Very nice movies: August 2015

The Hobbit. The battle of the five armies

Bilbo and Company are forced to engage in a war against an array of combatants and keep the Lonely Mountain from falling into the hands of a rising darkness.

Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage

How to train your dragon 2

When Hiccup and Toothless discover an ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace.

Director: Dean DeBlois
Stars: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler

The secret life of Walter Mitty

When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

Director: Ben Stiller
Stars: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Jon Daly

Man of Steel

Clark Kent, one of the last of an extinguished race disguised as an unremarkable human, is forced to reveal his identity when Earth is invaded by an army of survivors who threaten to bring the planet to the brink of destruction.

Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon

The book thief

While subjected to the horrors of World War II Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. In the basement of her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.

Director: Brian Percival
Stars: Sophie NÃ©lisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson

Lone survivor

Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.

Director: Peter Berg
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.

Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage

Monsters University

A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University -- when they weren't necessarily the best of friends.

Director: Dan Scanlon
Stars: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi

Gravity

A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after a catastrophe destroys their shuttle and leaves them adrift in orbit.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris

Captain Phillips

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

Director: Paul Greengrass
Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman

The wind rises (Kaze tachinu)

A look at the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed Japanese fighter planes during World War II.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Stars: Hideaki Anno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Miori Takimoto

Saving Mr. Banks

Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.

Director: John Lee Hancock
Stars: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley

Frozen

When the newly crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister, Anna, teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition.

Director: Chris Buck
Stars: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff

Like father, like son (Soshite chichi ni naru)

Ryota Nonomiya is a successful businessman driven by money. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another child after birth, he must make a life-changing decision and choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own.

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono, Yôko Maki

Lincoln

As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn

Life of Pi

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

Director: Ang Lee
Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain

The Avengers

Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.

Director: Joss Whedon
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson

Argo

Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.

Director: Ben Affleck
Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman

The Bourne Legacy

An expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum's novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films.

Director: Tony Gilroy
Stars: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton

Brave

Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.

Director: Mark Andrews
Stars: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson

The Dark Knight Rises

Eight years after the Joker's reign of anarchy, the Dark Knight is forced to return from his imposed exile to save Gotham City from the brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane with the help of the enigmatic Catwoman.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway

Les Misérables

In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives for ever.

Director: Tom Hooper
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway

Puss in Boots

The events leading up to the sword fighting cat's meeting with Shrek and his friends.

Director: Chris Miller
Stars: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis

Source Code

A soldier wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train. A mission he has only 8 minutes to complete.

Director: Duncan Jones
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Intrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig

The Iron Lady

An elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene.

Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Stars: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Harry, Ron and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts.

Director: David Yates
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

Mission: Impossible. Ghost Protocol

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Director: Brad Bird
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg

Kung Fu Panda 2

Po and his friends fight to stop a peacock villain from conquering China with a deadly new weapon, but first the Dragon Warrior must come to terms with his past.

Director: Jennifer Yuh
Stars: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan

Unknown

A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Stars: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones

The Help

An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.

Director: Tate Taylor
Stars: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer

Sherlock Holmes II: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty.

Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris

Courageous

When a tragedy strikes close to home, four police officers struggle with their faith and their roles as husbands and fathers; together they make a decision that will change all of their lives.

Director: Alex Kendrick
Stars: Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Kevin Downes

The Lost Bladesman (Guan Yun Chang)

The story of legendary Guan Yu crossing five passes and slaying six generals. He played a major role in the civil war that led to the collapse of Han Dynasty and the establishment of Shu Han of the 3 Kingdoms, making Liu Bei its first emperor.

Director: Felix Chong
Stars: Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, Li Sun

The Lady

The story of Aung San Suu Kyi as she becomes the core of Burma's democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris.

Director: Luc Besson
Stars: Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, Jonathan Raggett

A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin)

A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.

Director: Asghar Farhadi
Stars: Peyman Moaadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat

Simple Life, A (桃姐)

After suffering a stroke, an altruistic maid announces that she wants to quit her job and move into an old people's home.

Director: Ann Hui
Stars: Andy Lau, Deannie Yip, Hailu Qin

Tangled

The magically long-haired Rapunzel has spent her entire life in a tower, but now that a runaway thief has stumbled upon her, she is about to discover the world for the first time, and who she really is.

Director: Nathan Greno
Stars: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy

Unstoppable

With an unmanned, half-mile-long freight train barreling toward a city, a veteran engineer and a young conductor race against the clock to prevent a catastrophe.

Director: Tony Scott
Stars: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

A teenager discovers he's the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods.

Director: Chris Columbus
Stars: Logan Lerman, Kevin McKidd, Steve Coogan

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1

As Harry races against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, he uncovers the existence of three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows.

Director: David Yates
Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

Green Zone

Discovering covert and faulty intelligence causes a U.S. Army officer to go rogue as he hunts for Weapons of Mass Destruction in an unstable region.

Director: Paul Greengrass
Stars: Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear

The Conspirator

Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.

Director: Robert Redford
Stars: Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson

Fair Game

CIA operative Valerie Plame discovers her identity is allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op-ed article her husband wrote criticizing the Bush administration.

Director: Doug Liman
Stars: Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Sonya Davison

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

Director: Michael Apted
Stars: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley