​Check out what is showing at the movies during March with movie critic Spling.

Nightcrawler
6 March

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Lou Bloom, a crime journalist, whose role as observer and participant become blurred as the desperate and driven man becomes the star of his own story. Having films like Donnie Darko and End of Watch to his credit, Gyllenhaal is no stranger to night life and perfectly poised for the role.

We’re used to Johnny Depp pulling off Hunter S. Thompson gonzo roles like this, but Gyllenhaal brings Nightcrawler to life in this dark thriller about the Los Angeles underbelly. Many believe this compelling and satirical gem was unlucky not to get more Oscar nominations this year.

Focus
13 March

Will Smith will forever be The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to those who grew up in the 90s. Sadly, it seems he has shed his mojo after Seven Pounds. We didn’t buy his glazed performance in Men in Black 3, weren’t amused by his Laurence Fishburne impression in After Earth or his out-of-place cameo in Winter’s Tale.

Focus, will hopefully be a return to form for the actor, who stars opposite The Wolf of Wall Street’s Margot Robbie. Smith plays a veteran con man, who while in the middle of a job, is thrown off by an equally accomplished woman from his past.

Chappie
13 March

Neill Blomkamp is quickly becoming the go-to writer-director when it comes to science fiction. He blew us away with District 9, offered more captivating sci-fi action in Elysium and is gearing up to unleash Chappie. The movie is a thought-provoking cyberpunk sci-fi actioner starring Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley and a host of South African talent, including Die Antwoord.

The film is based on Blomkamp’s short film, Tetra Vaal, which followed a droid enforcement officer around a policed South Africa. Chappie is re-programmed to think and feel for himself and is voiced with a motion capture performance from collaborator, Sharlto Copley.

Insurgent
20 March

Shailene Woodley has been impressing audiences and critics alike with her string of strong performances in The Spectacular Now, Fault in our Stars and Divergent opposite fellow co-stars, Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort. The latest installation, Insurgent, sees Tris confront her inner demons and continue the good fight with the help of her peers against a powerful alliance.

While yet another dystopian young adult sci-fi series with a vague plot line that resembles The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, it features a cast of Oscar-calibre actresses including Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts and Octavia Spencer. Will it improve on the first chapter?

The Gambler
27 March

Director Rupert Wyatt follow up after Rise of the Planet of the Apes is The Gambler, a more conventional film, opting to tell a story inspired by the 1974 character study crime drama of the same name, starring James Caan.

Mark Wahlberg plays literature professor (yes, really) and high stakes gambler Jim Bennett in this crime drama thriller, adapted by The Departed’s William Monahan. We watch as Bennett puts everything on the line realising that, as stated in the tag line, “the only way out is all in”. Expect entertaining thrills as we dig deeper into the underground world of illicit crime.