G-Force posterFreakin’ school holidays. 9 – count ’em – new films are opening this week and most of them are designed to keep restless young people out of the hair of their elders and betters. Time is short so I’m just going to list them here:

  • G-Force. Talking cute rodents audition to be special agents by taking down super-villain Bill Nighy. Readings (3D), Empire (2D), Sky City Queensgate (3D).
  • Fame. The re-hashing of beloved 80s popular trash continues (Footloose is next). Readings, Empire, Embassy, Sky City Queensgate
  • Shorts. Robert Rodriguez puts together another virtually homemade digital fantasy for kids – in the spirit of Shark Boy and Lava Girl and we all know how much we loved them. Readings, Sky City Queensgate
  • The Secret of Moonacre. Former animator Gabor Csupo made the smart Bridge to Terabithia the year before last and this is aimed at a similar age group. Readings, Paramount.

  • Ponyo. If the kids have already seen Up, or their parents are particularly pretentious, this looks like the one. Acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle) tells a story inspired by The Little Mermaid fable. Paramount exclusive.
  • Year One. Ghostbusters‘ Harold Ramis directs a broad comedy about prehistoric hijinks that stars Michael Cera and Jack Black, both likeable in their own way. Readings, Empire, Sky City Queensgate
  • North Face. This week’s grown-up films are all Festival returns. North Face is a gripping German film about two sets of climbers in the 1930s attempting to be the first to climb the Eiger by the treacherous North Face. Readings (staking their claim to the arthouse with this exclusive).
  • Disgrace. JM Coetzee’s Booker Prize winning novel is brought to the screen with John Malkovich in the lead. Penthouse, Lighthouse.
  • Every Little Step. Another doco about a quintessentially New York subject (after The September Issue last week), this is about the casting of a revival of the Broadway musical A Chorus Line, which is in turn about the casting of a Broadway show. Penthouse exclusive.

All of the above will be reviewed in next week’s Capital Times. Get your opinions, and your corrections, in early in the comments.