Want to know what’s coming to a cinema near you this March? Look no further…
THURSDAY 1 MARCH
Red Sparrow (Francis Lawrence)
Retired CIA operative Jason Matthews sold the film rights to his 2013 novel for a seven figure sum back when it was released. Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence reunites with Jennifer Lawrence for the film about a Russian ballerina recruited into the intelligence service.
FRIDAY 2 MARCH
A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio)
A transexual waitress is under suspicion when her older boyfriend dies. Spanish thriller.
Erase and Forget (Andrea Luka Zimmerman)
Filmed across ten years, Zimmerman’s investigative documentary seeks to paint a picture of the society that voted in Trump, featuring: Bo Gritz and Ted Kotcheff.
Game Night (John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein)
It beggars belief that no-one’s ever made a feature film called Game Night before so thank goodness Rachel McAdams, Jessie Plemons and Jason Batemen have got together for this one. The plot sees the friends, who regularly meet for game nights, attempt to solve a murder mystery.
Monster Family (Holger Tappe)
Based on a ride at Wookey Hole, Monster Family stars Emily Watson, Jason Isaacs, Nick Frost and Jessica Brown Findlay as an unhappy family who try to reconcile over a fun night out…only to be turned into monsters by an evil witch.
Psycho Vertical (Jen Randall)
Based on his best-selling autobiography, British writer Andy Kirkpatrick spins out a study of his complex life whilst undergoing an 18-day solo ascent of El Capitan, Yosemite. One suspects that there was a camera there too…
The Nile Hilton Incident (Tarik Saleh)
Against the backdrop of Egypt’s revolutions, Police Commander Noredin Mostafa (Farer Fares) comes up against a lot of resistance when attempting to solve the seemingly-straightforward murder of a prostitute.
THURSDAY 8 MARCH
The Divine Order (Petra Volpe)
Young housewife Nora (Marie Leuenberger) takes matters into her own hands in attempting to win women’s suffrage in 1970s Switzerland. The only problem is that success depends on convincing male voters…
FRIDAY 9 MARCH
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamar Story (Alexandra Dean)
Actress and inventor Hedy Lamar gets the documentary treatment.
Gringo (Nash Edgerton)
If black comedy, white-knuckle action and dramatic intrigue weren’t enough to get you hooked, Gringo also marks the screen debut of Paris (Michael) Jackson and sees Joel Edgerton directed by his brother. David Oyelowo and Charlize Theron lead in this tale of a businessman who finds himself becoming a wanted criminal.
Mom and Dad (Brian Taylor)
Nicholas Cage goes nuts and tries to kill his kids in this 24-hour-survival thriller. It’s not just Cage, here playing Brent Ryan, though; for an unknown reason parents all over have suddenly become very violent…but why?
Carré 35 (Éric Caravace)
French actor Éric Carapace confronts the mysterious death of his parents’ first child, Christine, who died aged three in Algeria in this Who Do You Think You Are-styled French documentary.
Scott and Sid (Scott Elliott and Sid Sadowskyj)
Scott (Richard Mason) is a society-alienated and troubled teen, sticking his finger up to life. Sid (Tom Blyth), on the other hand, is a reclusive kid with a dysfunctional background who just wants to be liked. They’re unlikely friends and their whole world is about to be turned upside down.
Sweet Country (Warwick Thornton)
Inspired by real events, this 1920s Australian western follows an Aboriginal farmhand who’s forced to go on the run when he shoots a white man in self defence and is set to face (in)justice.
Walk Like a Panther (Dan Cadan)
Stephen Graham, Jason Fleming and Julian Sands star as a group of 80s wrestlers who lycra up one last time when their beloved local pub faces closure. Filmed in Huddersfield.
Wonder Wheel (Woody Allen)
The last of 2017’s many ‘Wonder’ films finally reaches the UK. On Coney Island in the 1950s, a lifeguard tells the story of a middle-aged carousel operator, his beleaguered wife, and the visitor who turns their lives upside-down. Kate Winslet stars.
FRIDAY 16 MARCH
Gook (Justin Chon)
Two struggling Korean-Americans form an unlikely friendship with a streetwise, 11-year-old African-American.
Mary Magdalene (Garth Davis)
Lion director Garth Davis goes biblical in this story of Mary Magdalene. Rooney Mara leads, with Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Peter. The film bears the last score composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson before his untimely passing earlier this month.
My Golden Days (Arnaud Desplechin)
Known as: Trois Souvenirs de ma Jeunesse back home in France, the film sees a man look back to his adolescence as he prepares to leave Tajikistan.
Peter Rabbit (Will Gluck)
Potter-purists might struggle to keep an open mind as James Corden voices the famous rabbit.
The Square (Ruben Östlund)
Starring Claes Band and Elizabeth Moss, this English/Swedish/Danish comedy drama might be an Oscar winner by the time you see it. In the film, an art curator finds himself in crisis as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit.
Tomb Raider (Roar Uthaug)
It’s been fifteen years since Lara Croft last appeared on the big screen. Now, Alicia Vikander hopes to relight the franchise.
FRIDAY 23 MARCH
A Wrinkle in Time (Ava DuVernay)
Adapting the novel by Madeleine L’Engle, Ava DuVernay is the first black woman ever to direct a live-action film with a budget of over $100m. With Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon in its cast, the film ought to make that back.
Gholam (Mitra Tabrizian)
UK/Iranian slow-burn thriller starring The Salesman‘s Shahab Hosseini.
Have a Nice Day (Jian Liu)
A city in southern China and a bag containing a million yuan draw several people from diverse backgrounds with different personal motives into a bloody conflict.
Here To Be Heard: The Story of the Slits (Willian E. Badgley)
The story of the world’s first all-girl punk band, featuring footage with original members Viv Albertine, Ari Up, Palmolive and Tessa Pollitt.
I got life!/Aurore (Blandine Lenoir)
French comedy-drama starring Anne-Françoise Brillot as a woman who refuses to be cast aside after losing her job and husband.
Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (Peter Landesman)
Following Spielberg’s The Post, Landesman coincidentally picks up the story of US political scandal in the 1970s with the story of the FBI agent who helped uncover Watergate. Liam Neeson stars.
Pacific Rim: Uprising (Steven S. DeKnight)
Five years after Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, Steven S. DeKnight makes his directorial debut with the sequel. A decade on from the Battle of the Breach and the oceans once again become restless.
Proud Mary (Babak Najafi)
Mary (Taraji P. Henson) is a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around by boy when a professional hit goes bad.
Sajjad Singh Rangroot (Pankaj Batra)
Indian film based on the lives of the Sikhs that fought on the front lines of the First World War.
The Third Murder (Hirokazu Koreeda)
If you’re unfamiliar with Hirokazu Koreeda a good place to start is his devastating 2004 film Nobody Knows. Here, he tells the story of a criminal lawyer who complicates a open and shut case.
Unsane (Steven Soderbergh)
Many called last year’s Logan Lucky the film that put Soderbergh back on track. In Unsane, the director seeks to continue this form with Claire Foy playing a woman involuntarily committed to a mental institution.
Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (Lorna Tucker)
Documentary looking into the remarkable life of the renowned fashion designer for the first time.
THURSDAY 29 MARCH
Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg)
The hotly anticipated adaption of the Ernest Cline book. Black Panther‘s Letitia Wright stars.
The Islands and the Whales (Mike Day)
Made back in 2016, the documentary about whale hunters on the Faroe Islands – and the intervention of a local professor – finally washes into UK shores.
FRIDAY 30 MARCH
Blockers (Kay Cannon)
Three parents try to stop their daughters from having sex on Prom night. Surely this will be awful, right?
Cake (Asim Abbasi)
Short film maker Asim Abbasi makes his feature debut.
Duck Duck Goose (Christopher Jenkins)
Stretching credibility, this latest China-USA co-animation sees Jim Gaffligan voice a bachelor goose who must form a bond with two ducklings on their journey south. With Zendaya.
God’s Not Dead 3 (Harold Cronk)
A third outing for the Christian drama franchise. Nope.
Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson)
Quirky – Anderson does no other type – stop-motion animation about a boy searching for his dog on an island inhabited by hundreds of them.
Journeyman (Paddy Considine)
Director and star Paddy Considine tells the story of a boxer who is seriously injured and the effect of it on his life. New Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker plays his wife.
Midnight Sun (Scott Speer)
Based on the Japanese film, Midnight Sun sees Bella Thorne play Katie, a 17-year-old who has been confined to her home by a rare disease since childhood but enters a Summer romance. Featuring Patrick Schwarzenegger – Arnie’s oldest son – in his first major project. He’ll be back we’re sure.
The Bachelors (Michael and Peter Spierig)
In the last offering of March 2018, J.K. Simmons is a father, mourning the death of his wife, who takes his son across the country for a new job. Julie Delpy and Odeya Rush play the women who transform their lives.
The Film Blog 
So many exciting movies this month! Ready Player One is an obviously hyped one. I didn’t know a new Woody Allen movie is coming, I might try to catch it on the cinema if it’s available.
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It’s going to be a busy month all right!
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