Movies guide: March, screen fever

With over 30 movies on the schedule, March is quite a crowded month for movie screening. After the Chinese Spring Festival season, a period left for domestic movies, almost a dozen Hollywood blockbusters will come together this month; and as holidays like the White Valentine's Day, Women's Day and April Fool's Day are all around the corner, there will be quite a number of different types of movies.

Magic and Sci-fi feast

Fans of fantasy or science fiction will find a lot to watch this month including The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Upside Down, Resident Evil: Retribution and Oz The Great and Powerful.

Having journeyed to the Chinese mainland more than a week ago, The Hobbit has already gained both acclaim and criticism. For "middle-earth" followers, it will never be too much to have another story. At the same time, they can enjoy the beautiful scenery of New Zealand as much of the country's natural gifts are captured in the film. However, for those who have seldom watched The Lord of the Ring series, spending two and a half hours watching a prequel may be a little boring.

Also as an adaptation of a legendary story, Oz The Great and Powerful is just the right dish for children and adult audiences who still believe in fairytales. Having the same producer as Alice in Wonderland, Oz is going to take moviegoers on another wonderland journey. In the film, Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time magician is taken to the land of Oz by a tornado where he is mistakenly regarded as a great wizard. Yet three witches doubt his ability and Oscar is drawn into the inner crisis of the land of Oz.

While The Hobbit and Oz rely more on fairytales, Upside Down and Resident Evil are based more on science fiction.

In Upside Down, the story takes place on a unique planet with dual gravity. The people on the "up" side are rich while those living on the "down" part are poor. There are strict prohibitions from going from one part to the other, but between Adam (Jim Sturgess), a young man from below, and Eden (Kirsten Dunst), a woman from above, a budding romance rises to challenge unreasonable rules.

Following the previous four Resident Evil stories, the fifth entry in the franchise, Retribution, will see the reunion of some familiar faces like Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) from Apocalypse (2004), Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez) from the first Resident Evil (2002), and Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts) from Afterlife (2010). Yet in this film, it seems that not all of them are friends with the protagonist Alice (Milla Jovovich).

If the fighting in Retribution is not enough to heat up your blood, A Good Day to Die Hard can be added to your list as well. As an action series that began 25 years ago, the character Bruce Willis portrays has already deeply impressed the audience. Now at the age of 58, Willis still challenges thrilling scenes like explosions, car racing and gun fights.

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