2 February
The Founder
The latest movie from the director of Saving Mr. Banks, The Founder features the true story of how Ray Kroc, a struggling salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential, manoeuvring himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.
Director: John Lee Hancock, Starring: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch
Rings
Julia becomes worried about her boyfriend, Holt, when he explores the dark urban legend of a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after viewing. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before.
Director: F. Javier Gutiérrez, Starring: Johnny Galecki, Alex Roe, Laura Wiggins
T2 Trainspotting
First there was an opportunity……then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him: Spud, Sick Boy, and Begbie. Other old friends are waiting too: sorrow, loss, joy, vengeance, hatred, friendship, love, longing, fear, regret, diamorphine, self-destruction and mortal danger, they are all lined up to welcome him, ready to join the dance.
Director: Danny Boyle, Starring: Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller
9 February
Fifty Shades Darker
Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the handsome, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with the Seattle Independent Publishing House; but the desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sexual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.
Director: James Foley, Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger
16 February
A Cure for Wellness
An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious “wellness center” at a remote location in the Swiss Alps. He soon suspects that the spa’s miraculous treatments are not what they seem. When he begins to unravel its terrifying secrets, his sanity is tested, as he finds himself diagnosed with the same curious illness that keeps all the guests here longing for the cure.
Director: Gore Verbinski, Starring: Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth
A Monster Calls
The monster does not come walking often. This time it comes to Connor, and it asks for the one thing Connor cannot bring himself to do. Tell the truth. This is a very touching story about a boy who feels very damaged, guilty and mostly angry. He struggles at school with bullies, and pity looks from everyone, and at home with his mother’s sickness. Will Connor overcome his problems? Will everything be okay? Will Connor be able to speak the truth?
Director: J.A. Bayona, Starring: Liam Neeson, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones
Paterson
Paterson is a bus driver in the city of Paterson, New Jersey – they share the name. Every day, Paterson adheres to a simple routine: he drives his daily route, he writes poetry into a notebook; he stops in a bar and drinks exactly one beer; he goes home to his wife, Laura. By contrast, Laura’s world is ever changing. New dreams come to her almost daily. The film quietly observes the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details.
Director: Jim Jarmusch, Starring: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Rizwan Manji
23 February
John Wick: Chapter 2
Legendary hitman John Wick is forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome, where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest killers.
Director: Chad Stahelski, Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ruby Rose, Ian McShane
