We are only 3 months into the new year; let this fact sink in for a moment. While being back at work for only 3 months, I feel like I have been working for centuries, and could really use summer holidays just about right now. Luckily, we have some great movie offerings coming to the theatres this month, with some much-awaited sequels and Disney bringing things back to status quo with another live-action movie adaptation.
If you are not much of a blockbuster person, then you might want to consider Focus Features’ Emma (which is getting a wider release this March) and The Way Back, starring Ben Affleck. Emma is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, and The Way Back is a sports movie, where a former basketball star, who is dealing with alcoholism, is asked to come back and coach the basketball team. For the biggest new movies of March 2020, read on below.
1. Onward | March 6, 2020
Pixar’s Onward currently stands at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, where it is praised for being a heartwarming and dazzling adventure. It seems that its demerits include not being very outstanding in comparison to some of Pixar’s stronger offerings. The critics are complimentary on the voice work of Chris Pratt and Tom Holland, and the credible sibling relationship the two build together in this animated feature. Maybe it’s come to a point where Pixar can’t really replicate the success of its earlier animated films.
Still, the movie does seem like it would be a fun experience for the kids, even if it is more mundane than it is magical.
2. Bloodshot | March 13, 2020
Sony Pictures has been promoting Bloodshot like crazy, but most of us are still on the fence on whether we want to watch the movie in the first place. Firstly, the trailer basically draws out the map for the entire movie. Secondly, the lead is Vin Diesel. I have nothing against the guy but his acting range is mostly just him acting tough. This is an action movie, so maybe it will work, but so far, the movie doesn’t seem to be doing anything mind-blowingly different.
I do find it funny that Guy Pearce is the villain in a narrative where he manipulates the main character who has amnesia, given that his most famous role was in Christopher Nolan’s Memento, where he played a guy who suffers from amnesia. To the film’s credit, it does have Sam Heughan, an actor I am excited to see in an action role, especially after his stand-out action performance in The Spy Who Dumped Me.
3. The Hunt | March 13, 2020
Ah yes, The Hunt, a movie we all thought would never see the light of day is getting a March release. After benching the movie last year amidst the controversy, Universal Pictures has decided that the time has come to release it. It makes sense that they would choose March, since enough time has passed since the tragic events of last year, but not too long since we still kind of remember The Hunt’s controversy, which Universal is using as a way to market the movie.
The tagline of the movie is literally: The Most Talked About Movie of the Year is One That No One’s Actually Seen. This marketing strategy might be working, considering how the new trailer already has 14 million views.
Is your curiosity piqued enough that you might want to see it? The premise is nothing original, a combination of The Purge and a real world Hunger Games. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then head to the cinemas this Friday the 13th.
4. A Quiet Place Part II | March 20, 2020
Did A Quiet Place really need a sequel? Not really. But am I complaining? Definitely not. The original cast is back for the sequel, sans John Krasinski, since his character kicked the bucket (rather unnecessarily in my humble opinion) in the previous film. Krasinski is still in the director’s chair for this one, so he is with us in spirit. The sequel expands the world of the first movie. In A Quiet Place, we were focused on the world of the Abbott family, and how they would deal with the arrival of a screaming baby into a world where sound literally kills.
In the sequel, the family are forced to leave their home, encountering other survivors along the way, one of them a character played by Cillian Murphy. Considering the roles Murphy usually takes on, this character is probably dealing with personal demons and is on the verge of losing his mind. Still, I am excited to see what Krasinski has in store for this sequel, and the journey it will take the characters on.
5. Mulan | March 27, 2020
Mulan is perhaps the one live-action adaptation that goes in a different direction from Disney’s previous efforts. The animated Mulan had plenty of light-hearted moments in it, like the character Mushu and Mulan’s sidekick cricket. There was also the music that added so much texture to the movie. This movie is stripped of all that, with Mulan turned into a historical war epic. Oh, before I forget, the movie has also removed the character of Li Shang, and replaced him with two characters – Commander Tung and Honghui.
An article from Collider explains why the film makes this change. In the animated movie, Li Shang starts to develop feelings for Mulan, who is cross-dressing as a soldier. Producer Jason Reed commented that “particularly in the time of the #MeToo movement, having a commanding officer that is also the sexual love interest was very uncomfortable and we didn’t think it was appropriate.”
With all these changes, will there still be enough to love in this live-action version? The only way to know is to watch it and find out.
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