Wow, this is going to be one jam-packed movie release weekend. There are 6, count ‘em 6, new releases coming out today that you get to pick from. Don’t forget about the movie 300 as well which still stands a good chance of being a strong competitor. Here are your new release movie details and trailers for this weekend, March 23-25.

Reign Over Me
Director: Mike Binder
Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith
Rated: R for language and some sexual references
Duration: 2h8m
Plot: Emotionally shut off after losing his wife and daughters on 9/11, Charlie Fineman (Sandler) runs into his old college buddy, Alan Johnson (Cheadle). Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help Charlie begin to wrestle with his grief.
My Take: Looks like it could be a real downer with the subject matter surrounding a man who has sunk into depression after losing his whole family on Sept. 11th. I’m not sure what drove Sandler to abandon his passion for taking down the likes of Shooter McGavin, but here he is in another drama. It can’t be worse than Click, can it?

Pride
Director: Sunu Gonera
Starring: Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Kimberly Elise
Rated: PG for thematic material, language including some racial epithets, and violence.
Duration: 1h48m
Plot: At the Philadelphia Department of Recreation, coach Jim Ellis (Howard) turns a group of troubled teens into one of the best swim teams in the country.
My Take: Pride looks to be family-friendly and an inspirational type movie similar to a lot of the high school sports movies. Now, having been a competitive swimmer for 14 years and as a swim coach who never lost a meet the theme of the movie is exciting to me on a personal level. You may not share that interest, so I might have a skewed outlook on this one. Unfortunately, I think it’s going to hit some tough family-film competition with The Last Mimzy also being released today.

Shooter
Director:Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, Rhona Mitra
Rated: R for strong graphic violence and some language
Plot: A marksman (Wahlberg) living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why.
My Take: It could be a fun action, shooter flick, just don’t dig too deep into its story. Mark Wahlberg sure has come along way from Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, but he’s earned it as an excellent actor. If you’re looking to sign off mentally for a few hours and watch the bullets fly, this one looks like the movie for you. Interesting note, looks like a little copycat action here between theaters with The Shooter starring Wesley Snipes.

The Hills Have Eyes II
Director: Martin Weisz
Starring: Daniella Alonso, Jacob Vargas, Michael Bailey Smith
Rated: R for prolonged sequences of strong gruesome horror violence and gore, a rape and language
Plot: A group of National Guard trainees are attacked by mutants during a training mission in the New Mexico desert.
My Take: The teaser below doesn’t give you much. This sequel seems to be connected only by the mutant attackers to the first film. My buddy, Cmpnyflw, thought the first one was pretty good for that genre. So if you’re into the Texas Chainsaw type of slashers this is probably right up your alley. I’m gonna pass though.

TMNT
Director: Kevin Munroe
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Mako, Chris Evans
Rated: PG for animated action violence, some scary cartoon images and mild language
Duration: 1h26m
Plot: Humankind’s only hope against a disgruntled tech-industrialist’s plan for world domination rests with a team of ninja-trained turtles who live in the sewers of Manhattan: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael. But first they have to get over the humiliation they suffered at the hands of their arch nemesis — a defeat which caused the Turtles to grow apart.
My Take: Well look who is back, it’s the heroes in a half shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This time they’ve gone animated, probably a good choice. But how are they going to do a TMNT without Shredder?! So the villain is new this time around, which is probably a good idea since it’s been so long they can make a fresh start with these. I’d expect to see several more sequels unless this totally bombs, which may be possible with such crowded waters this weekend.

The Last Mimzy
Director: Robert Shaye
Starring: Joely Richardson, Rainn Wilson, Timothy Hutton
Rated: PG for some thematic elements, mild peril and language
Duration: 1h30m
Plot: A box of toys sent from the future is found by two siblings who develop special and terrifying new abilities soon after their discovery. Together, along with their parents and one of their teachers, they are drawn into a strange new world.
My Take: It’s a kids’ film, but it reminds me of a mix between Contact and any of the old 80’s movies that were futuristic-science focused. It looks pretty safe for the family and young kids.