March 2015
Books on Screen
March 2015
This March, Tris and Four are back on the big screen! In Insurgent, the two are on the run from Jeanine and the rest of the Erudite faction. Together they learn the secrets of their world and race against time to protect its future. Based on Veronica Roth's thrilling bestseller, this is definitely a sequel YA fans are going to want to see!
Or if you're more into fairy tales, check out Disney's new live-action Cinderella. In this retelling, a poor servant stepdaughter just wants to go to the ball, but needs a little help --- and some classic glass slippers --- from an old beggar woman with a magic touch!
So get out there this March and see some of these great books on screen!
Cast: Lily James, Hayley Atwell, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Richard Madden
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG
Release Date: March 13th
Based on: “Cinderella” by Hans Christian Andersen
A live-action retelling of the classic fairy tale about a servant stepdaughter who wins the heart of a prince. After her father unexpectedly dies, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, who reduce her to scullery maid. Despite her circumstances, she refuses to despair. An invitation to a palace ball gives Ella hope that she might reunite with the dashing stranger she met in the woods, but her stepmother prevents her from going. Help arrives in the form of a kindly beggar woman who has a magic touch for ordinary things.
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller
Director: Robert Schwentke
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: March 20th
Based On: INSURGENT by Veronica Roth
Now on the run from Jeanine and the rest of the power-hungry Erudites, Tris and Four search for allies and answers in the ruins of Chicago. They must find out what Tris' family sacrificed their lives to protect and why the Erudites will do anything to stop them. Side by side, Tris and Four face one seemingly insurmountable challenge after another, as they unravel the secrets of the past and --- ultimately --- the future of their world.
Cast: [voices of] Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Jones
Director: Tim Johnson
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating: PG
Release Date: March 27th
Based On: THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex
When Oh, a loveable misfit from another planet, lands on Earth and finds himself on the run from his own people, he forms an unlikely friendship with an adventurous girl named Tip who is on a quest of her own. Through a series of comic adventures with Tip, Oh comes to understand that being different and making mistakes is all part of being human. And while he changes her planet and she changes his world, they discover the true meaning of the word “home.”
On TV:
“Eye Candy”
Cast: Victoria Justice, Harvey Guillen, Casey Jon Deidrick, John Garet Stoker
Network: MTV
Air Dates: Mondays at 10pm ET
Based On: EYE CANDY by R.L. Stine
Lindy is a 21-year-old hacker with a gift for seeing clues and connections in the digital world that others can't. Persuaded by her roommate to try online dating, Lindy begins to suspect that one of her suitors is a deadly cyber stalker. When the local cyber-crimes unit uncovers a potential serial killer in Manhattan, all signs point to this mysterious stalker. Teaming up with the cyber unit and some hacker friends, Lindy leads the charge to solve these murders while unleashing her own style of "justice" on the streets of New York City.
Cast: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Rick Cosnett, Danielle Panabaker, Carlos Valdes, Tom Cavanagh, Jessie L. Martin
Network: The CW
Air Dates: Tuesdays at 8pm ET
Based On: The Flash: DC Comics character created by Robert Kanigher, John Broome and Carmine Infantino
“The Flash” follows the adventures of scientist Barry Allen, who is a superhero with incredible speed.
Cast: Stephen Amell, Colin Donnell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Willa Holland, Susanna Thompson, Paul Blackthorne
Network: The CW
Air Dates: Wednesdays at 8pm ET
Based On: DC Comics character Green Arrow created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp
After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he's become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow --- a vigilante --- to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society and restore Starling City to its former glory.
“The Vampire Diaries”
Cast: Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Candice Accola
Network: The CW
Air Dates: Thursdays at 8pm ET
Based On: The Vampire Diaries series by L.J. Smith
Months after this devastating tragedy, everyone is dealing with the loss of their loved ones in different ways, some more destructively than others. What happened to Bonnie and Damon, and if they can even be saved, remains a mystery. Meanwhile, their beloved hometown of Mystic Falls continues to be a magic-free zone, protected by a mysterious new community watch program. If there’s any hope of salvaging their former lives, our heroes must find a way to push through their grief and band together. This season will explore themes of loss, denial and what it means to move on in the face of immortality, ultimately begging the age-old question --- can you ever really go home again?
On DVD:
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin, Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland
Director: Francis Lawrence
Distributor: Lionsgate Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13
DVD Release Date: March 6th
Based On: MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins
The worldwide phenomenon of The Hunger Games continues to set the world on fire with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, which finds Katniss Everdeen in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta and a nation moved by her courage.
Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Rose Byrne
Director: Will Gluck
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG
DVD Release Date: March 17th
Based On: The Little Orphan Annie comic series by Harold Gray
In modern-day New York City, Annie is an orphan/foster child living under the cruelty of Miss Hannigan. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they'd be back for her someday, it's been a hard knock life ever since. But everything's about to change when hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks --- advised by his VP, Grace, and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy --- makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he's her guardian angel, but Annie's self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it's the other way around.
Unbroken
Cast: Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Garret Hedlund
Director: Angelina Jolie
Distributor: Universal Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13
DVD Release Date: March 24th
Based On: UNBROKEN: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
World War II hero Louis "Louie" Zamperini, a former Olympic track star, survives a plane crash in the Pacific, spends 47 days drifting on a raft, and then more than two and a half years living in several Japanese prisoner of warcamps.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom
Director: Peter Jackson
Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13
DVD Release Date: March 24th
Based on: THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien
Having reclaimed Erebor and a vast treasure from the dragon Smaug, Thorin Oakenshield sacrifices friendship and honor in his search for the Arkenstone, despite Smaug's fiery wrath and Bilbo's desperate attempts to make him see reason. Meanwhile, Sauron sends forth legions of Orcs in a sneak attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As the ultimate fate of Middle Earth hangs in the balance, the races of Men, Elves and Dwarves must decide whether to unite or die.
The Imitation Game
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode
Director: Morten Tyldum
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
MPAA Rating: PG-13
DVD Release Date: March 31st
Based on: ALAN TURING: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges
In The Imitation Game, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts, which the country deemed illegal.
