The Parents and Babies Club gives parents with babies a chance to visit the cinema, without having to find a baby sitter or worry about their babies causing a disturbance. The auditorium is lighter than usual, and there is a secure space for pushchairs. The Club is exclusively for parents with babies under one year old. Membership is free but you do need to sign up and receive a membership card to come to these screenings. You may join on the day, or email us: mail@riocinema.org.uk with your name, address, contact telephone number, your baby’s name and date of birth. Tickets are at the normal matinee price of £5.50 and £4.50 Concessions.

• Tue 22 Aug 11.30am

A SCANNER DARKLY (15)

(US 2006) dir.Richard Linklater 100m. Animation.
Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, Rory Cochrane.

“There's a churning passion inside this eerie dramatic thriller. Linklater has adapted Philip K Dick's ahead-of-its-time 1977 novel into a gripping examination of addiction and politics. Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) may be a drug dealer, but he's also a detective assigned to keep an eye on himself. And his junkie pals (Robert Downey Jr, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochrane) don't realise that he spends his days scanning videotapes of their drug-taking and backstabbing.

Like WAKING LIFE, Linklater filmed the scenes and then painstakingly animated each frame so the movie looks like a shimmering painting. The shifting, colourful imagery gives the film a brilliantly surreal tone, allowing Linklater to delve into the characters' hallucinatory perception of the world around them. This filmmaking style also vividly captures the performances. It's one of Reeves' most involving roles while the other characters also register strongly. In addition to the film's astonishing visuals, the script is packed with jagged humour and astute observations. As the story progresses, it shifts from a black comedy about junkies into a sublime political treatise that makes its point in incredibly subtle ways.” (Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall)

• Thur 24 Aug 11.30am

A SCANNER DARKLY (15)

(US 2006) dir.Richard Linklater 100m. Animation.
Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, Rory Cochrane.

• Tue 29 Aug 10.30am

VOLVER (15)

(Spain, 2006) dir.Pedro Almodóvar 121m. Subtitles.
Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yolanda Cobo, Chus Lampreave, María Isabel Díaz.

“Pedro Almodóvar again taps deep into human emotions for this exquisite drama about mothers and daughters, about the things we wish we said, and that we hadn't. Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) is a busy woman, holding her family together but refusing to give up on her dream of one day being her own boss. Then Raimunda's sister Sole (Lola Dueñas) has an encounter with the ghost of their mother (Carmen Maura). Maybe she can solve some mysteries from their past, especially one involving a lifelong friend (Blanca Portillo). Almodóvar approaches this with a disarming simplicity. It looks like a sunny, relaxed, bittersweet family drama, full of everyday humour, warmth and sadness. But underneath this is a film layered with complex emotions that slowly reach up and engulf us. As the story develops, it generates a subtle Hitchcock-like vibe, watching these women get into situations far over their heads, without ever panicking. Death is everywhere in this film but it's just part of life. Performances are simply gorgeous. This is by far the best work Cruz has ever done. Magic.”
(Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall)

• Thur 31 Aug 10.30am

VOLVER (15)

(Spain, 2006) dir.Pedro Almodóvar 121m. Subtitles.
Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yolanda Cobo, Chus Lampreave, María Isabel Díaz.

• Tue 5 Sep 1.15

FRIENDS WITH MONEY (15)

(US 2006) dir.Nicole Holofcener 88m.
Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, Scott Caan.

“Cash can't buy you happiness – or can it? Indie filmmaker Nicole Holofcener (LOVELY & AMAZING) leaves this open to question in this engaging comedy drama. As teacher-turned-maid Olivia, Jennifer Aniston is down on her luck and down on herself, but her wealthy pals are just as wanting in self-esteem. It's a delicately crafted script full of witty vignettes although it does feel oddly lopsided because the supporting characters are more roundly portrayed.”
(Stella Papamichael, BBCi Films)

• Thur 7 Sep 1.00

THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (15)

(US 2006) dir.Jason Reitman 92m.
Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes.

“’Anyone who smokes in a movie is either a psychopath or a European’, according to Nick Naylor. As the chief spokesman for a big tobacco corporation, he is arguably the former, but Jason Reitman's ingenious satire casts Naylor – played with great panache by Aaron Eckhart – as the hero. This is a story of spin, of Naylor's witty attempts to justify the indefensible products of his bosses while playing the fatherly role model to his 12-year-old son.”
(Paul Arendt, BBCi Films)

• Tue 12 Sep 1.00

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (15)

(US 2006) dirs.Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris 102m.
Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano.

“A quietly antic dysfunctional family road trip comedy that shoots down the all-American culture of the winner and offers sweet redemption for losers – or at least the ordinary folks often branded as such. The film is distinguished by a flawless cast, a gentle spirit of rebellion and a smart script by first-time screenwriter Michael Arndt that knows never to push its character quirks too hard.

Richard (Greg Kinnear) is a motivational speaker on a career downslide yet stubbornly committed to his "Refuse to lose" philosophy. His wife Sheryl (Toni Collette) barely disguises her impatience with his canned claptrap. The family's sole oasis of serenity and self-possession is Olive (Abigail Breslin), a slightly chubby, bespectacled 7-year-old with a questioning nature and a fixation on beauty pageants. Having been taught to pursue her dreams, Olive has been privately rehearsing her talent routine with Grandpa (Alan Arkin); her shot at the Little Miss Sunshine crown is the engine that drives the comedy. During the interstate trip, punctuated by hilarious setbacks and disasters, the directors nurture the melancholy strain in Arndt's script while subtly coaxing small signs of love and support within the Hoover family. The directors' light, uncalculated touch with the material is echoed in the modest production's fresh, appealingly unslick feel.”
(David Rooney, Variety)

• Thur 14 Sep 1.00

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (15)

(US 2006) dirs.Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris 102m.
Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano.

• Tue 19 Sep 12.45

FORTY SHADES OF BLUE (15)

(US 2005) dir.Ira Sachs 110m.
Dina Korzun, Rip Torn, Darren E. Burrows, Andrew Henderson.

“Ageing Memphis music producer Alan James is a planet around which his family – his grown-up son Michael and his younger Russian girlfriend Laura – have no choice but to orbit. Matters come to a head when Michael visits the family home after a long absence... Sach’s second film is a sensitive and insightful study of the dark shadows cast by powerful men, and the gaping gulf between their public and private lives. Torn does a great job with the character of Alan but it’s Laura proves the most fascinating.”
(Dave Calhoun, Time Out)

• Thur 21 Sep 12.45

LITTLE FISH (15)

(Australia 2006) dir.Rowan Woods 114m.
Cate Blanchett, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Martin Henderson, Dustin Nguyen.

“Tracy (Cate Blanchett) is trying to get a bank to loan her the cash that would enable her to buy from her boss the Sydney video store in which she works. Neither the banks nor, for that matter, her mum Janelle (Noni Hazlehurst) have much faith in her future; they’re clearly worried she might succumb to the heroin addiction she painfully put behind her five years ago. That’s when her brother Ray (Martin Henderson) lost his legs in an accident for which Janelle holds both Lionel (Hugo Weaving) and Jonny (Dustin Nguyen) responsible. While the film could have lapsed into crime-thriller cliché or sensationalist hysteria, Woods prefers to concentrate on characterisation and interplay. The details of the backstory are revealed only gradually, so interesting nuances develop as the film proceeds. The various characters move in endless murky circles, inhabiting an almost incestuously closed world where drugs, deceit and despair forever threaten to drag them down. It’s an admirably tough film; the fine performances never romanticise the characters. Consequently, the glimmer of hope that accompanies one of their number finally taking proper control is richly deserved, and rightly rewarding.” (Geoff Andrew, Time Out)

• Tue 26 Sep 12.30

CHILDREN OF MEN (*)

(UK/US 2006) dir.Alfonso Cuarón 120m.
Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Claire-Hope Ashitey.

Alfonso Cuarón is certainly one of the most versatile and prolific directors of his generation. After his latest commercial and critical success with HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, Cuarón is back with an imaginative sci-fi thriller about civilisation on the verge of extinction.

London 2027. The world’s youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. While science is at loss to explain why man can no longer procreate, the world is being ravaged by violence and nationalistic factions at war. However, hope comes in the shape of unlikely hero Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a disillusioned ex-peace-activist-turned-civil-servant. Theo agrees to help his revolutionary ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore) protect and transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of mankind. Carried by beautiful lead performances from Owen and Moore, this dark, gripping dystopian tale echoes contemporary fears about the future of humankind.

• Thur 28 Sep 12.30

CHILDREN OF MEN (*)

(UK/US 2006) dir.Alfonso Cuarón 120m.
Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Claire-Hope Ashitey.

• Tue 3 Oct 12.30

THE PASSENGER (12A)

(Italy/France/Spain 1975) dir.Michelangelo Antonioni 126m. New print.
Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre, Ian Hendry.

“The last in a trio of English-language films Antonioni made for MGM, the dazzling THE PASSENGER has been kept out of cinematic distribution for the past two decades. Reissued here in a newly restored version, it showcases one of Jack Nicholson finest ever screen performances. He plays the burnt-out reporter Locke, who exchanges identities in Chad with a dead acquaintance. THE PASSENGER explores the impossibility of evading our own personal and national histories, and of truly knowing ourselves and our loved ones. As Locke is pursued across Europe by the authorities and by business associates, Antonioni draws on certain thriller conventions: there are car chases, assassinations, and a female romantic interest, in the form of Maria Schneider's resourceful unnnamed student. Thanks to Luciano Tovoli's magnificent cinematography of the African desert and the arid Spanish countryside, we gain a potent sense of Locke's internal emptiness.”
(Tom Dawson, BBCi Films)

• Thur 5 Oct 12.30

CHILDREN OF MEN (*)

(UK/US 2006) dir.Alfonso Cuarón 120m.
Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Claire-Hope Ashitey.

Alfonso Cuarón is certainly one of the most versatile and prolific directors of his generation. After his latest commercial and critical success with HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, Cuarón is back with an imaginative sci-fi thriller about civilisation on the verge of extinction.
London 2027. The world’s youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. While science is at loss to explain why man can no longer procreate, the world is being ravaged by violence and nationalistic factions at war. However, hope comes in the shape of unlikely hero Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a disillusioned ex-peace-activist-turned-civil-servant. Theo agrees to help his revolutionary ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore) protect and transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of mankind. Carried by beautiful lead performances from Owen and Moore, this dark, gripping dystopian tale echoes contemporary fears about the future of humankind.