The past year of restriction and confinement has taken a huge toll on the entertainment industry. Theaters for both stage and cinema are shuttering left and right, Broadway is much too quiet, and awards shows (like last Sunday’s Golden Globes) have gone virtual.
Life without entertainment is bland. It’s a huge bummer that we just can’t go places to be entertained lately. Instead, we’ve had to settle for streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, and others which are becoming so ubiquitous.
But this spring, like buds on the tree of entertainment, it seems as though movies are beginning to pop up.
We need movies, and movies definitely need us. In this section, I’ve listed five of the movies coming out this March that seem fit to, at the very least, add a little bit of life to an industry that needs rejuvenation so desperately.
Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney+)
Disney’s newest animated film is Raya and the Last Dragon, a gorgeous-looking and colorful story set in the land of Kumandra, an analogue for Southeast Asia. Raya is made up of an all-star cast of Asian-American voice actors, including Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, Daniel Dae Kim, and Kelly Marie Tran in the title role.
Coming 2 America (Amazon Prime)
Also being released March 5 (this Friday!) is the long-(long-long-)awaited sequel to the 1988 fish-out-of-water comedy Coming to America titled Coming 2 America. Over three decades after Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) came for the first time to America and its theaters, Murphy has reunited with Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, and more. This time around, he must return to the USA after his father (Jones) reveals that Akeem has a long-lost son from his previous adventure in the States.
Yes Day (Netflix)
While I’ll be the first to admit that I find Jennifer Garner pretty obnoxious, when I saw the trailer for Yes Day I saw nothing but a colorful and creative family film. Based on a children’s book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld, Yes Day follows a bet made between two parents and their three kids: essentially, Mom and Dad have to say yes to everything the kids ask. Garner notwithstanding, Yes Day seems like a wonderful way to spend an hour or two with any kids that need entertainment. After all, what better concept for a family film than for the kids to live out a vicarious dream?
Nobody (Universal Pictures)
Definitely not a family film, Nobody is an upcoming action movie starring the Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk (who’s no stranger to getting beaten up on camera) as a man who is forced to reevaluate his life after not putting up a fight when a pair of robbers threaten his family. Feeling like an ineffective man, Odenkirk’s character Hutch decides to take on a more interventionalist persona, which leads him down a rabbit hole of significant danger. Also starring Wu-Tang Clan rapper RZA and Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd, Nobody promises to be a thrilling and (knowing Odenkirk and the work he takes on) clever film.
Godzilla vs. Kong (HBO Max)
Finally, at the end of the month we will have the answer to one of the most profoundly important and consequential questions of the past century: Who would win, Godzilla or King Kong? The long-hyped and monster-packed kaiju film will be the 36th Godzilla movie and the 12th King Kong movie. It’s been a very long and unpredictable year, and that has largely not been a fun experience. However, one prediction that will no doubt bring joy to many is guessing whether a giant nuclear lizard or a sentient building-sized ape will come out the victor. Personally? My money is on the monkey.
IMAGE TAKEN from Cinema Express
IMAGE TAKEN from USA Today
IMAGE TAKEN from Today
IMAGE TAKEN from Martial Arts Action Cinema
IIMAGE TAKEN from USA Today
