MONDAY 12 AUGUST
Big Fish 6:15PM
PG
USA, 2003
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Language: English
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter
What's it about?When Edward Bloom (played by Finney in the present day and McGregor as a younger man in flashbacks) becomes ill, his son, William (Crudup), travels to be with him. William has a strained relationship with Edward because his father has always told exaggerated stories about his life, and William thinks he's never really told the truth. Even on his deathbed, Edward recounts fantastical anecdotes. When William, who is a journalist, starts to investigate his father's tales, he begins to understand the man and his penchant for storytelling.
In the Loop 8:35PM
MA15+
UK, 2009
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Director: Armando Iannucci
Starring: Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini, Gina Mckee, Anna Chlumsky
What's it about?
In the lead up to sanctioning American and British military action in the Middle East, a gaffe by a minor British government minister (Hollander) gives hope to anti-war supporters. The politician and a staffer are sent to Washington to appease Britain’s ally, but they soon become pawns in the backroom dealings that are seemingly at odds with the reality of what is about to occur. Based on the BBC series "The Thick Of It" (also starring Capaldi as the iconic Malcolm Tucker), this spin-off film was a 2010 Oscar nominee for Best Original Screenplay.
In the Loop Review: Potty-mouthed politics at its best
TUESDAY 13 AUGUST
Mao's Last Dancer 6:30PM
PG
Australia, 2009
Genre: Drama
Language: English, Mandarin
Director: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Chi Cao, Joan Chen, Shuangbao Wang, Kyle MacLachlan, Bruce Greenwood
What's it about?
In 1972, 11-year-old Li Cunxin (Cao) is living with his parents, Niang (Chen) and Dia (Wang), and six siblings while attending a tumbledown school in Shandong province. Li's life changes when representatives of Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy visit his school, and he is one of several students believed to have promise as a dancer. While life at the school is difficult for Li and many of the instructors are harsh and unforgiving, Chan takes the boy under his wing and grooms him into one of the school's star pupils. Based on a true story, and directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Breaker Morant).
Tsotsi 8:40PM
M
South Africa, 2005
Genre: Drama, Crime
Language: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring: Presley Chweneyagae, Mothusi Magano, Israel Matseke-Zulu
What's it about?
Set amidst the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto – where survival is the primary objective – this film traces six days in the life of ruthless young gang leader Tsotsi (Chweneyagae), who ends up caring for a baby accidentally kidnapped during a car-jacking. Winner of the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
