Monday, April 1, 2013

2013 Preview: April

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner's Year-Long preview of the upcoming films. This is Part 4 of 12 and today we'll be looking at the April lineup. It's not really as big of a month as March was, but there are still some noteworthy films to talk about, including a remake of a horror classic produced by those who made the original and a biopic of one of baseball's most influential players.

*The month starts off with a bang on April 5th with 'Evil Dead', the remake of the 1981 horror classic 'The Evil Dead', which was the directorial debut of Sam Raimi. Raimi produces the film along with the star of the original 'Evil Dead' trilogy, Bruce Campbell. This new film, like the original, focuses on a group of friends who go camping in the woods and run into trouble when they find a mysterious book. Jane Levy (TV's 'Suburgatory') stars in the lead role of Mia, who is apparently the female equivalent of Campbell's character Ash. But if you're not up for this remake, Sam Raimi is reportedly working on a sequel to 'Army of Darkness'.



*Another big film coming out on April 5th is actually a re-release (the last re-release of the year (as far as we know')). 'Jurassic Park', the 1993 classic from Steven Spielberg and a film that was the highest grossing film of its time until James Cameron's 'Titanic'. This also comes out after the news that director Colin Trevorrow ('Safety Not Guaranteed') will helm 'Jurassic Park IV', a film that has been stuck in development hell since 2001's 'Jurassic Park III'.


*Another pair of films hit theaters on April 12th. The first is '42', a baseball biopic about Jackie Robinson, the first African-American baseball player in the modern era of Major League Baseball. Relative newcomer Chadwick Boseman stars as the famous Brooklyn Dodgers' second baseman alongside Harrison Ford as Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey and Lucas Black as Dodgers' shortstop Pee Wee Reese.


*7 years after the last entry in the series, 'Scary Movie 5', the fifth entry in the long-running horror parody franchise, hits theaters. However, series regulars Anna Faris and Regina Hall do not return for this new film.



*'Oblivion' is the first new movie that opens on April 19th and is the second film by director Joseph Kosinski (his first being 2010's 'Tron Legacy'). It is based off a graphic novel of the same name that was co-written by Kosinski (the graphic novel will hit store shelves to coincide with the release of the film). Tom Cruise stars as Jack, a drone repairman in the future who is stationed on Earth after it was nearly destroyed following a war. When he meets a mysterious woman (Olga Kurylenko) who apparently knows him, Jack starts to learn some secrets about the people he works for.



*The same weekend also sees the release of 'The Lords of Salem', a horror film from director Rob Zombie. In the film, the town of Salem, Massachusetts is visited by a ancient coven of witches. Zombie's wife Sheri Moon stars in the lead role of Heidi, a DJ at a local radio station.



*'Pain & Gain' is the first film from director Michael Bay since 2005's 'The Island' to not be associated with 'Transformers' (although Bay is set to direct the fourth Transformers movie in 2014). Also, at a budget of around 22 million, it is his smallest film since his directorial debut, 1995's 'Bad Boys'. Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson, and Anthony Mackie star as a trio of bodybuilders who resort to extortion when they kidnap a spoiled businessman (played by Tony Shalhoub) in their pursuit of the American Dream. However, when the plan goes wrong, they now find themselves on the run from the police and a private investigator (played by Ed Harris). 'Pain & Gain' hits theaters on April 26th.



*The final major release of the month is 'The Big Wedding', an ensemble comedy where a divorced couple (played by Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton) must fake being married when their son is about to get married. Amanda Seyfried, Susan Sarandon, and Robin Williams co-star.



And that's the lineup for April 2013. Check back next month for Part 5, where we start getting into the year's summer blockbusters.

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