In Cinemas this week (2 – 8 December)

Tower Heist

Josh Kovacs is the manager of a residential apartment in New York. He is close to all the tenants, especially Arthur Shaw, a financier. One day Shaw is arrested by the FBI for fraud. Josh thinks it’s a misunderstanding that can be resolved. But later he learns that the employees’ pension which he asked Shaw to handle is gone. When one of the employees tries to kill himself, Josh’s views of Shaw change. He goes to see him and loses his temper. He loses his job. The FBI agent in charge of Shaw tells him that Shaw might walk and recovering the pension fund is unlikely. She tells him that it’s been rumored that Shaw has 20 million laying around if he needs. Josh thinks he knows where it is. So with two other employees who also lost their jobs and an evicted tenant, they set out to get into Shaw’s penthouse to get the money. But they realise they need the assistance of someone who knows what they are doing. So, Josh asks a guy he knows is a thief named Slide to help them.

Cast:
Ben Stiller (Josh Kovacs)
Eddie Murphy (Slide)
Casey Affleck (Charlie)
Matthew Broderick (Mr. Fitzhugh)

Director: Brett Ratner
Writer: Ted Griffin, Jeff Nathanson
Runtime: 104 min
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Rating: 12
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Real Steel

In the near future, robots have taken over for humans in the boxing ring. A former boxer and small-time promoter struggles to make a living with patched-up robots in shady venues. When he discovers he has an 11-year-old son who believes that a robot found in the junk heap has what it takes to win, he finds himself with a shot at the big time.

Cast:
Hugh Jackman (Charlie Kenton)
Dakota Goyo (Max Kenton)
Evangeline Lilly (Bailey Tallet)
Anthony Mackie (Finn)

Director: Shawn Levy
Writer: John Gatins, Dan Gilroy
Runtime: 127 min
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

A young girl is sent to live with her estranged father and his girlfriend at their new home. The father, Alex has plans to spruce up the home with the help of his interior decorator girlfriend, Kim. The previous owner of the home was a famous painter who mysteriously disappeared. Alex’s daughter, Sally, soon discovers the cause of the painter’s disappearance.

Cast:
Guy Pearce (Alex)
Katie Holmes (Kim)
Bailee Madison (Sally)
Jack Thompson (Harris)

Director: Troy Nixey
Writer: Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Robbins
Runtime: 99 min
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2010

Happy Feet Two 3D

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

Shark Night 3D

A weekend at a lake house in the Louisiana Gulf turns into a nightmare for seven vacationers as they are subjected to shark attacks.

Cast:
Sara Paxton (Sara)
Dustin Milligan (Nick)
Chris Carmack (Dennis)
Katharine McPhee (Beth)

Director: David R. Ellis
Writer: Will Hayes, Jesse Studenberg
Runtime: 91 min
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rating: 12
Language: English
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

Anonymous

A political thriller advancing the theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford who penned Shakespeare’s plays; set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her.

Cast:
Rhys Ifans (Earl of Oxford)
Vanessa Redgrave (Queen Elizabeth I)
David Thewlis (William Cecil)
Rafe Spall (William Shakespeare)

Director: Roland Emmerich
Writer: John Orloff
Runtime: 130 min
Genre: Drama
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Immortals 3D

Eons after the Gods won their mythic struggle against the Titans, a new evil threatens the land. Mad with power, King Hyperion has declared war against humanity. Amassing a bloodthirsty army of soldiers disfigured by his own hand, Hyperion has scorched Greece in search of the legendary Epirus Bow, a weapon of unimaginable power forged in the heavens by Ares. Only he who possesses this bow can unleash the Titans, who have been imprisoned deep within the walls of Mount Tartaros since the dawn of time and thirst for revenge. In the king’s hands, the bow would rain destruction upon mankind and annihilate the Gods. But ancient law dictates the Gods must not intervene in man’s conflict. They remain powerless to stop Hyperion… until a peasant named Theseus comes forth as their only hope. Secretly chosen by Zeus, Theseus must save his people from Hyperion and his hordes…

Cast:
Henry Cavill (Theseus)
Mickey Rourke (King Hyperion)
Luke Evans (Zeus)
Freida Pinto (Phaedra)

Director: Tarsem Singh
Writer: Charley Parlapanides, Vlas Parlapanides
Runtime: 110 min
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Rating: 15
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Paranormal Activity 3

In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.

Cast:
Christopher Nicholas Smith (Dennis)
Lauren Bittner (Julie)
Chloe Csengery (Young Katie)
Jessica Tyler Brown (Young Kristi Rey)

Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Writer: Christopher Landon, Oren Peli
Runtime: 84 min
Genre: Horror
Rating: 18
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

The Adventures of Tintin 3D

Thrilling and wildly funny, the Tintin stories chronicle the escapades of a junior reporter who has a nose for a good story and a talent for attracting trouble, which more often than not imperils his life! This time Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock’s ancestor. But someone else is in search of the ship.

Cast:
Jamie Bell (Tintin)
Andy Serkis (Captain Haddock)
Daniel Craig (Ivanovich Sakharine)
Simon Pegg (Inspector Thompson)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright
Runtime: 107 min
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
Rating: K
Language: English
Production Year: 2011

Winx Club 3D: Magic Adventure (Greek)

At the fairies’ school Alpheus a new school year begins with a grand celebration. But the party is interrupted unexpectedly by evil Trix, who steals a powerful, mysterious object. The Winx (without Bloom, who is now a Princess of Domino and going to marry Sky) have to save the situation on their own. But things become even more difficult when the Ancestral Witches, with the help of Trix, discover the Tree of Life and with a powerful spell reverse the balance between good and bad magic.

Director: Iginio Straffi
Writer: Iginio Straffi
Runtime: 87 min
Genre: Animation
Rating: K
Language: Greek
Production Year: 2010

Johnny English Reborn

In his latest adventure Johnny English, the most unlikely intelligence officer in Her Majesty’s Secret Service, must stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos. In the years since MI-7’s top spy vanished off the grid, he has been honing his unique skills in a remote region of Asia. But when his agency superiors learn of an attempt against the Chinese premier’s life, they must hunt down the highly unorthodox agent. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English is back in action. With one shot at redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout the KGB, CIA and even MI-7. With mere days until a heads of state conference…

Cast:
Rowan Atkinson (Johnny English)
Rosamund Pike (Kate Sumner)
Dominic West (Simon Ambrose)
Gillian Anderson (MI7 Agent Pamela Thornton)

Director: Oliver Parker
Writer: William Davies, Hamish McColl
Runtime: 101 min
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
Rating: K
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