5 JUNE

The 25th Hour (MA): Selected, Sydney/ Adelaide/ Melbourne/ Perth. Buena Vista. 16 screens. Crime/ Drama. 135 mins. Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Brian Cox, Anna Paquin, Barry Pepper. D: Spike Lee (Malcolm X). The 25th Hour depicts the last day of freedom for a young man before he begins serving a seven-year jail term for drug dealing. Prowling through the city until dawn with his two close male friends and his girlfriend, he is forced to re-examine his life and how he got himself into his predicament, which leads to a shocking, disturbing finale.  Monty’s not sure of much these days… but with time running out, there are choices to be made and Monty’s got some tricks up his sleeve that are about to be set in motion.  A Spike Lee joint NOT going straight to video in this country? 'bout time.  

2 Fast 2 Furious (M): National. UIP. 301 screens. 108 mins. Action. Paul Walker, Tyrese, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, Ludacris, James Remar, Thom Barry, Devon Aoki, Eric Etebari.  D: John Singleton (Boyz N The Hood).  Paul Walker reprises his role as former cop Brian O'Conner, who teams up with his ex-con pal Roman Pearce (Tyrese) to transport a shipment of "dirty" money for a shady Miami-based import-export dealer (Hauser), while actually working with an undercover agent (Mendes) to bring the dealer down.

Igby Goes Down (MA): Selected, NSW Sydney/ Brisbane + Gold Coast/ Adelaide/ Melbourne/ Perth. Palace. 30 screens. 97 mins. Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman & Susan Sarandon. D: Burr Steers (debut). Igby Slocumb is a rebellious and sarcastic seventeen-year-old boy who is at war with the stifling world of “old-money” privilege that he was born in to.  With a schizophrenic father, a self-absorbed, distant mother and a shark-like young republican big brother, Igby figures there must be a better life out there – and sets about finding it.

Life And Debt (G): Selected. Gil Scrine. 86 mins. 1 screen.  Sydney:- Valhalla Glebe. Doco. USA. D: Stephanie Black (H-2 Worker). "Life and Debt," a striking and compelling documentary from Stephanie Black, gives the tourist a parallel view to their luxurious and fun-loving visit. She presents the side of Jamaica with a bloody and inhumane history steeped in European invasion, Arawak extermination and African enslavement. Today's story of the modern Jamaica still shows the European invasion, and a large body of African enslavement at the hands of multinational corporations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Safely Of Objects (MA): Selected, Sydney/ Melbourne. Niche. 4 screens. Drama. Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, Jessica Campbell, Patricia Clarkson, Joshua Jackson, Moira Kelly, Robert Klein, Timothy Olyphant, Mary Kay Place. D: Rose Troche (Bedrooms and Hallways). "The Safety of Objects" is an American suburban drama filled with subversive humor. We uncover the lives of four neighboring families as they struggle to make honest human relationships. In doing so the characters realize they must emerge from the isolation provided by...the safety of objects.

12 JUNE

The Bulletproof Monk (M): National.  Hoyts. 137 screens. 104 mins. Sci-fi. Chow Yun-Fat, Seann William Scott, Jaime King, Mako, Marcus Jean Pirae, Karel Roden, Victoria Smurfit. D: Paul Hunter (debut). For many years a mysterious monk with no name (Yun-Fat) has zigzagged the globe to protect an ancient scroll - the Scroll of the Ultimate - which holds the key to unlimited power. Now the monk must find a protégé, the scroll's next guardian. Kar (Scott) is an unlikely candidate, a streetwise young man whose only interest is himself. But when he saves the Bulletproof Monk from capture, the two become partners in a scheme to save the world from the scroll's most avid pursuer. 

The Core (M): National. UIP. 171 screens. 135 mins. Adventure/ Sci-fi. Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Tcheky Karyo, DJ Qualls, Delroy Lindo, Alfre Woodard, Stanley Tucci, Richard Jenkins, Bruce Greenwood. D: Jon Amiel (Copycat). A dashing young geophysicist named Dr. Josh Keyes performs research which determines that the center of the world has stopped rotating. This means severe repercussions for those of us living on the planet's surface unless some daring heroes are able to reach the Earth's core and perform highly-technical scientific stuff.

A Man Apart (MA): National. Roadshow. 151 screens. 109 mins. Action. Vin Diesel, Timothy Olyphant, Larenz Tate, Jacqueline Obradors, Gino Silva, Steve Eastin, Juan Fernadez, Jeff Kober, Mike Moroff, Emilio Rivera. D: F Gary Gray (Set It Off).  Vin Diesel stars as Agent Sean Vetter, a DEA operative fighting the drug wars along the US/Mexican border. After a major player from the Baja Cartel is imprisoned, a new mysterious figure known as Diablo wrests control over the entire operation. But when Vetter's wife is murdered in a botched hit, he and his partner (Tate) must join forces with the jailed Cartel to hunt down the dangerous and elusive new layer.

19 JUNE

Bruce, Almighty (M): National. Buena Vista. 322 screens. Comedy. 101 mins. USA. Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Bell, Lisa Ann Walter, Steve Carell, Nora Dunn, Philip Baker Hall. D: Tom Shadyac (Dragonfly). Carrey plays Bruce Nolan, a "human interest" television reporter in Buffalo, New York who is discontented with almost everything in life, despite his popularity and the love of his girlfriend Grace (Aniston). At the end of the worst day in his life, Bruce angrily ridicules and rages against God -- and God responds. He appears in human form (Freeman) and, endowing Bruce with all of His divine powers, challenges Bruce to take on the big job and see if he can do it any better.

Naqoyqasti (G): Selected, Melbourne, Astor. Buena Vista. 1 screen. 89 mins. USA. D: Godfrey Reggio (Evidence). Na-qoy-qatsi: (nah koy’ kahtsee) N. From the Hopi Language.   1. A life of killing each other.   2. War as a way of life.   3. (Interpreted) Civilized violence. A motion picture experience beyond words, NAQOYQATSI merges the power of image and music to plunge into the heart of the hyperaccelerated, globally wired 21st century. Mesmerizing images plucked from everyday reality, then visually altered with state-of-the-art digital techniques, stream across the screen in synch with a hypnotic score by Philip Glass, featuring the passionate cello work of Yo-Yo Ma. Despite the film’s nonverbal nature, the ultimate effect of its starkly futuristic,

Travelling Birds (G): Selected, Canberra/ Sydney/ Brisbane/ Adelaide/ Melbourne/ Perth. Hopscotch. 19 screens. 89 mins. France. Documentary. Jacques Perrin (narrator). D: Jacques Perrin (L' Empire du milieu du sud), Michel Debats (debut), Jacques Cluzaud (debut). Music by Bruno Coulais, and featuring Nick Cave. Travelling Birds is the latest breathtaking documentary from the production team that created both Microcosmos and Himalaya. Encompassing three years of shooting on 35mm, Travelling Birds looks at the magical and somewhat mysterious world of bird-life migration. These birds accomplish journeys of several thousand kilometres, beset with dangers, across the highest mountains, boundless oceans and burning deserts, all with the aim of survival. Little chicks have to quickly learn to fly and prepare themselves for their supreme test – their first migration.  The cast list includes: Puffins in Iceland, Cranes in Japan, Geese across New York City, Turtle Doves in Mali, Ibis in Vietnam, Bald Eagles in Alaska and the Grand Canyon, Penguins in Antarctica, Macaws in the Amazon in Peru, Flamingoes in Kenya, Andean Condors in Argentina and Chili, Swans in the Camargue, France to the humble pigeons in the Pyrenees!

26 JUNE

Baran (PG): Selected, Syd/ Bris/ Melb. Gil Scrine. 3 screens.  Valhalla Glebe (Syd), Lumiere (Melb), Schnoll (Brisb).  Iranian. Adventure.  94 mins. Hossein Abedini, Zahra Bahrami, Reza Naji, Jossein Rahimi, Hossein Mahjoob. D: Majid Majidi (The Colour Of Paradise).  Young Latif works on a Tehran construction site with his fellow Iranians and a few illegal Afghan workers. When Latif is given heavier tasks to accommodate new Afghan worker Rahmat, he resents his displacement and treats Rahmat cruelly. After one of his pranks, though, Latif discovers Rahmat's secret he is a girl. Latif's heart softens to Rahmat and he shows his new affection for her by doing what he can to ease the hardships she suffers at work. When government inspectors force all Afghans to be fired from the site, Lateef discovers he cannot bear to be without her. Jeopardizing social standing and endangering his own well being, Latif stops at nothing to save his love.

Daddy Day Care (G): National. Columbia. 92 mins. 325 screens. Comedy. Eddie Murphy, Anjelica Huston, Steve Zahn, Jeff Garlin, Lacey Chabert, Leila Arcieri, Michelle Krusiec. D: Steve Carr (Next Friday). Charlie (Eddie Murphy) and Phil (Jeff Garlin) are so consumed by their high profile advertising jobs that they are completely missing out on the joys of fatherhood. In the wonderful new family comedy Daddy Day Care, however, their kids provide them with a crash course in child rearing, with uproarious and heart-warming results. After failing to excite the public about vegetable cereal, Charlie and Phil are fired from their ad jobs. That means no more expensive day care for their sons at the exclusive Chapman Academy, run by the harsh taskmistress Gwyneth Harridan (Anjelica Huston).While floundering aimlessly in search of employment and tending to his 4-year-old son Ben (Khamani Griffin) during the day while his wife Kim (Regina King) is at work, Charlie has an idea. 

Help! I'm A Fish (G): Selected, QLD/ VIC. 3 July NSW, SA, WA. Rialto. 80 mins. Release tied to school holidays in each state. Family Animation. Denmark- subtitled. 80 mins.  Voices: Alan Rickman, Terry Jones, Jeff Pace, Aaron Poul, Michelle Westerson, David Bateson, Teryl Rothery, John Payne, Pauline Newstone, Louise Fribo, Ian James Corlett, Michael Dobson. D: Stefan Fjeldmark (When Life Departs), Michael Hegner (debut). The plot is simple (and silly): Three little kids sneak out from their babysitter to go fishing, encounter a wacky mad scientist (voiced by Monty Python's Jones) and are accidentally transformed into fish when they drink a potion he's working on to help humans breathe in water after the polar ice caps melt (!). Now they have 48 hours to find the antidote, which has transformed a fish named Joe (Rickman) into a megalomaniac who hatches a plan to take over the undersea world. Sounds fishy. 

The Hulk (M): National. UIP. Action/ sci-fi. 138 mins. 341 screens. Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliot, Josh Lucas, Jennifer Sossman, Cara Buono, Mike Erwin, Lou Ferrigno.  D: Ang Lee (The Ice Storm) . A top secret military project hires prestigous university students to assist create a cell altering machine called the 'gammasphere'. Lead of the group is arrogant Bruce Banner, mainly complimented by compassionate Betty Ross. When the gammasphere goes wrong, Bruce Banner is afflicted with the ability to turn into a mammoth creature soon dubbed 'The Hulk', a manifestation of his own inner demons that he mutates into when it is emotionally triggered. 

L'Idole (M): Selected, Melbourne. Dendy. 1 screen. 3rd July Sydney. Drama. Australia/ France:- subtitled, French. France. 113 mins. Leelee Sobieski, James Hong, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Jalil Lespert, Marie Loboda. aka L'Idole. D: Samantha Lang (Monkey's Mask). Australian director Samantha Lang’s third film, L'Idole (The Idol) is at once a dramatic timeless comedy and complex study of profound and contrasted characters. Set in contemporary Paris, this French language film stars Leelee Sobieski and James Hong (over 450 diverse film and television roles in the US, from BLADE RUNNER to SEINFELD). The script (co-written by Roman Polanski's long time collaborator, Gerard Brach) focuses on a beautiful and touching love between two disjointed souls (Sobieski and Hong). With perfect Parisian styling, excellent performances and lush cinematography, L'IDOLE is set to solidify Samantha Lang's place on the international stage.

Monsieur Batignole (PG): Selected, Sydney/ Melb. Sharmil. 3 screens. 100 mins. Comedy. France. Subtitled- French. Gérard Jugnot, Jules Sitruk, Michèle Garcia, Jean-Paul Rouve, Alexia Portal, Violette Blanckaert, Daphné Baiwir, Götz Burger, Elisabeth Commelin. D: Gérard Jugnot (Blue Hamlet).  Jugnot plays one of his typical likeable characters who doesn't want to get involved, but finds himself nonetheless thrown in with three Jewish children as they attempt to escape to Switzerland. Jean-Paul Rouve also does a fabulous job of acting, making you hate him just for playing his character.

Respiro (M): Selected, Sydney/ Melbourne.  Palace. 5 screens. 90 mins. Drama. Subtitled. Vincenzo Amato, Valeria Golino, Francesco Casisa.  D:  Emanuele Crialese (Heartless).  A small fishing community on Lampedusa, an island near western Sicily, seen through the eyes of teenager Pasquale (Vincenzo Amato) and his mother Grazia (Valeria Golino), a dreamy free-spirit, whose increasingly eccentric behavior leads the locals to believe she is going mad.

Very Annie Mary (M): Selected, Syd/ Bris/ Adel/ Perth. Imagine/ Becker. 7 screens. 104 mins. Comedy/Musical. UK. Rachel Griffiths, Jonathan Pryce. D: Sara Sugarman (Mad Cows). Annie-Mary is an awkward and secretly rebellious 20 something still living at home in a village in the Welsh valleys with her womanising widowed father. Moral support comes from the odd collection of characters who make up the population of the village but it takes a series of calamities with unexpected silver linings before Annie-Mary can finally stand up and claim her freedom. VERY ANNIE-MARY is a joyful, poignant film about striking out against the odds, and winning in the most eccentric way.

30 JUNE

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (PG): National. June 30: VIC/ QLD. July 3: NSW, SA, WA (215 screens).  UIP. 85 mins. 197 screens (30 June). Animated Adventure. V: Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Adriano Giannini. D: Patrick Gilmore (debut), Tim Johnson (Antz). Sinbad (Brad Pitt), the most daring and notorious rogue ever to sail the seven seas, has spent his life asking for trouble, and trouble has finally answered... in a big way. Framed for stealing one of the world's most priceless and powerful treasures - the Book of Peace - Sinbad has one chance to find and return the precious book or his best friend Proteus (Joseph Fiennes) will die. Sinbad decides not to take that chance and instead sets a course for the fun and sun of the Fiji Islands. But not so fast... Proteus' beautiful betrothed, Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones), has stowed away, determined to make sure that Sinbad fulfils his mission.