Sun 6 Apr • Matinees

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES (PG) 2.00, 4.15

(US 2008) dir. Mark Waters 96m. Digital.
Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Nick Nolte, Mary-Louise Parker, Joan Plowright, David Strathairn.

Based on the well-known series of books, this masterful family thriller will not disappoint. Recently-single mum (Mary-Louise Parker) and her three children move into a creepy mansion on the Spiderwick Estate that has been in their family for generations. The children soon find themselves caught up in a world they didn't know existed, full of mystical characters and secrets. With a scene-stealing performance from Freddie Highmore (of FINDING NEVERLAND and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY fame) this Spring break matinee is a wonderfully engaging, suspenseful fantasy that both children and adults alike will find delightful.

LA SCALA OPERA SERIES

MARIA STUARDA (PG) 2.30
by Gaetano Donizetti

MARIA STUARDA is a tragic opera in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Friedrich von Schiller's 1800 play 'Maria Stuart'. It received its premiere on 30 December 1835 at La Scala, Milan. The subject is based on the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots and her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. The king banned performances of the opera, and Donizetti responded by removing large segments of the score for use in a different work, BUONDELMONTE. However, Maria Malibran (a famous mezzo-soprano who often sang soprano parts) forced a premiere at La Scala and ignored the censoring revisions, but a ban by the city was enforced. Realizing the impossibility of a run in Italy, a London premiere was planned, but Malibran`s death at the age of 28 in 1836 cancelled the project. Except for several productions of the BUONDELMONTE version, the work was neglected until 1958 when a production in Bergamo, Donizetti`s hometown, brought the original work into popularity. The premiere in England was held on 1 March 1966.

Recorded at La Scala, Milan in high definition, the opera will be projected in 2K digital, the highest quality standard in cinemas today, together with 5.1 surround sound.

Directed, designed and costumed by Pier Luigi Pizzi.
Conductor: Antonino Fogliani
Cast: Anna Caterina Antonacci, Mariella Devia, Paola Gardina, Francesco Meli, Carlo Cigni, Piero Terranova.
Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Approximate running time: 180m. including 1 interval

£12/£10 Concs & Rio Friends

EAST END TRUE-LIFE STORIES 2 (15) 1.30

A second selection of new documentaries from across the East End of London, bringing more personal stories out into the open. 81m.

A13: ROAD MOVIE dirs. Rayna Nadeem & Stuart Bamforth 25m.
(BE)LONGING dirs. Leslie Hill & Helen Paris 10m.
ERIC’S SECRETS dir. Lucia Ashmore 5m.
GUERILLA GARDENING dir. David Bond 8m.
ILFORD dirs. Sadia & Shazia Ur-Rehman 10m.
PIPE DREAMS dir. Lucia Tambini 10m.
A PORTRAIT OF WALTHAMSTOW MARKET dir. Dominic Stinton 3m.

£6.50/£5 Concs

IT ALWAYS RAINS ON A SUNDAY (PG) 3.45

(UK 1947) dir. Robert Hamer 92m.
Googie Withers, Edward Chapman, John McCallum, Jack Warner, Susan Shaw.

In a break away from Ealing’s predominantly comedic output, It Always Rains on Sunday moves into the terrain of serious drama. Directed by Robert Hamer (Kind Hearts and Coronets), it stars Googie Withers as Rose Sandigate, a Bethnal Green housewife whose Sunday is turned upside down by the re-appearance of an old flame who is now an escaped convict seeking protection from the police. A detailed glimpse into life in London’s East End post WWII, this was Googie Wither’s last film for Ealing Studios and, due to her wonderful performance as a woman trapped in a claustrophobic domesticity, it remains one of her best.

£6.50/£5 Concs/free for Over 60’s, ticket includes tea and cakes

LAST TANGO IN PARIS (18) 1.15

(Italy/France 1972) dir. Bernado Bertolucci 129m.
Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Maris Michi, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Catherine Breillat.

Brando is spellbinding in Bertolucci's powerful erotic movie landmark. He's an expatriate American in Paris reeling from his wife's suicide and entering into a nihilistic sexual relationship with a young woman (Maria Schneider). Even after 35 years, the movie retains a shocking intensity.

+ THE CONFORMIST (15) 3.45

(Italy/France/Germany 1970) dir. Bernado Bertolucci 113m. Subtitles. Digital.
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Pierre Clementi, Dominique Sanda.

Bertolucci's dazzling masterpiece, based on Moravia's novel, on the duality of sex and politics. It's the story of Marcello (Trintignant), haunted by the memory of a sexually traumatic childhood experience and on an irreversible course of self-destruction as he agrees to assassinate his former teacher, now living in anti-fascist exile in Paris.

HEAD-ON (18) 1.30

(Germany/Turkey 2004) dir. Fatih Akin 122m. Subtitles.
Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin Striebeck, Guven Kirac, Meltem Cumbul.

Fatih Akin's internationally acclaimed moving and gritty drama is the tale of two troubled Turks adrift in Germany. Cahit is a middle-aged drunk. Sibel is a suicidal woman half his age, stuck at home with repressive relatives. A chance encounter offers a way out for both of them.

+ THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (18) 3.50

(Germany/Turkey 2007) dir. Fatih Akin 121m. Subtitles.
Nurgül Yesilçay, Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Hanna Schygulla, Nursel Köse.

Another journey of love and forgiveness that sweeps from Hamburg to Istanbul. Exquisitely acted, Fatih Akin's latest film is a beautifully complex and compelling mix of familial and political tales tied together in the story of an unorthodox Turkish family living in Germany.

UNKNOWN PLEASURES (12A) 2.00

(South Korea/France/Japan/China 2002) dir. Jia Zhangke 113m. Subtitles.
Zhao Tao, Zhao Wei Wei, Wu Qiong, Zhou Qing Feng, Wang Hong Wei, Bai Ru.

Two disillusioned 19-year olds, Bin Bin and Xiao wander the streets looking for excitement. Sparks fly when Xiao Ji meets a beautiful dancer, and Bin Bin pursues romance with a young student. In a final attempt to break free, they embark on half-baked plan to rob a bank. The film that confirmed Zhangke's reputation as one of China's most important directors.

+ STILL LIFE (PG) 4.15

(China/Hong Kong 2006) dir. Jia Zhangke 113m. Subtitles. Digital.
Tao Zhao, Sanming Han, Zhubin Li, Hong Wei Wang, Haiyu Xiang, Lin Zhou.

Zhangke's beautiful, subtle and occasionally surreal movie uses the relocation of an entire town to make way for a new dam project to paint a broader picture of a society caught in the turmoil of change. It centres on two searches: a coalminer for the wife and daughter he hasn't seen for 16 years, and a nurse looking for her husband who's now the ruthless boss of a demolition company.

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL (12A) 2.30

(US 2007) dir. Craig Gillespie 106m.
Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider.

A sharp and witty comedy about the romantically-challenged Lars (Gosling) who finds a deep and meaningful relationship with a life size blow-up doll. The premise may seem eccentric but, like the film's townsfolk, audiences worldwide have been charmed by Lar's innocent, sweet-natured and humorous approach to life and relationships.

+ JUNO (12A) 4.40

(US/Canada/Hungary 2007) dir. Jason Reitman 96m.
Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman.

Ellen Page (she's in almost every scene) is spellbinding as the pregnant 16 year-old Juno opting to put the child up for adoption in this sharply funny, original and superbly acted movie. The Oscar winning screenplay, sardonic yet compassionate, results in a cinematic gem that has become this year's big indie hit.

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (12A) 2.00

US 2008) dir. Steven Spielberg. 122m.
Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt, Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent.

The Hero Returns! The adventure seeking archaeologist emerges from the cinematic sunset to face new challenges as he reaches for unattainable objects that take him to unthinkable places. Indy's long-awaited fourth instalment retains all the deadpan humour of the originals and George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's love of the escapist cinema of a more innocent age of good versus evil still shines through. A star studded cast of filmdom's finest give their all as friends and foes, new and old, and Harrison Ford is still the one and only Indiana Jones.

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (12A) 2.00

US 2008) dir. Steven Spielberg. 122m.
Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt, Ray Winstone, Jim Broadbent.

The Hero Returns! The adventure seeking archaeologist emerges from the cinematic sunset to face new challenges as he reaches for unattainable objects that take him to unthinkable places. Indy's long-awaited fourth instalment retains all the deadpan humour of the originals and George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's love of the escapist cinema of a more innocent age of good versus evil still shines through. A star studded cast of filmdom's finest give their all as friends and foes, new and old, and Harrison Ford is still the one and only Indiana Jones.