New Movies to Crave: A Sucker Punch Straight to My Heart

By Chris Kavan - 03/25/11 at 08:55 AM CT

I can finally say that after weeks of films that held mild to no interest to me, there is a film I've been anticipating despite the fact I know it's probably going to be a lot of flash and little substance, but by God, that's exactly what I need right now.

1) Sucker Punch is going to be a mindless thrill ride: hot chicks kicking ass fighting zombie Nazis, samurai robots, dragons - it's a video game come to life - and to me that's not necessarily a bad thing. I don't care if it's getting scathing reviews - Zach Snyder has delivered ever since his Dawn of the Dead remake - even Watchmen grew on me after viewing it a few more times. This isn't the kind of movie that wins many awards - or even much praise - but it is the kind of film that attracts a lot of attention and maybe, just maybe, can finally turn into a win for the downward box office returns.

2) If you're not into live-action video games, maybe you prefer something with a bit more drama. Miral is about as heavy as they come - Freida Pinto (of Slumdog Millionaire) plays an orphaned Palestinian girl drawn into the Arab-Israeli conflict. The movie has seen a bit of a delay - since it was originally supposed to come out last year in time for Oscar awards - but don't let that scare you away. If you're in to this kind of drama, Julian Schnabel is not one to let you down.

3) Finally, families can find safe refuge - and from something other than an animated film. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules continues the story from the popular book series and the success of last year's film. While I'm a touch out of the age range this is targeted to - I think for the right age group this would be a great film to break up the cartoon fest at the box office. Whether it can find success again remains to be seen.

I know what I'm going to be doing for part of my weekend. I'll be back Sunday night to see if Snyder can deliver a punch to the box office as well.