The first weekend of March brings with it three new wide releases, including the film likely to knock Deadpool off its throne, a trashy action sequel, and a Tina Fey comedy.
Zootopia is Disney’s first animated feature since 2014’s Big Hero 6, and its first of two releases this year (Moana arrives in November). From directors Byron Howard (Bolt, Tangled) and Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph), the film tells the story of a rabbit police officer and a red fox con artist who must work together when civilians start going missing. The voice cast includes Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Octavia Spencer, Jenny Slate, and Shakira (!), and by all accounts this is an excellent film. Disney has really been on a roll lately — their films are making huge money, and the last two each won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Can Zootopia keep all that up?
Also opening this weekend is London Has Fallen, the sequel to 2013’s explosion-heavy actioner Olympus Has Fallen, in which Gerard Butler played a Secret Service agent protecting the U.S. president (Aaron Eckhart) when the White House came under attack by North Korea. This time around, all leaders of the Western world are in danger from a world-domination plot masterminded by a group of Islamic terrorists. Eckhart and Butler are back, along with fellow returnees Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Melissa Leo. Swedish director Babak Najafi is making his English-language debut. Early reviews are really bad. This looks terrible, you guys.
The third and final wide release of the week is Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, a comedy that has Tina Fey playing a war correspondent in Afghanistan. She is supported by an ensemble that includes Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, and Alfred Molina. Fey is obviously brilliant and funny, and I’m very excited about this, because in a way it’s her big movie-star debut. Sure, she’s headlined films before, but they’ve always been star duos (Baby Mama with Amy Poehler, Date Night with Steve Carell, Admission with Paul Rudd, Sisters with Poehler again). Whiskey Tango Foxtrot marks the first time that Fey, and Fey alone, is the face of the movie. And that’s huge. Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa previously made two very good films (I Love You Phillip Morris and Crazy, Stupid, Love.) then the dreadful Focus. Let’s hope that that last one was just a misstep. Critics have been lukewarm so far on this one, so I’m a bit worried.
Opening in limited release this week is The Other Side of the Door, a supernatural horror film from director Johannes Roberts (Storage 24), starring Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead) and Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under), in which a grieving mother opens a door between worlds performing a ritual to say goodbye to her dead son. The weekend also brings the long-awaited release of Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups, more than a year after it premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. Reportedly a strange experimental film (which should be no surprise coming from the brilliant but peculiar director of The Tree of Life) about a screenwriter trying to figure out the weird things happening in his life, it stars Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, and Antonio Banderas, among others. Excellent cast, virtuoso filmmaker — this is catnip for cinephiles. Even if it’s bad (and some critics do hate it), Knight of Cups is sure to be one of the most interesting films of the year.
What are you planning to see this weekend?
