Written by Mitch Cyrus

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So it’s time for a break from movie reviews and take a look ahead for what’s new to the theaters, rather than continually looking forward to Sunday’s Oscar presentation.  And since we are now into March, we have a HUGE movie coming out today.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are teaming up for the 1,225^th time in “Alice in Wonderland”, a film that will finally put an end to the dominance of “Avatar” at the box office.  Also out this week is “Brooklyn’s Finest”, another corrupt cop film from the director of “Training Day”.

For DVDs, we have two Oscar nominated films coming out, “Up in the Air” and “Precious”, as well as the comedy “Old Dogs”, the animated “Planet 51”, Roger Moore’s latest controversial documentary “Capitalism: A Love Story”, and the action drama/cult sequel “Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day”.

In the latest news, we have stories about an HBO series coming to the big screen (and no, it’s not “The Sopranos”), tales of not one, but TWO movies coming out titled “Excalibur”, a Marco Polo fantasy, word on the next Wolverine movie, and news of the upcoming fifth season of Dexter.

News and Rumors

~ Out of all of the excellent HBO series that have come out, it’s surprising that none have been adapted for the Big Screen, but that is about to change, and it’s a rather unexpected one.  “Rome” is to be made into a feature film, and will focus on Pullo and Vorenus in Germany four years after the conclusion of the series’ two year run.  As fans of the series know, this is interesting news as it appeared as if Vorenus died at the end of the series.  I guess not.

~ Bryan Singer has been attached to a project to remake John Boorman’s classic Arthurian tale “Excalibur”.  Interesting enough, but Singer has two other films on his plate first; X-Men: First Generation and a big screen adaptation of “Battlestar Gallactica” (one based more on the original 1970s series than the SciFi Channel’s excellent series).  Soooo, what do we have coming but another “Excalibur” movie, this one based on the Warren Ellis novel, and the man who wants to direct it is Guy Ritchie.

~ Dexter news!  From the producers, we’re hearing that there will be no time jump in the series, and Dexter will have to deal with the ramifications of the final episode.  So as not to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t yet seen the end of the series, that’s all I’ll say.  For those who already know what happened, and want to learn more, go here for the entire story.

~ Look for a Marco Polo movie coming out at some point.  Warner Brothers plan on creating a fantasy movie about the famous world traveler.  No additional details at this point.

Stupid Remakes and Sequels

~ A sequel to “Wolverine” is going to be made.  I should be at least half-way happy with the fact that they are filming it in Japan, as that indicates that they’ll follow a very popular 1982 storyline for Logan penned by comic writer extraordinaire Frank Miller.  But then again, the movie studios have screwed everything up about the X-Men for years now.

~ A Smurfs movie, some of the voices behind will be Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Winters, Alan Cummings, George Lopez and singer Katy Perry.

~ New Line Cinema plans to reboot the Police Academy franchise.  Words escape me.

This week's new movie releases: 

Alice in Wonderland

Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter

Plot:  19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: The early buzz on this isn’t great…it’s being called visually stunning but boring.  No matter, it’s still going to make a ton of money, like most other Burton/Depp collaborations.

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Brooklyn’s Finest

Starring: Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere

Plot: In Brooklyn, New York, three veteran cops struggling with their own personal and professional dilemmas dispatched to a notorious housing project, where they will each collide with destiny.

View Trailer

The BeerBuzz: Not a good sign, this movie has been sitting on the shelf for over a year after being screened at Sundance in 2008.  Supposedly they reshot the ending after negative reaction at Sundance, but this doesn’t really bode well for this film.

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March 9^th DVD Releases:

Up in the Air – Just three days ago I re-ran the review of this film, so no need to beat on this one again.

Precious – Another Oscar nominee, one that will more than likely end up with a win for Mo’Nique for Best Supporting Actress.  An OK movie to watch, but one of those where you feel “obligated” to care, but really don’t.

Old Dogs – Once upon a time, Robin Williams won an Oscar, and was considered an actual actor rather than an old comedian trying to act.  After this awful film, we’re back to thinking the latter.

Planet 51 – One of the few animated films from last year that bombed…deservedly so.  Rent it for the kids if you must, but try to find something else to do while they are watching it.

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day  – Long anticipated sequel to the cult classic.  Simply put; if you liked the first one, rent this…if not, stay away.

Calendar Watch  

Next Week Green Zone, Remember Me, Our Family Wedding, She’s Out of My League

Upcoming Biggies (click on the hyperlink to view the available trailers).

Repo Men – March 19 – Jude Law and Forest Whitaker as men specializing in repossessing human organs from people who can’t make their payments..until Law’s character becomes the hunted.

Clash of the Titans – March 26 – Re-imaging of the campy Harry Hamlin sword-and-sandals film from the 80s.  The trailer looks intriguing, at least

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps – April 23 – Oliver Stone brings Michael Douglass back as Gordon Gecko, teaming him with Shia LaBeouf in a film that looks to be quite different in tone than the last one.

Nightmare on Elm Street – April 30 – Jack Earle Haley (“Watchmen”) takes over the Freddy Krueger role.

Iron Man 2 – May 7 – Downey Jr. is back, this time dealing with Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) and Black Widow (Scarlet Johannson).

Robin Hood – May 14 – Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe in what is supposed to be a more “historic” account of the legendary hero.

Shrek Forever After – May 21 – 3D entry into the series that is seemingly the only way Michael Myers or Eddie Murphy can make any money

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – May 28 – Might this finally be the first video game that translates to a huge hit at the box office?  Depends on whether or not you can buy Jake Gyllenhaal as an action hero.  Why not?  It worked for Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon, and Robert Downey Jr.

The A-Team – June 11 – Based on the campy TV series…but the makers of this film are trying to sell it more as an action film with no camp.  With Liam Neeson playing Hannibal Smith as their leader, they may have a chance.

Toy Story 3D – June 18 -  It looks like a big year for 3D films in 2010.  In this one, Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the toys are dumped into a day care after Andy grows up and goes to college.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – July 2 – More Wussy Vampires!  I can’t wait! (sorry…sarcasmectomy isn’t scheduled for a few months yet).

Inception – July 16 – Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page in a Christopher Nolan sci-fi mind bender that looks to be in the mode of “Momento”

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – July 16 – Live action remake of the Disney classic short, starring Nicolas Cage.

Salt – July 18 – Angelina Jolie as a CIA operative accused of being a Russian spy.