Okay, time's up. I'm looking ahead to the future, where we have a surprisingly bright spring season to look forward to at the multiplex.
Friday, March 2ndDr. Seuss' The Lorax
Opening on what would have been Dr. Seuss' (or rather, Theodor Geisel's) 108th birthday, one of his most famous children's books becomes a feature-length animated movie, with a strong environmental message. The makers of the popular Despicable Me bring a cute and very kid-friendly musical extravaganza to the screen in animation that reflects the book's hand-drawn loopy illustrations. The voice cast includes Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Betty White, The Office's Ed Helms, and Danny DeVito as the little orange fella himself.
Friday, March 9th
John Carter
Disney is taking a big gamble with this movie. John Carter is an adaptation of a series of books written a century ago by Edgar Rice Burroughs. (His more popular literary creation was Tarzan.) The character has fallen into obscurity since then, but Andrew Stanton, the director of Finding Nemo and WALL-E, hopes to change that. Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) plays the titular hero, a Civil War vet who is teleported to Mars and gets swept up in a revolution there between men and aliens.
Yeah, it sounds weird to me too. This is meant to start a franchise, but could very well fizzle. The first trailer looked very promising, but the two that followed make it look like a dumb Star Wars knockoff. Only time will tell how good the movie really is.
Friday, March 16th
21 Jump Street
Two young cops screw up badly on the job and end up going undercover at a high school, because they presumably look young enough to pass off as teenagers. Their mission is to look for a drug dealer, but naturally they get swept up in popularity contests, drunken parties, and drama surrounding senior prom. This action-comedy looks incredibly funny and exciting, not to mention raunchy. (Check out the tongue-in-cheek joke in the poster.) It stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum (who has never done a big comedy film before). The film is based on a TV show from the 80's that starred Johnny Depp, who has a cameo here.
Friday, March 23rd
The Hunger Games
One of the most highly anticipated films of the year? It could be argued so. Destined to be the biggest surprise hit of the year? Quite possibly.
With the Harry Potter franchise at an end, and The Twilight Saga coming to an end this year, the YA fantasy novels-turned-into-films duties seems to fall on this saga, a trilogy of books set in a dystopian future where a corrupt government and twelve districts is all that is left of the world. The first entry in the series is about a cruel tournament the government puts on, forcing 24 children to enter into an arena and fight to the death, all on live television. Our heroine is Katniss, a 16-year-old girl from a dirt-poor mining district who volunteers for the games to save her younger sister. The male tribute from her district is someone she has a past connection to. As the tournament goes on, it becomes clear Katniss is someone special.
It's really violent for a book meant for younger readers, but it's super-intelligent and opens up conversations about society in a dead world. Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men: First Class) plays Katniss, while Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) plays her rival Peeta.
Friday, March 30thWrath of the Titans
The sequel to 2010's remake Clash of the Titans has Sam Worthington as Perseus doing battle against the gods yet again, and features big special effects, action set pieces, and gruesome monsters. The first film was a big hit, despite being a generic big, dumb, and loud movie. (It found its way onto my Worst Films of the Year list.) This swords-and-sandals piece looks about the same, but may be an improvement. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes return as the gods Zeus and Hades, respectively.
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