Movies in Theaters This Friday, March 7, 2014: 300: Rise of an Empire, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and More
I mentioned this in my prequel guide, but the flip of the calendar from February to March is undoubtedly a good thing for moviegoers. While I was very (very, very) impressed by The LEGO Movie, I haven’t really been impressed by anything else…
…yet.
Although I’m skeptical about this weekend’s (wide) releases, I do think this weekend is a step in the right direction.
It all begins with the sequel 300: Rise of an Empire. Noam Murro’s film will expand the story set up by Zack Snyder’s 300 (which I personally love). I’m not sure if it’ll live up to the other movie, but maybe that is an unfair expectation? Either way, I’ll be checking it out this weekend.
The only other wide release is the animated children’s film Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Just because of the genre, I may wait to see this one. However, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be seen by you. It voice stars Ty Burrell (ABC’s Modern Family), Stephen Colbert, and Leslie Mann (This is 40), so it has that going for it.
In limited theaters, you can finally see Wes Anderson’s (Moonrise Kingdom) latest movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. Like always (it seems), you’ll probably have to wait to see the good movies. I can’t believe we live in a world where Wes Anderson’s movies aren’t available to everyone the day they come out…but that’s the unfortunate situation we’re (likely) in. However, I’m thankful we’re closer to seeing his latest comedy.
The other limited movies I’ve heard of are The Face of Love, Haunt, and In Fear.
And the ones I haven’t heard of are Particle Fever (out this past Wednesday), A Farewell to Fools, Bethlehem, Grand Piano, Journey to the West: Conquering the West, Missing William, Special ID, Total Siyapaa, and War of the Worlds: Goliath.
Have a good weekend regardless of which movie you choose.
“300: Rise of an Empire,” told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster “300,” is a new chapter of the epic saga, which takes the action to a new battlefiled – the sea.
The story pits the Greek general Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces, ruled by the mortal-turned-god Xerxes, and led by Artemisia, the vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
Knowing the only hope of defeating the overwhelming Persian armada will be to unity all of Greece, Themistokles ultimately leads the charge that will change the course of the war.
Mr. Peabody is a business titan, inventor, scientist, gourmand, two-time Olympic medalist and genius…who also happens to be a dog. Using his most ingenious invention, the WABAC machine, Mr. Peabody and his adopted boy Sherman hurtle back in time to experience world-changing events first-hand and interact with some of the greatest characters of all time. But when Sherman breaks the rules of time travel, our two heroes find themselves in a race to repair history and save the future, while Mr. Peabody may face his biggest challenge yet – being a parent.
Once upon a time, during WWII, somewhere in Nazi occupied Romania, a night of comic misadventures ensues when a boy discovers a dead soldier. The German authorities demand that the perpetrator must be identified or the town leaders will be shot the following morning. In their desperation, led by Father Johanis (Harvey Keitel), their salvation seems to lie in convincing the town “fool”, Ipu (Gérard Depardieu), to agree to confess, and save them all with his sacrifice. The comedy and darker sides of human nature race toward the deadline where one cannot help but wonder who, in fact, is the actual “fool”?
“Bethlehem” tells the story of the complex relationship between an Israeli Secret Service officer and his teenage Palestinian informant. Shuttling back and forth between conflicting points of view, the films is a raw portrayal of characters torn apart by competing loyalties and impossible moral dilemmas, giving an unparalleled glimpse into the dark and fascinating world of human intelligence.
A widow falls for a guy who bears a striking resemblance to her late husband.
GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune — all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.
Wood plays Tom Selznick, the most talented pianist of his generation, who has stopped performing in public because of his stage fright. Years after a catastrophic performance, he reappears in public for a long awaited concert in Chicago. In a packed theater, in front of an expectant audience, Tom finds a message written on the score: “Play one wrong note and you die.” In the sights of an anonymous sniper (Cusack), Tom must get through the most difficult performance of his life and look for help without being detected.
An introverted teen sparks with his new neighbor, and together the couple begins to explore the haunted house that is family has unknowingly just purchased.
Tom and Lucy are both happy young adults eager to set out on their first weekend getaway as a couple. They set off for a planned stay at a remote hotel but quickly find themselves getting lost in a maze of backwoods roads. However they soon discover that they are at the mercies of an unknown tormentor that is eager to take advantage of their vulnerability and distance from civilization.
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons
Based on one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature of the same name, Stephen Chow’s ‘Journey To The West’ is a contemporary remake of the misadventures of a Buddhist monk as he makes a pilgrimage from China to India.
MISSING WILLIAM is a romantic drama about the love that lives through loss. The story follows Abby, a thirty-something artist living in Rhode Island caring for her husband William after he’s tragically injured in a bar fight. As she attempts to coax him back to health, James, her childhood sweetheart and unrequited love, attempts to coax her back into living life again herself. The complicated love triangle that ensues is touching, poignant, and concludes with a realization that’s as profound as it is beautiful.
Imagine being able to watch as Edison turned on the first light bulb, or as Franklin received his first jolt of electricity.
For the first time, a film gives audiences a front row seat to a significant and inspiring scientific breakthrough as it happens. Particle Fever follows six brilliant scientists during the launch of the Large Hadron Collider, marking the start-up of the biggest and most expensive experiment in the history of the planet, pushing the edge of human innovation.
As they seek to unravel the mysteries of the universe, 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries joined forces in pursuit of a single goal: to recreate conditions that existed just moments after the Big Bang and find the Higgs boson, potentially explaining the origin of all matter. But our heroes confront an even bigger challenge: have we reached our limit in understanding why we exist?
Directed by Mark Levinson, a physicist turned filmmaker, and masterfully edited by Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The English Patient), Particle Fever is a celebration of discovery, revealing the very human stories behind this epic machine.
Chan Chi-Lung has been an infiltrator in Cheung Mo-Hung’s Hong Kong triad gang for many years. After a failure of a recent negotiation by Lung with the other three local triad gangs on behalf of Hung makes the latter suspicious of Lung’s identity. Hung sets to wipe out every undercover cop in his gang and as a result many cops are caught and wiped out. Sensing the danger, Lung requests to put an end to his undercover career from his captain, Cheung. However, Cheung sends Lung to Mainland China to infiltrate a business of “Special Identity” trading instead. The business is run by Hung’s best protégé, Sunny, who was Lung’s previous buddy in the gang. Cheung promises to reinstate Lung’s police identity in conclusion of the mission once Sunny’s business breaks down. Lung agrees, and joining him are local police officer Fang Jing and her chief Lei Peng from the Mainland Chinese police force
Settled in London, Aman (Ali Zafar) hopes to marry Asha (Yaami Gautam ), an Indian girl, also based in London. He visits her parents’ house to seek their permission to marry her. However, his plans to impress the family start failing when they discover that he is a Pakistani.
Starring Ali Zafar and Yaami Gautam , Total Siyapaa (Total Chaos ) is about a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless Pakistani boy while visiting his girlfriend’s parents, leading to some of the funniest, chaotic and outrageous situations.
A retro-futuristic epic of steam punk battle set in 1914. Its 15 years since the original HG Wells Martian invasion. Fearing another attack, the human race is prepared itself. This is the story of the battle tripod ‘Goliath’ and its young crew. ‘Goliath’ is the vanguard of an army steam powered battle walkers, heat-ray biplanes, and armored zeppelins facing a Martian fleet of giant fighting machines and flying wings. Within the cockpit of ‘Goliath’, courage under fire, conflicted loyalties and the struggle to save earth, in this new War of the Worlds.
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