3 to See in March!

3. How To Train Your Dragon
Dreamworks doesn't have as great a track record as Pixar does when it comes to their animated films. Some times they're quite enjoyable and successful (Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens) but most times they just expand upon the cliches of the art form (Shrek the Third, Madagascar). They're greatest weakness is their focus on appealing to children who, as experience has taught me are pretty damn annoying. At first sight this film looks like any other, but then I returned to two years ago when Kung Fu Panda was released, and by my initial viewing of the trailers I had no faith in the film at all and it ended up surprising me. Dreamworks does a good job of keeping the best parts of their films out of the promotional material, so I think this film will turn out alright. Dreamworks has always brought in a ton out of opening weekend and this should be no different, likely raking in over $60 million going on to settle in the $250 million range for the final domestic gross.
2. Greenberg
This film almost made my number one spot, but it ultimately wasn't well known enough to put up there. I still believe this to be one of the big little films to look out for. Directed by Noah Baumbach who directed The Squid and the Whale, this film traces the activities of Ben Stiller's character whose life isn't going anywhere and he intends to keep it that way. From the look of the trailer it definitely has well written humor which is hard to come by this day and age. It does seem to be masking the darker and more depressing sides of it's story and trust me, when it comes to Noah Baumbach there is a dark side to everything he does. I've kept my reservations against Ben Stiller in the past, but in a good semi-dramatic role I think he has potential.

1. Alice in Wonderland
This film has been on the top of this list ever since I saw the teaser trailer over half a year ago. Tim Burton has brought his own unique vision to several other films and this time around he's bringing his own blend of strange beauty to the classic story of Alice in Wonderland. Now I'm not truly astounded by how they fashioned the film into a comprehensible story, but they could've done worse. The new rendition shows Alice returning to Wonderland after eight years in which the Red Queen has taken over. Now Alice is the only one who can stop her tyranical reign, for some reason. I've decided not to care about the whys and the whats in this instance and I'm just preparing to go along for the visually splendid ride that I wish Avatar had been but wasn't. This film is going to take quite a bit of money from Avatar which has held the 3D market for months.I foresee Alice to open to a spectacular $50-60 million, and end up somewhere above the $200 million mark.