Several new films hit theaters as spring begins

Michael Lyday
Editor-in-Chief

This March and April as flowers bloom attracting waves of bees and birds, movie theaters across America will look to do the same with the opening of many long-awaited blockbusters.

The first is the stylized action film 300: Rise of an Empire.  Opening March 7, it is the sequel to 2006’s popular film 300. The story picks up with the Greek general Themistokles leading his army against the Persian onslaught faced by Leonidas in the previous film.

Also opening March 7 is the family-friendly animated film Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Directed by Rob Minkoff, the director of The Lion King, the movie follows the adventures of the super-smart talking dog Mr. Peabody and his adopted son Sherman as they journey through time.

Another family film opening soon is Muppets Most Wanted, which arrives in theaters March 21. This second movie in the new rebooting of the Muppets series hopes to be as successful as the first, with rumors of a third installment to follow in the next couple of years.

With the popularity of franchises such as the Hunger Games rising, a new bestselling young adult novel will hit the big screen with Divergent, also being released on March 21. The movie takes place in a dystopian future where people are divided into groups based on their traits. The plot centers on Beatrice “Tris” Prior as she tries to break away from this society.

 

Another film adaptation coming to theaters is Need for Speed, based on the popular video game series of the same name. The movie stars Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul as a street racer who competes in a cross country race with bounty hunters on his trail. The film will be released on March 14.

Kicking off the month of April is the first superhero movie of the year. April 4 will see the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, another chapter in the Marvel universe. The film shows Captain America in his transition from World War II super soldier to being unfrozen in the modern day, where he battles an old Soviet agent known as the “Winter Soldier”.

If nature seems more appealing than action, April also sees the opening of two nature documentaries. Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, narrated by Morgan Freeman, opens on April 4. Bears, a look at the lives of a group of Alaskan bears in the wild, comes out April 18.

This spring sees the opening of the first blockbusters of the year and of many family-friendly comedies, sure to attract many eager moviegoers.