After the slowest two months of the year (and still significantly less so than they used to be) and following one of the most absurdly frustrating Oscars in recent history, we’re back to work with March being a significant uptick in quality. With SXSW right around the corner and plenty of coverage to follow, March has plenty for festival art film and blockbuster lovers alike, with the two biggest films “Captain Marvel” and “Us” carrying plenty of expectations. It’s a month where everyone from Harmony Korine to Tim Burton are debuting new films and there’s more than enough Disney to go around along with some terrifying horror. It’s a month for movie fans of all walks of life – those of us who need a life-affirming pickup and those who want to see devastation conquer all.
“Climax”
Cast: Sofia Boutella, Romain Guillermic
Synopsis: French dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.
What You Need to Know: The latest from polarizing director Gaspar Noé (“Enter the Void,” “Irreversible”) and starring “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” breakout Sofia Boutella, “Climax” is yet another addition to the filmmakers alienating resume. Offering Boutella a much stronger showcase for her unique talents than “The Mummy,” the film is as enigmatic as the performer, labeled as a psychological, horror musical, blending the lines between genres. Having premiered at the 2018 Directors Fortnight at Cannes, the film gathered fans and detractors. Our critic fell somewhere in the middle, saying “This is exhaustingly exhibitionist cinema, that wants to be looked at for the sake of being looked at — for the crispness of its moves, not the complexity of its concepts, and that can get wearying after a while.”
Release Date: March 1st
“The Wedding Guest”
Cast: Dev Patel, Radhika Apte
Synopsis: A story centered on a mysterious British Muslim man (Dev Patel) on his journey across Pakistan and India.
What You Need to Know: It would seem that Dev Patel is never offered the roles that his contemporaries are (think the similarly faced Ansel Elgort/Miles Teller/Tye Sheridan type.) While much of this is (unfortunately) likely due to Hollywood still not opening their arms enough wide enough to diverse casting, it strikes us as deeply shameful. From “Slumdog Millionaire” to his Oscar-nominated work in “Lion” Patel has been delivering strong work for over a decade now and it’s his work alone that makes “The Wedding Guest” an intriguing feature. Directed Michael Winterbottom, our critic said that the film falls short of its strongest assets “…despite Winterbottom’s excellent direction, Nuttgens’ photography, and the decent acting from the two leads, the core nuts and bolts of the story fail.”
Release Date: March 1st
“Captain Marvel”
Cast: Brie Larson, Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson, Gemma Chan
Synopsis: Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.
What You Need to Know: This film is going to be massive and not just because of Marvel being stamped all over it. Audiences gravitate towards stories that reflect our stories and while none of us our a superpowered human who can save the universe (though we could really use one of those right about now) having the MCU’s latest hero wear the face of an empowered young woman is a significant (and very late) move. Fans are enthusiastic and eager to see Carol Danvers make her Marvel Universe debut and Brie Larson is doing admirable work in angering every easily provoked fanboy who think it’s an attack against white men. It’s going to be the biggest movie until the release of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Release Date: March 8th