In Cinemas this week (9 – 15 November)

Taken 2

Bryan Mills, the retired CIA agent, stopped at nothing to save his daughter Kim from Albanian kidnappers. The father of one of the kidnappers has sworn revenge and takes Bryan and his wife Lenore hostage during their family vacation in Istanbul. Bryan enlists his daughter to help them escape.

Cast:
Liam Neeson (Bryan Mills)
Maggie Grace (Kim)
Famke Janssen (Lenore)
Rade Serbedzija (Murad Krasniqi)

Director: Olivier Megaton
Writer: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Runtime: 92 min
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2012

J.A.C.E.

Twice-orphaned Jace, a seven-year-old Albanian of Greek origin, witnesses a massacre that wipes out his entire foster family in Argyrokastron, and then falls in the hands of a bunch of ruthless gangsters who “export” children abroad for various profitable reasons (ranging from beggary to organ trade). Jace ends up in Athens, Greece, begging at street corners, exploring the secret horrors of brutal institutions for young offenders or, much later, serving obscure patrons, in an underworld where violent loss seems to be his only destiny. The movie follows Jace’s inverted Odyssey in a dark universe of abuse, murder and fear, as he desperately (and silently) seeks for a “family” of his own or, at least, for a sense of belonging.

Cast:
Alban Ukaj (Jace)
Stefania Goulioti (Maria)
Kora Karvouni (Alma)
Ieronymos Kaletsanos (Antonio)

Director: Menelaos Karamaghiolis
Writer: Menelaos Karamaghiolis, Nicholas Panoutsopoulos
Runtime: 142 min
Genre: Drama
Rating: 18
Language: Greek, Albanian, English
Production Year: 2011

Skyfall

Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Cast:
Daniel Craig (James Bond)
Judi Dench (M)
Javier Bardem (Silva)
Ralph Fiennes (Gareth Mallory)

Director: Sam Mendes
Writer: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade
Runtime: 143 min
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2012

To Rome with Love

Set in the romantic city of Rome. The intertwining stories of a worker who wakes up to find himself a celebrity, an architect who takes a trip back to the street he lived on as a student, a young couple on their honeymoon, and a frustrated opera director who has a talent for discovering talented singers.

Cast:
Woody Allen (Jerry)
Alec Baldwin (John)
Roberto Benigni (Leopoldo)
Penélope Cruz (Anna)

Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Runtime: 112 min
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: 12
Language: English, Italian
Production Year: 2012

Secret of the Wings 3D (Greek)

Tinker Bell meets Periwinkle and ventures into the winter woods with her and Tinker Bell’s other friends to find the secret of fairy wings.

Voices:
Afroditi Antonaki
Alexandra Lerta
Konstantinos Konstantopoulos
Ioanna Pilihou

Director: Roberts Gannaway, Peggy Holmes
Writer: Roberts Gannaway, Peggy Holmes
Runtime: 92 min
Genre: Animation
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2012

Looper

In the year 2044, a man working for a group of killers called “Loopers” (they work for the mob and kill people who are sent blindfolded back in time from the year 2074 by their bosses) recognizes a victim as himself. He hesitates resulting in the escape of his older self.

Cast:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Joe)
Bruce Willis (Old Joe)
Emily Blunt (Sara)
Paul Dano (Seth)

Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Rian Johnson
Runtime: 119 min
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2012

Paranormal Activity 4

The story takes place in 2011, five years after Katie killed her boyfriend Micah, sister Kristi, her husband Daniel and took their baby, Hunter. Story focuses on Alex and her mom, experiencing weird stuff since the new neighbors moved in the town.

Cast:
Katie Featherston (Katie)
Kathryn Newton (Alex)
Matt Shively (Ben)
Brady Allen (Robbie)

Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Writer: Christopher Landon, Chad Feehan
Runtime: 88 min
Genre: Horror
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2012

Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia 3D

Julius Caesar lands in Britain, where a small village still holds out bravely against the Roman legions. But the situation becomes critical and the villagers have not got long to live; that’s when Jolitorax, one of the villagers seeks volunteers to go seek help from his second-cousin Asterix the Gaul and bring back a barrel of “magic potion” from the Breton village of the indomitable heroes.

Cast:
Gérard Depardieu (Obélix)
Edouard Baer (Astérix)
Fabrice Luchini (Jules César)
Catherine Deneuve (Reine Cordelia)

Director: Laurent Tirard
Writer: René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo
Runtime: 109 min
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family
Rating: K
Production Year: 2012

Savages

Entrepreneurs Ben, a peaceful and charitable marijuana producer, and friend Chon, a former Navy SEAL, run a lucrative, homegrown industry – raising some of the best weed ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with Ophelia. Life is idyllic in their Southern California town… until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them. When the merciless head of the BC, Elena and her enforcer, Lado, underestimate the unbreakable bond of the three friends, Ben and Chon – with the reluctant assistance of a dirty DEA agent – wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.

Cast:
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Ben)
Taylor Kitsch (Chon)
Blake Lively (Ophelia)
Benicio Del Toro (Lado)

Director: Oliver Stone
Writer: Shane Salerno, Don Winslow
Runtime: 131 min
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2012

Barbie: The Princess & the Popstar (Greek)

In this sparkling musical adventure, Barbie stars as Tory, the kind-hearted princess of Meribella who would rather sing and dance than perform her royal duties. When her favorite pop star Keira visits the Kingdom, the girls discover they have much in common, including a magical secret that lets them look like one another. At first, swapping places seems like a great idea, until each girl realizes that the other’s life isn’t as easy as it seems! But Meribella also has a magical secret, and when it’s stolen, the whole kingdom is put in danger. Will true friendship save the day?

Director: Ezekiel Norton
Writer: Steve Granat, Cydne Clark
Runtime: 75 min
Genre: Animation
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2012

Brave (Greek)

Merida, a Scottish princess whose interests include archery and horse riding, is told by her mother that her interests are not what a princess should be doing and that she has to marry. But Merida chooses to defy her mother. And when she and her mother have an argument Merida rides off and meets a witch. She asks for a spell to change her mother. Merida makes a reckless choice that unleashes unintended peril and forces her to spring into action to set things right.

Voices:
Ioanna Pilihou (Merida)
Sakis Boulas (Fergus)
Eleni Tsaligopoulou (Elinor)
Christina Varzopoulou (The Witch)

Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
Writer: Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews
Runtime: 100 min
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2012

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman are still trying to get back to the Big Apple and their beloved Central Park zoo, but first they need to find the penguins. When they travel to Monte Carlo, they attract the attention of Animal Control after gate crashing a party and are joined by the penguins, King Julian and Co., and the monkeys. How do a lion, zebra, hippo, giraffe, four penguins, two monkeys, three lemurs travel through Europe without attracting attention and get back to New York? They join a traveling circus. Their attempts to get back to New York are consistently hampered by the Captain of Animal Control who wants to make Alex part of her collection. Once they make it back to New York Marty, Alex, Gloria and Melman realize that they want to be part of the traveling circus.

Voices:
Ben Stiller/Spyros Zoupanos (Alex)
Chris Rock/Gerasimos Gennatas (Marty)
David Schwimmer/Petros Damoulis (Melman)
Jada Pinkett Smith/Katerina Gkirgkis (Gloria)

Director: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Writer: Eric Darnell, Noah Baumbach
Runtime: 93 min
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2012

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences – a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home.

Voices:
John Leguizamo/Petros Philippides (Sid)
Jennifer Lopez/Marina Tsigonaki (Shira)
Denis Leary/Leonidas Kakouris (Diego)
Ray Romano/Giannis Bezos (Manny)

Director: Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier
Writer: Michael Berg, Jason Fuchs
Runtime: 94 min
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Rating: K
Language: English/Greek
Production Year: 2012