Films Released in March: A FilmAttic Guide
With so much choice, what’s really worth watching in March?
After the chart giants of the last three months, March offers a mostly small and diverse film line up. Only five film’s look set to potentially dominate the box office, and that’s only if they manage to wrestle the top spot off The Lego Movie. First up is 300: Rise of an Empire, which is the long awaited sequel to 2006’s 300. Out on the 7th March we can imagine this taking a strong position early on due to a strong cult following that combines graphic novel geeks and action enthusiasts. Escape from Planet Earth is released on the same day and looks similar in style to Monsters vs Aliens and Planet 51, and although these didn’t do fantastically well, we think this will sweep up The Lego Movie’s family audience and animation lovers with little competition.
The other three big box office contenders come at the end of the month, and all are released on the 28th March. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is set to continue Marvel’s strangle hold on big budget action blockbusters, but despite The Avengers and Iron Man 3 taking dominance in 2012 and 2013, we’re expecting this to draw in more similar (and still impressive) figures to Thor: The Dark World. Muppets Most Wanted get released with a rejuvenated film noir, espionage angle, and with an impressive cast we can imagine this to build on 2011’s The Muppets’ success. The last contender is The Legend of Hercules, and with an impressive trailer reminiscent of Clash/Wrath of the Titans it could potentially do well, but will probably be a secondary option after the familiar film titles.
Aaron Paul, who played Jesse in the critically acclaimed Breaking Bad TV series, has two film’s out this month with Need for Speed and A Long Way Down being released within nine days of each other. Need for Speed looks like a decent action thriller with the trailers managing to show off its identical appearance to the long running videogame of the same name – we’re hoping this isn’t yet another lucrative but disappointing adaptation of a game. A Long Way Down however looks like a surprisingly nice and friendly comedy drama especially due to its subject matter: four individuals who meet while attempting to commit suicide. The trailer has pushed Nick Hornby’s involvement as the original novel’s author, and with Pierce Brosnan also starring, this could do fairly well, especially here in its homeland, the UK. Despite their difference in genre, Aaron Paul seems to play an aesthetically identical character to the one of Jesse in Breaking Bad, so although these may do well, we’re not sure how this will help him move on from his most famous role.
Another British film that stands out is The Stag, starring relative newcomers to the big screen, Andrew Scott and Hugh O’Conor. The film revolves around a stag doo in the countryside but with the groom’s brother in law taking a more reckless approach to the camping adventure, things take a turn for the mad, and it does look genuinely rather funny. We’re hoping thus home grown feature will be supported by UK audiences on it’s 7th March release.
There are several documentaries out this month but the pick of the bunch seems to be The Invisible War and The Unknown Known. Both centre on America, but The Invisible War is an insight into the U.S. militaries continuing problem with rape. The trailer tells us that 500,000 female members of the U.S. military have been raped; that seems like a staggering statistic and the film could be an important statement on a little known but horrifying problem. The Unknown Known takes a different route into the U.S. with politics and political relationship’s being revisited since the Reagan years with Donald Rumsfeld, the former United States Secretary of Defense, seemingly offering a candid retelling and opinionated view on events since the period, including appointments of Presidents and the 9/11 bombings. Again, this seems like one to watch, and has had high praise by critics so far.
To brighten your mood are two interesting comedies in the form of The Grand Budapest Hotel and Veronica Mars. The Grand Budapest Hotel is Wes Anderson’s absurd comedy drama series continued, and he has his usual cast with new additions, to keep audiences entertained. If you’re a fan of The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou or fantastic Mr. Fox this is a certain winner. Veronica Mars is the feature film of the well known TV series, and after a successful Kickstarter campaign less than a year ago it’ll be interesting to see how the first large scale commercial Kickstarter can do, and also if audiences are really interested, barring the original backers.
The final two films we can squeeze into this article are two diversely different film’s. Labor Day, starring Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet is set to be a gripping drama of an escaped convict who hides away with a family he finds, while affection grows between them. This is the kind of quality drama you’d expect a couple of months before the Oscar’s, not a few weeks after it, so if you’re in the mood for something potentially Oscar worthy, this could prove suitable. The last of our line up is The Machine, an interesting little Sci-Fi about a robot who has a consciousness. The film looks set to be visually stunning, but it also hints at being much more than a simple thriller; if you’re always on the hunt for a Sci Fi gem like me, this could be worth your time.
See, we weren’t lying; there really is a vast selection of movies on offer this month. There’s a comprehensive list just under this paragraph and if you think we missed anything or can’t wait to see something in particular, then let us know on the comments below!
5th March
Son of God
7th March
300: Rise of an Empire
Escape from Planet Earth
Paranoia
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Stag
8th March
Monster High: Frights, Camera, Action
11th March
The Invisible War
12th March
Need for Speed
14th March
Back to the Garden: Flower Power Comes Full Circle
The Rocket
The Zero Theorem
Under the Skin
Veronica Mars
21st March
A Long Way Down
About Last Night
G.B.F.
Labor Day
Starred Up
Svengali
The Machine
The Robber
The Unknown Known
Yves Saint Laurent
22nd March
Elton John – The Million Dollar Piano
28th March
20 Feet from Stardom
Almost Married
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Muppets Most Wanted
Dangerous Elements Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus
Dishkiyaoon
The Legend of Hercules
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