Movie Release Awareness for March '09

Gim

Lousy Smarch weather

Movies for March 2009

March 6:


Watchmen
Director: Zach Snyder
Stars: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Set in an alternate vision of the year 1985, the murder of an ex-superhero causes a vigilante named Rorshach (Haley) to look into the matter, an investigation that reunites him with his surviving old colleagues -- all of them former superheroes themselves -- and gradually unveils a conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future.
Snark: Will Zach Snyder overcome his love of homoerotic Spartan implied man love (and some misogyny for taste) to properly adapt the apparent LotR of the comic book world? There's a thread about it with spoilers, so go nuts answering that question here and there if you so please.


The Horsemen [limited]
Director: Jonas Åkerlund
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Ziyi Zhang, Lou Taylor Pucci (Full Cast)
Studio: Lionsgate
(imdb, wiki, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: A recently widowed detective (Quaid) still grieving over his wife's death discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Snark: Shades of Seven.


Tokyo!
Directors: Joon-ho BongJoon-ho Bong, Leos Carax, and Michel Gondry
Stars: (Full Cast)
Studio: Liberation Entertainment
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Directors Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Joon-ho Bong offer their respective tributes to the Japanese capital city.
Snark: Three director version of Tokyo, je t'aime.


12 [limited]
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
Stars: Sergei Makovetsky, Sergey Garmash, Apti Magamaev (Full Cast)
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Twelve jurors must decide the fate of a Chechen teenager charged with murdering his stepfather.
Snark: Imagine 12 Angry Men, but it's about Church.


Phoebe in Wonderland [limited]
Director: Daniel Barnz
Stars: Elle Fanning, Patricia Clarkson, Felicity Huffman (Full Cast)
Studio: THINKFilm
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Confounded by her clashes with the seemingly rule-obsessed world, a little girl (Fanning) seeks enlightenment from her unconventional drama teacher (Clarkson).
Snark: Beware, for it has been foretold that a second Fanning child would be let loose upon the world. It would appear sweet and right as a lamb but would soon reveal itself to be as many-headed as Lucifer in its true form!

____________________________________________________________________________

March 13:


Race to Witch Mountain
Director: Andy Fickman
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb (Full Cast)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: When a cab driver (Johnson) picks up an unusual fare -- a brother and sister duo with paranormal powers, who are being pursued by a nefarious organization -- he teams up with a discredited astrophysicist (Gugino) to protect the kids and, ultimately, the rest of humankind.
Snark: Oh cab drivers, what can't you do?


The Last House on the Left
Director: Dennis Iliadis
Stars: Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn (Full Cast)
Studio: Rogue Pictures
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: After kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang led by a prison escapee (Dillahunt) unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging the parents of one of the victims -- a mother (Potter) and father (Goldwyn) who devise an increasingly gruesome series of revenge tactics.
Snark: I still need to see the original. AND the Bergman film that was based on.


Sunshine Cleaning [limited]
Director: Christine Jeffs
Stars: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin (Full Cast)
Studio: Overture Films
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Industrious single mother Rose Lorkowski (Adams) starts an unusual business in order to send her son to a private school; alongside her unreliable sister (Blunt), the two women enter the world of biohazard removal and crime scene clean-ups.
Snark: Alan Arkin increases the number of movies with the word 'Sunshine' in them by 100%.


Miss March
Directors: Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore
Stars: Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Raquel Alessi (Full Cast)
Studio: Fox Atomic
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Waking up from a four-year coma, Eugene (Cregger) takes a cross-country trip with his sex-crazed best friend (Moore) in order to crash a party at a famous men's magazine's legendary headquarters so he can win back his former sweetheart -- who is one of the mag's hottest new pin-ups.
Snark: Young adults, sex, and driving. They're my favorite topics.


Brothers at War [limited]
Director: Jake Rademacher
Stars: Jake Rademacher, Isaac Rademacher, Joe Rademacher (Full Cast)
Studio: The Samuel Goldwyn Company
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Jake Rademacher sets out to understand the experience, sacrifice, and motivation of his two brothers serving in Iraq.
Snark: That's a whole lotta Rademacher. Documentary.

____________________________________________________________________________

March 20:


Knowing
Director: Alex Proyas
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448011/fullcredits)
Studio: Summit Entertainment
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: When Ted Myles (Cage) begins to suspect that his son has discovered an artifact that accurately predicts natural disasters and other catastrophes, he goes on to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.
Snark: I am predicting that Nic Cage will run to places and then away from places. A lot.


Duplicity
Director: Tony Gilroy
Stars: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson (Full Cast)
Studio: Universal Pictures
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: A pair of corporate spies (Owen and Roberts) who share a steamy past hook up to pull off the ultimate con job on their respective bosses -- but can they learn to truly love and trust one another?
Snark: Oh, probably not.


I Love You, Man
Director: John Hamburg
Stars: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones (Full Cast)
Studio: DreamWorks SKG
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Friendless Peter Klaven (Rudd) goes on a series of man-dates to find a Best Man for his wedding. But when his insta-bond his new B.F.F.(Segel) puts a strain on his relationship with his fiancée (Jones) can the trio learn to live happily ever after?
Snark: Oh, probably not.


Sin Nombre [limited]
Director: Cary Fukunaga
Stars: Paulina Gaitan (Full Cast)
Studio: Focus Features
(imdb, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Sayra (Gaitan), a Honduran teenager, and Willy (Flores), a recent recruit in the Mara Salvatrucha gang, both dream of better lives for themselves, and a fateful event will find the two strangers united on a freight train bound for the U.S., where the hope for new lives await.
Snark: Oh, probab- oh. Um, I got nothing.


The Great Buck Howard [limited]
Director: Sean McGinly
Stars: Colin Hanks, John Malkovich, Tom Hanks (Full Cast)
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
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 (Malkovich). Can the fledgling partnership lead to the comeback of a lifetime?
Snark: Oh, probably not. Steve Zahn with a crazy mustache is funny though.


Super Capers [limited]
Director: Ray Griggs
Stars: Justin Whalin, Ray Griggs, Danielle Harris (Full Cast)
Studio: Roadside Attractions
(imdb, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Fateful circumstances find everyday guy Ed Gruberman (Whalin) ordered to join a team of superheroes-in-training as their newest member. After stopping an armored car heist, however, Ed finds himself framed for the crime, leading him on an extraordinary mission to prove his innocence, expose the true villain, and repair his team's reputation.
Snark: Now I'm kind of curious, who can order you to join a team of superheroes-in-training? That's a cool level of authority.

____________________________________________________________________________

March 27:


Adventureland
Director: Greg Mottola
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds (Full Cast)
Studio: Miramax Films
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: During the summer of 1987, recent college grad James Brennan (Eisenberg) takes what he thinks is a going-nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to discover it's a perfect opportunity to prepare himself for the real world.
Snark: Judging by the title alone, this is the follow-up to 2006's Hollywoodland.


Monsters vs. Aliens
Directors: Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon
Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert (Full Cast)
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: After being hit by a meteorite on her wedding day, Susan Murphy (Witherspoon) is transformed into a monster named Ginormica and subsequently whisked away to a secret government compound where others like her have been rounded up over the years. When the Earth comes under attack by aliens, however, Ginormica and her new allies are set free to save the planet.
Snark: Hugh Laurie as a bug.


The Haunting in Connecticut
Director: Peter Cornwell
Stars: Virginia Madsen, Martin Donovan, Elias Koteas (Full Cast)
Studio: Gold Circle Films
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: A family who relocates to Northern Connecticut for their son's health begins to experience supernatural behavior in their new home.
Snark: Oh, those pesky houses.


12 Rounds
Director: Renny Harlin
Stars: John Cena, Ashley Scott (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160368/fullcredits)
Studio: Fox Atomic
(imdb, wiki, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: Detective Danny Baxter (Cena) discovers his girlfriend (Scott) has been kidnapped by a ex-con tied to Baxter's past, and he'll have to successfully complete 12 challenges in order to secure her safe release.
Snark: Wouldn't it be neat if he failed the fifth challenge like 40 minutes into the movie and the remaining 68 minutes was him buying a small boat, rowing out to an island, and then weeping into a coconut for awhile?


The Education of Charlie Banks [limited]
Director: Fred Durst
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter, Eva Amurri (Full Cast)
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
(imdb, wiki, apple trailer, rotten tomatoes)
Plot: College student Charlie Banks (Eisenberg) has to face old problems when Mick (Ritter), a troubled young man from his past, arrives on campus and begins to insinuate himself into Charlie's life.
Snark: Yes, that Fred Durst.

____________________________________________________________________________

I'm sure a good chunk of us will be (or already have) watched Watchmen. But will anything else grab our fancies for March?

Tomanta

Hmm, there are a few with interesting ideas (I kinda like the ideas behind Miss March, The Last House on the Left - I may check out the original, and maybe Knowing). I'm not touching those with a ten foot pole, though. Well, maybe Miss March when it hits Comedy Central.

I will be seeing Watchmen if I have to climb over Alan Moore's hollywood-hating corpse to do it. (But not until Saturday, couldn't get Friday off).

Quid

Does anyone know if CJ7 is going to be in theaters? I was hoping to see it on the big screen but it might be going straight to DVD.

Kyougu

Quid wrote: »

Does anyone know if CJ7 is going to be in theaters? I was hoping to see it on the big screen but it might be going straight to DVD.

CJ7? That came out LONG ago on DVD.

Robos A Go Go

I saw CJ7 in theaters last year, sometime before winter I think.

As someone who liked Kung-Fu Hustle, I didn't enjoy it very much. Stephen Chow is totally hot, though.

Gim

Someone raised the interesting point that Alan Moore sure didn't mind selling off the movie rights to his intellectual property way back when. Did he ever come back with a decent response?

Robos A Go Go

Gim wrote: »

Someone raised the interesting point that Alan Moore sure didn't mind selling off the movie rights to his intellectual property way back when. Did he ever come back with a decent response?

Alan Moore's deal with DC was that he'd receive the rights to Watchmen as soon as it went out of print. Since its initial publication, DC has kept Watchmen in print and will likely continue to do so until everyone on Earth has a copy.

Alan Moore receives a check every time one of his movies is made into a film, but he's never consented to the sale of the rights to any studio.

Tomanta

Gim wrote: »

Someone raised the interesting point that Alan Moore sure didn't mind selling off the movie rights to his intellectual property way back when. Did he ever come back with a decent response?

He didn't have a problem with movies based on his stuff until League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Wikipedia says:

Film adaptations of Moore's work also proved controversial. With From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Moore was content to allow the filmmakers to do whatever they wished and removed himself from the process entirely. "As long as I could distance myself by not seeing them," he said, he could profit from the films while leaving the original comics untouched, "assured no one would confuse the two. This was probably naïve on my part."

His attitude changed after producer Martin Poll and screenwriter Larry Cohen filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, alleging that the film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen plagiarized an unproduced script they had written entitled Cast of Characters. Although the two scripts bear many similarities, most of them are elements that were added for the film and do not originate in Moore's comics. According to Moore, "they seemed to believe that the head of 20th Century Fox called me up and persuaded me to steal this screenplay, turning it into a comic book which they could then adapt back into a movie, to camouflage petty larceny." Moore testified in a deposition, a process so painful that he surmised he would have been better treated had he "molested and murdered a busload of retarded children after giving them heroin." Fox's settlement of the case insulted Moore, who interpreted it as an admission of guilt.

Robos A Go Go

I've also read that he gives any money he receives for the movies to the artists he worked on the projects with.

Gim

Good to know.

Look Out it's Sabs!

This is a good month for me, Watchmen, Miss March and Last House on the Left.

Should be good indeed.

Kyougu

I wish The Rock would go back to doing action movies. Well, good action movies, since I think The Rundown is not only his best work, but one of the more enjoyable action movies in a few years.

Still, Race to Witch Mountain doesn't look horrible.

Robos A Go Go

Oh yeah, I saw a screening of Adventureland a few months ago. It was very funny and Bill Hader in particular is gold, but the more emotional segments dealing with romance and coming of age fell flat.

Gim

How big a part did Hader have when you saw it?

Robos A Go Go

Gim wrote: »

How big a part did Hader have when you saw it?

It's a pretty big supporting part. If you want to see it just for him, I don't think you'll feel cheated unless every other aspect of the film is just repugnant to you.

Sentry

I believe there is only one film Alan Moore has fully endorsed.

http://thenerdofher.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/watchmen-babies.jpg

Astaereth

I saw Phoebe in Wonderland waaaaaay back last year, before it even had distribution. It was interesting, very well filmed, excellent acting, and fairly original, even if it may not seem like it at a glance. Definitely worth a shot if you like movies about imaginative children.

Malkor

Knowing looks fuckawful, but I loved the newest Wicker Man and Next because they were fun as hell. I think I'm ready to see another Nick Cage movie in a theater seat.

Quid

Kyougu wrote: »

Quid wrote: »

Does anyone know if CJ7 is going to be in theaters? I was hoping to see it on the big screen but it might be going straight to DVD.

CJ7? That came out LONG ago on DVD.

Ah. I misunderstood what wiki meant by release date. Thought it'd just been released in China. Huh.

Aegis

Monsters vs. Aliens looks like it'll be amusing.

And I'm not just saying this because House and Colbert are in it. Okay maybe I am.

Vincent Grayson

Definitely Watchmen, and will certainly take my daughter to see Monsters vs Aliens.

I'm torn on Last House on the Left...I'll probably wait until I can watch it at home. Oh, and I'll probably see I Love You, Man as well, because who can resist a movie full of Apatow people?

Variable

I don't care about anything besides watchmen. I love You Man just has something about it I find unappealing. maybe I'll get over that and see it.

Vincent Grayson

Variable wrote: »

I don't care about anything besides watchmen. I love You Man just has something about it I find unappealing. maybe I'll get over that and see it.

I love Paul Rudd unapologetically, so there's no question I'll see that one.

<3

I really want to see TOKYO! and 500 Days of Summer.

Sentry

The Plain Girl From The Low-Quality American Remake Of The Office wrote: »

I really want to see TOKYO! and 500 Days of Summer.

Is 500 Days of Summer coming out? That looks great.

Cokebotle

Man, they're really making another "Witch Mountain" movie? What the fuck...

<3

Sentry wrote: »

The Plain Girl From The Low-Quality American Remake Of The Office wrote: »

I really want to see TOKYO! and 500 Days of Summer.

Is 500 Days of Summer coming out? That looks great.

Some time in the summer, I think.

It looks excellent.

Sadly, my buddies probably won't think so.

Bionic Monkey

Malkor wrote: »

Knowing looks fuckawful, but I loved the newest Wicker Man and Next because they were fun as hell. I think I'm ready to see another Nick Cage movie in a theater seat.

I'm waiting for the rifftrax before giving Knowing a watch.

Vincent Grayson

Bionic Monkey wrote: »

Malkor wrote: »

Knowing looks fuckawful, but I loved the newest Wicker Man and Next because they were fun as hell. I think I'm ready to see another Nick Cage movie in a theater seat.

I'm waiting for the rifftrax before giving Knowing a watch.

Maybe I'm crazy, but was Knowing originally a Richard Kelly movie? I could have sworn I remembered hearing about him doing a movie that sounded exactly like Knowing, shortly after Donnie Darko came out.

UnknownSaint

Saw Sunshine Cleaning at a film festival, it was good but not as good as Little Miss Sunshine. Needed more Alan Arkin. Had Amy Adams half naked on several occasions, which is alone worth it.

<3

Someone said our University bought a copy of Watchmen and will be showing it.

Yay for $3 movie.

Robos A Go Go

UnknownSaint wrote: »

Saw Sunshine Cleaning at a film festival, it was good but not as good as Little Miss Sunshine. Needed more Alan Arkin. Had Amy Adams half naked on several occasions, which is alone worth it.

Amy Adams is on my list of people I'll pay to see, regardless of the quality of the films they appear in.

gollygee

Haunting in Connecticut looks pretty cool too, it's playing midnight at sxsw so hopefully some reviews will pop up soon:

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/17/fantastic-fest-announces-sxsw-midnight-film-selections/

Septus

Robos A Go Go wrote: »

UnknownSaint wrote: »

Saw Sunshine Cleaning at a film festival, it was good but not as good as Little Miss Sunshine. Needed more Alan Arkin. Had Amy Adams half naked on several occasions, which is alone worth it.

Amy Adams is on my list of people I'll pay to see, regardless of the quality of the films they appear in.

My thoughts exactly.

Quid

I saw the preview for Adventureland and now kind of want to see Adventureland.

Asiina

The way they are previewing Last House on the Left, beyond the general premise it will be nothing like the original which was bizarre beyond description.

The original (spoiler, I guess, but nothing you can't pick up from the commercials)

would cut from these two cops and their broken-down car with silly music to the two girls getting raped and mutilated with no extra sound effects except their screams.

There were very strange stylistic choices in the original that I have no doubt will be cut from the remake.

Preacher

Watched witch mountain. Dwayne Johnson was good as the lead and it was an entertaining movie without a lot of slow down. It was also nice seeing a down and out character who was truely down and out not framed or hiding.

Vincent Grayson

Asiina wrote: »

The way they are previewing Last House on the Left, beyond the general premise it will be nothing like the original which was bizarre beyond description.

The original (spoiler, I guess, but nothing you can't pick up from the commercials)

would cut from these two cops and their broken-down car with silly music to the two girls getting raped and mutilated with no extra sound effects except their screams.

There were very strange stylistic choices in the original that I have no doubt will be cut from the remake.

I haven't seen the original, but one review mentioned that the main difference is that

the girl doesn't die in this remake, and that makes the whole movie feel very different.

tbloxham

I'm looking forward to "I love you man" and "Monsters vs aliens", the first because I really enjoy the Marshall character in HIMYM and hope that he can branch out into some new stuff. He was great in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

The second because it looks like it might be an amusing romp. Hopefully they will maintain the level of kitsch humor found in the trailer, and the idea of a giant woman fighting an alien alongside a blob beast and some kind of cat insect is too amusing to forsake.

Vincent Grayson

tbloxham wrote: »

I'm looking forward to "I love you man" and "Monsters vs aliens", the first because I really enjoy the Marshall character in HIMYM and hope that he can branch out into some new stuff. He was great in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

The second because it looks like it might be an amusing romp. Hopefully they will maintain the level of kitsch humor found in the trailer, and the idea of a giant woman fighting an alien alongside a blob beast and some kind of cat insect is too amusing to forsake.

If you haven't seen him in Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared, you should watch those as well.

Robos A Go Go

Someone brought a baby and a couple pre-adolescents to my showing of Last House On the Left. I can't imagine a more inappropriate movie for children, but on the bright side my friend and I also thought it was really funny. Strangely, the kids were mostly silent, save the baby making a few goo's and ga's.

Also, while I didn't see the original, I do know they changed a great deal.

The girl lives, there are no cops, things like chopping a dude's dick off are replaced by generic movie violence, and the moral implications of revenge are never properly addressed.

In all, I thought the whole thing was kind of a waste of an interesting premise.