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: gemma@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.

VENUS (15)

(UK 2006) dir. Roger Michell 95m.
Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whitaker, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Griffiths.

Maurice and Ian are old friends and fellow actors of the type who had decent careers while never breaking through to the big time. They spend their semi-retirement mulling over obituaries, snacking on their pills and bickering like husband and wife. Their routine is disturbed by the arrival of Jessie, Ian's great-niece, who arrives from the North to care for her relative while searching for work. Ian is immediately unimpressed, but Maurice the serial seducer welcomes the youthful breeze that blows into his life. What follows is a mutually dependent friendship between the raw, provincial youth and the ageing Lothario. This is a funny, saucy and surprising comedy, and a poignant reflection on mortality.

NOTES ON A SCANDAL (15)

(UK 2006) dir. Richard Eyre 92m.
Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy, Phil Davis, Michael Maloney, Andrew Simpson.

Barbara is a lonely, aging, spinster schoolteacher until the arrival of bohemian young art teacher Sheba Hart. Despite her marriage to an adoring husband with whom she has two children, Sheba embarks on an affair with one of her 15 year old students. When Barbara discovers this, she promises to keep the secret – but for a price. The teachers are brought to ferocious life by the two lead actresses, with Dench - so often the model of decorum and decency – a revelatory tour de force as the fearsome, acid-tongued Barbara. A compelling thriller.

THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (15)

(UK 2006) dir. Kevin Macdonald 123m.
Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Simon McBurney.

1971, and young Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan is in Uganda, working in a small village practice – until he meets Idi Amin, who has recently come to power. Striking up an unusual friendship based on Amin’s love of Scotland, Garrigan goes on to become the leader’s personal physician. Through Nicholas’ eyes we watch as the fuse is lit on a powder keg, Amin revealing the bloodstains beneath the clown veneer in this fictionalised story of the very real dictator who killed 300,000 Ugandans. A tense and dramatic adventure with a fantastic Oscar-winning performance from Whittaker.

BLOOD DIAMOND (15)

(US 2006) dir. Edward Zwick 143m.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Arnold Vosloo, Jimi Mistry, Michael Sheen.

Sierra Leone, 1999. Taken hostage, fisherman Solomon Vandy is forced to work in the mining camps where he finds a sizeable pink diamond which he stashes in the dirt. Soon enough, word of this find gets to Daniel Archer, a diamond smuggler. Hooking up with Vandy, Archer promises to help him find his family – now in a prison camp – in exchange for being led to the stone. Meanwhile an investigative reporter works to expose the diamond companies of the West for having blood on their hands. An epic with a political epicentre.

THE LIVES OF OTHERS (15)

(Germany 2006) dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck 138m. Subtitles. Digital.
Sebastian Koch, Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe.

Riveting thriller about artists and the secret police in East Berlin, and this year’s Oscar winner for best foreign language film.
In 1984, the Stasi – East Germany's secret police – are keeping watch on artists and political activists, forcing many into jail, silence or suicide. Stasi Captain Wiesler is given the job of collecting evidence against playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend, celebrated theatre actress Christa-Maria. He does his job with ruthless efficiency, listening in on every conversation and following every move. But when Dreyman actually gets involved in something subversive, Wiesler has a difficult decision to make. Writer-director von Donnersmarck has succeeded in capturing the paranoia of East Germany in the 1980s, creating not only a suspenseful thriller of political relevance but a riveting study of human nature. This is an urgent, exceptional first feature that richly deserves its Oscar. Tense, taut and brilliantly written, THE LIVES OF OTHERS follows in the footsteps of HIDDEN and THE CONVERSATION. Its twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat and the ending will leave you breathless.

THE LIVES OF OTHERS (15)

(Germany 2006) dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck 138m. Subtitles. Digital.
Sebastian Koch, Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe.

THIS IS ENGLAND (18)

(UK 2006) dir. Shane Meadows 100m.
Thomas Turgoose, Jo Hartley, Joseph Gilgun, Kieran Hardcastle.

Compelling coming of age drama superbly written and directed by Shane Meadows.
Roland Rat, Margaret Thatcher; Rubik's Cubes, the Royal Wedding; aerobics, skinheads... It's 1983, and the schools are breaking up for summer. 12 year old Shaun is a lonely boy, bullied at school and growing up without a dad. He unexpectedly finds friendship with a group of skinheads, and discovers snappy dressing, parties and girls. But when an older, overtly racist gang member returns home from prison, the easy camaraderie of the group is broken, and Shaun is drawn into much more uncomfortable territory. Based largely on his own experience as a youngster, Shane Meadows handles the complexities of masculinity, violence and race with sensitivity and a lightness of touch, perfectly capturing the mood of the time and the allure of being part of a gang. An engaging, brilliantly written and superbly directed film that's evocative, funny, suspenseful and ultimately moving. Unmissable.

THIS IS ENGLAND (18)

(UK 2006) dir. Shane Meadows 100m.
Thomas Turgoose, Jo Hartley, Joseph Gilgun, Kieran Hardcastle.

DREAMGIRLS (12A)

(US 2006) dir. Bill Condon 130m.
Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose.

Adapted from the award-winning Broadway musical, Dreamgirls follows an ambitious girl group from 1960s Detroit through a soaring career and personal crises. Based on the story of legendary label Motown and chart-topping girl group The Supremes, this is an eye-opener for anyone who thought pop was a white invention. As the world's first African-American-owned major media company, Tamla Motown Records broke down cultural barriers and conquered the white pop charts during a time of segregation and social upheaval. DREAMGIRLS is an appealing, touching and spectacular tribute to one of the most sensational stories in pop music.

DANS PARIS (15)

(France 2006) dir. Christophe Honoré 94m. Subtitles. Digital.
Romain Duris, Louis Garrel, Guy Marchand, Joana Preiss, Marie-France Pisier.

A thoughtful and stylish French family drama with brilliant performances and a nod to Truffaut.
After splitting up with his girlfriend, a depressed Paul (Duris) has moved back into the Paris flat that his brother Jonathan (Garrel) shares with their over-protective, divorced father. Jonathan – a devil-may-care womaniser, and the story's narrator – tries to coax Paul into a morale-boosting shopping trip, but ends up making a solo dash across town, interrupted by several impromptu trysts. DANS PARIS boasts engaging performances all around, especially from charismatic leads – and heartthrobs du jour – Romain Duris and Louis Garrel, inventively cast against type. Essentially a witty, sensitive chamber piece, DANS PARIS is consistently entertaining in its stylistic dash, with multiple nods to Truffaut, Godard et al in their early 60s heyday. A chic but substantial pleasure.

MY BEST FRIEND (12A)

(France 2006) dir. Patrice Leconte 95m. Subtitles. Digital.
Daniel Auteuil, Dany Boon, Julie Gayet, Julie Durand, Henri Garcin.

Heart-warming and thoughtful comedy about the nature of friendship.
François is a middle-aged antique dealer. He’s got a stylish apartment and a fabulous life, but at his birthday dinner his business partner Catherine candidly informs him that he has no friends. He insists she’s talking nonsense and he has lots of friends, but his colleagues agree: he values objects over people. Catherine offers a challenge: François must produce one of these good friends, a real friend – his best friend. He's got ten days to find him. The heat is on for François to find someone to play this all-important role. Could trivia-spouting, lowbrow, chatty cabbie Bruno be the answer?

For a film about midlife crisis and borderline personality dysfunction, MY BEST FRIEND is hugely fun, with hilarious moments. Director Patrice Leconte has a particular wit and sensitivity to human folly. Daniel Auteuil’s natural charisma allows us to accept François’s character flaws as he strains to find a friend, whilst Dany Boon as cabbie Bruno emerges as one of the most touching Everyman characters in recent French cinema. With clever plotting and charming surprises, MY BEST FRIEND is certain to make amused audiences consider their own lives and friends. Winning and heart-warming comedy.

ZODIAC (15)

(US 2007) dir. David Fincher 158m.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Brian Cox, Chloë Sevigny.

From the director of SEVEN and FIGHT CLUB comes a brilliant thriller based on the true story of one of the most intriguing murder cases in American history.
David Fincher's most accomplished film to date is a true-crime masterpiece about the Zodiac, an enigmatic serial killer whose random approach to murder terrified Northern California throughout the late '60s and early '70s. As the body count rises, so begins an endless series of ciphers, messages and clues sent by the killer to confound those investigating the case. The film constructs with painstaking detail an investigation that grew into an obsession for certain members of San Francisco's media and police forces. The terrific trio of Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr and Jake Gyllenhaal respectively play the real-life detective, journalist and newspaper cartoonist whose lives were swallowed up by the case. Possessed of disturbingly violent moments, ZODIAC is fraught with psychological tension and fearful expectancy. Chilling, smart and intense, with the occasional glimmer of light allowed to penetrate the darkness, it’s compelling viewing. It captures perfectly the look and mood of the period and evokes the pervasive fear the murders caused. The 2006 Academy Awards may have just been handed out, but already ZODIAC has made a firm stake to be amongst the favourites for next year's Oscars.

THE NAMESAKE (12A)

(US/India 2007) dir. Mira Nair 122m.
Kal Penn, Tabu, Irfran Khan, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson.

Following their arranged marriage, Ashoke and Ashima jet off from steamy Calcutta to wintry New York to begin their life together. They soon have a son and name him Gogol, after the famous Russian author. It’s a name with a link to a hidden past and, Ashoke hopes, a better future. But life isn’t as easy for Gogol as his parents might wish. As a first generation American, he must learn to tread a line between his Bengali heritage and his American birthright in the search for his own identity. A sweeping, warm,

SCREENING CANCELLED – Our apologies for any inconvenience and disappointment caused

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END (*)

(US 2007) dir. Gore Verbinski 158m. Digital.
Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Jonathan Pryce , Bill Nighy, Chow Yun-Fat.

In this final instalment of the brilliant Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle.
Our pirate crew travels to Singapore to steal a chart from the Chinese pirate, Sao Feng, that will lead them to the World's End. They journey through a frozen ocean, before sailing over an enormous waterfall into Davy Jones' Locker. Despite their mutual animosity and distrust, Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa form an alliance when they discover a more sinister threat has arisen; Cutler Beckett, who now possesses the heart of Davy Jones, has begun a plan to be rid of all pirates once and for all. The world's pirates gather for a meeting known as the Brethren of the Coast, consisting of nine pirate lords, as the stage is set for a huge battle between pirates, the Royal Navy, and the East India Trading Company at an enormous whirlpool. Swashbuckling fun!

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END (*)

(US 2007) dir. Gore Verbinski 158m. Digital.
Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Jonathan Pryce , Bill Nighy, Chow Yun-Fat.