Kick starting 2009, Movies.ie counts down ten of the best movies to check out this month. (1) SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE What’s it about: Based on the novel Q&A, this sharp adaptation tells the tale of a young man, Jamal Palik (Dev Patel), who becomes a contestant on the Indian version of the hit game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and ends up being accused of cheating. As we see him beaten into admitting that he “knew” the answers, the film darts back and forth in time to show how he came to this place and exactly where the truth lies Why you should see it… Visually dazzling and thematically conscious, Danny Boyles latest pic is a story that is both entertaining and powerful. When is it in cinemas? January 9th, 2009 More info on this movieVisit the Movies.ie page Here (2) THE WRESTLER What’s it about: Back in the late ‘80s, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centres around New Jersey. Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life — trying to reconnect with his daughter, and strikes up a blossoming romance with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei). Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy “The Ram” back into his world of wrestling. Why you should see it… For Mickey Rourke. In what may be the Hollywood comeback of the year, former bad boy Rourke gives a blistering performance as a champion wrestler whose life is now in the ropes. When is it in cinemas? January 16th, 2009 More info on this movie Visit the Movies.ie page Here (3) SEVEN POUNDS What’s it about: Will Smith plays Ben, a man with a deep, dark secret that leads him help seven complete strangers, each with their own particular set of circumstances. Constructed like a jigsaw puzzle, we slowly get clues to the traumatic events that cause Ben to contact these people and change their lives in ways they never could have anticipated. What he doesn’t expect is to fall in love with one of them — Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), a cardiac patient whose heart may be weak but is clearly strong enough to make a difference in the way Ben looks at things. It’s this relationship that becomes the center of Grant Nieporte’s compelling screenplay, but as it continues it’s obvious there is more to what Ben is doing, a mystery not revealed until the final moments and one you will not easily forget. Why you should see it… For big Willy! Who knew that the Fresh Prince could deliver the year’s most unexpected and profoundly moving love story? When is it in cinemas? January 16th, 2009 More info on this movie Visit the Movies.ie page Here (4) VALKYRIE What’s it about: We all know Adolf Hitler did not die as a result of an organized assassination plot against him, but this fact does not hinder the enjoyment of watching how that attempt by members of his own Nazi command plays out. Reminiscent of great ’60s WWII conspiracy thrillers such as 36 Hours and Night of the Generals, this film centers on the actions of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), a loyal German officer, who nevertheless is horrified by what he sees Hitler doing to his country and is determined to find a way to stop him. In 1942, he tries to persuade senior commanders to overthrow Hitler, and later in 1943, while recovering from combat injuries, he joins the German Resistance, a secretive anti-Hitler group comprised of several men in the highest ranks on the inside. Using Hitler’s own contingency plan, labeled Operation Valkyrie, to prop up the government should he die, this group puts their assassination and take over plan in motion. Why you should see it… Yes, we all know how this true story ends, yet Valkyrie still surprisingly manages to be one of the better suspense thriller of the year. When is it in cinemas? January 23rd, 2009 More info on this movie Visit the Movies.ie page Here (5) MILK What’s it about: In 1977, Harvey Milk (Penn) was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. While this would not normally be an earth-shattering phenomenon, in this case, Milk became the first out-of-the-closet gay person to win a major public office in the United States — and was assassinated in 1978, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. Based in part on the Academy Award-winning documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, the film focuses on the last decade of his life as he moves from New York at age 40 to San Francisco with lover Scott Smith (James Franco). Using his experience as an entrepreneur as a catalyst, he suddenly becomes more politically involved, making a couple of runs for office and finally getting elected. With a new lover (Diego Luna) and agenda, Milk takes on some major issues — including lobbying against California’s controversial Prop 6, an initiative to fire gay schoolteachers. But his activities anger another supervisor, Dan White (Josh Brolin), and soon their destinies will collide. Why you should see it… Milk is a moving and important film for our times with a tremendous performance by Sean Penn When is it in cinemas? January 23rd, 2009 More info on this movie Visit the Movies.ie page Here (6) FROST/NIXON What’s it about: In the summer of 1977, disgraced former President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) sat down with British TV talk show host and interviewer David Frost (Michael Sheen) for a series of interviews that Nixon hoped would resuscitate his Watergate-tarnished image, and Frost hoped would lift his own career to another level. While it made for good TV at the time, it certainly didn’t seem likely fodder for a hit Broadway play and now a major motion picture. Peter Morgan (The Queen) wrote the play and adapted it for the screen, turning it into a riveting cat-and-mouse game between these two made-for-television adversaries. Director Ron Howard emphasizes the behind the scenes machinations and all the negotiations between both camps. The off-camera material is priceless, based in large part on speculative research. Whatever the final truth of the story, the film gains its real power from it’s the telling. Why you should see it… It’s is brilliant, funny, complicated and fascinating. Who knew Ron Howard could make a compelling movie out of a 30 year-old TV interview? When is it in cinemas? January 23rd, 2009 More info on this movie Visit the Movies.ie page Here (7) NICK AND NORAH’S INFINIT PLAYLIST What’s it about: If a John Hughes teen flick comingled with some sick alternative rock band, the product would be Nick and Norah. First, there’s Nick (Michael Cera), a nerdy musician who just got his heart stomped on by his now ex-girlfriend, Tris (Alexis Dziena). Then there’s Norah (Kat Dennings), a nerdy prep school coed who is questioning pretty much all of her assumptions about the world. These two have just GOT to get together–and together they do. Through a chance encounter in the Big Apple, which leads them on an all-night quest to find a legendary band’s secret show, Nick and Norah discover they might share more than just a love for the same infinite playlist. There are few mishaps, but mostly it’s the joy of watching these two quirky kids fall for each other over what turns out to be one of hell of a first date. Why you should see it… Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is an infinitely cool romantic comedy for the infinitely young and hip. When is it in cinemas? January 30th, 2009 More info on this movie Visit the Movies.ie page Here (8) BRIDESHEAD REVISTED What’s it about: “Brideshead Revisited” tells an evocative story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in the pre-WWII era. In the film, Charles Ryder becomes entranced with the noble Marchmain family, first through the charming and provocative Sebastian Flyte, and then his sophisticated sister, Julia. The rise and fall of Charles’ infatuations reflect the decline of a decadent era in England between the wars. Why you should see it… You could not ask for a better screen adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. It’s a stunning, gripping and visually sumptuous cinematic feast that is like a breath of fresh air. When is it in cinemas? January 30th, 2009 More info on this movie Visit the Movies.ie page Here (9) REVOLUTIONARY ROAD What’s it about: Frank and April, a married couple in the 1950s, have always seen themselves as special, different, ready and willing to live their lives based on higher ideals. So, as soon as they move into their new house on Revolutionary Road, they proudly declare their independence from the suburban inertia that surrounds them and determine never to be trapped by the social confines of their era. Yet for all their charm, beauty and irreverence, the Wheelers find themselves becoming exactly what they didn’t expect: a good man with a routine job whose nerve has gone missing; a less-than-happy homemaker starving for fulfillment and passion; an American family with lost dreams, like any other. Driven to change their fates, April hatches an audacious plan to start all over again, to leave the comforts of Connecticut behind for the great unknown of Paris. But when the plan is put in motion, each spouse is pushed to extremes–one to escape whatever the cost, the other to save all that they have, no matter the compromises. Why you should see it… A Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf for a new generation – this is a magnificent dramatic explosion with the kind of sheer force we haven’t seen on screen in years. When is it in cinemas? January 30th, 2009 More info on this movie Visit the Movies.ie page Here (10) THE READER What’s it about: When the 15 year-old Michael Berg falls ill on his way home from school, he is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. The two begin an unexpected and passionate affair only for Hanna to suddenly and inexplicably disappear. Eight years later, Michael, now a young law student observing Nazi war trials, meets his former lover again, under very different circumstances. Hanna is on trial for a hideous crime, and as she refuses to defend herself, Michael gradually realizes his boyhood love may be guarding a secret she considers to be more shameful than murder. Why you should see it… The Reader delicately traverses the tricky emotional landscape of a controversial tale and offers a fresh perspective on Nazi atrocities. When is it in cinemas? January 2nd, 2009 More info on this movie Visit the Movies.ie page Here