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P.S. I Love You (12A) *
(Dir: Richard LaGravenese, 2007, 127 mins) This horribly miscast bereavement blubcom is an Americanised reworking of the chicklit bestseller by Cecelia (daughter of Bertie) Ahern. The good news is that blarney-spouting…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
P2 (18) **
(Dir: Franck Khalfoun, 2007, 98 mins) Buxom Babe Trapped in Underground Car Park with Psycho. That’s pretty much the pitch for this functional, derivative Woman in Peril two-hander with the mandatory dollop of torture…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pacifier, The (PG) *
(Dir: Adam Shankman, 95 mins) Like ‘Mr. Nanny’ never happened, Vin Diesel takes the role in a family comedy that is now mandatory for every action lunk as a rufty-tufty Navy SEAL who’s assigned to babysit a dead…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Page Turner, The (15) ****
(Dir: Denis Dercourt, 85 mins) Denis Dercourt’s brilliantly lean two-hander has earned comparisons to Hitchcock, Chabrol and Polanski. It certainly deserves that much over-used description “psychological thriller”,…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Painted Angels (15) ***
(Dir: Jon Sanders, 110 mins) It's boomtime in the Old West. Down in a little whorehouse on the prairie, hard-bitten madam Brenda Fricker rules her immigrant prostitutes with a rod of iron. Superbly photographed if…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Painted Veil, The (12A) ***
(Dir: John Curran, 2006, 125 mins) Posh 20s bird Kitty (Naomi Watts) is staring spinsterhood in the face when she meets and swiftly agrees to marry starchy bacteriologist Dr. Walter Fane (Edward Norton), who takes her…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Palindromes (15) ***
(Dir: Todd Solondz, 100 mins) Liberal-baiting Todd Solondz’s tale of palindromically named 12-year-old Aviva, who has but one aim in life: to spawn lots and lots of babies. She swiftly falls pregnant, much to horror of…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Palookaville (15) ****
(Dir: Alan Taylor, 92 mins) William Forsythe, Adam Trese and Vincent Gallo are a New Jersey trio on the fast track to nowhere, who reckon the only way to break free of their environment is to commit the perfect crime.…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pan's Labyrinth (15) *****
(Dir: Guillermo del Toro, 120 mins, subtitles) By a wide margin, this is Guillermo del Toro’s best film to date. It’s set in a remote region of fascist Spain during 1944, where dreamy young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero)…14.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pandeamonium (12) ***
(Dir: Julien Temple, 124 mins) Julien Temple's strikingly photographed, unexpectedly enjoyable and often pleasingly silly 'Carry On Up the Quantocks' eschews the trappings of trad heritage drama in favour of a Ken…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pandorum (15) **
(Dir: Christian Alvart, 2009, 108 mins) The good ship Elysium is ferrying the frozen survivors of the human race to Tanis, an Earth-like planet where they can start over – but something’s wrong with the mission. Bower…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Panic Room (15) ****
(Dir: David Fincher, 112 mins) David Fincher takes a no-brainer premise and succeeds in squeezing every drip of tension out of it. Wealthy, recently divorced Jodie Foster and her pre-teen daughter Kristen Stewart move…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pan’s Labyrinth (15) *****
(Dir: Guillermo del Toro, 120 mins, subtitles) By a wide margin, this is Guillermo del Toro’s best film to date. It’s set in a remote region of fascist Spain during 1944, where dreamy young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero)…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paper Heart (PG) ***
(Dir: Nicholas Jasenovec, 2009, 88 mins) Stand-up comedian Charlyne (‘Knocked Up’) Yi, a multi-ethnic pixie who dresses like an FBI agent trying to blend into the background, declares that she doesn’t understand (or…08.07.2010 READ MORE -
Paradise is Somewhere Else (PG) ***
(Dir: Abdolrasoul Golbon, 80 mins) Iranian writer/director Abdolrasoul Golbon’s debut is a universal coming-of-age story-cum-refugee drama with a strong, clearly expressed ethical dilemma at its heart.…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paradise Lost (18) ***
(Dir: John Stockwell, 2006, 93 mins) ‘Hostel’ goes to South America. Recklessly driven by a sweaty, unshaven, nose-picking local, a coach filled with buff, multinational, fun-seeking gringos skids off a perilous…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paradise Now (15) ****
(Dir: Hany Abu-Assad, 90 mins) Hany Abu-Assad’s Oscar-nominated suicide bomber flick spares us the boggle-eyed fanatic stereotypes as it focuses on banal and occasionally comical detail. One aspiring bomber digresses…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paradise Road (15) ****
(Dir: Bruce Beresford, 114 mins) Australian director Bruce Beresford returns on top form with this moving PoW drama. Set after the fall of Singapore, it is based on several true stories and recounts the experiences of…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paranoid Park (15) **
(Dir: Gus Van Sant, 2007, 85 mins) What saves Gus Van Sant’s ‘Paranoid Park’ from becoming just another tedious, self-consciously impressionistic trudge in the ‘Gerry’/‘Last Days’ mould is the input of two outsiders:…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paranormal Activity (15) ***
(Dir: Oren Peli, 2007, 85 mins) With a $100m US box office return on an alleged budget of just $15,000, video game designer-turned-writer/director Oren Peli’s feature debut has already eclipsed ‘The Blair Witch Project’…08.07.2010 READ MORE -
Paranormal Activity 2 (15) **
(Dir: Tod Williams, 2010, 91 mins) A big studio follow-up to an ultra-low-budget wobblecam horror hit faces a couple of options: use the title to sell a conventionally shot flick, a la ‘Blair Witch 2’, or simply…26.10.2010 READ MORE -
Parent Trap, The (PG) ****
(Dir: Nacy Meyers, 125 mins) Having established this tale of separated siblings as a money-spinning classic back in 1961, Disney shouldn’t fail to cash in with the remake. It’s nothing more than a child-oriented, light…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paris (15) **
(Dir: Cedric Klapisch, 2008, 129 mins, subtitles) An undemanding ensemble piece-cum-travelogue dressed up as an art movie with profound things to say about relationships’n’stuff, this sprawling, ill-disciplined drama is…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paris, Je T’aime (15) ****
(Various directors, 2006, 121 mins, subtitles) The trouble with anthology films is that their component parts tend to be of variable quality. When there are 18 of these, each by a different director and with striking…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Parole Officer, The (12) ***
(Dir: John Duigan, 100 mins) Rather than treating us to 'Alan Partridge and Paul Calf Go Large', Steve Coogan has come up with an Ealing-style crime caper shaped around an inept, irritating but cheerily well-meaning…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Parting Shots (15) *
(Dir: Michael Winner, 98 mins) Discovering he's got six weeks left to live, failed wedding photographer Harry decides to bump off everyone who dumped on his life. His ex-wife, a crooked financial adviser, the best mate…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Passion of Darkly Noon, The (18) ****
Philip ‘The Reflecting Skin’ Ridley’s second feature is a slow-burning fable that builds inexorably towards a shocking climax that is part apocalyptic religious vision, part intellectual slasher movie. Found…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Passion of the Christ, The (18) *
(Dir: Mel Gibson, 126 mins) As subtle as a spear jabbed under the ribs, and more tedious than a lifetime of sanctimonious sermons, Mel Gibson’s sado-fetishistic account of the last twelve hours of Christ’s life is a…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Patch Adams (12) **
(Dir: Tom Shadyac, 115 mins) Yet another “inspirational” Robin Williams flick: intermittently funny, poignant and unashamedly sentimental, a kind of cross between 'Awakenings' and 'Good Morning Vietnam'. And yet so damn…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pathfinder (15) **
(Dir: Marcus Nispel, 2007, 99 mins) Absurdly relocating Nils Gaup’s Oscar-nominated 1987 flick ‘Ofelas’ from Lapland to the USA, and directed by ex-pat German Marcus Nispel, this Injuns vs Vikings flick looks terrific.…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Patriot, The (15) **
(Dir: Roland Emmerich, 160 mins) This American War of Independence flick must have seemed an obvious opportunity for Mel Gibson to get mad again in English-hating 'Braveheart' style, and for director Roland Emmerich to…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Patti Smith: Dream of Life (15) *
(Dir: Steven Sebring, 2008, 109 mins) Here’s one for exceptionally indulgent and forgiving fans. Fashion photographer-turned-filmmaker Steven Sebring claims his intention was “to turn people on to Patti Smith”. In this,…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
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Paul Blart: Mall Cop (PG) **
(Dir: Steve Carr, 2009, 91 mins) If your mirth needs are fulfilled by the sight of a fat man falling over, be warned that this latest offering from Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production company may trigger…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paulie (U) **
(Dir: John Roberts, 91 mins) Wide-eyed janitor Tony Shalhoub is surprised to find Paulie the talking parrot locked away in the bowels of a vivisection laboratory. In flashback, we learn that the feathery wiseacre was…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pavee Lackeen (15) **
(Dir: Perry Ogden, 87 mins) Filmed verite-style, in authentic digital video wobblecamvision, photographer Perry Ogden’s unflinching and scrupulously non-judgemental portrait of a group of marginalised Irish travellers…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paws (U) **
(Dir: Karl Zwicky, 83 mins) Cunning Jack Russell PC is on a mission to deliver a computer disk, which would be tricky enough even if he wasn’t being pursued by the unpleasant baddie who killed his master. But PC is no…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pay It Forward (12) ***
(Dir: Mimi Leder, 124 mins) Despite an unashamed streak of sentimentality, 'Pay It Forward' remains a decently acted, very watchable film. Only in the final few minutes does director Mimi Leder lose grip of the fine…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Payback (18) ****
(Dir: Brian Helgeland, 110 mins) Written and directed by 'LA Confidential' scriptwriter David Helgeland, this is an ambitious 90s re-working of Richard Stark's novel 'The Hunter', on which John Boorman's 1967 classic…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Paycheck (12A) **
(Dir: John Woo, 100 mins) This has the pedigree to be a provocative, intelligent science fiction thriller. But onto Philip K. Dick’s typically intriguing premise has been bolted a standard-issue, thick-ear action…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Peacemaker, The (15) ***
(Dir: Mimi Leder, 126 mins) Amidst the shabby anarchy of the former Soviet bloc, ten nuclear warheads are hijacked and it’s down to pragmatic action man George Clooney and insecure White House boffin Nicole Kidman to…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pearl Harbor (12) **
(Dir: Michael Bay, 183 mins) Take the careful attention to historical accuracy of 'The Patriot', add the mildly homoerotic military porn of 'Top Gun', serve with slavish devotion to the 'Titanic' formula (romance for…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pearl Jam Twenty (15)
USA 2011 109mins Dir Cameron Crowe Starring Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, Neil Young, Chris Cornell, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron Something's off key about showing Cameron Crowe's documentary…20.09.2011 READ MORE -
Pebble And The Penguin, The (U) **
Former Disney animator Don Bluth’s greatest successes, ‘The Land before Time’ and ‘An American Tail, were made in collaboration with Spielberg’s Amblin company, but much of his work has been uninvolving if well-crafted.…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pecker (15) ***
(Dir: John Waters, 86 mins) Exactly what you'd expect of a latterday John Waters flick, 'Pecker' is set in Baltimore, features a cast of lovable gay and straight oddballs, and forsakes the genial coprophagy of yore in…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Penelope (U) ***
(Dir: Mark Palansky, 2006, 89 mins) If James McAvoy looks rather young here, that’s because this curious transatlantic fairytale sat on the shelf for a couple of years. First-time director Mark Palansky seems to be…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
People Vs. Larry Flynt, The (18) *****
(Dir: Milos Forman, 130 mins) Although it describes a fairly conventional biopic career arc, Milos Forman’s account of the lewd life and high times of America’s foremost anti-censorship campaigner and/or vilest…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Percy Jackson & The Lighting Thief (PG) ***
(Dir: Chris Columbus, 2010, 119 mins) Dyslexic high-schooler Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) discovers that his absentee father is Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), Greek God of the Sea, and his uncle Zeus (Sean Bean) thinks he’s…08.07.2010 READ MORE -
Perdita Durango (18) ***
(Dir: Alex de la Iglesia, 126 mins) Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia’s first English-language film is a sequel to David Lynch's 'Wild At Heart' with a script by the original film's writer, Barry Gifford. Rosie Perez…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Perfect Catch, The (PG) **
(Dir: Bobby & Peter Farrelly, 103 mins) Fox cunningly changed the title, but this is the US version of Nick Hornby’s ‘Fever Pitch’, with baseball taking the place of football. Hopes are raised marginally by the…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Perfect Getaway, A (15) ***
(Dir: David Twohy, 2009, 97 mins) Adventure-loving urban couple Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are on a suitably invigorating, two-day, 11-mile honeymoon backpacking trip to one of the most remote…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Perfect Man, The (PG) *
(Dir: Mark Rosman, 100 mins) One can’t help but wonder what message unhappy singles will take home from ‘The Perfect Man’. For this is a world in which even Heather Locklear can’t find herself a decent bloke, despite…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Perfect Murder, A (18) ****
(Dir: Andrew Davis, 107 mins) A classy, entertaining and intelligent contemporary reworking of Hitchcock’s dramatically flat 3D thriller ‘Dial M For Murder’, which complicates and adds emotional depth to the central…09.08.2010 READ MORE -
Perfect Score, The (12A) **
(Dir: Brian Robbins, 92 mins) Filmed before the ‘Lost in Translation’/‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ double whammy, this silly, forgettable MTV high-school caper flick sees Scarlett Johansson languishing among alumni of…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Perfect Storm, The (12) **
(Dir: Wolfgang Petersen, 129 mins) Wolfgang (‘Das Boot’) Petersen was an obvious choice to helm this adaptation of Sebastian Junger's riveting factual book about a swordfishing boat caught up in the most ferocious North…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Perfect Stranger (15) *
(Dir: James Foley, 2007, 109 mins) Movies about the online world are as unreliable as the real thing. You pay to see a ‘sexy thriller’ starring a flirty, dirty Halle Berry and you find yourself watching a movie…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Perfume de Violetas (15) ***
(Dir: Marysa Sistach, 88 mins) The Mexican cinema boom continues with this striking drama which attacks head-on macho Latin American culture and the role of compliant women in ensuring its perpetuation. At her new…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (15) ***
(Dir: Tom Tykwer, 147 mins) Patrick Suskind’s ‘unfilmable’ cult classic finally reaches the screen courtesy of Tom (‘Run Lola Run’) Tykwer. This is certainly a lavish, handsomely staged and exceedingly expensive…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Perrier’s Bounty (15) ***
(Dir: Ian Fitzgibbon, 2010, 88 mins) This sweary, violent, Irish black comedy stars two of the booming mini-genre’s staples – Cillian (‘Disco Pigs’, ‘Intermission’) Murphy and Brendan (‘I Went Down’, ‘In Bruges’)…08.07.2010 READ MORE -
Persepolis (12A) ****
(Dir: Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud, 2007, 96 mins, subtitles) A largely monochrome, semi-autobiographical French animation about one young woman’s experiences of repression in Iran under the Shah and subsequent…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Personal Velocity (15) ***
(Dir: Rebecca Miller, 86 mins) Rebecca (daughter of Arthur) Miller pares down three of her victim feminism short stories about resilient women oppressed by horrid men for a literate and unapologetically literary digital…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Peter Pan (PG) ****
(Dir: P.J. Hogan, 113 mins) Not since the 1924 silent film has there been a live action feature of J.M. Barrie’s full original panto staple. And, discounting Spielberg's misfiring attempt at a grown up Peter with…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Petites Coupures (15) **
(Dir: Pascal Bonitzer, 95 mins) Here’s one, perhaps, for those who yearn for the good old days of French cinema, when one could repair to the nearest fashionable café after the screening and talk bollocks for hours…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Phantom of the Opera, The (12A) **
(Dir: Joel Schumacher, 143 mins) Joel Schumacher’s screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s biggest stage hit hopes to repeat the repeat the crossover success of ‘Chicago’. But it’s hard to imagine Lloyd Webber…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Phantom, The (12) ***
(Dir: Simon Wincer, 100 mins) A likeable but feeble attempt to cash an almost-forgotten American comic character in as a matinee hero for our times. Here, the premise is even more idiotic than usual. Billy Zane is The…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Phenomenon (PG) **
John Travolta musters all his chubby charm as Mr. Smalltown Everyman: a likeable, blue-collar kinda guy who is struck down by a blinding light from the heavens on his 37th birthday. Overnight he becomes a genius,…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Phone Booth (15) ***
(Dir: Joel Schumacher, 81 mins) As a one-line, sky-high concept, it’s up there with ‘Speed’: hang up and you die. Perpetual putative star-in-the-making Colin Farrell is the bloke with the receiver clamped to his ear and…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Photographing Fairies (15) ****
(Dir: Nick Willing, 106 mins) A confidently handled, intelligent and literate exploration of bereavement, faith and the desire for something beyond death, Nick Willing’s adaptation of Steve Szilagyi’s novel begins in…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pi (15) ****
(Dir: Darren Aronofsky, 85 mins) An innovative, wholly original film that manages to take mathematics seriously while serving up an engrossing narrative that could have come from the drug-addled, paranoid brain of the…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pianist, The (15) ***
(Dir: Roman Polanski, 148 mins) No doubt about it, this is Important Film-Making. It’s got a star (Adrien Brody) who puts himself through such depredation to become a skeletal, hollow-eyed, feral scavenger before our…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Piano Teacher, The (18) ***
(Dir: Michael Haneke, 127 mins) Contemporary cinema's Mr. Transgression, Michael ('Funny Games') Haneke, fashions a grimly compelling portrait of female sexual repression with a central performance by Isabelle Huppert…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Piano Tuner of Earthquakes, The (12A) *
(Dir: Stephen Quay/Timothy Quay, 99 mins) The second pretentious, largely incomprehensible and desperately dull feature-length blend of live action and animation from acclaimed animators the Quay brothers, who are…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Piano, The (15) ****
Jane Campion's sensual, sumptuous, deeply erotic and almost literary Oscar winner. In the mid-19th century, New Zealand landowner Sam Neill's pale, mute mail-order bride Holly Hunter is dumped on an inhospitable beach…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pianomania (PG) ***
(Dir: Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis, 2009, 93 mins, subtitles) Yes, it’s a feature-length documentary about a piano tuner. Not just any piano tuner, mind. Stefan Knupfer is the Chief Technician for Steinway, who’s…16.09.2010 READ MORE -
Picture Bride (12) **
(Dir: Kayo Hatta, 90 mins) ‘The Piano’ meets ‘Eat a Bowl of Tea’ in this oddly passionless, uninvolving debut feature from Kayo Hatta. In 1918, recently orphaned, frail 16-year-old Tokyo girl Riyo joins a shipload of…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Picture Perfect (PG) ***
(Dir: Glenn Gordon Caron, 101 mins) Second-division romantic comedy fare, with Jennifer ‘Friends’ Aniston as Kate, a woman frustrated by the unsuitability of most blokes and her inability to get on at work. Cinematic…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pierrepoint (15) ***
(Dir: Adrian Shergold, 95 mins) One of the strengths of Adrian Shergold’s TV-sized biopic of Britian’s most prolific hangman is that it doesn’t bother rehashing all the arguments about capital punishment. Instead, it…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Piglet’s Big Movie (U) **
(Dir: Francis Glebas, 75 mins) Following the success of ‘The Tigger Movie’, Disney have obviously decided to strip mine the Hundred Acre Wood in case they lose their long running dispute over the rights to A.A. Milne’s…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pillow Book, The (18) ***
(Dir: Peter Greenaway, 123 mins) Peter Greenaway seems to be attempting a fusion of literary and cinematic forms with this semi-Oedipal tale of fetishism: a visually dazzling barrage of multiple images, split screen…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pina 3D (U)
Germany/France/UK 2011 103 mins Dir: Wim Wenders Billed as "the world's first 3D arthouse film" but beaten into the arthouses by fellow German Werner Herzog's 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams', Wim Wenders' debut…27.04.2011 READ MORE -
Pineapple Express (15) ****
(Dir: David Gordon Green, 2008, 111 mins) Judd Apatow sure has an eye for a talented if unlikely director. Until now, David Gordon Green made slow, boring, achingly ‘poetic’ indie films that nobody went to see. Here…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Ping Pong (12A) ***
(Dir: Fumihiko Sori, 114 mins) No shit – this really is a Japanese film about table tennis. And in the specialist cinema of people bashing balls back and forth, it certainly triumphs over top-seeded ‘Wimbledon’ despite…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pink Panther 2, The (PG) *
(Dir: Harald Zwart, 2009, 92 mins) How can this possibly be any worse than the misbegotten 2006 film, which saw Steve Martin’s first maladroit attempt to fill Peter Sellers’ shoes as inept, idiotic Inspector Jacques…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pink Panther, The (PG) *
(Dir: Shawn Levy, 93 mins) Always a dodgy prospect on paper, Steve Martin’s attempt to fill the late Peter Sellers’ shoes in this Pink Panther prequel is a bigger disaster than anyone could have feared. The desperately…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Piranha 3D (18) ***
(Dir: Alexandre Aja, 2010, 88 mins) Alexandre Aja delivers exactly what his audience requires: a feast of softcore porn and proper 18-rated gore in which hordes of toothy flesh-eaters are unleashed upon a smorgasbord of…14.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (12A) ***
(Dir: Gore Verbinski, 2007, 168 mins) You’ll need to be up to speed on exactly where we were at the end of ‘Dead Man’s Chest’. Lord Beckett (the splendidly spiteful Tom Hollander) now has Davy Jones’s (Bill Nighy)…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (12A) ****
(Dir: Gore Verbinski, 150 mins) What do we want? More amusing Johnny Depp and less bland Orlando Bloom please! It seems Gore Verbinski is happy to oblige, while canny enough not to permit the whole thing to turn into…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (12A)
USA 2011 137 mins Dir: Rob Marshall Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Richard Griffiths, Keith Richards After 'At World's End' succeeded in confusing much of its…20.05.2011 READ MORE -
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (12A) ****
(Dir: Gore Verbinski, 143 mins) The omens weren’t good when Disney decided to use one of its own theme park rides as the inspiration for this new supernatural swashbuckler. Who’d have guessed the result would be…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pitch Black (15) **
(Dir: David Twohy, 108 mins) Talk about bad luck. There you are on a cramped, miserable long-haul intergalactic journey with a bunch of oddballs whose number include a psychopath and his captor, when suddenly you…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Place Vendome (15) ***
(Dir: Nicole Garcia, 117 mins) Catherine Deneuve bagged the Best Actress award at Venice for her portrayal of an old soak who seizes control of her life after the death of her husband. There's no doubting the queen of…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Planet 51 (U) **
(Dir: Jorge Blanco & Javier Abad, 2009, 90 mins) The Big Idea of this feeble Spanish CGI animation, scripted by a co-writer of ‘Shrek’, is to invert the premise of ‘ET’, with an American astronaut landing on an alien…08.07.2010 READ MORE -
Planet of the Apes (12) ***
(Dir: Tim Burton, 110 mins) Tim Burton's remake of the 1968 ape flick turns out to be his least interesting film, boasting his most compromised vision. Astronaut Mark Wahlberg, who succeeds in looking uncomfortable…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Planet Terror (18) ***
(Dir: Robert Rodriguez, 2007, 106 mins) Much more fun than its original ‘Grindhouse’ partner, Tarantino’s ‘Death Proof’, Robert Rodriguez’s expanded pastiche of vintage splatter maintains its distressed look throughout…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Platform (15) **
(Dir: Jia Zhang-ke, 154 mins) On paper, this looks promising enough. Shot without the permission of the Chinese authorities, Jia Zhang-ke’s epic attempts to do for the ‘80s what Chen Keige’s stunning ‘Farewell My…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Play (15) **
(Dir: Alicia Scherson, 2005, 105 mins, subtitles) Nothing much happens for the best part of two hours in Alicia Scherson’s feature debut: a thin piece of arthouse whimsy with a central idea that would struggle to fill a…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Play It To The Bone (18) **
(Dir: Ron Shelton, 124 mins) In Ron Shelton's latest sports film, Cesar (Antonio Banderas) and Vince (Woody Harrelson) are a pair of washed-up coulda-been-a-contender types who are given a final unexpected shot at the…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Playing by Heart (18) **
(Dir: Willard Carroll, 120 mins) Willard Carroll's debut feature tries unsuccessfully to emulate the inter-woven narratives and interlocking characters of a Robert Altman or Alan Rudolph movie, but without the hard edge…09.08.2010 READ MORE -
Pleasantville (12) ****
(Dir: Gary Ross, 124 mins) This near-perfect populist fantasy movie uses good old fashioned story telling skills and state-of-the-art visual effects to create a totally consistent fictional world. Yet its sharp insights…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Please Give (15) ****
(Dir: Nicole Holofcener, 2009, 90 mins) Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt), an upscale New York couple, run a slightly ghoulish business – buying the furniture of recently-dead old folks from grown-up kids…16.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pledge, The (15) ****
(Dir: Sean Penn, 124 mins) It's the retiring cop's last day on the force. Then a little girl is brutally raped and murdered. The cop promises the victim's distraught mother that he will not rest until the perp is…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Plunkett and Macleane (15) **
(Dir: Jake Scott, 93 mins) A handsomely staged yet misconceived production that reworks a true tale of 18th century highwaymen as 'Butch Cassidy' for the 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' generation. It's 1748 and…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Poetry (12A)
South Korea 2010 139 mins Subtitles Dir: Chang-dong Lee Starring: Jeong-hie Yun, Da-wit Lee Tough sells don't get much tougher than a lengthy subtitled film about a sixtysomething woman with Alzheimer's who decides to…29.07.2011 READ MORE -
Pokemon - The First Movie (PG) **
(Dir: Michael Haigney, Kunohiko Yuyama, 96 mins) Adults may wish to know that this first full-length feature based on the perplexingly popular kiddie cartoon revolves around the decidedly topical issue of genetic…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pokemon 2000 (PG) **
(Dir: Kunihiko Yuyama/Michael Haigney, 80 mins) Comprising an anodyne, Disneyesque short film entitled 'Pikachu's Rescue Adventure', and a main feature called 'The Power of One', this latest (and by no means last)…09.08.2010 READ MORE -
Pola X (18) *
(Dir: Leos Carax, 134 mins) Leos Carax, director of ‘Les Amants du Pont Neuf’, the most expensive flop in French film history, reworks the minor Herman Melville novel, 'Pierre, or the Abiguities', which some acclaim as…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Polar Express, The (U) ***
(Dir: Robert Zemeckis, 99 mins) Given that it reunites 'Forrest Gump' director Robert Zemeckis with Tom Hanks (albeit it only in voice form), it's hardly surprising that there are moments in this much-vaunted festive…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Police, Adjective (12A) *
(Dir: Corneliu Porumboiu, 2009, 114 mins, subtitles) One of the most boring and over-praised Cannes prize-winners of recent years, Corneliu Porumboiu’s desperately dull and monotonous follow-up to his promising ‘12:08:…03.11.2010 READ MORE -
Polish Bride, The (15) ***
(Dir: Karim Traida, 90 mins) Something of a treat for connoisseurs of long contemplative silences, Algerian director Karim Traida's subtly nuanced if dramatically unsatisfactory directorial debut conflates the Rural…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pollock (18) ***
(Dir: Ed Harris, 122 mins) Whatever you make of Jackson Pollock's distinctive splat-on-canvas style, few would deny that his is a compelling if rather familiar story: the drunken, childish, violent, philandering artist…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (12A)
USA 2011 87 mins Dir: Morgan Spurlock If there's one thing more depressing in modern documentary film-making than the celebrity 'personal journey', it's the film-maker who insists on telling us how the film was made -…14.10.2011 READ MORE -
Ponette (12) **
(Dir: Jacques Doillon, 93 mins) Glum, moon-faced infant Ponette (Victoire Thivisol) is recovering in hospital when dad shows up to tell her that mummy perished in the car accident which left her with a broken arm.…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Ponyo (U) ****
(Dir: Hayao Miyazaki, 2008, 103 mins) Another wonderfully inventive drawn animation from Hayao (‘Spirited Away’, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’) Miyazaki, lovingly rendered in Studio Ghibli’s trademark pastel colours. The…08.07.2010 READ MORE -
Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (U) ***
(Dir: Frank Nissen, 68 mins) Even after Disneyfication, the characters from A.A. Milne’s perennially popular kids’ books are an entertaining enough bunch and in this new instalment they bumble their way through a…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Portrait of a Lady, The (12) ***
(Dir: Jane Campion, 144 mins) Jane Campion follows her acclaimed ‘The Piano’ with an intensely acted if gloomy adaptation of Henry James’s novel in which independent Victorian Miss Isobel (Nicole Kidman) is manipulated…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Portraits Chinois (15) **
(Dir: Martine Dugowson, 111 mins) Eyes navelwards, then, for yet another indigestible slice of prime Eurostodge with a cast assembled to appease the domestic box office interests of its backers and a story about a bunch…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Poseidon (12A) ***
(Dir: Wolfgang Petersen, 99 mins) Briny-loving Wolfgang Petersen’s lean remake of Irwin Allen’s 1972 disaster flick shaves 20 minutes off the running length, largely by ditching all the backstory stuff and that grotty…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Posse (15) **
Mario Van Peebles set out with the laudable intention of recounting the hitherto untold story of black cowboys in the Old West, but winds up proving only that he can string together a bunch of Western clichés just as…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Possession (12A) **
(Dir: Neil LaBute, 102 mins) Neil LaBute’s foolhardy bash at A.S. Byatt’s Booker Prize-winner aspires to be a ‘French Lieutenant’s Woman’ for the new millennium but gets bogged down in the difficulties of translation,…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Post Grad (12A) *
(Dir: Vicky Jensen, 2009, 88 mins) An ultra-bland, depressingly conservative romcom from the co-director of ‘Shrek’, ‘Post Grad’ has a timely premise, but nobody involved seems remotely interested in exploring it.…08.07.2010 READ MORE -
Post Mortem (15)
Chile/Germany/Mexico 2010 98 mins Subtitles Dir: Pablo Larrain Starring: Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers From the team who brought us 'Tony Manero' - you remember: the film about the disco-dancing '70s Chilean serial…09.09.2011 READ MORE -
Postino, Il (U) ****
(Dir: Michael Radford, 100 mins) Based loosely on a real-life incident in the life of exiled, Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret), who was offered sanctuary by the Italian government on an…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pot Luck (15) **
(Dir: Cedric Klapisch, 122 mins) A multi-national student flat-share comedy that strains to say something significant about European cultural integration, this was a big crowd-pleasing hit in France. But perhaps they…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Powder (12) ***
(Dir: Victor Salva, 111 mins) Writer, director and, notoriously, convicted paedophile Victor Salva’s fantastical and emotionally overwrought tale of an albino child who, following the death of his mother in childbirth,…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Powerpuff Girls Movie, The (PG) **
(Dir: Craig McKranen, 73 mins) Created in a lab by their dad Professor Utonium when Chemical X inadvertently got mixed in with sugar and spice and all things nice, Blossom (clever), Bubbles (giggly) and Buttercup…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Practical Magic (12) **
(Dir: Griffin Dunne, 103 mins) This peculiar Sandra Bullock star vehicle attempts an ambitious blend of romance, humour, fantasy and horror, one that feels like a cross between 'The Witches of Eastwick', 'Terms of…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Prairie Home Companion, A (PG) ***
(Dir: Robert Altman, 105 mins) Robert Altman’s final film is suffused with an appropriately elegiac glow thanks to its subject matter and the warm tones favoured by cinematographer Edward Lachman. It’s a lightly…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Preacher’s Wife, The (U) **
(Dir: Penny Marshall, 124 mins) A black-cast remake of the 1947 fantasy ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ with heavyweights like Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington in the lead roles and a director who’s adept at poignant comedy…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Preaching to the Perverted (18) **
(Dir: Stuart Urban, 100 mins) This treads a very tricky tightrope balancing three elements: fetish clubbing culture; the life and policy of a British MP; and the enthusiasms of evangelical Christianity. Tom Bell is the…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Precious (15) ****
(Dir: Lee Daniels, 2009, 110 mins) Obese, illiterate, bullied 16-year-old Clareece Precious Jones (Gabby Sidibe) has been forcibly knocked up by her own father for the second time, leading to her exclusion from school.…08.07.2010 READ MORE -
Predators (15) ***
(Dir: Nimrod Antal, 2010, 107 mins) Producer Robert Rodriguez dashed off this script for the fourth Predator script in the 1990s, when he was doing studio for-hire gigs, but lets Nimrod Antal (‘Vacancy’) handle the…16.09.2010 READ MORE -
Premonition (12A) **
(Dir: Mennan Yapo, 2007, 96 mins) Linda Hansen (grumpy-looking Sandra Bullock) has the usual ideal housewife life, with handsome upper-income husband Jim (Julian McMahon) and two adorable daughters. One day, she’s…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Prestige, The (12A) ****
(Dir: Christopher Nolan, 128 mins) Christopher Priest’s haunting, intricately constructed tale of the bitter rivalry between two 19th century stage magicians is a perfect fit for fellow countryman Christopher…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (15) ****
(Dir: Srdjan Dragojevic, 125 mins) Milan’s a Serb, Halil’s a Muslim. As kids, they’re great mates. As adult soldiers on opposing sides of Bosnia’s racial conflict, their paths cross when Milan’s unit are trapped in the…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Priceless (12A) ****
(Dir: Pierre Salvadori, 2006, 106 mins, subtitles) Pierre Salvadori’s frothy, sexy and hugely enjoyable comedy resembles a chic Gallic cross between ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’. It’s also…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pride and Glory (15) **
(Dir: Gavin O’Connor, 2008, 130 mins) Still miserable after the break-up of his marriage and a bad case that involved him lying on the witness stand, New York rozzer Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) is bullied by his cop…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pride and Prejudice (U) ****
(Dir: Joe Wright, 127 mins) Joe Wright, who directed the recent ‘Charles II’ TV drama, takes Jane Austen’s familiar yarn back to its 19th century roots for the first time on the big screen since the original 1940…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Primal Fear (18) **
Richard Gere is an arrogant, publicity hungry lawyer who specialises in high-profile, seemingly hopeless cases, like that of bloodstained, stuttering hick Edward Norton, who was collared live on TV as he fled the scene…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Primary Colors (15) *****
(Dir: Mike Nichols, 143 mins) Scripted by Elaine May from the 1996 bestseller purportedly based on the Clintons, this is an outstanding political drama that isn’t afraid to paint politics as a messy, complicated,…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Prime (12A) **
(Dir: Ben Younger, 105 mins) A standard-issue Manhattan-set romcom with a Yiddish twist, which is oddly reminiscent of non-vintage Woody Allen with most of the remaining jokes taken out. The twist is this: sexy…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Primer (12A) ***
(Dir: Shane Carruth, 77 mins) First-time writer/director/producer/star/editor/soundtrack composer Shane Carruth’s dense, FX-free, audience-dividing SF flick strives for the same cult status as Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Pi’.…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Prince and Me, The (PG) **
(Dir: Martha Coolidge, 110 mins) Despite the best efforts of feminism, republicanism and ‘Shrek’, the trad Cinderella-esque fairytale is alive and well in US multiplexes. This one packs Julia Stiles off to a Denmark…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Prince Of Egypt, The (PG) ***
(Dir: Brenda Chapman/Simon Wells/Steve Hickner, 93 mins) DreamWorks’ high-risk, merchandising-free challenge to Disney’s animation begins with the fortunate infant Moses (Val Kilmer) floating off downstream to be…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (12A) **
(Dir: Mike Newell, 2010, 116 mins) Long ago in a made-up country called Persia, King Sharaman adopts orphan Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), who goes on to lead an army which seizes a sacred city. Dastan clashes cute with…16.09.2010 READ MORE -
Prince Valiant (PG) ***
(Dir: Anthony Hickox, 98 mins) With Merlin long dead evil sorceress Joanna Lumley pilfers Excalibur even as King Arthur (Edward Fox) is hosting a jousting tournament won by Valiant (Stephen Moyer). Thus begins a…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Princess (18) **
(Dir: Anders Morgenthaler, 2006, 81 mins, subtitles) Imagine a film written by Andrea Dworkin and directed by Michael Winner. Now add creepy Old Testament overtones and picture the whole thing as a feature-length…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Princess and the Warrior, The (15) **
(Dir: Tom Tykwer, 135 mins) Short, snappy and inventive, if a little tricksy, German director Tom Tykwer's 'Run Lola Run' earned him a lot of admirers. Now he's back to disappoint them all with the anti-Lola: a slow,…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, The (U) *
(Dir: Garry Marshall, 120 mins) Having turned the familiar ugly duckling story into a long tedious slog in the first ‘Princess Diaries’, Garry Marshall now does the same for the fairytale wedding. It seems Queen Julie…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Princess Diaries, The (U) **
(Dir: Garry Marshall, 114 mins) Garry Marshall reworks 'Pygmalion' as a sickly Disneyflick set in an unrecognisably wholesome San Francisco. Ugly Ducking teenager Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is alarmed to her regal…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Princess Raccoon (PG) **
(Dir: Seijun Suzuki, 111 mins) “A raccoon must not love a man; more importantly, a man must never love a raccoon.” Sage advice indeed, especially if one wishes to avoid an embarrassing court appearance. But it’s not…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Prisoner Of The Mountains (15) ****
(Dir: Sergei Bodrov, 95 mins) Although Sergei Bodrov’s extraordinary, Oscar-nominated ‘Prisoner of the Mountains’ takes its cue from Tolstoy’s ‘Caucasian Captive’, it also boasts the distinction of being the first film…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Private (15) ***
(Dir: Saverio Costanzo, 94 mins) Based on a true story that continues to unfold on the West Bank, Saverio Costanzo’s ‘Private’ was prudently shot in Italy. School headmaster Mohammad (Mohammad Bakri) is the patriarch of…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Private Fears in Public Places (18) ***
(Dir: Alain Resnais, 2006, 120 mins, subtitles) 85-year-old French master Alain Resnais returns to the territory of his five-hour, two-part 1993 epic ‘Smoking’/‘No Smoking’ by transposing another Alan Ayckbourn stage…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The (15) ***
(Dir: Rebecca Miller, 2009, 98 mins) Rebecca Miller’s adaptation of her own novel has the air of an upmarket menopausal chick flick with a modish dysfunctional family vibe, delivering two generations of mad moms for…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Private Parts (18) ****
(Dir: Betty Thomas, 109 mins) More in the tradition of New York Jewish comedy in the confessional Neil Simon/Woody Allen mould than the expected naked lesbian spankfest, this autobiographical comedy based on the life of…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Producers, The (12A) ***
(Dir: Susan Stroman, 134 mins) A seamless transference of Susan Stroman’s Broadway stage version of Mel Brooks’ 1968 film to the big screen, with plenty of nostalgic pleasures: the over-ripe Nathan Lane is the closest…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Project Nim (12A)
UK 2011 99 mins Dir: James Marsh Three years on from the Oscar-winning 'Man on Wire', British director James Marsh has come up with another astonishing documentary. This scrupulously non-partisan account of human folly…12.08.2011 READ MORE -
Prom Night (15) *
(Dir: Nelson McCormick, 2008, 88 mins) This latest bloodless, unimaginative and suspense-free PG-13 horror flick shares its title and setting, but very little else, with the gory 1980 ‘Carrie’ knock-off. Brittany Snow…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Promise, The (15) ****
Margarethe Von Trotta’s moving tale of lovers separated by the Berlin Wall, an examination of free will and weakness in the context of a pervasively repressive regime. Separated when the wall went up in 1961, Konrad is…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Proof (12A) **
(Dir: John Madden, 99 mins) On paper, this must have seemed like a prime slice of award-bait: director John Madden re-teaming with his ‘Shakespeare in Love’ star Gwyneth Paltrow for a film exploring the popular…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Proof of Life (15) ***
(Dir: Taylor Hackford, 135 mins) When idealistic lefty Meg Ryan’s hubby David Morse is snatched by guerillas down in a fictional Latin American hellhole, manly ex-SAS hostage negotiator Russell Crowe comes to the…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Proposal, The (12A) **
(Dir: Anne Fletcher, 2009, 108 mins) Anne (’27 Dresses’) Fletcher delivers another rotten, formulaic compendium of romantic comedy clichés, opening with a direct steal from ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, performing a gender…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Proposition, The (18) ****
(Dir: John Hillcoat, 104 mins) This Nick Cave-scripted Australian Western’s tone of late 19th century outback frontier nihilism garnished with bursts of Peckinpah-esque violence is established with the visceral opening…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Proprietor, The (12) *
(Dir: Ismail Merchant, 113 mins) Ismail Merchant’s second offering as director is a story about an exiled author trying to make peace with her life by returning to the land of her youth and tying up a few of life’s…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Psych 9 (15) *
(Dir: Andrew Shortell, 2010, 98 mins) First-time feature director Andrew Shortell chucks all the usual bangs, crashes and apparitions at the screen in this dreary, increasingly preposterous assemblage of horror movie…16.09.2010 READ MORE -
Psycho (15) ***
(Dir: Gus Van Sant, 110 mins) First of all: yes, it's a stupid idea. Gus Van Sant remakes one of the best-known films of all time by following the original 1960 Joseph Stefano script almost line for line, restaging…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Public Enemies (15) ****
(Dir: Michael Mann, 2009, 140 mins) Striking a balance between historical fact and movie mythology, Michael Mann’s digitally-shot re-working of the 1930s gangster movie breaks new ground visually, while staying true to…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Puffball (18) **
(Dir: Nic Roeg, 2007, 120 mins) Directed by the once-great Nic Roeg, this adaptation of Fay Weldon’s novel by her son Dan boasts a muddled, nonsensical script, daft fungal symbolism and shockingly bad use of music.…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pulse (15) **
(Dir: Jim Sonzero, 88 mins) The latest Hollwyood remake of a Japanese horror hit, ‘Pulse’ has the advantage of being based on a film which is a lot less well-known internationally than the ‘Grudge’ or ‘Ring’ pictures. …09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Punch-Drunk Love (15) *****
(Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson, 95 mins) One of the many great pleasures of ‘Magnolia’ director Paul Thomas Anderson’s atypically concise, strikingly surreal romcom is the way it scratches away at the surface of Adam…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Punisher, The (18) **
(Dir: Jonathan Hensleigh, 124 mins) Of all the Marvel comicbook characters, Frank ‘The Punisher’ Castle is the one that lends itself most readily to adaptation as a cheapo, knuckleheaded, straight-to-video thriller.…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Punisher: War Zone (18) *
(Dir: Lexi Alexander, 2003, 103 mins) This third crack at the odious Marvel comicbook vigilante franchise has Brit Ray Stevenson essaying a small repertoire of grimaces as ex-cop Frank Castle. As before, his motivation…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pure (18) **
(Dir: Gillies MacKinnon, 97 mins) A grim council estate misery flick that comes on like a cross between a poor Ken Loach facsimile and one of those self-consciously hard-hitting ‘Just Say No, Kids!’ dramas with an…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Purely Belter (15) ***
(Dir: Mark Herman, 97 mins) Gerry and Sewell are a pair of teenage Geordie scumbags who'll nick anything that's not nailed down. The challenge faced by 'Purely Belter' is to make us care about these kids. Mark Herman,…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pursuit of Happyness, The (12A) *
(Dir: Gabriele Muccino, 118 mins) This solemn, ponderous hymn to the nobility of pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps to become filthy, stinking rich exhausts all of Will Smith’s immense reserves of likeability, which…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Push (12A) ***
(Dir: Paul McGuigan, 2009, 111 mins) Following the lookalike ‘Jumper’, this hip psi-spy flick is influenced by the ‘X-Men’ franchise and ‘Heroes’. Here, those born with extra abilities tend to be super-hotties with…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pusher (18) *****
(Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn, 105 mins) Inspired by the DIY example of ‘Clerks’, 25-year-old aspiring director Nicolas Winding Refn dropped out of film school to make this raw, visceral drama of low-life, drug-dealing,…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Pushing Tin (15) ***
(Dir: Mike Newell, 124 mins) Laddish fast-talker John Cusack is the top dog at TRACON: a windowless, warehouse-like operations room from which teams of air traffic controllers 'push tin' above New York's three…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
Puss In Boots (U)
USA 2011 90 mins Dir: Chris Miller Starring (voices): Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris The story so far: 'Shrek' was smart and funny; 'Shrek 2' less smart and less funny,…09.12.2011 READ MORE -
The Page Turner (15) ****
(Dir: Denis Dercourt, 85 mins) Denis Dercourt’s brilliantly lean two-hander has earned comparisons to Hitchcock, Chabrol and Polanski. It certainly deserves that much over-used description “psychological thriller”,…07.09.2010 READ MORE -
The Pianist (15) ***
(Dir: Roman Polanski, 148 mins) No doubt about it, this is Important Film-Making. It’s got a star (Adrien Brody) who puts himself through such depredation to become a skeletal, hollow-eyed, feral scavenger before our…09.09.2010 READ MORE -
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (U)
UK 2012 90 mins Dir: Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt Starring (voices): Hugh Grant, Lenny Henry, Brendan Gleeson, Jeremy Piven, Brian Blessed, Salma Hayek, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman, Ashley Jensen While…28.03.2012 READ MORE
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Film Reviews
The Source (15)
Belgium/Italy/France 2011 125 mins Subtitles Dir: Radu Mihaileanu Starring: Leila Bekhti, Hafsia…
Released 18.05.12
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Café de Flore (TBA)
Canada/France 2011 120 mins Subtitles Dir: Jean-Marc Vallee Starring: Vanessa Paradis, Kevin…
Released 11.05.12
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Beloved (TBA)
France/UK/Czech Republic 2011 135 mins Subtitles Dir: Christophe Honore Starring: Catherine…
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American Pie: Reunion (15)
USA 2012 113 mins Dir: Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg Starring: Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth,…
Released 04.05.12
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Silent House (15)
USA 2012 85 mins Dir: Chris Kentis & Laura Lau Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, Eric Shaffer…
Released 04.05.12
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Goodbye First Love (15)
France/Germany 2011 111 mins Subtitles Dir: Mia Hansen-Love Starring: Lola Creton, Sebastian…
Released 04.05.12
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Two Years at Sea (TBA)
UK 2011 90 mins Dir: Ben Rivers A hairy-beardy chap trudges through the snow towards his rundown,…
Released 04.05.12
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African Cats (U)
USA 2011 89 mins Dir: Alastair Fothergill & Keith Scholey The best in Bristol-based wildlife…
Released 27.04.12
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Damsels in Distress (12A)
USA 2011 99 mins Dir: Whit Stillman Starring: Greta Gerwig, Carrie MacLemore, Megalyn Echikunwoke,…
Released 27.04.12
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Marvel Avengers Assemble (12A)
USA 2012 143 mins Dir: Joss Whedon Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett…
Released 27.04.12
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Marley (15)
USA/UK 2012 145 mins Dir: Kevin Macdonald "There's nothing Jamaicans like more than a man who's…
Released 20.04.12
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Breathing (15)
Austria 2011 94 mins Subtitles Dir: Karl Markovics Starring: Thomas Schubert, Karin Lishka, Gerhard…
Released 20.04.12
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Mozart's Sister (12A)
France 2010 120 mins Subtitles Dir: Rene Feret Starring: Marie Feret, Marc Barbe, Delphine…
Released 13.04.12
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Hadewijch (12A)
France 2009 105 mins Subtitles Dir: Bruno Dumont Starring: Julie Sokolowski, Karl Sarafidis,…
Released 13.04.12
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Delicacy (12A)
France 2011 109 mins Subtitles Dir: David & Stephane Foenkinos Starring: Audrey Tautou, Francois…
Released 13.04.12
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Le Havre (PG)
Finland/France/Germany 2011 93 mins Subtitles Dir: Aki Kaurismaki Starring: Andre Wilms, Kati…
Released 06.04.12
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Headhunters (15)
Norway/Germany 2011 100 mins Subtitles Dir: Morten Tyldum Starring: Aksel Hennie, Synnove Macody…
Released 06.04.12
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A Cat in Paris (PG)
France 2010 62 mins Dir: Jean-Loup Felicioli & Alain Gagnol Starring (voices): Sara Vertongen, Mark…
Released 06.04.12
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Mirror Mirror (PG)
USA 2012 106 mins Dir: Tarsem Singh Starring: Julia Roberts, Sean Bean, Lily Collins, Armie…
Released 02.04.12
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Tiny Furniture (15)
USA 2010 98 mins Dir: Lena Dunham Starring: Lena Dunham, Grace Dunham, Jemima Kirke, Laurie Simmons…
Released 30.03.12
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Bonsai (15)
Chile/Argentina/Portugal/France 2011 96 mins Subtitles Dir: Cristian Jiminez Starring: Nathalia…
Released 30.03.12
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This Is Not a Film (U)
Iran 2010 75 mins Subtitles Dir: Mojtaba Mirtahmasb & Jafar Panahi There was much nose-thumbing…
Released 30.03.12
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Into the Abyss (12A)
Germany/Canada 2011 107 mins Dir: Werner Herzog Fun-loving German director Werner Herzog has spent…
Released 30.03.12
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The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (U)
UK 2012 90 mins Dir: Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt Starring (voices): Hugh Grant, Lenny Henry, Brendan…
Released 28.03.12
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The Kid with a Bike (12A)
Belgium/France/Italy 2011 87 mins Subtitles Dir: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne Starring: Thomas Doret,…
Released 20.03.12
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The Devil Inside (15)
USA 2012 83 mins Dir: William Brent Bell Starring: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quartermain, Evan…
Released 16.03.12
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Contraband (15)
USA 2012 110 mins Dir: Baltasar Kormakur Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster,…
Released 16.03.12
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We Bought a Zoo (PG)
USA 2011 124 mins Dir: Cameron Crowe Starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church,…
Released 16.03.12
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In Darkness (15)
Poland/Germany/France/Canada 2011 144 mins Subtitles Dir: Agnieszka Holland Starring: Robert…
Released 16.03.12
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Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (15)
Turkey/Bosnia & Herzegovina 2011 158 mins Subtitles Dir: Nuri Bilge Ceylan Starring: Muhammet…
Released 16.03.12
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Trishna (15)
UK 2011 113 mins Dir: Michael Winterbottom Starring: Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed, Roshan Seth If…
Released 09.03.12
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Michael (18)
Austria 2011 96 mins Subtitles Dir: Markus Schleinzer Starring: Michael Fuith, David Rauchenberger…
Released 02.03.12
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Carancho (TBA)
Argentina/Chile/France 2010 107 mins Subtitles Dir: Pablo Trapero Starring: Ricardo Darin, Martina…
Released 02.03.12
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Rampart (15)
USA 2011 108 mins Dir: Oren Moverman Starring: Woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi,…
Released 24.02.12
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Red Dog (PG)
Australia 2011 92 min Dir: Kriv Stenders Starring: Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor, Keisha…
Released 24.02.12
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (12A)
UK 2011 123 mins Dir: John Madden Starring: Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson,…
Released 24.02.12
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Blood Car (18)
USA 2007 76 mins Dir: Alex Orr Starring: Anna Chlumsky, Mike Brune, Katie Rowlett Anyone remember…
Released 24.02.12
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Safe House (15)
USA 2012 115 mins Dir: Daniel Espinosa Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga,…
Released 24.02.12
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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (12A)
USA 2011 129 mins Dir: Stephen Daldry Starring: Tom Hanks, Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, John…
Released 17.02.12
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The Woman in the Fifth (15)
France/Poland/UK 2011 84 mins Dir: Pawel Pawlikowski Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Ethan Hawke,…
Released 17.02.12
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Bombay Beach (TBA)
USA 2011 80 mins Dir: Alma Har'el The opening crackly vintage newsreel footage informs us that the…
Released 17.02.12
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A Dangerous Method (15)
UK/Germany/Canada/Switzerland 2011 100 mins Dir: David Cronenberg Starring: Keira Knightley, Viggo…
Released 10.02.12
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The Muppets (U)
USA 2011 110 mins Dir: James Bobin Starring: The Muppets, Amy Adams, Jason Segel, Chris Cooper,…
Released 10.02.12
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Carnage (15)
France/Germany/Poland/Spain 2011 80 mins Dir: Roman Polanski Starring: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet,…
Released 03.02.12
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Jack and Jill (PG)
USA 2011 91 mins Dir: Denis Dugan Starring: Adam Sandler, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes What could be…
Released 03.02.12
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Man on a Ledge (12A)
USA 2012 102 mins Dir: Asger Leth Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Ed…
Released 03.02.12
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Young Adult (15)
USA 2011 94 mins Dir: Jason Reitman Starring: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt,…
Released 03.02.12
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Martha Marcy May Marlene (15)
USA 2011 102 mins Dir: Sean Durkin Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy, John…
Released 03.02.12
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Black Pond (15)
UK 2011 82 mins Dir: Tom Kingsley & Will Sharpe Starring: Chris Langham, Anna O'Grady, Simon…
Released 30.01.12
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The Descendants (15)
USA 2011 115 mins Dir: Alexander Payne Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller,…
Released 27.01.12
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House of Tolerance (18)
France 2011 126 mins Subtitles Dir: Bertrand Bernello Starring: Hafsia Herzi, Celine Sallette,…
Released 27.01.12
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Like Crazy (12A)
USA 2011 90 mins Dir: Drake Doremus Starring: Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence,…
Released 27.01.12
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Haywire (15)
USA 2011 93 mins Dir: Steven Soderbergh Starring: Gina Carano, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender,…
Released 20.01.12
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J. Edgar (15)
USA 2011 137 mins Dir: Clint Eastwood Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi…
Released 20.01.12
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Coriolanus (15)
UK 2011 123 mins Dir: Ralph Fiennes Starring: Gerard Butler, Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain,…
Released 20.01.12
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Shame (18)
UK 2011 101 mins Dir: Steve McQueen Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale…
Released 13.01.12
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War Horse (12A)
USA 2011 146 mins Dir: Steven Spielberg Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan,…
Released 13.01.12
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Tatsumi (15)
Singapore 2011 96 mins Subtitles Dir: Eric Khoo Starring (voices): Tetsuya Bessho, Motoko Gollent,…
Released 13.01.12
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Margin Call (15)
USA 2011 107 mins Dir: J.C. Chandor Starring: Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, Paul Bettany, Stanley…
Released 13.01.12
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The Artist (PG)
France 2011 100 mins Dir: Michel Hazanavicius Starring: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman,…
Released 06.01.12
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The Iron Lady (12A)
UK 2011 105 mins Dir: Phyllida Lloyd Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant,…
Released 06.01.12
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Dreams of a Life (12A)
UK 2011 95 mins Dir: Carol Morley Starring: Zawe Ashton, Alix Luka-Cain It takes 15 minutes until…
Released 30.12.11
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Sherlock Homes: A Game of Shadows (12A)
USA 2011 129 mins Dir: Guy Ritchie Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Stephen…
Released 19.12.11
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Surviving Life (15)
Czech Republic 2010 109 mins Subtitles Dir: Jan Svankmajer Starring: Vaclav Helsus, Klara Issova,…
Released 16.12.11
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Another Earth (12A)
USA 2011 92 mins Dir: Mike Cahill Starring: Brit Marling, William Mapother Things the movies tell…
Released 09.12.11
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Las Acacias (12A)
Argentina/Spain 2011 86 mins Subtitles Dir: Pablo Giorgelli Starring: German de Silva, Hebe Durate…
Released 09.12.11
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Puss In Boots (U)
USA 2011 90 mins Dir: Chris Miller Starring (voices): Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach…
Released 09.12.11
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Mysteries of Lisbon (PG)
Portugal/France 2010 266 mins Subtitles Dir: Raoul Ruiz Starring: Adriano Luz, Maria Joao Bastos,…
Released 09.12.11
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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (12A)
USA 2011 117mins Dir: Bill Condon Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner As we…
Released 07.12.11
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The Thing (15)
USA 2011 103 mins Dir: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton,…
Released 02.12.11
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Romantics Anonymous (12A)
France/Belgium 2010 78 mins Subtitles Dir: Jean-Pierre Ameris Starring: Benoit Poelvoorde, Isabelle…
Released 02.12.11
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We Have a Pope (PG)
Italy/France 2011 104 mins Subtitles Dir: Nanni Moretti Starring: Michel Piccoli, Jerzy Stuhr,…
Released 02.12.11
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The Deep Blue Sea (12A)
UK 2011 98 mins Dir: Terence Davies Starring: Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale…
Released 25.11.11
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Dream House (15)
USA 2011 92 mins Dir: Jim Sheridan Starring: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas…
Released 25.11.11
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Take Shelter (15)
USA 2011 121 mins Dir: Jeff Nicholls Starring: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain Imagine the first…
Released 25.11.11
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The British Guide to Showing Off (15)
UK 2011 97 mins Dir: Jes Benstock If you've a high tolerance of exceedingly camp middle-aged men…
Released 20.11.11
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Snowtown (18)
Australia 2011 115 mins Dir: Justin Kurzel Starring: Daniel Henshall, Lucas Pittaway, Louise Harris…
Released 18.11.11
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Arthur Christmas (U)
UK/USA 2011 Dir: Sarah Smith Starring (voices): James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim…
Released 11.11.11
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Tabloid (15)
USA 2010 87 mins Dir: Errol Morris Best known for heavy-duty documentaries such as the…
Released 11.11.11
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Trespass (15)
USA 2011 91 mins Dir: Joel Schumacher Starring: Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Cam Gigandet, Ben…
Released 11.11.11
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The Awakening (15)
UK 2011 107 mins Dir: Nick Murphy Starring: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton It'll never…
Released 11.11.11
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Weekend (18)
UK 2011 97 mins Dir: Andrew Haigh Starring: Tom Cullen, Chris New Imagine that Richard Linklater…
Released 04.11.11
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The Future (12A)
USA 2011 91 mins Dir: Miranda July Starring: Miranda July, Hamish Linklater, David Warshofsky,…
Released 04.11.11
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The Ides of March (15)
USA 2011 101 mins Dir: George Clooney Starring: George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour…
Released 31.10.11
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The Help (12A)
USA 2011 146 mins Dir: Tate Taylor Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia…
Released 28.10.11
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Miss Bala (15)
Mexico 2011 113 mins Subtitles Dir: Gerardo Naranjo Starring: Stephanie Sigman, James Russo, Noe…
Released 28.10.11
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Adventures of Tintin - The Secret of the Unicorn
USA 2011 107 mins Dir: Steven Spielberg Starring: Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost,…
Released 25.10.11
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Monte Carlo (PG)
USA 2011 109 mins Dir: Thomas Bezucha Starring: Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester, Katie Cassidy,…
Released 21.10.11
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We Need to Talk About Kevin (15)
UK/USA 2011 112 mins Dir: Lynne Ramsay Starring: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper…
Released 21.10.11
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Contagion (12A)
USA 2011 106 mins Dir: Steven Soderbergh Starring: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion…
Released 21.10.11
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The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (12A)
Sweden 2011 96 mins Dir: Goran Hugo Olsson A necessarily rather scrappy documentary whose natural…
Released 21.10.11
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Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (12A)
USA 2011 87 mins Dir: Morgan Spurlock If there's one thing more depressing in modern documentary…
Released 14.10.11
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Midnight in Paris (12A)
USA 2011 94 mins Dir: Woody Allen Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Carla…
Released 07.10.11
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Tyrannosaur (18)
UK 2011 92 mins Dir: Paddy Considine Starring: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan How do you…
Released 07.10.11
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The Debt (15)
USA 2011 113 mins Dir: John Madden Starring: Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Ciaran Hinds, Sam…
Released 30.09.11
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Guilty of Romance (18)
Japan 2011 113 mins Subtitles Dir: Sion Sono Starring: Megumi Kagurazaka, Miki Mizuno, Makato…
Released 30.09.11
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Melancholia (15)
Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany 2011 135 mins Dir: Lars Von Trier Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte…
Released 30.09.11
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Red State (18)
USA 2011 88 mins Dir: Kevin Smith Starring: Michael Parks, Melissa Leo, John Goodman Apparently…
Released 30.09.11
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Shark Night 3D (15)
USA 2011 91 mins Dir: David R. Ellis Starring: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Sinqua…
Released 30.09.11
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