NOWSHOWING
Earth: One Amazing Day
A sequel to the acclaimed BBC documentary Planet Earth, the new doc puts together wildlife wonderment from every corner of the Earth, framed by the narrative of what happens in one day — any day — on Earth. Directed by Richard Dale, Lixin Fan and Peter Webber.
Bangkok Nites
This film by a Japanese director is set entirely in Thailand, especially in the redlight district of Thaniya Road where Japanese expats come to relax after a hard day’s work. The film centres on an escort woman called Luck who works to support her family in the Northeast. When Luck meets a Japanese client called Ozawa, an ex-soldier with the Japanese Defense Army, she falls in love with him and brings him to see her family in the province near the Lao border, where strange things and the undying ghost of the Cold War reappears. Directed by Katsuya Tomita. Only at Bangkok Screening Room, on Rama IV.
A Wrinkle In Time
An adaptation of a beloved sci-fi novel from 1962, the film centres on the adventure of Meg Murray (Storm Reid), a young girl who sets out to look for her scientist father (Chris Pine) after he has disappeared during a mind-warping quest to traverse the galaxy and become stuck in the limbo of time. Helping Meg on her journey are her brother and three magical beings (played by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling). Directed by Ava DuVernay.
The Hurricane Heist
The title explains it. This heist film tells the story of a band of thieves who attempt a major robbery from a US Treasury centre in Alabama, when Category 5 Hurricane Tammy is about to crush everything in its path. Directed by Rob Cohen.
Monster Family
In this animated movie, the Wishbone family are going through a rough patch. The mother (voiced by Emily Watson) becomes a romantic target of Count Dracula, who wants to turn her into a vampire. But the plan backfires when a witch curses the entire family and turns them into colourful monsters. Directed by Holger Tappe.
3am Aftershock
In this Thai horror anthology, vengeful ghosts and restless spirits are out to terrorise people in three short movies. The first is about a toll collector who experiences
strange incidents on the expressway. The second is about a painter seduced by a mysterious woman. The third is about a film shoot gone wrong when the set is invaded by an unknown force. Directed by Pawat Panagkasiri, Thammanoon Sakulboonthanom, Thanadol Nualsut and Nitiwat Cholwanichsiri.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
In her Oscar-winning role, Frances McDormand plays a mother whose daughter was raped and killed in a small town in Missouri. When the police fail to arrest a suspect, Mildred rents three billboards and puts up angry rebukes against the authorities, setting off a chain of events that troubles the once peaceful town. Sam Rockwell plays a racist policeman, a role that won him an Oscar. Also starring Woody Harrelson. Directed by Martin McDonagh.
Tomb Raider
The new adaptation of the hit video game stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, the intrepid daughter of a missing explorer. Famed for fighting artefact thieves and archaeological bandits, Lara finds herself trapped with her enemies on an island where her father has gone missing. Directed by Roar Uthaug.
Satan’s Slaves
This Indonesian horror film was a major hit in its home country and other Southeast Asian markets. The story is set largely in a house where a father and his four children care for the ailing mother, a bed-bound patient who is visited by strange apparitions. Their house is next to an Islamic cemetery and the local imam has warned the family that something demonic is harassing them. Directed by Joko Anwar. Thai dubbed.
Red Sparrow
Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika, a Russian ballerina whose career suffers a hiccup and soon she is recruited into a spy school. Upon graduation Dominika is forced to join the government’s “Sparrow” programme reserved for deadly and sexy secret agents, and her assignment is to locate a traitor who’s been working with the CIA. Directed by Francis Lawrence.
The Monkey King 3
In the sequel of the popular Journey to the West story, Aaron Kwok plays the Monkey King who accompanies a travelling monk on a pilgrimage to the remote territories. This time, they find themselves trapped in a fantastical realm populated only by women. Directed by Soi Cheang.
Pacific Rim Uprising
In this sequel to Pacific Rim (conceived by Guillermo Del Toro), a new generation of pilots known as Jaeger band together to fight another invasion of kaiju, or alien monsters that slip through a dimensional crack to Earth. The film stars John Boyega, or Finn from Star Trek, and Scott Eastwood. Directed by Steven S DeKnight.
Black Panther
The new Marvel juggernaut stars Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, who returns to his African homeland of Wakanda to take the throne after his father dies. When his old enemy (Michael B. Jordan) reappears with malicious intent, Black Panther is drawn back into a great battle. Directed by Ryan Coogler.
The Shape Of Water
In this dark fairy tale set during the height of the Cold War, Sally Hawkins plays Elisa, a mute who works as a cleaning lady in a top-secret science centre in Baltimore. A mysterious aquatic creature is brought into the centre, and Elisa becomes his only friend. When the sadistic security chief (Michael Shannon) wants to kill the creature for fear of Soviet spies getting a hold of its biological secrets, Elisa has to rescue him. The film has been nominated for 13 Oscars. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro.