Another twisted fairy tale from Disney, Maleficent opens in theaters on May 30th. Angelina Jolie looks like she is having fun being the bad guy for this one, although it’s more of a prequel, explaining the history that made her so evil, or at least hard-hearted.
We get two wonderful selections this week, in two totally different flavors. Divergent is based on the excellent YA fantasy novels of Veronica Roth, and as far as action/adventure goes, it is the choice for this time around. If you crave something with a noticeably larger humor quotient then Muppets Most Wanted is the way to go. You really can’t go wrong whichever one you decide to see, so I am thinking both might be the correct option.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be in theaters on April 4th, and not a moment too soon in My book. This latest trailer just makes me more aware that I need to be in the theater that day. I pretty much feel that way about any portion of the Marvel franchise that Disney cranks out, and the folks generating the Spiderman films are doing just as good a job.
There are no genre entries I have found this week, but the Veronica Mars big screen outing could be fun. It is one of the first mainline motion pictures built from a Kickstarter Project I am aware of, which kind of makes me interested in seeing how well they did with the amount of money they raised.
The sequel to Frank Miller’s Sin City, called A Dame To Kill For, finally has it’s first trailer. This does not look like it is going to be much more subtle than the first film of the franchise was. It should be hitting the big screen in late August or early September.
The one I will be in the theaters for this week is Mr. Peabody & Sherman, because I always appreciated that Rocky and Bullwinkle sense of humor. Like so many other franchises, they have been absorbed by one of the Disney studios now (Dreamworks, in this instance), most of whom have benefited from the funding and attention to detail. We also get 300: Rise of an Empire for those looking for something noticeably more serious. For those lucky enough to live in the right towns, you may also have a chance to see Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, a film about a monk who has to fight 3 demons while falling in love with the beautiful demon hunter who helps him repeatedly. Before it is all over, he also has a transformative meeting with the Monkey King. This is another quality story by combat comedian Stephen Chow, and if you don’t live in a town where it will be on the big screen, it will also be available on that date through Video On Demand and iTunes.