Spring movie season is here
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Indy race on
Spring blockbusters primed to hit theaters
The sun is getting brighter, the weather is getting warmer, and the choices at movie theaters are getting better.
Spring is here.
With the summer movie rush starting a little earlier every year, movie studios are preparing to roll out some of their potential blockbusters, from the anticipated big-screen version of “Iron Man” to the fantasy sequel “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.”
But spring 2008 undoubtedly will be remembered as the season of Indy, with the long-awaited “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” taking everyone’s favorite archaeologist on another adventure over Memorial Day weekend.
The date for fans’ fourth outing with Indy is as firmly embedded as any fossil in prehistoric rock, but movie studios often tinker with opening dates for smaller films. Check local movie listings before venturing to the cinema.
Today
Based on actual events, “21″ focuses on MIT students who win big in Las Vegas after their professor (Kevin Spacey) teaches them to count cards. Eight years after directing “Boys Don’t Cry,” Kimberly Peirce returns with “Stop-Loss,” about a soldier (Ryan Phillippe) who refuses to return to Iraq when the Army orders him to report back for battle. David Schwimmer of “Friends” fame makes his directorial debut with “Run, Fat Boy, Run,” in which the responsibility-dodging Dennis (Simon Pegg) trains for a marathon in the hopes of winning back his ex-fiancee (Thandie Newton). “Batman Begins,” “Fantastic Four” and other comic book flicks are spoofed in “Superhero Movie.” Naturally, Leslie Nielsen is involved.
April 4
George Clooney directs himself, Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski in the screwball comedy/period sports film “Leatherheads.” Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin star in the fantasy “Nim’s Island,” in which a girl whose father goes missing recruits her favorite author to help with the search. Director Martin Scorsese helms the documentary “Shine a Light,” about rockers the Rolling Stones. Singer/pianist Norah Jones makes her film debut in “My Blueberry Nights” as a woman who takes a cross-country trip to heal from a tough breakup. Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz also star. A group of friends on a Mexican holiday encounter an evil force in “The Ruins.”
April 11
Keanu Reeves plays a veteran cop tracking the people who murdered his former partner (Terry Crews) in “Street Kings.” Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie and Common also star. Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church and Ellen Page star in the Sundance hit “Smart People.” “The Counterfeiters,” based on the true story of the Nazis’ program to create fake foreign currency, won this year’s Oscar for best foreign language film. A ruthless killer stalks a group of high schoolers who years ago caused an accidental death in “Prom Night.”
April 18
A college professor who moonlights as a forensic pathologist for the FBI (Al Pacino) gets a death threat indicating he has “88 Minutes” to live. In “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” a heartbroken guy (Jason Segel) takes a Hawaiian vacation to get over his TV-star ex-girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). But Sarah shows up at the same resort with her new beau. Jackie Chan and Jet Li star in “The Forbidden Kingdom,” in which a kung fu-loving American teen (Michael Angarano) is magically transported to ancient China. A group of medical students (including Alyssa Milano) compete to commit the perfect murder in “Pathology.” Hong Kong actor-writer-director Stephen Chow (“Kung Fu Hustle”) offers family-friendly sci-fi comedy in “CJ7.” Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell and Amy Sedaris star in the Sundance hit “Snow Angels,” a drama about an awkward teen, his former baby sitter, her estranged husband and their daughter. A Mexican boy (Adrian Alonso) and his mother (Kate del Castillo), an illegal immigrant in the U.S., try to reunite in “Under the Same Moon.”
