Rueben's Ramblings

Based on information provided by the Box Office Mojo and some internet research, here are just some of the movies you can expect to see in the movie theatres in March:

300: Rise of An Empire
Opens: March 7

The film centers on Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) and Artemisia I of Caria (Eva Green), as well as Xerxes I of Persia (Rodrigo Santoro). The Battle of Artemisium was a naval engagement, concurrent with the battle of Thermopylae, and was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states and the Persian Empire in September 480 BC, in the straits between the mainland and the northern tip of the island of Euboea (modern Evvia). The cast includes Lena Headey.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Opens: March 7

This 3D computer-animated comedy features Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell), a talking dog who is the smartest being in the world and his adopted boy Sherman (Max Charles). When Sherman’s misuse of their time traveling machine results in disastrous and comical results, it is up to them to put things on track before the space-time continuum is irreparably destroyed. The voice cast includes Ariel Winter, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Allison Janney, Stephen Tobolowsky, Mel Brooks, Stanley Tucci, Lake Bell, Patrick Warburton and Dennis Haysbert.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Opens: March 7

In 1920s Europe, a famed hotel concierge by the name of Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) is bequeathed a painting called Boy With Apple after his one night stand, Madame D (Tilda Swinton), is killed. Madame D’s son, Dmitri (Adrien Brody), vows revenge on Gustave by framing him for Madame D’s murder. Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), the lobby boy, and his love interest, Agatha (Saoirse Ronan), help Gustave hide Boy with Apple from Dmitri and the authorities. The cast also includes F. Murray Abraham, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Kietel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzmann, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson and Lea Seydoux.

Need for Speed
Opens: March 14

After being released from prison for a crime that he didn’t commit, a street racer, Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul), is set to race cross-country and to avenge the death of his friend Pete. The cast includes Imogen Poots, Dominic Cooper and Dakota Johnson.

Veronica Mars
Opens: March 14

The fan-sponsored film (through the now legendary Kickstarter campaign) finds the titular character (Kristin Bell), former high school sleuth, has moved to New York City with her boyfriend Stosh “Piz” Piznarski (Chris Lowell) an indefinite amount of time after the final episode of the three-season TV series. Veronica wishes to distance herself as far from her hometown of Neptune, California as possible, but is forced to return there when her old boyfriend Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) is, once again, accused of murder. Oh, and she’ll be there right in time for her 10th high school reunion. All of the original cast members, including Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III, Francis Capra, Ryan Hansen and Tina Majorino, will reprise their roles along with recurring actors Ken Marino, Krysten Ritter and Max Greenfield as in the mix.

Blood Ties
Opens: March 21

It’s New York in 1974 and 50-year old Chris (Clive Owen) has just been released on good behavior after several years in prison following a gangland murder. Waiting for him reluctantly outside the prison gates is his younger brother, Frank (Billy Crudup), a cop with a bright future. Chris and Frank have always been different, and their father, Leon (James Caan), who’d raised them alone, seems strangely to prefer Chris – despite all his troubles. Yet blood ties are the ones that bind. Frank, hoping that his brother has changed, is willing to give him a chance; he shares his home, finds him a job, and helps him reconnect with his children and his ex-wife, Monica (Marion Cotillard). But Chris’ past quickly catches up to him, and his descent back into a life of crime becomes inevitable. For Frank, this descent proves to be the last in a long line of betrayals, and after his brother’s latest transgressions, he banishes him from his life. The film also stars Zoe Saldana, Mila Kunis and Matthias Schoenaerts.

Divergent
Opens: March 21

Based on the first book in the Veronica Roth trilogy, the film is set in a futuristic Chicago where people are divided into five distinct factions based on their personalities. Beatrice “Tris” Prior (Shailene Woodley) discovers that she is Divergent, meaning she does not fit into any one faction, and soon uncovers a sinister plot brewing in her seemingly perfect society. The large cast includes Theo James, Kate Winslet, Zoe Kravitz, Maggie Q, Ray Stevenson, Tony Goldwyn, Ashley Judd, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney and Mekhi Phifer and will introduce newcomers such as Ansel Elgort, Ben Lamb, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Christian Madsen, Amy Newbold and Justine Wachsberger.

Muppet Most Wanted
Opens: March 21

The Muppets are back for another adventure this time Kermit the Frog is mistaken for the world’s number one criminal Constantine, who looks just like Kermit except he has a Russian accent and mole above his lip. Constantine escapes capture, takes over Kermit’s life while Kermit sits in a Russian prison. The rest of the story you will have to see to believe. Some of the actual actors who will have roles in the film include Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey with a legend of actors/actresses making cameo appearances.

Stretch
Opens: March 21

Patrick Wilson will star as a down on his luck limo driver whose new assignment turns out to be a true suicide mission. Although the eccentric billionaire (Chris Pine) who he is driving around Los Angeles might provide him with the tip to end all his troubles, he just might get him killed too. The film also stars Brooklyn Decker, Ed Helms, Jessica Alba, James Badge Dale and Ray Liotta.

Noah
Opens: March 28

The biblical story of Noah and the Ark is played out with Russell Crowe in the title role as he builds an ark to protect his family, which consists of his wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly), adopted daughter Ila (Emma Watson) and son’s Ham (Logan Lerman) and Shem (Douglas Booth), and the Earth’s creatures after receiving visions of the world’s destruction from God. In this version, however, Noah is pitted against the barbaric Tubal-cain (Ray Winstone), who believes Noah to be a madman rather than a true prophet. The cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Durand and Marton Csokas.

Sabotage
Opens: March 28

A team of Drug Enforcement Administration operatives, led by John “Breacher” Wharton (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent to bust the safe house of a drug cartel, although the main and actual motive is to pocket millions of dollars worth of loot. With the money safely hidden, the squad thinks that their secret is safe – until a mysterious assassin starts assassinating the team members one by one. The cast includes Sam Worthington, Olivia Williams Mireille Enos, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, Harold Perrineau, Martin Donovan, Max Martini and Josh Holloway.

Movies coming out in April will be posted at the end of March.

Enjoy!

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Based on information provided by the Box Office Mojo and some internet research, here are just some of the movies you can expect to see in the movie theatres in February:

The Lego Movie
Opens: February 7

In a world made entirely of LEGOs, an ordinary mini-figure named Emmet (Chris Pratt) is mistaken as being the Special–the last living Master Builder–who can save the LEGO universe. With the help of an old mystic named Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), a tough young lady named Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), and Batman (Will Arnett), Emmet will have to unlearn everything he saw in the instructions and learn the power of imagination to defeat the evil tyrant Lord Business (Will Ferrell) who is bent on destroying the Lego universe by gluing it together. Other voices will be provided by Channing Tatum, Liam Neeson, Jonah Hill, Charlie Day, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman and Cobie Smulders.

The Monuments Men
Opens: February 7

Based on fact, this film focuses on an Allied platoon made up of seven museum directors, curators, and art historians who are tasked with going into Germany in the closing stages of World War II to rescue artworks requisitioned by the Nazis and returning them to their rightful owners. The impressive cast includes George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville and Cate Blanchett.

Vampire Academy
Opens: February 7

The story features a 17-year-old Dhampir (half-human/vampire) guardian-in-training Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch), and her royal Moroi (the peaceful, mortal vampires) best friend Lissa Dragomir (Lucy Fry) living discretely within our world, and had escaped from their boarding school St. Vladimir’s Academy two years prior to the story. They are soon dragged back to the Academy, re-discovering the dangerous hierarchy within it, along with lies, rumors and secrets. Rose starts to form an attraction to her Russian dhampir mentor, Dimitri Belikov (Danila Kozlovsky). The two best friends begin to realize that the threat of the Strigoi (bloodthirsty, undead vampires) is bigger than ever. The cast also includes Gabriel Byrne, Olga Kurylenko, Sarah Hyland and Joely Richardson.

Robocop
Opens: February 12

In 2028 multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years – and it’s meant billions for OmniCorp’s bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured by a car-bomb in the line of duty, OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice. The cast includes Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Zach Grenier, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Miguel Ferrer.

Endless Love
Opens: February 14

This is a remake of the 1981 Brooke Shield’s film of the same name about a privileged girl (this time played by Gabriella Wilde) and a charismatic boy (Alex Pettyfer) whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart. Robert Patrick, Joely Richardson, Bruce Greenwood and Emma Rigby (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland) also star.

Winter’s Tale
Opens: February 14

Set in 1916 and present-day Manhattan, the film follows the story of Peter Lake (Colin Farrell), a thief who falls in love with Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), a dying girl who occupies one of the houses he breaks into. Lake is saved from the Irish insane gangster Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe) and his gang of thugs by Athansor, a mysterious white horse who becomes his guardian angel. The film also stars Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Eva Marie Saint, Matt Bomer and Lucy Griffiths.

Barefoot
Opens: February 21

Jay, the black sheep (Scott Speedman) of a wealthy family, is a gambler and loser who doesn’t know how to commit; and his family has little faith in him. He meets Daisy (Evan Rachel Wood) who is strange; she doesn’t wear shoes and has lived in a home her entire life because she’s a psychiatric patient and might be a little crazy. Jay’s brother is getting married so he brings Daisy home to his family. As they get to know one another, they fall in love, and he has to figure out just how crazy she is. Is she normal girl crazy? The cast includes Kate Burton, J.K. Simmons and Treat Williams.

Pompeii
Opens: February 21

Set in 79 A.D., Pompeii tells the story of Milo (Kit Harington), a slave turned invincible gladiator who finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia (Emily Browning), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant, who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him. Among the other cast members are Kiefer Sutherland, Jared Harris, Jessica Lucas, Adewale Akinnoye-Agbaje, Carrie-Anne Moss and Paz Vega.

Three Days to Kill
Opens: February 21

A dying Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) is offered one last assignment. While he accepts in the hope of retirement and medical treatment, he also tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Hailee Steinfeld). The film also stars Amber Heard and Connie Nelsen.

Non-Stop
Opens: February 28

The takes place on an international flight from New York to London. During the flight, U.S. federal air marshal Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) receives a series of threatening text messages, stating unambiguously that a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes unless, and until, $150 million is transferred into a secret bank account. When the bank account is discovered to be under Marks’ name and a bomb is found aboard the plane, Marks is branded as a hijacker. The cast includes Julianna Moore, Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Linus Roache, Scoot McNairy, Corey Stoll, Lupita Nyong’o and Anson Mount.

Welcome to Yesterday
Opens: February 28

This film is presented in “found-footage” style, centering on the creation of a time-machine and the consequences that come from a group of friends using it first for fun and then for profit but in which using it has extreme results that reverberate through time. The cast includes mostly newcomers including Sofia Black D’Elia (Betrayal), Sam Lerner (Suburgatory), Allen Evangelista (The Secret Life of the American Teenager), Jonny Weston (Chasing Mavericks) and Ginny Gardner.

Movies coming out in March will be posted at the end of February.

Enjoy!

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