A Simple Life (I) (Cantonese and Putonghua)

See review on this page.

John Carter (IIA)

Fantasy actioner based on a Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel about a US Civil War veteran who is inexplicably transplanted to an alien planet, becomes embroiled in an epic conflict, and discovers that the survival of the planet rests in his hands. Not reviewed.

General Releases

A Separation (IIA) (Persian)

Asghar Farhadi's drama about a married man with a young daughter whose life is crucially affected by one decision he makes after his wife leaves him. CT

The Allure of Tears (IIA) (Cantonese and Putonghua)

Melodramatic anthology of tales revolving around: two youthful cancer patients; a deaf violin virtuoso and her conservatory sweetheart; and a working-class couple. PF

The Artist (IIA) (English intertitles)

Michel Hazanavicius' romance centring on a silent movie star (Jean Dujardin) who, as he worries that the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, is attracted to a young bit player (Berenice Bejo) who hits it big in the talkies era. CT

The Devil Inside (IIB) (English and Italian)

Horror thriller about a woman who gets involved in a series of exorcisms. CT

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (IIA)

Drama centring on a young boy (Thomas Horn) who searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father (Tom Hanks), who died in the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. CT

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (IIB) (English and Romanian)

Nicolas Cage returns as the man struggling with his curse as the devil's bounty hunter who, in this 3-D fantasy actioner, is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy from the devil. CT

Hugo (I)

Martin Scorsese's family drama set in 1930's Paris about an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station that is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton. CT

The Lady (IIB) (English and Myanmese)

Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng stars as Aung San Suu Kyi in Luc Besson's biographical drama about the Myanmese political icon, wife and mother. YT

Love (IIA) (Mandarin)

Doze Niu Chen-zer's trio of romantic tales - two of them set in Taipei and the third in Beijing. Starring Vicki Zhao Wei, Shu Qi, Ethan Ruan Ching-tien and Mark Chao Yu-ting. PF

Love Is Not Blind (IIA) (Putonghua)

Romantic drama centring on a woman whose male colleague comes to her aid after she discovers that her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend. CT

Mr and Mrs Gambler (IIB) (Cantonese)

Wong Jing's comedy about two gambling addicts who, after they decide to divorce, agree that whoever breaks their agreement to quit gambling loses custody of their daughter. Starring Chapman To Man-chat and Fiona Sit Hoi-kei. CT

My Name is Khan (IIA) (English and Hindi)

Shahrukh Khan stars in a romantic musical drama about a South Asian man in the US who, after his stepson is killed in a racially incited assault, embarks on a journey to tell the US president that he is not a terrorist. CT

My Week with Marilyn (IIB)

Biographical drama on Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) as recounted from the perspective of a young man (Eddie Redmayne) working on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl. CT

Romancing in Thin Air (I)

(Cantonese and Putonghua)Sammi Cheng Sau-man and Louis Koo Tin-lok star in this love story centring on a Hong Kong movie megastar, jilted at the altar by his bride-to-be, who finds love with an innkeeper in Yunnan. LKW

This Means War (IIA)

Romantic action-comedy about two top CIA operatives (Tom Hardy and Chris Pine) who battle against each other after they discover they are dating the same woman (Reese Witherspoon). CT

Underworld: Awakening in 3-D (III)

Fantasy-horror that has a female vampire (Kate Beckinsale) leading the Vampire and Lycan clans in their battle against human forces. CT

We Need to Talk About Kevin (IIB)

Lynne Ramsay's emotional thriller about a woman (Tilda Swinton) who grapples with feelings of grief and responsibility after her teenaged son does something irrational and unforgivable in the eyes of their entire community. CT

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (IIA) (Hindi, English and Spanish)

Bollywood comedy-drama revolving around three friends who decide to turn their fantasy holiday into reality after one of them becomes engaged. Starring Hrithik Roshan. Not reviewed.

Art House

Asian Film Awards Screening of Nominated Films

Overheard 2

Alan Mak Siu-fai and Felix Chong Man-keung's crime thriller about a stockbroker (Lau Ching-wan) who a cop (Louis Koo Tin-lok) discovers is being put under surveillance by a mysterious man (Daniel Wu Yin-cho). In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles. Mar 8, 7.30pm, UA Cityplaza.

Wu Xia

Peter Chan Ho-sun's part-period detective mystery, part-martial arts drama about a detective (Takeshi Kaneshiro) investigating how a paper mill worker (Donnie Yen Ji-dan) was able to kill two hardened fugitives. In Putonghua with Chinese and English subtitles. Mar 9, 7.30pm, UA Megabox.

HK Independent Film Festival 2011-12 -- Part 3.2: Indie Nations

Ying E Chi presents a programme of 15 independent Asian films, including the following film. Ends Mar 8. HK Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai, HK$50 Urbtix; and Multimedia Theatre, HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, 135 Junction Rd, Kowloon, HK$50 at entrance. Inquiries: 2836 6282

Speechless

Simon Chung's drama centring on the bonds that form between a silent westerner found naked on a riverbank in southern China and an orderly at the hospital he is sent to. In Putonghua with Chinese and English subtitles. Mar 8, 9.30pm, HK Arts Centre.

European Film Festival

Loose Cannons

Comedy about a gay man whose brother unexpectedly comes out to their conservative Catholic family first. In Italian with English subtitles. Mar 8, 7.50pm, Mar 14, 7.35pm, Broadway Cinematheque.

Lapland Odyssey

Comedy about a man who has made a career out of living on welfare whose frustrated girlfriend tells him to get a digital TV box by dawn or she leaves. In Finnish, English, Swedish and Russian with English subtitles. Mar 8, 8pm, Palace IFC.

Black Bread

Set in the war-ravaged Catalan countryside of the early 1940s, Agust? Villaronga's drama centres on a frightened boy who witnesses the dying moments of the man and boy his father is subsequently accused of killing. In Catalan and Spanish with English subtitles. Mar 10, 2pm, Broadway Cinematheque, Mar 14, 9.55pm, Palace IFC.

Chicken with Plums

Set in 1958 Tehran, Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi's dramatic adaptation of Satrapi's graphic novel about a celebrated violin player (Mathieu Amalric) who loses his will to live after his wife breaks his beloved violin during an argument. In French and English with English subtitles. Mar 10, 4.05pm, Broadway Cinematheque.

Submarino

Thomas Vinterberg's drama revolving around two adult brothers who are haunted by their tragic childhoods. In Danish with English subtitles. Mar 10, 7.45pm, Palace IFC.

The Kid with a Bike

Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne's drama about a young boy abandoned by his father and now living in a state-run youth farm who is fostered by the town hairdresser on weekends. In French with English subtitles. Mar 10, 9.50pm, Palace IFC.

The Baron

Edgar Pera's horror mystery drama about a school inspector sent to a remote village in Portugal to investigate the suspicious activities of a teacher who, once there, is drawn into a local nobleman's mysterious world. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Mar 11, 3.50pm, Palace IFC, Mar 13, 9.50pm, Broadway Cinematheque.

Sweet Rush

Andrzej Wajda's drama about a lovelorn doctor's wife (Krystyna Janda) who embarks on an affair with a younger, working-class man. In Polish with English subtitles. Mar 11, 4.20pm, Broadway Cinematheque.

HK-San Francisco Ocean Film Festival 2012

Untitled

Programme of seven short films: Manta - Ray of Hope, The Majestic Plastic Bag, The Comfort of Cold, Kai Lenny: 4 in 1, Tide is Turning, La Pesca Vivencial and The Southern Passage. In English. Mar 9, 9am, Oolaa, HK$150.

Remembering Feng Lin

The HK Film Archive presents a programme of five films featuring the late actress (1925-2010) who played a wide variety of roles in a career spanning more than 40 years, including the following film. Until Mar 30. HK Film Archive, 50 Lei King Rd, Sai Wan Ho, HK$20 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2739 2139

Between Fire and Water

Zhu Shilin's drama revolving around 17 members of more than eight families leading intertwined lives under the same tenement's roof. In Cantonese. Mar 9, 11am, HK Film Archive.

The Weird, the Strange, the Beautiful

The Goethe Institut presents a programme of five German films about 'being beautifully different', including the following one. Until Mar 9. HK Film Archive, 50 Lei King Rd, Sai Wan Ho, HK$50 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2802 0088

My Words, My Lies - My Love (aka Lila Lila)

Comedy about a waiter (Daniel Br?hl) who claims to be the author of an unpublished manuscript he found to impress a woman that later becomes a best-selling novel, only for the real author to enter and take over his life. In German with English subtitles. Mar 9, 8pm, HK Film Archive.

The 17th ifva Festival

The HK Arts Centre presents a selection of independent short films and videos, including the following three programmes. Mar 10-Apr 4. HK Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai; and HK Space Museum, 10 Salisbury Rd, TST, HK$60 Urbtix (specified screenings free). Inquiries: 2824 5329

The 17th ifva Jury Recommendation Programme 1

Six short films including H.Sercan Tunali's Peace's Toys, about a boy who believes that anything planted in soil can grow and be beautiful (in Turkish with English subtitles). Mar 10, 2pm, HK Space Museum, free, registration required at ifva.com/register/jr

The 17th ifva Jury Recommendation Programme 2

Five short films including Mikhail Hestetskiy's Insignificant Details of the Accidental Episode, about the strange relationships that forms between the passengers of two trains that stop opposite each other on the same track in the middle of nowhere (in Russian with English subtitles). Mar 10, 5pm, HK Space Museum, free, registration required at ifva.com/register/jr

The 17th ifva Jury Recommendation Programme 3

Six short films including Wong Fei-pang's The Death Dog, a meditation on how no one can choose their parents (in Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles). Mar 11, 7.30pm, HK Space Museum, free, registration required at ifva.com/register/jr

100 Must-See Hong Kong Movies

Motherhood

Tso Kea's melodramatic adaptation of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts revolving around a fatherless man whose mother disapproves of the woman he falls for. In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles. Mar 11, 2pm, Broadway Cinematheque.

Classical in Cinema

Music Art & Film Culture Promotion Association of HK presents a high-definition programme of classical music concerts and opera films and transmissions including the following HD film. Ongoing. The Grand Cinema, 2/F Elements, 1 Austin Rd West, Kowloon, HK$100 thegrandcinema.com.hk. Inquiries: 6336 3595

Anne-Sophie Mutter plays Mozart with Camerata Salzburg

Concert film in which the German violinist and Austrian chamber orchestra play three violin concertos by 18th-century Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mar 11, 4pm, The Grand Cinema.