Coming to the big screen in April:
For the Mills woman that loves a good movie or two, here is a
list of movies that are opening in April.
On April 2, Ron Perlman and Selma Blair star in Hellboy a
supernatural thriller based on Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse comic
series of the same name. [PG-13]. If you loved Sex and the City and
could use a Sarah Jessica Parker fix, check out Home On The Range.
Roseanne, Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly and Cuba Gooding Jr. also star
in this story about a family farm in habited by a widow (Parker),
her daughter and various sundry farm animals. [PG]
Julia Stiles stars in The Prince and Me a romantic comedy about
a female student at a Midwestern university who has the dubious
fortune to fall in love with a European prince spending the
semester there incognito. [PG]
In the The United States of Leland, Ryan Gosling, Chris Klein
and Don Cheadle star in this dramatic story about 15-year-old
Leland who murders an autistic child and claims that he committed
the act out of sadness. [R]
Walking Tall, starring former WWF wrestler Dwayne “The Rock”
Johnson and Neal McDonough, in which “The Rock” plays Chris Vaughn,
a retired soldier who returns to his hometown to make a new life
for himself, only to discover his wealthy high school rival, Jay
Hamilton (McDonough), has closed the once-prosperous lumber mill
and turned the town’s resources towards his own criminal gains.
[PG-13]
Opening on April 9, Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert star in The
Girl Next Door where 18-year-old Matthew Kidman (Hirsch) is a
straight-arrow over-achiever who has never really lived life, until
he falls for his new neighbor, the beautiful and seemingly innocent
Danielle (Cuthbert). When Matthew discovers this perfect “girl next
door” is a one-time porn star, his sheltered existence begins to
spin out of control. [R]
Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry and Amanda Peet are at it again in
The Whole Ten Yards. Thanks to falsified dental records supplied by
his former neighbor Nicholas “Oz” Oseransky, retired hitman Jimmy
“The Tulip” Tudeski is now spending his days compulsively cleaning
his house and perfecting his culinary skills with his wife Jill,
when an uninvited and unwelcome connection to their past
unexpectedly shows up on Jimmy and Jill’s doorstep. It’s Oz, and
he’s pleading with them to help him rescue his wife from a
Hungarian mob. Together they have to go the whole nine yards…and
then some just to manage the mounting Mafioso mayhem. [This film
has not yet been rated]
On April 16, Quentin Tarantino fans will finally receive the
second installation to the Kill Bill series. Kill Bill: Volume 2
continues the story where the bride (Thurman), four years after
surviving a bullet in the head, emerges from a coma and swears
revenge on her former master and his deadly squad of international
assassins, played by Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox and
Michael Madsen. [R]
Thomas Jane and John Travolta team up in The Punisher, a story
about FBI undercover agent Frank Castle who until now has beat
considerable odds. A former Special Forces operative, he is finally
moving out of the field and into a desk job-and a normal life with
his wife and son. Then Castle’s world is shaken to its core by a
nightmare he has longed feared: his family is executed as a
repercussion from his final undercover assignment. [R]
Opening April 23 Television’s Alias star, Jennifer Garner and
Mark Ruffalo pair up in 13 Going on 30. This comedy fantasy is
about a gawky girl, Jenna, who is picked on by her peers and
classmates for being too eager to be liked and popular. [PG-13] In
Man on Fire, Oscar winner Denzel Washington stars as a government
operative/soldier of fortune, who has pretty much given up on life.
In Mexico City, he reluctantly agrees to take a job to protect a
child (Dakota Fanning) whose parents are threatened by a wave of
kidnappings. [This film has not been rated.]
Ending out the month on April 30, Ben Stiller and Jack Black
star in Envy as Tim and Nick, best friends, neighbors and
co-workers, whose equal footing is suddenly tripped up when one of
Nick’s harebrained get-rich-quick schemes actually succeeds.
[PG-13] In Godsend, a couple (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca
Romijn-Stamos) lose their son in an accidental shooting.
Devastated, they enlist the help of a scientist (Robert DeNiro) to
try and bring their child back. [This film has not been rated]
LIVE MUSIC
Kanye West, Dilated Peoples
April 3, 9 p.m.
The Grand
(415) 421-8497
The Bad Plus
April 15-April 18
Yoshi’s at Jack London Square
Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott
April 20, 7 p.m.,
Oakland Arena
Michael Cunningham
April 3, 8 p.m.,
Zellerbach Hall
Method Man
April 24, 8 p.m.,
The Fillmore
Me-Shell Ndegeocello
April 8, 8 p.m.
Bimbo’s 365 Club
(415) 474-0365
Prince, Musicology Tour
June 1, tickets now on sale.
The San Jose Pavillion
No Doubt, Blink 182
June 19, 7 p.m., tickets now on sale.
Shoreline
EVENTS
26th St. Stupid’s Day Parade
April 1, 12 p.m.
Justin Herman Plaza
Embarcadero at Market St.
San Francisco, CA
(510) 841-1898
www.saintstupid.com
Cherry Blossom Festival
April 17-18
Japantown
Post and Buchanan Streets
San Francisco, CA
(415) 922-9300
Bay Street Emeryville Arts and Music Festival
April 10, 12-2 p.m.
Bay Street Emeryville
Shellmound St. and Christie Ave.
Emeryville, CA
(510) 655-4002
www.baystreetemeryville.com
Signal Flow: New Music and Intermedia Festival
April 1-4
Mills College Music Dept.
Ensemble Room
5000 Mac Arthur Blvd.
Oakland, CA
(510) 430-2331
Petchitecture 2004
April 2, 7-10 p.m.
Gift Center Pavillion 888 Brannan St.
San Francisco, CA
(415) 677-8688
CD RELEASES
Janet Jackson
Damita Jo, March 30
Radiohead
Com Lag 2+2=5, April 6
William Hung, Inspiration, April 6
They Might Be Giants
Indestructible Object, April 6
Prince
Musicology, April 20
Smokey Robinson
Food for the Spirit, April 20
Dianna Krall
The Girl In The Other Room, April 27
Patti Smith
Trampin’, April 27
Various Artists
American Idol Season 3:
Greatest Soul Classics, April 27
Everlast
White Trash Beautiful, April 26
MUSEUMS/THEATER
Ghosts
Showing through April 11
Berkeley Rep.
2015 Addison St.
Berkeley, CA
(510) 647-2949
In A New Light
Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA
(415) 581-3500
New Aquisitions of Contemporary Art
Open through July 18
Asian Art Museum
(415) 581-3500
Lights Camera Action!!!: From the Printed Page to the Silver
Screen
Cartoon Art Museum
Open through May 15
(415) 227-8666
Contested Narratives
Mexican Museum
Open through May 16
(415) 202-9700
Dancing at Lughnasa
Mills College
Starts Friday, April 2
(510) 430-3308
Ansel Adams
Museum on Main Street
610 Main St.
Pleasanton, CA
(925) 462-2766
Bow Wow WOW!
Showing through April 16
Creative Growth Art center
355 24th St.
Oakland, CA
