THE WEEKEND IS coming up, and that means new movies for you to see.

But which is a must-watch, and are there any you should avoid?

We take a look.

A War

What we know

Pilou Asbaek (Borgen) plays company commander Claus M Pederson, who’s stationed in Afghanistan while his wife Maria tries to keep things together back home in Denmark. During an incident, Claus has to make a decision with very serious consequences for both him and his family. Directed by Tobias Lindholm (A Hijacking, R).

What the critics say

• “But the question this controlled, thought-provoking drama leaves you with is – how much of that sort of moral compromise can you take before you simply lose the ability to look in the mirror and see a good person looking back” – Indiewire 
• “Like R, the film unexpectedly falls into two halves, here about an hour each, and like A Hijacking,A War’s first part constantly toggles between a faraway location, here Afghanistan, and the home front in Denmark.” – Hollywood Reporter

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: No score yet
• IMDB: 7.4

Last Hijack

What we know

Told from the perspective of a Somali pirate, this true-life tale combines animation with documentary clips to bring us Mohamed’s story.

What the critics say

• “Whereas it was once possible to see piracy as an act of resistance, The Last Hijack takes a far more jaundiced and candid viewpoint. There’s little romance to the lifestyle.” - Film Journal International 
• “Though Mohamed is ultimately used as a synecdoche of all the men he represents—and as a conduit to explore the sociopolitical situation that has seen Somali men become synonymous with armed piracy—co-directors Tommy Pallotta and Femke Wolting are nevertheless sensitive to the personal struggles of their subject.” - AV Club 

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 7.1/10
• IMDB: 5.9/10

The Hateful Eight

What we know

This ultra-violent Tarantino movie – starring Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Samuel L Jackson amongst others – has been getting critics all riled up. Set in post-Civil War era US, it’s about a fugitive tracker who’s bringing a prisoner to be hanged. Along the way they arrive at a cabin filled with a lot of lawless men.

What the critics say

• “The Hateful Eight is an impressive display of film craft and a profoundly ugly movie—so gleeful in its violence and so nihilistic in its world view that it feels as though the director is daring his detractors to see it as a confirmation of their worst fears about his art.” - Roger Ebert 
• “The Hateful Eight never lives up to its intriguing opening minutes and provocative premise, its wide-screen canvas wasted on a talky, claustrophobic chamber piece that descends, in due Tarantino fashion, into a mean-spirited slough of bloodshed and mayhem.” -  Valley News 

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 7.4/10
• IMDB: 8.1/10

Which one would you go see first?