• 
• 2011
• UK/Ireland
• 113 min
• 15

• Directed by: Rodrigo García
• Cast: Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson

In 1890s Dublin, Albert (Close) is a hardworking waiter in a hotel who has concealed for years the fact that he's really a woman – only to be found out by fellow employee Hubert (McTeer), who is also one. A sad, strange and touching tale, which however never really pays off.

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• 
• 2012
• UK/France
• 15

• Directed by: Ken Loach
• Cast: Roger Allam, John Henshaw, Daniel Portman

New drama from top Brit director Loach about a young father with a criminal past who is determined to give his son a better life than he had.

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• 
• 2011
• UK
• 118 min
• 12A

• Directed by: John Madden
• Written by: Ol Parker
• Cast: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson

Despite an irresistible army of pension-age talent including Dench, Smith and Wilkinson, all on excellent form, this story about a group of unconnected British retirees who come to the titular hotel in Jaipur and find resolution for their various issues and challenges, feels too calculated to offer anything more than disposable entertainment at best, and cheaply manipulative emotional kicks at worst.

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• 
• 2012
• US
• 113 min
• 12A

• Directed by: Tim Burton
• Written by: John August, Seth Grahame-Smith
• Cast: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Grace Moretz, Bella Heathcote

18th century vampire Barnabas Collins (Depp) escapes from his coffin to find himself in Maine in 1972. It's fun, thanks to a smart script and plenty of surreal humour; Burton regulars Depp and Bonham-Carter are a hoot, but Moretz and Green could have used more restraint.

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• 2012
• US
• 105 min
• PG

• Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
• Written by: David Koepp
• Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin

In a Back to the Future-style escapade, Agent J (Smith) must go back in time and stop the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) being killed by an alien criminal and altering the shape of the Agency. Earth will, of course, need to be saved in the process.

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• 
• 2012
• UK/US
• 88 min
• U

• Directed by: Peter Lord/Jeff Newitt
• Cast: Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Piven, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant

An inept pirate captain (Grant) attempts to win Pirate of the Year competition with the help of a young Charles Darwin (Tennant). Aardman's humour sometimes seems dated but Grant is pleasing, the visuals are enchanting, Staunton's Queen Victoria is a riot and there's much for the whole family to treasure.

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• 
• 2011
• UK
• 111 min
• 12A

• Directed by: Lasse Halström
• Written by: Simon Beaufoy
• Cast: Ewan Mcgregor, Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas

A nerdish fisheries expert (McGregor) and a sophisticated legal aide (Blunt) are recruited by an angling-obsessed sheik (Waked) to realize the vision of the title. What worked on the page is an insubstantial muddle on film, thanks to an unfocused script and Hallström’s preference for broad emotions over subtlety and complexity.

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