2011 Spring Movie Preview: The Multiplex Starts to Heat Up

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If you've been feeling like there hasn't been much to check out at the movies lately, it's not just your imagination. In doldrums of January and February, studios tend to release their lowest-quality fare, sending out slapdash slashers, apathetic action flicks, and just plain lame comedies to little or no fanfare.

Luckily, those days are over. Starting in March, the multiplex slowly begins to heat up. In fact, spring can be the time for some of the best movies out there -- there are none of the brainless popcorn movies of summer, or the stodgy and self-serious Oscar-bait films of fall. Here are some of the flicks you can look forward to in the coming months.

Good For: This seems like an across-the-board winner. Kids will love the creative creature design, adults will appreciate the sharp humor, and both will love the great looking animation.

Synopsis: A mind-bending thriller in which a politician (Matt Damon) attempts to connect with a ballet dancer (Emily Blunt) and discovers that shadowy forces -- literally the agents of Fate -- are constantly rearranging events.
Good For: Those that enjoyed the twisty ways of movies like Inception or Dark City, or the cool retro vibe of shows like Mad Men (John Slattery, who Roger Sterling on the AMC hit, has a large part).


Good for: Those that loved Independence Day, 2012 or other similar disaster flicks, mixed with the more hand-held and realistic cinematography of movies like District 9.

Synopsis: A soft-spoken governess (Mia Wasikowska)  and her employer (Michael Fassbender) slowly fall in love -- but they're both hiding their own secrets. Based on the classic Charlotte Brontë novel.
Good For: Lovers of costume drama will obviously line up, but even those who are normally turned off by corsets should give this a look for a few reasons. Director Cary Fukunaga was behind the frankly terrific Sin Nombre, and Wasikowska and Fassbender are both major talents on the rise.

Synopsis: Bradley Cooper stars in this thriller about a slacker ad man who discovers an experimental drug that gives him vastly increased intelligence and drive. The side effects, however, are a killer.
Good For: Those that enjoy Living the Good Life montages as Cooper enjoys his new-found wealth, or thriller fans excited to see Robert De Niro do his thing on screen.

Synopsis: Permanerds Simon Pegg and Nick Frost travel across the U.S. in an RV before meeting an out-of-this-world visitor (voiced by Seth Rogen).
Good For: Those that enjoy the shambling wit of Pegg and Frost, fans who are still on board with Rogen's chuckling stoner routine, and anyone who has ever attended a Comic-Con (or any -Con, really).

Synopsis: More ultra-stylized violence from 300 director Zack Snyder, this time featuring a whole bevy of young starlets, including Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, Amanda Seyfried, Emma Stone, and Evan Rachel Wood, kicking tail in revealing outfits.
Good For: Fan boys, fan boys, and fan boys. Also: fan boys.