Movies in Theaters This Friday, April 11, 2014: Rio 2, Draft Day, Oculus, and More
After the huge release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this weekend’s releases are giving the superhero flick no time to breathe. In fact, with three wide releases, the movie theaters keep getting more and more jam-packed.
Perhaps the biggest release is Carlos Saldanha’s sequel Rio 2. Among the voice stars are Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, and even Bruno Mars. Although the movie will likely appeal to kids (and families), I could see this movie doing just as well (if not better) than its predecessor.
Another bigger release is Draft Day, which personally appeals more to me. The NFL has never been as transparent as there were with the filming of Ivan Reitman’s (Ghostbusters) latest film. It stars Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner and gives NFL fans a few weeks to prepare for the actual NFL draft.
We’ve got animated movies, we’ve got sports movies, and we’ve got horror movies. Oculus, the horror film starring Katee Sackhoff (Sci Fi’s Battlestar Gallactica) and Karen Gillan (BBC’s Doctor Who), is the third and final wide release of the week.
In limited theaters, there are a few projects that have starpower behind them. First, the dance comedy Cuban Fury (which stars Nick Frost and Rashida Jones) releases. Secondly, Joe (directed by David Green Gordon and starring Nicolas Cage) comes out. Third, the movie Only Lovers Left Alive (which stars Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton) releases in New York and L.A. Finally, The Railway Man (with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman) also hits theaters.
The rest of the limited releases are A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair at the New York Times, Hank and Asha, Hateship Loveship, and Perfect Sisters.
Enjoy the weekend!
At the NFL Draft, general manager Sonny Weaver has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick. He must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with NFL dreams.
A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.
The entire cast of the animated smash RIO returns in RIO 2, and they are joined by a new flock of top actors and musical talents. Rich with grandeur, character, color and music, RIO 2 finds Jewel (Anne Hathaway), Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and their three kids leaving their domesticated life in that magical city for a journey to the Amazon. They encounter a menagerie of characters who are born to be wild, voiced by Oscar nominee Andy Garcia, Oscar/Emmy/Tony-winner Rita Moreno, Grammy winner Bruno Mars, and Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth.
A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair at the New York Times
A FRAGILE TRUST tells the shocking story of Jayson Blair, the most infamous serial plagiarist of our time, and how he unleashed the massive scandal that rocked the New York Times and the entire world of journalism.
1987: 13-year-old Bruce Garrett, a natural born salsa dancer with fire in his heels and the world at his feet, is perfectly poised to clinch the title at the UK Junior Salsa Championships. But then… a freakish bullying incident on the mean streets of London robs him of his sequins and his confidence, and our young hero finds his life diverted down a very different path.
So it is that 25 years later, an adult Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost), finds himself out-of-shape, unloved and emotionally inert – trapped in a downward spiral of self pity. It takes Julia (Rashida Jones), his smart, funny, gorgeous new American boss, to force him to confront the demons of his past and re-examine his passionless existence. Bruce fears it’s an impossible challenge – she’s way out of his league (“She’s a 10, I’m a 2!”) and long held self doubts prove tricky to shed. Luckily for him, Julia also has a secret passion… salsa dancing. Maybe, just maybe, this is his way in…
But life is never that easy for Bruce. First he’s got to get past Drew (Chris O’Dowd), the oversexed alphamale of the office and Bruce’s tirelessly taunting team manager. With Drew making no secret of his desire to make Julia his latest conquest, Bruce is forced into action and brought face-to-face with his darkest and most powerful inner demons.
Somehow, with a lot of handholding from loyal sister Sam (Olivia Colman), his old mentor Ron (Ian McShane) and crazy new amateur salsa pal Bejan (Novak) Bruce must learn to unshackle his dancing beast, regain his long lost fury and claim the love of his life… and he’s got to do it all On The Dance Floor…
In this charming romantic comedy, an Indian woman studying in Prague and a lonely New Yorker begin an unconventional correspondence through video letters – two strangers searching for human connection in a hyper-connected world. When their relationship deepens, they must decide whether or not to meet face to face. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, HANK AND ASHA is a film about identity, longing, and the irresistible appeal of entertaining life’s what-ifs.
Johanna Parry, a quiet caregiver, starts a new job working for an elderly Mr. McCauley and his teenage granddaughter Sabitha. A cruel trick by Sabitha lands Johanna in an awkward one-way relationship with Ken, Sabitha’s estranged father but her newfound ambition and desire gives her courage to transform her awkward doom into real contentment.
An ex-con, who is the unlikeliest of role models, meets a 15-year-old boy and is faced with the choice of redemption or ruin.
Adam (‘Tom Hiddleston (I)’), an underground musician reunites with his lover for centuries (Tilda Swinton) after he becomes depressed and tired with the direction human society has taken. Their love is interrupted and tested by her wild and uncontrollable little sister (Mia Wasikowska).
On January 18, 2003, police, alerted by a frantic 911 call from a distraught pair of teenage girls, arrived at the girls Toronto area town house to find their mother dead. It appeared the 44-year-old alcoholic, having slipped into a booze-and-pill stupor, drowned in her own bathwater. The death was ruled accidental by the authorities. In the months that followed, however, police were alerted to rumours and reports that the teenagers had been gossiping to friends about the accident. Police began piecing together rumours that suggested the teens might have had a hand in their mother’s death. In fact, rather than an accident, the story that emerged portrayed the two teens as cold-blooded, premeditated killers.
A victim from World War II’s “Death Railway” sets out to find those responsible for his torture. A true story.
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