March 7th
The first week of March begins with the sequel to a big box office blockbuster, 300: Rise of an Empire, which will surely bring in another huge take. For the kids, we have Mr. Peabody & Sherman starring the voice talents of Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Stephen Colbert, and Allison Janney. The big question is if their target audience will connect with characters originating from the 1950's? The Grand Budapest Hotel starring Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Bill Murray, and many others in this ensemble cast looks to be an entertaining look at a renowned concierge who takes a young man under his wing at a five star hotel between the two world wars. Face of Love stars Ed Harris as the uncanny look-alike of a widow's (Annette Benning) husband and the effects of their love affair. Robin Williams is in support here. Grand Piano seems to be a thriller with tons of potential starring Elijah Wood as an emotionally fragile master pianist who is tormented by a very sinister John Cusack. Also in that thriller vein is In Fear, which is a film about a young couple who get lost in the wooded backroads on their way to a hotel getaway and are tracked by a menacing threat. Iain DeCaestecker (Marvel's Agents of Shield) and Alice Englert star. Some really good candidates for a night out at the theater amongst this group, and with their being two winners, we will give you two trailers. Here are Face of Love and Grand Piano for your viewing pleasure!
March 14th
The second week of the month has the video game turned movie Need for Speed, starring Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, and Imogen Poots. Looks more like Fast & Furious Part 14 to us! Tyler Perry's The Single Mom's Club will get the housewives out to the theaters with their girlfriends, but you can count the Great Stories team out on that one (at least...as long as our wives don't make us go). Veronica Mars, starring Kristen Bell, looks to bring the popular tv show character to the big screen. The Art of Steal stars the great and powerful Kurt Russell! Add in the talents of Matt Dillon, Jay Baruchel, stuntmen in need of big paydays, grand criminal schemes, and you pretty much have all the info you need on that one. Bad Words takes Jason Bateman on another inappropriate comedic journey....this time as a man who travels around to beat little kids in spelling bees by gaining entry on a technicality (him not having graduated from 8th grade). Enemy looks like a mind-warp with Jake Gylenhaal running afoul of his doppleganger and becoming obsessed with finding out more at his peril. Patrick: Evil Awakens looks like pure grade c horror fare from the UK as a comatose hospital patient with a supernatural abilities. And The Right Kind of Wrong is a comedic drama about the tragic subject of a woman's blog that goes mainstream as he suffers the indignity of his life exposed but then re-focuses his life in an ill-advised pursuit of a recently married neighbor. There is only one movie seemingly worth dropping the full movie ticket price...and that is Enemy. Check out the creepy trailer below!
March 21st
Week number three presents Divergent, starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, and Jai Courtney. A movie about a futuristic world broken into virtue classes, and a movement to destroy those who are special (divergent). Muppets Most Wanted finds our childhood legends embroiled in a jewel heist while on tour in Europe. Bring the kiddies and the popcorn! Anita is a biopic about the Clarence Thomas hearings before congress and the woman at the center of the controversy. Maladies stars James Franco as a maladjusted soap opera writer in this quirky comedy. McCanick features David Morse as a narcotics detective on the hunt for a low level criminal who knows information on a cop's past. Brandon Routh, Mike Vogel, and Rachel Nichols co-star. Nymphomaniac Volume One is a Lars Von Trier film (first of two volumes) that recounts a woman's stories of deviance retold to a man who saves her life. Huge ensemble cast featuring the likes of Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsguard, Uma Thurman, Christian Slater and many more, but the subject matter may be an acquired taste. Rob the Mob is a criminal heist movie about a bunch of nobodies who decide to make it big by ripping off...you guessed it...the mob. But our pick of the week is going to be Blood Ties starring Clive Owen....this guy needs a bounce back film. Hopefully this is it!
March 28th
We finish out the month with the Biblical epic Noah, starring Russell Crowe. We hear that as part of the promotion for the film, the leading man actually met with the Pope to try and get his endorsement. Not sure how that turned out, but the movie seems to take some liberties with the history presented in the Good book. We expect bigger box office for this one than the recent Son of God, however. Sabotage stars Schwarzenegger and Terence Howard as DEA guys being hunted by a dangerous cartel. The Boys of Abu Ghraib is a re-telling of the scandalous military prison in Iraq run by American soldiers during the recent occupation starring Sean Astin and Luke Moran. Breathe In features Guy Pearce as the patriarch of a host family to an attractive European student who turns the family on end following her arrival. And Michael Pena stars in Cesar Chavez as the hero from the streets in this biopic about the labor organizer. Rosario Dawson co-stars. It's a tough one, once again, this week! Noah and Sabotage make this one a toss-up and depending on your tastes, we don't think you can go wrong with either one based on the trailers. Check them out!
That is it for another edition of Fresh Popped Corn. Coming up next on the blog are reviews for graphic novel Robot God Akamatsu with art and words from our friend James Biggie, as well as Jim and Chris' picks for top comedies in an April Fool's edition of The Honor Roll. See you back here soon!
The Great Stories Team
I am looking forward to the fast cars in Need for Speed... did i miss Fast and Furious 13?? Grand Piano and Noah are on my list too.
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