Girl with the dragon tattoo

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her beloved uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and the tattooed and troubled but resourceful computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vanger's are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

Author Stieg Larsson, who died suddenly in 2004, left behind three unpublished novels, known as the "Millennium" trilogy, which have become a global sensation, elevating Larsson to the world's second best-selling author last year (behind "The Kite Runner"'s Khaled Hosseini). "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is one of the decade's major literary success stories, selling over 8,000,000 copies worldwide and the film adaptation is the highest grossing Swedish film in history.

Runtime: 2 hrs 34 mins

Starring: Lena Endre, Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

Official site:

New York, I Love You

In the city that never sleeps, love is always on the mind.

Those passions come to life in NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU – a collaboration of storytelling from some of today’s most imaginative filmmakers and featuring an all-star cast.

Together they create a kaleidoscope of the spontaneous, surprising, electrifying human connections that pump the city’s heartbeat.

Sexy, funny, haunting and revealing encounters unfold beneath the Manhattan skyline.

From Tribeca to Central Park to Brooklyn the story weaves a tale of love as diverse as the very fabric of New York itself.

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Blake Lively

Directors: Fatih Akin, Yvan Attal, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Jiang Wen, Shekhar Kapur, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, Brett Ratner, Randall Balsmeyer

Runtime: 103 min

Official site

Get Him to the Greek

Aaron Greenberg (Hill) gets things done. The ambitious 23-year-old has exaggerated his way into a dream job just in time for a career-making assignment. His mission: Fly to London and escort a rock god to L.A.s Greek Theatre for the first-stop on a $100-million tour. His warning: Turn your back on him at your own peril. British rocker Aldous Snow (Brand) is both a brilliant musician and walking sex. Weary of yes men and piles of money, the former front man is searching for the meaning of life. But that doesnt mean he cant have a few orgies while he finds it. When he learns his true love is in California, Aldous makes it his quest to win her backright before kick-starting his world domination.

As the countdown to the concert begins, one intern must navigate a minefield of London drug smuggles, New York City brawls and Vegas lap dances to deliver his charge safe and, sort of, sound. He may have to coax, lie to, enable and party with Aldous, but Aaron will get him to the Greek. (Review imdb.com)

Cast: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Rose Byrne, Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs

Runtime: 1 hr. 50 min.

Official site

Raavan

Filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s latest, Raavan, is his modern retelling of an ancient Indian epic, The Ramayana. By shifting the focus away from the poem’s hero and onto the villain and his victim, Ratnam successfully updates the classic story.
In a nutshell, the Ramayana (at least the part Raavan is about) tells of the kidnapping of Lord Rama’s wife, Sita, by the demon king Ravana. With the help of Hanuman, the monkey-god, Rama rescues Sita.

Raavan manages to be an exhilarating and thrilling adventure brimming with lush, breathtaking visuals, lively musical numbers and a captivating love triangle.

A beautifully shot film, with big name stars bringing to life characters that are remotely familiar from an epic, a director with a vision bold enough to challenge convention and ruffle a few feathers with his spin on an epic. At times it's poetic in nature thanks to its music, and engages you to throw moral judgement on the leading characters as they evolve.

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, 'Chiyaan' Vikram, Prithviraj

Director: Mani Ratnam

Runtime: 2 hr. 35 min

Official site

Knight & Day 

Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy

An action-comedy centered on a fugitive couple (Cruise and Diaz) on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one - even themselves - are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.

Cast:Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis

Director: James Mangold

Runtime: 1 hr. 50 min

Official site

Coming soon

ONDINE is a lyrical modern fairy tale that tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell), an Irish fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious woman (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. His daughter Annie (Alison Barry) comes to believe that the woman is a magical creature, while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. However, like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand. Written and directed by Neil Jordan -and shot against the Irish coasts magical backdrop by cinematographer Christopher Doyle - ONDINE is a story of love, hope and the unwavering belief in the impossible.

Cast: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Stephen Rea, Alison Barry

Director: Neil Jordan

Animal kingdom

A powerful psychological crime drama that tells the story of a tense battle between a dangerous criminal family and the police.
Armed robber Pope Cody (BEN MENDELSOHN) is in hiding, on the run from a gang of renegade detectives who want him dead. His business partner and best friend, Barry ‘Baz’ Brown (JOEL EDGERTON), wants out of the game, recognising that their days of old-school banditry are all but over. Pope’s younger brother, the speed-addicted and volatile Craig Cody (SULLIVAN STAPLETON), is making a fortune in the illicit substances trade – the true cash cow of the modern criminal fraternity – whilst the youngest Cody brother, Darren (LUKE FORD), naively navigates his way through this criminal world – the only world his family has ever known.
And into this world arrives their nephew, Joshua ‘J’ Cody (JAMES FRECHEVILLE).

Following the death of his mother, J finds himself living with his hitherto estranged family, under the watchful eye of his doting grandmother, Smurf (JACKI WEAVER), mother to the Cody boys. J quickly comes to believe that he is a player in this world. But, as he soon discovers, this world is far larger and more menacing than he could ever imagine.
When tensions between family and police reach a bloody peak, J finds himself at the centre of a cold-blooded revenge plot that turns the family upside down, and which also threatens to ensnare innocent bystanders such as his girlfriend, Nicky (LAURA WHEELWRIGHT).

One senior cop, Nathan Leckie (GUY PEARCE), must lure J into the police fold and then shepherd him through a complex minefield of witness protection, corrupt cops, slippery lawyers and a paranoid and vengeful underworld.
J comes to realise that in order to survive he must determine how the game is played – he must somehow choose his place in this cunning and brutal animal kingdom. He must work out where he fits.

Cast: BEN MENDELSOHN JOEL EDGERTON and GUY PEARCE           Runtime: 2 hours

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

In THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between Edward and Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

Runtime: 2 hrs

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke

Director: David Slade 

Official site

Sydney Screening of Soi Dog Documentary

 Tuesday 31st August 2010 will see the Sydney Screening of the Soi Dog Foundation documentary at the Govindas restaurant & movie theatre. The movie made its southern hemisphere debut in Melbourne in January 2010 and raised over $12,000.00.

The 66 minute documentary is far from a standard charity campaign film and although it does give an insight into the day to day challenges of the Foundation, it is also a human story, one that combines tragedy and compassion with humour and excitement. It is inspirational and involving throughout and is suitable for the entire family to watch.
 
This is truly not an event to be missed. Come along on the night and help make a real difference to the lives of stray animals in Phuket, Thailand.
 

Session 1: Dinner at 6:00pm; movie screening at 7:00pm

Session 2: Dinner at 7:15pm; movie screening at 8:15pm

(vegan buffet served before movie screenings)

Tickets are $35 each (+ booking fee) and include entry to movie and dinner buffet.

Tickets available at: http://www.moshtix.com.au/Search.aspx?s=&q=Soi+Dog&c=&v=&p=&from=&to=&caller=SOI

1300 GET TIX (438 849), on your mobile www.moshtix.mobi and all moshtix outlets including Red Eye Records, Fish Records (Balmain, Newtown and Leichhardt), Resist Records and more.

SPREAD THE WORD! IF YOU OR ANYONE ELSE YOU KNOW IS INTERESTED MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MISS OUT ON WHAT WILL BE A TRULY INSPIRING NIGHT!

For more information about the Sydney event, please contact:

Name: Susanna Shum  Mobile: 0410 628 419    Email: susannawls@gmail.com

Inception  Genre - Sci-Fi/Thriller- Your mind is the scene of the crime

Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan directs an international cast in an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible.

Cast - Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe

Director - Christopher Nolan

official site

Coming soon

Killers  -  Genre - Action/Romantic Comedy

Spencer Aimes (Kutcher) is just your average, undercover, government-hired super-assassin accustomed to a life of exotic European locales, flashy sports cars and even flashier women. But when he meets Jen Kornfeldt (Heigl), a beautiful, fun-loving computer tech recovering from a bad break-up, he finds true love...and happily trades international intrigue for domestic bliss. Three years later, Spencer and Jen are still enjoying a picture-perfect marriage - that is, until the morning after Spencer's 30th birthday. That's when Spencer and Jen learn he's the target of a multi-million dollar hit.  Now Spencer and Jen are on the run for their lives. As their suburban paradise turns into a paranoid game of dodge-the-bullet, they must find out who wants Spencer dead and why, all the while trying to save their marriage, manage his in-laws, keep up neighborly appearances ... and just plain survive.

Director - Robert Luketic

Cast - Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck, Catherine O'Hara

Coming soon

Salt  -  a contemporary action thriller

As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt's efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains

Cast:: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Andre Braugher

Director: Phillip Noyce

official site

Coming soon

Eat Pray Love

A woman who once made it her goal in life to marry and rear a family finds her priorities suddenly shifting in Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt's adaptation of author Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir. In the eyes of many, Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) was a woman who had it all -- a loving husband, a great career, and a weekend home -- but sometimes one realizes too little too late that they haven't gotten what they truly wanted from life. On the heels of a painful divorce, the woman who had previously looked forward to a contented life of domestic bliss sets out to seek her true destiny by traveling first to Italy, where she learns to appreciate nourishment; then to India, where she discovers the power of prayer; and finally to Bali, where she unexpectedly finds the meaning of true love.

Cast: Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins

Director: Ryan Murphy

official site

Fish tank

Mia, a foul-mouthed,stroppy fifteen-year-old, lives on an Essex estate with her tarty mother,Joanne, and precocious little sister Tyler. She has been excluded from school and is awaiting admission to a referrals unit and spends her days aimlessly. She begins to develop an uneasy friendship with Joanne's handsome, extrovert Irish boyfriend,Connor, who encourages her one interest, dancing, and eventually they have sex, after which he disappears from all their lives. When Mia tracks him down she finds that he has not been wholly honest with them and decides to take revenge, which almost ends in disaster. However, she does find consolation with Billy, a young traveller, after making up with her family.

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Griffiths, Katie Jarvis, Sydney Mary Nash

Director: Andrea Arnold

Runtime: 2 hours

official site

The secret in their eyes

Unpredictable and rich with symbolism, this Argentinian murder mystery lives up to its Oscar with an engrossing plot, Juan Jose Campanella's assured direction, and mesmerizing performances from its cast.

Juan José Campanella helmed this crime thriller about judicial cover-ups and corruption in Argentina. Ricardo Darín stars as Benjamín, a former criminal court employee who wants to write a novel about an Argentine case from the 1970s in which a woman was raped and murdered. He confides his intentions to a judge with whom he's been secretly smitten for years, Irene (Soledad Villamil), but she expresses reservations about the idea, for reasons that eventually become apparent. Meanwhile, flashbacks set up the central story, unfolding in 1970s Argentina. In that narrative, Argentina has fallen under the control of a military junta and a fair trial has become an increasingly uncommon event in that nation's courts. A woman is found raped and murdered while her husband was at work, and two immigrant workers are essentially forced into confessing to the crime. Benjamín then teams up with his colleague and friend, the lush Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella), and the two go about identifying and tagging the perpetrator of the original crime. Subtle detail in a photograph alerts Benjamin to the possibility that a man named Gómez (Javier Godino) may have been the real culprit, but finding Gómez and obtaining conclusive evidence against him is no simple task. Moreover, as Benjamín and Pablo struggle to have the case reopened, they also find that bureaucracy and power in Argentine government have made this close to impossible. EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS (aka THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES) received its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

Cast: Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino

Director: Juan Jose Campanella     official site

Mother and child

 Writer/director Rodrigo García (NINE LIVES) teams with executive producer Alejandro González Iñárritu to craft this drama highlighting the powerful bond between a mother and her son. It's been years since Karen (Annette Bening) gave her daughter, Elizabeth, up for adoption, and the decision to abandon her child has always haunted her. Upon meeting laid-back Paco (Jimmy Smits), Karen permits her anxiety and mistrust to get the best of her. On the surface it appears that Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is none the worse for never knowing her biological mother; she's a fast-talking lawyer who's just landed a high-profile job at a firm fronted by Paul (Samuel L. Jackson), though her unsavory penchant for exploiting others is about to blow up in her face. Meanwhile, maternal-minded baker Lucy (Kerry Washington) longs to experience the joys of motherhood, eventually deciding that adoption is the best bet to start a family with her husband, Joseph

Cast: Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits

Director: Rodrigo Garcia

Runtime: 2 hrs

official site

Coming soon

The runaways

The Runaways is as electric as the band's music, with strong performances from Michael Shannon, Dakota Fanning, and Kristen Stewart.

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning star in this music-fueled story of the ground-breaking, all girl, teenage rock band of the 1970s: The Runaways. The film follows two friends, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, as they rise from rebellious Southern California kids to rock stars of the now legendary group that paved the way for future generations of girl bands. Joan and Cherie fall under the Svengali-like influence of rock impresario Kim Fowley, played by Michael Shannon, who turns the group into an outrageous success and a family of misfits. With its tough-chick image and raw talent, the band quickly earns a name for itself—and so do its two leads: Joan is the band’s pure rock’ n’ roll heart, while Cherie, with her Bowie-Bardot looks, is the sex kitten. Written and directed by Floria Sigismondi, the film chronicles Joan and Cherie’s tumultuous relationship on and off stage, as the band starts to break out.

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Stella Maeve

Director: Floria Sigismondi

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Official site

Coming soon

The Waiting City

Directed by Australian rising talent Claire McCarthy, THE WAITING CITY is an intimate, complex love story of transformation, set against the exhilarating epic backdrop of Kolkata.

The story follows an outwardly happy Australian couple (Radha Mitchell & Joel Edgerton) who journey to India to collect their adopted baby. When they arrive in Kolkata they discover that the adoption arrangements are still some way from being finalised. As the wait begins, the intoxicating mystic power of the city pulls them in separate and unexpected directions and the vulnerability of their marriage begins to reveal itself...

Starring: Radha Mitchell, Joel Edgerton, Samrat Chakrabarti, Isabel Lucas
Director: Claire McCarthy

Runtime: 1 hr. 40 min.

Official site

Coming soon

I am love

I AM LOVE tells the story of the wealthy Recchi family, whose lives are undergoing sweeping changes. Eduardo Sr., the family patriarch, has decided to name a successor to the reigns of his massive industrial company, surprising everyone by splitting power between his son Tancredi, and grandson Edo. But Edo dreams of opening a restaurant with his friend Antonio, a handsome and talented chef. At the heart of the family is Tancredi's wife Emma (Tilda Swinton), a Russian immigrant who has adopted the culture of Milan. An adoring and attentive mother, her existence is shocked to the core when she falls quickly and deeply in love with Edo's friend and partner Antonio, and embarks on a passionate love affair that will change her family forever.

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Marisa Berenson, Gabriele Ferzetti, Edoardo Gabbriellini

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Runtime: 2 hr.

Official site

Ghost writer

When a successful British ghost writer, THE GHOST, agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, his agent assures him it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start — not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang’s long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.

The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the U.S. Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA — a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, RUTH, and his personal assistant (and mistress), AMELIA. As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA — and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost’s predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered?

Resonating with topical themes, this atmospheric and suspenseful political thriller is a story of deceit and betrayal on every level — sexual, political, and literary. In a world in which nothing, and no one, is as it seems, The Ghost quickly discovers that the past can be deadly — and that history is decided by whoever stays alive to write it.

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams

Director: Roman Polanski   Runtime: 2 hr. 8 min.  Official site

Wall street - Money never sleeps

As the global economy teeters on the brink of disaster, a young Wall Street trader partners with disgraced former Wall Street corporate raider Gordon Gekko on a two-tiered mission: To alert the financial community to the coming doom, and to find out who was responsible for the death of the young trader's mentor.

Stone and his savvy writers, Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff, have crafted a tale that takes advantage of viewers' newfound knowledge and cynicism. At its heart is a pair of good young people wanting to put money into green energy while all around them there revolves, like an evil planetary system, gravitational forces that know only unregulated (in every sense of the word) chicanery.

Thus "Money Never Sleeps" is that rare sequel that took its time -- 23 years -- so it not only advances a story but also has something new to say.

One senses a fully engaged filmmaker at the helm, driving the movie at a lightning pace as if in a hurry to get to the next scene or next aphorism that further illuminates this dark world.

Cast: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Frank Langella, Carey Mulligan

Director: Oliver Stone

Runtime: 2 hr. 7 min.

Official site