Syriana (USA). From 24 Feb. Dir. Stephen Gaghan, starring George Clooney and Matt Damon. Epic and complex thriller about the intrigue and politics behind the global oil industry and its effect on individual human lives. Writer/director Gaghan received a Best Screenplay Oscar for the film Traffic in the 2001 Golden Globe awards.

Aeon Flux (USA). From 24 Feb. Dir. Karyn Kusama, starring Charlize Theron and Jonny Lee Miller. Sci-fi thriller set 400 years in the future charting the story of an underground operative fighting against a totalitarian regime.

Arrivederci Amore, Ciao (It). From 24 Feb. Dir. Michele Soavi, starring Michele Soavi and Alessio Boni. A left-wing terrorist who has fled from a jail sentence in Italy to the Central American jungle decides to return to Italy but has trouble escaping his past.

Hostel (USA). From 24 Feb. Dir. Eli Roth, starring Jay Hernandez and Derek Richardson. Two American backpackers seek out a Slovak hostel where they have heard beautiful local prostitutes cost very little, but they end up paying with more than just cash in this violent horror.

La Terra (It). From 24 Feb. Dir. Sergio Rubini, starring Fabrizio Bentivoglio and Emilio Solfrizzi. A professor of philosophy returns from Milan to his hometown in Puglia after his fathers death to sort out his affairs and finds himself a suspect in the murder of a family friend.