April 2007
(as seen in the Scottsdale Airpark News)
Movies in theaters are alive and well as Hollywood
continues to release some very exciting films. Why see these films
in a theater instead of at home on your great home theater system?
Some movies are best experienced on a massive screen with amazing
sound, with audience interaction, or maybe that guilty pleasure
-- with hot liquid butter poured all over that big bag of popcorn.
There could be one annoyance though -- deciding just what to see,
given there are often five or more new movies released every week.
So with your busy life, if you could see just one newly released
movie per week plus an extra one for either Passover or Easter,
which five in April should they be?
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For the weekend of April 6th, it is “Grindhouse”
starring Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan (Charmed), and Freddy
Rodriguez (Six Feet Under). An action / crime / horror / thriller,
rated R.
The plot: A homage to exploitation B-movie thrillers written
& directed by Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill) & Robert
Rodriguez (Sin City), that combines two feature-length segments
into one double-bill designed to replicate the grind house
theater going experience of the 70s and 80s. In Tarantino‘s
“Death Proof,” a scarred psycho outsider (Russell)
stalks and kills beautiful women with his car. In Rodriguez’s
“Planet Terror,” a small-town sheriffs’
department has to deal with an outbreak of murderous, infected
people called “sickos.” A gun-legged woman (McGowan)
and her martial arts-wielding partner (Rodriguez) take on
the zombie army. The two films will be fused together by fake
movie trailers.
There are five other new releases this weekend: Are
We Done Yet?, Black Book, Firehouse
Dog, The Hoax, and The TV
Set. |
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One extra this month for Passover April 3rd
or Easter April 8th, it is “The Reaping”
starring Hilary Swank, David Morrissey (Basic Instinct 2),
and AnnaSophia Robb (Because of Winn-Dixie). A horror / thriller,
rated R.
The plot: A former Christian missionary (Swank) who lost her
faith after her family was tragically killed, has since become
a world-renowned expert in disproving religious phenomena.
But when she investigates a small Louisiana town that is suffering
from what appears to be the 10 Biblical plagues, she realizes
that science cannot explain what is happening, and she must
regain her faith to combat the dark forces threatening the
community. |
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For the weekend of April 13th, it is “Disturbia”
starring Shia LaBeouf (Constantine), David Morse (16 Blocks),
and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix). A drama / thriller, rated
PG-13.
The plot: After a tragic accident leaves high school senior
Kale (LaBeouf) fatherless, the boy begins to act out. A serious
outburst of anger in school leads to his expulsion and a court-ordered
house arrest. To ensure that he doesn’t stray from his
home, he is required to wear an ankle bracelet that monitors
his movement. His mother (Moss) does her best to support the
two of them and attempts to reach out to her confused son,
but with little success. Bored, Kale turns to his binoculars
and video camera to explore a new hobby: voyeurism. With the
help of his best friend, he begins spying on his neighbors,
soon meeting the attractive new girl-next-door who joins in
on the fun. When Kale hears reports of mysterious abductions
in the neighborhood, he begins to suspect his strange neighbor
(Morse), especially when further surveillance of him points
to murder.
There are seven other new releases this weekend: Aqua
Teen Hunger Force, Lonely
Hearts, Pathfinder,
Perfect Stranger, Redline,
Slow Burn, and Year of the Dog. |
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For the weekend of April 20th, it is “Hot
Fuzz” starring Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead),
Nick Frost (Kinky Boots), and Jim Broadbent (The Chronicles
of Narnia). An action / adventure / comedy, rated R.
The plot: A top London cop (Pegg) makes everyone else around
him look bad. As a result, his jealous colleagues conspire
against him and have him transferred to the sleepy West Country
village of Sandford. His intense, testosterone-packed nights
in the city have now been replaced by neighborhood watch meetings
and elementary school appearances. Even worse, he is coupled
with a new partner (Frost), a hapless but well-meaning soul
who dreams of being the next Mel Gibson-type hero. The two
eventually stumble onto a series of suspicious accidents that
suddenly make the top cop’s life a lot more interesting.
Motivated by the events and convinced of foul play, he now
sees Sandford as a far less idyllic place than he originally
thought.
There are six other new releases this weekend: Fracture,
In the Land of Women, Stephanie Daley,
The Tripper, The Valet,
and Vacancy. |
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For the weekend of April 27th, it is “Fracture”
starring Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling (Murder by Numbers),
and David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck). A thriller,
rated R.
The plot: A position with a high-profile law firm is only
a few weeks away for a young hotshot District Attorney (Gosling).
His final case before the transition, however, may also be
his most difficult, even with the help of his boss (Strathairn).
When a devious and dangerously clever defendant (Hopkins)
has to stand trial for an attempted murder of his wife, he
declines access to a lawyer and defends himself. Thanks to
a series of technicalities, he is able to evade sentencing,
angering his ambitious prosecutor. The DA’s ego will
not let him rest until he has brought the guilty man to justice,
and soon he and the accused are fierce adversaries in a dangerous
cat and mouse game. As the two struggle to outwit each other,
someone must come away on top and the prosecutor’s excessive
drive to finish the job may be his eventual downfall.
There are eight other new releases this weekend: Diggers,
Jindabyne, Kickin It Old Skool,
Next, Snow Cake, The
Condemned, The Invisible, and Wind
Chill. |
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And now a look back to March, a must see
film before it leaves theaters: “Meet the Robinsons”
starring the voices of Tom Selleck, Angela Bassett, Laurie
Metcalf (Roseanne), Nicole Sullivan (The King of Queens),
Adam West (Batman), Daniel Hansen, Stephen J. Anderson and
Wesley Singerman. An animated comedy / family science fiction
adventure, rated PG.
The plot: Twelve-year-old Lewis (Hansen) has spent most of
his life in an orphanage, desperately attempting to impress
potential parents with some of his brilliant inventions. With
his latest and most ambitious gadget, the memory scanner,
he hopes to look into his own past to find out about his birth
mother. After his device is stolen by the mysterious Bowler
Hat Guy (Anderson), Lewis meets Wilbur Robinson (Singerman),
a boy from the future who may have all the answers that Lewis
seeks. Together, they travel forward in time to a mesmerizing
metropolis where Lewis meets Wilbur’s eccentric family,
then hunt for the stolen invention and save the future. |
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If you miss any of these in the first few weeks
of release at the big multiplexes in the Airpark area including
Harkins, AMC or United Artists / Regal, you might catch some of
them at Farrelli’s Cinema Supper Club where you can have
a full dinner or cocktails, and Thursdays are Classic Movie night.
Furthermore, gong to the movies still gives you the most entertainment
“bang for the buck” when compared to a similar two
hour venture at any professional sporting event, play or music
performance.
See you at the movies!
Note: While the release dates & ratings for
these movies were correct at the time of printing, studios sometimes
make last-minute changes. If this happens, we apologize for any
inconvenience.
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