Ryan Gosling wakes up light-years from home with no memory, and a mission that sounds impossible on purpose. Project Hail Mary is the rare sci-fi crowd-pleaser that mixes hard science, jokes, and genuine emotion without losing speed.

Film details

• Title: Project Hail Mary
• Premiere date: 19 March 2026 
• Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller 
• Runtime: 156 min (2h 36m) 
• Theatres and URLs: KINO • Cinerama 
• Plot / synopsis (max 120 words): Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship with no idea who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he realises he is on a last-chance mission to stop a mysterious substance from dimming the sun. To keep Earth alive, he has to lean on science, improvisation, and a few ideas that sound completely unhinged until they work. Then something unexpected happens: he is not as alone as he thought, and an unlikely friendship shifts the whole mission. 
• Language & subtitles: English spoken, Dutch subtitles 
• Age rating: 12+ (as listed by KINO) 
• Notable visual / thematic hooks: lone astronaut mystery, “save the sun” stakes, smart humour, big-screen space spectacle, unexpected friendship 

What’s the vibe?

It’s “Interstellar meets The Martian”, but with Lord and Miller energy: faster jokes, sharper pacing, and a surprising amount of warmth. You get big existential stakes, but the film keeps things human, even when the science starts doing gymnastics. 

Trailer

Check out the trailer below.

Why you might like it

• Eyes: proper cinema-scale space visuals, with that clean, high-contrast look that makes you want the biggest screen available. 
• Heart: a lonely mission that turns into a story about connection, trust, and not giving up when the maths says you should.
• Mind: it leans into scientific problem-solving, but stays readable, like watching a smart person think out loud under pressure. 

Critical reception

Full critic aggregates are not the story yet. Rotten Tomatoes is live but still shows 0 reviews so far, which usually means the review embargo has not fully lifted. Metacritic also lists no critic reviews available at the moment. 

What we do have: early reactions have been loudly positive, with praise aimed at the scale, the humour, and Gosling carrying long stretches of the film, plus strong enthusiasm for how the story balances spectacle and emotion.

Scene to watch for

The first “science montage” where Ryland stops panicking and starts testing his way out of disaster. It’s the moment the film locks into its rhythm: curiosity, pressure, then a tiny win that feels enormous.

Recommended pairing

• Food: something salty and crunchy for the first half, plus a sweet snack for the emotional turns later.
• Activity: a short walk after the film, preferably somewhere with open sky, just to let your brain come back to Earth.

Need-to-knows

• It’s long: 2 hours 36 minutes, and it moves quickly, so plan your evening accordingly.
• Preview week at KINO: KINO also highlights preview screenings in the run-up to release, which is handy if you like seeing big titles early.
• Based on a popular sci-fi novel: it’s adapted from Andy Weir’s book, so expect problem-solving to be a feature, not a side dish.

Amanda Seyfried leads a feverish, true-story musical about belief, power, and the price of building a utopia. It’s intense, physical cinema, and in Rotterdam you can even catch it the old-school way on 70mm film.

Film details

• Title: The Testament of Ann Lee
• Premiere date: 26 February 2026
• Director: Mona Fastvold
• Runtime: 136 min
• Where to watch in Rotterdam: KINO | Cinerama | LantarenVenster
• Plot / synopsis: Mona Fastvold tells the true story of Ann Lee, the visionary founder of the Shakers. Amanda Seyfried plays a leader who preaches gender and social equality and is revered by her followers, even as her radical ideas trigger fear and backlash. Moving from industrial England to the promise and pressure of a new life in America, the film tracks the ecstasy and struggle of building a community around discipline, faith, and devotion. Traditional Shaker song and dance are reimagined as hypnotic musical sequences, turning history into something immediate and bodily.
• Language & subtitles: English spoken, Dutch subtitled
• Age rating: 16
• Notable visual / thematic hooks: 70mm presentation, religious musical, Shaker hymns reimagined, choreography-driven storytelling, belief as a force, equality and resistance, intimate epic scale

What’s the vibe?

A historical musical that feels like a ritual you’re watching from inside the circle. It’s not a polite period drama. It’s fervent, strange, and gripping, with moments that land like a sermon, then suddenly like a threat.

Trailer

Check out the trailer below.

Why you might like it

• Eyes: rich period imagery with a tactile, filmic look, especially if you catch the 70mm screenings.
• Heart: Seyfried gives a fierce, vulnerable performance that makes devotion feel personal, not abstract.
• Mind: it’s a sharp study of charisma and community, plus the pushback that arrives when people stop fitting into their assigned roles.

Critical reception

Critics have largely praised the film’s ambition and Seyfried’s central performance, even while acknowledging it can be polarising. On Rotten Tomatoes it sits at 87% from 174 critic reviews, with an 82% audience score from 100+ verified ratings. Metacritic lists a Metascore of 80 based on 40 critic reviews, which signals generally favourable reception.

Scene to watch for

The first full communal sequence where song, movement, and belief lock together. It’s the moment the film stops feeling like biography and starts feeling like lived experience.

Recommended pairing

• Food: something warming and simple before the screening, then a small sweet treat afterwards to soften the edges.
• Activity: a quiet walk along the river or through the centre after the film, then a debrief chat about what makes a leader inspiring versus dangerous.

Need-to-knows

• 70mm screenings: KINO lists select showtimes as 70mm, which is part of the appeal here.
• Content note: the age rating is 16, and the tone includes intensity and confrontation, not just hymn-singing serenity.
• Musical style: this is built around traditional Shaker song and dance, reworked into staged sequences, so expect music and movement to carry story, mood, and meaning.

A forest ranger tries to keep going in the exact place where her past fell apart. When an old love returns and violence starts showing up in the woods, Whitetail turns grief into something tense, quiet, and hard to shake.

Film details

• Title: Whitetail
• Premiere date: 5 March 2026
• Director: Nanouk Leopold
• Runtime: 103 min
• Theatres and URLs:
  • LantarenVenster
  • Cinerama
• Language & subtitles: English spoken, Dutch subtitled
• Age rating: 12+ (fear, sex, strong language)
• Notable visual / thematic hooks: mossy forest dread, grief and guilt, a returning ex, poacher violence, trauma surfacing, nature as witness

Plot / synopsis:

In rural southern Ireland, Jen works as a forest ranger in the area where her younger sister died years ago. The return of Oscar, her first love, drags up feelings she has kept buried. When a poacher leaves violent traces behind, the line between past and present starts to blur, and Jen is forced to face what has followed her all these years.

What’s the vibe?

This is not a jump-scare thriller. It’s a simmering, atmospheric drama where the landscape feels alive, and every quiet scene carries the weight of something unspoken. The tension comes in waves, like a memory you keep trying to outrun. 

Trailer

Check out the trailer below.

Why you might like it

• Eyes: damp, shadowy forest cinematography that makes nature feel beautiful and unsettling at the same time.
• Heart: a raw portrait of someone trying to function while carrying grief and guilt that never really left.
• Mind: a smart push and pull between personal trauma and present-day danger, with the past constantly rewriting the now. 

Critical reception

Early reviews have been strong, especially for the film’s controlled tension and its central performance. Rotten Tomatoes lists 90% from 10 critic reviews. VPRO Cinema rates it 4 out of 5, highlighting it as a drama that sticks with you. Festival attention has helped put it on the radar too, including a slot at IFFR 2026.

Scene to watch for

The first moment Jen realises the woods are changing again, and that it is not just in her head. The film tightens its grip without raising its voice.

Recommended pairing

• Food: something warm and grounding before you go, then a small sweet snack afterwards to take the edge off.
• Activity: a quiet walk after the screening, ideally somewhere with trees, so you can appreciate how a forest can feel calming and threatening in the same minute.

Need-to-knows

• This is a slow-burn, so if you love tension that builds through mood and implication, you’re in luck.
• The rating flags fear, sex, and strong language, so it’s not a cosy countryside watch.
• LantarenVenster lists tickets at €13 on the programme page. 

A grimy, high-speed character ride that plays like a championship rally: quick, vicious, weirdly funny. Timothée Chalamet turns obsession into a sport, and Josh Safdie shoots it like you can barely breathe between points.

Film details

• Title: Marty Supreme
• Premiere date (Rotterdam): 19 February 2026
• Director: Josh Safdie
• Runtime: 149 min
• Age rating: 16
• Language & subtitles: English spoken, Dutch subtitled (check the listing for any alternate versions)
• Synopsis: Marty Mauser is a smart, stubborn young man with a dream nobody takes seriously: becoming world champion in table tennis. He pushes past every limit, slipping into a world of temptation, risk and escalation. The closer he gets to greatness, the higher the personal cost climbs, and the film keeps asking the same question in different ways: how much of yourself do you trade for a win?
• Where to watch in Rotterdam (direct listing URLs):
  • KINO
  • Cinerama
  • LantarenVenster

What’s the vibe?

Sweaty, neon-lit ambition with a pulse you can feel in your jaw. It’s part sports movie, part hustle saga, part moral slide, with the camera and sound design doing their own competitive sport in the background. Expect kinetic match sequences, sharp class tension, and a lead character you might not want to be friends with, but you will not stop watching.

Trailer

Check out the trailer below.

Why you might like it

• Eyes: restless camerawork, bold production detail, and match scenes cut like a thriller.
• Heart: a surprisingly human core about wanting to be seen, even when you go about it in all the wrong ways.
• Mind: a pointed look at status, hunger, and the stories we tell ourselves to justify the next step.

Critical reception

Critics have been very kind to Marty Supreme, praising its propulsive pacing and Chalamet’s charisma, even while calling out the film’s darker streak of toxic ambition. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 94% Tomatometer (340 reviews) and an 82% audience score (5,000+ verified ratings), with the critics’ consensus framing it as an epic that both delivers on its big swing and critiques its hero.

On Metacritic, it sits at a Metascore of 89, which is firmly in “universal acclaim” territory.

Awards-wise, the film landed nine Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Actor in a Leading Role, and several craft categories.

Scene to watch for

The moment a key match stops being about sport and starts feeling like a psychological standoff. Watch how the film uses tiny sounds, small glances, and the rhythm of the rally to make pressure feel physical.

Recommended pairing

• Food: something handheld and slightly messy, plus a warm drink, because you’ll come out buzzing and you’ll want comfort fast.
• Activity: play one quick game of table tennis afterwards, even if you’re terrible, just to feel how impossible those rally speeds actually are.

Need-to-knows

• This is a long one (149 minutes), and it moves at a sprint, so consider an earlier screening if you hate getting home on pure adrenaline.
• Some Rotterdam screenings are billed as English spoken with Dutch subtitles; if you’re bringing someone who prefers no subtitles, double-check the language line on the individual showtime page before you buy.
• If you love Safdie-style intensity (high pressure, loud choices, characters who keep digging), this is very much in that lane.