A craptastic weekend: for the first time in ages.

City of Men (Ster Kinekor Only)

Following on from his Academy Award-nominated 2002 success, “City of God,” producer Fernando Meirelles returns with another gritty drama set in the Favelas of Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

Directed, written and co-produced by newcomer Paulo Morelli the story tells of two lifelong friends raised amidst the chaos of Rio de Janeiro’s notorious Pool Hall Hill who attempt to plot a course through the treacherous labyrinth of adulthood as their eighteenth birthdays fast approach.

If it is anything as good as “City of God,” I will be in heaven.

Director: Paulo Morelli
Cast: Darlan Cunha, Jonathan Haagensen, Rodrigo dos Santos, Camila Monteiro, Naima Silva, Eduardo ‘BR’ Piranha, Luciano Vidigal and Pedro Henrique
Running Time: 104 minutes.
Age Restriction: 16LV

Closing the Ring

Sixty-five years after making his screen debut as a young stoker in the World War II drama “In Which We Serve,” Academy Award-winning director Sir Richard Attenborough (Gandhi, Shadowlands) is back with his latest offering.

Closing the Ring is a supposedly a deeply moving love story that spans two continents and five decades which tells the tale of a dying American airman who entrusts a treasured possession to a complete stranger, and Ethel Harris (MacLaine), a woman who honours a wartime promise of enduring love which leads to years of heartache until a chance discovery re-ignites her spirit. It looks clichéd, melodramatic, full of tears and broken promises – whatever, I am in. The trailer, with that song, got me hooked. And it has a shot of Mischa Barton half-nekkid. I am no prude, it is just “The O.C” nostalgia coming across – I swear.

Director: Richard Attenborough
Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Mischa Barton, Neve Campbell and Brenda Fricker.
Running Time: 119 minutes.
Age Restriction: 13 NLV.

88 Minutes

Al Pacino stars as Dr. Jack Gramm, a college professor who moonlights as a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI. When Gramm receives a death threat claiming he has only 88 minutes to live, he must use all his skills and training to narrow down the possible suspects, who include a disgruntled student, a jilted former lover, and a serial killer who is already on death row, before his time runs out.

Whatever, the reviews have been nothing but atrocious, and Al Pacino is less and less of a pull-factor for me, sad to say. But then there is Ben McKenzie - and that all powerful “O.C” nostalgia…

Director: Jon Avnet
Cast: Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Benjamin McKenzie, Neal McDonough, Leah Cairns, Stephen Moyer, Christopher Redman, Brendan Fletcher, Michael Eklund, Kristina Copeland, Tammy Hui
Running Time: 108 minutes.
Age Restriction: 13 NLV

21

In a departure from his previous outings, director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde, Monster-In-Law) teams up with Kevin Spacey who appears in a dual acting and producing role to release this dramatic thriller that is based on the best selling book “Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions.” That being said, I am not interested, but will probably end up seeing it anyway.

Director: Robert Luketic
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo
Running Time: 120 minutes.
Age Restriction: 13 V

The Mist

Based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King, frequent King collaborator Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) returns to the screen with this frightener about a secret government experiment that goes horribly wrong. I want to see it. Don’t know why, just do.

Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones, Andre Braugher
Running Time: 124 minutes
Age Restriction: 16 LV

Cuba: An African Odyssey (Nu Metro only)

The Cold War as played out in its least-known theatre: Africa. It was on this continent that two superpowers and four adversaries with opposed interests locked horns, between 1961 and 1989. The Soviets wanted to extend their influence over a new part of the world; the United States had a keen eye on Africa’s natural riches; the former empires felt their colonial power weakening; young nations defended their newly-won independence.

Running Time: 120 minutes.
Age Restriction: PG

Boothnath

It is believed that children have the strongest connection to God. They have the ability to perceive goodness in everything and everyone. ‘Bhoothnath’ is a story of a seven-year-old naughty yet innocent boy who unknowingly turns a foe into a friend. A Bollywood film, if you are into that, I have heard this one is not that bad. *I am not seeing it, I will have to let others take the bullet.

To Book:

Nu Metro or Ster Kinekor

~ Because of the demands of school and the like, I will not be seeing any films this weekend, but will do a major catch-up next weekend. Enjoy your weekend, I know I won’t ~