Movie Preview for March 2009

First things first, I realize I'm a bit late. I just lost track of time. Suddenly, March was over. In this article, I thought I'd include a review of the movies I saw.

I love movies. I look forward to seeing almost every movie that comes out. There's always a question of whether or not it's a good movie. As a serious moviegoer, you've got to keep your mind open. Perhaps the most unlikely film will be your favorite film of the year. You never know. So I have gone ahead, taken a look at some movies coming out in March of 2009 and I decided to give my readers a glimpse at some of those movies. Once you've read what I've got to say, it'll be up to you whether or not you want to see the films listed below. One thing I'll tell you before I move ahead with this list is that I wish I could be paid to see these movies at their premiere and give my readers detailed reviews of each. But as it is, I am stuck making guesses and conjectures, not certain how well the movie will turn out.

2009 looks like a year of either great change or great disappointment. We've already had some great changes in the political world if you hadn't noticed. And, I'm obviously not talking about the shaky ecomony. This year in film may bring 3D to the screen like we've never seen before.

March 6th

Watchmen

Directed by Zack Snyder

Written by David Hayter and Alex Tse

Given this director's previous film, 300, I expected to see a lot of effects, no real substance and a bunch of people dressed in their underwear. Watchmen came close to living up to those expectations. Just when superheroes looked really cool in movies, Watchmen brought back the corny look of old. Even though it was stylistic, the filmmakers couldn't help but make these heroes look like Adam West as Batman. Sad, because it detracts from the actors, the story and the drama of Watchmen.

Take Billy Crudup as Doctor Manhattan for example. He's basically the most powerful hero of them all. He can wipe out entire platoons of soldiers by pointing his finger. Sadly, the director didn't even given him underwear. I know he's probably not supposed to have anything on. But, a wise and clever director would hint at the fact that he's naked, not throw his private parts in our face.

The real shining hero, Patrick Wilson as Night Owl gets the cheapest looking costume of them all. His mask is designed to look like the head of an owl. But, the director didn't shoot him in a light that would make the outfit look as awesome as it could have.

Rorscharch (Jackie Earle Haley) is the conundrum of the group. While everyone thinks so highly of humanity - I mean, I guess they elected Nixon to office three times - Rorschach hates people in general. Then when it comes down to obliterating everyone, Rorschach is suddenly stricken with love for humanity.

This film is not really that much fun. From the beginning, the story seems to re-write history. If there were superheroes dating back a hundred years ago, I guess our history would be different. But, it's almost insulting considering the casualties we suffered in WWII or Vietnam. And these superheroes, they do not treat our enemies lightly. One of them, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian takes pleasure in killing an innocent Vietnamese girl who claims that he is the father of her child. That's a small example of how nasty Watchmen gets. Beware. This film is definitely not for kids. Fans of the dark novel/comic book may love it, fans of superheroes in general like myself may not.

More of the principle cast

Malin Akerman as Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre

Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias

Carla Gugino as Sally Jupiter / Silk Spectre

Matt Frewer as Edgar Jacobi / Moloch the Mystic

March 13th

The Last House on The Left

Directed by Dennis Iladis

Written by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth

I didn't think much of the original 1972 film by Wes Craven. It was mean-spirited, poorly executed and poorly acted. It was basically a porn film with violence. When I walked into this amazing re-imagining, I didn't have a lot of high hopes. Then, the story took shape, the actors actually performed, the atmosphere left me feeling uneasy - just like it's supposed to.

A prison escapee, Krug (Garret Dillahunt), a very dangerous and uncaring man leads a gang of unlikable human beings to a house on a lake. That is of course after they brutally attacked two young women. Krug, in fact, savagely rapes one of them and leaves her for dead in the water. Luckily, this young girl, Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton) is strong and one hell of a swimmer.

When the gang arrives at Mari's house, they find her parents, Emma (Monica Potter) and John (Tony Goldwyn). Both parents have no idea what has happened. Then, Krug's son, Justin (Gladiator's Spencer Treat Clark) lets the parents know something is wrong and leads them to his father's gun.

After the parents find Mari, she's close to death. John, being a doctor brings her back to life. Then, all hell breaks loose. As any good parents would do in this situation, they fight off the monsters in the house and leave. You'll have to stay behind after the movie appears to be over. John's got a last minute surprise for the completely incapacitated Krug.

The Last House on the Left can be one scary movie. It's basically showing how awful people can be. That's the scariest part of all. There's not too many hair-raising, jump-out-of-your-seat moments. It's intense. Unfortunately, the story is kind of lacking, but this film is basically a slasher film with more dialogue.

More of the principle cast

Michael Bowen as Morton

Joshua Cox as Giles

Riki Lindhorne as Sadie

Martha Maclsaac as Paige

More films that came out on March 13th

Race to Witch Mountain

Miss March

Brothers at War

The Edge of Love

March 20th

Duplicity

Directed by Tony Gilroy

Written by Tony Gilroy

I've been a big fan of Tony Gilroy's since he wrote the Bourne films. Now that he's moved up to directing, he hasn't faired too poorly. He's already got Michael Clayton and this gem of a film under his belt. Gilroy is no Alfred Hitchcock mind you, but very few people have the ability to be a Hitchcock.

It all starts off with a man, stricken by a woman. Both of them appear average, uninteresting. The man, Ray Koval (Clive Owen) goes up to this tall redhead, Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) to introduce himself. He fumbles and stumbles over words. He appears to know the woman. She does not seem to know him. This makes the man frustrated and angry. They come to an understanding and part ways.

The film tells the story of these two people. One is an ex-British intelligence spy. The other is an ex-CIA spy. Together, they conspire to attack two major corporations for creative ideas. The CEOs of these corporations, Dick Garsil (Paul Giamatti) and Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson) are rivals. We first see them yelling and fighting each other at an airport in slow motion. It's quite amusing actually. When Claire and Ray come into the woodwork, everything about this rivalry turns into a private Cold War. You've got every spy gadget and gizmo you'd find in James Bond's suitcase. You've got information exchanged every few seconds. Lies and deceit become a way of life. Then, just when everything is looking up for Ray and Claire, one of the CEOs drops a big bomb, blowing everyone's minds, including the audience.

Duplicity is well worth the price of admission. You don't even have to love a good spy movie to enjoy the chemistry between Roberts and Owen. Their relationship keeps this story from becoming utterly confusing. Finally, we can't help but care whether or not these two spies victor over the CEOs. Duplicity is a truly good film.

More of the principle cast

Rick Worthy as Dale Raimes

Oleg Shtenfanko as Boris Fetyov

Denis O'Hara as Duke Monahan

Kathleen Chalfant as Pam Frailes

Knowing

Directed by Alex Proyas

Written by Ryne Douglas Pearson and Juliet Snowden

In 1959, a class of elementary students drew a bunch of pictures about what the world look like in the future. One child didn't really draw anything. The little girl wrote down many sequences of numbers. Then, they had a ceremony to put these drawings in a time capsule and bury them in the ground.

50 years later. The same little girl is dead. The sequences of numbers she left behind fell into the hands of a college professor, Ted Myles (Nicolas Cage). From there, he randomly starts to find some meaning in the sequences. Each sequence apparently gives the date and location of every major disaster to befall us since 1959. They even go so far as to include 9/11 as the first number sequence discovered.

There is one sequence that leaves Ted very puzzled. He and his son set out to find answers. They discover a truth too terrible to believe. What would you do if you knew exactly when and where the world would start to end? That's a question the film doesn't actually ask - as you might assume from title. But, the way Ted discovers the meaning behind the number sequences is extremely fascinating to watch. Unfortunately, when the story shifts into disaster-movie mode, it starts to lose the intrigue and drama.

I will say this. The effects of the final disaster sequence is phenomenal. Although, unlike watching the Titanic plunge into the North Atlantic in James Cameron's Titanic, we're left feeling hollow at the sight of buildings and people vaporized by heat. That's why I consider Knowing to be a '50s style B-movie. But, not even When World's Collide was quite as pretentious.

More of the principle cast

Chandler Canterbury as Caleb Koestler

Rose Byrne as Diana Wayland

D.G. Maloney as The Stranger

Lara Robinson as Lucinda Embry and Abby Wayland

More films that came out on March 20th

Hunger

I Love You, Man

March 27th

Monsters vs. Aliens

Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon

Written by Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky

I don't think I could have so much fun watching '50s B-movie-style monsters duke it out with a '50s B-movie-style alien. You've got the 50-ft Woman, the Blob, the Creature from 20,000 Leagues, Mothra and the Fly. Although, these monsters are definitely no spot-on match. You've still got the 50-ft Woman. But, she's called Ginormica (voice of Reese Witherspoon) and she's got white hair. The Blob is called B.O.B. (the voice of Seth Rogen). He's blue, he has one eye, and no brains. The Fly is actually a cockroach with a man's body, called Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie). The Creature from 20,000 Leagues is actually called The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and he looks more like a much smaller version of the Cracken. But then, there's Insectoid. He, she or whatever is basically a huge and retarded larva that turns into a kind of Mothra creature.

Brilliant screenwriting, wonderful acting and a great imagination makes Monsters vs. Aliens a must-see for children and adults. The jokes range from silly to outrageously funny. The thrill-ride of watching these monsters fight the evil alien invader is even better if you catch it in 3D.

More of the principle cast

Kiefer Sutherland as General W.R. Monger

Rainn Wilson as Gallaxhar

Stephen Colbert as President Hathaway

Paul Rudd as Derek Dietl

More films that came out on March 27th

The Haunting in Connecticut

12 Rounds