Are you ready for it? There are eight movies to choose from on February 17 – five from Hollywood and three from India.
The Ghazi Attack 1971, the Indo-Pak war. An Indian naval submarine meets the Pakistani submarine Ghazi under water. Billed as the first Indian movie to be set on a submarine, Sankalp’s war drama stars Kay Kay Menon, Rana Daggubati, Atul Kulkarni and Taapsee Pannu.
John Wick: Chapter 2 The fearful assassin with a weakness for dogs returns for a second round of annihilation. Keanu Reeves stars as the titular hitman who had single-handedly destroyed a Russian gang in the slick first movie in 2014. In the sequel, Wick has a bounty placed on his head by a gangster played by Common. Also in the cast are Peter Stormare, Laurence Fishburne, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ian McShane, Ruby Rose and John Leguizamo.
Running Shaadi Cinematographer Amit Roy turns director with a comedy about a wedding organiser with a difference: the company run by characters played by Taapsee Pannu, Amit Sadh and Arsh Bajwa help couples elope.
Hidden Figures Among the many titles being released this week as part of the run-up to the Oscars is the inspirational story of the unrecognised contributions of female African-American mathematicians working at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the 1960s. In the cast are Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer, Dorothy Vaughan, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, Kevin Costner and Mahershala Ali.
Irada A former Army officer, a doughty journalist and an upright government official join forces to expose a polluting chemical plant owner who has the support of the state’s chief minister. The top-notch cast includes Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Divya Dutta, Sharad Kelkar and Sagarika Ghatge.
The Lego Batman Movie Chris McKay’s animated comedy is based on characters inspired by comic books as well as the Lego toys. Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman (voiced by Will Arnett) must battle evil forces as well as bring up an adopted boy. The voice cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Zach Galifianakis and Conan O’Brien.
Moonlight Barry Jenkins’s Oscar-nominated movie is the coming-of-age story of Chiron, who is black, gay and the son of a drug pusher mother. The cast includes Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and Ashton Sanders.
Silence Martin Scorsese’s passion project is based on Shusaku Endo’s 1966 novel of the same name. Set in 17th century Japan, the movie tackles the brutal putdown of Catholic believers by the majority Buddhist leaders. Two Portuguese priests travel to Japan to look for a Jesuit who has renounced his faith. The cast includes Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Tadanobu Asano.