I, Tonya 《我，花样女王》

 

Tonya Harding is one of figure skating's most notorious figures. Now we get her side of the story in I, Tonya – was she or was she not involved in the conspiracy¹ to club her main competition, Nancy Kerrigan, in the lead-up to the 1994 Winter Olympics? As played by Margot Robbie, who BBC Culture film critic Caryn James said "gives the film its heart" in her four-star review, Harding is a sympathetic, if far from saintly, figure. The film, presented at times like a mockumentary with the actors playing real-life Harding associates talking directly into the camera as if they're being interviewed, shows the abuse and poverty the figure skater suffered growing up. Allison Janney, as Harding's foul-mouthed, violent mother, is a leading contender for best supporting actress at the Academy Awards on 4 March. If its script is a little too "on the nose" at times, it's an arresting vision of an athlete who tried, and failed, to live and compete on her own terms. Released February 1 in Singapore and Russia, February 9 in Mexico and February 23 in the UK and Spain. (Credit: Neon)

 

Early Man 《早期人类》

 

Nick Park might not be a well-known name outside of the UK, but, as the creator of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, he is one of the most influential³ figures in the history of animation⁴. A four-time Oscar winner, Park is directing his first feature film since Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 13 years ago. Early Man, which pits proud young caveman Dug (Eddie Redmayne) and his wild boar Hognob (Park himself) against the wily machinations of Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston), who's entered the Bronze Age faster than Dug's tribe and wants to conquer them with his superior weaponry. Released February 1 in Greece, February 8 in Brazil and Croatia and February 16 in the US (Credit: StudioCanal)

 

Annihilation 《湮灭》

 

Alex Garland dazzled audiences with Ex Machina, a sci-fi indie with a $15m budget but a $150m look. He's back with another genre-expanding inquiry⁵ perched somewhere between science and fantasy with Annihilation, an adaptation of the 2014 Jeff VanderMeer novel about a soldier grievously injured on a plot of land cut off from civilisation⁶ and strangely altered by extraterrestrial forces, and his scientist wife who ventures inside the alien zone looking for a way to save him. Oscar Isaac plays the husband, and Natalie Portman is his brainy spouse⁷ – with Tessa Thompson playing another scientist. Expect your brain to be teased and your eyes to pop. Released February 22 in Brazil, Hong Kong and Israel and February 23 in the US and UK. (Credit: Paramount⁸ Pictures)

 

Black Panther 《黑豹》

 

The Marvel⁹ Cinematic Universe turns 10 this year, and they're kicking off their second decade with what may be their coolest film yet: Black Panther, the story of the king of Wakanda – in Marvel lore¹⁰, the most technologically¹¹ sophisticated nation on earth – and his exploits moonlighting as a superhero. A largely black cast is made up of such heavyweights as Chadwick Boseman (who dons the title character's claws), Lupita Nyong'o (who leads Wakanda's all-female special forces team), Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Michael B Jordan (as the oft-shirtless villain¹² Killmonger). Its director, Ryan Coogler, blew audiences and critics away with Fruitvale Station and Creed¹³ and possesses an ability to wed² deep emotion to virtuosic¹⁴ camerawork – aided by cinematographer Rachel Morrison, who just became the first woman ever nominated for best cinematography at the Oscars. And on top of this, there's a Kendrick Lamar-produced tie-in album! Released February 13 in the UK and Taiwan and February 16 in the US, Canada, India and Pakistan (Credit: Marvel Studios)

 

The 15:17 to Paris 《15点17分，启程巴黎》

 

Not even time can stop Clint Eastwood. To put this singular career in perspective: Eastwood was the star of a top-rated US TV series, Rawhide¹⁵, in the 1950s – and he managed to direct the top-grossing film of 2014 in American Sniper. No one else can lay claim to being so relevant for so long. His new effort behind the camera is based on the true story of the US servicemen and their friend who, while on leave, foiled a would-be assailant on an express train from Belgium to Paris. The twist here is that the real-life individuals involved with stopping the attack are playing themselves. Can they act? Does it matter? We'll see. Released February 9 in the US and UK and February 23 in Spain and Sweden. (Credit: Warner Bros)

 

A Fantastic Woman 《普通女人》

 

Chile has produced two of the most interesting film-makers in the world right now. Between Pablo Larraín, who crossed over to Hollywood with 2016's Jackie, and Sebastián Lelio, who made the 2013 festival darling Gloria, the nation has become one of the most interesting movie exporters in South America. Lelio's latest, A Fantastic Woman, has just been nominated for best foreign language film at the Oscars, and is only now being released around the world. It's about a romance between an older man and a much younger transgender woman, and the horrible abuse she takes from his family after he dies. Daniela Vega, who is herself transgender, distinguishes the film with her performance – especially considering how so many filmmakers still cast cisgender actors in transgender roles. Lelio is about to cross over to Hollywood himself for two more films scheduled to be released this year: Disobedience, an adaptation of the Naomi Alderman novel starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, and a remake of Gloria starring Julianne Moore in the title role. Released February 2 in the US, February 24 in Japan and March 2 in the UK and Ireland. (Credit: Sony Pictures Classics)

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