New Movies Coming in April 2011

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this techno-thriller as Captain Colter Stevens, a decorated soldier who's desperately trying to find a bomber aboard a passenger train bound for Chicago. Able to jump into another man's body for the last eight minutes of his life, Stevens must piece together clues while experiencing his host's explosive death over and over. With a larger bombing looming in downtown Chicago and a romance blossoming with a now-dead woman (Michelle Monaghan) he meets on the train, Stevens is under increasing pressure to solve the mystery and undo the events of the recent past. Also starring Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright, the Duncan Jones film opens on April 1st, 2011.

Your Highness - Danny McBride and James Franco team up once again, this time as brothers in a medieval setting. McBride is Thadeous, a prince who's more than a little lazy and full of himself. Franco, meanwhile, is the heroic Fabious, a prince charged with undertaking a perilous quest to save the kingdom. Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel are the love interests, Michael Clarke Duncan is a troll, and Justin Theroux is the villainous wizard. A rambunctious mixture of fantasy and comedy that opens on April 8th, 2011.

Scream 4 - Intended as the first film in a new horror trilogy, this Wes Craven sequel finds Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returning home to promote a book on the anniversary of the town's first brutal murder. But a new killer is on the loose, and soon Sidney and her family (including Emily Roberts) are targets. Series veterans Courteney Cox and David Arquette co-star alongside Hayden Panettiere, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Mary McDonnell, and Marley Shelton. Opens on April 15th, 2011.

Madea's Big Happy Family - The eleventh film in the Tyler Perry franchise once again finds the sassy Madea in action, this time helping out a niece who's received bad news about her health. Since the woman's children are too involved with their own problems to lend a sympathetic ear, it's up to Madea to whip them into shape. Co-starring Loretta Devine, Bow Wow, Isaiah Mustafa, and Lauren London. Written, directed, and starring Tyler Perry, the film opens on April 22nd, 2011.

Fast Five - The fifth film in the franchise, it brings together many of the characters from the previous films for an action-packed ride. Trapped between a federal agent (Dwayne Johnson) and a deadly South American businessman (Joaquim de Almeida), the group is in for the most dangerous race of their lives. Vin Diesel is back as Dominic Toretto, and he's joined by Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang, and Matt Schulze. Opens on April 29th, 2011. The upcoming movies listed above should play in all major theatres, so you'll have little trouble tracking them down. Be sure to check your local newspaper or theatrical website, as you may also be able to save a few bucks utilizing cost-cutting measures such as Cinemark coupons.

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New Movie 'Rio' | The Loneliest Bird in the World

The Movie comes new release 'Rio'. This fun packed family animation features a rare blue macaw parrot called Blu. He thinks he is the last parrot of his breed, so when he hears that there is one surviving female, he heads down to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to hook up with the feisty Jewel. The movie features Ann Hathaway as Jewel and Jesse Eisenberg as Blu. It premiered in Rio on March 25. Blu is based on a real blue Brazilian parrot, The Spix's Macaw.

What kind of parrot is Blu? 'Blu' is based on Spix's Macaw; an almost extinct blue macaw parrot from Brazil. Like Blu and Jewel, the real Spix's Macaws are bright blue with a slightly lighter blue on their head and under parts. The underside of the wings and tail are black. Adults have black beak and feet but young Spix's Macaws often have a white stripe down the center. These Brazilian parrots are 55-57 cm long and live for 20-30 years in the wild. When mating they make a noise like "whichaka" by creating a low rumble in the abdomen bringing the sound up to a high pitched end of the vocal cords. These bright and noisy birds are unfortunately easy to spot by smugglers.

The Loneliest Bird in the World The story of the last Spix's parrot is a sad and poignant story. In the 1980s, naturalists thought the Macaw had disappeared. Then, in 1985, 5 birds were found in Bahia, Brazil. Unfortunately, by 1990, four had either died or been caught by trappers. This left only one 10-year-old male living along in the semi-arid Caatinga area. For 10 years, conservationists and naturalists observed this lonely bird, keeping close tabs on its movements in order to record how this almost extinct bird lived. In 2000 the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Natural Renewable Resources (IBAMA) sadly announced that the last Spix's Macaw had disappeared. After two months of searching, the Institute concluded that the last Little Blue Macaw had probably died.

Why did Spix's Parrot become extinct? Spix's Macaw comes from just one area of Brazil: the dry Caatinga area of north Bahia state, Brazil. It is there that the Caraibiera riparian woodland, and favourite nesting place of the birds, grows along the river banks. When much of the land was cleared for cattle raising, the birds' natural habitat was greatly reduced. Poaching was probably what wiped out the Spinx's Macaw in the wild, though. Despite being highly illegal, poachers would capture these beautiful birds to sell overseas as pets for as much as $40, 000.

The biggest focus is on an international breeding program. There are currently 85 parrots in captivity including 4 in Sao Paolo Zoo and 56 at the Al-Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP), Quatar. Thanks to the last lonely Spix's Macaw, breeders have lots of information on how the bird behaved in the wild and the hope is that in the future, the Little Blue Macaw will again fly freely in the Carabibeira ribarian woodlands of Bahia.

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Tom and Jerry as Granddaddy Kids Cartoon Movies

Everyone has their own favorite animated cartoon movie or television show; in fact cartoons are now a big part of a child's early years and not to mention entertaining to adults as well. If you were young in the 60's, 70's or 80's then you'll have been lucky enough to have enjoyed the original hand drawn animated classics, like the Flintstones, The Jetsons or one of the most popular and longest running, Tom and Jerry.

So where did it all begin? Most people don't realize that Tom and Jerry has had more than one creator in over 50 years of air time; the original two were the talented William Hanna and Joseph Barbara. They came to the MGM studios in the 40's with their idea and Tom and Jerry became a reality in people's homes. After a short time the show was cut and the team split up until the 1960's when MGM decided to restart the project, they hired Gene Deitch for 2 years, but his eccentric creativity didn't mix well with the show. In 1963 the studios hired a new director Chuck Jones who became the next creator of the movies.

An example of a particularly good film is the magic ring which came out in 2002, it was written and directed by both of the original creators and also collaborated on by Chuck Jones. If you're an enthusiast of the lovable cat and mouse duo then you'll love this film, it would also be a great introduction to the characters for your own kids. The characters are simple Tom a mischievous house cat with a taste for mice and Jerry a shy mouse with a kind heart; the two are friends at heart, but always end up trying to win one over on each other usually with Jerry winning the day. The simple and hilarious slapstick comedy of this crazy duo is what's made it so popular in countries all over the world; you'll find the popular movies playing in just about any hotel room on all continents.

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