Movie Releases--4/28 and Beyond

An early edition of the movie releases this week--I will be scoping out New York for a place to live in the next couple of days--Yes, for those who don't know, I'll be moving to the area next week. I'll be working at a new theatre, still be doing some reviews--the "N" in L & N Line will now cover two cities. But there are a lot of things up in the air still, so I'll cover the next few weeks of releases for anyone who bothers.

April 28

The harrowing United 93, which I reviewed a few days ago, arrives. KW asked me whether I liked the movie or not after reading my review, which I guess I never really said one way or another. Simply, I did. It's the best movie this year so far, and likely to stay there for quite awhile.

Robin Williams returns in the are-you-serious? family road comedy RV. Barry Sonnenfeld, a long way from his Addams Family, Men in Black, and especially Get Shorty prime, does this Vacation clone. Pop star JoJo makes her second appearance in film this year, after Aquamarine. Somehow Jeff Daniels is in this, too. And "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Cheryl Hines. Could this be way better than I'm giving it credit for? I'm doubting it.

And hot girls reign supreme in Stick It. Namely, hot girls doing gymnastics reign supreme. This comes courtesy of Bring It On writer Jessica Bendinger, who also wrote Aquamarine. See, everything comes full circle when it comes to Aquamarine. Gorgeous, flexible young women co-star with Jeff Bridges. Could this be really good, too? Or is Hollywood and its actors completely high? I might like this one.

Then there's a movie in which I've seen previews for ages--Akeelah and the Bee. This Searching for Bobby Fischer-for-the-spelling-crowd-looking flick also stars Laurence Fishburne, who re-teams with his What's Love Got to Do With It? co-star Angela Bassett. 12-year-old star Keke Palmer, already a TV and movie vet, is Akeelah.

Now, here comes the summer:

May 5

Everyone recharge their Danny Elfman remix of the theme to Mission: Impossible. What figures to be one of the top movies of the summer is Mission: Impossible 3, starring crazy Tom as superagent Ethan Hunt. Returning is Ving Rhames, who I hope gets medieval on someone's ass. Then there's a plethora of cool actors filling in as Hunt's team--like Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Billy Crudup, and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead). And who can forget, more Laurence Fishburne! Ultra-cool Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the villain, putting Hunt's girlfriend Michelle Monaghan in trouble. And oh yeah, J.J. Abrams ("Alias" and "Lost") directs. I can't wait to see this.

But Thomas Cruise is not the only one with a movie out May 5. No, there's a kiddie movie with a bunch of adult actors acting like complete total buffoons, just like in real life, in Hoot, a story based on the Carl Hiasson novel in which kids try to save owls. This might be decent family fare. It has Luke Wilson playing a bumbling officer and Tim Blake Nelson playing his usual O Brother, Where Art Thou? schtick. Everywhere character actor Clark Gregg (In Good Company) plays the villain who will probably be pecked in the nads repeatedly by owls.

And Tennessee's most enduring spook story gets film treatment on May 5 with An American Haunting. Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland star in the Adams, TN legend of the Bell Witch. So I guess this is The Bell Witch Project. Hehe...don't choke me.

May 12

Remake fever! The Poseidon Adventure is now just plain Poseidon. Hopefully there's some adventure left, though, in this multi-star film. We've got Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Josh Lucas, hotties Emmy Rossum and Mia Maestro, and you know with that kind of company, The Black Eyed Peas' Fergie has to be lurking around somewhere. Wolfgang Petersen returns to high-seas fare after his acclaimed Das Boot and megahit The Perfect Storm. Most directors avoid the water after making one of these movies (there's always an issue with weather and disaster), but he keeps diving right in--I believe he did this mostly in-studio, which helps out even though that in itself is costly. Petersen's last movie was Troy. Make of that what you will.

Lindsay Lohan is just the luckiest damn woman in the world in Just My Luck. She shares a kiss with the unluckiest damn man in the world, played by Chris Pine, the latest arrival from the Heartthrob Factory. Their kiss does some Freaky Friday kind of mojo voodoo, and suddenly his luck is quite great and Lohan's isn't. One wonders how such a bad luck guy gets the kiss in the first place, but that's movie magic! We're sure to be taught a lesson that luck doesn't exist, but belief in it does--kind of like the Chicago Cubs curse.

Also, Emile Hirsch and Memphis native/pop star Justin Timberlake star in Alpha Dog, a story about a drug dealer who becomes one of the youngest dudes to ever grace the FBI Most Wanted list. I guess he does a tad more vicious stuff than Frank Abagnale did in Catch Me If You Can. Directed by Nick Cassevetes, who directed the woman-melting The Notebook.

And so, hopefully that will be as far as I need to update for now. I am done with my current theatre April 27, then I have a vacation, and hopefully by May 5 I'll have a place to call home. Wish me luck, like the kind that befalls our heroes in Just My Luck. And certainly there's an Aquamarine reference in here somewhere. O'Doyle rules!