January and February were fairly low on movies I was interested in, though if you haven’t seen Hidden Figures or Rogue One and they’re still playing near you, get thee to a theater. (Or wait for the DVD.) Both were solid movies. But now, on to the months ahead and March is looking good.
Beauty and the Beast – March 17
I’m not a Disney fanatic, but I shared a womb with one so there’s no doubt I’m going to see this movie. Beauty and the Beast is actually one of my favorites out of the older Disney movies and so far the remake looks delightful. Mostly. I adore the casting of Emma Watson as Belle and Luke Evans as Gaston, but what they did to Lumiere, Cogsworth, the Potts, and the other enchanted servants is absolutely dreadful. The teapot with human eyes is the stuff of nightmares. Aside from cringing every time one of those characters is onscreen, it does look like an enjoyable movie and it looks like they’re keeping a lot of the musical numbers that make Beauty and the Beast a classic.
I am interested in seeing if they update the story any to give Belle more agency or if they add anything to the storyline. We shall see!
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – March 24
This looks like a fun fantasy romp. The Arthurian legends have been done to death (except for the Green Knight which I live and breathe, especially in queer retellings) but this take seems to add new spice to an old story. It’s hard to tell just from the trailer but there are hints that they’ve given it a bit of self-aware humor similar to A Knight’s Tale. I expect there to be magic and sword fights and witty dialogue and it doesn’t seem like this movie will disappoint in those factors.