Springtime is finally here, and as the weather starts to get a little better, so does your choice of movies. Though March wasn’t always known as a month where you could score big at the box office, Zack Snyder’s “300” changed all that, and since then, the studios have been more open to releasing some of their higher profile films in an attempt to cash in on the pre-summer excitement. If it’s big-budget epics you’re after, or just a great comedy anchored by some big names, then you’ll want to continue reading.

Who: Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Olivia Thirlby and Julianne Moore
What: While working in a Boston homeless shelter, Nick Flynn re-encounters his estranged father, a con man and self-proclaimed poet.
When: March 2nd
Why: This is the kind of film that you’d normally expect to see during awards season, which is what makes Focus Features’ decision to release it in March so refreshing. Of course, it could just mean that the movie simply isn’t good enough to be Oscar bait, but with actors like Robert De Niro and Paul Dano involved, it seems pretty unlikely. Based on playwright Nick Flynn’s memoir, “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City” (a great book title, but hardly one that rolls off the tongue when buying a ticket at the movie theater), “Being Flynn” might just be the film that finally gets De Niro’s acting career back on track. If nothing else, it’s great to see Paul Weitz directing some much headier material following the dreadful “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” and “Little Fockers.”

Who: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Dominic West and Mark Strong
What: After a Civil War veteran is inexplicably transported to Mars, he becomes mixed up in a conflict amongst the habitants of the planet.
When: March 9th
Why: I had never even heard of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ series of pulp fantasy novels when a “John Carter” movie was first rumored a few years ago as a possible directing project for Jon Favreau, but after seeing the initial trailer, I was sold. It’s been awhile since a sci-fi epic has come along that actually looks the part, and a lot of that credit goes to Andrew Stanton, who, although he’s best known for directing Pixar hits like “Finding Nemo” and “Wall-E,” is following in the footsteps of colleague Brad Bird with his live-action debut. While it will be interesting to see what Stanton can do outside the realm of animation, however, the film’s success will ultimately depend on whether Taylor Kitsch can prove to be the action star that Hollywood is betting on him to become.

Who: Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph
What: Two best friends decide to have a child together while keeping their relationship platonic to avoid the toll kids can take on romantic relationships.
When: March 9th
Why: I’ve been looking forward to seeing “Friends with Kids” ever since it premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival to pretty high acclaim. Although the setup may sound a bit sitcomy, it’s an interesting twist on the conventional rom-com genre that feels appropriate in this very unconventional day and age. Plus, the cast is simply too good not to get excited. In addition to the talent listed above, the movie also stars Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox and Ed Burns, and was written and directed by star Jennifer Westfeldt, aka Mrs. Jon Hamm. Each couple will undoubtedly have their respective moments to shine, but I’m really looking forward to the reunion between Hamm and Kristen Wiig, whose scenes together in “Bridesmaids” were the highlight of the movie.

Who: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson and Dave Franco
What: A pair of underachieving cops is sent undercover to a local high school to bring down a synthetic drug ring.
When: March 16th
Why: The movie is a Holy Trinity of things that I hate – TV-to-film adaptations, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum – and yet early buzz for the action comedy has it tipped to be the first breakout hit of the year. The trailer suggests otherwise, but if directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (whose only previous experience behind the camera was on the animated film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”) can keep Hill on a tight leash and get the best out of Tatum, then who knows? The idea of sending cops undercover at a high school is even more ridiculous now than it was when the TV series aired back in the late 80s, but the fact that the script was penned by Michael Bacall (who co-wrote the awesome “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”) gives me hope that it’ll be better than expected.

Who: Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon and Judy Greer
What: Dispatched from his basement room on an errand for his mother, slacker Jeff spends the day with his brother as he tracks his possibly adulterous wife.
When: March 16th
Why: Though they haven’t always had the good fortune to work with big-name talent, the Duplass brothers have yet to make a bad movie in their short but impressive directing careers. Of course, if “Cyrus” proved anything, it’s that their unconventional brand of mumblecore filmmaking functions even better with top-notch actors, so it’s great to see that the directing duo is back at it again with A-list talent like Jason Segel, Ed Helms and Susan Sarandon. The fellow sitcom stars, in particular, both exhibit a great knack for the kind of improvisational comedy that typically serves as the building blocks for all of Jay and Mark Duplass’ films, while Sarandon can pretty much do no wrong. The basic setup may sound a bit like that terrible Ron Howard dramedy, “The Dilemma,” but “Jeff Who Lives at Home” promises to be a much funnier and all-around better movie.

Who: Will Ferrell, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna and Genesis Rodriguez
What: Scheming on a way to save their father’s ranch, the Alvarez brothers find themselves in a war with Mexico’s most feared drug lord.
When: March 16th
Why: Will Ferrell is no longer the comedy superstar that he was five years ago, but he’s been working overtime lately in an attempt to reinvigorate his career. Guest spots on “The Office” and “Eastbound & Down” are one thing, but starring in a Spanish-language comedy that’s equal parts spaghetti western and telenovela is a pretty daring career move even for someone as seemingly fearless as Ferrell. Though the involvement of Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna lends the project a certain degree of authenticity (if you’re going to make a Spanish-language movie, then you might as well get the best actors from that region), it’s hard to tell if the film will be as gut-wrenchingly funny as it looks or just a disappointing gimmick that would have worked better as an “SNL” skit.

Who: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Woody Harrelson
What: Set in a future where kids are forced to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister’s place.
When: March 23rd
Why: A lot of people have been quick to bill “The Hunger Games” as the next “Twilight,” and while it’s easy to see why – not only is it based on a series of young adult novels, but it also features a very similar love triangle at its core – just about everyone involved with the movie has argued against such comparisons. But whether or not you actually agree with their comments, it would be silly to think that Lionsgate won’t be using the “Twilight” films as the measure of success for the first (and likely not last) installment. Though Gary Ross is certainly an odd choice to direct such a film, based on the various images and trailers released so far, he seems to have totally nailed the look and tone of Suzanne Collins’ dystopian world, and in the end, that’s all fans can really ask for.

Who: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy and Doni Alamsyah
What: A SWAT team becomes trapped in an apartment building run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.
When: March 23rd
Why: With the exception of “The Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Django Unchained,” Gareth Evans’ much-buzzed about Indonesian action film is probably my most anticipated movie of 2012. That’s not bad company to share, especially for a film that nobody knew anything about six months ago. Since its TIFF premiere, “The Raid” has been making the rounds on the festival circuit as the hype machine continues to roll on, and it’s gotten to the point where I’ll almost likely be disappointed if it isn’t the greatest action movie ever made. All joking aside, this film looks absolutely badass – a no-holds-barred beat-‘em-up that isn’t so much concerned with story than cramming as much bone-breaking, testosterone-pumping action into every frame as it possibly can.

Who: Sam Worthington, Rosamund Pike, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes
What: Perseus embarks on a quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, who has been captured by his traitorous son, Ares, and his brother, Hades.
When: March 30th
Why: Although the last movie felt somewhat restricted by its attempts at staying true to the story from the 1981 original, “Wrath of the Titans” has the freedom to do pretty much whatever it wants. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the story will be any better, but as you can probably tell from the trailer, that’s the least of director Jonathan Liebesman’s concerns. The biggest draw of these films is watching Perseus (still played by Sam Worthington, but now rocking a Kenny Powers-inspired mullet) face off against one mythological creature after the next like some kind of video game. It’s also encouraging to see that the gods will be playing a bigger part as well, because what’s the point of casting Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes if you don’t make the most of their talents?

Who: Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane and Sean Bean
What: An evil queen steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven diminutive rebels to win back her birthright.
When: March 30th
Why: In the ongoing saga of the battling Snow White movies, Tarsem Singh’s “Mirror Mirror” seems to be at a complete disadvantage before either film even opens. While Rupert Sanders’ upcoming “Snow White and the Huntsman” actually looks like it might be a cool twist on the classic Grimm fairy tale, Singh’s lighthearted take on the material might be a little too silly for its own good. Replete with goofy humor, Bollywood dance numbers and the director’s trademark oversaturated visuals, “Mirror Mirror” is about as different from the other Snow White movie as you could get. But while Julia Roberts certainly appears to be having a blast playing the Evil Queen, the whole thing just looks far too ridiculous to take seriously, let alone enjoy. This has disaster written all over it.

Right down to the sexy female dancers who liven up the breaks and its highly distinctive award statue, “the Mantlers,” it’s easily the most laid back and honestly silly awards show I’ve seen. It’s also the only award show we know of which contains R-rated profanity in one of its award titles: the “Funniest Motherf*cker” award, this year being given to Jim Carrey. It’s safe the say the show was completely irreverent about everything, except for its commendable commitment to drawing attention to the bravery and sacrifices made by members of our armed forces.

Speaking of Jim Carrey, the famed comic provided a remarkable bit of comedy dealing with the always absolutely never hilarious topic of..oh, Lord, we’d better just leave it alone. You don’t want to know. Carrey himself made it clear that children and other sensitive people were better off not hearing the routine before proceeding with a shocking and explosively funny performance, abetted by the sensitive stylings of violinist Neil Hammond.

More traditionally edgy and hilarious at certain points, but a lot longer, was a marathon bit by faux canine Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, aka comic genius Robert Smigel. The latter merited a bad on-camera review from Sean Penn who between this show and his criticism of Ricky Gervais at Golden Globes, seems to be developing a side career as a real-time award show comedy critic.

Justin Timberlake less controversially proved himself to be, once again, no comic slouch, while promoting the charms of the co-star of his next flick, “Friends with Benefits,” the beautiful and talented Mila Kunis. Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards distinguished himself by simply being alive to pick up his award and being the innately humourous individual he is.

And so it went. I’ll have a few choice quotes from the show at the end of this piece. First, though, let’s talk about the folks we met on the Red Carpet.

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, the likes of Kunis, Carry, Timberlake, Richards, Jennifer Aniston, Penn and presenter/winners Mark Wahlberg and Robert De Niro were kept far away from the likes of us. Even Triumph was on too short a leash to be within licking distance. Nevertheless, we did speak to a few folks of interest to a great many guys, with Mixed Martial Arts lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez leading the way.

What your correspondent knows about sports in general and this very new sport in particular would fit on the head of a smaller than average pin, but I nevertheless ventured a couple of questions with the Philadelphia-bred 27 year-old, nicknamed “the Silent Assassin.” Because my mind naturally goes to the controversial place, I asked about the safety issue in regards to his somewhat controversial calling. Alvarez was ready to reassure me.

“The MMA sport has been proven to be safer than many other sports. There’s a misconception out there and that’s why some of the top fighters in each [MMA] organization are out there to educate people…The fighters that are going out there to fight are prepared. They know what they’re getting into and the sport is a lot safer than people think.”

So, had Alvarez’s fighting success led him to any interesting career places? “I fight every so often on MTV [he's emerged victorious on 'Bully Beatdown']. I’ve been all over the world — Japan, Russia, Costa Rica,” said Alvarez who certainly seemed to be enjoying his day in the sun.

Next up was actor Robert Romanus, an actor with over 50 credits to his name but whose claim to movie fame remains playing the swaggering Mike Damone, who schools Mark “Rat” Ratner (Brian Becker) on the ways of sex in the now legendary teen comedy, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” The movie was being saluted by Guys Choice and Romanus was there as part of a group that included director Amy Heckerling (who still looks too young to be directing movies), and Oscar winners Forest Whitaker and Sean “Don’t Call Me Spicoli” Penn.

I couldn’t help bringing up what everybody brings up, the large number of actors in the cast who went on to greater fame, including also Jennifer Jason Leigh and such bit players as Eric Stoltz, Anthony Edwards, and, uh, Nicolas Cage. I don’t know what meanness brought out this rather impossible question, but did anyone’s subsequent success surprise him? (What’s he supposed to say, “Yeah, that Penn kid and Jennifer Jason What’s-Her-Name were a couple a real no-talents!”?)

“No, not really. To be honest with you, everybody on that set was really a good actor. Dedicated. It was cast really well. People knew what they were doing even though they were young.”

When I asked if there was anything else in his long career he thought maybe hadn’t gotten the attention it deserved, the actor, who plays and sings with the L.A. area band Poppa’s Kitchen, used a pop musical metaphor.

“It’s like an album cut. Some of them are hits, some of them are just Side-Bs. You’ll never see ‘em; you won’t listen to ‘em. For me, once I’m done, it’s over. The process is the fun part.” As for what he’s up these days, “always looking for work” was Romanus’s commendably straightforward answer.

Next up was a brief cameo from the very attractive hostesses of Spike TV’s gamer geek friendly “GameTrailers,” Amanda McKay and Justine Ezarik. As we speak, the pair are gearing for the gigantic E3 gaming expo in downtown Los Angeles.

That was followed by my favorite encounter of the evening. It was with five of the seven actresses who so memorably and precisely portrayed Mickey Ward’s extremely memorable sisters from “The Fighter.” Though, like a fool I forgot to ask everyone their names, and I’m therefore not 100% sure which actress the quote below comes from, I can at least say that the women pictured belowed are (I think) Kate B. O’Brien (Conan O’Brien’s sister!), Melissa McMeekin, Bianca Hunter, Jenna Lamia (who I think did the talking, but don’t quote me on that), and Erica McDermott.

I started out by asking about the much discussed sequel, which they told me was, as far as they knew, just a rumor, but one in which they were very much in favor. (The main source of those “rumors” has been star and producer Mark Wahlberg, who seemed to confirm that it was done deal and a third and final sequel possible, while picking up Mantlers on stage in the presence of director David O. Russell, and real-life “fighters.”)

Since in person the acting “sisters” really do seem much, much less intimidating and a more than a little healthier than the Eklund/Ward sisters from the film, I asked if they ever get recognized. It had happened when they were together but they seemed to agree that not being recognized individually as one of the characters they played was something of a compliment. Since I really was impressed by the realism and intensity of their performances, I asked if there were any actor exercises to achieve the strong group dynamic on display in the Oscar-winning movie.

“We got to meet the actual women that we were playing. I’ve never done that before. We had drinks with them and hung out in their kitchen and talked about life; there’s nothing better than that.”

I mentioned I was especially impressed by their group dynamic in opposition to Charlene Fleming-Ward, as portrayed by Amy Adams.

“We bonded so quickly amongst us that we really did feel like we were sisters. Then we tried to somewhat keep our distance from Amy. She’s a lovely girl, but we did try and keep our distance a little bit so that that would show.”

Next up was possibly the most famous face in the tech geek community this side of Steve Jobs or Guy’s Choice nominee Mark Zuckerberg, Kevin Pereira, host of G4′s “Attack of the Show” since 2005. So, I asked him, what’s the biggest thing in geek culture these days?

“Anything that has a lowercase ‘i’ people get excited for. iPads, iPhones, iBongs, it doesn’t matter…The tablet space is going to heat up very soon. Honeycomb, from Google, it’s their portable operating system. That’s really improving greatly. Manufacturers are really hopping on board for that. And, the new previews for Windows 8 shows that it’s going to be an awesome, touch-enabled interface.”

From their, our conversation immediately went downhill intellectually as we somehow wound up discussing the tragedy of liberal Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner. At that point, he had yet to come clean in that now legendary press conference. At this point he had been reduced to lying that he could not be sure whether or not the genitalia in question belonged to him or someone else, though he was sure he hadn’t sent them.

“You should know what your own penis looks like from any angle,” Pereira opined. “I’m sorry. As a man, that’s the one thing you should be able to pick out of a line-up. ‘Is that my dick? I don’t know I see so many of them in my in-box.’”

From there it wasn’t too far a stretch to ask what was the most controversial topic topic among the G4 viewership. It turned out to be a more loaded question than I knew.

“We get a lot of hate mail every day from pretty much every group you can imagine. We’re a pretty sexist, racist, vile show, but we review technology — it’s okay, you can do that. We do get a lot letters every day about different games…whether it’s for the cell phone, the web browser or whatever, people just want to be entertained and ignore the real world.”

And with those wise words, it was time for things to begin winding down as the show itself got underway. Competitive eater Joey Chestnutt stopped by next to say some kind words to the troops via the American Forces Network, but I would have prefered to go with the picture I got of the lovely and talented Eva Mendes, who was chatting with Telemundo on the other side of me. The bad news is, none of my pictures of her came out very well. The good news was I had better luck getting a decent shot of newly minted  “Charlies’ Angels” TV-reboot costar Annie Ilonzeh.

Finally, there was the brief visit from “Reno 911” creators Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, better known to the show’s viewers as Lieutenant Jim Dangle and Deputy Travis Junior. Since I was also located next to reporters from American Forces Network (formerly Armed Forces Network), they stopped by to give a shout out to the troops and promise to continue “being funny” in return for the bravery of our soldiers and for “finding folks in Pakistan that need killin’.'”

“It seems like they’re all there,” Lennon added, reacting to the laughs. “Just the last ten or so.”

******

And, as promised, here are a few of our favorite quotes from the evening.

“It’s no secret that comedy comes from pain. So I would be remiss if I were to accept this award without thanking my Uncle Basil, for raping me anally at a remote lake north of Sudbury, Ontario….”
– Jim Carrey

“Michelle Bachman told supporters that our founding fathers ended slavery. She’s the presidential candidate for voters who like Sarah Palin, but are intimidated by smart women.”
– Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.

“There’s a PETA demonstration going on outside. I think they’re calling for a dog with a cigar to be put down.”
– Sean Penn

“I’ve got to call Clint Eastwood and ask him how he displays his balls.”
– Keith Richards, picking up the “Brass Balls” award