We continue our march through March of new film releases. The mix is about as random as you can get, and as star studded as you can get. Lots of familiar faces, and plenty of them in movies you didn’t even know existed. So, lets get started and lets see what new films are coming out on March 20, 2015!
What’s it about? A young man in a personal tailspin flees the US to Italy, where he sparks up a romance with a woman harboring a dark, primordial secret.
My thoughts? There was a period when I saw Lou Taylor Pucci in just about every indie film (or at least it felt that way) He’s an interesting actor and I tend to enjoy his work when I see him. The last time I saw him was in the Evil Dead remake a few years back, so it’s kinda neat seeing him stick around the horror world a bit. Who’s taking bets on what kind of monster the lovely Italian girl is? Vampire? Werewolf? Zombie? I’m not sure if this trailer really sold me on this flick but I’m not really feeling the need to run way from it either.
What’s it about? When a pastor is shaken by the visible faith of a street-corner preacher, he is reminded that true belief always requires action. His response ignites a journey that impacts everyone it touches in ways that only God could orchestrate.
My thoughts? Movies like this never really get covered in the regular film blog world. I understand too, films about faith can be a tricky thing to discuss. Is there a real film in this movie? Is this a film filled with well made drama…or is it a preachy endeavor? I don’t know. I’m assuming they don’t have the film geek world do press screenings for films like this? As a film fan, I might try this film out. It’s got a cast of actors I quiet like, and I wanna see if the film is a well told story that is honestly moving.
What’s it about? An aging rock star decides to change his life when he discovers a 40-year old letter written to him by John Lennon.
My thoughts? It makes you wonder why I’m JUST hearing about this movie. This film is filled to the brim with well known and famous actors. The film is written by the writer of Last Vegas, a movie that seems like it would hit the same demographic as this one yet there is ZERO advertising on this film. It can’t be THAT bad…can it? While I don’t think this was going be a huge success, this seems like an afternoon cable watch that would be decent enough to sit through.
What’s it about? A jaded Japanese woman discovers a hidden copy of Fargo(1996) on VHS, believing it to be a treasure map indicating the location of a large case of money.
My thoughts? This is inspired by an urban legend that has since been proven to be not true. Thankfully the ad campaigne isn’t trying to sell you that it’s based on a true story, because it’s far from that. However, this look like it’s going to be a pretty good film. I’m pulling and hoping this doesn’t end tragically (in the urban legend, the Japanese woman died while trying to find the Fargo treasure.) Not so much that I want a happy ending, but I feel that killing her would feel like a cliche in it’s own right due to the type of tone I’m seeing in this trailer. Rinko Kikuchi is a great cue as a lead in this film, and she’s got these amazingly expressive eyes. Know clearly, you HAVE to watch Fargo before this film. My goodness, what a double feature that would be.
What’s it about? A former Special Forces soldier and military contractor, suffering from PTSD, goes on the run from London to Barcelona and across Europe.
My thoughts? Everyone’s gotta have their own Taken, right? Even Sean Penn. It’s always interesting to see Sean Penn dive into big commercial films like this one. I’m not really sure if he’s that into BEING in this film, but at least his gravely voice and looks seems to fit with this movie. Now, if you’re gonna have you’re own Taken, it does help to have the director of the first Taken(and lets be real, the ONLY good one). The action here looks as good as Taken, but to be fair his work since Taken hasn’t really instilled in me a ton of faith. Oh and can we PLEASE….PLEASE…..PLEASE…but a stop to the phone call from the bad guy to the hero and having the hero hear the voice of their loved one on the other end? Please? I’ve seen it enough. It’s tired. It’s over done. Cut it out.
What’s it about? Beatrice Prior must confront her inner demons and continue her fight against a powerful alliance which threatens to tear her society apart with the help from others on her side.
My thoughts? Now…I know there is a fan base for this series. I know the books are pretty popular. Not AS popular as The Hunger Games, but popular. I get that….I’m just not sold on the series yet. A few weeks ago I finally saw Divergent. It was strange night as it ended up being an impromptu Shailene Woodley double feature. I saw The Fault in Our Stars first and then Divergent. Now I enjoyed the teen melodrama of The Fault in Our Stars, but Divergent left me cold. I’ve seen worse films then Divergent, but I’ve seen far better ones. For me, the world it build didn’t feel that interesting or unique. I wasn’t that invested with the characters. The action was middle of the road. The truly exceptional thing about the first film was the cast, but most of them are playing roles they can do in their sleep. Ansel Elgort’s charm was perfect in the TFiOS film, so he played a version of that in Divergent but was in it less (and YES, it was weird seeing Shailene and Ansel play bro and sis immediately after watching the TFiOS film. Miles Teller can play a loud mouth jerk really well, so that’s his character in Divergent. (again…really weird watching him be a dick to Shailene since they were another set of teen lovers in The Spectacular Now.) For me, the films real success is the casting of Shailene as the lead. I’ve been a fan of hers since The Spectacular Now and I think having her in this series is as lucky as having Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. She’s got real talent and real presences and I do think it’s awesome that we have TWO female lead sci-fi film series that are doing well in the Box Office. Hopefully, this second will be better then the last one.
What about you folks? Do you Divergent fans hate me? Let me know in the comments below!