MARCH 6

Australia: Land Before Time (G): Selected, 2 screens. Melb/ Syd. Sydney: Darling Harbour. Melb: Carlton Gardens. IMAX.  Doco.  6 March Syd. 42 mins. Australia. D: David Flatman. The movie begins with a proper Aussie image -- a kangaroo bounding across the outback at full bounce. It's also a good illustration of the movie's theme: that Australia's isolation and harsh climate have forced species to evolve unlike any others on earth.

Ballistic: Ecks Vs Sever (M): National. Warner Bros (Roadshow). 74 screens. 91 mins. Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu, Ray Park, Terry Chen, Aidan Drummond.  D: Kaos (Wych Kaosayananda, debut). In the deadly game of international espionage, elite anonymous operatives wage secret wars for power, information and national security. Agendas are rarely what they seem. Word has recently been circulating in these exclusive ranks of an ingenious new assassination device. Microscopic and injectable, it lies dormant inside its victim until activated and then kills in an instant, leaving no trace. In the frantic race to obtain this device, only two individuals, sworn enemies, have the skill, talent and tenacity to succeed. One is an agent known only by the code name Sever (Liu).     

Cowboy Beebop: The Movie (M): Selected, Melb Kino/ Syd Martin Palace. 2 screens. Columbia. Brisbane April 3. Perth and Adelaide TBA.  115 mins. Japan. Animated. Kôichi Yamadera, Unshô Ishizuka, Megumi Hayashibara, Aoi Tada, Tsutomu Isobe, Ai Kobayashi, Mickey Curtis. D: Shinichirô Watanabe. Set on Mars in the year 2071, "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" is based on the much-loved animated television series by Japanese director Shinichiro Watanabe. When an accident in the middle of a busy city leaves over 500 people dead, terrorists wielding biological weaponry are suspected, and a monetary reward is offered to anyone who can provide information leading to the perpetrators' capture.

Final Destination 2 (MA): National. Roadshow. 141 screens. Thriller. 90 mins. AJ Cook, Sarah Hattingh, Enid-Raye Adams, Jonathan Cherry, Cam Cronin, Aaron Douglas, Michael Landes, Thomas Burke, Ali Larter, Tony Todd. D: David R Ellis (Homeward Bound II: Lost In San Francisco). Kimberly Corman and her friends decide to head out on a trip. On the way, they get caught up in a horrible accident, in which Kimberly survives, but her friends die brutally. Kimberly also saves a few other people. Soon after the accident, the survivors of the accident start dropping like flies. Now, it's up to Kimberly, along with the help of Flight 180 junkie Thomas Burke, Clear Rivers, and the Mortician William Bloodworth, Kimberly must find a way to stop death before it's to late... Before it's her turn.

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart (M): Selected, Perth. 1 screen. DVD: Stomp Visual. Luna Outdoor. Doco. 92 mins. D: Sam Jones (debut). First-time filmmaker and award-winning photographer Sam Jones documents a turbulent chapter in alt-country turned experimental rock band Wilco’s history. Rejected by their label and on the verge of breaking up, the band forges ahead to record their now acclaimed album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot."

Maid In Manhattan (PG): National. Columbia. 308 screens. Drama. 105 mins. Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Di Quon, Stanley Tucci, Bob Hoskins. D: Wayne Wang (Smoke). The story of Marisa Ventura (Lopez), a single mother born and bred in the boroughs of New York City, who works as a maid in a first class Manhattan hotel. By a twist of fate and mistaken identity, Marisa meets Christopher Marshall (Fiennes), a handsome heir to a political dynasty who believes that she is a guest at the hotel. Fate steps in and throws the unlikely pair together for one night. When Marisa's true identity is revealed, the two find they are worlds apart, even though the distance separating them is just a subway ride between Manhattan and the Bronx.

Moonlight Mile (M): Selected. Buena Vista.  Can/Syd/Bris/Gold Coast/Sun Coast/Adel/Perth. 18 screens. 116 mins. Drama. Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen Pompeo, Holly Hunter, Susan Sarandon.  D: Brad Siberling (Casper). Loosely inspired by the true story of the 1989 murder of actress (and TV star) Rebecca Schaeffer to whom Brad Silberling was engaged at the time.  A story set in the seventies about two parents who take in the fiance of their recently murdered daughter who recently died while working as a waitress.  Even though still grieving, he begins to fall in love with another woman who works in a bar owned by her boyfriend who has gone missing. 

The Pianist (MA): National. UIP. 53 screens. 149 mins.  UK/ France. Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Maureen Lipman, Ed Stoppard, Emilia Fox, Frank Finlay, Julia Rayner, Jessica Kate Meyer.  D: Roman Polanski (Pirates). Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" is based on the true story of the talented pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman (Brody), a Polish Jew, who avoided being deported to a Nazi death camp during World War II by hiding in the ruins of Warsaw. Finally he was rescued by a German soldier (Kretschman). 

Power And Terror: Noam Chomsky In Our Times (G): Selected, Sydney Valhalla Glebe / Melbourne Nova Carlton. 2 screens. Gil Schrine. Perth March 13. Brisbane Schonell March 20. 71 mins. Documentary. USA/ Japan. Noam Chomsky. D: John Junkerman. This documentary compiles the results of a lengthy interview and a series of public talks that acclaimed political commentator, activist, writer and professor of linguistics Noam Chomsky gave in the spring of 2002 in New York and California, reacting to the events of 9/11/01, placing the terrorist attacks within the context of American foreign policy over the last several decades. 

Rodger Dodger (M): Selected, Syd/ Melb/ Perth/ Brisb/ Canb. March 13: Adel. Rialto. 12 screens. Comedy. 108 mins. Campbell Scott, Isabella Rossellini, Jennifer Beals, Jesse Eisenberg, Elizabeth Berkley, Ben Shenkman, Mina Badie, Chris Stack, Colin Fickes, Gabriel Millman.  D: Dylan Kidd (debut).   Set against the bright lights of Manhattan, "Roger Dodger" is a comic, urbane look at the modern male ego at war in the singles scene trenches. Campbell Scott, in a brave, hilarious and utterly convincing performance, stars as Roger Swanson, a hopelessly cynical advertising copywriter with a razor-sharp wit who believes he has mastered the art of manipulating women. But Roger's seemingly foolproof world of smooth talk and casual sex begins to unravel when he is paid a surprise visit by his teenage nephew, Nick (talented newcomer Jesse Eisenberg).

Saathiya (M): Selected, Syd/ Melb. MG Distribution. 8 screens. 138 mins. Musical. 9 songs. India. Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukherjee, Sandhya Mridul. D: Saad Ali (debut). The film tells the story of a girl who thought that ‘love was for people who had nothing better to do’.  Suhani Sharma (Rani), a pediatric student in Mumbai medical college, was unlike many girls of her age. A bookworm who spent most of her time studying pediatrics and doing night shifts practicing surgery, Suhani never thought she could fall in love.

Teesh And Trude (MA): Selected, Perth. Cecile B Deux Mels. 1 screen. Luna Leederville. Mandurah Reading 20th March. 27 March, Classic Cinema Elsternwick Melbourne (one week season). Australia. Comedy. 86 mins.  Susie Porter, Linda Cropper, Peter Phelps, Jacob Allan, Bill McCluskey, Mason Richardson, Igor Sas,  Kezmir Sas, Francoise Sas. D: Melanie Reed (Send A Gorilla). In Unit 16b at Platypus Rise Flats, two hard and damaged women living on a diet of soapies, sarcasm and frustration are about to reach breaking point. A bad day becomes worse by the hour and to top it off, the toilet won't flush.   

MARCH 20

24 Hour Party People (MA): Selected, Bris/ Adel/ Melb/ Perth/ Syd/ Can. UIP. 10 screens. Comedy/ Musical. UK. 105 mins. Steve Coogan, Kenny Baker, Rob Brydon, James Cartwright, Chris Coghill, Paddy Considine, Martin Coogan, Danny Cunningham, Christopher Eccleston, Dave Gorman, Martin Hancock, Sean Harris, Shirley Henderson. D: Michael Winterbottom (Jude). Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson (Coogan) is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by an unknown band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them.  (Bris: Dendy Twin. Adel: Palace Nova East End. Melb: Kino. Perth: Luna. Syd: Palace Verona. Canb: Ceter.). 

Badlands (TBA): Selected, Sydney Chauvel. Chapel Distribution. 1 screen. Re-release. 1973. 95 mins. D: Terrance Malick (The Thin Red Line). Kit (Martin Sheen) is a 25-year-old trash man who fashions himself as James Dean. When he meets Holly (Sissy Spacek), a cute, innocent 15-year-old, he finds himself falling in love with her. Her father (Warren Oates), an overprotective widower, will not allow the relationship to blossom, even after Kit informs him of his decent intentions. This refusal triggers Kit into embarking on a murder spree across the Midwest. (Note: Already playing before the 20th). 

Battle Royale (R): Selected, Melb Lumiere. Becker. 1 screen. 1 May Syd Broadway. Thriller. 114 mins. Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Masanobu Ando, Kou Shibasaki, Chiaki Kuriyama. D: Kinji Fukasaku (Black Lizard). Japan at the dawn of a new millennium. The country is in a state of chaos, violence by rebellious teenagers in schools is completely out of control. The government hits back with a new law: Battle Royale. Every year a school class picked at random will be cast away on an abandoned island to fight it out amongst themselves. It lasts three days, everyone gets food, water and a weapon. 

Below (M): Selected, Syd/ Bris/ Adel/ Melb/ Perth. Buena Vista. 10 screens. Horror/ Sci-fi.  105 mins. David Crow, Matthew Davis, Scott Foley, Dexter Fletcher, Bruce Greenwood, Oliva Williams, DJ Perry. D: David N Twohy (Pitch Black). An American submarine, the USS Manta, during World War II, already in thick trouble with Nazi U-boats above discovers that there is... something else below them, possibly ghosts? The plot starts with the submarine being sent to rescue three survivors, including a nurse (Williams) from a sunken British hospital ship. Then, things get creepy...

Daredevil (M): National. Fox. Action. 304 screens. Ben Affleck. Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Keith, Joe Pantoliano, Scott Terra, Ellen Pompeo, Leland Orser, Kevin Smith (cameo). D: Mark Steven Johnson (Simon Birch). Attorney Matt Murdock is blind, but his other four senses function with superhuman sharpness. By day, Murdock represents the downtrodden. At night, he is Daredevil, a masked vigilante stalking the dark streets of the city, a relentless avenger of justice.

Dog Soldiers (MA): National. Becker. (Classic 99). 47 screens. Horror. 105 mins. Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby, Liam Cunningham, Thomas Lockyer, Darren Morfitt, Chris Robson. D: Neil Marshall (Killing Time). Six soldiers. Full moon. No chance. A squad of British soldiers is sent out on manoeuvres into the wilds of Scotland. They thought the worst they had to worry about was missing the biggest football match of the decade, but what should have been a regular military exercise turns into a nightmare. 

The Emperor's Club (PG): National. Roadshow. 95 screens. Drama. 109 mins. Kevin Kline, Roger Rees, Rob Morrow, Steven Culp, Joel Gretsch, Patrick Dempsey, Rahul Khanna, Embeth Davidtz, Emile Hirsch, George F. Miller, Paul Franklin Dano, Jesse Eisenberg, Rishi Mehta, Gabriel Millman. D: Michael Hoffman (One Fine Day). aka The Palace Thief.  Kline stars as Arthur Hundert, a dedicated and inspiring Classics professor who has devoted his life to teaching at an elite boys' prep school. When a new student, Sedgewick Bell (Hirsch), the headstrong son of a powerful senator, joins his class, Mr. Hundert's life is inexorably altered.

Minor Mishaps (M): Selected. Gil Schrine Films. Valhalla Glebe. 1 screen. 104 mins. Subtitled:- Danish. Jorgen Kiil, Maria Wurgler Rich, Henrik Prip, Jannie Faurschou, Jesper Christensen, Julie Wieth, Karen-Lise Mynster. D: Annette K Olesen. After the mother of a Copenhagan family is killed in a road accident, her husband and three grown-up children reunite for the funeral. As the dysfunctional family interacts, Olesen follows each of these characters' very different stories as they try and come to terms with their mother's death and their own need to make sense of their lives.

Tape (MA): Selected, Sydney. Palace Verona. March 27:- Melb/ Perth. Palace. 1 screen. Drama. 86 mins. USA. Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard.  D: Richard Linklater (Slacker).  A three-character ensemble piece set within the confines of a tawdry motor lodge in Lansing, Michigan USA. After 10 years apart, three disparate people come together to play out the unresolved drama of their final days in high school. Intrigued, we watch as layers of denial are slowly peeled away. Suspense builds as each character is provoked into revealing his or her true nature and motivation. Mesmerised, we are drawn into their lives as they choose which cards to play and which cards to hold.

Tuck Everlasting (PG): Selected, Bris/ Adel. Buena Vista. 3 screens. 90 mins. William Hurt, Ben Kingsley, Sissy Spacek, Jonathan Jackson, Alexis Bledel, Scott Bairstow, Robert Randolph Caton, Bob Coletti, Kosha Engler, Peter Epstein, Victor Garber, Amy Irving, Beau Russell. D: Jay Russell (My Dog Skip). Based upon the novel of the same name by Natalie Babbitt, this film captures the dreamlike, enchanted story of Winnie Foster (Bledel), a teenage girl on the cusp of maturity.  Winnie is a free-spirited 15-year-old in a stuffy Victorian household who stumbles on the Tucks, a strange family hiding out on the family grounds. They, the teen learns, have discovered a spring that makes them immortal. (Playing at Brisbane: BCC Indooroopilly.  Adelaide GU Megaplex Marion. Melbourne: Village Sunshine.) 

MARCH 27

Cradle To The Grave (M): National. Roadshow. Action. 101 mins. Jet Li, DMX, Anthony Anderson, Mark Dacascos, Tom Arnold, Kelly Hu, Gabrielle Union. D: Andrzej Bartkowiak (Romeo Must Die). When an international criminal (Dacascos) kidnaps the daughter of a gang leader (DMX) as part of a diamond heist, it causes a city's police to engage in an intensive search (led by a government agent played by Li), aided by the father's gangsters.  Expect lots of dialogue and static camera's.  If you see a completely different movie. 

In Shifting Sands: The Truth About UNSCOM and The Disarmament of Iraq (PG): Selected, Syd/ Bris. Ronin Films. 2 screens: Valhalla, Schonell. VHS/ DVD format.  Scott Rosann (narrator), Rolf Ekeus, Tim Trevan, Lt. General Amer Rashid, Lt. General Amer al-Sa'adi, and Tariq Aziz. Directed by Scott Ritter, former United Nations Chief Inspector in Iraq, this documentary depicts his untold story and how the U.N. weapons inspectors were undermined and betrayed by Iraq, the United Nations, and the U.S.

Ned Kelly (M): National. UIP. Drama. 110 mins. Australia. Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, Laurence Kinlan, Philip Barantini, Joel Edgerton, Kiri Paramore, Emily Browning, Russel Dykstra, Geoff Morell, Rachel Griffiths.  D: Gregor Jordan (Two Hands). Shoot Start: April 2002 Wrap: July 2002.  This film is based on "Our Sunshine" by Robert Drew, a novel based on the life of Australian bushranger and icon, Ned Kelly. It tells of his life as a bushranger in north-west Victoria, where he lived all his life. He, his brother Dan, and two other men, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne, formed a gang.

Paradise Found (M): Selected, Adelaide. Becker. 3 screens. (Palace Nova, GU Megaplex Marion, Wallis Mt Barker.) Other states to follow. 89 mins. UK/ France/ Germany/ Australia.. Drama bio-pic. Kiefer Sutherland, Billy Connolly, Nastassaya Kinski, Alun Armstrong, Thomas Heinze, Chris Haywood, Nicholas Hope, Peter Varga. D: Mario Andreacchio (Sally Marshall Is Not An Alien). The life of post-impressionist artist Paul Gauguin, who abandoned his comfortable life as a stockbroker in Paris to paint after relocating to the South Pacific in 1891. 

The Rookie (G): Selected, Syd, Melb, Adel. Opened in Brisbane 31 Oct 02. Buena Vista. 3 screens. (Syd: GU Caslte Hill, Adel: GU Megaplex Marion, Melb: Village Sunshine). 120 mins. Drama. Dennis Quaid, Rachael Griffiths, Jay Hernandez, Brian Cox, Beth Grant, Agus T Jones. D: John Lee Hancock (Hard Time Romance), aka Alan Smithee, aka Anonymous. When a shoulder injury ended his minor league pitching career twelve years ago, Jim Morris resorted to the next best thing: coaching. But Jim's team, knowing their coach is a great ball player, makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, they want Jim to try out for a major-league organization. Going from worst to first, the team makes it to state, and Jim is forced to live up to his end of the deal.

Sweet Sixteen (TBA): Selected, Syd/ Melb/ Bris. Niche. 6 screens. (Syd: Dendy Opera, Dendy Newtown, Chauvel) (Brisb: Dendy Twin) (Melb: Kino, Classic). UK. Drama. 106 mins. Martin Compston, William Ruane, Annmarie Fulton, Michelle Abercromby, Michelle Coulter, Gary McCormack, Tommy McKee.  D: Ken Loach (My Name Is Joe). Waiting for his ex-junkie mother (Coulter) to get out of prison on his upcoming 16th birthday (giving the film its title), a Scottish teenager, Liam (Compston), from a rough neighborhood in Glasgow tries to raise enough money to buy a new home so they and his 17-year-old sister, Chantelle (Fulton) (who already has her own child), can get a chance at a new sort of life. So, he gets involved in the drug trafficking business...