This week's movie releases and trailers

30 January, 2012 08:05:00 Staff Contributor

Here are this week's movie releases and trailers: The Descendants, Jack and Jill, Man on a Ledge ......
(SK = Sterkinekor, NU = Nu Metro)

The Descendants [NU/SK]
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Running Time: 115
Release Date: 3 February 2012, Friday
Language: English
Age Restriction: 13 L
Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer
Director: Alexander Payne
Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: Critics Tomatometer: 90%; Audience: 82%

Set in Hawaii, this film is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic, journey for Matt King - an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to reexamine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while he wrestles with a decision to sell the family's land, which was handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.

Jack and Jill [NU/SK]
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Running Time: 83
Release Date: 3 February 2012, Friday
Language: English
Age Restriction: PG
Cast: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino
Director: Dennis Dugan
Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams, Waddy Wachtel
Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: Critics Tomatometer: 3%; Audience: 43%

His twin sister is coming for the holidays, and it ain't pretty.

Jack Sadelstein is a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife and kids, who dreads one event each year: the Thanksgiving visit of his identical twin sister, Jill. Jill's needy, passive-aggressiveness is maddening to Jack, turning his normally tranquil life upside-down.

Man on a Ledge [NU/SK]
Genre: Thriller, Action, Adventure
Release Date: 3 February 2012, Friday
Language: English
Cast: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Edward Burns, Titus Welliver, Genesis Rodriguez, Kyra Sedgwick, Ed Harris
Director: Asger Leth
Music: Henry Jackman
Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: Critics Tomatometer: 26%; Audience: 65%

You can only push an innocent man so far.

An ex-cop and now wanted fugitive stands on the ledge of a high-rise building while a hard-living New York Police Department hostage negotiator tries to talk him down. The longer they're on the ledge, the more she realises that he might have an ulterior objective.

Nataniël in Combat [NU/SK]
Genre: Satire, Comedy, Variety
Release Date: 3 February 2012, Friday
Language: English, Afrikaans
Cast: Nataniël, Werner Spies, Juan-Pierre Oosthuizen, Nicolaas Swart, Martin Van Heerden, Charl Du Plessis, Dihan Slabbert, Ignatius Van Heerden, Hugo Radyn
Director: Deon De Bruyn

Inspired by the Mark Twain phrase, "clothes maketh the man", this show both investigates and celebrates the uniform. For centuries, people, be they emperors, soldiers, church leaders, police, doctors, nurses, servants, butlers, chauffeurs, firemen or sailors, have been feared or admired for their uniforms.

With comedy, fantasy, satire, monologues in both English and Afrikaans and a collection of original songs, the show takes a look at uniforms, old and new, and the power, cruelty, corruption, sexual attraction, beauty, temptation and fascination surrounding them. From ancient Romans to Third World dictators, from the corporate world to the strip club, nothing seems to make a greater impact than the appearance of a uniform!

Trespass [NU/SK]
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Running Time: 91
Release Date: 3 February 2012, Friday
Language: English
Age Restriction: 16 LV
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Ben Mendelsohn, Cam Gigandet, Liana Leberato, Jordana Spiro, Dash Mihok, Emily Meade, Nico Tortorella
Director: Joel Schumacher
Music: David Buckley
Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: Critics Tomatometer: 10%; Audience: 22%

When terror is at your doorstep, you can run. Or, you can fight.

In a private, wealthy community, priority is placed on security and no exception is made for the Miller Family estate. Behind their pristine walls and manicured gardens, Kyle, a fast-talking businessman, has entrusted the mansion's renovation to his stunning wife, Sarah. But, between making those big decisions and keeping tabs on their defiant teenage daughter, Sarah often finds herself distracted by a young, handsome worker at their home. Nothing is what it seems, and it will take a group of cold-blooded criminals, who have been planning a vicious home invasion for months, to bring the Miller family together. When the hoods storm the manor, everyone is tangled up in betrayal, deception, temptation and scheming.