Looking Forward: April Movies (2011)

April feels like a place holder. May is when all of the big budget rock-em-sock-em stuff starts to roll out. Still, there are a few movies worth noting this month and one or two that have a chance of pulling in some big dollars as well. There also seems to be an odd theme of accepting responsibility and growing up running through a number of them.

April 1

Hop- In this animated feature, E.B., the Easter Bunny’s teenage son, heads to Hollywood. He’s determined to become a drummer in a rock ‘n’ roll band when he gets there and not be the Easter Bunny. In LA, he’s taken in by Fred after the out-of-work slacker accidentally hits E.B. with his car. Starting James Mardsen as Fred and Russel Brand as E.B., this movie seems to be one of those ‘gee, it’ll be great when we grow up and take on responsibility’ movies.

Source Code- Director Duncan Jones’ first large project stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan. The movie focuses on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. He has 8 minutes to find the bomb and change the future. Moonwas an excellent movie, so I’ve been looking forward to what Duncan Jones (David Bowie’s son) would do next. I hope this does well this weekend as I would love to see more from him in the future.

Insidious – The writer-director team behind “Saw” and the filmmakers of “Paranormal Activity” redefine the haunted house genre in “Insidious.” I always find it is a bad omen for a movie when the official synopsis of a film needs to include the prior credits of those involved. This horror film is the terrifying story of a family discover that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. This of course happens just after the move into the house. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to discover that it was not their house that was haunted. Insidious stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne.

April 8

Arthur- A “re-imagining” of the 1981 original staring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli this version stars Russel Brand, Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner. The plot is mostly the same from what I can tell.  Arthur is a man who has had no responsibilities and will only inherit a vast fortune if he marries the woman his family desire he marry. He must choose between a loveless marriage and his family money and a woman he falls in love with and no money.

Hanna- Staring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana, this seems right up my alley. A 16-year-old who was raised by her ex-CIA agent father in the isolated wilds of Finland to be the perfect assassin. She is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives. The journey brings startling revelations and questions about her own humanity. Saoirse Ronan seems to be an up and coming talent – this should be a good platform for her to stretch a little.

Your Highness- Ironically, this movie has a plot that seems to be something of a theme in April. Thadeous has spent his life watching his perfect older brother Fabious embark upon valiant journeys and win the hearts of his people. Tired of being passed over for adventure, adoration and the throne, he’s settled for a slacker’s life of wizard’s weed, hard booze and easy maidens. When Fabious’ bride-to-be, Belladonna, gets kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar, the king gives his deadbeat son an ultimatum: Man up and help rescue her or get cut off. This movie stars Danny Mcbride, James Franco, Natlie Portman and Zooey Deschanel.

April 15

Rio- Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, thinks he is the only one of his kind left. So when he meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he follows her on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro in the hopes of a chance of being with the bird of his dreams. Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway this animated adventure looks like it could be a lot of fun.

Scream 4- If you’ve seen a Scream movie, you likely know what is going on with this movie. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Scream movie all the way through and I still know more than enough to judge whether or not I’m going to see this one. Sidney Prescott is now the author of a self-help book and she is returning home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. When she gets there, she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill and her Aunt Kate. Unfortunately, Sidney’s appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting everyone in danger. Starring a ridiculous number of people but mainly Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox.

April 22

Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family- Madea’s niece Shirley receives distressing news about her health. She tries to gather her family together in order to share the news with everyone but they all have their own problems which get in the way. It’s up to Madea and Aunt Bam to gather everyone together and make things right. Another installment of the Madea movies but this one has Isaiah Mustafa in it!

Water for Elephants- Based on the novel by Sara Gruen, adapted by Richard LaGravenese, this movie stars Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz. During the Great Depression, Jacob, a penniless and recently-orphaned veterinary school student, parlays his expertise with animals into a job with a second-rate traveling circus. While with the circus, he falls in love with Marlena, one of the show’s star performers. Their romance is complicated by the fact that Marlena is married to the charismatic but unbalanced circus boss.

April 29

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night- Based off of the best-selling Italian horror comics of the same name, this adaptation stars Brandon Routh. Dylan is a private investigator whose business cards read “No Pulse? No Problem.” He must track down a dangerous artifact before a war starts between his werewolf, vampire and zombie clients who all live undercover New Orleans.  I recommend picking up the English translations of the comics published by Dark Horse and giving this movie a chance.

Fast Five- This movie starts lots of cars driven very fast, likely a number of them exploding and Vin Diesel – in IMAX! This time he and his group are up against The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) who plays a Federal agent charged with tracking them down in Rio de Janeiro. Of course, like all good team-up movies, this will lead to fighting and eventually an understanding between them. (I’m just guessing here. I haven’t seen it but it seems likely.) If you like expensive cars, explosions or fights between Vin Diesel and The Rock, this is the movie for you.