Spring Movie Preview
It’s now March which means the NCAA Tournament is on the horizon (YES!), St. Patrick’s Day is close (UH OH!) and the spring movie season is in full swing. Over the past few years, the spring season has become pretty lucrative thanks in large part to films like 300. Today we’re gonna break down the movies that lead us into May and give you six flicks to watch this Spring Season.
MARCH 6
WATCHMEN
Pretty amazing most people are looking forward to this more than most of the summer blockbusters this year. Zack Snyder takes on the impossible task of faithfully adapting Alan Moore’s masterpiece onto film. Early buzz is dividing people right down the line (which any special film should) and it’s going to be very interesting to see how the general audience takes what isn’t exactly user friendly. If anything, the fact Snyder got this faithful, this far is a feat in and of itself.
MARCH 13
RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN
The People’s Champ, THE ROCK (Dwyane Johnson as he likes to be called now) stars in this remake of the 1975 Escape to Witch Mountain. With 2007’s The Game Plan being a hit among the childrens, it makes sense Disney would cash in on their next bankable star. However, everything released makes this look like it’s made just as much for adults as it was kids, something The Game Plan can’t say.
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
Wes Craven continues his success remaking all of his past films with this epic. The premise is the same, but gone are the dual murders and the urban setting. Can’t really tell if Wes remaking all of his catalogue is good or bad, but it worked for The Hills Have Eyes so why not? The only question, how many more years before Scream is remade?
MISS MARCH
Ever wonder what it would be like if your sweetheart turned out to be a Playboy model? Now what if you were in a coma for four years before she took on said job? Would you try to win her back? Those really aren’t questions but rather the plot to Miss March from 2/5 of the Whitest Kid’s U Know Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore. Buzz isn’t really strong on this film and they pretty much all but give away the plot in the trailers. Say hello to the $5.50 bin at Wal-Mart in two years.
MARCH 20
KNOWING
Oh Alex Proyas, ye so talented, but ye pick terrible projects. Actually, Knowing does have a good premise and has the pieces in place to be promising. The only bothersome thing is that it looks like it borrows too much from The Number 23 and The DaVinci Code with it’s “numbers” game gimmick. But it is Alex Proyas who did wonders with what he was given for I, Robot so there’s some hope.
DUPLICITY
Tony Gilroy writes and directs Clive Owen and Julia Roberts about two spies with a steamy past who hook up for the ultimate con. Gilroy’s perfected the spy genre being the man behind the Bourne trilogy but this looks much more cheerful. What we can hope for is a strong box-office take from this one so we can get Clive Owen back to leading man status. If not, then it’s probably time for Julia Roberts to do her next Richard Gere/Gary Marshall fiasco.
I LOVE YOU, MAN
Bro-mance comes full circle in this comedy from John Hamburg who gave us 2004’s Along Came Polly. Apatow regulars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel star in this flick about a friendless man trying to find a best man for his wedding, but his new BFF might put the strain on his relationship. True, the Apatow roots are there but this looks to be taking on it’s own life.
MARCH 27
ADVENTURELAND
Superbad director Greg Mottola directs this comedy about a man (Jesse Eisenberg) who takes a nothing job at an amusement park to realize it will get him ready for the real world. Mottola did a perfect job taking on the awkward stage with his previous film and even though Kristen Stewart is in this (who contributed to slapping the film world in the face with that horrid vampire film), the same should be expected. The question is can it duplicate Superbad’s success?
MONSTERS AND ALIENS
Seth Rogen does another animated film and joining him is Stephen Colbert, Reese Witherspoon and Rainn Wilson. Dreamworks finally made a film that could compete with Pixar’s best in Kung Fu Panda so it’s hard not to trust them with this. It’s also not gonna hurt that this is in 3-D either.
THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT
I’m pretty sure I remember this film being titled The Amityville Horror. That reveal all trailer didn’t help matters either
12 ROUNDS
John Cena and Renny Harlin is a duo that causes nausea to children in Africa. Actually, the only interesting thing about this flick is Aiden Gillen, who was perfect as Mayor Tommy Carcetti on TV’s “The Wire” (the greatest show ever.) The plot of this film is a little reminiscent of Die Hard With A Vengeance with Cena’s other film The Marine mixed in. If there’s justice, Witch Mountain will destroy this film, box office wise.
APRIL 3
FAST AND FURIOUS
As someone who thought the last three Furious films were complete crap, color me excited for this one. The trailers have been slick and Tokyo Drift director Justin Lin teams with the original cast in what is essentially a “re-imagining” of the first film. Only with something resembling a plot, and much, much better action.
APRIL 8/APRIL 10
DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION (April 
There’s a world of problems surrounding this film, be it that the lead has no asian bone in him, Emmy Rossum looking bored, or the plot not even trying to honor the original. Aside from one or two die-hards (or people who won’t admit this will be bad), the fans have all but damned this film from the beginning. Two other films are planned, but those might end up being straight to DVD releases, considering the other film this one has to go up against.
HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE
So what I’ve watched a few episodes or thirty of this show. Who cares if I’ve got “Nobody’s Perfect” on my iTunes? The film is the best way to send off this show seeing as Disney trashes their shows after 63 episodes and Miley is all but ready to mature. It’s that which really makes the film autobiographical in a sense, although given the great job Billy Ray has done with his child (and truly, he has) it’s tough to think Miley would throw a shoe at Tyra Banks. Still, the Zack Snyder version of this film would pull in more bank than the film is already going to get.
OBSERVE AND REPORT
On the heels of Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Seth Rogen being the comedy golden boy comes this flick about a mall security guard trying to stop a flasher from turning the mall into his playground. Unlike the other security guard film, this will be more crude and (reportedly) a nice follow up to The Foot Fist Way. Is it good or bad Rogen is starting to star in films that feature full frontal male nudity?
CASE 39
Renee Zellweger looks to continue the trend of struggling actresses teaming with foreign directors for a re-imagining. She plays a social worker who tries to defend a girl from her abusive parents, but gets more than she bargains for. Ian McShane is on tap as well which may be this film’s only redeeming factor.
APRIL 17
CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE
If there’s one film I’m looking forward to more than Watchmen, it’d be this. Crank is one of the most entertaining films you’ll find and this one looks to ramp up everything great about the first film. What made the first so great is that it just didn’t care who it offended and played on that. Plus, any film that has a shotgun being literally stuck up a guy’s ass has to be great, yes?
17 AGAIN
Maybe this should have been called Big Jack Going On 17. Matthew Perry plays a man who’s lived life full of regrets and suddenly changes into Zac Efron, much to the delight of Leslie Mann. She’s supposed to be confused, but realistically, I think any of Perry’s dates would be thrilled if he transformed into Troy Bolton (nor would they care.)
STATE OF PLAY
Based on the 2003 BBC series, State of Play features Ben Affleck as a man on the rise in the political world, til his mistress and research assistant is murdered and Russell Crowe snoops around into a conspiracy that gets them all in over their heads. The Last King of Scotland director Kevin Macdonald hemls this which should be the tout April thriller we seem to get every year (i.e. – The Interpreter, Insomina, Identity, Inside Man, etc.)
APRIL 24
OBSESSED
The only appealing thing in this flick is Idris Elba who (much like Aiden Gillen) was perfect as Stringer Bell on “The Wire: The Greatest Television Show Ever”. In this, he seems to take the logical choice of Ali Larter over the overrated mess that is Beyonce Knowles. Then again, how logical is it when the former is a psychotic ‘obsessed’ maniac? The only way this film wouldn’t be a complete rip off is if Beyonce has a song and dance with Ali Larter in a cover of “The Boy Is Mine”. That, or Omar Devone Little shows up.
FIGHTING
Audiences get a taste of G.I. Joe leading man Channing Tatum in this flick which looks like a much more faithful adaptation of Street Fighter than the recently released “adaptation”. The film also features Luis Guzman and Terrence Howard who should give the film some form of entertainment.
THE SOLOIST
Robert Downey Jr. portrays Steve Lopez, a reporter who befriends troubled yet brilliant Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx) who lives on Skid Row. It’s not bad buzz that this was pushed from it’s scheduled October released date to now. The film is helmed by Atonement director Joe Wright, features two of the best actors working today, and should have a nice script that tells a triumphant tale. It will end the spring well.
Now, officially spring isn’t over but in the movie world, the summer starts in May. Having said that, here are my Top Six Most Anticipated Spring Films:
1. WATCHMEN
2. CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE
3. THE SOLOIST
4. RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN
5. MONSTERS AND ALIENS
6. FAST AND FURIOUS
Enjoy the spring season that kicks off on Friday with Watchmen. My video and text reviews will follow.
