THE DESCENDANTS (USA 2011, 115 MINS, 0-13L)
Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Film & Best Actor!
Nominated for 5 Oscars (including Best Film)!
George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer & others in a comedy drama, written & directed by Alexander Payne (of Sideways & About Schmidt acclaim).  Based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings.
A Hawaiian land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters, after his wife suffers a boating accident, in a film that is both humorous & tragic.
✍ “The Descendants delivers what too few recent movies achieve: intellectual stimulation coupled with emotional satisfaction.  By default, that makes it one of 2011’s best offerings.” REELVIEWS
✍ “It ranks high on the list of the year’s best films … funny & moving … Clooney delivers the finest, truest & most emotionally raw performance of his career.” ROLLING STONE
✍ “Extraordinary … Clooney has never been better … moving, enlightening, funny & unapologetically human.  It’s one of the year’s best pictures, one to savour & think about.” BOX OFFICE MAGAZINE

J. EDGAR (USA 2011, 137 MINS, 0-13M)
Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor!
Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer, Josh Lucas, Judi Dench & others in a film, with a screenplay by Dustin Lance Black (of Milk acclaim), & directed by Clint Eastwood. Music by Clint Eastwood.
The most powerful man in the world.
During his lifetime, J. Edgar Hoover would rise to be the most powerful man in America.  As head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 50 years, he would stop at nothing to protect his country.  Through eight presidents & three wars, Hoover waged battle against threats both real & imagined, often bending the rules to keep his countrymen safe. His methods were at once ruthless & heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted, if ever elusive, prize.  Hoover was a man who placed great value on secrets – particularly those of others - & was not afraid to use that information to exert authority over the leading figures in the nation.  He was as guarded in his private life as he was in his public one, allowing only a small & protective inner circle into his confidence.  His secretary, Helen Gandy, who was perhaps most privy to Hoover’s designs, remained loyal to the end & beyond.  Only Hoover’s mother, who served as his inspiration & conscience, would leave him, her passing truly crushing to the son who forever sought her love & approval
✍ “Di Caprio gives a brilliant performance in this masterful period biopic.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Game of Shadows (USA 2011, 130 MINS, 0-13MV)
Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace (of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo acclaim), Rachel McAdams, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Eddie Marsan & others in the robust sequel directed by Guy Ritchie (of Snatch & Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels fame).
A Game of Shadows – The smartest man in the room is back.
✍ “Robert Downey Jr. refills his pipe & totally smokes it as Arthur Conan Doyle’s Victorian supersleuth in the all-action follow-up to 2008’s smash adventure Sherlock Holmes. Director Guy Ritchie is also back on the case to ensure it’s an equally (if not more) ripping yarn as Holmes reunites with his old pal Dr Watson (Jude Law) to stop his arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) from creating global chaos.  Bringing an arsenal of new tricks & invention to a pan-European caper, & with Stephen Fry adding to the fun as Holmes’ eccentric brother, A Game of Shadows is the 107% solution to all your franchise needs.” SKY MOVIES
✍ “A sequel bigger, better & funnier than the original.” EMPIRE
✍ “Highly enjoyable.” REELVIEWS
✍ “For pure entertainment & fun, Ritchie has outdone himself.” GUARDIAN NEWS & MEDIA

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (USA 2011, 94 MINS, PGL)
Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay!
Nominated for 4 Oscars (including Best Picture)!
Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody & others in a romantic comedy fantasy written & directed  by Woody Allen.
✍ “Woody Allen refinds his magic touch - & scores his biggest box office hit – with this witty & irresistibly whimsical love letter to the City of Lights.  Owen Wilson plays Gil, a Hollywood screenwriter who comes to Paris with his shallow fiancée (Rachel McAdams), but keeps finding himself back in the 1920s, rubbing shoulders with some of the most influential artists & writers of the modern age. Past or present, you’re
in for a great time.” SKY MOVIES
✍ “An outrageous fantasy … clever & impeccably staged.”
BARRY RONGE   ✍ “Utterly charming.” 4* CAPE ARGUS
✍ “Winning, wistful … delightfully entertaining.” SALON.COM

DRIVE (USA 2011, 101 MINS, 0-16NLV)
Winner of the Best Director Prize at Cannes 2011!
Nominated for an Oscar for Sound Editing!
Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman & others in a film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (of Pusher fame). Music by Cliff Martinez.
There are no clean getaways.
✍ “Drive swerves up a road seldom taken by Hollywood thrillers.  Its tautly cool story takes unexpectedly serpentine curves navigated by the masterful Ryan Gosling in the lead role.  The look is artfully stylized, influenced by classic film noir; the mood is dark, the performances nuanced; & the story unnervingly exciting.  Gosling, identified only as Driver, pilots cars for a living.  He dabbles in criminal jobs by night, but during the day, he is a stunt driver & mechanic.  The Danish-born director brings a distinctly European sensibility to this art-house crime thriller… thoroughly immersing.” USA TODAY
✍ “A superlative performance from Ryan Gosling, in an edgy, unusual, highly stylised film.” BARRY RONGE
✍ “It’s cool & smart.” WASHINGTON POST

MONEYBALL (USA 2011, 131 MINS, PGL)
Nominated for 5 Oscars (including Best Picture)!
From the Producers & Screenwriter of ‘The Social Network’ & Based on a True Underdog Story!
Brad Pitt (nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor for this role), Jonah Hill (for a Best Supporting Actor Award), Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright & others in an award-winning film, written by Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin, & directed by Bennett Miller (of Capote fame). Music by Mycheal Danna.
What are you really worth?
Based on the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Fame by Michael Lewis, & based on a true story, this is a movie for anyone who has ever dreamed of taking on the system.
✍ “A smart, intense & moving film.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
✍ “A smart script, solid direction & great performances … a career best for Brad Pitt.” BOX OFFICE MAGAZINE
✍ “Very entertaining.” NEW YORK MAGAZINE

THE IDES OF MARCH (USA 2011, 100 MINS, 0-13LS)
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay!
Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamati, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright & others in an acclaimed film, with a screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov, & directed by George Clooney (of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind & Good Night & Good Luck fame).  Music by Alexandre Desplat.
Ambition seduces. Power corrupts.
Adapted from the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, this the fourth feature directed by George Clooney, relates the tale of a professional politician’s loss of innocence.  A dangerous game of sex, betrayal & ambition.
✍ “George Clooney’s best film yet … a grippingly dark & cynical drama of insider politics.” ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
✍ “The movie’s strength lies in the acting … the screenplay is ingenious.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
✍ “Quality drama that harks back to the golden days of the conspiracy thriller yet remains totally credible as a chronicle of ruthless political ambition.” SKY.COM

ITALY: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT (ITALY/GERMANY 2011, 80 MINS, PG)
The hit of our recent Italian Film Festival!
An acclaimed documentary adventure drama written & directed by Gustav Hofer & Luca Regazzi (of Suddenly, Last Winter fame).
After their award-winning documentary, ‘Suddenly, Last Winter’, Luca & Gustav are back.  This time they have to decide: should they stay in Italy, or leave it, like so many of their friends have done already.  Looking at some defining Italian icons, they go on an emotional trip in an old Fiat 500 through Italy, to look behind the clichés & to discover, what’s left of the famous Italian way of life, confronting a glorious past, a shaky present & an uncertain future.
"Interesting." 4* Cape ARgus (Tonight)
www.italyloveitorleave.it

BEGINNERS (USA 2011, 105 MINS, 0-13ML)
Winner of the Golden Globe (Best Supporting Actor)!
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor!
Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent & others in a romantic comedy drama, written & directed by Mike Mills.
This is what love feels like.
✍ “In this heartfelt drama, Christopher Plummer plays a 75-year-old man who reveals to his son (Ewan McGregor) that he is dying of cancer … & is gay.  The revelation forces the young man to question his own relationships, particularly his burgeoning affair with a young French actress (Inglorious Basterds’ Mélanie Laurent).” SKY MOVIES     
✍ “Brimming with life. A movie that you feel.” INDIEWIRE
✍ “Witty & smart.” 4* CAPE ARGUS
✍ “Witty & delightfully quirky … ” MAIL& GUARDIAN
✍ “Smart, poignant & often hilarious.” ELLE