Ten Must-See Movies: April 2014

Summer heat is already here, and sizzling in cinemas this month of April are some of these exciting movies….

Rio 2

It’s a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids in "Rio 2," after they’re hurtled from that magical city to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all – his father-in-law. All our favorite "Rio" characters are back, and they're joined by Oscar nominee Andy Garcia, Grammy winner Bruno Mars, Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth and Oscar/Emmy/Tony winner Rita Moreno. "Rio 2" also features new Brazilian artists and original music by Janelle Monae and Wondaland.

Heaven is for Real

The true story of a small-town father who must find the courage and conviction to share his son’s extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world.

The film stars Greg Kinnear as Todd Burpo and co-stars Kelly Reilly as Sonja Burpo, the real-life couple whose son Colton (newcomer Connor Corum) claims to have visited Heaven during a near death experience. Colton recounts the details of his amazing journey with childlike innocence and speaks matter-of-factly about things that happened before his birth … Things he couldn't possibly know. Todd and his family are then challenged to examine the meaning from this remarkable event.

Transcendence

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him.

However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should. 

Their worst fears are realized as Will's thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.

The Other Woman

After discovering her boyfriend is married, a woman (Cameron Diaz) tries to get her ruined life back on track. But when she accidentally meets the wife he’s been cheating on (Leslie Mann), she realizes they have much in common, and her sworn enemy becomes her greatest friend. When yet another affair is discovered (Kate Upton), all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on their cheating, lying, three-timing SOB.

Brick Mansions

In a dystopian Detroit, abandoned brick mansions left from better times now house only the most dangerous criminals. Unable to control the crime, the police constructed a colossal containment wall around this area to protect the rest of the city. Undercover cop Damien Collier (Paul Walker) is determined to bring his father’s killer, Tremaine (RZA) to justice and every day is a battle against corruption. For Lino (David Belle), every day is a fight to live an honest life. Their paths never should have crossed, but when Tremaine kidnaps Lino’s girlfriend, Damien reluctantly accepts the help of the fearless ex-convict, and together they must stop a sinister plot to devastate the entire city. With stylized action featuring thrilling Parkour stunts, "Brick Mansions" puts an entertaining twist on the action genre.

The Quite Ones

The movie tells the story of an unorthodox professor (Jared Harris) who uses controversial methods and leads his best students off the grid to take part in a dangerous experiment: to create a poltergeist. Based on the theory that paranormal activity is caused by human negative energy, the rogue scientists perform a series of tests on a young patient, pushing her to the edge of sanity. As frightening occurrences begin to take place with shocking and gruesome consequences, the group quickly realizes they have triggered a force more terrifying and evil than they ever could have imagined.

Dom Hemingway

Jude Law plays Dom Hemingway, a larger-than-life safecracker with a loose fuse. After 12 years in prison, he sets off with his partner in crime Dickie looking to collect what he’s owed for keeping his mouth shut and protecting his boss Mr. Fontaine. After a near-death experience, Dom tries to re-connect with his estranged daughter (Clarke), but is soon drawn back into the only world he knows, looking to settle the ultimate debt.

Frankie and Alice

Frankie & Alice is inspired by the remarkable true story of an African American go-go dancer "Frankie" with dissociative identity disorder (DID) who struggles to remain her true self while fighting against two very unique alter egos: a seven-year-old child named “Genius” and a Southern white racist woman named “Alice.” In order to stop the multiple voices in her head, Frankie (Halle Berry) works together with a psychotherapist (Stellan Skarsgård) to uncover and overcome the mystery of the inner ghosts that haunt her.

Joe

Ex-con, Joe Ransom (Nicolas Cage), drinks heavily, outruns police and gambles away his money. He is the unlikeliest of role models to everyone except 15 year old Gary Jones, the oldest child of a homeless family run by an drunk, worthless father. Joe takes Gary under his wing seeing much of himself in the kid. Together they try to find a path to redemption and the hope for a better life in the rugged, gritty world of small town Mississippi.

Oculus

Ten years ago, tragedy struck the Russell family, leaving the lives of teenage siblings Tim and Kaylie forever changed when Tim was convicted of the brutal murder of their parents. Now in his 20s, Tim is newly released from protective custody and only wants to move on with his life; but Kaylie, still haunted by that fateful night, is convinced her parents’ deaths were caused by something else altogether: a malevolent supernatural force unleashed through the Lasser Glass, an antique mirror in their childhood home. Determined to prove Tim’s innocence, Kaylie tracks down the mirror, only to learn similar deaths have befallen previous owners over the past century. With the mysterious entity now back in their hands, Tim and Kaylie soon find their hold on reality shattered by terrifying hallucinations, and realize, too late, that their childhood nightmare is beginning again...