Movie + DVD News

Movies Opening in April 2008

These are the movies opening in both limited and wide release in April.

April 4, 2008:
Leatherheads looks good in the trailers, though sports movies are not my thing. Still, this one will probably be in the top 5 in terms of box office receipts this weekend. Another possible hit is Nim’s Island, simply because it’s a family adventure film.

1. Leatherheads. George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski.
2. Meet Bill [limited]. Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba.
3. My Blueberry Nights [limited]. Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Norah Jones.
4. Nim’s Island. Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler, Abigail Breslin.
5. Shine a Light. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards.
6. The Ruins. Shawn Ashmore, Jena Malone, Jonathan Tucker.

April 11, 2008:
Out of this week’s releases, the most interesting looks like Smart People. I’m not a Thomas Haden Church fan, but I am a Dennis Quaid fan. Street Kings, on the other hand, looks like a crappy movie and has an oddball cast. Forest Whitaker tends to be pretty selective about his roles, so maybe he’ll redeem the movie. Hugh Laurie is an excellent veteran actor, for both comedy and drama, so he too might redeem the movie.

1. Chaos Theory [limited]. Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer.
2. Prom Night. Brittany Snow.
3. Smart People. Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page.
4. Street Kings. Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie.
5. The Visitor [limited]. Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman.
6. Young@Heart [limited].

April 18, 2008:
The Forbidden Kingdom is something I’ve been looking forward to for a while. It’s the first collaboration between two martial arts greats, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Then again, 88 Minutes stars Pacino and one of my favorite villain actors, Neal McDonough.

1. 88 Minutes. Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Benjamin McKenzie.
2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
3. Pathology. Alyssa Milano, Milo Ventimiglia, Keir O’Donnell.
4. The Forbidden Kingdom. Jackie Chan, Jet Li.
5. The Life Before Her Eyes [limited]. Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood.
6. Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden [limited]. Morgan Spurlock.

April 25, 2008:
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are two of my favorite SNL members. Fey has proven in the past that she can write intelligent movies. So despite the lame title, I’m hoping Baby Mama offers something worth seeing.

1. Baby Mama. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler.
2. Deal [limited]. Burt Reynolds.
3. Deception. Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor.
4. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris.
5. Roman de Gare [NYC]. Fanny Ardant, Dominique Pinon.
6. Then She Found Me [NYC]. Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Bette Midler.