CINEMA- 10 to see in March 2017
Wolverine returns in Logan, Elle astounds, Beauty and the Beast turns to live action, we question if organisms from Mars are worth bringing home in Life, this month’s creepiest is sleeper hit Get Out, whilst The City of Lost Z, The Eyes of My Mother, and Free Fire also make our list, and Fassbinder’s classic Fear Eats The Soul makes a welcome return.
Logan; dir. James Mangold; 1st March
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen
Our favourite X-Man is back, with Wolverine, AKA Logan, caring for the ailing Professor X in an undisclosed hideout near the Mexican border. Things take a turn for the action-packed when a young mutant shows up with enemies in tow.
Trespass Against Us; dir. Adam Smith; 3rd March
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Lyndsey Marshal
When you’re part of a crime family living on the fringes of society, perpetually on the run, you have two fundamental choices to make- get involved, or get out. The Cutler Clan’s black sheep opts for the latter in this tense action drama.
Elle; dir. Paul Verhoeven; 3rd March (Film of the Month, pictured)
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny
Bold, unique, critically acclaimed, and the recipient of countless awards, revered filmmaker Verhoeven offers the tale of a successful businesswoman who begins a cat and mouse chase with the man who raped her. One of 2017’s landmark movies.
Beauty & The Beast; dir. Bill Condon; 17th March
Starring: Dan Stevens, Emma Watson, Luke Evans
The long-awaited live action version of Disney’s animated classic finally arrives, with Emma Watson cast as the stunning Belle, and melting the heart of Beast (Dan Stevens), in this tragic tale of first impressions, inner beauty, and fairy tale endings.
Get Out; dir. Jordan Peele; 17th March
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford
One the face of it, the story of a young black guy meeting his white girlfriend’s parents at their sizable family home in a quiet suburb doesn’t suggest stark psychological terror, hence Peele’s movie being a contender for sleeper hit of the year. Clever, powerful, and utterly unmissable.
Life; dir. Daniel Espinosa; 24th March
Starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds
We’ve known for ages that in space nobody hears you scream, but what if something does? Six astronauts on the ISS retrieve a sample from Mars containing what appears to be a very basic life form. This interstellar thriller quickly proves us all wrong.
The Eyes of My Mother; dir. Nicolas Pesce; 24th March
Starring: Kika Magalhaes, Will Brill, Olivia Bond
Dark, mysterious, and deeply visceral, a woman’s attempts to connect with the world is fraught with problems stemming from a disturbing episode in her past involving a visiting stranger and her mother, a physician with a penchant for teaching kids anatomy.
The City of Lost Z; dir. James Gray; 24th March
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson
Based on the real life experiences of British explorer Col. Percival Fawcett, we venture into the Amazon rainforest where our protagonist comes face to face with indigenous populations, and takes up the fight to prove to the West the tribes are not ‘savages’.
Fear Eats The Soul; dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder; 31st March (re-release)
Starring: Brigitte Mira, El Hedi ben Salem, Barbara Valentin
Tackling issues surrounding inter-generational and inter-racial marriage, a German woman in her 60s and a Moroccan migrant worker 25 years her junior fall in love and tie the knot, appalling friends on either side. As important now as it was in 1974.
Free Fire; dir. Ben Wheatley; 30th March
Starring: Enzo Cilenti, Sam Riley, Cillian Murphy
Rightly respected British director Ben Wheatley (A Field In England, High Rise, Sightseers) returns with another claustrophobic situation- two rival gangs in late-1970s Boston meet at a disused warehouse to settle scores. Cue a game of close quarters survival.