Usually, the best movies of the year are crowded into two short windows: May through July (for big, summer blockbusters), and October through December (for smart, awards-worthy movies). This month is an exception. Somehow, a lot of great-looking movies have crept into this March. (Not counting the Jonas Brothers 3D concert movie, of course. Did anyone catch their surprise performance this past weekend at the Palisades mall?) Let’s take a look at some of the films that might make “spring” the new season for great movies.
Watchmen (3/6)
Based on what’s arguably the greatest graphic novel of all time and directed by 300‘s effects-crazy Zack Snyder, this movie has a chance of being this year’s The Dark Knight. In it, costumed heroes — not superheroes, since most of them don’t really have any powers — debate the merits of saving a society on the brink, so it might resonate with today’s, uh, stormy climate. Watch the trailer.
Sunshine Cleaning (3/13)
This festival favorite stars the wonderful, effervescent Amy Adams as a woman who, tired of cleaning houses, opens her own business cleaning up after crime scenes with her sister (Emily Blunt). It looks to have that perfect festival-film mix of quirkiness, humor, and tug-at-the-heartstrings drama that have made other arty films breakout hits. (Should we call it Little Miss Sunshine Cleaning?) Watch the trailer.
Duplicity (3/20)
Clive Owen has already had one hit this year with the adult-thriller The International — can he make a double-play? In Duplicity — which comes from the writer/director of Michael Clayton — Owen and Julia Roberts are spies and romantic partners trying to swindle two rival corporations out of a top-secret product they’re developing. But can they trust each other? Watch the trailer.
I Love You, Man (3/20)
Are there two comic actors out there that are cuter than Paul Rudd and Jason Segel? The two Judd Apatow-movie veterans team up again in this film, in which a groom-to-be (Rudd) goes off in search of a new best friend so he can have a best man at his wedding. And, by “best friend,” one assumes he means “someone to play Rock Band with.” Watch the trailer.
Knowing (3/20)
Our world is in Nicolas Cage’s hands — again. This time, a school unearths a time capsule with drawings created by children 50 years ago, and one tyke’s scribbling somehow predicts every major disaster that’s happened in the past five decades — and a few to come, just for good measure. Watch the trailer.
Adventureland (3/27)
Ah, to be young and working at an amusement park that looks a lot like Playland. (It’s not. I looked it up.) This movie stars The Squid and the Whale‘s Jesse Eisenberg as a college graduate in 1987 who meets the girl of his dreams when he takes a crummy job at an amusement park. Helmed by the director of Superbad, this is another movie that got some positive notices when it screened at this year’s Sundance. Watch the trailer.
Monsters vs. Aliens (3/27)
The title really says it all. It’s animated. A ragtag team of monsters are dispatched to quell an alien invasion (with voices on both sides provided by a super-team of comedians including Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Stephen Colbert, Reese Witherspoon, and Rainn Wilson). The cool thing is that you can see it in IMAX and 3D. If you haven’t had a chance to check out how far 3D technology has come since the old red-and-blue-glasses days, you should really check it out. Watch the trailer. Sadly, the trailer is not in 3D.
Those are just some of the highlights. Are there any other March movies you’re looking forward to? Let me know in the comments.
