High Rise
MA
UK, Belgium, Ireland, 2015
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Luke Evans, Elizabeth Moss
What's it about?
Adapted from J.G. Ballard's dystopian novel, High-Rise stars Tom Hiddleston as a young doctor, Robert Laing, who after his divorce, moves into a new apartment west of London. Despite seeking soulless anonymity, he soon finds out that the building’s residents have no intention of leaving him alone. Laing bites the bullet and becomes neighbourly. But as he struggles to establish his position within the complex social dynamics unfolding around him, Laing’s good manners and sanity disintegrate along with the building.
Somersault
MA
Australia, 2003
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Cate Shortland
Starring: Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, and Lynette Curran
What's it about?
At sixteen, Heidi is feeling her way in the world through brief sexual encounters. When she tries it on with her single mother's boyfriend and is sprung, she flees to the snow resort town of Jindabyne. Desperately attempting any connection possible, she meets Joe, the son of a local farmer who is caught up in his own world of confused sexuality.
Philomena
M
United Kingdom, 2013
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan
What's it about?
When former journalist Martin Sixsmith is dismissed from the Labour Party in disgrace, he is at a loss as to what do. That changes when a young Irish woman approaches him about a story of her mother, Philomena, who had her son taken away when she was a teenage inmate of a Catholic convent. Martin arranges a magazine assignment about her search for him that eventually leads to America. Along the way, Martin and Philomena discover as much about each other as about her son's fate.
Amelie
M
France, 2001
Genre: Comedy
Language: French
Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz
What's it about?
Mischievous Amélie lives alone and works in a café. When she finds a trove of toys hidden for 40 years behind a baseboard in her apartment, she sets out to find the owner. This impulse of generosity sparks more benevolent acts, and along the way, she discovers love. This engaging and beautiful film has delighted audiences around the world.
Nowhere Boy
M
United Kingdom, 2009
Genre: Biography
Language: English
Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff
What's it about?
A chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his adolescent years.
Eye In The Sky
M
United Kingdom, 2015
Genre: Thriller
Language: English
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman
What's it about?
Eye in the Sky is a smart, politically charged thriller set on the cutting edge of drone warfare. When UK intelligence officer Colonel Katherine Powel (Mirren) discovers the terrorists she is tracking are planning a deadly suicide attack, her mission escalates from “capture” to “kill”. American drone pilot Steve Watts (Paul) is poised to engage when, suddenly, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone. With a terrific ensemble cast, Eye in the Sky deftly explores the ethical conundrum of collateral damage; should one innocent life be sacrificed to save hundreds more?
The Two Faces of January
M
United Kingdom, 2014
Genre: Thriller
Language: Turkish, Greek, English
Director: Hossein Amini
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Yiğit Özşener
What's it about?
A high stakes con turns dark in this sumptuous vintage-themed thriller. Con artist Chester (Viggo Mortensen) and his glamorous wife (Kirsten Dunst) try to flee their holiday destination in Greece with a random stranger. One of them has been linked to the murder of a police officer and trying to frame the other for the crime.
[link title="The Two Faces of January Review " url="node/18006"]
[link title="The Two Faces of January: Viggo Mortensen and Hossein Amini interview " url="node/18020"]
Volver
M, 2006
Genre: Drama
Language: Spanish
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Blanca Portillo, Antonio de la Torre
What's it about?
A surreal celebration of the resilience of three generations of Spanish women, from director Pedro Almodovar. Following her death, a grandmother returns to address issues left unresolved at the time of her passing. A powerful and toucking film about resilience, starring the great Penélope Cruz.
Monty Python's Meaning of Life
M
United Kingdom, 1983
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Director: Terry Jones
Starring: Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Graham Chapman
What's it about?
Monty Python's hilarious final film returns to the group's original sketch comedy roots with side-splitting, irreverent vignettes on the stages and trials of life.
It's Only the End of the World
France, Canada, 2016
Genre: Drama
Language: French
Director: Xavier Dolan
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux, Gaspard Ulliel, Nathalie Baye, Vincent Cassel
What's it about?
A who's-who of contemporary French cinema assembles for Xavier Dolan's adaptation of an award-winning novel. A writer returns to his hometown, planning to announce his upcoming death to his family. As resentments surface, fits and feuds unfold until all attempts at empathy are sabotaged by people's incapacity to listen and love.
