March Newsletter | Preview of March Movies & TV Shows, More News and Updates

Dear reader,

Glad to have you here again. As promised in February’s newsletter, we have found a way for everyone to leave comments regardless of you owning a WordPress account or not. You can now leave comments without an email or a username. All you need to input is your opinion and voila, it gets posted as an anonymous visitor. However, to make your comments standout from other lovely anonymous visitors, you can decide to add a name of your choice, which still doesn’t require an email. This means you won’t be notified of responses directed to you per email. You would only have to return to the blog occasionally in order to read replies, cos we do respond. Yes, we do! At least, Fridous does!
Your feedback made this work. Thanks guys and gals!

Also, don’t forget that you can access older content by navigating through the menu divided in categories like TV shows, movies, news, Nollywood, etc. Most especially, reviews you promised to read after watching that movie or TV show. So, please do return to check out the review and let us know in the comment section why Marla Grayson is an angelic soul or simply stating that our listicle is shit! (without reasons to back it up)

Next on the agenda is a recap of news items that we reported last month. But, did we even report any news in February? What a shame! We know and we are sad you couldn’t find out about Keke Palmer being casted in Jordan Peele’s next horror flick or the close to five projects (movies + documentaries) already in development regarding the GameStop stock saga. Maybe some of us will finally understand the subject matter. Don’t be ashamed. Netflix gon’ explain it to us like 8 year olds. 

Due to lack of news reporting from our side, we would introduce a new publication known as News Roundup. We would publish it every 3-5 interesting news items that we lay our hands on as a single piece, mostly depending on things going on in the world of film and TV. They would be concise and summarised texts which you can enjoy like a child enjoying their vitamin bits.

February Film News a.k.a ICYMI

• Amazon Lands Veteran Actors for David Weil’s Anthology Series ‘Solos’. Actors such as Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Anne Hatheway, Anthony Mackie and co. Read more.
• Marvel and Ryan Coogler Extend Their Partnership with New Wakanda-set Series in Development. Read more.
• The nominations for 2021 Golden Globes were announced. Mank and Trial of Chicago 7 lead the nominations list, with some notable snubs and interesting sur-paris-es *coughs* surprises. See the full list here.
• EbonyLife Media Strikes New Deal with Sony Pictures which is a big win for Nollywood. Later in the month, Mo Abudu’s media company sealed another collaboration deal with Will and Jada-Pinkett Smith’s studios with three stories underway in pre production.
• A trailer for Joss Whedon’s The Nevers was released and we published a breakdown here.
• Rick and Morty’s Dan Harmon and FOX Partner for New Animated Series focusing on Greek gods. How weird would Harmon make it. We can’t wait.
• New Line and ‘Watchmen’ Director, Nicole Kassell Team up for ‘Wizard of Oz’ Remake.
• Walt Disney’s ‘Cruella’ Trailer Breakdown, which stars Emma Stone as the fashion kingpin.

On News That We Couldn’t Cover…

• A Lil Yatchy UNO movie is in development.
• So far, 3 movies and 1 documentary are in development concerning GameStop stock drama.
• Lana Condor lands a new role in a new movie, titled Boo, Bitch, which she would also be producing.
• We got an announcement for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
• Scooby Doo animated series from Mindy Kaling for HBO focusing on an  adult audience.
• HBO The Last of Us series cast Pedro Pascal and another GOT alum, Bella Ramsey.
• Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Donald Glover are working on a Mr and Mrs Smith reboot, targeting 2022, to be released on Amazon Prime as Donald Glover signed a first look deal with the Bezos family.
• Keke Palmer lands a role in Jordan Peele’s new movie. This untitled horror project is set for July 22 2022 release date. 
• Sasha Calle is the new supergirl in The Flash movie.
• New David Fincher movie alert, starring Michael Fassbender as an assassin who develops a conscience.
• Disney new dates announcements: Loki sets to premiere on June 11, 2021
• Zack Snyder’s Army Of The Dead teaser trailer, which marks a return to the zombie genre since his 2004 release of Dawn of the Dead. It stars Dave Bautista, Omari Hardwick and Huma Qureshi.
• Disney’s new Pixar trailer for animated movie, Luca.
• Issa Rae’s will be producing a new TV series that she wrote for HBO after Insecure ends. Casting is currently underway for the 8-episode half-hour series that has the working title, Rap Sh*t.
• Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access), owned by ViacomCBS, is entering the battleground in the streaming wars On March 4, 2021. We can expect content like Criminal Minds reboot, New seasons of Star Trek: Discovery, Halo series, new Rugrats CG-animated series, new series in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, iCarly reboot, and a number of movie releases after their theatrical run: Top Gun: Maverick, A Quiet Place 2, Mission Impossible, and new Paranormal Activity movie.
• Netflix released a Shadow and Bone trailer. We reported the first images released last month here.
• Finally, a ‘Superman’ Reboot is in the works at Warner Bros with Ta-Nehisi Coates writing, J.J. Abrams producing. I don’t know why people are freaking out yet. For all we know, it might not be a Black Superman.
• Lat but not the least, we lost Christopher Plummer, who recently starred in Knives Out. He was widely known for his role in Sound of the Music (1965).

February’s love-related essays (skip if you are deeply heartbroken)

Because February is known as the love month, we published a number of romance related pieces which we hope you can also enjoy at other times of the year. Here we go:

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Why We Accept the Love We Think We Deserve. The guest writer draws from personal experience as they analyse what they think the memorable quote means.
• Most Memorable On-screen Break-ups
• Love Letter Series | Issue #1. Here, people wrote love notes to their favorite TV shows and movies..
• An analysis of the successful romantic Netflix series, Bridgerton.
• The ultimate to-watch list for valentine’s day, which you can also watch with your boo any other time of the year, even on children’s day.
• An essay analysing how love is depicted on popular Nollywood web series.
• To make things balanced in the world, as they should be, we also collated a list of memorable couples.
• Lastly, another analysis focusing on Nollywood’s web series that portray lives of young adults in Lagos.

We reviewed the following movies:

• Funke Akindele’s hilarious Omo Ghetto: The Saga
  Rating: 7/10

• Wheels, a movie by an indie director set in NYC.
• Pixar’s first animation with a black lead, Soul
  Rating: 7.9/10

• The Little Things starring Denzel Washington, Jared Leto and Rami Malek.
  Rating: 6/10

• Heated Malcom & Marie, starring Zendaya and John David Washington
  Rating: 7/10

• The final installment in the To All The Boys trilogy.
  Rating: 5.5/10

• Namaste Wahala. Hmn, wahala indeed.
  Rating: 3/10

• Judas and the Black Messiah starring Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfiel
  Rating: 8/10

• The Equalizer series reboot starring Queen Latifah
  Verdict: Watch

• David Fincher’s Mank
  Rating: 8.8/10

• News of the World starring Tom Hanks
  Rating: 7/10

• Golden Globes nominated romantic series, Normal People

• I Care a Lot, for which Rosamund Pike received a Golden Globe nomination.
  Rating: 6.8/10

Highlight of New Films and TV Series in March

• Chaos Walking: This novel adaptation stars Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley in an action adventure movie which looks like a recipe for disaster at this point. It has undergone numerous reshoots and additional shots with the studio not pleased with what they saw after the first cut. Let’s see how this goes. As 2020 was Robert Pattinson’s, this year might just be Tom Holland’s, closely battling Timothee chalamet. Chaos walking strolls into our lives on March 5.

Official synopsis: In the not too distant future, Todd Hewitt (Tom Holland) discovers Viola (Daisy Ridley), a mysterious girl who crash lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by “the Noise” – a force that puts all their thoughts on display. In this dangerous landscape, Viola’s life is threatened – and as Todd vows to protect her, he will have to discover his own inner power and unlock the planet’s dark secrets.

Lionsgate

• Coming 2 America: Eddie Murphy is back, babyyyy! Well, he was back last year in Dolemite is My Name. But, now he’s back back in his natural flesh. Starring alongside, Arsenio Hall and fresh faces, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and KiKi Layne. Coming 2 America is proving to be the most anticipated movie in March. I am not counting SnyderCut, cos that’s an event, not a movie. Coming 2 America premieres on Amazon Prime on March 5.

Official synopsis: Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, newly-crowned King Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his trusted confidante Semmi(Arsenio Hall) embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York – where it all began.

Prime Video

• Raya and the last dragon: We published a trailer breakdown last month for this new Disney animation. Trying to keep this piece short, go check our breakdown for more info. It features mostly Asian actors in the voiceover cast. Available on Disney+ and select theatres on March 5.

Official synopsis: “Raya and the Last Dragon” takes us on an exciting, epic journey to the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together long ago in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than a dragon to save the world—it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well.

Disney

• Yes Day: Just like how Netflix brought back cheesy highschool romcom in Summer 2018, it’d be perfect if they ever release a number of playful family movies, Noah Centineo here being Jennifer Garner.. Those hilarity movies we grew up watching. It’s not like they’re original ideas. But they’re just fun movies to mindlessly watch and clear one’s mind. You know those movies. Families up to mischief, having a blast, going on holidays, the Adam Sandler kind. Well, it’s back for now. Yes Day stars Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez in a (not) original movie that sees them say yes to everything their kids ask of them in a day. Available on Netflix on March 12.

Official synopsis: A mom and dad who usually say no decide to say yes to their kids’ wildest requests — with a few ground rules — on a whirlwind day of fun and adventure.

Netflix

• Zack Snyder’s Justice League: This is the movie event of March. The Snyder brigade would finally get their heart desires. After millions of signed petitions and online trends, the Snyder cut is set to be released on March 18 as a 4 hour+ movie. Viel spaß!

Official synopsis: In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, determined to ensure Superman’s (Henry Cavill) ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) aligns forces with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions. The task proves more difficult than Bruce imagined, as each of the recruits must face the demons of their own pasts to transcend that which has held them back, allowing them to come together, finally forming an unprecedented league of heroes. Now united, Batman (Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and The Flash (Ezra Miller) may be too late to save the planet from Steppenwolf, DeSaad, and Darkseid and their dreadful intentions.

Warner Bros

• La femme Anjola: Starring Rita Dominic in a noir thriller movie. This is set to be released on March 19. Keep an eye out on Filmhouse’s website cos this isn’t Netflix bound.

Official synopsis: La femme Anjola is a crime-thriller Neo noir film set in Lagos and Cape Town about a young male stock broker whose life is turned upside down when he falls for a beautiful woman married to a wealthy gangster.

TASC Movies

• Falcon and the winter soldier: Disney’s second MCU TV series starring Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie. Ngl, I’m not hyped, but I’ll watch. I’m still trying to recover from superhero movie fatigue which the phase 1-4 inflicted on me. Nonetheless, I’m currently enjoying WandaVision and can’t wait to see what Falcon and his frenemy have for us on March 19, exclusively on Disney+.

Official synopsis: Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier team up in a global adventure

Disney

• Nobody: I am still unsure when this releases. There are conflicting dates on the internet. It’s either in March or in August. If it ever comes in March, it’d be on the 26th and it stars Bob Odendirk (Better call Saul) in a John Wick styled action movie. He throws fists and isn’t all about the guns. He might also be in search of a stolen cat collar.

Official synopsis: Sometimes the man you don’t notice is the most dangerous of all. 
Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post, Nebraska) stars as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody.  
When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe, The Shack), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen, Wonder Woman), seems to pull only further away.
The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary (famed Russian actor Aleksey Serebryakov, Amazon’s McMafia)—and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.

Universal Pictures

• Invincible: Based on a successful superhero comic book, it follows a superhero protege/son who is on the path of taking over from his popular superhero dad. The trailers I’ve watched look good and the tone is just what I’m looking for these days in any superhero adaptation. Also, the voice cast is amaaaaazinggggggg! Daaamn! This might rival Bojack Horseman when it comes to those star names. Quite a list of names I saw. Olamide is excited. I’m trying as much to match his excitement. The first three episodes will be released on Amazon Prime on March 26 and a weekly installment thereafter.

Official synopsis: The story revolves around 17-year-old Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), who’s just like every other guy his age — except his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons). The hour-per-episode series also stars Sandra Oh, Zazie Beetz, Gillian Jacobs, Zachary Quinto, Jason Mantzoukas, Melise, Mark Hamill, Mahershala Ali, Seth Rogen and more.

Amazon Prime

• Godzilla vs Kong: CGI fest in the beloved franchise. We all know what it is about when we see these two names. This installment stars Millie Bobby Brown, Alexander Skarsgård,Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry. Coming to HBO max on March 26 and if lucky, a theatre near you.

Official synopsis: Legends collide in “Godzilla vs. Kong” as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.  Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond.  But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe.  The epic clash between the two titans—instigated by unseen forces—is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth.

Warner Bros.

Special mentions: Debris (scifi action series on NBC), Happily (a dark comedy starring Joel McHale), Solar Opposites season 2 (Hulu animated adult series), Moxie (a Netflix movie directed by Amy Poehler), Pacific Rim: The Black Season 1 (anime styled series directed by Guillermo del Toro)

The following TV shows premiere or return in February: New Amsterdam (02.03), Doctor Who (02.03), The Flash (02.03), Good Girls (07.03), Grey’s Anatomy (11.03), The Irregulars (26.03) and City on a Hill (28.03)

You can read the reviews to a number of the mentioned films and TV series in March. Keep an eye out. You can subscribe to email notifications and follow us on our social media pages.

Which of the film(s) are you looking forward to the most?  Or did we forget a certain one? Let us know in the comments below

Bis bald,
Ikeade Oriade
(Managing Editor)