Not sure what is coming out this month? I’ll tell you what to check out in theaters, rent later and avoid altogether. Check out the list below.
See:
10. Hubble 3D (Myers, March 19th)
Synopsis: An IMAX 3D camera chronicles the effort of 7 astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
Why You Should See It: Leonardo DiCaprio narrates in a potentially beautiful IMAX 3D look at space.
9. Brooklyn’s Finest (Fuqua, March 5th)
Synopsis: In Brooklyn, New York, three veteran cops struggling with their own personal and professional dilemmas dispatched to a notorious housing project, where they will each collide with destiny.
Why You Should See It: Training Day and Shooter director Antoine Fuqua likely won’t cover any new ground with this police drama, but a solid cast and good reviews from last year’s Sundance make this one to check out.
8. She’s Out of My League (Smith, March 12th)
Synopsis: A guy lets his insecurities pick away at his fledgling relationship with the perfect gal.
Why You Should See It: From the writers of the underrated and overlooked Sex Drive, comes this R-rated romantic comedy that brings the first lead role for longtime Apatow crew member, Jay Baruchel.
7. Alice in Wonderland (Burton, March 5th)
Synopsis: 19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen’s reign of terror.
Why You Should See It: Burton’s latest looks like a bit of a mess with the heavy CG palette, but the film has gotten good reviews coming out of London and it can’t be worse than his Planet of the Apes remake…can it?
6. The Secret of Kells (Moore + Twomey, March 12th)
Synopsis: As his medieval outpost faces a threat from advancing barbarian hordes, talented, young Brendan looks to finish illuminating an ancient book that could help keep his home safe. To do so, he will have to overcome his fears of an enchanted forest where mythical creatures are thought to hide.
Why You Should See It: The surprise animated film nomination in this year’s Academy Awards is seeing a very small release this month and early reviews have been glowing.
5. Hot Tub Time Machine (Pink, March 26th)
Synopsis: Four guy friends, all of them bored with their adult lives, travel back to their respective 80s heydays thanks to a time-bending hot tub.
Why You Should See It: Co-writer of High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank, Steve Pink re-teams with John Cusack in his second directorial effort after the underrated Accepted. Like She’s Out of My League, this is also written by one of the guys from the Sex Drive team.
4. How to Train Your Dragon (Sanders + DeBlois, March 26th)
Synopsis: Young Viking Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is sent to the Isle of Berk in the North Sea, where he is to subdue a dragon as a rite of passage.
Why You Should See It: The team behind the fantastic Lilo + Stitch is back. Co-director Dean DeBlois was also behind one of the best music documentaries I’ve seen, Heima. The early buzz for the film has also been very positive.
3. Mother (Bong, March 12th)
Synopsis: When her mentally handicapped son is accused for the rape and murder of a young woman, a mother begins her own investigation into the crime in hope to clear her child’s name.
Why You Should See It: Bong Joon-ho was behind two of the best foreign films with The Host and Memories of Murder. After seeing this a few months ago, it doesn’t quite live up to either, but it’s still a fantastic story and one of the best of the month.
2. Green Zone (Greengrass, March 12th)
Synopsis: Discovering covert and faulty intelligence causes a U.S. Army officer to go rogue as he hunts for Weapons on Mass Destruction in an unstable region.
Why You Should See It: After getting delayed from late 2009 release, Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum director Paul Greeengrass is back with Matt Damon. The film has gone under post-production struggles, but I’m confident Greengrass can engineer a great political action thriller.
1. Greenberg (Baumbach, March 26th)
Synopsis: A jobless New Yorker moves to Los Angeles in order to figure out his life while he housesits for his brother. He soon sparks with his brother’s assistant, a musician and somewhat of a lost soul herself.
Why You Should See It: Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale is one of my favorite films of the last decade and I even enjoyed Margot at The Wedding. His latest subject is Ben Stiller and one can check out the polarizing reviews of the film here.
Check out the next page to see what to avoid and rent.
Avoid:
The Bounty Hunter (Tennant, March 19th)
Synopsis: A bounty hunter learns that his next target is his ex-wife, a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure with a bunch of New Jersey heavies in pursuit.
Why You Should Avoid It: What a poor career path Gerard Butler has traveled down since his 300 breakout. Jumping from romantic comedy to romantic comedy (P.S. I Love You, The Ugly Truth) with a few underrated, but forgettable action flicks (Gamer, RocknRolla) the actor has fallen into quite a rut. Coming off one of the worst films of last year, Law Abiding Citizen, he doesn’t seem to be getting better with The Bounty Hunter, directed by Andy Tennant (Fool’s Gold).
Rent:
Children of Invention (Chun, March 12th)
Synopsis: Two young children living illegally in a model apartment outside Boston are left to fend for themselves when their hardworking mother disappears.
Why You Should Rent It: This stirring indie drama featuring Asian American immigrants got a strong review from our very own Addam H. at this year’s Hawaii International Film Festival.
Chloe (Egoyan, March 26th)
Synopsis: A doctor hires an escort to seduce her husband, whom she suspects of cheating, though unforeseen desires place the family in danger.
Why You Should Rent It: Atom Egoyan’s most commercial film has played at a few festivals to positive reviews since it’s Toronto premiere last fall. Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore should be reason enough to check this out.
Our Family Wedding (Famuyiwa, March 12th)
Synopsis: The weeks leading up to a young couple’s wedding is comic and stressful, especially as their respective fathers try to lay to rest their long-standing feud.
Why You Should Rent It: Famuyia wrote the screenplay for the overlooked Talk To Me, so I’m hoping for a decent comedy with Forest Whitaker in the lead.
Remember Me (Coulter, March 12th)
Synopsis: A romantic drama centered on two new lovers: Tyler, whose parents have split in the wake of his brother’s suicide, and Ally, who lives each day to the fullest since witnessing her mother’s murder.
Why You Should Rent It: Jenny Lumet, of the fantastic Rachel Getting Married, did some rewrites on the film that can prove Robert Pattinson is not just a sparkly vampire.
The Runaways (Sigismondi, March 19th)
Synopsis: A chronicle of the groundbreaking Los Angeles band The Runaways, who formed in 1975 and were led by teenagers Joan Jett and Cherie Currie.
Trailer
Why You Should Rent It: Garnering some positive reviews at Sundance, this conventional band drama should be worth checking out if you are a fan.
Repo Men (Sapochnik, March 19th)
Synopsis: Set in a world where artificial organs are readily available for purchase, a man who makes his living repossessing organs from those who fail to make their payments first finds himself outfitted with a new heart, then forced to go on the run when he falls on hard financial times.
Why You Should Rent It: Not to be confused with Repo! The Genetic Opera or Our Family Wedding, this is the Whitaker movie this month that features repossessed organs. It looks like an enjoyable rental, or a bloody matinee.
What are you watching this month? What are you avoiding?