Traditionally speaking, spring is something of a dump zone for film. Studio blockbusters drop during the summer, to net the herds of bored kids on summer break and family members in need of a break from one another while on vacation. The late-fall and early-winter releases tend toward Oscar fodder: studio films with a conscience and mid-budget films about social issues. This leaves the first few months of the year with the oddballs: passion projects from auteurs like Linklater or Wes Anderson (Budapest released in March) and films like Deadpool, that the studios feel will perform better if released months away from the blockbusters of late spring and summer, when school finally lets out.
Spring is filled with the type of films that I love. Films that may be misplaced, a little rough or just plain weird — but that, at their very best, make me feel for the characters in the film in a way that crowd-pleasers tend to water down. And at their very worst, I get to feel for the debt of that poor, lost filmmaker. As a warmup for the big releases of 2016 — Star Trek, Bourne and Suicide Squad — during summer, we rounded up 10 films we’re anxiously awaiting.
Action/Sci-Fi
Midnight Special
In theaters: March 18
What happens: After discovering his son has special powers, a father must protect him from religious sects and the government.
GP verdict: A candidate for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, Nichols has produced quality (if under-the-radar) films for the past decade, and this is his most ambitious yet.
Director: Jeff Nichols
Who did: Mud, Take Shelter
Starring: Adam Driver, Kirsten Dunst, Joel Egerton
