April Movie Previews

Clash of the Titans- April 2

Fresh off his success as the lead in the Sci-fi - CGI hit Avatar, Sam Worthington takes on the role of a different hero, Perseus, in a much different time and place. Perseus, the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) and a hero in Greek legends, defends the world and heaven from Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and the monsters of underworld. The plot is sure to be simple and characters fairly standard - hero, villain, and god types - but the pure visual value of terrifying monsters and flying horses will likely make this movie worth seeing on the big screen.

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?- April 2

The cast from Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? encounters more challenges of married life when they go on their annual reunion, this time to the Bahamas. At first the trailer reminded me of the premise of Couples Retreat which tried too hard to be funny and sentimental. Why Did I Get Married Too? appears to be far more realistic and sincere. What is suppose to be a time to reconnect ends up with all of them questioning some part of themselves and their relationship.

Date Night- April 9

Steve Carell and Tina Fey, two comic geniuses of our time, play an ordinary married couple who end up stealing the identities of two low-life criminals (James Franco and Mila Kunis). Their would-be boring date night turns into a dangerous adventure involving mobsters, corrupt cops, and a crazy cab driver. With the reputations of the two leads the expectations are high but they are sure to deliver the laughs.

The Runaways- April 9

The story of an American all-girl teenage rock band from the 70s that opened up the world for female rock stars and influenced the entire rock genre comes to theaters. Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning play the two most prominent members of the band, Joan Jett and Cherrie Currie, and lead the movie with killer performances. Their manager Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) deserves a nod for her rock-out show as well. The essence of the time and the wildness of the rock n roll lifestyle are visually there but will the trio be able to keep the mojo alive off-stage?

Kick-Ass- April 16

A what-if-super-heroes-existed movie but this time based on the comic book series by Mark Millar, a series that doesn’t take itself as seriously as the likes of Watchmen. The title character, played by Aaron Johnson, lives a normal life as a high school student with no problems but also no excitement, until he makes the decision to become a superhero. Others soon follow in his crime fighting footsteps, including Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse of Superbad and Role Models) and the father-daughter team of Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and, the one who appears to be the most lethal of all these heroes, Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz), creating a different class of superheroes than most movie-goers expect.

Death at Funeral- April 16

The original Death at Funeral (2007) followed a British family’s funeral gone awry; this remake takes the same plot but follows an American family. What should be a serious and dignified event is marred not only by family resentments but also a fiancé who was accidentally given hallucinogenic drugs, a moron who tries to win back the heart of a woman, a pain-in-the-ass uncle, and a mysterious little person. The plot has been used before, even written by the same screenwriter Dean Craig, but iconic faces of American comedy such as Danny Glover, Luke Wilson, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, and Chris Rock may make this recycle palatable.

Oceans- April 22

Water covers roughly three-quarters of the Earth and within the depths of the largest of these bodies, the oceans, there is a lot of life many have never seen a glimpse of. On Earth Day Disneynature (Earth), presents a look beneath the waves, exploring the fascinating creatures, the dangers of sea-life, and our impact upon the ocean. It was filmed in over 50 different locations over three years using the latest underwater film technology.

The Back-up Plan- April 23

Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) wanted to be a mom and was tired of dating men who were not living up to her expectations so she went at it alone with insemination. Of course on that same day she met Stan (Alex O’Loughlin) the perfect man. Comedy ensues as Zoe tries to hide the signs of pregnancy in order to create the normalcy of a new relationship but before long she admits the reason for her crazy behavior and he commits fully. With baby on the brain they must backtrack and learn to love each other beyond the baby. This backward approach to classic rhyme “first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage” may, and probably does, work out for this unlikely couple.

Paper Man- April 23

A middle-aged novelist named Richard (Jeff Daniels) moves to Long Island in hopes to cure his writer’s block where he befriends a 17-year-old girl named Abby (Emma Stone) who has one thing in common with him: an imaginary friend. Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds) is the bleach blonde superhero counterpart of Richard and a fellow teenager named Christopher (Kieran Culkin) is Abby’s. As their friendship grows both learn to let go of these imaginary friends and begin life anew. Although this is a limited release considering how difficult it was to find just a few clips and not even a trailer, it's sure to be worth finding.

The Losers- April 23

A team of select U.S. Special Forces (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Oscar Jaenada) are betrayed from the inside and marked as targets to be eliminated. These five intelligent and highly skilled characters fall beneath the radar in order to plan for revenge. An operative named Aisha (Zoe Saldana) gets their plan rolling, claiming she can get them through to the elusive and protected Max who wants to entangle the world in a high-tech global war.

A Nightmare on Elm Street- April 30

Freddy Krueger returns for yet another fun time of ruining your sleep and your life. This classic horror plot is updated with contemporary references and a setting in suburbia where a group of good looking teenagers are being stalked by the grossly disfigured, four clawed killer, but only when they sleep. The trailer captures what looks to be a dark movie that will make you jump, and possibly become an insomniac for a few days or weeks, so although most horror buffs will have seen it before, this time they won’t know exactly when Freddy is going to appear.

Furry Vengeance- April 30

My first reaction upon seeing the poster was a disappointed sigh for Brendan Fraser, where are those amazing days in the deserts of The Mummy? Oh I forgot, they made a third one… But I digress, Fraser has never really picked any winning movie to be a part of, he’s just that type of actor. Now, he is a young real estate developer in charge of converting the local forest into a forest-themed shopping mall by tearing it down. This deal is undermined by a band of wild animals led by a raccoon. This can only lead to a series of hokey jokes and I’m assuming the preservation of the forest. The saddest thing is the film isn’t even original, it’s just Hoot (2006) all over again.