April 2009 Movies

Enlighten Up!

Filmmaker Kate Churchill is determined to prove that yoga can transform anyone. Nick Rosen is skeptical but agrees to be her guinea pig.

Kate Churchill, Jonathon Hexner

Adventureland

It's the summer of 1987, and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), an uptight recent college grad, can't wait to embark on his dream tour of Europe. But when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) announce they can no longer subsidize his trip, James has little choice but to take a lowly job at a local amusement park. Forget about German beer, world-famous museums and cute French girls-James' summer will now be populated by belligerent dads, stuffed pandas, and screaming kids high on cotton candy. Lucky for James, what should have been his worst summer ever turns into quite an adventure as he discovers love in the most unlikely place with his captivating co-worker Em (Kristen Stewart), and learns to loosen up.

Ryan Reynolds, Margarita Levieva, Ted Hope, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Wiig, Jesse Eisenberg, Bill Hader, Anne Carey

Fast & Furious

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker reteam for the ultimate chapter of the franchise built on speed—"Fast and Furious." Heading back to the streets where it all began, they rejoin Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster to blast muscle, tuner and exotic cars across Los Angeles and floor through the Mexican desert in the new high-octane action-thriller. When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O'Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmanuever him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what's possible behind the wheel.

Michelle Rodriguez, Gal Gadot, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Neal H. Moritz, Justin Lin, Chris Morgan, Laz Alonso

The Song of Sparrows

Karim works at an ostrich farm outside of Tehran, Iran. He leads a simple and contented life with his family in his small house, until one day when one of the ostriches runs away. Karim is blamed for the loss and is fired from the farm. Soon after, he travels to the city in order to repair his elder daughter’s hearing aid but finds himself mistaken for a motorcycle taxi driver. Thus begins his new profession: ferrying people and goods through heavy traffic. But the people and material goods that he deals with daily starts to transform Karim’s generous and honest nature, much to the distress of his wife and daughters. It is up to those closest to him to restore the values that he had once cherished…

Majid Majidi

Gigantic

A mattress salesman meets a woman at his store.

Zooey Deschanel, Christine Vachon, Paul Dano, Charles Pugliese, Mindy Goldberg, Matt Aselton, Adam Nagata

$9.99

A stop-motion animated story about people living in a Syndey apartment complex looking for meaning in their lives.

Emile Sherman, Tatia Rosenthal, Amir Harel, Etgar Keret

Sugar

Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos is recruited to play in the U.S. minor-leagues.

Ryan Fleck, Andre Holland, Anna Boden, Jamie Patricof, Jeremy Kipp Walker, Paul S. Mezey, Michael Gaston, Rayniel Rufino

Lifelines

Chronicles the hapless Bernstein family as they try to catch up to the life they are living.

Rob Margolies

Baby on Board

In the film, Jerry O'Connell and Heather Graham will play a married couple whose lives are tossed upside down because of an unplanned pregnancy.

Heather Graham, Jerry O'Connell, Brian Herzlinger, John Corbett, Ian Ziering, Lara Flynn Boyle, Katie Finneran

Paris 36

A drama set in 1936 Paris about a small working class neighborhood. An election stirs up extremist passions while the town hopes to see a brighter future.

Jacques Perrin, Christophe Barratier, Nicolas Mauvernay, Julien Rappeneau

Alien Trespass

In 1957, local townspeople must hunt down the alien Ghota and neutralize it before it consumes all the local inhabitants and uses the human fuel to multiply and conquer the world.

R.W. Goodwin

C Me Dance

A ballerina, who brings people closer to Christ through her dancing, is stalked by Satan.

Greg Robbins

The Escapist

Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict twelve years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined he make peace with her before it's too late.

Rupert Wyatt, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Damian Lewis, Daniel Hardy

Hannah Montana: The Movie

The Stewart family returns to Tennessee.

Miley Cyrus, Peter Chelsom, Billy Ray Cyrus, Heather Locklear, Miles Millar, Alfred Gough, Michael Poryes, Daniel Berendsen

Dragonball Evolution

Justin Chatwin stars as Goku, the man responsible for saving the world from villains such as Piccolo (played by James Marsters).

Emmy Rossum, Stephen Chow, Justin Chatwin, James Wong, Chow Yun-Fat, Jamie Chung, Ernie Hudson, Eriko Tamura

Observe and Report

At the Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie Barnhardt patrols his jurisdiction with an iron fist, combating skateboarders, shoplifters and the occasional unruly customer while dreaming of the day when he can swap his flashlight for a badge and a gun. His delusions of grandeur are put to the test when the mall is struck by a flasher. Driven to protect and serve the mall and its patrons, Ronnie seizes the opportunity to showcase his underappreciated law enforcement talents on a grand scale, hoping his solution of this crime will earn a coveted spot at the police academy and the heart of his elusive dream girl Brandi, the hot make-up counter clerk who won't give him the time of day. But his single-minded pursuit of glory launches a turf war with the equally competitive Detective Harrison of the Conway Police, and Ronnie is confronted with the challenge of not only catching the flasher, but getting him before the real cops do.

Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Andrew Haas, Donald De Line, Thomas Tull, Anna Faris, Marty Ewing, Jody Hill

Lymelife

The movie, set in late '70s Long Island, is a coming-of-age story following two families who fall apart when precarious relationships, real estate problems and Lyme disease converge in the heart of suburbia.

Rory Culkin, Emma Roberts, Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon, Jill Hennessy, Kieran Culkin, Derick Martini, Timothy Hutton

In a Dream

A renowned mosaic artist, who for the past 30 years has covered more than 40,000 square feet of Philadelphia top to bottom with tile, mirror, paint, and concrete.

Jeremiah Zagar

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

After making a promise to keep rocking forever at age 14, the members of Anvil!, now in their 50s, begin work on their 13th album.

Sacha Gervasi

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Based on Michael Chabon's novel, the film chronicles the defining summer of a recent college graduate who crosses his gangster father and explores love, sexuality, and the enigmas surrounding his life and his city.

Nick Nolte, Michael London, Mena Suvari, Sienna Miller, Peter Sarsgaard, Jon Foster, Rawson Marshall Thurber, Omid Abtahi

Crank: High Voltage

Jason Statham will face a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.

Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Michael Davis, Skip Williamson, Richard Wright, Tom Rosenberg, Mark Neveldine, Glenn Howerton

17 Again

What would you do if you got a second shot at life? Class of 1989, Mike O'Donnell is a star on his high school basketball court with a college scout in the stands and a bright future in his grasp. But instead, he decides to throw it all away to share his life with his girlfriend Scarlett and the baby he just learned they are expecting. Almost 20 years later, Mike's glory days are decidedly behind him. His marriage to Scarlett has fallen apart, he has been passed over for a promotion at work, his teenage kids think he is a loser, and he has been reduced to crashing with his high school nerd-turned-techno-billionaire best friend Ned. But Mike is given another chance when he is miraculously transformed back to the age of 17. Unfortunately, Mike may look 17 again, but his thirtysomething outlook is totally uncool in the class of 2009. And in trying to recapture his best years, Mike could lose the best things that ever happened to him.

Adam Shankman, Zac Efron, Jennifer Gibgot, Leslie Mann, Matthew Perry, Keith Goldberg, Burr Steers, Michelle Trachtenberg

State of Play

Oscar® winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast in a blistering thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in an case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders. Crowe plays D.C. reporter Cal McAffrey, whose street smarts lead him to untangle a mystery of murder and collusion among some of the nation's most promising political and corporate figures in "State of Play," from acclaimed director Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland").

Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party's contender for the upcoming presidential race. Until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out.

McAffrey has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron (Oscar® winner Helen Mirren), who has assigned him to investigate. As he and partner Della (Rachel McAdams) try to uncover the killer's identity, McAffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation's power structures. And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one's integrity, love or life is ever safe.

Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Billy Ray, Robin Wright, Helen Mirren, Liza Chasin, Rachel McAdams, Jeff Daniels

Lemon Tree

The true story of a Palestinian widow who must defend her lemontree field when a new Israeli Defense Minister moves next to her and threatens to have her lemon grove torn down.

Eran Riklis, Suha Arraf

American Violet

A woman takes on a powerful District Attorney in Texas when she was caught up in a drug raid.

Bill Haney, Nicole Beharie, Tim Disney

Every Little Step

Follows the plight of real-life dancers as they struggle through auditions for the Broadway revival of "A Chorus Line."

Adam Del Deo, James D. Stern

Empty Nest

Daniel Burman

Is Anybody There?

A young boy fascinated with death, strikes up a friendship with a retired magician.

David Heyman, Marc Turtletaub, John Crowley, Peter Saraf, Michael Caine, Peter Harness

Sleep Dealer

Set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences, three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the barriers of technology.

Anthony Bregman, Jacob Vargas, Alex Rivera, David Riker

earth

The first film in the Disneynature series, "Earth," narrated by James Earl Jones, tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all call home. "Earth" combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet's wildest and most elusive creatures. Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative team behind the Emmy Award®-winning "Planet Earth," combine forces again to bring this epic adventure to the big screen, beginning Earth Day 2009.

James Earl Jones, Mark Linfield, Alastair Fothergill

Treeless Mountain

In Seoul, Korea, two sisters must look after one another when their mother leaves them to search for their estranged father.

So Yong Kim

Obsessed

The thriller casts Idris Elba as an asset manager who has a knockout wife (Beyonce Knowles) and thriving career until a temp office worker (Ali Larter) begins stalking him.

Ali Larter, Idris Elba, Bruce McGill, Scout Taylor-Compton, Jerry O'Connell, Beyonce Knowles, David Loughery, Christine Lahti

Fighting

A young ticket scalper is introduced to the world of underground street fighting.

Lisa Bruce, Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Dito Montiel, Luis Guzman, Zulay Henao, Brian White, Kevin Misher

The Soloist

In "The Soloist," an emotionally soaring drama about the redemptive power of music, journalist Steve Lopez (Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Oscar winner Jamie Foxx), a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives. "The Soloist" is directed by Joe Wright (Golden Globe winner for Best Drama and Oscar nominee for Best Picture "Atonement").

Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Joe Wright, Gary Foster, Russ Krasnoff, Susannah Grant, Catherine Keener, LisaGay Hamilton

The Informers

The drama is set over the course of a week in 1983, in the chillingly nihilistic world of Ellis' youth in Los Angeles. Seven storylines intersect, involving movie execs, rock stars, a vampire and other morally challenged characters.

Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Amber Heard, Jon Foster, Nicholas Jarecki, Winona Ryder, Billy Bob Thornton, Austin Nichols

The Mutant Chronicles

Thomas Jane stars as Major Mitch Hunter, a 23rd century soldier who leads humans in a fight against a demonic, marauding army of underworld NecroMutants.

John Malkovich, Ron Perlman, Stephen Rea, Thomas Jane, Devon Aoki, Simon Hunter, Benno Furmann, Ross Jameson

Nursery University

The oddly competitive process of nursery school admissions.

Marc H. Simon, Matthew Makar

Il Divo

The story of Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.

Paolo Sorrentino, Toni Servillo

Lifelines

Chronicles the hapless Bernstein family as they try to catch up to the life they are living.

Rob Margolies

Tyson

A film that chronicles the life and times of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

Mike Tyson, James Toback

The Garden

The Garden is an look at the struggle between urban farmers and the City of Los Angeles and a powerful developer who want to evict them and build warehouses.

Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Gooby

Willy is terrified about moving into the family's new house. In response to his wish for someone to save him, a large creature named Gooby comes to life.

Wilson Coneybeare