New Film Releases: February 9-15 2018

The cinema industry is convinced that what you crave in Valentine’s week is saturation screenings of spanky threequel Fifty Shades Freed. Should they be mistaken in this belief, the good news is that there’s plenty of alternative romantic stuff on offer, including such evergreens as Amelie and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Other new releases include Colin Firth all at sea in The Mercy (go here for our full review), Clint Eastwood’s The 15:17 to Paris and teen romcom Status Update. There’s also a chance to see two of the main contenders in the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award category. Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s brilliant if unremittingly grim Loveless (go here for our full review) opens on Friday. The Watershed also has a preview on Saturday of its main rival: the equally lauded transgender drama, A Fantastic Woman, which opens in March.

Oscar frontrunner The Shape of Water (go here for our full review) is widely previewed this week too, as is Marvel’s ground-breaking Black Panther. And the Japan Foundation film tour concludes with three very different but equally fascinating films. As usual, follow the links for further details and screening times and go here for our comprehensive film listings.