Illinois Entertainer March 2020 | Page 12

IN LIKE A LAMB By Lori Vernon invaded by sightless aliens with super-sen- sitive hearing that will hunt you down and tear you apart if you make a sound capti- vated and stunned audiences. Thankfully, writer-director John Krasinski is back for the sequel, with his real-life wife, Emily Blunt, once again playing a woman who has to keep her children quiet. Anyone with kids knows how difficult that can be! In the sequel, Evelyn Abbot (Blunt) must venture out of the safety of the family’s farmhouse and soon discovers that some- times her fellow survivors (including new- comer Cillian Murphy) are more menacing than the aliens! Bloodshot Mulan I f March comes in like a lamb, does that mean it goes out like a lion? That adage may hold true for films debuting this month, with some interesting dramas opening early in the month, and several highly anticipated thrillers set to roar into theaters during the latter half of March. Here is a sampling of what is coming to local theaters. 12 illinoisentertainer.com march 2020 A Quiet Place Part II Directed by John Krasinski March 20 - Rated NR A Quiet Place was undoubtedly one of the most successful films of 2018 - both critically and commercially - and it was also one of the most terrifying horror movies we’ve ever seen. The storyline about a family trying to survive in a world Directed by David S.F. Wilson March 13 - Rated PG-13 Based on the bestselling Valiant Comics series, Vin Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a recently murdered Marine. Ray is brought back to life as the superhero Bloodshot by a team of scientists at the RST corporation. With an army of nanotechnology in his veins, he’s an unstoppable biotech killing machine –stronger than ever and able to heal instantly. But in controlling his body, the company has power over his mind and memories, too. Now, as Ray begins to remember his past, he is unable to discern what’s real and what’s not. He escapes from the facility he’s trapped in and begins a mission to find out what happened to him –only to find that there is much more to the conspiracy than he ever imagined. Mulan Directed by Niki Caro March 27 - Rated PG-13 Disney’s epic live-action remake of the classic tale of Hua Mulan, the fearless young heroine who must join the all-male Chinese Imperial army to save her ailing father from having to serve. As the oldest daughter of an honored warrior, she steps in to take her father’s place by masquerad- ing as a man called Hua Jun. She is tested at every step and must harness her inner strength to reach her full potential and help defeat the Northern invaders. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation –and a proud father. The Banker Directed by George Nolfi March 6 - Rated PG-13 This true story follows Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson) and Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie), two of the first African-American bankers in the United States in the 1950s. The pair bought banks in Texas to give lending opportunities to blacks who aspired to start businesses and purchase homes, but because of Jim Crow laws made it nearly impossible in the Deep South. The entrepreneurs skirt segrega- tionist tactics by hiring a white man (Nicholas Hoult) to pose as the head of their company while they pretend to be a janitor and chauffeur. The Hunt Directed by Craig Zobel March 13 - Rated R Originally set to debut last fall, Universal Pictures postponed the film fol- lowing the mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso in early August 2019. The film is a thriller loosely based on the 1924 short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. The premise is right up Continued on page 18