Coming out of a somewhat quiet month for movie theatre releases, March is going to hit back hard with an influx of massive blockbusters. Save your money and get those loyalty cards ready, we are in for a big one!
Logan – 2 March
In the third film in the Wolverine series and what feels like the hundredth addition to the X-Men franchise, Logan will be the second X-Men film to get an R (or MA15+ in Australia) rating after Deadpool. Taking inspiration from Marvel’s Old Man Logan comic, Logan will be Hugh Jackman‘s final full performance as Wolverine (we are still holding hope for a Deadpool 2 cameo). Logan brings back original Professor X, played by Patrick Stewart, while introducing a new mutant character, Laura, played by relatively unknown actress Dafne Keen.
Logan currently holds a 95% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and is being considered the best film in the Wolverine series.
Kong: Skull Island – 9 March
Kong: Skull Island is the second installment in Warner Bros.’s MonsterVerse. The MonsterVerse started back in 2014 with Godzilla, with the cinematic universe shaping up to a face-off between Kong and Godzilla in 2020. Kong: Skull Island will serve as the genesis of King Kong, where he is discovered in the Pacific by a team of explorers and soldiers.
Kong: Skull Island features a big name cast including Oscar Winner, Brie Larson (Room, 21 Jump Street), Golden Globe Winner, Tom Hiddleston (Thor, The Avengers), Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton, The Walking Dead), Samuel L. Jackson (literally everything) and John C. Reilly (Step Brothers, Sing).
Loving – 16 March
Among all the big blockbusters, it’s nice to get something on a more modest scale. Staring Australian Joel Edgerton and Preacher‘s Ruth Negga, Loving is based off the true story of interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving as they fight for their marriage against the legal system in Virginia in 1967. Ruth Negga’s performance has been nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Oscars.
Loving received solid reviews during it’s November US release and currently sits at an 89% critics score and a 77% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Beauty and the Beast – 23 March
The most anticipated blockbuster coming out this March is Disney’s live-action remake of their own 1991 animated film Beauty and the Beast. It’s expected to storm cinemas in a similar fashion to Disney’s 2016 live-action remake of The Jungle Book.
Beauty and the Beast is lead by Harry Potter’s Emma Watson as the iconic princess Bell, and Dan Stevens as the Beast. The film also has a big named supporting cast including Luke Evans (The Fast & The Furious) as Gaston, Ewan McGregor (Star Wars) as Lumiere, Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games) as Cadenza, Josh Gad (Frozen) as Le Fou and Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings) as Cogsworth.
Power Rangers – 23 March
And now for the movie we have all been waiting for since we were six years old, Power Rangers. Based from the 1993 TV show, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the rangers are getting a much needed modern day makeover with this 2017 release. Following a similar premise to the original show, Power Rangers is about a group of misfit teens who get super powers and have to protect the world from evil.
Our five lead rangers are played by singer Becky G. as The Yellow Ranger, Naomi Scott as The Pink Ranger, Australian and upcoming Stranger Things 2 actor Dacre Montgomery as The Red Ranger, rising Asian star actor Ludi Lin as The Black Ranger and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’s RJ Cyler as The Blue Ranger. The film also features Elizabeth Banks as villain Rita Repulsa, Bill Hader as the voice of droid Alpha 5 and Breaking Bad lead actor Bryan Cranston as Zordon.
The Lego Batman Movie – 30 March
A spin-off from 2014’s The Lego Movie comes The Lego Batman Movie. Will Arnett reprises his role as Lego Batman in a film that Forbes is calling the “best batman movie story line in history” and “puts DC’s Extended Universe to shame“. The Lego Batman Movie received great reviews all round during its February US release, currently sitting on a 91% critics score and an 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Lego Batman Movie has a massive number of big names voicing characters including Michael Cera (Juno), Rosario Dawson (Marvel Netflix), Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover), Jenny Slate (Zootopia), Conan O’Brien (Conan), Doug Benson (Super High Me), Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars) and even Apple’s Siri making an appearance.
Ghost in the Shell – 30 March
Based off the Japanese manga series of the same name, Ghost in the Shell has been smeared with casting controversy in the lead up to its 2017 release. With trailers failing to give non-readers of the series a clear explanation as to the plot, it remains intriguing to the causal movie goer.
However, with what seems like an unknown cast for the most part, it is ironically the controversial casting of Scarlett Johansson that remains the biggest appeal for Ghost in the Shell.