RELEASE DATES: FROM FEBRUARY 23 – 29
JODI BREAKERS (TBC, in Hindi)
This romcom about a man who splits up couples for a living and the woman whose relationship he has to break up didn’t do too well at the box office and with the critics. However, the winning pairing of the gorgeous Bipasha Basu and oft-underrated Bollywood actor R. Madhavan is still enough to convince us to watch it.
MR & MRS GAMBLER (PG13)
It’s refreshing to see the usually sweet Fiona Sit take on the role of an incorrigible gambler who meets the equally addicted Chapman To on a unlucky night at the casino. They end up having to run from loan sharks, and of course, falling in love.
TERE NAAL LOVE HO GAYA (TBC, in Hindi)
A comedy caper about a staged kidnapping to help get the girl out of an arranged marriage, after which boy and girl proceed to fall in love and face a few humorous/heartbreaking adventures along the way? Yup, it’s definitely a typical Bollywood film. This one, featuring real-life couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza, did win over critics, with one describing it as “sweet and simple”.
THIS MEANS WAR (PG13)
If Reese Witherspoon comedies are your thing, then you wouldn’t mind the hackneyed plot which involves two best friends and CIA agents plotting against each other to get the woman they both have an eye on. We’ll skip this one.
EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE (PG13)
Two actors who could tackle a topic as sensitive as the September 11 attacks? Definitely Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. And getting lots of positive attention for his heartbreaking performance is Thomas Horn, who takes on the role of a son suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome and dealing with the loss of his father after the collapse of the Twin Towers.
RUNWAY BEAT (PG, in Japanese)
A film which combines fashion and an inspiring story of triumph over all odds.. Koji Seto is Biito “Beat” Mizorogi, a new student who helps his classmates put on a fashion show in this film adapted from the mobile phone novel by Maha Harada.
HUGO (PG, in 3D)
Martin Scorsese strays from the gang-related movies to direct this whimsical tale about a boy who has to fend for himself after his father is burned alive in a fire. Hugo lives alone in a train station in Paris in 1931 working to finish a project left by his late father, and then goes on an adventure to find its last and missing piece.
RELEASE DATES: FROM MARCH 1 – 8
5 DAYS OF WAR
Set against the backdrop of the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, a television reporter and his cameraman become part of the conflict when the wedding they’re attending in Georgia gets bombed. They escape but now need to get the story out to the rest of the world.
ACT OF VALOR (TBC)
Currently doing well at the American box office is this heart-pumping and patriotic flick about a group of US Navy Seals who have to rescue a CIA agent and fend off terrorists. The cast also features actual Navy Seals and US Navy Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen, adding to the reality factor.
MAN ON A LEDGE (TBC)
Sam Worthington shakes off the Avatar blue to take on the role of a man who is literally driven to the edge — a ledge on the highest floor of the Roosevelt Hotel — after he’s framed for a crime he claims he didn’t commit.
LOL (TBC)
Teen queen Miley Cyrus is still playing the young adult roles but this time there’s a certain maturity to her character who starts experimenting with sex and drugs after getting dumped by her boyfriend. The embattled Demi Moore plays her mum who only finds out after reading her daughter’s diary and realises their relationship needs fixing.
IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY (TBC)
It’s known as Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, but it deserves more attention for dealing with the 1992 Bosnian War, which happened as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia, in a different way — to say it’s a movie about star-crossed lovers is an understatement. A young soldier in the Serbian forces is in charge of the camp in which the Bosnian girl he once had a relationship with is being held captive and forced to be a sex slave for the army.
The Devil Inside (TBC)
The exorcism sub-genre of horror movies will probably never end. This is the latest one, about a woman who has three exorcisms forced onto her while searching for the truth behind her mother’s convictions.
