We have a great selection of new movies released this week. Among the Hollywood movies, the top attraction is Manchester by the Sea, followed by Rangoon, The Worthy and many others.
Manchester by the Sea
A hot Oscar tip, we begin this week with the perhaps lesser lauded Affleck brother Casey and his contemplative drama Manchester By The Sea.
When Affleck's character Lee's brother dies, he must return from Boston to his hometown, which gives the film its name. There he finds his distraught nephew Patrick, estranged from his mother, and now as a result of the brother's final wishes, Lee's responsibility. Lee wishes to head back to Boston, however, Patrick does not want to abandon the small seaside town. Throughout a series of flashbacks we learn why Lee is so keen not to remain, having had a happy life there in his youth before it all went wrong.
Manchester By The Sea has six Oscar nominations and, considering it was made on a budget of $8.5 million, looks likely to make at least 10 times that.
Trivia: First film to be released by a streaming service, Amazon, to achieve an Oscar nod.
Where to watch Manchester by the sea
Rangoon (Hindi)
Vishal Bhardwaj's espionage thriller Rangoon, set against the backdrop of World War II in Burma, is a love triangle in which the lives of the characters played the three actors intersect romantically in wartime.
Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Vishal Bhardwaj and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Rangoon stars Shahid Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Kangana Ranaut.
The Worthy (Arabic) (2D/3D/4DX)
Released by Image Nation Abu Dhabi, The Worthy is set in a dystopian future. After the vast majority of the world's water supply is lethally contaminated, a small group of survivors, who have taken refuge near a rare clean water source, are thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse and must defend their lives from infiltrators, who aren't what they seem.
Fukri (Malayalam)
An engineering dropout, Lucky is in pursuit of quick moneymaking plans but finds himself trapped in one trouble after the other. Once he meets a college girl Nafsi and her cousin Sana, and his life takes a new turn. ?
Yaman (Tamil)
Yeman is an Indian Tamil action thriller film directed by Jeeva Shankar and produced by Lyca Productions. The film features Vijay Antony and Mia George in the lead roles. 'Yaman' also stars veteran actor-filmmaker Thiagarajan as the antagonist, apart from Sangili Murugan, Charlie and Prince Nithik in supporting roles.
Purano Dunga (Nepali)
Film 'Purano Dunga' of Ram Babu Gurung who had directed blockbuster 'Kabbadi' series has made an aggressive start at the box office. The plot of the movie is based on the relationship between two brothers and issues created by their financial problems.
Also on this week:
Trespass Against Us
This gritty Brit flick stars Michael Fassbender, which means we are going to love it. Three generations of the Cutler family live as notorious outlaws among some of the wealthiest lands in Britain. They spend their time hunting, raiding large estates and tormenting the police. In the midst of it all, Chad (Fassbender) finds himself torn between respect for his father (Brendan Gleeson) and a desire for a better life for his children. The law is cracking down on his clan, and the decision might not be his to make.
With a realistically menancing tone, we are spoilt for choice this week for decent films.
IMDb gives it 6
Trivia: Gleeson and Fassbender also play father and son in Assassin's Creed.
Hidden Figures
We have been looking forward to this one for ages. Hidden Figures is the true life story of women you have never heard of who worked on a mission you grow up learning about. The movie centres on a team of three African-American mathematicians who helped NASA during the Space Race in the 1960s. Without their efforts the project, quite literally, may never have got off the ground.
Starring the brilliant Octavia Spencer and Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae provides the third character in the trio of this largely heartwarming story.
Trivia: Kevin Costner also stars.
Loving
Rounding off the fantastic lineup this week is another true story, Loving. It's difficult to believe, but only 50 years ago in some US states interracial marriage was illegal. The brilliantly aptly named Loving couple changed that.
Richard and Mildred Loving, a white and African-American couple from Virginia married in Washington D.C. in 1958. Returning to their home state shortly after to build their dream house, they were told to leave Virginia as they were in violation of the strict anti-miscegenation laws. Fearing jail, they moved to D.C. where their plight was heard of by civil rights lawyers leading to the famous Loving vs Virginia Supreme Court decision of 1967.
