Sunday, March 1, 2009

The Prospects of March

I am more than glad that February is behind us, even if it is the shortest month. And now we have just about one month left of sun deprivation and negative temperatures. Unfortunately, March boasts few promising movie releases. Perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised -- I'll keep you updated.



Theatrical Releases:


1. Watchmen (Mar. 6) - This is not one that I am bound to see anytime soon, but it is receiving quite a lot of buzz. Comic book adaptations tend to do well on the big screen and always promise impressive special effects. Since this genre is so popular, "Watchmen" will need to try harder for ingenuity. I am personally uninterested by the intensity and darkness previewed in trailers, though I do wonder if the filmmakers chose this tact due to the success of "Dark Knight."

Related buzz: There is another X-Men movie in the works: "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." More news to come shortly in this blog.


2. Sunshine Cleaning (Mar. 13) - The plot for this one caught my eye (imdb summary): Industrious single mother Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams -- Enchanted, Doubt) starts an unusual business in order to send her son to a private school; alongside her unreliable sister (Emily Blunt -- The Devil Wears Prada), the two women enter the world of biohazard removal and crime scene clean-ups. Also starring Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine). Since the casting also looks promising, this might be one I should see. However, it is a limited release - hopefully it comes to a theater near you.


3. The Great Buck Howard (Mar. 20) - This is another film that promises a good cast and an intriguing plot. A law school dropout (Colin Hanks), much to the chagrin of his father (Tom Hanks), becomes the new assistant to an illusionist in decline (John Malkovich). Can the fledgling partnership lead to the comeback of a lifetime? (imdb) Both Hanks men, as well as Malkovich have chosen and flourished in original roles. I'll add this one to my list of movies to review.



4. Monsters vs. Aliens (Mar. 27) - It looks and sounds like a Pixar film -- and yet it's the new Dreamworks production. It looks like a fun flick, good, clean, family viewing for Spring Break. Judging solely on the cast list, this looks like a film well-worth seeing: Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogan, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson (!!), Will Arnett, and Stephen Colbert. Hopefully it doesn't try too hard to be a Pixar knock-off.




Coming to DVD:


1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua (Mar. 3) -
I knew you would want the exact date upon which you could rush out and purchase this DVD. It looks like a cute flick for the young'ens, but reviews have indicated that much of the humor is aimed solely at kids. Perhaps this reviewer will give it a screening when she needs a little fluff. The previews do promise a hilarious chihuahua dance number. Plus George Lopez has been known to be funny. Also featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, who is a particularly good actress.


2. Milk (Mar. 10) - This one was nominated for quite a few Oscars, including Best Picture. Sean Penn took home the Oscar for Best Actor and Dustin Lance Black took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. And both men had terribly heartfelt acceptance speeches. The film follows the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician to be elected to office. It's probably not a light film, but it does sound like it would be worth watching.


3. Rachel Getting Married (Mar. 10) - Oscar-nominee Anne Hathaway stars as a recovering addict returning to a dysfunctional family for a wedding. I have heard mixed reviews for the film. However, Hathaway is a talented actress, even if she has had the occasional flop. The two that come to mind are "The Princess Diaries 2" (very cheesey, probably due to a bad script) and "Get Smart" (an overly-stereotypical female role). Nonetheless, she is talented and she has an air of class about her. I am intrigued enough to watch this.


4. Bolt (Mar. 24) - I'm sure there is no need for me to innumerate yet again the praises for this film. It's fun, original, and I personally enjoyed it more than "Wall-E," even if award committees do, on principle, prefer Pixar flicks.

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And of course "Twilight" fans will be happy to note that it comes to DVD on March 21. If I were to see the film again, I would probably yet again laugh inappropriately through the entire thing, save for that one hot scene where they play baseball and the background music is Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole." Perhaps at a later date I will give a full critique of this over-buzzed film.

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