APRIL 2004 CINEMA RELEASES IN AUSTRALIA

APRIL 1  
  Ella Enchanted (TBA): National. Selected. Buena Vista. Romantic comedy fantasy. Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancey, Cary Elwes, Patrick Bergin, Steve Coogan, Minnie Driver, Eric Idle, Joanna Lumley. D: Tommy O'Haver. Based on Gail Carson Levine’s Award winning novel, this is the story of Ella, a young woman who as given a “gift” of obedience by a fairy named Lucinda.  Anything anyone tells her to do, she must obey.  When her mother passes away, Ella is cared for by her thoughtless and greedy father who remarries a loathsome woman with two treacherous daughters.  This modern-day, fantasy Cinderella features fairies, ogres and elves … as well as a hero in the guise of Prince Charmont, whom Ella falls in love with.  Unlike Cinderella thought, Ella must depend on herself and her intelligence to get her through her troubles and find Lucinda in order for her “curse” to be broken.
  First 50 Kisses (TBA): National. Columbia. Comedy.  Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Sean Astin, Rob Schneider, Blake Clark, Lynn Collins, Allen Covert, Adam Del Rio, Amy Hill, Lusia Strus, Katheryn Winnick. D: Peter Clark. A man (Sandler) who falls in love with a woman (Barrymore) after a memorable encounter but finds out she has short-term memory loss. Because she has no idea who he is, he has to get her to fall in love with him all over again every day.

The Cat In The Hat (TBA): National. Family. UIP (Uni).  Mike Myers, Dakota Fanning, Spencer Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Peri Gilpin, Kelly Preston, Sean Hayes. D: Bob Welsh (TV's The Tick).  A red bow-tied cat with the red and white-striped stovetop hat destroys the home of the two children with the help of his mischievous pals, Thing One and Thing Two. Budgeted at US$90 million, the filming went from October 2002 to January 2003.  21st November 2003 is the US release (at the time of writing).  The Cat is Back!

 

 

 

Love's Brother (TBA): Selected. Palace. Drama. Australia. Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Garcia, Amelia Warner, John Bluthal, Eleanor Bron, Silvia De Santis, Barry Otto, Joe Petruzzi, and David Suchet. D: Jan Sardi (debut). In despair of ever finding love, the insecure Angelo uses a photo of his handsome brother Gino to convince a beautiful Italian girl across the sea to marry him. Gino's delighted for Angelo, but when he lays eyes on his brother's betrothed, it's love at first sight. Touching and funny, sentimental and heart-warming, this is a magical, sweetly nostalgic journey about roots, family, sacrifice and the power of true love.

 

  Osama (TBA): Selected. Sharmil. Doco. 
Scooby Doo 2: Monsers Unleashed (TBA): Selected. Roadshow. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddy Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Peter Boyle, Seth Green, Alica Silverstone. D: Raja Gosnell (Never Been Kissed). The mysterious adventures of the five members of the Mystery, Inc. detective agency, one of which is a talking Great Dane named Scooby-Doo continue as they investigate the nefarious plans of an anonymous masked villain who is plotting to take over control of the city of Coolsville by wreaking mayhem with a monster machine that recreates Mystery, Inc.'s greatest classic foes, including Captain Cutler, The Creeper and The 10,000 Volt Ghost. Their investigation includes a visit to the Coolsonian Museum, which is run by a mysterious curator named Patrick (Seth Green), where a gala event for a new book about Mystery, Inc's adventures is being held (Silverstone plays a reporter).

 

APRIL 8 

The Barbarian Invasions (TBA): Selected. Hopscotch. 99 mins. Drama. Canada. Remy Girard, Dominique Michel, Louise Portal, Yves Jacques, Pierre Curzi, Dorothee Berryman, Isabelle Blais, Markita Boies. D: Denys Arcand (Jesus Of Montreal). Remy, divorced and in his early fifties, is hospitalized. His ex-wife, Louise, asks their son Sebastien to come home from London where he now lives. Sebastien hesitates; he and his father haven't had much to say to one another for years now. He relents, however, and flies to Montreal to help his mother and support his father. As soon as he arrives, Sibastien moves heaven and earth, brings his contacts into play and disrupts the system in every way possible to ease the ordeal that awaits Rimy. He also reunites the merry band that marked Rimy's past around his father's bedside: relatives, friends and former mistresses. What have they become in this age of "barbarian invasions"? Are the old irreverence, friendship and truculence still there? Do humor, hedonism and desire still inhabit their dreams? In the age of the barbarian invasions, the decline of the American empire continues...

Hellboy (TBA): National. Columbia. Action- Sci fi. Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt, Jeffrey Tambor, Karel Roden, Doug Jones, Rupert Evans, Victoria Smurfit. D: Guillermo del Toro (Blade II). Born in the flames of hell, and brought to our world in a pagan ritual, the fierce red hero, Hellboy (Perlman), was saved by his friend and mentor, the benevolent Dr. Broom (Hurt). Raised in Broom's Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy joins the likes of the "Mer-Man" Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman (Blair), the woman he loves who can psychically control fire, and Myers, the FBI agent who is his rival for Liz's affections. Together, our heroes must come to terms with fantastic powers that prove to be both a blessing and a curse. In the process they discover that their abilities serve to benefit mankind but may also keep them forever isolated from the society that only they can protect.


Mission Without Permission (TBA): National. Fox. Action Comedy. USA. Kristen Stewart, Corbin Bleu, Max Theiriot, Jennifer Beals, Sam Robards, Michael Des Barres, James LeGros, Lennie Loftin, Stark Sands.  D: Bart Freundlich. 12-year-old Maddy (Stewart) and her father (Robards) have always shared a love for mountain climbing. Their hobby, however, has a disastrous effect when an accident on Mount Everest injures his spine, paralyzing him forever unless he gets a very expensive operation. Determined to raise the money to pay for it, Maddy decides to recruit two of her friends to help her break into the super-high-tech bank. 
The Prince And Me (TBA): Selected. Icon. 

Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! (TBA): National. UIP (Uni). Comedy. USA. Kate Bosworth, Josh Duchamel, Nathan Lane, Topher Grace, Sean Hayes. D: Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde). When a hot young actor, Tad Hamilton (Duhamel) agrees to participate in a "win a date" contest to promote his new movie, his world is turned upside-down when he finds himself falling in love with the winner, a grocery store checkout girl from West Virginia named Rosalie (Bosworth). Showing up in her hometown to profess his love, Tad unwittingly inspires Rosalee's longtime best friend (Grace), who works with her as a bagger at the Piggly Wiggly, to also admit his love for her, putting Rosalee in the middle of a very unexpected romantic triangle... who will she pick? The best friend who's always been there for her, or the guy whose face decorates the walls of millions of girls' bedrooms? (Nathan Lane plays Tad's agent.)

 

 

APRIL 15  
  The Motorcycle Diaries (TBA): Selected. Dendy. Drama. South America. D: Walter Salles. Gael Garcia Bernal. Highly acclaimed director, Walter Salles (Central Station) returns with The Motorcycle Diaries, a Spanish biopic of Cuban Revolutionary Leader Che Guevara, set during the 1950s. The film, which is currently in production, recounts the adventures of Che Guevara when crossing South America by motorcycle with his best friend Alberto Granado.  Making a return to the screen is 2002¹s screen sensation, Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Amores Perros) as the young Che Guevara. 
  Two Brothers (TBA): National. UIP. Drama. Guy Pearce, Christian Clavier, Le Mai Anh, Freddie Highmore, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, and Vincent Scarito. An epic adventure of discovery, survival and wonder, Two Brothers is the story of twin tiger brothers who are born amidst the temple ruins and exotic jungles of French Indo-China. Separated as cubs and taken into captivity, one tiger is forced to become a circus performer, the other a trained killer. Years later, the brothers find themselves reunited, but as forced enemies pitted against each other. Two Brothers stars Guy Pearce as a romantic explorer whose tragic intervention into the idyllic lives of the two tiger brothers forever intertwines their fates.

 

 

APRIL 22

  
  Girl Next Door (TBA): National. Fox. Comedy. USA. Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Autumn Reeser. D:  Luke Greenfield (The Animal). An ambitious high school senior, Matthew (Hirsch), with dreams of a career in politics is overjoyed to discover that his new neighbor, 19-year-old Danielle (Cuthbert), is absolutely beautiful, and they fall in love quickly, head over heels. Their relationship is put to the test, however when he discovers (along with the rest of the town, eventually) that she used to be a... porn star.
The Perfect Score (TBA): National. UIP (Para). Comedy. Erika Christensen, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Darius Miles, Bryan Greenberg, Leonardo Nam. D: Brian Robbins (Hardball). In "The Perfect Score," a group of six high school students band together and develop a plan to heist the SAT exam in order to prevent the test from unfairly defining who they'll become. Each in the group has their own set of circumstances that lead them to the conclusion that the only way to truly decide their own fate is to cheat the system. The unofficial leader of the group is Kyle, an aspiring architect who dreams of attending an Ivy League school but repeatedly scores below what is required for acceptance. He develops the plan with his best friend Matty, whose low SAT scores result in a rejection letter from Maryland, the university that his girlfriend attends.

 

 

APRIL 29   
  The Dreamers (TBA): Selected. Fox.  Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, Eva Green, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Anna Karina Jean-Pierre Léaud. D: Bernardo Bertolucci. The tumultuous political landscape of Paris in 1968 is the backdrop as three young cineastes are drawn together through their passion for film. Matthew (Michael Pitt), a American exchange student, discovers in French twins Guillaume (Louis Garrel) and Danielle (Eva Green) a relationship unlike anything he has ever experienced or will ever encounter again... and he longs to be a part of it.
  Owning Mahowny (TBA): Selected. Sharmil. 
  The Punisher (TBA): National. Columbia. 


APRIL
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (TBA): Selected. Buena Vista. Diego Luna. Dance/Teen. Romola Garai, Diego Luna, Mika Boorem, Jonathan Jackson, Sela Ward. D: Guy Ferland. Havana: November, 1958. Eighteen-year-old Katey Miller brings an innate curiosity--and a smattering of Spanish--to her new life in Cuba’s lush capital, where her father has taken an executive posting at Chrysler. Schooled by her parents in the art of ballroom dancing, Katey is expected to join the smart set of American teenagers who are the Miller’s neighbors at the exclusive Oceana Hotel. But Katey finds herself drawn instead to the proud, purposeful Javier--a waiter who also happens to be brilliant dancer. Determined to learn the slinky, spectacular moves that Javier seems to know in his bones, Katey persuades him to partner with her in a prestigious national dance competition at a grand local nightclub, The Palace. Meeting secretly in an out-of-the-way Havana nightclub, Katey and Javier practice their steps--their bodies aligning in a sensual harmony that mirrors the growing passion between them. 
Eulogy (TBA): National. Hoyts Distribution. Comedy. USA. Hank Azaria, Jesse Bradford, Zooey Deschanel, Glenne Headly, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Monica Potter, Kelly Preston, Ray Romano, Rip Torn, and Debra Winger. D: MIchael Clancy. This is an ensemble comedy about three generations of relatives that come together for the funeral of the family patriarch (Torn), where a long list of secrets are revealed. Among the various family members are oldest daughter Alice (Winger); Daniel (Azaria), a has-been actor who can only get work as (nonsexual) supporting characters in porn movies; Skip (Romano), the black sheep older son; a suicidal mother (Laurie); and Lucy (Preston), who is trying to find the right time to tell her family she's going to get married to her partner, Judy (Janssen). The event is seen through the eyes of college freshman granddaughter Kate (Deschanel), who soon realizes that her family is probably weirder than she thought she was.

Hero (TBA): National. Buena Vista. Action Adventure. Hong Kong. 99 mins. Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi. D: Zhang Yimou (Raise The Red Lantern). At the height of China's Warring States period, the country was divided into seven kingdoms: Qin, Zhao, Han Wei, Yan, Chu and Qi. For years, the separate kingdoms fought ruthlessly for supremacy. As a result, the populace endured decades of death and suffering. The Kingdom of Qin was the most determined of all. The Qin King was obsessed with conquering all of China and becoming her first Emperor. He had long been the target of assassins throughout the other six states. Of all the would-be killers, none inspired as much fear as the three legendary assassins, Broken Sword, Flying Snow and Sky.  To anyone who defeated the three assassins, the King of Qin promised great power, mountains of gold and a private audience with the King himself. But defeating the killers is a near impossible task. For ten years no one came close to claiming the prize.

Jersey Girl (TBA): National. Buena Vista. Comedy. USA. Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Liv Tyler, George Carlin, Betty Aberlin, Jeff Anderson, Jason Biggs, Raquel Castro, Matt Damon, Jason Lee, Stephen Root, Charley Scalies, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Mike Starr. D: Kevin Smith. Ollie Trinke (Affleck) is young and at the top of his game as a music promoter. He is both a workaholic and a silver-tongued expert at manipulating the press. At a company Christmas party, Ollie meets Gertrude Steiney (Lopez), a book editor for a New York publishing house. They are instantly attracted to each other, and begin a whirlwind romance that changes the course of his personal and professional life.

Radio (TBA): National. Columbia. Drama. USA. Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, Alfre Woodard, Debra Winger. D: Michael Tollin. This is the decades-long story of the relationship between a prominent high school football coach (Ed Harris) in a small South Carolina town and the illiterate, mentally-challenged man nicknamed Radio (Cuba Gooding Jr) whom he mentors, who before that had always been the target of jokes and teasing by the community. Although their friendship raises some eyebrows at first, Radio's growth under the coach's guidance ultimately inspires the local townsfolk, from 1964 when he first starts helping the Hanna Yellow Jackets football team, through a career with the school that continues today, including tenures as the head cheerleader, assistant coach and team manager.

 


Teachers Pet (TBA): Selected. Buena Vista. Animated. V: Nathan Lane, David Ogden Stiers, Jerry Stiller, Shaun Flemming, Debra Jo Rupp, Wallace Shaun, Kelsey Grammar, Paul Reubens. D: Timothy Bjorklund. It’s the second Monday in September, a day Leonard Helperman (Flemming), your average fourth grade, has lived in fear of because his mom, Mrs. Helperman (Rupp), is the fourth-grade teacher! Oh the teasing, the torments, the taunts of “teacher’s per” that await this poor kid who just wants to be like everybody else. Meanwhile, Spot (Lane), Leonard’s secretly abnormally intelligent dog, is tired of staying in the house all day. Suddenly, he puts down his paw and declares, “I do not wish to be a dog!.” The spunky pup throws on Leonard’s clothes, rises up on his hind legs, and becomes Scott, the newest, coolest fourth grader. Everyone is diggin’ the new kid, but Leonard is suspicious. And then it hits him – aaahhhh! The new kid is his dog!
 

 

 Wondrous Oblivion (TBA): Selected. Icon/ Hopscotch. Drama. UK.  Delroy Lindo, Emily Woof, Stanley Townsend, Sam Smith. D: Paul Morrison (Solomon & Gaenor). From Academy Award nominated director Paul Morrison and the executive producer of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Being John Malkovich. Wondrous Oblivion tells the story of 11 yr old David Wiseman who is mad about cricket but no good at it. He might have the crisp, white uniform, the complete collection of cricket cards and the longing to be Garfield Sobers but David’s the laughing stock of the school team. SO, when a Jamaican family moves in next door and build a cricket net in the backyard, David is in seventh heaven. But this is 1960s England and when the neighbors start to make life difficult for the new arrivals, David and his family must choose between fitting in or standing up for those who have given them a renewed sense of living.