There are a few winners this month, starting with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and ending with John Cusack in a time-warping hot tub. In a world where a Nicholas Sparks romantic comedy ends the reign of “Avatar” – you can bet that there’s a couple of those to round out the month too.
March 5
Alice in Wonderland
Director Tim Burton has been teasing us with his version of going down the rabbit hole since he came onto the scene. He’s really the only director who could bring this movie to life. Burton’s go-to guy Johnny Depp brings his star power as The Mad Hatter. Familiar faces, like Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, and Crispin Glover, show up along the way.
March 12
Green Zone
Matt Damon kicking ass and taking names is guaranteed movie fun. Add Bourne series director Paul Greengrass behind the camera and it’s even better. In this flick, Damon plays a rogue U.S. Army officer who is searching for weapons of mass destruction. Queue the close quarter fights, explosions, mindless violence, and a standing ovation from Dick Cheney.
Our Family Wedding
Apparently there’s something funny about racism as long as there are young people around to point out how silly it is. Carlos Mencia and Forest Whitaker engage in ego-warfare after they find out that their kids (America Ferrera and Lance Gross) are getting married. Most jokes seem centered around how Mencia is Mexican and Whitaker is African-American. Funny?
She’s Out of My League
The typecast stoner-friend-neighbor Jay Baruchel gets his chance as the lead of this movie. He plays an average joe TSA agent who serendipitously meets a girl (Alice Eve) who is, well, out of his league. They hit it off and both of their friends try to derail the relationship by pointing out just how out of his league she is.
March 19
The Bounty Hunter
This flick stars the overly pretty coupling of Gerald Butler and Jennifer Aniston. Or as I call them, “Antler.” Butler plays a bounty hunter who tracks his former ex and tries to return her to jail. Artificial witty banter ensues while the audience wishes that Butler would go back to screaming about Sparta.
Greenburg
In every funny man’s career, there is a need for the serious picture. Like Jim Carrey had “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Sandler had “Punch Drunk Love” and Steve Carrell had “Little Miss Sunshine.” Ben Stiller has chosen “Greenburg” to be his foray into the serious. The script penned by Jennifer Jason Leigh (who also co-stars) follows the life of a mediocre man, who is perfectly happy with his mediocre life. That is until he meets the hot blonde who forces him to look at himself in the mirror.
Repo Men
If the zany version of Forrest Whitaker in “Our Family’s Wedding” isn’t your style, perhaps you’d like one where he cuts open people and repossesses their guts … literally. Jude Law plays his partner who has a company-owned heart installed and then is faced with being hunted down by Whitaker and his former employer to get their property back.
March 26
Hot Tub Time Machine
John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry and Clark Duke play a group of bored men who embark on a male bonding vacation and end up in a time traveling hot tub that takes them back to the 80s. There’s an “Old Dogs” rip-off joke here, but the movie already stole it by using it in its trailer.
