyer
Runtime: 117 min
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

The Smurfs

When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world and into ours — in fact, smack dab in the middle of Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

Voices:
Hank Azaria/Ilios Zervos (Gargamel)
Jonathan Winters/Costas Darlasis (Papa)
Katy Perry/Sissy Christidou (Smurfette)
Alan Cumming/Haris Grigoropoulos (Gutsy)

Director: Raja Gosnell
Writer: Peyo, J. David Stem
Runtime: 103 min
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011