Atlantic Ave March 2017 Edition

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entertainment ║ gotta see
By skip sheffield
Gotta See
Emma Watson
“Beauty AND
THE BEAST”
March 3
Last call for Hugh Jackman as Wolverine!
Jackman swears “Logan” will be his
last stint as the mutton-chopped superhero
with blades in his fingers. Patrick
Stewart is back as Charles Xavier, aka
Professor X. Boyd Holbrook plays the
new bad guy. James Mangold is back as
director, perhaps for the last time.
Does God live in “The Shack?” Sam
Worthington stars as Mack Phillips,
who falls into a deep depression after
the abduction and presumed murder of
his daughter Missy. Mack gets a mysterious
note directing him to an abandoned
shack deep in the Oregon wilderness.
There he meets a trio of strangers led by
a woman who calls herself Papa (Octavia
Spencer). Radha Mitchell and Alice
Braga co-star. The script is based on
William Paul Young’s novel.
“Before I Fall” is one of those teenage
high school girlfriend films starring
Zoey Deutch as Samantha Kingston, who
seems to have everything going for her
until everything crashes. Supporting
cast includes Jennifer Beals, Halston
Young, Logan Miller and Kian Lawley. Ry
Russo-Young (“Nobody Walks”) directs
a script based on Lauren Oliver’s novel.
We haven’t seen Shirley MacLaine in
a lead role in quite a while. She has one
in “The Last Word,” where she plays a
retired businesswoman who wants to
control everything in her life, including
her obituary. Amanda Seyfried plays
a young writer at a local paper who
tries to get to the unvarnished truth of
Shirley’s character. Anne Heche, Philip
Baker Hall, Thomas Sadowski and Tom
Everett co-star. Mark Pellington (“I Melt
With You”) directs.
“Table 19” is in simple terms Siberia.
That’s where Eloise (Anna Kendrick)
is assigned after being dumped as the
Best Maid of her oldest, best friend. Eloise
was supposed to be Maid of Honor
at the wedding, but she is stuck with a
bunch of losers at the dreaded table 19.
However Eloise learns some valuable
lessons. Jeffry Blitz (“Rocket Science”)
directs a script by Jay and Mark Duplass
(“Transparent”).
March 10
It seems the fascination with the giant
ape never ends. “Kong: Skull Island” is
the latest incarnation of the giant simian
that began in 1933. Once again blundering
humans blunder into the territory of
the might Kong in the far Pacific (actually
Hawaii). Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson,
John Goodman and Jason Mitchell star.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts (“The Kings
of Summer”) directs. If that’s
not enough Kong for you,
we are told “Godzilla versus
Kong” is scheduled
for 2020.
March 17
Another perennial is
“Beauty and the Beast.”
Walt Disney presents a
live action version of its
1991 animated hit, with
Emma Watson as Belle,
the Beauty and Dan Stevens
as the Beast who
is really an enchanted
Prince. Emma Thompson
is Mrs. Potts, Kevin Kline
is Maurice, and Josh Gad is Le Fou. Bill
Conlon (“Mr. Holmes”) directs.
March 24
Two words: Power Rangers. For 20
years the animated Power Rangers
brand has been generating television
and ancillary profits for its creators.
Now we have “Power Rangers: The
Movie,” a live action movie about five
High School kids who try to save their
town of Angel Grove - and the world -
from alien attack. Elizabeth Banks stars
as Rita Repulsa, head alien bad girl.
Weta Workshop is in charge of costume
design. This is just the beginning if this
movie is a success.
Saddle up Ponch, let’s ride. “Chips” is
based on the popular TV show that ran
from 1977 to 1983. The movie version
stars Dax Shepard, who also directs, as
seasoned biker Jon Baker. Michael Pena
is his new California Highway Patrol
recruit, Frank “Ponch” Poncherella. Vincent
D’Onofrio plays the bad guy who
steals exotic cars. Adam Brody, Rose
Salazar and Kristen Bell are also cast.
“Life” is a rather vague title, but in
this case it is a science fiction yarn about
a six-member International Space Station
crew that finds the first evidence of
extraterrestrial life on the planet Mars.
The space cadets include Ryan Reynolds,
Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson,
Olga Dihovichnaya, Anyon Blake and Hiroyuki
Sanada. Daniel Espinoza (“Easy
Money”) directs.
March 31
“The Boss Baby” is not about the
President of the USA. This animated film
is about a baby boy who takes over the
life of his older brother Tim, voiced by
Alec Baldwin. The older Tim is voiced
by Patton Oswalt. Other voices are provided
by Steve Buscemi, Lisa Kudrow,
Jimmy Kimmel and Viviann Yee. Tom
McGrath (“Megamind”) directs.
“Ghost in the Shell” is based on a
1989 Japanese comic book by Masamune
Shirow, which may be all you need
to know, except that Scarlett Johansson
stars in it. Other characters are played
by Juliette Binoche, Pilou Asbaek, Michael
Pitt, Takeshi Kitano and Kaori Momoi.
Rupert Sanders (“Snow White and
the Huntsman”) directs.