Movie Releases – 27 February 2015

Focus (2015)

Stars: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Adrian Martinez

Directors: Glenn Ficarra/John Requa

Genre: Comedy/Crime/Drama/Romance

Kramer & Sigman Films, Zaftig Films

Time: 104 min

Rating: Restricted

Plot

Nicky Spurgeon is an extremely accomplished con man who takes an amateur con artist, Jess, under his wing. Nicky and Jess become romantically involved, and with Nicky's profession of being a liar and a cheater for a living, he realizes that deception and love are things that don't go together. They split, only to see each other three years later... And things get messy.

The Lazarus Effect (2015)

Stars: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger

Director: David Gelb

Genre: Thriller

Blumhouse Productions, Lionsgate, Mosaic Media Group

Time: 83 min

Rating: PG-13

Plot

THE LAZARUS EFFECT follows a group of researchers led by Frank and his fiancé Zoe who've achieved the unimaginable - bringing the dead back to life. After a successful, yet unsanctioned, trial on a newly deceased animal, the team is ready to unveil their breakthrough to the world. When the dean of their university learns of their underground experiments, their project is unexpectedly shut down and their materials confiscated. Frank, Zoe and their team take matters into their own hands, launching a rogue attempt to recreate their experiment, during which things go terribly wrong and one of their own, Zoe, is horrifically killed. Fueled by terror and grief, Frank pushes them to do the unthinkable: attempt to resurrect their first human test subject. Initially, the procedure appears a success, but the team soon realizes something is wrong with Zoe. As her strange new persona reveals itself, the team quickly becomes stuck in a gruesome reality. They are no longer faced with the question ...

Maps to the Stars (2014) - [Limited]

Stars: Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson, John Cusack

Director: David Cronenberg

Genre: Drama

Prospero Pictures, Sentient Entertainment, SBS Productions

Time: 111 min

Rating: Restricted

Plot

The Weiss family is the archetypical Hollywood dynasty: father Stafford is an analyst and coach, who has made a fortune with his self-help manuals; mother Cristina mostly looks after the career of their son Benjie, 13, a child star. One of Stafford's clients, Havana, is an actress who dreams of shooting a remake of the movie that made her mother, Clarice, a star in the 60s. Clarice is dead now and visions of her come to haunt Havana at night... Adding to the toxic mix, Benjie has just come off a rehab program he joined when he was 9 and his sister, Agatha, has recently been released from a sanatorium where she was treated for criminal pyromania and befriended a limo driver Jerome who is also an aspiring actor.

‘71 (2014) - [Limited]

Stars: Jack O'Connell, Sam Reid, Sean Harris, Paul Popplewell

Director: Yann Demange

Genre: Action/Drama/Thriller

Crab Apple Films, Protagonist Pictures, Warp Films

Time: 99 min

Rating: Restricted

Plot

A young British soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a terrifying riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, the raw recruit must survive the night alone and find his way to safety through a disorienting, alien and deadly landscape.

The Hunting Ground (2015) - [Limited]

Stars: Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering, Amy Herdy, Caroline Heldman

Director: Kirby Dick

Genre: Documentary

Production Company: Not Known

Time: 90 min

Rating: Not Known

Plot

From the makers of "The Invisible War" comes a startling expose of rape crimes on U.S. college campuses, their institutional cover-ups and the devastating toll they take on students and their families. Weaving together verite footage and first person testimonies, the film follows the lives of several undergraduate assault survivors as they attempt to pursue - despite incredible push back, harassment and traumatic aftermath - both their education and justice.

A la mala (2015) - [Limited]

Stars: Aislinn Derbez, Mauricio Ochmann, Papile Aurora, Luis Arrieta

Director: Pedro Pablo Ibarra

Genre: Comedy

Country: Mexico

Language: Spanish

Production Company: Not Known

Time: 99 min

Rating: Not Known

Plot

When aspiring actress Maria Laura's best friend begs her to flirt with her boyfriend to test his fidelity, Maria finds a lucrative new career. After being hired by women across the city, Maria is given a gig that should be business as usual until she ends up falling head over heels for her latest mark.

Everly (2014) - [Limited]

Stars: Salma Hayek, Jennifer Blanc, Uros Certic, Togo Igawa

Director: Joe Lynch

Genre: Action/Thriller

RADiUS-TWC, Vega, Baby!, Crime Scene Pictures

Time: 92 min

Rating: Restricted

Plot

An action/thriller centered on a woman who faces down assassins sent by her ex, a mob boss, while holed up in her apartment.

The Salvation (2014) - [Limited]

Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Eric Cantona

Director: Kristian Levring

Genre: Drama/Western

Zentropa Entertainments, Forward Films, Spier Films

Time: 92 min

Rating: Not Known

Plot

In 1870s America, a peaceful American settler kills his family's murderer which unleashes the fury of a notorious gang leader. His cowardly fellow townspeople then betray him, forcing him to hunt down the outlaws alone.

My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (2014) - [Limited]

Director: Liv Corfixen

Stars: Liv Corfixen, Nicolas Winding Refn, Ryan Gosling, Alejandro Jodorowsky

Genre: Documentary

Production Company: Not Known

Time: 58 min

Rating: Not Known

Plot

Liv Corfixen documents her husband, filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, during the production and release of his movie Only God Forgives (2013).