March Preview: March To The Box Office

February was another tough go at the movies for film lovers. Side Effects and Warm Bodies received relatively positive reviews overall and are worth seeing. The rest tanked fairly HARD, like a BULLET TO THE HEAD! Ugh, help me ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH where there is a SAFE HAVEN! Is there hope in March? Let’s find out!

21 & Over – March 1 – Trailer

From the Writers and first-time Directors (Jon Lucas and Scott Moore) comes a film targeted toward fans of: The Hangover I+II and Project X. The three young leads show promise: Miles Teller (Footloose), Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) and Justin Chon (Twilight Franchise). Everyone involved has delivered laughs before, but the complete lack of marketing raises a red flag.

Jack The Giant Slayer – March 1 – Review

Nicholas Hoult is a young actor on fire right now: X-Men: First Class and Warm Bodies. Veteran Director Bryan Singer is no stranger to action/adventure, but this film appears to be dying a slow death. Originally slated for a Summer 2012 release, this film was buried in the slower month of March. The trailers show lackluster special effects, which spells doom for this film. Early reviews have not been kind to this film.

The Last Exorcism Part II – March 1 – Trailer

Ashley Bell reprises her role as “Nell,” a young innocent girl who appears to be capable of great evil. An IMDB search reveals the writers of The Last Exorcism (Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland) only receive character writing credits for the sequel. It’s doubtful they intended a sequel but we all know when a genre film performs well a sequel is just around the corner. I’ll be surprised if they catch lightning in a bottle twice.

Dead Man Down – March 8 – Trailer 

Directed by Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,2009), this crime thriller shows potential. Colin Farrell always gives it his all; the same can be said of Noomi Rapace, also from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Your guess is as good as mine.

Oz The Great and Powerful – March 8 – Trailer

This film has a solid ensemble cast: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams. Directed by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead Franchise, Spider-Man 1-3) this film shows promise. From the trailers alone this appears to be an awards contender for: Visual Effects, Costume Design and Hair and Makeup. All of the above makes a winning combination.

The Call – March 15 – Trailer

Some may purchase tickets gauged on the star power of Halle Berry, but the name “Brad Anderson” is the most intriguing. Anderson is no stranger to thriller/suspense: Session 9 and The Machinist. His TV credits are no slouch either: The Wire, Fringe and Boardwalk Empire. The premise is unsettling, a girl calls 9-1-1 emergency when an intruder breaks into her house and she’s murdered while a 9-1-1 operator listens and talks with the murderer. If you’re interested, skip the trailer as it shows a lot of spoilers!

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone – March 15 – Trailer

A comedy, which draws physical inspiration from Siegfried and Roy and Criss Angel. Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) is an aging magician, on the outs due to younger, flashier magicians such as Steve Gray (Jim Carrey). This is the feature length debut of Director Don Scardino, and also includes SIX writing credits. This looks great on the surface but has a few red flags.

Welcome to the Punch – March 15 – Trailer

James McAvoy and Mark Strong go head to head in an action/heist film. Do you need more convincing? The trailer shows promise, I’ll gladly buy a ticket on opening day.

Admission – March 22 – Trailer

Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in a light-hearted comedy. Portia Nathan (Fey) is an admissions officer who meets a young man who may be the son she gave up in a secret adoption. The trailer is appealing and who doesn’t adore Fey and Rudd? Looks like a nice date movie. (See what I did there?)

The Croods – March 22 – Trailer

The latest from DreamWorks Animation has Nicolas Cage as the lead. This film is about the world’s first prehistoric family exploring the world around them for the first time.  This is a huge question mark, haven’t seen a lot of ads/trailer on TV or at the movies.

Olympus Has Fallen – March 22 – Trailer

Terrorists take over The White House while one hero remains. Sound like the plot of Die Hard? Sure! Gerard Butler entertains in the action realm, let’s hope for a fun thrill ride with explosions, guns and one-liners.

Spring Breakers – March 22 – Trailer

A group of college girls are thrown into jail and bailed out by a drug dealer who tasks them to repay the favor by turning to a life of crime. Written/Directed by Harmony Korine (Kids writer), this film will draw a crowd. The film has generated buzz across the twitter universe after the premiere at Venice Film Festival and TIFF among others.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation – March 29 – Trailer

The moment we’ve all been waiting for! G.I. Joe: Retaliation was pushed back five weeks before it’s original release date of June 29, 2012. Why the delay? Paramount expressed the need to convert the film to 3D as well as re-shoot scenes, but the real reason is Channing Tatum’s character was killed off in the original cut. The original trailer showed a scene where only a few survived, Tatum was no longer present for the remainder of the trailer. After Tatum thrived in films like Magic Mike and 21 Jump Street the fans wanted more. Let’s hope it’s worth the wait.

The Host – March 29 – Trailer

Based on a Stephanie Meyer (Twilight Franchise) novel, this film centers on a young woman who becomes an alien with the hopes she will take over Earth. But wait! Her human side is strong! She’s resilient! Humans don’t trust her because her eyes glow. In her alien form she encounters a past flame. It’s sad knowing some unfortunate spineless souls will be dragged to this film while they can hear the explosions from G.I. Joe: Retaliation playing next door.

There you have it folks. March shows little promise but with big budget films like Oz and G.I. Joe: Retaliation we’re reminded that Summer Blockbuster season is just a couple months away. Hang in there friends!