Film: April 2011
Source Code
Out: 1st April
David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, made a big impact with this first film Moon. Now he directs his first Hollywood blockbuster. When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he’s ever known, he learns he’s part of a government experiment called the “Source Code,” a program that enables him to cross over into another man’s identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack. Filled with mind-boggling twists and heart-pounding suspense, Source Code is a smart action-thriller.
Sucker Punch
Out: 1st April
Sucker Punch is an epic action fantasy from 300 director Zack Snyder that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what’s real and what is imaginary. She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls – the outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and the reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) – to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors.
Scream 4
Out: 15th April
The film reunites most of the main cast from the original films with Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette all returning for another Woodsboro-killing-spree adventure. Joining them is Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Hayden Panettiere and a number of other awesome people (Kristen Bell, Anna Paquin, Alison Brie. Sidney Prescott (Campbell), now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey (Arquette) and Gale (Cox), who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill (Roberts). Unfortunately Sidney’s appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger.
Fast Five
Out: 21st April
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of returning all-stars from every chapter of the explosive franchise built on speed in Fast Five. In this instalment former cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) partners with ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) on the opposite side of the law. Dwayne Johnson joins returning favourites Jordana Brewster, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon and Don Omar for this ultimate high-stakes race. Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they’ve blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom.
Taxi Zum Klo
Out: 22nd April
When Taxi Zum Klo was first released in cinemas in the UK in 1982 it became one of the year’s most notorious ‘sex films’. Frank Ripploh is a bit of a rascal: he’s a bearded and shaggy-haired teacher, and he’s gay with a very active sex life and an interest in making films. He keeps his personal life and teaching separate, but he sometimes corrects student papers in public toilets as he waits to score. He cruises constantly, and one evening, he meets Bernd. They become lovers. While Bernd is attentive and caring, Frank gets bored and continues his polymorphously perverse ways. For how long will Bernd and Frank tolerate each other’s habits, and for how long can Frank keep his sexual orientation out of the classroom? This month the cult classic returns to the cinema.
Your Highness
Out: 13 April
Throughout history, tales of chivalry have burnished the legends of brave, handsome knights who rescue fair damsels, slay dragons and conquer evil. But behind many a hero is a good-for-nothing younger brother trying just to stay out of the way of those dragons, evil and trouble in general. Danny McBride and James Franco team up for an epic comedy adventure set in a fantastical world-Your Highness. As two princes on a daring mission to save their land, they must rescue the heir apparent’s fiancée (Natalie Portman) before their kingdom is destroyed.
FILM BUZZ
A sequel to ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ the Academy Award-nominated film is in the works for release in 2014.
More casting news for Zack Snyder’s Superman: Man of Steel. Diane Lane has been cast as Martha Kent, the only mother Clark Kent (aka Superman) has ever known. Lane will play the Earth born mother to Kent to be played by Henry Cavill (The Tudors) in the film, which is currently targeting a December 2012 release date. Kevin Costner has been speculated to be Jonathan “Pa” Kent
MGM has targeted Brazilian director Jose Padilha to direct their remake of 1987’s Robocop. Padilha is most known for directing the Brazilian crime dramas Elite Force and Elite Force 2: The Enemy Within.
Channing Tatum, screenwriter Billy Ray (Shattered Glass, Breach) and producer Joe Roth are looking to tell the origin of Peter Pan with a project currently titled Peter Pan Begins. Roth is one of the leading culprits of the recent trend of resuscitating classic literature and fairy tales, having produced Alice in Wonderland and the upcoming Oz, the Great and Powerful and Snow White and the Huntsman.
Screen Gems has acquired the rights for a big screen version of the video game series Devil May Cry, which centres on a man who avenges his mother’s murder by killing off demons. The game sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and spawned five subsequent games in the series. The studio hopes to make it their next successful franchise, following in the steps of the Resident Evil films.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief could shoot as early as this summer. The film will be based on the second instalment in Rick Riordan’s five-book series, titled The Sea of Monsters. Logan Lerman will be back as Percy Jackson. Until now, a sequel has been a big question mark after the first film performed modestly.