Movies Released January 21, 2024

Set on Mars in the year 2071, "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" is based on the much-loved animated television series by Japanese director Shinichiro Watanabe. As the film begins, Spike (David Lucas) and his gang of gypsy vigilantes are roaming the city, looking for trouble when Faye (Wendee Lee) witnesses a bioterrorist attack. Hovering above the city in her spaceship, she sees a man fleeing the scene. Over 500 people die in the attack, and the city offers a monetary reward for any information. The gang jumps at the opportunity. They decide to branch out, each using their own tactics to research the tragedy. Spike slinks through Chinatown, being led by shady underground characters. Faye traces the image of the man she saw back to military files. And the young Ed (Mellisa Fahn) and her dog Ein do some handy computer research. Meanwhile Jet (Beau Billinglsea), holds down the fort, worried about the gang. When the criminal Vincent (Daran Norris), is identified, with a connection to Spike's love interest Elektra (Jennifer Hale), the real action begins.

"Cowboy Bebop" is a visually dramatic film that combines several styles of illustration into one beautiful, cohesive animated environment. The Mars of this film is a combination of cities: New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris, and many more. Viewers are compelled to identify monuments and familiar structures, while the terrorist thematic hits fearfully close to home.

Formerly a principal dancer at the Bolshoi Ballet, Olga Smirnova has been the audience’s favorite in the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema series in which she performed, amongst other, in La Bayadère, Giselle and Swan Lake: she returns to the big screen, bringing back the best of ballet for global dance lovers’ pleasure. Having fled from Russia at the beginning of 2022, the celebrated international dancer joined the Dutch National Ballet. She will perform the role of Giselle accompanied on stage by former Bolshoi principal Jacopo Tissi, who integrated the Dutch National Ballet last August. They were last seen together dancing live in cinemas in Swan Lake in February 2020.