Lexi Cinema London

Sat 4 Feb, 11:30, Kids Club, £5

Playing around while aboard a cruise ship, the Chipmunks and Chipettes accidentally go overboard and end up marooned in a tropical paradise. They discover their new turf is not as deserted as it seems.  This may be a chip off the old block, but it lives up to a high standard of family-pleasing fun!

From 27 Jan

“Payne’s low-key approach deepens the film’s intimate power. Want a movie you can really connect with? The Descendants is damn near perfect.” Rolling Stone

Middle-aged lawyer Matt King (George Clooney) is, in his own words, “the back-up parent”. After a speedboat accident leaves his wife in a coma and doctors fearing the worst, Matt must re-examine his past and confront a very different future as he tries to reconnect with his two daughters.

The Descendants is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey as director Alexander Payne continues his exploration of the plight of the middle-aged American male (previously in Election, Sideways and About Schmidt).   The film honours Hawaiian author Kaui Hart Hemmings’ rich debut novel, successfully negotiating the same delicate balancing act between pathos and humour.   In a satisfyingly complex, intelligent portrait of confusion and crisis, Clooney still has occasion to flex his comic timing muscle!  His portrayal has already garnered him a Golden Globe for “Best Actor”, just as the film won for “Best Drama Feature”.  Expect more nods, for: Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley), Best Adapted Script…

“Best choice”, say the Lexi staff!

From 3 Feb
Martha is a rootless young woman who responds to being part of an extended family when she is introduced into life within a pastoral cult.  Love, friendship and family fill the void as she is groomed by the messianic cult leader (John Hawkes).  All is not as it seems, though, and when she eventually flees to her estranged sister, Martha is unable and unwilling to reveal the truth about her two year absence.  In spite of the best efforts of her fragmented family it is difficult for Martha to make the shift between the two existences and the film skilfully blurs the lines between past and present as Martha’s tenuous grip on reality unravels.  As much a thriller as a psychological exploration, the paranoia builds in the viewer as well as Martha – leading to a startling conclusion.

This is a striking debut from writer/director Sean Durkin (who won Best Director at Sundance), exploring the appeal of cult life – and the difficulties of returning to a mundane reality after such an all-encompassing experience.  Deceptively intense, this has been a hit on the festival circuit, and with the striking performance from younger Olsen twin, Elizabeth, it lingers long after lights up.