• Friday 7 December for 1 week

THE DARJEELING LIMITED (15)

(US 2007) dir. Wes Anderson. 104m.
Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan, Wally Wolodarsky, Angelica Huston.

A year after their father's funeral, three estranged American brothers set off across India on the train of the title with a plan to find themselves, re-connect with each other, and perhaps find reconciliation with their mother, now living in a remote convent. The trio's road to enlightenment veers rapidly off course and eventually they find themselves stranded alone in the desert with eleven suitcases, a printer, and a laminating machine. That's the start of a new and unexpected journey as director Wes Anderson quirkily offers more astute observations on the complications of family ties begun with THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS. There's some fine ensemble playing by Brody, Schwartzman and Wilson as the brothers and Angelica Huston as their mother. A teasing cameo appearance by the great Bill Murray is a bonus highlight of this captivating comedy. All aboard The Darjeeling Limited!

• Friday 14 December for 1 week

ONCE (15)

(Ireland 2006) dir. John Carney 87m.
Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova, Alaistair Foley.

Described by director Carney as an 'art house musical', this charming film took Sundance by storm. Hansard plays a guitarist/singer-songwriter who makes a living by working in his Dad's shop by day, and singing on the Dublin streets by night. Irglova is a Czech girl who plays piano when she gets a chance, does odd jobs by day and takes care of her family by night. The film captures the period just after they meet, a week where trying to put together a demo tape forces them to work through their respective pasts, and reveal their feelings for one another.

• Friday 14 December for 1 week

BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT (15)

(US, 2007/1982) dir. Ridley Scott 117m. Digital.
Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah.

Ridley Scott’s masterpiece is revitalised here in the long awaited final cut commemorating the 25th anniversary of the iconic sci-fi thriller. Set in Los Angeles 2019, Deckard (Ford) is a Blade Runner who specialises in terminating replicants – artificially created humans – who is forced out of retirement when four of these creatures escape from an off-world colony and make their return to Earth. Enhanced stunning visual effects make this the definitive version of the winner of Hackney’s Favourite Film.

• Friday 21 December for 1 week

RATATOUILLE (U)

(US 2007) dirs. Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava 111m. Digital.
Voices of Ian Holm, Peter O'Toole, Janeane Garofalo, Patten Oswalt.

Pixar Animation recaptures the delights of the treat for all ages that was TOY STORY. Their latest warm and irresistible mix combines verbal and visual wit with perfect slapstick timing and is served with just a soupcon of Gallic sophistication. Moving to Paris to fulfill his dream of being a chef, young rat Remy discovers it's a tough profession for a rodent – especially when his culinary hero Auguste Gusteau passes away. But by forming an unlikely allegiance with trainee chef Linguini, Remy finds a way to put his gastronomic skills to good use – all the while battling his family's scepticism, a crazy head chef, and the rat-hating world of humans to produce the finest Ratatouille in all of France!

• Friday 21 December for 2 weeks

I'M NOT THERE (15)

(US/Germany, 2007) dir. Todd Haynes 136m.
Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Wishaw.

It's not only the times that are a-changing in Todd Haynes‚ audaciously brilliant portrait of the life of Bob Dylan. Six different actors, from Richard Gere to Cate Blanchett, play six different variations on the life of the music legend: 11 year old African-American, antiestablishment poet, New York protest singer, womanising actor, sixties icon, ageing recluse. Blanchett gives a truly astonishing performance as the mid Sixties Dylan. Equally audacious is the movie's changing visual style, with both black-and-white and colour sections. A final, haunting close-up image of the 'real' Dylan in concert brings this extraordinary film to a close.

• Friday 28 December for 8 days

STARDUST (PG)

(UK/US 2007) dir. Matthew Vaughn 128m. Digital.
Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Robert DeNiro, Rupert Everett, Ian McKellan, Sienna Miller, Peter O’Toole, Michelle Pfeiffer, David Walliams.

With tongue-in-cheek humour, and famous faces acting outrageously, this adventure story should never be mistaken for a strictly-for-kids movie! Tristan (Cox) tries to win the heart of Victoria (Miller) by going on a quest to retrieve a fallen star. His journey takes him to a mysterious and forbidden land. On his quest Tristan encounters a variety of magical and fantastical characters, each of whom also have a desire for the star. Showcasing the vast and beautiful landscapes of Iceland and Scotland, STARDUST is that glittering, spectacular magical fantasy for which the movies were invented.

• Friday 4 January for 2 weeks

LUST, CAUTION (18)

(US/China/Taiwan/Hong Kong 2007) dir. Ang Lee 158m. Subtitles. Digital.
Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wei Tang, Joan Chen.

After the triumphant BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN director Ang Lee returns with a more exotic tale of pent-up emotions and dangerous liaisons that have far-reaching consequences. Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during the Second World War, LUST, CAUTION is the story of Chinese actress Wang Chia-chih (Tang Wei) enlisted to kill the head of the secret police Yee (Tony Leung), who is collaborating with the Japanese. Several years later Wang once more ingratiates herself into the Yee household, where she begins a torrid, often violent affair that triggers a dangerous game of emotional intrigue and infatuation. This is film making at its most intense, beautiful, complex and graceful. The final shot, with no actors or dialogue, says it all.

• Friday 18 January for 2 weeks

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (15)

(US 2007) dirs. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen 122m. Digital.
Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Kelly Macdonald.

An explosive and magnificent meeting of talents: Cormac McCarthy's brilliant novel and the writing and directing of the Coen Brothers come together to produce an unbeatable rich mix of dark humour and homespun philosophy. When a drug deal near the Rio Grande goes wrong, $2 million in cash is left up for grabs between poor trailer-park dweller Llewyn Moss (Brolin), the town sheriff Tom Bell (Jones), and psychopath Anton Chigurh (Bardem) – whose ruthless murder trail the Sheriff is trying to stop. It's a study of incomprehensible evil with unbeatable performances from the increasingly iconic Tommy Lee Jones and an unrecognisable Javier Bardem. The impeccable camerawork of Roger Deakins tops off the celebrations that mark the Coens' triumphant homecoming.