2014 Spring movie preview

The spring movie season this year is a bit wonky. Usually, that season is a sort of lead-up to the higher profile summer movie season. But this year it almost seems as if it’s a mini-summer season with several blockbuster films all vying for contention months before summer starts.

First up is Monuments Men, out February 7 which was originally set to premiere last winter. This movie follows the real-life little known Army unit during WWII that was staffed with art historians and museum curators who were tasked with rescuing priceless relics and works of arts from the Nazis during the war. Starring George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Matt Damon, Monuments Men seems to be equal parts The Dirty Dozen, Ocean’s Eleven and Indiana Jones.

RoboCop
RoboCop

The movie I’m looking forward to most this spring, and by the comments online I think I may be the only one looking forward to it, is the RoboCop remake out February 12. This update of the ’87, dare I say, classic of the same name stars Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Joel Kinnaman and is directed by José Padilha who also directed the two great Elite Squad movies. I’ll buy that for a dollar!

February 21 Pompeii blows it’s top in this film that looks to be a mix of 300 + Gladiator ÷ the modern disaster epic. Here, a gladiator played by Kit Harington of Game of Thrones must race to rescue the love of his life and escape the destruction of the volcano Pompeii in ancient Roman times.

Wes Anderson movie nerds unite! His next film, Grand Budapest Hotel, is due in theaters March 7 and will, no doubt, look and feel and sound like every other Wes Anderson movie that’s ever been made.

What the world needs now is yet another cheesy street racing movie franchise which Need for Speed, based on a video game series of the same name, hopes to fill on March 14.

Shailene Woodley and Theo James are
Shailene Woodley and Theo James are

Divergent, or “please think of The Hunger Games when you think of our movie” movie, is out March 21. Divergent joins a long list of movies based on dystopian teen novels — the already mentioned The Hunger Games, The Host, Ender’s Game, How I Live Now, Tomorrow When the War Began… — none of which have found success at the box office other than The Hunger Games.

I think the problem with these types of films is that many of the stories these books rely on all seem to be variations on a theme — a teen who is special and different than everyone else is that world’s only hope of bringing down some evil new world order. Which is a tough sell when movies like the Star Wars and Harry Potter films already explored that territory so well.

Noah comes to save mankind and all the creatures of the Earth on March 28. Directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson, Noah follows the biblical story of Noah and his arc. But Aronofsky, Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan and The Fountain will surly place the weird up against the spiritual.

Chris Evans is Captain America
Chris Evans is Captain America

The big movie out this spring is Captain America: The Winter Soldier April 4. A sequel to the first Captain American movie, and The Avengers, oh and Thor: The Dark World too, this film features a modern day Cap fighting not only super-villains but a new world order trying to bring down the freedoms Captain America stands for.

While I might question Marvel’s strategy of releasing a new multi-million dollar superhero movie every few months; last year there was 189 days between the release of Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World and this year just 116 between Thor and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, that strategy seems to be paying off since the Marvel movies are some of the most profitable franchises in the history of film.

And 119 days after Captain America: The Winter Soldier comes Guardians of the Galaxy.

2013/14 Winter movie preview

It always used to be that the winter movie season was meant for prestige projects that were gunning for Academy Award statues come March. But over the last few years things have changed a bit. Movies are still released this time of year that are looking for Oscar gold, but there are also quite a few films released from around Christmas break to the first of the year that makes winter look a bit like a miniature summer movie season in the snow.

Much like with the fall movie season, the official release dates for these movies might only be for New York and LA with later releases for the rest of the country. So be sure to check your local listings as these dates approach.

Martin Freeman as the title Hobbit
Martin Freeman as the title Hobbit

Out December 13 is the second film of The Hobbit trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. While I liked the first The Hobbit film last year, I did think that all the material added to that film to better tie it to the first The Lord of the Rings movies was more of a hindrance than a help. And these additions seems to continue with characters crossing over from LOTR to The Desolation of Smaug.

Also on December 13 co-writer and director David O. Russell returns with American Hustle, his first film back after his critically acclaimed Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Hustle follows the Abscam FBI investigation that would eventually take down a US Senator and several Representatives of Congress with charges of bribery. The film stars many actors from Russell’s previous projects including Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is out December 20. I can only guess this movie’s being made for all those annoying people who constantly quote the first Anchorman to one and other and are starting to get as sick of repeating themselves as the rest of us are.

Christmas Day sees the release of three high profile movies, the first of which is Wolf of Wall Street, the fifth pairing of director Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio. This time DiCaprio plays real-life high-flying stock broker Jordan Belfort who’s life comes crashing down after the feds begin looking into just how he’s earning his money.

Hmmm… sounds a bit like American Hustle circa 1985 to me!

Keanu Reeves is one of the 47 Ronin
Keanu Reeves is one of the 47 Ronin

Next, a movie that’s been delayed for over a year, is the slice-em-up samurai tale 47 Ronin. Literally about 47 masterless samurai warriors out to take vengeance for their slain master, the movie was originally due out in late ’12, then early ’13 and now is supposed to be out in late ’13. The way this movie’s been shaping up I’ll believe it’s actually going to get released when it starts playing in theaters!

Finally The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is also in theaters Christmas Day. Ben Stiller stars as the title character, a lonely man who hasn’t done much with his life and uses the power of his imagination to travel to the world.

The doomed SEALs of Lone Survivor
The doomed SEALs of Lone Survivor

Out December 27 is Lone Survivor. Starring Mark Wahlberg, this movie is based on the real life events of a four-man SEAL team in Afghanistan that fought an outnumbered battle against the Taliban that left only one of the SEALs alive.

Aaron Eckhart seems to be desperate to show the world that him playing Harvey Dent/Two Face in The Dark Knight was a fluke with the goofy looking I, Frankenstein that looks to be taking all its cues from the terrible Underworld movies on January 24.