Film Festivals 2011
Hoyts, Northlands was the Christchurch venue for this years International Film Festival, so grateful to Hoyts that Christchurch had a Film Festival at all... Most of the films shown at the 2011 festival have now found their way onto the DVD or Blu-ray format and are available for rental. To assemble your Personal Film Festival, simply scroll the candidates below for your consideration. Highlights include "Drive", the fascinating "How Much Does Your Building Weigh Mr Forster", the acclaimed "Incendies" and from old maestro's Lars Von Trier comes "Melancholia" and Wim Wenders delivers with "Pina". The "Add to My Picks" function at the top right of you screen on any film page my prove useful at this time.
The Trip (2010)
7/10
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Steve Coogan, Claire Keelan, Margo Stilley, Rob Brydon
After Steve (Steve Coogan) is commissioned by The Observer to review half a dozen restaurants, he decides to plan a trip around the North of England w... Read more
Illustrious Energy (1987)
7.9/10
Director: Leon Narbey
Starring: Heather Bolton, Peter Hayden, Shaun Bao, Peter Chin, Desmond Kelly, Harry Ip, Ge...
Two Chinese gold miners in a remote valley in Central Otago struggle to improve their lot. The goldrush is over. Their life is tough. When they make a... Read more
The Way Back (2010)
7.3/10
Director: Peter Weir
Starring: Ed Harris, Mark Strong, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan, Jim Sturgess
For seven men who escaped from a brutal Stalinist gulag in 1940 Siberia, breaking out was the easy part. What followed was a harrowing, 4,000-mile tre... Read more
The First Grader (2010)
7.5/10
Director: Justin Chadwick
Starring: Naomie Harris, Oliver Litondo
A heartwarming tale based on a true story, "The First Grader" is set in a remote mountain village in Kenya and tells the story of 84-year-old former M... Read more
Rabbit Hole (2010)
7/10
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Nicole Kidman
Powerful adaptation of the play by David Lindsay-Abaire stars Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as a married couple whose lives are shattered when their... Read more
The Solitude of Prime Numbers (2010)
6.3/10
Director: Saverio Costanzo
Starring: Luca Marinelli, Arianna Nastro, Tommaso Neri, Alba Rohrwacher, Martina Albano
Paolo Giordano's best-selling novel is given a unique screen adaptation in this drama from director Saverio Costanzo. As Giordano notes in his book, p... Read more
Circumstance (2011)
5.9/10
Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Starring: Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho, Sin...
Within the oppressive society of contemporary Iran, two Tehran schoolgirls are romantically drawn to each other and seek the freedom to live their liv... Read more
Heartbeats (2010)
7.2/10
Director: Xavier Dolan
Starring: Monica Chokri, Niels Schneider, Xavier Dolan
Francis (Xavier Dolan) and Marie (Monia Chokri) are best friends and seemingly have it all youth, good looks and style in abundance. One night they... Read more
Norwegian Wood ( Blu-ray ) (2010)
6.4/10
Director: Tran Anh Hung
Starring: Kiko Mizuhara, Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi
Set in 1960s Tokyo, this romantic Japanese drama based on Haruki Murakami's semi-autobiographical 1987 novel concerns a literature student (Kenichi Ma... Read more
Point Blank (2010)
6.8/10
Director: Fred Cavaye
Starring: Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Elena Anaya, Gerard Lanvin
A French action thriller from Fred Cavaye ("Anything for Her"), "Point Blank" is a relentless thriller that follows a man as he races through the stre... Read more