• 
• 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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• 
• 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
• 15

• Directed by: Larry Charles
• Written by: Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg
• Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, John C. Reilly

Admiral General Aladeen (Cohen) is the titular dictator: a sexist, racist, fascist pig with a penchant for execution, who during a trip to the UN is betrayed by his right-hand man (Kingsley). The jokes come thick, fast and obvious but despite moments of solid satire it feels a bit stale.

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• 
• 2012
• Finland, Germany, Australia
• 93 min

• Directed by: Timo Vuorensola
• Written by: Michael Kalesniko (screenplay), Timo Vuorensola (screenplay), Johanna Sinisalo (story), Jarmo Puskala (concept)
• Cast: Julia Dietze, Christopher Kirby, Götz Otto, Peta Sergeant, Stephanie Paul, Udo Kier

Nazis on the moon! In Finland’s first blockbuster, a US lunar expedition discovers a hidden moonbase where Nazis have been hiding since the end of WW II. Shame that Vuorensola’s flat satire and B-movie plotting don’t live up to the inspired premise. For once, a Hollywood remake might be in order.

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• 
• 1994
• US
• 89 min
• PG

• Directed by: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
• Written by: Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton
• Cast: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings

The first Disney animated feature to be based on an original story rather than a traditional folk or fairy tale, The Lion King retains all of the studio's markers: impeccable animation, jolly songs, colourful characters and a strong moral guideline. Solid family fare.

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• 2012
• US
• 15

• Directed by: Ridley Scott
• Written by: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof
• Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron

Sci-fi adventure in which a team of scientists investigating alien life forms becomes stranded and has to fight a battle in which the safety of mankind is at stake.

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• 
• 2011
• Indonesia/USA
• 100 min
• 18

• Directed by: Gareth Evans
• Cast: Iko Uwais, Doni Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhain

An Indonesian SWAT team storms a Jakarta tower block intending to take down crime lord Tama (Sahetapy), but finds itself trapped. About as good a film as you can make about men repeatedly punching each other in the face; Evans' low-budget, high-impact approach has enormous gusto and ingenuity.

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• 
• 2011
• USA
• 124 min
• PG

• Directed by: Cameron Crowe
• Written by: Cameron Crowe, Aline Brosh McKenna
• Cast: Matt Damon, Scarlet Johansson

The clue is in the title: recently widowed father-of-two Benjamin (Damon) quits his job and sets about saving a dilapidated zoo. The sharp humour and unique characterisation that characterised Crowe's best work seems to have been vetoed; great actors are wasted in empty roles and the result is broad, sentimental and dishearteningly average.

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