Animals are likely to rule the box office roost this weekend. While conventional wisdom has it that Hollywood blockbusters are made for young men, this is one of those weekends in which women and families are likely to dictate the hits. “African Cats” is a sure thing — produced by Disney, rated G to bring in a larger audience, and released on Earth Day, the secular holiday that this year moved Good Friday to the shadows. It’s also a charming film, showcasing the beauty of the African savanna and some of its most adorable and deadly denizens. The documentary, narrated by the suave Samuel L. Jackson, focuses of two families, a pride of lions and a cheetah mother and her cubs.
“Water for Elephants” has its own crew of animals — circus animals. Reese Witherspoon is the wife of the cruel owner and its star attraction, while Robert Pattinson is the vet who’s joined the troupe during the Depression and falls in love with her. Based on the best-selling novel by Sara Gruen, this romance is a little melodramatic, but it does a nice job of re-creating the wonders of the circus at the height of its magic.
Two very different foreign films also opened in the District this weekend. “Winter in Wartime” is a Dutch drama about the last winter of World War II and the effects of its compromises on a teenage boy. “Potiche” is a French farce with three of the country’s best actors: Catherine Deneuve, Fabrice Luchini and Gerard Depardieu.
Morgan Spurlock got on the nerves of many conservatives with his documentary “Super Size Me.” They told the filmmaker he could pry their Big Macs out of their cold, dead fingers. But his latest, “POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,” is about something that irritates both the left and right: product placement. “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family” also opens this weekend, but I can’t tell you whether it’s any good. His movies are rarely screened for critics before they open.
You also have an excellent option if you want to stay at home this rainy weekend. Last year’s best picture Oscar-winner has arrived on DVD. “The King’s Speech,” anchored by Colin Firth’s moving Oscar-winning performance, is a stylish piece of history. Well, sort of. The inaccuracies pile up as the minutes go on. Perhaps that’s why there aren’t many extras on the disc exploring the real story. There’s commentary with director Tom Hooper, a Q&A with him and the cast, a making-of feature, and an interview with the grandson of Lionel Logue, the speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush. The best extra might be speeches from the real King George VI. They prove just how pitch-perfect Firth’s performance really was.
