Premiere and Encore movies on
M-Net in DECEMBER 2008:
SUNDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
NEXTSunday 7 December at 20:00
2007. Directed by Lee Tamahori. Starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann
A terrorist group has stolen a nuclear bomb and plan to blow up Los Angeles. The one man who could help the FBI find the terrorists is Cris, a Vegas-based magician who can see two minutes into the future. But Cris is more interested in finding Liz, a girl he has never met except in his dreams.
When it comes to Liz, he can see whole chunks into the future. Now it's up to FBI agent Callie to find the seer, strap him into a chair and make him tell her where to find terrorist leader Mr Smith - which Cris already knows.
PREMONITIONSunday 14 December at 20:00
2007. Directed by Mennan Yapo. Starring Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Nia Long, Amber Valletta, Peter Stormare
A wife and mother starts having premonitions of her husband's death, but everyone around her thinks she's losing her mind.
Sandra Bullock stars in this psychological thriller about a suburban housewife and mother whose life spirals out of control when she starts having premonitions.
It all starts when a policeman knocks on her door, telling her that her husband Jim has been killed in a car crash. But the next morning, a dazed Linda walks into the kitchen to find Jim alive and well, although a little distant. On another day, Linda finds herself at Jim's funeral.
When she finally realises that she's not going mad - that she is in fact seeing the future - she sets out to stop the accident to save Jim's life. But by this time, her bizarre behaviour has convinced everyone around her that she's losing her mind.
NO RESERVATIONSSunday 21 December at 20:00
2007. Directed by Scott Hicks. Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clarkson
Kate is the Jamie Oliver of Manhattan. She cooks like a dream but, unlike Jamie, she doesn't know how to have fun. When she unexpectedly becomes the guardian of her orphaned niece Zoe, she's gobsmacked. How is she supposed to relate to a child when she can't even relate to adults?
Along comes Nick, who will show Kate how to talk to kids and perhaps even savour life again.
GOLDEN COMPASS Sunday 28 December at 20:00
2007. Directed by Chris Weitz. Starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Ben Walker, Ian McKellan (voice), Eva Green
Lyra is 12-year-old orphan who lives in a boarding school for orphans. She is accompanied everywhere by a shape-shifting animal. When her best friend Roger is kidnapped, Lyra asks her only relative, explorer Lord Asriel, if she can accompany him up north. He refuses, so the beautiful Mrs Coulter offers to take her.
It soon becomes clear that Mrs Coulter has something to do with the missing boy and Lyra escapes, enlisting the help of various odd people and animals to help her save Roger - and her world.
MONDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
AS IT IS IN HEAVENMonday 1 December at 20:35
2007. Directed by Kay Pollak. Starring Michael Nyquist, Frida Hallgren, Lennart Jahkel, Ingela Olsson
A tiny village in Sweden is excited when their most famous son, renowned conductor Daniel Dareus, returns home after a nervous breakdown. All he wants is peace and quiet, but their church choir needs "a little advice". Can he help?
He agrees, and soon he's taken over as choir master, infecting everyone with his talent and enthusiasm. But in all villages, there are people who resent a breath of fresh air and this village is no exception.
ACROSS THE UNIVERSEMonday 8 December at 20:35
2007. Directed by Julie Taymor. Starring Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson
A love story set against the backdrop of the turbulent '60s and '70s, Beatles songs and psychedelic images
The story centres round an English boy who goes to America, where he meets a wealthy American girl and her brother. Jude, Lucy and Max are swept up in the changes coursing through the country - from the civil unrest that will see an end to segregation, to the Vietnam war that more and more young people will oppose.
A MIGHTY HEARTMonday 15 December at 20:30
2007. Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Starring Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Archie Panjabi
On January 23, 2002, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is to fly from Karachi to Dubai with his pregnant wife, Mariane, also a reporter. On the day before, with great care, he has arranged an interview in a cafe with an Islamic fundamentalist cleric.
When Danny doesn't return, Mariane initiates a search. Pakistani police, American embassy personnel and the FBI examine witnesses, phone records, e-mails and hard drives. Who has him? Where is he?
There's also the why: because of U.S. abuse of prisoners at Guantanimo? Because of a history of Journal cooperation with the CIA? Because Pearl is a Jew? Through it all, Mariane is clearheaded, direct, and determined.
ONCESaturday 22 December at 20:30
2007. Directed by John Carney. Starring Glen Hansard, Hugh Walsh, Bill Hodnett
Once is a modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.
THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEYSaturday 29 December at 20:30
2006. Directed by Ken Loach. Starring Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Orla Fitzgerald, Liam Cunningham
County Cork, Ireland, 1919. Damien is about to catch a train to London to start his medical studies, when he witnesses an incident of such brutality that he joins the Irish Republican Army as a guerrilla, like his brother Teddy.
The O'Donovan boys fight side by side, but when a controversial peace treaty is signed, it turns Irishman against Irishman and brother against brother.
TUESDAY NIGHT ENCORES
YEAR OF THE DOGTuesday 2 December at 23:05
2007. Directed by Mike White. Starring Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, John C Reilly, Peter Sarsgaard, Regina King
Quirky tale about an insecure secretary whose life starts falling apart when her beloved dog is poisoned.
Peggy's an ardent animal lover who is closer to her dog Pencil than any human being. So when Pencil dies after spending the night outdoors, she's distraught. Her colleague and sister-in-law advise her to befriend men, but the two men she knows - her neighbour and an SPCA volunteer - are more than a little strange.
Peggy does the thing she should have done all along - she becomes an animal rights activist and almost loses her mind.
THE TENTuesday 9 December at 23:05
2007. Directed by David Wain. Starring Paul Rudd, Famke Janssen, Winona Ryder, Gretchen Mol, Liev Schreiber, Jessica Alba
A man caught between two women tells several funny stories based around the Biblical 10 Commandments.
HAVOC 2: NORMAL ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOURTuesday 16 December at 23:00
2007. Directed by Beth Schacter. Starring Amber Tamblyn, Ashton Holmes, Kelli Garner, Daryl Sabara
Wendy is a bright, eccentric girl who has been best friends with two girls and three boys since primary school. They have rules, rituals and engage in sex with various members of the group. In a world of twosomes and one-night stands, their lifestyle is seen as distinctly perverted but the affection and closeness among them is undeniable. When Wendy falls for the boy who moves in next door, it causes untold friction in the group.
GAME 6Tuesday 23 December at 23:00
2005. Directed by Michael Hoffman. Starring Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr, Bebe Neuwirth, Catherine O'Hara
Nicky Rogan, a New York playwright and baseball fan, is making his way across town, with a lot on his mind. Two major events are taking place - the Red Sox are playing the Mets in the World Series and it's the opening night of his new play - and he's half expecting them both to fail.
As Nicky ponders these and other dilemmas, he becomes so worked up that he starts acting out of character.
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOONSaturday 30 December at 23:00
2007. Directed by David Sington. Starring Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, Jim Lovell, Alan Bean, Eugene Cernan, Edgar Mitchell, Dave Scott, John Young, Harrison Schmitt
In the '60s, the world watched with bated breath as America tried to put a man on the Moon. One Apollo after another blasted off from Earth. Then, in 1969, the dream became a reality when the crew of Apollo 11 did their "small step for man, giant leap for mankind" thing.
This film recaptures the bygone era by getting all but one of the surviving Apollo astronauts to speak afresh about their experiences.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
THE PROTECTORWednesday 3 December at 22:35
2005. Directed by Prachya Pinkaew. Starring Tony Jaa, Phetthai Wongkhamlao, Tuk Bongkod Kongmalai, Jin Xing, Tri Nguyen
Tony Jaa stars as a likeable young man who battles an assortment of villains to rescue his two pet elephants.
The action starts in Thailand, where the pachyderms are kidnapped, then moves to Australia, where the intrepid Kham enlists the help of a Thai beauty to find out who kidnapped his prized pets and why. Along the way, he battles ninja skate punks, giant wrestlers, nimble swordsmen and more.
THE EDUCATION OF CHARLIE BANKSWednesday 10 December at 22:35
2007. Directed by Fred Durst. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter, Eva Amurri, Chris Marquette
When young Charlie sees the neighbourhood bully Mick beat up two kids within an inch of their lives, he reports it to the police, but then withdraws his statement out of fear for his own safety. For the rest of his school days, Charlie worries about whether Mick will ever find out that he ratted on him.
The years pass and Charlie goes to a prestigious college, rubbing shoulders with rich intellectuals. Then Mick pitches up, insinuating himself into Charlie's life, befriending Charlie's friends, even flirting with Charlie's girl.
HOME OF THE BRAVEWednesday 17 December at 22:30
2006. Directed by Irwin Winkler. Starring Samuel L Jackson, Jessica Biel, Curtis Jackson, Brian Presley
Four American soldiers are nearing the end of their tour of duty in Iraq when their unit is ambushed during a humanitarian mission to a nearby city. After a fierce battle during which many lives are lost, the survivors head home, trying to deal with civilian life as best they can.
Changed forever by what they saw and experienced on the battlefield, they each deal with their trauma in very different ways.
HAIRSPRAYWednesday 24 December at 23:05
2007. Directed by Adam Shankman. Starring John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken
A remake of the 1988 film. Nikki Blonsky stars as the "pleasantly plump" Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad, who gets the opportunity to dance on her favourite music show and sets about integrating it so her black friends can also get a chance.
THURSDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
DEAD MAN'S SHOESThursday 4 December at 22:35
2004. Directed by Shane Meadows. Starring Paddy Considine, Toby Kebbell, Gary Stretch
Revenge tale about a former soldier who returns home to get even with the lowlifes who abused his mentally-challenged brother.
I'M REED FISHThursday 11 December at 22:35
2006. Directed by Zackary Adler. Starring Jay Baruchel, Alexis Bledel, Schuyler Fisk, Katey Sagal
Reed Fish, a likeable 20-something radio talk show host, spends his days dispensing folksy advice to the residents of his small home town and preparing for his upcoming wedding to Kate, the local beauty. But when Jill, an aspiring singer and his high school crush, arrives in town, Reed begins to question his choices of girl and career, much to the consternation of everyone in Mud Meadow.
LOVE LIES BLEEDINGThursday 18 December at 22:30
2006. Directed by Keith Samples. Starring Brian Geraghty, Jenna Dewan, Christian Slater
Duke hasn't been able to settle down to civilian life since returning from Iraq. He would love to marry Amber, but he doesn't have any money. That is, until the day he walks into a nearby gangster's apartment and finds a duffel bag stuffed with cash.
The drug dealers are dead, so Duke sees no problem in taking the money. Now he and Amber can have that life they always dreamed of. But on their way out of town, they are followed by Pollen, a government agent with his own reasons for finding the lovers.
HIS & HER CHRISTMASThursday 25 December at 22:30
2005 Directed by Farhad Mann. Starring Dina Meyer, David Sutcliffe, April Telek
When Tom's big-time publication tries to buy out Liz's smaller one, she finds a way to save her newspaper by creating a special Christmas column. It becomes an instant hit and Tom is assigned to write a competing section.
The two become the fiercest of rivals so the last thing they expect is to fall into the holiday romance that happens between them.
FRIDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTIONFriday 5 December at 20:30
2007. Directed by Russell Mulcahy. Starring Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Mike Epps, Oded Fehr, Spencer Locke
A virus has overrun the planet and zombies walk the world. Only a few humans are unaffected. A small convoy of survivors is making its way across the post-apocalyptic Arizona desert when zombies attack. Suddenly, a woman with superior fighting skills comes to their rescue.
Her name is Alice, and she's the product of bio-engineering. She will help them get to Alaska, a zombie-free zone. But first she will have to outwit a mad scientist whose experiments in cloning have resulted in a far superior breed of the undead.
HOT RODFriday 12 December at 20:35
2007. Directed by Akiva Schaffer. Starring Andy Samberg, Sissy Spacek, Jorma Taccone, Will Arnett
Rod is a likeable dimwit who has his heart set on becoming the world's next big stuntman - even though he's useless. When his stepfather, who always beats him in rough and tumble games, has a heart attack, Rod decides to take his stunt work to the next level by taking part in a stunt no-one, not even Evel Knievel, has been able to pull off.
If Rod succeeds, he'll win $50 000 so he can pay for Frank's heart op.
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTHFriday 19 December at 20:30
2006. Directed by Greg Coolidge. Starring Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, Dax Shepard
Zack is a good-natured slacker who (barely) works in a big department store. Unlike his co-worker Vince, he's never been "employee of the month" and doesn't particularly care about becoming one.
When he learns that hottie Amy will sleep with ambitious men, he decides to do whatever it takes to get that coveted certificate. This sets him on a collision course with Vince, who has two reasons for getting another certificate: Amy - and a brand new car.
THE INVASIONFriday 26 December at 21:05
2007. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. Starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jeffrey Wright
A space shuttle returns to Earth with a crash, carrying a deadly virus on board. The virus doesn't kill people - just their personalities, making everyone a bland copy of everyone else.
Alice, a divorced psychiatrist, first realises something's amiss when a patient complains "my husband is not my husband". Then her ex starts behaving oddly. When Alice discovers the terrifying truth, she goes on the run with her son, who just may hold the key to a cure. All she needs to do is stay awake long enough to find it.
SATURDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
NANCY DREW: THE MYSTERY IN HOLLYWOOD HILLS Saturday 6 December at 20:00
2007. Directed by Andrew Fleming. Starring Emma Roberts, Laura Harring, Tate Donovan
Famous literature detective Nancy Drew gets a modern update in which Nancy moves to Hollywood and becomes intrigued by the haunted house of murdered movie star Dehlia Draycott.
ANNAPOLISSaturday 13 December at 20:00
2006. Directed by Justin Li. Starring James Franco, Tyrese Gibson
Jake works in a shipyard in Chesapeake Bay south of New York City, repairing naval vessels. As he looks over the bay, he sees Annapolis, the prestigious US Naval Academy and dreams of a military career. He applies but hears nothing, so resigns himself to working as a welder for the rest of his life.
But all this changes when a navy man watches him box one night and recommends him for the last place in the Academy. Jake has to prove himself to his benefactor, his father and himself.
He enters a boxing tournament, and with the help of a boxing coach and an attractive officer, starts training in earnest so he can take on the best boxer the Navy has ever produced - Jakes' tough-as-nails drill sergeant, Cole.
THE SHAGGY DOGSaturday 20 December at 20:00
2006. Directed by Brian Robbins. Starring Tim Allen, Danny Glover
Dave Douglas is an assistant district attorney whose busy schedule leaves little time for his wife, Rebecca, or their teenage kids, wannabe actor Josh and animal rights activist Carly. When Carly and her boyfriend Trey bring home a collie that has escaped from a laboratory, Dave, who has never considered dogs to be man's best friends, is not pleased - especially when the dog bites him.
But Dave's displeasure turns to concern when he starts acting like a dog. He sleeps at the end of the bed, laps milk from a bowl, and has a strong desire to chase cars.
As Dave tries to keep his wits about him and find out exactly what scientists are up to in that laboratory, he finds that there is an upside to having canine capabilities: he can hear and smell much better loves bonding with his family.
BIG MOMMA'S HOUSESaturday 27 December at 20:30
2000. Directed by Raja Gosnell. Starring Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Paul Giamatti
Sherry, who is on the run from her dangerous ex-boyfriend, decides to pay her grandmother a visit. Although grandma is still as fat as ever, there's something different about her - it turns out it's because "grandma" is really FBI agent Malcolm Turner in disguise.