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Cinema

UK Cinema Releases: Friday 4th December 2009

Including ‘Me and Orson Welles’, ‘The Box’, The Descent Part 2 and Planet 51

Cinema Releases 04-12-09

NATIONAL RELEASES

Me and Orson Welles (cinemaNX Distibution): A period drama set in 1937 about a teenager (Zac Efron) who joins the Mercury Theatre production of “Julius Ceasar” directed by a young Orson Welles (Christian McKay). Directed by Richard Linklater and co-starring Claire Danes, it was shot in the Isle of Man back in the spring of 2008 and lingered on the shelf after failing to get a distributor at various festivals. However, production company CinemaNX have decided to release it themselves (a rarity for a national release) sharing print and ad costs with Vue Entertainment. It could do decent business given Efron’s appeal to teen audiences and the critical plaudits lavished on McKay’s portrayal of Welles. [Nationwide / PG]

The Box (Icon): Director Richard Kelly returns from the disastrous Southland Tales with this tale of a suburban couple (James Marsden and Cameron Diaz) who receive a box as a gift and then are told by a mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) that if they press the button on it, they will get $1 million. The catch is that someone, somewhere in the world will die as a result. After some decidedly mixed reviews, this seems likely to meet the fate of Kelly’s last film rather than his first, 2001’s Donnie Darko. [Nationwide / 15]

The Descent: Part 2 (Warner Bros/Pathe): The sequel to the 2005 horror film, sees the sole survivor (Shauna McDonald) emerge from the Appalachian cave system where she encountered unspeakable terrors. Directed by Jon Harris, it co-stars Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Krysten Cummings, Joshua Dallas. [Nationwide / 18]

Planet 51 (Entertainment):  Another 3D animated film hits UK multiplexes and this one involves the inhabitants of Planet 51, who  live in fear of alien invasion, which is realised when an astronaut arrives from Earth. Directed by Jorge Blanco and Javier Abad, it features the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Sean William Scott, Jessica Biel and Justin Long. [Nationwide / PG]

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IN LIMITED RELEASE

Cracks (Optimum Releasing): A look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite British boarding school starring Eva Green and directed by Jordan Scott. [ C’Worlds Chelsea & Haymarket, Odeon Wimbledon & Selected Cinemas nationwide / 15]

Departures (Arrow Films): A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals in this Japanese film which won the Best Foreign Film Oscar earlier this year. [Odeon Covent Gdn, Renoir & Key Cities from 8 Jan 2010 / 12A]

Disgrace (ICA Films): Based on the novel by J.M. Coetzee this adaptation is the story of a Cape Town professor (John Malkovich) who moves to the Eastern Cape after an affair with a student, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics. [ICA Cinema and selected cities / 15]

The Girlfriend Experience (Revolver Entertainment): An experimental drama about a high-end Manhattan call girl (played by Sasha Grey), set in the autumn of 2008. Directed by Steven Soderbergh with his low budget hat on [Selected UK cities / 15].

The Merry Gentleman (The Works): A drama about a woman (Kelly Macdonald) who leaves an abusive relationship to begin a new life in a new city, where she forms a relationship with a suicidal hit man (Michael Keaton, who also directs) and an alcoholic detective (Tom Bastounes). [Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue & Key Cities / 15]

> Get local cinema show times for your area via Google Movies
> UK cinema releases for December 2009
> UK DVD & Blu-ray picks for this week including Including Life and The Miners’ Campaign Tapes (W/C Monday 30th November 2009)