By Gary Dowell
Jack the Giant-Slayer: A re-telling of the classic fairy tale starring Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies) in the titular role, this has been a long-time passion project for director Bryan Singer. The trailers promise action and CGI effects galore, and the presence of screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (Singer’s career-making The Usual Suspects) may make it something more than another Snow White and the Huntsman. Release Date: March 1
The Last Exorcism Part 2: It’s the last-est one yet! This obligatory sequel to the 2010 sleeper hit ditches the pseudo-documentary aesthetic and boasts Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, the Hostel films) as its executive producer. Still, PG-13 horror flicks tend to be a mixed bag at best. Release Date: March 1
Oz the Great and Powerful 3D: Sam Raimi helms this prequel to L. Frank Baum’s original novels, starring James Franco as a small-time circus magician of questionable character who winds up in the magical land of Oz, where he finds himself entangled with three witches (Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, and Rachel Weisz). So far it looks sumptuous, exciting, and original — the exact opposite of the similar Alice in Wonderland 3D. Release Date: March 8
Dead Man Down: It’s Colin Farrell versus Terence Howard in this crime drama about a crime lord’s henchman who turns on his boss after seduced by the daughter (the original Girl With a Dragon Tattoo‘s Noomi Rapace) of a slain rival. Directed by Dragon Tattoo director Niels Arden Oplev, the premise sounds cliched but the pieces are in place for some good B-grade pulp. Release Date: March 8
The Call: Halle Berry stars as a 911 operator in a race against time and confront a killer from her own past in order to save a kidnapped teen (Abigail Breslin). Directed by Brad Anderson, who made serious waves with the haunting The Machinist, plans to dump this thriller in limited release were changed when test-screening scores came back higher than anticipated. Release Date: March 15
Olympus Has Fallen: It’s tough being the POTUS these days, but it could be worse: action director Antoine Fuqua’s new thriller has the Prez (Aaron Eckhardt) taken hostage by a North Korean (Rick Yune) out to ignite a war. Enter 300‘s Gerard Butler as a Secret Service agent to the rescue. One of two competing prez-in-peril movies this year (the other being White House Down by Roland Emmerich), it promises to be even bloodier than last year’s elections. Release Date: March 22
The Croods: An animated road trip movie about the first road trip ever when a family of cave dwellers are forced to relocate. From Chris Sanders, the director of How to Train Your Dragon, the premise hooked our curiosity, and the cast — Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Emma Stone, and Cloris Leachman — reeled us in. Release Date: March 22
G.I. Joe: Retaliation: Considering how suck-tastic the first movie was, there’s nowhere for this franchise to go but up. However, swapping out Channing Tatum for the Rock and Bruce Willis, pushing back the release date by nine months in order to re-shoot and convert to 3-D, and some cheesy trailer footage suggests the real retaliation may be at the box office. Release Date: March 29