Wow, what a magical month March has been for movies! We’re running out of concession stand candy varieties to try and combine (pro tip: some theaters keep Junior Mints in the freezer!) but we’re definitely not even close to running out of movie-going steam. Let’s do this! Here’s how to plan your weekend watching for this month’s final batch of new releases:
Ready Player One
Before the advent of that inevitable future when all of our infrastructures have crumbled and everyone stays home and plugs into their VR rig, going out to the movies remains one of the few forms of social entertainment left. So light up the group chat, assemble the squad, and get ready to mainline that pop culture nostalgia straight into your thirsty, thirsty eyeballs: The cinematic equivalent of Darude’s “Sandstorm” is finally here to light your pleasure centers up like a pinball machine. Go forth and get thy fix! You can worry about the whole Black Mirror quotient later.
Lean on Pete
Serious question: Is there anything that media company A24 (who were behind recent releases like Lady Bird, The Florida Project, and Ex Machina) can’t do? Honestly, they had us at “starring Steve Buscemi and Chloë Sevigny”. As proven by The NeverEnding Story and The Black Stallion, troubled young boy plus trusty, beautiful horse equals a whole lot of ugly crying, and we could all really use a good sob session right about now. Will this movie cause increased incidents involving emotional support horses? Probably.
Gemini
Did you know that Gemini star Zoë Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, has another career as the frontwoman for indie R&B/hip-hop outfit LOLAWOLF? That’s really neither here nor there except for the Cool Girl Points that kind of side hustle bestows. We can’t decide if this style-soaked and atmospheric hipster neo-noir is going to leave us obsessed or nonplussed—will it be more like Mulholland Drive by way of Nicolas Winding Refn, or more like the unfortunate Ashton Kutcher vehicle Spread (or even more unfortunate Lindsay Lohan vehicle The Canyons)? Stay tuned for a point-counterpoint on this very subject from our Fandor staff writers coming April 9! One thing’s for sure: John Cho, who plays a hard-boiled investigator on the trail of a starlet murderer, is like the cowbell of contemporary cinemas (we always want more of him)!
Tyler Perry’s Acrimony
Holy Taraji P. Henson! After watching her make locking-and-loading look so, so good in Proud Mary, we’re officially smitten, and to be honest, at this point we’d pay American dollars just to watch her brush her teeth. This role seems to combine the very best of Empire’s Cookie with Proud Mary’s hitwoman supreme. Add in a deliciously melodramatic (in the good way!) script from Tyler Perry, and you’ve got some explosive entertainment right there. From the trailers, it seems Henson is really sinking her teeth into this role, and we can’t wait to see the full force of her fury. Fire emojis abound.
