In Cinemas this week (29 April – 5 May)

Once Upon a… Baby

Nodas, a man in his 50ies, active in show-biz, stops his car somewhere to relieve himself, when he hears a familiar voice shout “man below!”. It turns out to be his friendly landlord Alkiviadis who has debts everywhere, cheats on his wife and never got any children. For all those reasons he now appears to have tied himself to the railway tracks to end his desperate life.Nodas, on his way to find the mother of Persephone, the baby he got stuck with. He releases Alkiviadis and takes him along, against his will. And so, mixed up somewhere between sexy lingerie, a former mistress, an unfaithful husband and a guilty best man, they get twisted in developments that turn them upside down.

Cast:
Petros Filippidis (Alkiviadis)
Sakis Mpoulas (Nondas)
Angeliki Pavlopoulou (The Baby)
Markela Giannatou (Dimitra)

Director: Nikos Zapatinas
Writer: Nikos Zapatinas
Runtime: 86 min
Genre: Comedy
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2011

Last Night

Joanna and Michael Reed are 7 years into a successful and happy relationship when Joanna meets Laura, the stunningly beautiful work colleague whom Michael never mentioned. While Michael is away with Laura on a business trip, Joanna runs into an old but never quite forgotten love, Alex and agrees to have drinks with him. As the night progresses and temptation increases for the couple, each must confront who they are inside and outside of their relationship. Last Night is ultimately a film about choices – the choice you make to be with someone, to give yourself physically and emotionally, and how to survive all three.

Cast:
Keira Knightley (Joanna Reed)
Sam Worthington (Michael Reed)
Eva Mendes (Laura)
Guillaume Canet (Alex Mann)

Director: Massy Tadjedin
Writer: Massy Tadjedin
Runtime: 90 min
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2010

Shanghai

An American man returns to a corrupt, Japanese-occupied Shanghai four months before Pearl Harbor and discovers his friend has been killed. While he unravels the mysteries of the death, he falls in love and discovers a much larger secret that his own government is hiding.

Cast:
John Cusack (Paul Soames)
Li Gong (Anna Lan-Ting)
Yun-Fat Chow (Anthony Lan-Ting)
Ken Watanabe (Tanaka)

Director: Mikael Håfström
Writer: Hossein Amini
Runtime: 105 min
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2010

Barney’s Version

Barney Panofsky is a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. A candid confessional, told from Barney’s point of view, the film spans four decades and two continents, taking us through the different “acts” of his unusual history. There is his first wife, Clara, a flame-haired, flagrantly unfaithful free sprit with whom Barney briefly lives la vie de Boheme in Rome. The “Second Mrs. P.” is a wealthy Jewish Princess who shops and talks incessantly, barely noticing that Barney is not listening. And it is at their lavish wedding that Barney meets, and starts pursuing, Miriam, his third wife, the mother of his two children, and his true love. With his father, Izzy as his sidekick, Barney takes us through the many highs, and a few too many lows, of his long and colorful life. Not only does Barney turn out to be a true romantic, he is also capable of all kinds of sneaky acts of gallantry, generosity, and goodness when we – and he – least expect it. His is a gloriously full life, played out on a grand scale. And, at its center stands an unlikely hero – the unforgettable Barney Panofsky.

Cast:
Paul Giamatti (Barney Panofsky)
Rosamund Pike (Miriam Grant-Panofsky)
Minnie Driver (The 2nd Mrs. P)
Dustin Hoffman (Izzy Panofsky)

Director: Richard J. Lewis
Writer: Mordecai Richler, Michael Konyves
Runtime: 134 min
Genre: Drama
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2010

Thor

The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

Cast:
Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
Natalie Portman (Jane Foster)
Tom Hiddleston (Loki)
Anthony Hopkins (Odin)

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writer: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz
Runtime: 114 min
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

The Rite

Inspired by true events, the film follows seminary student Michael Kovak, who is sent to study exorcism at the Vatican in spite of his own doubts about the controversial practice and even his own faith. Wearing his deep skepticism like armor, Michael challenges his superiors to look to psychiatry, rather than demons, in treating the possessed. Only when he’s sent to apprentice with the unorthodox Father Lucas – a legendary priest who has performed thousands of exorcisms – does Michael’s armor begin to fall. As he is drawn into a troubling case that seems to transcend even Father Lucas’s skill, he begins to glimpse a phenomenon science can’t explain or control…and an evil so violent and terrifying that it forces him to question everything he believes.

Cast:
Anthony Hopkins (Father Lucas Trevant)
Colin O’Donoghue (Michael Kovak)
Alice Braga (Angeline)
Rutger Hauer (Istvan Kovak)

Director: Mikael Håfström
Writer: Michael Petroni, Matt Baglio
Runtime: 114 min
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

The Eagle

In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca, Marcus sets out across Hadrian’s Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia – to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the lost legion’s golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.

Cast:
Channing Tatum (Marcus Aquila)
Donald Sutherland (Uncle Aquila)
Jamie Bell (Esca)
Denis O’Hare (Lutorius)

Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writer: Jeremy Brock, Rosemary Sutcliff
Runtime: 114 min
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Hop (English)

Blending state-of-the-art animation with live action, Hop tells the comic tale of Fred, an out-of-work slacker who accidentally injures the Easter Bunny and must take him in as he recovers. As Fred struggles with the world’s worst house guest, both will learn what it takes to finally grow up.

Cast:
James Marsden (Fred O’Hare)
Russell Brand (E.B.)
Kaley Cuoco (Sam O’Hare)
Hugh Laurie (E.B.’s Dad)

Director: Tim Hill
Writer: Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio
Runtime: 95 min
Genre: Animation, Family, Comedy
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Scream 4

Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill and her Aunt Kate. Unfortunately, Sidney’s appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger.

Cast:
Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott)
David Arquette (Dewey Riley)
Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers-Riley)
Hayden Panettiere (Kirby Reed)

Director: Wes Craven
Writer: Kevin Williamson
Runtime: 111 min
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

London Boulevard

Mitchell has just been released from Pentonville after a three year sentence for assault, when he exits the prison he is picked up by long-time partner in crime, and local enforcer, Billy, who takes Mitchell to a party in his honour. Every East End drug dealing gangster is there to shake the hand of one of the most feared men in London, but all Mitchell wants is to get a job, and avoid being restricted to a sixteen by eight cell again. He manages to convince a beautiful, reclusive actress and her pot-smoking-hippy-esquire-father-figure Jordan to hire him as a handyman around their paparazzi infested estate. But when the leading figure in the London underworld, Mr Gant comes looking to place Mitchell high up in his crime organization, he must find a way to refuse the advances of such a dangerous man, while also protecting those closest to him.

Cast:
Colin Farrell (Mitchel)
Keira Knightley (Charlotte)
Ben Chaplin (Billy Norton)
Ray Winstone (Gant)

Director: William Monahan
Writer: William Monahan, Ken Bruen
Runtime: 103 min
Genre: Crime, Romance
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2010

Rio

Set in the magnificent city of Rio de Janeiro and the lush rainforest of Brazil, the comedy-adventure centers on Blu, a rare macaw who thinks he is the last of his kind. When Blu discovers there’s another — and that she’s a she — he leaves the comforts of his cage in small town Minnesota and heads to Rio. But it’s far from love at first sight between the domesticated and flight-challenged Blu and the fiercely independent, high-flying female, Jewel. Unexpectedly thrown together, they embark on an adventure of a lifetime, where they learn about friendship, love, courage, and being open to life’s many wonders. RIO brings together a menagerie of vivid characters, a heart-warming story, colorful backdrops, energizing Latin and contemporary music, and family-friendly song and dance.

Voices:
Jesse Eisenberg (Blu)
Anne Hathaway (Jewel)
Leslie Mann (Linda)
Jamie Foxx (Nico)

Director: Carlos Saldanha
Writer: Don Rhymer
Runtime: 96 min
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Rating: K
Language: English/Greek
Production Year: 2011

Black Swan

Nina is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily, who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side – a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

Cast:
Natalie Portman (Nina Sayers)
Mila Kunis (Lily)
Vincent Cassel (Thomas Leroy)
Barbara Hershey (Erica Sayers)

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writer: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz
Runtime: 108 min
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2010

Open Season 3 (Greek)

Boog, Elliot and their forest friends return with an all-new adventure, this time in a Big Top Circus! The comedy begins when Boog’s pals choose their family obligations over the annual guys’ trip, and a disappointed Boog decides to take a trip of his own, which leads him right into the middle.

Voices:
Matthew J. Munn (Boog/Doug)
Dana Snyder (Alistair)
Matthew W. Taylor (Elliot)
Crispin Glover (Fifi)

Director: Cody Cameron
Writer: David I. Stern
Runtime: 85 min
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2011

Rango (Greek)

Rango is a pet chameleon who lives in a terrarium. He has long thought himself a hero, but then finds himself removed from his contemporary American southwest surroundings and ending up in an Old West town called Dirt, which is populated by various desert critters garbed like characters out of a spaghetti western. As he’s always thought himself a hero, Rango establishes himself as the lawman, strolling the streets as a sheriff-like character. Unknown to him, the “good guy” role doesn’t do very well in Dirt — with a whole cemetery filled with good guy tombstones. But that doesn’t stop Rango from trying, constantly seeking to fit in with his surroundings, no matter how challenging. At a certain point in the narrative, Rango will come to question everything about himself.

Voices:
Dimitris Marizas (Rango / Lars)
Vicky Nikolaidou (Beans)
Costas Darlasis
Nikos Nikas

Director: Gore Verbinski
Writer: John Logan
Runtime: 107 min
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2011