| Compiled by: Jack Foley
The Constant Gardener
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny
Huston, Bill Nighy.
Plot: When a passionate human rights activist
is found brutally murdered in a remote area of Northern Kenya,
her mild-mannered diplomat husband sets out to find out why. His
ensuing investigation uncovers top-level political corruption
and places his own life in danger.
Reasons for seeing it: Fernando Meirelles, the
genius behind Brazilian hit, City
of God, delivers a politically relevant, yet emotionally involving
thriller that dazzles from start to finish. Fernando describes
the film as his personal revenge for the way in which the US is
trying to stop his home country, Brazil, from producing cheap
generic drugs for people.
Festival dates: Oct 19 (Odeon Leicester Sq, 7pm)
and Oct 20 (Odeon West End 2, 12.45pm)
Read our review
 Good
Night, and Good Luck
Director: George Clooney
Starring: David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert
Downey Jnr
Plot: The media confrontation between renowned
newscaster, Edward R Murrow, and Senator Joe McCarthy, that took
place during the 50s. Murrow’s infamous broadcast antagonised
the House Un-American Activities Committee to such an extent that
he was accused of being a Communist.
Reasons for seeing it: George Clooney’s
second film as director, shot in black and white, has already
won widespread acclaim on the festival circuit, with many viewing
it as a worthy successor to his debut, Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind. What’s more, it provides a timely
reminder of the merits of journalistic integrity at a politically
sensitive time.
Festival dates: November 3 (Odeon Leicester Square,
7pm)
Release date: February 17, 2006
Find out more
Walk The Line
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon,
Ginnifer Goodwin
Plot: It’s the story of the music legend
that was Johnny Cash (aka The Man in Black). James Mangold’s
film chronicles the first half of Johnny’s life, from his
early years in Mississippi county and the death of his brother,
Jack, to his fateful meeting with June Carter and his decision
to veer from gospel to stripped down rock ‘n’ roll.
Reasons for seeing it: The music alone should
delight fans of Johnny Cash, while Joaquin Phoenix’s well-documented
devotion to portraying the character as authentically as possible
gives rise to one of the performances of the year. Reese Witherspoon
also takes a refreshing break from romantic comedies. Could Walk
The Line be this year’s Ray?
Festival dates: October 27 and October 30 (Odeon
West End 2)
Release date: February 3, 2006
Read our preview
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer, Michelle
Monaghan
Plot: A small-time conman unwittingly finds himself
auditioning for the part in an action movie and is sent to prepare
for his role with a private investigator. But the mis-matched
two get more than they bargained for when the murder mystery they
end up investigating seems to involve the sister of the conman’s
old school sweetheart.
Reasons for seeing it: Shane Black is best known
as the writer of the classic mis-matched buddie films, Lethal
Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight and The Last Boy Scout. He’s
been away for ten years but his return, as both writer and director,
provides one of the hippest action films for a while. What’s
more, it provides career-reviving roles for both Robert Downey
Jr and Val Kilmer, who share nice coming timing and good chemistry.
Festival dates: October 28 and 29 (Odeon West
End 2)
Release date: November 11
Read our preview
Elizabethtown
Director: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan
Sarandon, Alec Baldwin
Plot: Having lost the Oregon shoe company he
works for a billion dollars, Drew Baylor feels suicidal –
and that’s before he learns that his father has died! While
travelling home to arrange the funeral, however, he meets and
befriends a stewardess and an unlikely romance develops. But will
it be enough to save him from his date with death?
Reasons for seeing it: Cameron Crowe directs.
That should be enough, given his past track record of films like
Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky. Elizabethtown boasts
another terrific soundtrack, winning performances from Orlando
and Kirsten and is a personal and thought-provoking exploration
of the themes of love, life and death.
Festival dates: October 20 and 21 (Odeon West
End 2)
Release date: November 4
Read our preview l Trailer
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March of the Penguins
Director: Luc Jacquet
Starring: Penguins (lots of them), Morgan Freeman
(narrator)
Plot: The remarkable journey undertaken by a
group of emperor penguins during a harsh Antarctic winter as they
travel 70 miles way from home to breed.
Why you should see it: This winning documentary was the surprise
hit of the summer at the US box office, actually taking more per
screen than Tom Cruise’s War
of the Worlds. The stunning cinematography includes intimate
scenes of penguin’s kissing and playing with their young
that are sure to melt the hearts of even the hardest viewers.
Festival dates: October 25 and 26 (Odeon West
End 2)
Release date: December 9
Read our preview
Where The Truth Lies
Director: Atom Egoyan
Starring: Colin Firth, Kevin Bacon, Alison Lohman
Plot: A beautiful girl lies dead in the bathtub
of a hotel suite occupied by popular 50s comedy double act, Lanny
Morris and Vince Collins. How she got there and whether they were
involved is what an attractive young reporter seeks to find out
15 years later for her latest article.
Reasons for seeing it: Colin Firth finally sheds
his nice-guy image (along with his clothes), while Kevin Bacon
is at his charismatic best. Where The Truth Lies is a sexy murder-mystery
that gleefully exposes the seamier side of celebrity. The sex
scenes alone should guarantee it a lot of notoriety but it doesn’t
come at the expense of plot or character development.
Festival dates: November 1 and 2, Odeon West
End 2
Release date: December 2
Read our preview
 The
Matador
Director: Richard Shepard
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope
Davis, Philip Baker Hall
Plot: A globe-trotting womaniser and assassin
seeks a way out of the business which has begun to take its toll.
On his latest assignment he befriends a businessman looking to
end his own run of bad luck. Their relationship could well provide
an unlikely way out for them both.
Reasons for seeing it: Having recently had his
licence to kill revoked, former James Bond Pierce Brosnan seeks
to reinvent himself while poking fun at his former suave image.
This could even represent a cheeky look at a 007 on the verge
of retirement. But the sight of a drunken Pierce strutting through
a hotel lobby in only cowboy boots and a pair of Speedos is sure
to leave audiences shaken and stirred in a different way!
Festival dates: October 24 (Odeon West End 2)
and October 31 (Filmworks, Greenwich)
Release date: January 20, 2006
Read our preview
 Hustle
and Flow
Director: Craig Brewer
Starring: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson,
Taryn Manning
Plot: A pimp going through a midlife crisis resolves
to become a hip-hop singer after becoming inspired by a gospel
song. The path to success is frought with peril, however, and
hinges on whether he can persuade a local boy made good to give
him a shot.
Reasons for seeing it: Hustle and Flow won the
audience award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It
provides a spellbinding mix of hard-hitting social drama, hip-hop
politics and edgy humour that deserves to make it a number one
hit with audiences. What’s more, both Terrence Howard and
Anthony Anderson provide career-defining performances.
Festival dates: October 25 and 26 (Odeon West
End)
Release date: November 11
Read our preview
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
Director: Park Chan-Wook
Starring: Lee Yeong-Ae, Choi Min-Shik, Kim Shi-Hu
Plot: After being released from prison for the
kidnap and murder of a young boy, a beautiful but impassive woman
plots an elaborate plan for revenge. But who is she conspiring
against and why, if she confessed to the crime in the first place?
Reasons for seeing it: Park Chan-Wook directed
last year’s indie hit, Oldboy,
and here delivers another fiendishly compelling mix of black humour
and ultra violent revenge. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is certainly
not for the squeamish but if you liked Tarantino’sKill Bill
movies, then this gives you a glimpse of what may have inspired
them.
Festival dates: October 22, Odeon West End 2
Release date: None given as yet
Read our preview
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