Festivals >> London >> 2008 >> Galas And Special Screenings

The Brothers Bloom (Country: US; Director: Rian Johnson; Writer: Rian Johnson; Cast: Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz, Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltrane, Maximilian Schell)
Brothers Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody) are expert swindlers still searching for the perfect con, who lure eccentric heiress Rachel Weisz into their elaborate scheme. Johnson never misses a beat in this clever and pleasingly unpredictable comedy. Full Review

Che: Guerilla (Che: Part Two) (Country: France/Spain; Director: Steven Soderbergh; Writer: Peter Buchman, Benjamin A. van der Veen; Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Franka Potente, Santiago Cabrera, Demián Bichir, Kahlil Mendez, Rodrigo Santoro, Yamil Adorno, Jorge Alberti, Marisé Alvarez, Ricardo Alvarez, Fernando Arroyo)
Second episode in Soderbergh's meditation on the Argentine-born revolutionary, focussing on his time in Bolivia. Full Review See: Steven Soderbergh New York Film Festival Press Conference on Che Official Site, View Trailer

Che: The Argentine (Che: Part One) (Country: France, Spain, USA; Director: Steven Soderbergh; Writer: Peter Buchman, based on writings by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara; Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Santiago Cabrera, Demián Bichir, Kahlil Mendez, Rodrigo Santoro, Yamil Adorno, Jorge Alberti, Marisé Alvarez, Ricardo Alvarez, Fernando Arroyo)
First part of Soderbergh's epic, sees the revolutionary take on Batista. Full Review See: Steven Soderbergh New York Film Festival Press Conference on Che Official Site, View Trailer

The Class (Entre les murs) (Country: France; Director: Laurent Cantet; Writer: François Bégaudeau, Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet; Cast: François Bégaudeau, Wei Huang, Esmeralda Ouertani, Franck Keita)
Quasi-documentary about a group of Parisian school kids. Full Review

Cupcake (Country: US; Director: Sean McPhillips ; Writer: Sean McPhillips ; Cast: Kinna McInroe, Michael Consolmagno, Yin Yue, Clare Cook, Christina Noel Reaves, Lori Byargeon)
Discover if Candi gets to have her cake and eat it too. (N) Official Site

Easy Virtue (Country: UK; Director: Stephan Elliott; Writer: Stephan Elliott, Sheridan Jobbins, based on the play by Noel Coward; Cast: Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colin Firth, Kimberley Nixon, Katherine Parkinson, Kris Marshall, Christian Brassington, Charlotte Riley, Jim McManus, Pip Torrens)
When a young Englishman (Ben Barnes) from the landed aristocracy impulsively marries a glamorous and sexy American (Jessica Biel), the stage is set for a titanic culture clash. Full Review Official Site

Frost/Nixon (Frost Nixon) (Country: US; Director: Ron Howard; Writer: Peter Morgan; Cast: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall, Matthew Macfadyen, Max Elliott Slade, Oliver Platt, Toby Jones, Jenn Gotzon, Holly Weber)
Adapted for the screen from his own stage play by BAFTA-winning scriptwriter Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon sees Michael Sheen and Frank Langella reprise their West End and Broadway roles as journalist David Frost and President Richard Nixon. Full Review

Genova (Country: UK; Director: Michael Winterbottom; Writer: Laurence Coriat, Michael Winterbottom; Cast: Colin Firth, Catherine Keener, Perla Haney-Jardine, Willa Holland, Hope Davis, Demetri Goritsas)
Following the death of their mother, father Colin Firth relocates to Italy with his two young daughters (Willa Holland and Perla Haney-Jardine) in this deeply moving and resolutely unsentimental portrait of a family trying to rebuild itself in the wake of a tragic accident. Full Review

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Country: US; Director: Alex Gibney; Writer: Alex Gibney, featuring the writings of Hunter S Thompson)
Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true "freelance," goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor's heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts. Full Review

Hunger (Country: UK; Director: Steve McQueen; Writer: Steve McQueen, Enda Walsh; Cast: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Liam McMahon, Brian Milligan)
Examination of the events leading up to and during Bobby Sands' 1981 hunger strike. Winner of the Camera d'Or at Cannes. Full Review See: Steve McQueen on Hunger at New York Film Festival Press Conference Official Site, View Trailer

The Other Man (Country: US, UK; Director: Richard Eyre; Writer: Richard Eyre, Charles Wood, based on the short story by Bernhard Schlink; Cast: Antonio Banderas, Abigail Canton, Amanda Drew, Romola Garai, Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Laurence Richardson)
When Peter (Liam Neeson) discovers that his loving wife of 20 years (Laura Linney) may have been cheating, he decides to track down and uncover the truth about the mysterious other man (Antonio Banderas).

Quantum Of Solace (James Bond 22) (Country: UK, USA; Director: Marc Forster; Writer: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis, based on characters by Ian Fleming; Cast: Daniel Craig, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton, Olga Kurylenko, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, Stana Katic)
Bond's 22nd outing picks up the storyline just one hour after the end of Casino Royale, marking the first direct sequel produced by EON. Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (Judi Dench) interrogate Mr White (Jesper Christensen) who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined. Full Review See: Article about the Bodyflight wind tunnel stunt filming facility, Stuntman Derek Lea talks Quantum Of Solace View Trailer

The Secret Of Moonacre (Country: Hungary, UK, France; Director: Gabor Csupo; Writer: Graham Alborough, Lucy Shuttleworth, based on the novel by Elizabeth Goudge; Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Dakota Blue Richards, Tim Curry, Natascha McElhone, Juliet Stevenson, Augustus Prew, Andy Linden, Michael Webber, Zoltán Barabás Kis, George Mendel, Sandor Istvan Nagy)
Based on the popular children’s novel The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, acclaimed director Gabor Csupo’s latest offering follows Maria Merryweather (Dakota Blue-Richards), an orphan who inherits a book that provides a key to a past world and may answer the riddles of Moonacre Manor.

Slumdog Millionaire (Country: UK, US; Director: Danny Boyle; Writer: Simon Beaufoy, based on the novel by Vikas Swarup; Cast: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Rubiana Ali, Tanay Hemant Chheda, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Tanvi Gunesh Lonkar, Saurabh Shukla, Mahesh Manjrekar)
The story of Jamal Malik, an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who finds himself just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Arrested on suspicion of cheating, Jamal tells the police the incredible story of his life on the streets, and of the girl he loved and lost. But what is a kid with no interest in money doing on the show? And how does he know all the answers? Full Review See: Opinion piece about Hollywood, poverty, India and Slumdog Millionaire

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Country: Spain, US; Director: Woody Allen; Writer: Woody Allen; Cast: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Evan Welch, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn, Julio Perillán, Juan Quesada, Richard Salom, Maurice Sonnenberg, Javier Bardem)
While on holiday in Barcelona, American students Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) both fall for the charms of Latin seducer Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), and things are further complicated when his tempestuous ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) re-enters the scene. Full Review Official Site

W. (Country: US, Hong Kong; Director: Oliver Stone; Writer: Stanley Weiser; Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Josh Brolin, Thandie Newton, Jesse Bradford, Richard Dreyfuss, James Cromwell, Scott Glenn, Ellen Burstyn, Ioan Gruffudd, Noah Wyle, Rob Corddry)
With an impressive supporting cast that includes Thandie Newton, Scott Glenn and Richard Dreyfuss, this almost Capraesque story traces the rise of Bush Jr (Josh Brolin) from family black sheep to the Leader of the Free World.

Waltz With Bashir (Country: Israel, Germany, France; Director: Ari Folman; Writer: Ari Folman; Cast: Voices of: Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ari Folman, Dror Harazi, Yehezkel Lazarov, Mickey Leon, Ori Sivan, Zahava Solomon)
Animated documentary exploring the psychological aftermath of the First Lebanon War. Full Review Official Site, View Trailer

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