Plot:
In a loose adaptation from Greek mythology, Perseus (Worthington) who was born a god but raised as a man, sets off on an epic mission to combat Hades (Fiennes) before he can seize power from Zeus (Neeson) and unleash hell on earth.
Buzz:
3D is cool, though PG-13 is a bummer for this of us who like our mythology dark and heady (though this is from the same studio that brought us the similarly rated Dark Knight). This remake has been around for a while -- the better part of the decade -- with Stephen Norrington once aboard to direct (eek). Most people know that this project jumped off the block faster than the formerly troubled, Tarsem Singh-helmed Dawn of War (which begins filming in early April), but did you know that director Louis Leterrier went on record to say the original Titans inspired his Hulk remake? Leterrier next has his sights on Y: The Last Man.
CLASH OF THE TITANS
Plot:
Four couples reunite for their annual vacation in order to socialize and to spend time analyzing their marriages. Their intimate week in the Bahamas is disrupted by the arrival of an ex-husband determined to win back his recently remarried wife.
Buzz:
The first therapeutic vacation resulted in one of Tyler Perry's biggest non-Madea movies, so look for bigger, more melodramatic story arcs in part two which, coupled with Jackson-family mania, could attract movie-goers who have yet to have their first TP experience.
WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?
Plot:
Young Viking Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third (voice of Jay Baruchel) is sent to the Isle of Berk in the North Sea, where he is to subdue a dragon as a rite of passage.
Buzz:
It's so worth celebrating the long-awaited return of Lilo & Stitch co-directors Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders to the animated world (though DeBlois did make Heima, a stellar documentary on the band Sigur Ros). DreamWorks Animation has been on a roll since Kung Fu Panda, and the fan reaction to Dragon's teaser art (located above) was strong, so I think we can expect a full-on marketing blitz, awkward promotional tie-ins included. For example: "Train your thirst at 7-11."
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
Plot:
A drama centered on a rebellious young woman (Cyrus) who is sent to spend the summer with her estranged father, who abandoned his family in the past.
Buzz:
TV director Julie Anne Robinson, who has worked on awesome shows from "Pushing Daisies" to "Weeds," makes her feature debut as Miley Cyrus her first non-Hannah appearance since Big Fish. Film critics are bloggers have savaged the movie and the performance by Cyrus, but we aren't exactly the target audience here, younger people who could be primed to graduate from standard Disney fare.
THE LAST SONG
Plot:
19-year-old Alice (Wasikowska) returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.
Buzz:
I am one of those people who feels that Tim Burton's artistic vision is directly in line with Lewis Carroll's novels, and he is one of few filmmakers who can get away with asserting that a likable movie adaptation has never been made of this story. It is, of course, interesting to hear this from the man who made Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ...
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Plot:
Four guy friends, all of them bored with their adult lives, travel back to their respective 80s heydays thanks to a time-bending hot tub.
Buzz:
Hot Tub's redband trailer is just about the most limp stab at R-rated comedy in recent memory, and the current attempts to capture the cheese-innoncence-sleaze of '80s sex comedies, ala Hardbodies, have all come up short. Though I'm still wondering why the reunion of Jon Cusack and Steve Pink is looking so lowbrow? These dudes worked together on Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity, for Rob Gordon's sake!
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE
Plot:
A bounty hunter (Butler) learns that his next target is his ex-wife (Aniston), a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure with a bunch of New Jersey heavies in pursuit.
Buzz:
The first trailer for this "high-concept comedy" hit the Internet with a thud. Sadly, The Bounty Hunter looks to be kind of mainstream fare that could have been made by either Jennifer Aniston or Gerard Butler at the beginning of their respective careers -- but now? It feels like safe and mid-range entertainment. I can understand it if Gerard Butler and his handlers are trying to find a balance between action flicks and romantic comedies, but all they really need to do is re-watch The Ugly Truth to realize the genre does not suit him. I'm surprised Butler isn't holding a gun over his anatomy in the poster. Speaking of the poster, where is Jennifer Aniston's left hip?
THE BOUNTY HUNTER
Plot:
Greg Heffley (Gordon) uses the journal his mother forces him to keep to plot his middle-school survival.
Buzz:
Writer Jeff Kinney created Wimpy as a web-comic in 2004, and the pop-culture phenomenon quickly grew into a daily online strip and, ultimately, a series of novels that rival Twilight in popularity. We'll see how it translates as the first movie in a potential franchise, though awareness of the movie is almost nil.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID
Plot:
A guy (Baruchel) lets his insecurities pick away at his fledgling relationship with the perfect gal (Eve).
Buzz:
Someone please help me understand why DreamWorks/Paramount execs think that a romantic comedy with no known stars, a green director, and a screenplay from the guys behind Sex Drive is a money-making idea. (Note: We'd love to be surprised about this movie's quality and proved wrong about its chances for success.)
SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE
Plot:
When a psychotic killer (Mortimer) disappears from a mental institution on Shutter Island, a pair of U.S. Marshals (Ruffalo and DiCaprio) race against the clock in order to track her down.
Buzz:
Strike through all those notions of awards-season glamor for this reunion of Marty and Leo, since reports of marketing-budget shortfalls and promotional challenges (aka DiCaprio's availability) shuttled the movie into the middle of winter. Don't think it'll hurt the thriller's box-office, though, since it's been testing through the roof. Nikki Finke digs out the scoop.
