5 OMG Movies Coming Out in February & March

Rebellious Rabbits, Troubled Teens and Pesky Poltergeists: Here's a Sampling of What to Watch!

So it’s officially two days into February! Spring is still over a month away, but thankfully there are plenty of marvelous movies coming out to keep the winter chill at bay. These five films are set to hit theatres sometime this month or in March, so tick off the dates on your calendar, get your best candy and snack smuggling bag ready, and get ready for your next trip to the cinema. You do not want to miss this!

1. Peter Rabbit

Premiers: February 9th

The cheeky rabbit from Beatrix Potter's beloved children's books is the next cute and cuddly critter to hit the big screen. Following in the wake of marmalade loving teddy bear Paddington and aspiring rockstar Easter Bunny in training E.B. from Hop, of CGI characters in a non-CGI universe this floppy eared fluffball Peter Rabbit is ready to stir up some mischief and laughter. It’s the kind of heartwarming and feel-good-movie that’s a cozy escape from the bleak reality of day to day politics and the harsh and bitter cold winter.

This rascally rabbit voiced by James Corden has it out for grumpy farmer Mr. McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) and the two embark on a slapstick feud that if judging by the clips shown is trailers, it going to be both hilarious and painfully adorable. Who else is set to star as one of the many carrot chomping troublemakers? Sia, Margot Robbie and Daisy Ridley!

2. Winchester

Premiers: February 1st

In my first article of the new year I gushed about the media I was most looking forward to in 2018, and this film based on a true story about a heiress stalked by spirits had top billing. Plagued by ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles, Sarah Winchester moves across the country from New England all the way to California. Settling on the West Coast isn’t enough to banish the unhappy haunts and Sarah discovers one of the only ways to truly keep them at bay and protect her family and her very soul, is to constant keep up construction on her house.

The Winchester Mystery Home is an oddity that’s been featured on “Most Haunted” countdowns and is a bucket list visit for paranormal fans out there, so to see it finally featured in a film of its very own is freaking awesome! The mad mansion, a maze of corridors, secret seance rooms, stairs to nowhere and doors that open onto walls is as much of a character as the people who reside in it and is both unnerving and an impressive feat. Dame Helen Mirren has an emotional gravity to her performances that is sure to really make her turn as Sarah memorable.  

3. Love, Simon

Premiers: March 16th

Every year we can count on at least half a dozen sugary sweet boy-meets-girl coming of age films. It’s momentous that we finally finally finally have a movie that dares to challenge that heteronormative trend and flip the script. Hello, Love Simon! Based off the young adult book with the significantly wordier title Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Love, Simon follows a high school teen Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) who’s crushing on one of the guys in his class and grappling with coming out.

But here’s the rub. Simon doesn’t know the identity of said guy-- the two exclusively chat online! Unsure of how he wants to proceed forward with announcing he’s gay, Simon confesses in the trailer that he feels as though he’s on a ferris wheel, constantly being whirled up high and dropped down low. The story seems like it’s going to be revolving around romance, and it’s about time that gay teens can experience all the feels their hetero peers do.

I’m not one to underestimate the historic value of this movie and while as a bisexual woman I appreciate it with all my heart I can’t help by keep holding out for a film with a gay lead that isn’t just a narrative about coming out. But for now, Simon is a promising start of more LGBTQ feature films to come!  

4. Lean on Pete

Premiers: March 30th

The human-animal connection is something that is just so inspiring and touching and a welcome diversion from the bulk of contemporary dramas. In this film Charley a troubled and homeless teen seeks refuge in a race track. While there he strikes up a friendship with a failing race horse .

Tending to the horse, Lean on Pete, begins to heal and inspire Charley but when the horse’s life is on the line, Charley risks everything and flees with Pete to trek through all of Oregon in search of a distant relative in Wyoming. If the cinematography and bite sized action and drama sequences in the trailers are anything to judge the movie by, this one is going to be a raw and gritty tear jerker.

There’s something very poetic about the boy and his horse bond, and the resolve and determination Charley armors himself in. Newcomer Charlie Plummer has a strength and resiliency about him that is bold and totally arresting in the small teaser clips, it promises to be a must-see performance. Something so appealing about this movie is that we’re not dished out the entire plot in the trailers.

Instead we’re parceled out some small moments that hint at what’s to come, and leave us with more questions than answers. Where ARE Charley’s parents? Where is he roaming across dusty stretches of parched Oregon land to? Where was he BEFORE he crashed in the race horse track? Me, invested? Already? Why yes. Yes I am.  

5. Isle of Dogs

Premiers: March 23rd

Wes Anderson’s movies are so bizarre and quirky they may of well spawned an entire genre of their own: offbeat coming of age? Black comedies and fractured families? Brutally honest depictions of mental health? Unlikely friends? Yes, yes and more yes.

It’s practically impossible to label Wes’s films as one thing or another.  This time the eccentric director picks up puppetry (which he first dabbled in to bring us The Fantastic Mr. Fox) again as a storytelling vehicle. The story takes place in near future Japan where dog flu is ripping through the cities and jeopardizing everyone, and in an effort to stem the spread of illness the lawmakers banish the canines to an spit of land choked by garbage and debris and far removed from civilization: trash island.

When a young boy named Atari’s precious pooch Spots is taken from him and dumped on the island, the wily boy steals a small airplane and pilots it into the Isle of Dogs. Atari meets a rag tag group of shaggy mutts who accompany him as he searches high and low for Spots.

The puppetry animation and wildly fantastical storyline makes Isle of Dogs both look and feel like nothing else out there, because that’s what it is! A truly one-of-a-kind movie that’s sure to tug at our heartstrings, tickle our funny bone and get our minds questioning and thinking long after the last credits roll. As Andersonian tradition dictates Wes gathers up his favourite actors for the hundred millionth time in a row, think: Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton.

This time though in the lead role half-Japanese newcomer Koyu Rankin voices Atari. Much like in the Disney films Moana and Coco it’s terrific that a young and relatively unknown actor of colour is given the opportunity to voice a character of his background! Because let’s be real Asians are still the most underrepresented minority in film and tv.

All images from IMDB