March is not a month that’s consistently known for any type of films. However, just like last march, there seems to be a large amount of highly anticipated fare to please us in a post Parasite best picture world. With high profile, multi-million dollar blockbusters (Onward, A Quiet Place Part II), the long awaited releases of some films with extended delays (My Spy, The Hunt) and some indie ensemble streaming titles (Lost Girls, Blow the Man Down) there’s definitely a significant amount of niche content that’s worthy of a cinema visit/home viewing. Welcome to our March 2020 movie preview, where we let you know about the noteworthy releases of the month and follow them up with 5 top picks. Hope to see you at the movies!

Noteworthy Releases

Greed – March 6th (Theatrical)
Satire about the world of the super-rich. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Michael Winterbottom.

Starring Steve Coogan, Isla Fisher, Asa Butterfield and Stephen Fry.

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Lie Exposed – March 6th (Theatrical)

Melanie experiences a terminal diagnosis, leading her to leave her husband and life behind for LA and an affair with a tintype photographer. (IMDb)

Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti. Written by Jeff Kober.

Starring Bruce Greenwood.

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Run This Town – March 6th (Theatrical)
An emerging political scandal in Toronto in 2013 seen through the eyes of young staffers at city hall and a local newspaper. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Ricky Tollman.

Starring Ben Platt, Mena Massoud, Damian Lewis, Nina Dobrev, Scott Speedman and Jennifer Ehle.

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Sorry We Missed You – March 6th (Theatrical)
Hoping that self-employment through gig economy can solve their financial woes, a hard-up UK delivery driver and his wife struggling to raise a family end up trapped in the vicious circle of this modern-day form of labour exploitation. (IMDb)

Directed by Ken Loach. Written by Paul Laverty.

Starring Kris Hitchen and Debbie Honeywood.

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The Way Back – March 6th (Theatrical)
A former HS basketball phenom, struggling with alcoholism, is offered a coaching job at his alma mater. As the team starts to win, he may have a reason to confront his old demons. But will it be enough to set him on the road to redemption? (IMDb)

Directed by Gavin O’Connor. Written by O’Connor and Brad Inglesby.

Starring Ben Affleck, Janina Gavankar, Michaela Watkins and Hayes McArthur.

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Spenser Confidential – March 6th (Netflix)
Ex-felon and former police detective Spenser returns to Boston’s criminal underworld to unravel a twisted murder conspiracy. (IMDb)

Directed by Peter Berg. Written by Sean O’Keefe and Brian Helgeland.

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Alan Arkin, Bokeem Woodbine, Winston Duke, Iliza Shlesinger, Marc Maron, Post Malone and Colleen Camp.

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The Banker – March 6th (Apple TV+)
In the 1960s two African-American entrepreneurs hire a working-class white man to pretend to be the head of their business empire while they pose as a janitor and chauffeur. (IMDb)

Directed by George Nolfi. Written by Nolfi with Niceole R. Levy, David Lewis Smith and Stan Younger.

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Nicholas Hoult and Nia Long.

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Bloodshot – March 13th (Theatrical)
Ray Garrison, a slain soldier, is re-animated with superpowers. (IMDb)

Directed by Dave Wilson. Written by Eric Heisserer and Jeff Wadlow.

Starring Vin Diesel, Guy Pearce, Eiza Gonzalez and Toby Kebbell.

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I Still Believe – March 13th (Theatrical)
The true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp and his journey of love and loss that looks to prove there is always hope. (IMDb)

Directed by Andrew and Jon Erwin. Written by Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn.

Starring Britt Robertson, K.J. Apa and Shania Twain.

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My Spy – March 13th (Theatrical)
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family. (IMDb)

Directed by Peter Segal. Written by Erich and Jon Hoeber.

Starring Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Kristen Schaal and Ken Jeong.

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The Vast of Night – March 13th (Amazon Prime Video)
In the twilight of the 1950s, on one fateful night in New Mexico, a young switchboard operator Fay and charismatic radio DJ Everett discover a strange audio frequency that could change their small town and the future forever. (IMDb)

Directed by Andrew Patterson. Written by James Montague and Craig W. Sanger.

Starring Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz and Bruce Davis.

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Lost Girls – March 13th (Netflix)
When Mari Gilbert’s daughter disappears, police inaction drives her own investigation into the gated Long Island community where Shannan was last seen. Her search brings attention to over a dozen murdered sex workers. (IMDb)

Directed by Liz Garbus. Written by Michael Werwie.

Starring Amy Ryan, Thomasin McKenzie, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Corrigan, Oona Laurence, Lola Kirke, Dean Winters, Miriam Shor and Reed Birney.

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Hope Gap – March 20th (Theatrical)
A couple’s visit with their son takes a dramatic turn when the father tells him he plans on leaving his mother. (IMDb)

Written and directed by William Nicholson.

Starring Annette Bening and Bill Nighy.

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The Burnt Orange Heresy – March 20th (Theatrical)
Hired to steal a rare painting from one of most enigmatic painters of all time, an ambitious art dealer becomes consumed by his own greed and insecurity as the operation spins out of control. (IMDb)

Directed by Giuseppe Capotondi. Written by Scott B. Smith.

Starring Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Donald Sutherland and Mick Jagger.

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The Rest of Us – March 20th (Theatrical)
Two mother-daughter duos must contend with their grief and complicated relationships with one another when the person who connects them dies. (IMDb)

Directed by Aisling Chin-Yee. Written by Alanna Francis.

Starring Heather Graham, Sophie Nelisse, Jodi Balfour and Abigail Pniowsky.

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The Whistlers – March 20th (Theatrical)
A policeman is intent on freeing a crooked businessman from a prison in Romania. He travels to Gomera, an island in the Canaries, where he must first learn the difficult local dialect, a language which includes hissing and spitting. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Corneliu Porumboiu.

Starring Vlad Ivanov and Catrinel Marlon.

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Blow the Man Down – March 20th (Amazon Prime Video)
Mary Beth and Priscilla Connolly attempt to cover up a gruesome run-in with a dangerous man. To conceal their crime, the sisters must go deep into the criminal underbelly of their hometown, uncovering the town’s darkest secrets. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy.

Starring Sophie Lowe, Morgan Saylor, June Squibb, Margo Martindale, Gayle Rankin and Will Brittain.

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Blood Quantum – March 27th (Theatrical)
The dead are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi’gMaq reserve of Red Crow, except for its Indigenous inhabitants who are strangely immune to the zombie plague. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Jeff Barnaby.

Starring Forrest Goodluck, Michael Greyeyes,  Kiowa Gordon, William Belleau and Gary Farmer.

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Mulan – March 27th (Theatrical)
A young Chinese maiden disguises herself as a male warrior in order to save her father. A live-action feature film based on Disney’s ‘Mulan.’ (IMDb)

Directed by Niki Caro. Written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek.

Starring Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Tzi Ma, Yifei Lu, Jason Scott Lee and Li Gong.

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The Scheme – March 31st (HBO)

On September 26, 2017, an extensive two-year undercover FBI investigation into a basketball corruption scandal led to the arrest of executives at Adidas and assistant coaches at major college programs. At the center of it all was Christian Dawkins, an unassuming and unknown 25-year-old who was allegedly part of a criminal enterprise that infiltrated college basketball teams and funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to steer recruits to prominent athletic programs. For the first time ever, Dawkins explains how a kid from Saginaw, Michigan wound up in a hotel suite surrounded by FBI agents with a warrant for his arrest. (IMDb)

Directed by Pat Kondelis.

Featuring Christian Dawkins.

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Dan’s Top Five Picks of the Month

5) Onward – March 6th (Theatrical)
Set in a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers embark on a quest to discover if there is still magic out there. (IMDb)

Directed by Dan Scanlon. Written by Scanlon with Jason Headley and Keith Bunin.

Featuring the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Ali Wong, John Ratzenberger, Lena Waithe and Mel Rodriguez.

Why You Should See It: Pixar may be the only remaining film division of Disney that has consistently proven to be artist driven. Time after time, there’s a spark of creativity that is among their projects that feels more about good and creative storytelling than financial gain. This original story from them seems to be visually stunning and funny – plus, any Baby Driver homage can sell me on a movie successfully.

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4) Never Rarely Sometimes Always – March 13th (Theatrical)
A pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Eliza Hittman.

Starring Ryan Eggold, Theodore Pellerin, Talia Ryder, Sidney Flanagan, Sharon Van Etten and Guy A. Fortt.

Why You Should See It: After directing 2017’s critical darling Beach Rats, director Eliza Hittman is back with this heavy and emotional sounding story that got absolute raves at Sundance this year. Featuring many up and coming young actors and having backing from Focus Features, this film looks like it could end up as one of the year’s most talked about indies.

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3) Vivarium – March 27th (Theatrical/Digital/VOD)
A young couple looking for the perfect home find themselves trapped in a mysterious labyrinth-like neighborhood of identical houses. (IMDb)

Directed by Lorcan Finnegan . Written by Garret Shanley.

Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots

Why You Should See It: One of our favourite films at this past year’s Fantasia Fest, Vivarium is an absolute trip. This is an extremely chaotic and stressful story that’s told in a unique perspective that hasn’t really been seen in mainstream film before. It’s an easy film to spoil, as legitimately every passing event in the film is a major reveal, see this one for the two great leads, amazing cinematography and if you’re looking for something new. If anything, you’ll certainly be pleased in the department of the latter.

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2) A Quiet Place Part II – March 20th (Theatrical)
Following the events at home, the Abbott family now face the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats lurking beyond the sand path. (IMDb)

Written and directed by John Krasinski.

Starring Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and Cillian Murphy.

Why You Should See It: A Quiet Place was not only one of the absolute best films of 2018, but it also might be one of the most innovative and unique studio horror films of this century. Although it wrapped up in a very fascinating way, It’s still exciting to see Krasinski back in the directors chair. Hopefully it retains the same fresh feeling that it’s predecessor has – and from the promotional material thus far, it seems like that may be accurate.

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1)  The Hunt – March 13th (Theatrical)
Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there. They don’t know they’ve been chosen – for a very specific purpose – The Hunt. (IMDb)

Directed by Craig Zobel. Written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindeloff.

Starring Betty Gilpin, Emma Roberts, Hilary Swank, Glenn Howerton, Ike Barinholtz and Macon Blair.

Why You Should See It: The Hunt is not on this list because it’s the best looking film of the month. Rather, it’s the most intriguing. After being pulled from release this past September for concerns of provoking violence, the film is being released this month with a fresh marketing campaign fully founded off it’s provocative nature. It may not be great, but with a marketing campaign this strong, a very talented ensemble and a unique concept, it’s hard not to be giddy about the release of this.

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