01 August 2025 – It seems that while winter is here to stay for a little longer, what better way to while away a few chilly hours than by watching – or rewatching – some of your favourite movies from back in the day. And, with the ticket price at just R50, Throwback Cinema should be a weekly event in your diary!

Throwback Cinema titles each screen for a week from Friday to Thursday, and are proving to be a popular cinema experience for movie lovers. The opportunity to watch classic movies again on the big screen – with the bonus being a very affordable ticket price – is a real drawcard, and the August line-up has something for everyone, from some real classics to ‘Bond, James Bond’ from back in the day to chocolate, gambling and reversing the aging process.

First up, releasing on 01 August, is the aging backwards drama from 2008, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  The story follows the curious character of Benjamin Button (played by Brad Pitt), who was born in 1918 with the physical state of an elderly man, and ages in reverse as he goes through life. He experiences all the emotions that life throws at him from love and break-ups to ecstasy and sorrow, and timelessness by the time he dies in 2003 as a baby. Directed by David Fincher, the film also stars Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton and Jullia Ormond.  Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments

Next up, releasing on 08 August, is the fast-paced, high-rolling Casino. First released in 1995, under director Martin Scorsese the film stars Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci and James Woods. This crime drama depicts the two sides of Las Vegas: it has a glittering, glamorous face, as well as a brutal, cruel one. In the early 1970s Las Vegas, Sam 'Ace' Rothstein gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro, his ex-hustler wife Ginger, her con-artist ex Lester Diamond and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger.  You don’t stay at the top forever…

The bewitching and beautiful film centred around a delicious chocolate shop is the sweet release on 15 August. First released in 2000, Chocolat is a feel-good romantic drama starring Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Dame Judy Dench, and Alfred Molina, and directed by Lasse Hallström. Literally blowing into town is free spirit Vianne Rocher and her adolescent daughter Anouk, who move from place to place wherever the north wind takes them. When they arrive in a rural French town in the winter of 1959 and open an unusual chocolate shop, it disrupts the moral fibre of the strictly Catholic townsfolk and the mayor, who is revered as the town's moral authority.  When a group of gypsies arrives by riverboat, the mayor's prejudices lead to a crisis. 

A different genre of drama releases on the big screen on 22 August, when the contemporary Western crime drama Desperado rolls into town. This classic film stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almedia, Cheech Marin and Steve Buscemi, and is directed by Robert Rodriguez. Former musician and gunslinger El Mariachi arrives at a small Mexican border town after being away for a long time. His past quickly catches up with him and he soon gets entangled with the local drug kingpin Bucho and his gang.  He came back to settle the score with someone. Anyone. Everyone…

The lure of casinos features again in the final Throwback Cinema movie in August, when the 2006 007 action thriller Casino Royale releases on the big screen on 29 August. Starring Daniel Craig as the one and only ‘Bond, James Bond,’ the film also features Dame Judy Dench, Eva Green, Jeffrey Wright, Mads Mikkelsen and Giancarlo Giannini and is directed by Martin Campbell. Le Chiffre, a banker to the world's terrorists, is scheduled to participate in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro, where he intends to use his winnings to establish his financial grip on the terrorist market. M sends Bond—on his maiden mission as a 00 Agent—to attend this game and prevent Le Chiffre from winning. With the help of Vesper Lynd and Felix Leiter, Bond enters the most important poker game in his already dangerous career. Everyone has a past. Every legend has a beginning…

Throwback Cinema titles are screened at the following Ster-Kinekor sites: Sandton, Mall of Africa, Eastgate, Cresta and Rosebank Nouveau in Johannesburg; Irene and The Grove in Tshwane; Vaal in Vanderbijlpark; Mooirivier in Potchefstroom; Shelly Beach in KZN; Baywest in Gqeberha; Somerset Mall in Somerset West; and Blue Route, V&A Waterfront, Capegate and Tygervalley in Cape Town, giving audiences a wide choice of cinemas to enjoy the great line-up of classic films.

All tickets for Throwback Cinema titles are only R50. Book now on the new-look Ster-Kinekor website at www.sterkinekor.com or download the new-look SK App on your smartphone.  For news and updates, go to  Facebook: Ster-Kinekor Theatres | follow Ster-Kinekor on Twitter: @Ster-Kinekor. For all queries, call Ticketline on 0861-Movies (668 437).

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