I saw a lot of movies in March while trying to catch as many Oscar nominees as I could before the Academy Awards were handed out.
And since I really wanted Michael B. Jordan to win Best Actor but fully expected Timothée Chalamet to get the award instead, I particularly wanted to watch “Marty Supreme” before the ceremony in case I needed to grudgingly admit that Chalamet deserved the Oscar.
And while I am pleased to report that I could indeed have been OK with Chalamet winning, I am even more pleased to report that I didn’t have to be, since Jordan actually got the statuette!
That was cool.
Here are the movies I saw in March of 2026, in order of preference:
Ready or Not 2 (In the theater, 3/22/2026) Grade: A
I gave this movie an “A” based on this fight scene alone: Two women in wedding dresses trying to kill each other while blinded by pepper spray with Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” blasting in a deserted reception hall, in what also has to be the best use of that song ever.
Why? Because if you are a survivor of 1980s radio like me, you likely also feel that a year (or was it two?!) of hearing that song played at least once an hour was enough for a lifetime, but I fully supported listening to it again for that scene.
I also went into this movie not sure we actually needed a sequel to “Ready or Not,” which was a pleasant surprise created largely by no expectations, but I checked it out anyway in large part to see the return of Buffy, aka Sarah Michelle Gellar. And though Gellar was not playing our heroine this time, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her and the rest of the cast, with my favorite part being how our actual heroines end up not marrying into a new family, but re-committing to themselves as a family. That was cool.
Blue Moon (On Netflix, March 7). Grade: A-/B+
I never liked Ethan Hawke when he was younger, but am quite enjoying his older years. He started to win me over in “Juliet, Naked,” then I officially became a fan of his gray-hair work when he moved to television recently to star in “The Lowdown” as a used bookstore owner in Oklahoma who also writes for a local magazine, but mostly drinks too much and disappoints his daughter. And while everyone in that show is great, my favorite character just might be the old van Hawke drives.
In “Blue Moon,” Hawke plays another writer who drinks too much, though after having a lot more success to piss away. The movie is like spending an evening on a bar stool next to a man whose best years are fumes even he can barely smell anymore, so it is full of pain disguised as pithy dialogue, with Hawke completely believable and sympathetic as a man drowning in memories he can’t stop swimming in. So yeah, if Jordan didn’t win Best Actor this year, Hawke would have been my second choice for the award.
Marty Supreme (On YouTube, March 14). Grade: B
I wanted to see this movie long before any of the Oscar hype: Wait, it’s all about a guy trying to be a ping pong champion? I’m in! But… there was too much dog caper and not enough ping pong for me, frankly. And as good as Chalamet is at playing Marty, I could never root for this heel, or anyone else in the movie, really, except maybe the dog. The only human who came close to winning my sympathies was Marty’s lovesick sidekick Rachel, played admirably by Odessa A’zion, so here’s hoping her next role is a starring one she can really shine in, perhaps on her way to becoming the next Natasha Lyonne?
And to my surprise, I also really enjoyed the performance of Gwyenth Paltrow, who perfectly captured the frustration and despair of a faded beauty trapped in a gilded cage while trying to grasp her last bit of glory. Frankly, I found it a much more admirable bit of acting than the role that won her a Best Actress Oscar in 1999.
How to Make a Killing (In the theater, March 1, 2026) Grade: B-/C+
This movie was like a burger without blue cheese and bacon: A perfectly acceptable plate of food, but no special ingredients to make it sing. And while I can’t point to anything I didn’t like about it, as it was certainly competent and enjoyable, I also can’t point to anything I especially liked, either.
A bit like “Ready or Not” in reverse but without all the fun and laughs, I felt like this movie wanted to tip its hat to “American Psycho,” but didn’t want to make Glen Powell go as depraved as Christian Bale, because they needed him to be more likable.
And that was the movie’s downfall, because it depended too much on Powell’s charisma, as if the filmmakers decided to let his smile do all the work. But that plan failed for me, I’m afraid, as I found no one to like in this movie, not even Powell.
Here, finally, are the movies my grandmother saw in March of 1999:
- Thursday, March 18, 1999
- To Gottschalk’s, got 2 cheap rings.
- Talked to Myra, gave her magazines, jars.
- To show, “Shakespeare in Love.” (4th). Forgot hearing aid! See again?
- Friday, March 19, 1999
- To Drug Emporium, got Kleenex and Band-aids.
- Got donut/coffee. Girl fun to talk with.
- TV: Bio on Gwyenth Paltrow from Shakepeare. Good!
- Saturday, March 20, 1999
- Awake 6:30, usual breakfast.
- Chores: Vacuumed, cleaned furnace filters.
- To show, “Affliction.” Nick Nolte, good performance.
- Sunday, March 21, 1999
- Up 6:30. Typed some collected info on eye surgery.
- To Kmart, gassed car.
- TV: Siskel & Ebert, Oscars: Gwyenth Paltrow, Dench, Roberto Benigni, Best Actor & Best Foreign Film.
- Thursday, March 25, 1999
- Cleaned patio, in part.
- To McDonald’s, coffee.
- To library, sent email to Carla.
- To show, “Shakespeare in Love.” [Fifth time!]
- Friday, March 26, 1999
- To show, “True Crime.” Clint Eastwood, face lined!! First shot at bar with 23-year-old!
- To Lucky to get bread. All $2.
- Sunday, March 28, 1999
- Swept patio, washed car.
- To show, “Forces of Nature.” Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck. Stupid at times.
- To Kmart for ice cream.
- Home, five mins yard work.