New Releases: March 7, 2014

1. Mr. Peabody and Sherman (Fox/DreamWorks, 3,934 Theaters, 92 Minutes, Rated PG): There are feature films based on cartoons based of shows your kid watched. There are cartoons based on shows you watched. This here is a cartoon based on show your parents might have watched.

For those of you that don’t know. Mr. Peabody is a superintelligent dog and Sherman is his adopted son. They travel through time via a machine Peabody invented called the WABAC machine. The characters made their debut as part of a segment of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show called Peabody’s Improbable History “way back” in 1959. Yes, the character DreamWorks and Fox want you to take your kids too are old enough to start receiving AARP benefits.

There are quality people involved in the production, but I fear the film might go the same way as the live-action Rocky and Bullwinkle & Underdog films, two other concepts eligible for the senior discount at Denny’s, into the category of box office failure.

2. 300: Rise of an Empire (Warner Brothers, 3,470 Theaters, 102 Minutes, Rated R):
When they first started talking about a sequel to the film 300, armchair historians had to ask, “Huh?”

Because 300 was based on a true story, and the way it worked out, and the way it was portrayed on the screen, it did not leave room for a sequel.

They worked around it by focusing on another area of the Persian attack on Greece. This time, it’s Athens at the forfront of the battle, who must meld their naval superiority to the fighting abilities of the Spartans if they have any hope of defeating Xerxes. Lucky for them, the Spartans are out for revenge for what happened in the first film.