Continuing 2017’s trend of strong, early-year releases is March’s shockingly robust movie roundup. January gave us Split. February gave us The Lego Batman Movie, John Wick: Chapter 2, Get Out and A Cure for Wellness. March, well, just look for yourself…
5. Kong: Skull Island — Supposedly the next link in the Godzilla cinematic universe, Kong: Skull Island reintroduces the world to the towering ape who’s going to go toe-to-toe with Japan’s nuclear dinosaur in a couple of years. While the action might look a little repetitive from the trailers, the outstanding visual effects, humorous dialog and the fact that it’s not just a straight remake of the 1933 original gives it an edge over less inspired films.
Although the director himself is an unknown talent best known for maybe heading up that rumored Metal Gear Solid movie at some point in the future, the rest of the creative minds at work have a solid track record at this sort of thing. The writers are collectively responsible for the most recent Godzilla, Jurassic World, Real Steel and Nightcrawler. The cast, which is worth for the price of admission all on its own, includes Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly and John Goodman.
4. Life — In another year, this movie would doubtless be higher on this list. Looking to be a true successor to 1979’s Alien, Life follows a group of international astronauts as they discover the first extra-terrestrial life form while recovering a returning probe. Although beginning as an innocuous single-cell organism, it quickly grows to monstrous size as it takes down the crew one by one.
The problem with this year is that we have another contender for the title of Alien successor: Alien Covenant, only that one features actual Xenomorphs. But where its competition has decades worth of continuity to build on and the incomparable talent of Ridley Scott, Life has a stellar cast. Not only does the cast feature A-listers like Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds, but dependable men like Hiroyuki Sanada and promising up-and-comers like Rebecca Ferguson. And in that it is not a sequel, there’s a lot of fresh ground for this new film to explore, which I can’t help but get excited about.
3. Ghost in the Shell — Although a nexus of controversy since its announcement, Ghost in the Shell is one of the most exciting adaptations to come out of Hollywood in years. Based on the cult anime hit that inspired The Matrix, Ghost in the Shell represents the best the science fiction genre has to offer. At once thrilling and philosophic, the original balanced memorable action set pieces and a conspiratorial mystery with weighty contemplations about what it means to be Human.
The success — or failure — of this adaptation stands to shape Hollywood’s eagerness to delve into similar projects for years to come. Want a live-action Cowboy Bebop? Want to see an actual Gundam on the big screen? The chances for those (and others) rest on how Hollywood perceives their commercial viability through the lens of this Scarlett Johansson-fronted action film.
2. Beauty and the Beast — Disney has been firing on all cylinders recently, especially when it comes to their live-action fairy tales. Maleficent was a brilliant feminist deconstruction of Sleeping Beauty. Despite how incredibly dated its source material was, Cinderella proved to be one of my favorite movies from 2015. Last year’s The Jungle Book proved to be a pre-summer juggernaut at the box office and even took home a well-deserved Oscar on Sunday.
With Beauty and the Beast, Disney is upping their game even further: remaking not just a popular favorite from their Golden Age, but the first animated film ever nominated for Best Picture. Given their recent track record with live action, not to mention the A-list talent conscripted to make the film, it will doubtless live up to the original’s sterling reputation. Bill Conden is an exemplary director with experience tackling musicals. And while Emma Watson is certainly the acting centerpiece, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci and Kevin Kline round out the film’s incomparable cast.
1. Logan — If there is one movie that you have to see in March, it is doubtlessly going to be Logan. It represents not only the culmination of decades worth of X-Men movie continuity, but the final outings of Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart as Wolverine and Charles Xavier.
It promises to reinvent the superhero movie in the exact same way that The Dark Knight Returns reinvented the superhero comic in 1986. Early word on the movie calls it the best of the franchise thus far, taking full advantage of its R rating and canonical context adjacent to the mainline X-Men films. For the impact it will doubtless have on the genre for years to come, you owe it to yourself to see it on the big screen.
Follow Us
