March 2002
Usually when they start to kick in.

   Yes, these used to be on two separate pages, but I'm only doing one month here (because release date changes tend to play havoc with these lists anyway) so it should fit, and I look way too forward to the "Avoid" page anyway.  I've changed the format a little bit to adapt to that.
    A reminder: all release dates are subject to change.  Information listed has been compiled from UpcomingMovies.com and I take no responsibility for its accuracy.  Movies to See and Movies to Avoid the Shit Out Of are opinions of mine based on the information I have available to me.

    I predicted February would be a cesspool, and it pretty much was.  March looks likely to turn out better... but let's see, shall we?  I actually came out even here - seven to see, seven not to.  Read on.

The Film: 40 Days and 40 Nights (view trailer)
The Date: March 1
The Rating: R
The Plot: After breaking up with his girlfriend, a man swears off sex of any kind for Lent.  He struggles to make it as his ex tests him, his friends set up a pool on when he'll crack and he meets a new girl he really likes.
Important Cast Members: Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon, Paolo Costanzo, Vinessa Shaw.
Directed By: Michael Lehmann (Airheads, The Truth about Cats and Dogs).
See or Avoid?: See.
Why?: The trailer looks funny, and if nothing else it'll be interesting to see how they handle the material.  Expect plenty of nudity, if you're that kind of a dirtball.

The Film: We Were Soldiers (view trailer)
The Date: March 1
The Rating: R
The Plot: Focuses on a U.S. battalion that finds itself outnumbered by Vietnamese troops in the Ia Drang Valley, leading to what would become the first major battle of the Vietnam War.
Important Cast Members: Mel Gibson, Sam Elliott, Greg Kinnear, Chris Klein, Madeleine Stowe, Barry Pepper.
Directed By: Randall Wallace (The Man in the Iron Mask).
See or Avoid?: See.
Why?: You'll rarely ever see me not recommend a war movie.  I'm a little tentative on this one, though (check out the oft-corny trailer and you'll see why - I'm sorry, but "Daddy, what's a war?").   Some say it might look like Braveheart in Vietnam (due mostly to the dual re-involvement of Gibson and Wallace), but it probably won't be as good as that - face it, there has to be some reason it's being released on March 1.

The Film: All About the Benjamins (view trailer)
The Date: March 8
The Rating: R
The Plot: A bounty hunter tracks a bail jumper to a warehouse being used for a diamond heist, unbeknownst to them.  The two decide to team up to foil the diamond thieves.
Important Cast Members: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, quack quack.  Oh, and Anthony Michael Hall is in it.
Directed By: Kevin Bray (debut; he's directed music videos for N'Sync and so forth).
See or Avoid?: Avoid.
Why?: Come on... Ice Cube?  Look, this is going to sound really bad, but the fact is that most "black movies" aren't all that good.  Why that is, I don't know.  Maybe studios, in a semi-racist move, don't want to get behind black projects and so a lot of them have to be shot on the cheap.  Maybe it's just that black productions don't have much talent behind them (I'm not saying it is this, before I'm hung by my thumbs).  Maybe it's just that not being black, I don't get them, although I can think of plenty of black people who find so-called black movies largely terrible (think Aaron McGruder).  But at any rate, they're usually not that good.  And even on more mainstream films, seeing "starring Ice Cube" is enough of a warning (think Anaconda or Ghosts of Mars).

The Film: The Time Machine (view trailer)
The Date: March 8
The Rating: PG-13
The Plot: Well, duh, although I don't think the movie will be a dead ringer for Wells' original story.
Important Cast Members: Guy Pearce, Mark Addy, Jeremy Irons, Samantha Mumba, Orlando Jones.
Directed By: Simon Wells (great-grandson of H.G., making his live-action debut); Gore Verbinski (The Mexican).
See or Avoid?: See.
Why?: I was really amped for this originally, and have gotten a little less so since seeing the full trailer - some of those effects look really bad, and the level of change from the novel appears huge.  Still, it is Guy Pearce, and I'm pretty curious to see how they do it.

The Film: Ice Age (view trailer)
The Date: March 15
The Rating: PG
The Plot: A group of prehistoric animals must reunite a human infant with its parents during the last Ice Age.
Important Cast Members: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Jane Krakowski, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic (voices).
Directed By: Chris Wedge (feature debut).
See or Avoid?: See.
Why?: It's also hard to recommend against animated films, unless they really do look terrible (think Hercules).  This one doesn't.  The trailer's not bad, and it doesn't show you all of the movie like so many trailers are apt to these days.

The Film: Resident Evil (view trailer)
The Date: March 15
The Rating: R
The Plot: A military unit must battle an out-of-control supercomputer and now-undead research scientists at a deserted laboratory.
Important Cast Members: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez.
Directed By: Paul Anderson (Event Horizon, Mortal Kombat).
See or Avoid?: Avoid.
Why?: Well, you tell me: are video game adaptations ever any good?   This one actually seems truer to its game's original premise than most, but that doesn't really mean anything.  And it's only for you if you like really intense shit anyway.

The Film: Showtime (view trailer)
The Date: March 15
The Rating: PG-13
The Plot: A no-nonsense detective is paired with a flamboyant rookie as part of a new police reality show.
Important Cast Members: Robert DeNiro, Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo, William Shatner.
Directed By: Tom Dey (Shanghai Noon).
See or Avoid?: Avoid.
Why?: Maybe it's Bowfinger syndrome all over again, but this trailer is just painful.  The movie is allegedly a spoof, which might partially explain it - but it really doesn't look funny, and getting DeNiro to do comedy just isn't the coup it once was.

The Film: Blade 2 (view trailer)
The Date: March 22
The Rating: R
The Plot: Blade must form an unlikely alliance with a group of vampires to stop the spread of a virus that turns humans and vampires alike into mutant vampires who can suck blood through the palms of their hands.
Important Cast Members: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Tcheky Karyo, Ron Perlman.
Directed By: Guillermo del Toro (Mimic).
See or Avoid?: Avoid.
Why?: It doesn't really matter what I say - fans of the first film will see it, while those who weren't probably won't.  Again, kind of a ludicrous premise - but as RDR pointed out, who's expecting a movie about vampires to be realistic?

The Film: E.T. - 20th Anniversary Re-Release
The Date: March 22
The Rating: PG
The Plot: Y'know.
Important Cast Members: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Debra Winger (voice).
Directed By: Steven Spielberg (A Burns for All Seasons - oh, no, that was his non-union Mexican equivalent).
See or Avoid?: Avoid.
Why?: "Avoid??? It's E.T.!  What the hell's wrong with you?"  Well, for one thing, I think Special Editions like this are a waste of time.  Fixing up the special effects is one thing - but stop ADDING SCENES and stop REMOVING SCENES and stop DIGITALLY CHANGING THE POLICEMEN'S GUNS TO FLASHLIGHTS.  You can rent E.T. for three bucks - why pay eight to see the movie as it wasn't even originally intended to be seen?  Deleted scenes are for DVD extras, not re-insertion into theatrical releases.  That's not why I'm watching!

The Film: Sorority Boys (view trailer)
The Date: March 22
The Rating: R
The Plot: After getting kicked out of their frat house, three guys dress in drag and join Delta Omicron Gamma, sorority house of the unattractive.  Delta Omicron Gamma is abbreviated DOG.  Get it?  Oh!  My sides!
Important Cast Members: Barry Watson, Harland Williams, Michael Rosenbaum, Heather Matarazzo.
Directed By: Wally Wolodarsky (Coldblooded, also a former Simpsons writer).
See or Avoid?: Dear God, avoid.
Why?: It's one of those movies.  You know, the ones that suck.   And seriously, the fact that a sequel is apparently already being planned cannot possibly be good.

The Film: Clockstoppers (view trailer)
The Date: March 29
The Rating: PG
The Plot: A scientist invents a way to speed up a person's molecules so it seems to them like time is standing still.  When his son gets hold of the device, his devious superior tries to get it back.
Important Cast Members: Jesse Bradford, Michael Biehn, French Stewart, Paula Garces, Robin Thomas.
Directed By: Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: Insurrection).
See or Avoid?: See.
Why?: I like the trailer, and I'm a fan of the concept in general - manipulations of time and stuff like that tend to appeal to me.  Of course, it's aimed largely at kids (think 13-14, maybe), so there may be some of the traditional believe-in-yourself sap, but if it doesn't go off the deep end there it should be pretty cool.

The Film: Death to Smoochy (view trailer)
The Date: March 29
The Rating: R
The Plot: After being fired over a bribery scandal, a former TV kids' show host flips out and declares revenge on his replacement.
Important Cast Members: Edward Norton, Robin Williams, Danny DeVito, Catherine Keener, Jon Stewart.
Directed By: Danny DeVito (Matilda, Hoffa).
See or Avoid?: See.
Why?: This sounded like the thing when it was first announced.   Having seen the trailer, it's definitely an offbeat sort of humor (if indeed it's that humorous at all).  But I really like Ed Norton, and having heard the buzz I'm willing to take the shot that it's just not one of those trailers that does an exquisite job of promoting its film.

The Film: Panic Room (view trailer)
The Date: March 29
The Rating: R
The Plot: There's nothing that annoys me more as a plot device than "foolproof thing fails to work."  In this case, the panic room is a place to hide from burglars, yet somehow when the burglars show up the panic room starts fucking up and stuff like that.  *dismisses premise with a wanking motion*
Important Cast Members: Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam, Kristen Stewart.
Directed By: David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en).
See or Avoid?: Avoid.
Why?: Could you figure it out from my description of the plot?  The trailer kinda sucked, too.

The Film: The Rookie (view trailer)
The Date: March 29
The Rating: G
The Plot: Based on the true story of Jim Morris, a 35-year-old high school science teacher who gets another shot at the big leagues when he unexpectedly develops a 98-mile-an-hour fastball.
Important Cast Members: Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, Brian Cox, Jay Hernandez.
Directed By: John Lee Hancock (feature debut).
See or Avoid?: See.
Why?: The trailer's kind of corny, and if this wasn't a true story I'd probably dismiss the premise as outlandish.  But it actually happened, which makes it kind of cool and worth seeing.  But still, it is a non-animated film that's rated G, and since it doesn't just involve Richard Farnsworth sitting on a Toro I'm guessing they'll be piling on the sap (not to mention that the trailers all say, "From the studio that brought you Remember the Titans," which must be an endorsement of similar genres since the studio designation pretty much means nothing).