PETALING JAYA: Whatever happens in the world, one thing never seems to slow down – entertainment.
Everyone’s already in the third month of the year, which means a fresh slate of movies is heading to cinemas.
From novel adaptations to a Pixar animation, here are eight films you may want to set reminders for.
1. ‘The Bride’ (March 5)
Maggie Gyllenhaal makes a return as director, following “The Lost Daughter”.
Inspired by the 1935 classic “Bride of Frankenstein”, “The Bride” is a Gothic horror-romance set in 1930s Chicago.
Christian Bale stars as a lonely Frankenstein’s monster who enlists Dr Euphronius (Annette Bening) to create a companion. They revive a murdered young woman (Jessie Buckley) as “The Bride,” sparking romance, police attention, and a radical social movement.
Filmed for IMAX, the movie features large-scale song-and-dance numbers and also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Penélope Cruz.
2. ‘Hoppers’ (March 5)
The first Pixar animation of the year, “Hoppers” follows 19-year-old animal lover Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda), who uses experimental technology to “hop” her consciousness into a lifelike robotic beaver.
Her mission: communicate with animals and save their habitat from a greedy real estate developer.
The ensemble cast features Jon Hamm as the scheming local mayor, Meryl Streep as The Insect Queen (a butterfly), and Dave Franco as her mate, along with other voices bringing the “Animal Council” to life.
3. ‘Reminders of Him’ (March 12)
After the 2024 film “It Ends With Us” starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, another of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novels is heading to the big screen.
“Reminders of Him”, directed by Vanessa Caswill, follows a young mother (Maika Monroe) returning home after a five-year prison sentence.
Determined to reunite with her four-year-old daughter, she faces rejection from the community and her late boyfriend’s grieving parents.
Her only hope lies with Ledger Ward (Tyriq Withers), one of the few people still connected to her child, who gradually comes to see Kenna’s sincerity as she fights for forgiveness and a place in her daughter’s life.
4. ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ (March 19)
One of last year’s highest-grossing Indian films, “Dhurandar” is a Hindi-language spy action thriller directed by Aditya Dhar and the first instalment of a planned duology.
The story follows an Indian intelligence agent who infiltrates Karachi’s criminal syndicates and political networks to dismantle a terror organisation, drawing inspiration from real-life events such as the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The star-studded cast includes Ranveer Singh as the lead agent, along with Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sara Arjun.
After the feared Rehman Dakait (Akshaye Khanna) is killed by the agent, part 2 picks up with Singh replacing Dakait and assuming control of Karachi’s criminal underworld.
5. ‘Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups’ (March 19)
Directed by Geetu Mohandas, this film marks Kannada actor Yash’s return to the big screen four years after the massive success of ‘K.G.F: Chapter 2’.
Set in Goa between the 1940s and 1970s, “Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups” centres on a ruthless gangster building a criminal empire during the decline of Portuguese colonial rule.
Yash reportedly plays a dual role, with Tovino Thomas as the antagonist. The ensemble cast also includes high-profile female leads Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria, and Rukmini Vasanth.
Following a teaser that generated over 200 million views in its first 24 hours, anticipation for the film is sky-high.
6. ‘GOAT’ (March 19)
Set in an all-animal world, “GOAT” is an animated sports comedy following Will Harris, a small goat with big dreams.
Harris, voiced by “Stranger Things” Caleb McLaughlin, gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to join the pros and play Roarball, a sport dominated by the fastest and fiercest animals around.
Will must prove to his sceptical teammates that “smalls can ball,” navigating treacherous courts filled with obstacles like lava and ice.
The film features an all-star voice cast, including Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre, and NBA legend Stephen Curry, who also serves as a producer.
7. ‘Project Hail Mary’ (March 26)
Based on Andy Weir’s 2021 best-selling novel and from the author of “The Martian”, “Project Hail Mary” stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, a middle-school science teacher who wakes up on a spacecraft with no memory of his identity or mission.
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Grace must rely on his scientific knowledge and fragmented memories to save Earth from a catastrophic solar dimming caused by a star-eating microbe called Astrophage.
8. ‘They Will Kill You’ (March 26)
No movie roundup is complete without a dose of screams and gore. Directed by Kirill Sokolov, this horror-comedy follows a woman (Zazie Beetz) who answers a cryptic help-wanted ad for a live-in housekeeper at The Virgil, a luxurious high-rise in New York City.
What begins as a routine job quickly turns into a battle for survival when she discovers the building is plagued by decades of mysterious disappearances, and that she’s the next intended sacrifice of a demonic cult.
