@ MAREEL & ISLESBURGH COMMUNITY CENTRE

www.shetlandboxoffice.orgT: 01595 745555

DECEMBER 2012

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WElCOME TO MAREEl CINEMA

This leaflet includes synopses for most of the films you can expect to see at Mareel this month.*

Mareel Cinema is programmed weekly from Friday to Thursday. This allows us to be flexible and continue films which are proving popular with our audiences. Our films for any given week go on sale on Tuesdays.

There are many ways to find out which films are showing during the week: pick up a copy of our weekly listings flyer alongside this one from Mareel or Islesburgh, check the Mareel and/or Shetland Box Office website for listings, call Shetland Box Office on 01595 745 555, or check our various local media advertising.

At Mareel, we aim to offer a variety of films for all tastes. Most of the time we will show films a few weeks after their official UK release dates because this is when distributors are willing to be flexible about how many times a film shows each day. This allows us to put on five or six films a week. With big blockbusters the distributors insist that we show the films virtually exclusively on Screen 1 for one, and sometimes two, full weeks in order to get them on the release date, as is the case with all the other cinemas in the UK. Sometimes we will do this, and sometimes we won’t, depending on audience demand.

We hope you enjoy this month’s selection of films and we’ll see you in Mareel soon!

*Some films may be confirmed at a later date and thus won’t be included in this leaflet.

CINEMA TICkETs

Our prices vary depending on the day and time of the performance. When booking you will be asked to choose between different ticket types (e.g. adult, concession). Concessions include children aged up to 15 years old (those aged 16 and above must buy adult tickets), students (must produce valid ID), seniors (aged 60+), and people with disabilities.

MATINEEs:before 6pm Price per ticket

Monday to Friday £4 / £3

Saturday and Sunday £6.50 / £4.50

EvENINgs:from 6pm onwards

Monday £5.50 / £3.50

Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday £6.50 / £4.50

Friday and Saturday £7.50 / 5.50

sPECIAl sCREENINgs:

Senior Screening (includes refreshment after film) £4.50

Saturday Kids Club £3.00 / £4.00

• 3D screenings cost an extra £1 on top of general ticket prices.

• 3D glasses cost an additional £1 per purchase (they are reusable).

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BABEs IN ARMs

At Babes in Arms every Monday morning we screen films exclusively for parents/guardians with babies up to 18 months old. Enjoy the latest releases from our regular programme accompanied by baby in a safe and comfortable environment. So no need to find a babysitter or worry about causing a disturbance next time you want to catch up on the movies. This is also a great way to meet other parents/guardians.

We are also happy to admit babies up to 18 months old into any morning or afternoon performance with a U, PG or 12A certification. Our Babes in Arms screenings are aimed at Parents/Guardians with babies. We are, however, happy to allow people without a baby to attend if they are accompanying someone at whom the screenings are aimed.

Nappy changing facilities are available.

sATURDAY kIDs’ ClUB

Our Saturday Kids’ Club is a weekly Saturday morning screening of a recent hit or an old favourite, programmed specifically to be family-friendly. Parents may leave children over 8 alone in screenings but should be aware that the cinema is not providing any official childcare. We do, though, take special precautions for Saturday Kids’ Club screenings to provide as safe an environment as possible for younger audiences. If you leave your children in the cinema please be there on time to collect them at the end of the film.

At all screenings, including Saturday Kid’s Club, children under 8 should be accompanied by an adult aged 18 years or older. At all other screenings, children under 12 cannot attend a screening unaccompanied after 7pm.

FIlM WEDNEsDAYs

Film Wednesdays is a weekly series of screenings on Wednesday evenings for film lovers. Film Wednesdays are designed to spotlight the best of independent and world cinema, classic films and documentaries.

sENIOR sCREENINgs

Senior Screenings at Mareel are weekly screenings for our mature guests (aged 60+) on Wednesday afternoons. Come along and meet friends for a screening of some of the best recent films and some classics from over the years. Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee accompanied by a snack, included in your ticket price, after the screening and relax in the Cafe Bar.

Our Senior Screenings are offered at a discounted rate with refreshments included. Refreshments are one cup of tea (everyday brew) or one cup of coffee (filtered) accompanied by some biscuits (diabetic and gluten free option available - please ask staff).

Please retain your ticket to claim your refreshments.

Our Senior Screenings are aimed at Seniors (60+). We are, however, happy to allow non-Seniors to attend if they are accompanying someone at whom the screenings are aimed.

sUBTITlED sCREENINgs

Our weekly Subtitled Screenings are film screenings with caption subtitles. These are similar to English subtitles for foreign language films, but for English language films. They inform the cinemagoer of any significant music, sung speech or sound effects – especially if any of these are taking place off-screen. At Mareel cinema, we are committed to accessibility for all and these screenings represent just a part of that commitment.

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ARgOFrom 30 NovemberCert: 15Duration: 120 minutes

In his first feature since directing and starring in the dark, Oscar-nominated crime caper The Town, Ben Affleck repeats the feat with a very different drama, this time based on real events. The film follows the Revolutionary Guards’ 1979 attack on the US embassy in Tehran and the subsequent hostage crisis. A thickly bearded Affleck plays Tony Mendez, a CIA ‘ex-filtration’ specialist charged with rescuing six of his countrymen who have been holed up in the Canadian embassy. Argo firmly establishes Ben Affleck as a director of uncompromising commitment who, together with first-time scriptwriter Chris Terrio, has delivered one of this autumn’s most talked-about features, and one of which co-producer George Clooney – another highly principled filmmaker – can be justifiably proud.

AMOURFrom 28 DecemberCert: 12ADuration: 127 minutes

French language film with English subtitles. Austrian auteur Michael Haneke returns with this masterful, heartbreaking new film about a marriage tested by the onset of illness. Elderly couple Georges and Anne, retired music teachers, live a contented life enjoying one another’s company in Paris, dividing their time between reading, playing music and concerts in the evenings. But when Anne suffers a stroke, Georges must learn to care for her in an entirely new way, calling on their daughter Eva to help him cope with a wife and mother almost entirely transformed by illness. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, this exquisite, beautifully acted film – arguably one of the year’s finest – is an absolute must-see for fans of Haneke and newcomers to his devastating filmmaking style.

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BERBERIAN sOUND sTUDIOFrom 14 DecemberCert: 15Duration: 92 minutes

Set against the backdrop of a sleazy Rome film studio at the height of the Italian horror boom of the 1970s, this film features a subtle, moving performance from Toby Jones as mild-mannered British sound engineer Gilderoy, called in to mix the audio for a violent horror. More used to working on benign nature documentaries, and all at sea in an environment where he understands neither the language nor the erratic behaviour of his volatile colleagues, Gilderoy slowly starts to lose his composure as the boundaries between art and reality blur and his own sanity comes into question. Part elegant psychological thriller and Lynchian character study, part loving homage to a bygone era of analogue filmmaking, Berberian Sound Studio is a unique and endlessly fascinating film from one of the most exciting UK directors working today.

gREAT EXPECTATIONsFrom 7 DecemberCert: 12ADuration: 129 minutes

In Dickens’ bicentennial year, his most heart-rending fable is treated to a fresh makeover. In this version the film opens with a terrifying scene as Pip goes to visit his family grave and encounters an escaped convict. Later Pip meets the strange Miss Havisham – played with gothic gusto by Helena Bonham Carter, in a role surely made for her – and learns from the rambunctious Mr Jaggers that he has a mysterious benefactor who wants to make a gentleman of him. Director Newell presents the film as both a love story and a thriller, without losing sight of Dickens’ sharp social satire. Great Expectations is produced by Steve Woolley and Liz Karlsen of Number 9 Films, who audiences may remember visited Screenplay in 2011, and who have produced other classic films such as The Crying Game and Made in Dagenham.

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PARANORMAlACTIvITY 4From 7 DecemberCert: 15Duration: 88 minutes

The terrifying found-footage franchise returns with a fourth entry, raising the fright count and taking the spooky series to a whole new level of spine-tingle. The film sees the return of troubled child Hunter (now called Robbie) and his kidnapper Katie (Featherston) from the first sequel. An unsuspecting family begin to experience unnerving supernatural goings-on in their house when the creepy pair moves into their neighbourhood.

NATIvITY 2: DANgER IN THE MANgER!From 7 DecemberCert: UDuration: 105 minutes

David Tennant plays supply teacher Mr Peterson, who is bustling the rascally – and that’s putting it kindly – pupils of St Bernadette’s off to a national choir competition in Wales. Unfortunately for Mr Peterson, his sainted twin brother is in charge of their main rivals from St Cuthbert’s College, a team who’ll stop at very little to win the contest. Skulduggery and high jinks are only the half of it, and writer-director Isitt has brought back many of her original cast from Nativity! to ensure that the laughter barely lets up, including Marc Wootton as the screwball Mr Poppy and Pam Ferris as the headmistress, with newcomers Jessica Hynes (Twenty Twelve) and Joanna Page (Gavin and Stacey) adding extra seasonal madcappery.

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ClAssICs FOR CHRIsTMAs

lAWRENCE OF ARABIAFrom 30 NovemberCert: PGDuration: 216 minutes

Director David Lean and screenwriters Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson’s expansive account of the Arab revolt and the duplicity of the imperial powers in the latter stages of World War One is not an attempt to elucidate the truth about the part played by a still mysterious and controversial figure. Rather, it is a grandiose, Fordian celebration of the myth the real T. E. Lawrence did so much to create. Peter O’Toole’s charismatic (and best) performance presents a character of fascinatingly half-hidden complexities and flaws. A carefully orchestrated narrative of battles, heroic journeys and betrayals, this supreme achievement of epic cinema is shown here in a new, full digital restoration to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary.

gREMlINsFrom 7 DecemberCert: 15Duration: 106 minutes

Director Joe Dante’s classic adventure fantasy about a young boy who brings home an exotic animal from a pet shop. The pet shop owner warns the boy that he must strictly adhere to three rules when caring for the furry little creatures, but does he follow them? Gremlins remains a hugely enjoyable, slightly scary but undeniably entertaining film with a wide appeal.

As a special festive treat we will be showing a number of classic films throughout December, including more than a few Christmas-themed favourites...

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HOME AlONEFrom 14 DecemberCert: PGDuration: 103 minutes

Billed as a family comedy without the family, Chris Columbus’ much-loved caper stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin, a tough little tyke who’s expecting someone to come down his chimney - but not Santa Claus. When his family rush off for a winter holiday in Paris, Kevin gets left behind on the wrong side of the Atlantic. Now he’s got little to do but decorate the home for Christmas. And not with sprigs of holly, but with a fiendish array of booby-traps that he devises to foil a bumbling pair of burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), who discover that little Kevin is indeed Home Alone when they target the house for a robbery.

ARTHUR CHRIsTMAsFrom 14 DecemberCert: UDuration: 97 minutes

Aardman Animations’ comic family fantasy opens on Christmas night, where Arthur, Santa’s youngest son, is on a mission to save Christmas for one little girl. When one of the girl’s presents goes missing, Arthur rounds up his reindeer, fuels up his sledge and sets out into the December sky with Grandsanta and elf Byrony to deliver the present before the morning. With an impressive British voice cast and magical animation, Arthur Christmas is sure to warm the cockles of the hearts of adults and children across the land this winter.

IT’s A WONDERFUllIFEFrom 21 DecemberCert: UDuration 130 minutes

One of the most popular and enduring films ever made, Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is a gloriously sentimental testament to homely small-town moral values. Masterfully crafted, the film opens with angels discussing George Bailey (James Stewart), a man so beset with problems that he contemplates a Christmas-time suicide. As George prepares to jump from a bridge his guardian angel Clarence Oddbody intervenes and shows him how badly Bedford Falls would have turned out without his good deeds. Filled with a renewed sense of the joy of life George returns to his family for Christmas. James Stewart gives one of his finest, most affecting performances and the film looks better than ever in its new restoration.

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JAWsFrom 28 DecemberCert: PGDuration: 124 minutes

“We’re going to need a bigger boat.” The peaceful resort town of Amity, Massachusetts has always depended on its thriving summer tourist trade to get through the lean winter months. So when a swimmer is killed by a great white shark, Sheriff Brody faces much opposition to his suggestion of closing the beaches just before the 4th of July weekend... Based on the novel by Peter Benchley, this is the film that really put Spielberg on the map.

THE MUPPET CHRIsTMAs CAROlFrom 21 DecemberCert: UDuration: 85 minutes

One Christmas Eve, the miserly Scrooge (Michael Caine) reluctantly gives Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) an unpaid day off for Christmas. That night, Scrooge is visited by three spirits. The first takes him back to his youth, when he lost the beautiful Belle. The second shows him the penurious Bob Cratchit, his wife Emily (Miss Piggy) and their children in the present day. The third shows him a possible future – with Scrooge himself dead and unlamented, and the Cratchits mourning the loss of their beloved Tiny Tim. Scrooge awakens a changed man, and distributes Christmas largesse to all. Led by The Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens, all your favourite Muppet regulars, including Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle and the Swedish Chef, deliver plenty of seasonal family fun.

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RUsT AND BONEFrom 7 DecemberCert: 15Duration: 123 minutes

The casual hand of fate and its terrifying power to overturn lives is a theme much favoured by the great French writer-director Jacques Audiard, and he explores it again in Rust and Bone, co-written with Thomas Bidegain. Taciturn Ali and his young son Sam hitchhike from unexplained failures in northern France in hope of a better life with Ali’s sister Louise in Antibes. The three initially endure a meagre existence funded by Louise’s job as a supermarket cashier, but things take a dramatic turn when Ali gets a new job as a bouncer and rescues the glamorous, self-assured Stéphanie from a nightclub brawl. Audiard’s subtle direction gives Rust and Bone an especially gritty and compelling realism.

RIsE OF THE gUARDIANsFrom 14 DecemberCert: PGDuration: 97 minutes

Produced by DreamWorks and inspired by William Joyce’s The Guardians of Childhood novels, this animated extravaganza brings together an engagingly oddball cast of characters, including the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. They must all join forces against Pitch, who is threatening to cover the world in perpetual darkness. The plot twists will keep the very young target audience in lively suspense, especially as these superheroes are unusually if delightfully flawed: Santa sports heavy tattoos and a thick Russian accent, for example. Voiced by a wonderful cast of seasoned actors Rise of the Guardians is a seasonal family-pleaser with a difference.

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sIlvER lININgs PlAYBOOkFrom 28 DecemberCert: 15Duration: 122 minutes

David O. Russell returns to helm this gloriously dark, quirky comedy about a bipolar ex-teacher adapting to life after a stint in a psychiatric hospital. Pat is struggling to rejoin the real world since moving back in with his long-suffering parents, and is desperately trying to rekindle his relationship with his ex-wife after a manic episode landed him in an institution. But when he meets the mysterious Tiffany, a widow with problems of her own, the chance of a brighter future seems possible. Can Pat overcome his demons and start a new life? Boasting winning turns from a great cast and a sharp script with a feel-good twist, this new comedy-drama is a must-see treat from one of America’s top young filmmakers.

sIgHTsEERsFrom 14 DecemberCert: 15Duration: 88 minutes

Director Ben Wheatley returns with this hilarious new black comedy, which attracted considerable acclaim when it screened in the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes. Escaping from her overbearing mother Brummie dog-walker Tina (Alice Lowe) eagerly embarks on a caravan holiday with creepily considerate new boyfriend Chris (Steve Oram), whose exacting schedule embraces such cultural enticements as the Derwent Pencil Museum and Crich Tramway Village. Co-scripted by its lead players, Lowe (Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place) and Oram (The Mighty Boosh), Sightseers melds the British passion for holiday discomfort with equally uneasy aspects of damaged humanity. This in turn combines with Wheatley’s hallmark ability to give his performers considerable rein to develop their characters within bleakly naturalistic locations to sterling effect.

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THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEYFrom 14 DecemberCert: 12ADuration: 170 minutes

In this prequel to The Lord of the Rings, director Jackson brings back several Tolkien regulars for the fantastical tale of Frodo’s uncle, Bilbo Baggins, and his quest to reclaim the lost treasure of the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. Once again McKellen’s Gandalf the Grey is the instigator of an epic that involves incalculable danger and wry humour. Benedict Cumberbatch enters Middle Earth for the first time as The Necromancer, while old hands Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, and especially Andy Serkis’ monstrous Gollum all add to the adventure. Drenched in the most vivid colour, and with Jackson’s signature breathtaking special effects, The Hobbit will delight newcomers as well as die-hard fans of the series.

sINIsTERFrom 30 NovemberCert: 15Duration: 110 minutes

True-crime writer Ellison Oswald has made a career out of exposing police mistakes, and now he is investigating a shocking small-town death first-hand by moving into the house where the killing took place. But strange occurrences start and Ellison becomes convinced the figure he sees lurking in some old home movies he discovers is the ancient occult ‘eater of children’ demon. The scares are intense and non-stop in this compelling horror yarn. Impressive in its restraint during quieter moments, and powerfully disturbing at its nastiest, Sinister is a very creepy, darkly entertaining terror tale. And Ethan Hawke shines as the agonised writer whose deteriorating state of his mind shatters everything he holds dear.

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THE MAsTERFrom 7 DecemberCert: 15Duration: 144 minutes

Deservedly collecting the top prizes at this year’s Venice Festival, The Master is director Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest essay on complex, troubled individuals and their insidious power. But unlike There Will Be Blood and Magnolia, here we have not one but two such protagonists: war-damaged sailor Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) and charismatic cult leader Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), under whose influence Freddie falls. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard is the thinly disguised model for Dodd, whose The Cause employs brainwashing methods masquerading as soul-cleansing. Here the interplay between the hair-triggered Quell and his oily guru develops into an intense mutual dependency. Phoenix and Seymour Hoffman have never been better, and nor has Amy Adams as the latest Mrs Dodds, who senses the threat Quell poses to The Cause. Their performances are intensified by rich, 70mm cinematography and stunning art direction.

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THE HUNTFrom 30 NovemberCert: 15Duration: 115 minutesDanish, with English subtitles

The rich seam of contemporary Scandinavian drama is sustained with this story of a teacher falsely accused of sexually abusing his best friend’s daughter, five-year-old Klara. Mikkelsen won Best Actor at Cannes 2012 for his performance as the initially incredulous but ultimately enraged Lucas, a newly divorced supply teacher. Despite Klara’s retraction, the community continues to punish him and his loyal but conflicted son Marcus (Lasse Fogelstrøm), with violent consequences – and there is a masterful final twist.

BEAsTs OF THE sOUTHERN WIlDFrom 30 NovemberCert: 12ADuration: 93 minutes

In a delta in the Deep South, a community of misfits ekes out an existence on a little island known as the Bathtub. Benh Zeitlin’s debut feature sees six-year-old Hushpuppy struggling to make sense of the world in the unpredictable care of her father, Wink. An almost grudging survival instinct preoccupies this odd pair - at least when Wink isn’t off on a moonshine bender - with Hushpuppy constantly picking up the animals that share their lives. When a torrential storm washes over the Bathtub, engulfing houses as well as some of the residents, Hushpuppy’s feral sympathies conjure visions of melting ice caps, from which the long-extinct beasts of the film’s title re-emerge to reclaim the planet.

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TINkERBEll AND THE sECRET OF THE WINgsFrom 21 DecemberCert: UDuration: 92 minutes

Perhaps less well known here, Disney’s Tinkerbell franchise is big business in the USA. This is the fifth in the series and crafted with all the twinkle and magic dust we’ve come to expect when Disney addresses its youngest audiences. Under the steady hand of co-writers-directors Gannaway and Holmes, Tinkerbell and the Secret of the Wings is a beguiling tale in which Tink discovers a winter fairyland –which, for an exclusively summertime sprite, offers much fascination and adventure. It’s ideal Christmas fare for youngsters, and has enough intrigue to delight their parents too.

THE PENgUIN kINgFrom 30 NovemberCert: U Duration: 78 minutes

Documentary. Three years ago, the Penguin King left home. Now he is returning to the place where he was born and raised: Penguin City. What follows is a journey through the most challenging time of the Penguin King’s life. His story is often comic, sometimes tragic, and ultimately triumphant: a rite of passage set on one of the earth’s last great wildernesses. Enjoy this thrilling new wildlife documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

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sPECIAl sCREENINgShowing in Mareel Cinema on 30 DecemberDuration: 125 minutes, with one intermission

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskylibretto and choreography: Yuri GrigorovichMusic director: Pavel Klinichevsets and costumes: Simon VirsaladzeWith the Orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of RussiaWith the Bolshoi soloists and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet

The Nutcracker first opened in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. It was Tchaikovsky’s last ballet. Composed in the space of a year, its score today is one of the most popular of all ballet scores. This version, choreographed for the Bolshoi by Yuri Grigorovich, is full of romanticism and philosophical reflections on ideal love. It became one of the great classics of the 20th century and, alongside Spartacus and Ivan

the Terrible, is one of Grigorovich’s most famous works. It is Christmas Eve in the home of Mr and Mrs Stahlbaum and their children, Marie and Fritz. Family and friends have gathered for the night’s festivities. Presents are distributed to the children. Marie’s godfather, Drosselmeyer, gives her a strange toy: a wooden nutcracker, carved in the shape of a little man. At midnight, after the celebrations are over, all the toys magically come to life. The nutcracker grows to life size and takes command of the tin soldiers, flying to the rescue of Marie, who is threatened by the Mouse King and his mouse army.

THE NUTCRACkERFIlMED lIvE IN MOsCOW

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