This weekend you’ll see a decent variety of new movies appearing at your local theater. From an alien invasion to a classic novel adaptation, it seems like there could be something for everybody. These new releases are Battle: Los Angeles, Red Riding Hood, Mars Needs Moms, and Jane Eyre. There is also a number of other small indie movies coming out as well, but unless you live in New York City or Los Angeles, they wont be appearing in any theaters near you. For a list of these small films and more information on all of them, check out Moviefone.com’s “Coming Soon” page here. Here are some brief summaries of this weekend’s four new films and the trailer for each:

Battle: Los Angles

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Michael Peña

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Synopsis: Battle: Los Angeles is a modern-day take on the classic alien invasion story. Staff Sgt. Michael Nantz (Eckhart) is on the verge of retiring from the Marines, but when the aliens begin their full-out assault he must return to combat and lead a squad of soldiers in the battle for Los Angeles.

 

Nantz’s team is assigned the daunting task of extracting a group of trapped civilians from the battlefront before the Air Force drops bombs and wipes out all forms of life in that area. This ticking-time-bomb scenario quickly escalates into a fight for survival that is laden with gunfire, explosions, and heavy casualties.

*Keep an eye out for my full review of Battle: Los Angeles tomorrow.

Red Riding Hood

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Lukas Haas

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Synopsis: Seyfried dawns the iconic red hood as Valerie, a girl who finds herself in the midst of a romantic quandary. She has fallen in love with Peter, a mysterious man who is a village outsider, but her parents have arranged for her to marry a wealthy villager named Henry. Valerie and Peter plan to leave the village and escape the planned marriage, but their scheme is cut short when Valerie’s sister is murdered by the werewolf that lives in the woods outside of the village. The outraged villagers call upon an expert hunter, Father Solomon (Oldman), to find and slay the werewolf. However, the plot thickens when Solomon informs them that the werewolf takes human form during the day and therefore could be anyone of them.

Mars Needs Mom

Starring: Seth Green, Joan Cusack, Dan Fogler

Director: Simon Wells

Synopsis: Milo is an ordinary 9-year-old boy who has to deal with the typical annoyances of his mother’s demands. But he quickly forgets about her constant nagging when Martians kidnap her and bring her back to Mars. The Martians have launched a major campaign to kidnap all of Earth’s mothers in the hopes of using them to raise their own Martian kids. Realizing just how much he needs his mother, Milo sets out on a grand rescue mission to Mars. Mars Needs Moms comes from the same producing team that brought you Disney’s A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express, and the epic adventure takes place entirely in 3D.

Jane Eyre

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell

Director: Cary Fukunaga

Synopsis: Jane Eyre is the latest screen adaptation of English writer Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel. After a troublesome upbringing, Jane Eyre (Wasikowska) sets out to start anew and become a governess. She ends up at Thornfield Hall, where she enjoys her new role and new life. Her and the master of the house develop a close friendship, and soon the two fall in love. Everything is going perfectly until Eyre discovers the house master’s horrible secret, which could spell the end of things for the two of them.

 

So that’s this weekend’s roundup – something for the kids, something for classic novel fans, and something for any moviegoers hungry for explosions and mass destruction. Are you planning to go out and see any of these new films?

About The Author

Bell Peloquin is a Blast staff writer. He writes the Film and Television Buzz blog.

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