In Cinemas this week (27 April – 1 May)

Snowpiercer

In the near future, an experiment to counteract global warming causes an ice age that kills nearly all life on Earth. The only survivors are the inhabitants of the ‘Snowpiercer’, a massive train, powered by a perpetual-motion engine, that travels on a globe-spanning track. A class system is installed, with the elites inhabiting the front of the train and poor inhabiting the tail.

Cast:
Chris Evans (Curtis)
Tilda Swinton (Mason)
Jamie Bell (Edgar)
John Hurt (Gilliam)

Director: Joon-ho Bong
Writer: Joon-ho Bong, Kelly Masterson
Runtime: 126 min
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

A Long Way Down

Four lost souls – a disgraced TV presenter, a foul-mouthed teen, an isolated single mother and a solipsistic muso – decide to end their lives on the same night, New Year’s Eve. When this disillusioned quartet of strangers meet unintentionally at the same suicide hotspot, a London high-rise with the well-earned nickname Topper’s Tower, they mutually agree to call off their plans for six weeks, forming an unconventional, dysfunctional family, becoming media sensations as the Topper House Four and searching together for the reasons to keep on living.

Cast:
Toni Collette (Maureen)
Aaron Paul (J.J.)
Imogen Poots (Jess Crichton)
Pierce Brosnan (Martin Sharp)

Director: Pascal Chaumeil
Writer: Nick Hornby, Jack Thorne
Runtime: 96 min
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2014

Tinker Bell and The Pirate Fairy

When a misunderstood dust-keeper fairy named Zarina steals Pixie Hollow’s all-important Blue Pixie Dust, and flies away to join forces with the pirates of Skull Rock, Tinker Bell and her fairy friends must embark on the adventure of a lifetime to return it to its rightful place. However, in the midst of their pursuit of Zarina, Tink’s world is turned upside down. She and her friends find that their respective talents have been switched and they have to race against time to retrieve the Blue Pixie Dust and return home to save Pixie Hollow.

Cast:
Mae Whitman/Afroditi Antonaki (Tinker Bell)
Christina Hendricks/Evgenia Dimitropoulou (Zarina)
Tom Hiddleston/Giorgos Stamos (James)

Director: Peggy Holmes
Writer: Jeffrey M. Howard, Kate Kondell
Runtime: 78 min
Genre: Animation
Rating: K
Language: English/Greek
Production Year: 2014

Beauty and the Beast (La belle et la bête)

An unexpected romance blooms after the the youngest daughter of a merchant who has fallen on hard times offers herself to the mysterious beast to which her father has become indebted.

Cast:
Vincent Cassel (La Bête)
Léa Seydoux (Belle)
André Dussollier (Le marchand)
Eduardo Noriega (Perducas)

Director: Christophe Gans
Writer: Christophe Gans, Sandra Vo-Anh
Runtime: 112 min
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Rating: 12
Language: French
Production Year: 2014

Transcendence

Dr. Will Caster is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him. However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed – to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn and best friend Max Waters, both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can… but if they should. Their worst fears are realized as Will’s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.

Cast:
Johnny Depp (Will Caster)
Rebecca Hall (Evelyn Caster)
Morgan Freeman (Joseph Tagger)
Paul Bettany (Max Waters)

Director: Wally Pfister
Writer: Jack Paglen
Runtime: 119 min
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2014

Non-Stop

Bill Marks is a former cop who after dealing with his daughter’s death by drinking, is now an air marshal. While on a flight from London to New York, Marks gets a text telling him that unless 150 million dollars is deposited to an off shore account within 20 minutes someone will die.

Cast:
Liam Neeson (Bill Marks)
Julianne Moore (Jen Summers)
Scoot McNairy (Tom Bowen)
Michelle Dockery (Nancy)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer: John W. Richardson, Christopher Roach
Runtime: 106 min
Genre: Action, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2014

Rio 2

It’s a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they’re hurtled Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law.

Cast:
Jesse Eisenberg/Dimitris Papadatos (Blu)
Anne Hathaway/Marina Tsigonaki (Jewel)
Jemaine Clement/Thanassis Kourlambas (Nigel)
Jamie Foxx/Fotis Petridis (Nico)

Director: Carlos Saldanha
Writer: Don Rhymer, Carlos Saldanha
Runtime: 101 min
Genre: Animation
Rating: K
Language: English/Greek
Production Year: 2014

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, lives quietly in Washington, D.C. and tries to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy – the Winter Soldier.

Cast:
Chris Evans (Steve Rogers / Captain America)
Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury)
Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow)
Robert Redford (Alexander Pierce)

Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Runtime: 136 min
Genre: Adventure, Action
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2014

Her

Theodore is a lonely man in the final stages of his divorce. When he’s not working as a letter writer, his down time is spent playing video games and occasionally hanging out with friends. He decides to purchase the new OS1, which is advertised as the world’s first artificially intelligent operating system, “It’s not just an operating system, it’s a consciousness,” the ad states. Theodore quickly finds himself drawn in with Samantha, the voice behind his OS1. As they start spending time together they grow closer and closer and eventually find themselves in love. Having fallen in love with his OS, Theodore finds himself dealing with feelings of both great joy and doubt. As an OS, Samantha has powerful intelligence that she uses to help Theodore in ways others hadn’t, but how does she help him deal with his inner conflict of being in love with an OS?

Cast:
Joaquin Phoenix (Theodore)
Amy Adams (Amy)
Scarlett Johansson (Samantha – voice)
Rooney Mara (Catherine)

Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Spike Jonze
Runtime: 126 min
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

Noah

A man is chosen by God to undertake a momentous mission of rescue before an apocalyptic flood destroys the world.

Cast:
Russell Crowe (Noah)
Jennifer Connelly (Naameh)
Anthony Hopkins (Methuselah)
Emma Watson (Ila)

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writer: Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel
Runtime: 138 min
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2014

The Bird of Cyprus (Το Πουλί της Κύπρου)

The film deals with the financial crisis through a very exciting, yet hilarious perspective. The kidnapping of a popular Greek actor in Athens, the adventurous wanderings in the Mediterranean, the unexpected arrest by the Turks and the venture to realize a bold dream are just some of the elements that give tremendous momentum to the plot of the movie.

Cast:
Lenia Sorokou
Antonis Katsaris
Krateros Katsoulis
Fotis Georgidis

Director: Nicholas Koumides
Writer: Loris Loizides
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 12
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2014

The Lego Movie (Greek)

The LEGO Movie is a 3D animated film which follows lead character, Emmet a completely ordinary LEGO mini-figure who is identified as the most “extraordinary person” and the key to saving the Lego universe. Emmet and his friends go on an epic journey to stop the evil tyrant, Lord Business. In Greek dubbed by Stavros Sioulis, Tanya Paleologou, Dinos Soutis, Konstantinos Kakouris

Cast:
Will Arnett (Batman / Bruce Wayne)
Elizabeth Banks (Wyldstyle / Lucy)
Will Ferrell (Lord Business)
Morgan Freeman (Vitruvius)

Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Writer: Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman
Runtime: 100 min
Genre: Animation
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2014

August: Osage County

A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.

Cast:
Meryl Streep (Violet Weston)
Julia Roberts (Barbara Weston)
Chris Cooper (Charlie Aiken)
Ewan McGregor (Bill Fordham)

Director: John Wells
Writer: Tracy Letts
Runtime: 121 min
Genre: Drama
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2013

The Book Thief

Based on the beloved international bestselling book, The Book Thief tells the story of an extraordinary, spirited young girl sent to live with a foster family in WWII Germany. Intrigued by the only book she brought with her, she begins collecting books as she finds them. With the help of her new parents and a secret guest under the stairs, she learns to read and creates a magical world that inspires them all.

Cast:
Geoffrey Rush (Hans)
Sophie Nélisse (Liesel)
Emily Watson (Rosa)
Nico Liersch (Rudy)

Director: Brian Percival
Writer: Markus Zusak, Michael Petroni
Runtime: 131 min
Genre: Drama
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