Release date: March 23 Cert: 15
300 recalls the ancient and ferocious Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, the Spartans’ valour inspired all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. This film brings Frank Miller’s epic graphic novel to life.
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Release date: April 20 Cert: 15
Inspired by true events, Alpha Dog follows the lives of a group of California teens which spiral violently out of control. Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) is living a warped American dream as a drug dealer in a neighbourhood of Los Angeles. He and his best friend Frankie (Justin Timberlake) exist in a blur of partying trying to live their lives by emulating the rap musicians they idolize. Young and flush, life for amoral Johnny and his friends comes with no consequences. Anything can happen, and when simmering undercurrents of violence explode when a drug debt needs paying, something does.
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Release date: March 23 Cert: PG
This historical epic follows the early life of anti-slavery pioneer William Wilberforce. Ioan Gruffudd plays Wilberforce, a man born into the age of Empire when Britain’s global influence was at its most powerful. It was also a time when reformers faced an uphill struggle to be heard. Wilberforce was a friend of England’s Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch), and was elected to the House of Commons at just 21. |
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Release date: April 27 Cert TBC
A moving love story about the many twists in a life-long marriage. Fiona (Julie Christie), suffering the onset of Alzheimer’s, moves to a retirement home. Her husband Grant (Gordon Pinsent) is eventually allowed to visit but finds she has no memory of him and has grown attached to a resident, Aubrey (Michael Murphy). When Aubrey leaves, Fiona is devastated and Grant must make a huge act of sacrifice to guarantee his wife’s final happiness.
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Release date: March 9 Cert: PG
Becoming Jane presents a fresh and surprising view of the young Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) and shows how a little-known love affair with the brilliant, roguish young Irishman, Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy), played an influential part in the shaping of her work. The film shows Jane's determination to succeed in an era when independent thought for women was not encouraged and women’s choices were severely limited. |
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Release date: April 6 Cert: TBC
When rival figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy Macelroy (Jon Heder) go ballistic in an embarrassing, no-holds-barred fight at the World Championships, they are stripped of their gold medals and banned from the sport for life. It’s now three-anda- half years on and they’ve found a loophole that will allow them to compete: if they can put aside their differences, they can skate together – in pairs figure skating…
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Release date: May 4 Cert: PG
Jess (Josh Hutcherson) is an outsider both at school and within his own family. Training hard all summer to become the fastest kid in his class race, his goal is unexpectedly thwarted by new girl Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb). She, too, exists on the fringes and the pair soon become good friends. Together, they create the magical kingdom of Terabithia which they save from the Dark Master and his army of underlings. Can they also achieve similar success against the school bullies? |
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Release date: May 25 Cert: TBC
Buddhadev Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan) owns London’s top Indian restaurant. His only friend and confidante is a 9-year-old neighbour. A pompous man, his only passion in life is cooking – that is until he meets Nina Verma (Tabu) and they fall in love. Buddhadev does the honourable thing and asks Nina’s father for her hand in marriage. There’s just one problem – Nina’s father is six years younger than his would-be son-in-law!
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Release date: April 13 Cert: 15
The most expensive Chinese film ever made, this is an epic costume drama examining the folly of war and the disintegration of one family. Militaristic King (Chow Yun Fat) unexpectedly returns home to a decaying kingdom. While his absence has given rise to love affairs, dangerous alliances and malicious conspiracies, the biggest threat of all is the King's own dark secret.
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Release date: March 30 Cert: TBC
Although they have never set foot on French soil, Saïd Jamel Debbouze), Abdelkader (Sami Bouajila), Messaoud (Roschdy Zem) and Yassir (Sammy Naceri) enlist into the French Army along with 130,000 other African soldiers to liberate the “fatherland” from the Nazi enemy. The friends battle through Italy, Provence and the Vosges before finding themselves alone to defend an Alsatian village against a German battalion.
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Release date: May TBC Cert: 18
A controversial and savage black comedy, David Mamet’s Edmond traces one man’s brutal descent into a contemporary urban hell. A chance encounter with a fortune-teller leads businessman Edmond (William H. Macy) to confront the emptiness of his life. Appalled, he flees into the vortex of the city’s underbelly, where he meets waitress, Glenna (Julia Stiles.) Conflict leads to murder and with nothing to lose Edmond spirals towards disintegration and a terrible redemption. |
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Release date: April 20 Cert: TBC
A high-flying job in a top law firm is almost within grasp for hotshot US attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) – if he can just get through his next case… This one, however, may also prove to be his downfall. Devious Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) wriggles free of his wife’s murder charge and Willy’s ego won’t let it rest until he’s brought Ted to justice. Soon both men are locked in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
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Release date: May 11 Cert: TBC
Friends Forever is the first Indian movie to blend animated characters with real life actors, in the tradition of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Stuart Little. It follows the adventures of Zampano, a red and blue haired pint- sized creature with magical powers, and his journey with a little girl as she grows up. Little Zampano is always on hand to help the heroine succeed in life and love.
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Release date: March 23 Cert: TBC
Two friends have a dream – to break into the movies. Wannabe producer Joe (Tom Riley) and his talented but neurotic director friend Baggy (Tom Burke) head to London to sell what they know is a script made of gold. Encountering nothing but closed doors, their luck changes when an equally desperate producer offers them some money… but only if they nab the legendary porn actress Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra).
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Release date: April 6 Cert: PG
Finnish film Lights in the Dusk concludes Aki Kaurismäki’s so-called Loser Trilogy which includes Drifting Clouds and The Man Without a Past. It’s a story of a man upholding old-fashioned virtues in a world where there appear to be none. However, far from being depressing, Lights in the Dusk is wonderfully droll. A cinematic black humour treat. |
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Release date: March 30 Cert: TBC
Lewis is an orphan who dreams of someday finding a family. And his life takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious stranger named Wilbur Robinson whisks him away to a place where anything is possible – namely, the future. There, Lewis meets an incredible assortment of characters as well as the amazing Robinson family, who lead him on a hilarious adventure.
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Release date: March 30 Cert: PG
Mr Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is h eading to the South of France for a holiday in the sun. What could possibly go wrong? Unsurprisingly, his voyage from London to the Riviera soon descends into chaos as he inadvertently creates havoc wherever he goes – culminating in an unscheduled and riotous screening of his video diary at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Release date: March 23 Cert TBC
What happens when you transplant an English rose to the countryside of Punjab and expect her to thrive in an alien environment? The rose will either die or rebel. That’s exactly what Jasmeet (Katrina Kaif) does when her father brings her to India to marry. But Jazz is determined to marry her British boyfriend. Caught in this emotional tug of war is poor Arjun (Akshay Kumar).
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Release date: June 1 Cert: TBC
Nanhe lives with his mother, sister and camel, earning a living as a tourist guide arranging safaris. As a baby, he appeared in a film with actor Bobby Deol and grows up idolising him. Illiterate Nanhe keeps Deol up to date on his life through letters he asks his sister to write each day. When Deol arrives in town for a film shoot he changes not only the young boy’s outlook but also his entire life. |
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Release date: April 27 Cert: TBC
Magician Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage) has a secret that torments him: he can see a few minutes into the future. He lies low under an assumed name performing cheap tricks and living off small time gambling winnings in Las Vegas. But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device, government agent Callie Ferris (Julianne Moore) has to use all her wiles to persuade Cris to help stop the cataclysm.
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Release date: April 13 Cert: TBC
Sexy thriller Perfect Stranger asks: how far would you go to keep a secret? When investigative reporter Rowena Price (Halle Berry) learns that her friend’s murder might be connected to powerful ad executive Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), she goes undercover with the help of her associate, Miles Hailey (Giovanni Ribisi). Posing as Katherine, a temp at Hill’s agency, and Veronica, a girl Hill flirts with online, Rowena quickly discovers she isn’t the only one changing identities. |
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Release date: April 6 Cert: 15
Based on true events, Provoked tells the story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who suffered 10 years of abuse at the hands of her husband. In a desperate act, she set fire to her tormentor and ended up with a life sentence for murder. The film reveals how Kiran’s case changed women’s rights in Britain. Starring Aishwarya Rai, Miranda Richardson, Robbie Coltrane and Naveen Andrews.
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Release date: April 20 Cert: 15
Former college roommates Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) and Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) meet by chance on a Manhattan street corner. Five years after losing his family in the 9/11 disaster, Charlie has retreated from his life and Alan is stunned to see the changes in his friend. Alan – who should be enjoying his beautiful wife, children and career – is overwhelmed by his responsibilities. Their rekindled relationship becomes a lifeline for the two men. |
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Release date: April 13 Cert: TBC
Bob Lee Swagger, (Mark Wahlberg) is a former Army sniper who leaves the military when a mission goes wrong. After living in exile, he is coaxed back into action when he learns of a plot to kill the president. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why...
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Release date: May 4 Cert: 12A TBC
Get ready for a web of secrets, vengeance, love and forgiveness that will transport you to thrilling new cinematic heights. Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to girlfriend M.J. and duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it brings out the dark, vengeful side of Peter’s personality. Meanwhile, he also has the super-villains Sandman and Venom to contend with.
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Release date: June 1 Cert: TBC
A thousand years ago in the north of Australia, ten tribesmen head into a forest to harvest bark. Soon it transpires Dayindi is besotted with the youngest wife of his older brother. With tribal law in danger of being broken, he is told a story from the mythical past; a story of wrong love, kidnapping, sorcery, mayhem and revenge gone wrong. A film unlike you have ever seen, this is that story…
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Release date: March 30 Cert: 12A
Once upon a time in Korea, the corrupt Minister of Defence rids himself of all political opponents and assumes absolute power – printing vast amounts of illegal cash. Detective Namsoon (Ji-won Ha) goes undercover with her partner to investigate the counterfeit money. But when all the prime suspects are killed, she discovers loyal henchman Sad Eyes (Dong-won Kang) is covering up the Minister’s tracks. |
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Release date: March 23 Cert: TBC
A unit of rookie National Guard soldiers stops at a New Mexico outpost to deliver equipment to a group of atomic scientists. When they arrive at the isolated research camp, however, they find it mysteriously deserted. After spotting a distress signal in a distant mountain range, the team embark on a search and rescue mission in order to locate the missing scientists. Little do they know a tribe of cannibalistic mutants lies in wait.
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Release date: March 30 Cert: TBC
Based on the acclaimed science fiction story, Mimsy Were the Borogoves, The Last Mimzy tells the tale of two children who discover a mysterious box full of toys. As they play with the toys the children start to display higher intelligence levels. When Government scientists start taking an interest, they discover Mimzy is part organic, part futuristic technology. Soon the children and their parents are drawn into a strange world. |
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Release date: April 7 Cert: 15
The Solomon family leaves fast-paced Chicago for the secluded world of a North Dakota farm. Amidst the tranquil sway of the surrounding sunflower fields teenager Jess (Kristen Stewart) soon realizes how terrifying isolation can be when she and her three-year-old brother begin seeing ominous apparitions. And matters take an even more sinister turn when those spectres become violent. Jess’s troubled life comes to haunt her as her parents question her believability while she desperately tries to tell them of the warnings she is being sent from the past.
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Release date: April 27 Cert: 12A
Based on Somerset Maugham’s classic novel, this love story is set in the 1920s. A young English couple Walter (Edward Norton) and Kitty (Naomi Watts) marry and move to Shanghai, where she promptly has an affair. On discovering her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, Walter accepts a job in a village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic. Their journey brings meaning to their relationship. |
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Release date: April 13 Cert: TBC
After her family is tragically killed, a former Christian missionary (Hilary Swank) becomes a world-renowned expert in disproving religious phenomena. But, when she investigates a small Louisiana town suffering from what appears to be the Biblical plagues, she realises science cannot explain the chilling phenomena. Instead she must regain her faith to combat the dark forces threatening the community.
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Release date: May 4 Cert: 15
A suburban wife and mother, Terry Wolfmeyer’s (Joan Allen) life takes an unexpected turn when her husband disappears. Struggling to deal with the loss, Terry finds herself increasingly at odds with her four daughters. Regularly drowning her anger in alcohol, she develops an offbeat relationship with neighbour Denny (Kevin Costner.) Soon Terry’s daughters are not only dealing with their own dilemmas, but those of their mother too. |
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Release date: April 27 Cert: 18
School is out and 12-year-old loner Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) faces an aimless summer holiday. His father has died fighting in the Falklands War and the youngster finds new male role models when a skinhead gang takes him in. Shaun discovers a world of parties and Dr Martin boots. But when they start harassing the local ethnic minorities, Shaun is hurled from innocence to experience.
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Release date: March 30 Cert: PG
Strange events are taking place in New York City and now the Turtles are needed more than ever. But since the defeat of their old arch nemesis The Shredder, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo have become lost and directionless. With the city at stake, it’s up to Leonardo and Zen Master Splinter to restore unity and ninja discipline to the Turtles.
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Release date: April 27 Cert: 15 TBC
Modern-day pirates haunting the fringes of the East China Sea ambush American ship, JASON and kill all 22 crew. The top-secret contents of the vessel are ransacked and its name changed to ASO 1 allowing it to slip unnoticed into Shanghai. Sin (Chang Dong-gun), the leader of the pirates, has stolen technology in order to bargain with the Russian mafia. Yet, is it just coincidence that in a few days’ time two giant typhoons will hit Korea?
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Release date: April 13 Cert: TBC
An all-star cast of Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy hit the road in this comedy-adventure about a group of middle-aged friends who rev up their suburban lives with a freewheeling motorcycle trip. But when this mis-matched foursome set out for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, they encounter a world that holds far more than they bargained for. |
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Release date: May 18 Cert: 15
Based on the true story of a serial killer who terrified San Francisco and taunted authorities with his coded letters for decades, Zodiac is a thriller from David Fincher, director of se7en and Fight Club. The film follows four men whose quest to find Zodiac becomes an obsession; an obsession that will turn them into ghosts of their former selves, their lives built and destroyed by the killer’s endless trail of clues.
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And don’t forget, there is a lot more coming soon including: Pirates of the Carribean 3: At World’s End
You can check release dates at www.launchingfilms.com
and where classification is not given go to British Board of Film Classification at
www.bbfc.co.uk
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