2018 is set to be an explosive year at the box office — February sees both blockbusters and artier films released to critical acclaim hitting our big screens. Here are some must-watch options this weekend.
1. Black Panther – February 16
Director Ryan Coogler, lead Chadwick Boseman and the rest of the team managed to get one of the most crazily hyped films of the decade to live up to expectations — thanks to a thought-provoking screenplay and constant flashes of satirical humour. The film sets the scene for the upcoming "Avengers: Infinity War", and is far more than just a superhero movie.
Beautifully executed visual effects combine with satisfyingly choreographed action scenes and technology that will leave you in awe. "Black Panther" is a marvel of a black superhero film; a true visual feast in the representation of majestic Wakanda – but ultimately, its pinnacle is how it artistically drives a black-power narrative through its absorbing storytelling.
2. The Post – already screening
Steven Spielberg managed, at last, what no other filmmaker could: getting Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks on screen together. Topical issues like freedom of the press and women in leadership are explored in this period piece set in the 70s. The brilliantly told story of the Vietnam War-era journalists who exposed a massive cover-up of government wrongdoing will open your eyes to the reality of whistleblowing.
The cover-up involved four U.S. presidents and pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driven editor into an unprecedented battle between press and government. And, of course, it's based on true events.
3. Fifty Shades Freed – opens Friday
Just in time for Valentine's Day – and couples looking for something kinky and spicy to give them ideas. It's the third in the love-it-or-hate-it series, and from the trailer it promises to be more seductive and erotic than ever, with one hell of a twist.
4. Inxeba: The Wound – already screening
"Inxeba" could not have come at a better time – it is an important artwork and the outrage it has garnered both on social media and at dinner tables is a testament to the fact that it's about time for uncomfortable conversations.
The film's core narrative explores the isolation, othering and ostracisation of LGBT+ people, and the various ways in which hypermasculinity responds to those it does not recognise as its own.
5. Insidious: The Last Key – already screening
Fourth instalment of the popular supernatural horror franchise, directed by Adam Robitel and written by Leigh Whannell. Within the franchise's jumbled chronology and repeated haunted-house episodes, however, it's the second story, chronologically.