Sat 10 Jan • Matinee

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (12A) 1.15

(US 2003) dir.Gore Verbinsk 143m.
Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush.

"A rollicking tale of pirate lore, with cursed treasure, secret identities and enough acts of betrayal and loyalty to keep the final showdown as sparky as the firecrackers in Blackbeard's whiskers. On the comedy map it's Johnny Depp's inspired turn as Captain Jack Sparrow that really marks the spot. Gloriously over-the-top, this performance is a masterclass in comedy acting. Depp steals the show, but leaves some plunder for Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, surely the sexiest young couple in British cinema – nay, the world."
(Empire)

£6/£5 Concs/£4 Under 15's

Sun 11 Jan • Jean-Pierre Melville double bill

LE DOULOS (12A) 1.30

(France 1962) dir.Jean-Pierre Melville 109m. Subtitles.
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani, Jean Desailly.

"Just out of jail, afraid he can't cut it in the underworld any more, Reggiani finds police inspector Crohem lurking in ambush when he undertakes his next job. The images point unequivocally to Belmondo as the informer, until Melville skims through them again to reveal a different story. Terrific performances, and equally terrific camerawork conjure a rivetingly treacherous, twilit world."
(Time Out)

+ THE RED CIRCLE (PG) 3.40

(France 1970) dir.Jean-Pierre Melville 140m. Subtitles.
Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonté, Yves Montand.

"Each of the protagonists of this existential crime thriller is being pursued – Alan Delon by the mob, Gian Maria Volonté by detective Bourvil, and bent cop Yves Montand by the demons that drove him to drink. Jean Pierre Melville stages the heist with meticulous rigour. But he's far more concerned with the psychological state of his anti-heroes, which he explores as much through their iconic props as their coolly dispassionate performances."
(Empire)

Tue 13 Jan • Parents & Babies Club

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (12A) 12.45

(US 2003) dir.Gore Verbinsk 143m.
Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush.

"A rollicking tale of pirate lore, with cursed treasure, secret identities and enough acts of betrayal and loyalty to keep the final showdown as sparky as the firecrackers in Blackbeard's whiskers. On the comedy map it's Johnny Depp's inspired turn as Captain Jack Sparrow that really marks the spot. Gloriously over-the-top, this performance is a masterclass in comedy acting. Depp steals the show, but leaves some plunder for Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, surely the sexiest young couple in British cinema – nay, the world." (Empire)

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions (Under 2's free)

Wed 14 Jan • Classic Matinee

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (12A) 2.30

(US 2003) dir.Gore Verbinsk 143m.
Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush.

NB. With a 15 minute intermission

Thur 15 Jan • Parents & Babies Club

LOST IN TRANSLATION (15) 1.15

(US 2003) dir.Sofia Coppola 102m.
Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Akiko Takeshita, Ryuichiro Baba, Akira Yamaguchi, Catherine Lambert.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sat 17 Jan • Matinee

SPELLBOUND (U) 2.00

(US 2002) dir.Jeffrey Blitz 98 min. Documentary.

"Webster's Unabridged – the American spelling contest's bible of choice – is a demanding mistress. This doozy documentary follows eight of its squeezes, aged 12 to 15, through the preparations for, and then the agonies and ecstasies of, a two-day knockout spelling hoe-down in Washington DC, the climax of the 1999 National Spelling Bee championship. It's great drama – Yana Gorskaya's crisp, judicious editing pulls it all into beguiling shape, teasing out the suspense while leading your prejudices a merry dance. It's as enthralling as any fiction."
(Nick Bradshaw, Time Out)

Adm £6/£5 Concs/£4 Under 15's

Sun 18 Jan • Double bill

ETRE ET AVOIR (U) 2.15

(Fr 2002) dir.Nicolas Philibert 104m. Subtitles. Documentary.

"This wonderful documentary film charts half a year in the life of Georges Lopez and the infant and junior pupils he teaches at a tiny single-class school in the Auvergne. That may not sound so rewarding, but in following the fortunes of this small group, Philibert attains an extraordinary intimacy with his subjects. It's one of the very finest films you're likely to see in a long time."
(Time Out)

+ SPELLBOUND (U) 4.20

(US 2002) dir.Jeffrey Blitz 98 min. Documentary.

"Webster's Unabridged – the American spelling contest's bible of choice – is a demanding mistress. This doozy documentary follows eight of its squeezes, aged 12 to 15, through the preparations for, and then the agonies and ecstasies of, a two-day knockout spelling hoe-down in Washington DC, the climax of the 1999 National Spelling Bee championship. It's great drama – Yana Gorskaya's crisp, judicious editing pulls it all into beguiling shape, teasing out the suspense while leading your prejudices a merry dance. It's as enthralling as any fiction."
(Nick Bradshaw, Time Out)

Tue 20 Jan • Parents & Babies Club

LOST IN TRANSLATION (15) 1.30

(US 2003) dir.Sofia Coppola 102m.
Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Akiko Takeshita, Ryuichiro Baba, Akira Yamaguchi, Catherine Lambert.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Thur 22 Jan • Parents & Babies Club

ETRE ET AVOIR (U) 1.15

(Fr 2002) dir.Nicolas Philibert 104m. Subtitles. Documentary.

"This wonderful documentary film charts half a year in the life of Georges Lopez and the infant and junior pupils he teaches at a tiny single-class school in the Auvergne. That may not sound so rewarding, but in following the fortunes of this small group, Philibert attains an extraordinary intimacy with his subjects. It's one of the very finest films you're likely to see in a long time."
(Time Out)

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sun 25 Jan • Double bill

WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES (12A) 12.45

(Hun/It/Ger/Fr/Swi 2000) dir.Béla Tarr 145m. Subtitles.
Lars Rudolph, Peter Fitz, Hannah Schygulla.

"Set in a small, run-down town in Eastern Europe, it concerns the arrival in the square of a strange attraction – a stuffed whale, accompanied by a mysterious ‘Prince'. Tarr's vision of a community out of kilter succeeds on a universal, poetic, even mythic level. The long, carefully choreographed sequence shots, the oblique approach to narrative; this is horror of the most nightmarishly realistic (and, often, darkly witty) variety, born out of realisation of how low human souls may sink. Give it time and it's wholly captivating."
(Time Out)

+ TIME OF THE WOLF (15) 3.30

(Austria/Fr/Ger 2003) dir.Michael Hanecke 113m. Subtitles.
Isabelle Huppert, Olivier Gourmet, Béatrice Dalle, Patrice Chéreau.

"Somewhere in Europe, the near future: A woman (Huppert), her husband, her teenage daughter and slightly younger son arrive at their holiday home in the country. There's no water or electricity, but that's what they expect. Something's happened and there's no power anywhere, just people wandering the land in search of shelter, safety, sustenance and a return to civilisation. Everyone's scared and shaken, and the night that falls daily - bringing the threat of unseen predators - might be a portant of a new dark age... Haneke's apocalyptic fable takes a typically rigorous approach to material all too often compromised by clichéd spectacle and sensationalism; he simply traces the family's attempts to survive while deprived of facilities we in the West take for granted. Utilising a fine cast, Haneke's not only made an unusually persuasive and intelligent film about the ultimate nightmare, but proffers, through a cool assessment of human interaction, a glimmer of hope in the darkness."
(Time Out)

Tue 27 Jan • Parents & Babies Club

AMERICAN SPLENDOR (15) 1.30

(US 2003) dirs.Shari Springer Berman/Robert Pulcini 100m.
Harvey Pekar, Paul Giamatti, Shari Springer Berman, Earl Billings.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Thur 29 Jan • Parents & Babies Club

COLD MOUNTAIN (15) 12.00

(UK/Rom/It 2003) dir.Anthony Minghella 155m.
Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Natalie Portman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, Ray Winstone Brendan Gleeson, Kathy Baker, Eileen Atkins, Charlie Hunnam.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sun 1 Feb • Double bill

BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB (U) 1.00

(Ger/US 1999) dir.Wim Wenders 107m. Documentary.

"The film of the hit album of the rediscovered son de Cuba legends. Wenders accompanied guitar guru Ry Cooder back to Havana to see the venerable musicians in the studio again, and put together this luminous scrapbook, suffused with the spur of the moment. The director leaves the musicians to make their own introductions, which gives them the space to speak for themselves. A warm, relaxed and colourful presentation of some inspirational music-makers."
(Time Out)

+ COMANDANTE (PG) 3.00

(US/Sp 2003) dir.Oliver Stone 99m. Documentary.

"When the Yanks send you Oliver Stone as an interviewer, you know things have come to a pretty pass. Still, Fidel Castro's wiles haven't deserted him yet; when a buffoonish American brings his DV camera a-questioning, you call his bluff with silver-tongued half-answers, make like friends, and be sure he gets on his plane. Chuck any hopes of historical testimony, and this dishes up a colourful cat-and-mouse game-with the rare sight of Stone as a mouse."
(Time Out)

Thur 5 Feb • Parents & Babies Club

ELEPHANT (15) 2.45

(US 2003) dir.Gus Van Sant 81m.
Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Elias McConnell.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sat 7 Feb • Matinee

MASTER AND COMMANDER (12A) 2.00

(US 2003) dir.Peter Weir 138m.
Billy Boyd, Paul Bettany, Russell Crowe.

"During the Napoleonic Wars, a British naval captain must decide on a mission that can cement his reputation or destroy himself and his men. MASTER AND COMMANDER has a conviction rare in historical movies... Every nail, sail and coil of rope seems in the right place, and the constant tilting of the camera keeps us aware that we are at sea on a pitching, heaving boat."
(Philip French, The Guardian)

£6/£5 Concs/£4 Under 15's

Sun 8 Feb • Double bill

BELLEVILLE RENDEZ-VOUS 12.45

(Fr/Bel/Can 2003) dir.Sylvain Chomet 81m. Animated feature.

"Our hero's hometown mushrooms monstrous in the blink of years, and it befalls some kidnappers to whisk him to the alternate metropolis of Belleville. In between, our orphaned Champion grows up under the spartan watch of Madame Souza, who rears him as the racing-cyclist equivalent of a prize ox. Probably best to analyse no further, but rather relish the film's deadpan grotesquery, its flair for invention, and the almost blasé beauty Chomet slips in alongside the caricature."
(Time Out)

+ SPIRITED AWAY (PG) 2.25

(Jap 2000) dir.Hayao Miyazaki 125m. Animated feature. English version.
Voices of Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, David Ogden.

"You already know the broad strokes of the story: this is Alice in Wonderland and all its magically transportive progeny, freshly scrubbed and aired. Miyazaki and team apply themselves to rendering this phantasmagoria in a lavish mix of hand-drawn foreground and computerised background animation, and pull off an exemplary, elegaic, barnstorming marvel."
(Nick Bradshaw, Time Out)

Tue 10 Feb • Parents & Babies Club

MASTER AND COMMANDER (12A) 1.00

(US 2003) dir.Peter Weir 138m.
Billy Boyd, Paul Bettany, Russell Crowe.

"During the Napoleonic Wars, a British naval captain must decide on a mission that can cement his reputation or destroy himself and his men. MASTER AND COMMANDER has a conviction rare in historical movies... Every nail, sail and coil of rope seems in the right place, and the constant tilting of the camera keeps us aware that we are at sea on a pitching, heaving boat." (Philip French, The Guardian)

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions/Under 2's free

Wed 11 Feb • Classic Matinee

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING (12A) 2.30

(UK/Lux 2003) dir.Peter Webber 100m.
Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson,Judy Parfitt.

NB. With a 15 minute intermission

Thur 12 Feb • Parents & Babies Club

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING (12A) 2.15

(UK/Lux 2003) dir.Peter Webber 100m.
Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson,Judy Parfitt.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions

Sun 15 Feb • Double bill

THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST (12A) 11.45

(Fin/Ger/Fra 2002) dir.Aki Kaurismäki 97m. Subtitles.
Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Juhani Niemela, Kaija Pakarinen, Sakari Kuosmanen.

"A man (Peltola) is viciously mugged upon arriving in Helsinki. With no memory and no idea of who he is, he wanders off into the city, moves in with the homeless, and eventually begins to put his life (or someone else's?) back together... A beautifully tender, funny, and idiosyncratic movie."
(Regus LFF programme)

+ NOI ALBINOI (15) 1.40

(Iceland 2003) dir.Dagur Kári 93m. Subtitles.
Tómas Lemarquis, Elin Hansdóttir, Thröstur Leó Gunnarsson.

"The depths of winter, in a small town on the windlashed coast of Iceland. Tired of the long, cold hours of darkness, tired of school, snow, virtually everyone he knows, 17-year-old Nói (Lemarquis) dreams of escaping to a livelier place, until he notices lovely Iris (Hansdóttir), new girl at the garage shop, whose intially slightly snooty city ways fail to forestall a clumsy but determined courtship... Kari's is an impressive first feature, funny, touching, tough at times and blessed with a killer twist that suddenly sheds new light on everything that's gone before. It also benefits from charismatic performances all round and from Rasmus Videbaek's very eye-catching camera-work. A winner."
(Time Out)

Thur 19 Feb • Parents & Babies Club

DOGVILLE (15) 9.30am

(Den/Fr/Swe/Br/Ger/Hol 2003) dir.Lars Von Trier 178m.
Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, James Caan, Ben Gazzara, Philip Baker Hall, Nicole Kidman, Chloë Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgård.

An opportunity for parents with babies to visit the cinema without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing disturbance. A secure space is provided for pushchairs.

Adm £5/£4 Concessions