“Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.”  Walt Disney

Will the imaginative family with the funny name command the attention of moviegoers of all ages once again this weekend? Is a yellow brick road the place where dreams come true or is “The Place Beyond the Pines,” featuring Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling, where it’s at, cinematically speaking? What about Bruce Willis’s “G.I. Joe” and his constant need for “Retaliation?” Will box-office success make for the best revenge? Last weekend, “The Croods” had the dubious honor of removing “Oz the Great and Powerful” from his great and powerful, special-effects laden position. The 3D gang plan on continuing their modern-day rise to fame (while figuring out the true meaning of family and fire). Then there’s the action-oriented “Olympus Has Fallen,” who rose pretty quickly his first week removed from White House restrictions (and introduced Aaron Eckhart as our latest movie President). School’s out as the “Admission” forms proved to be too taxing for the “Spring Breakers” looking for nothing more than a little R&R.

“The Call” for creativity and quality is being answered at your local movie theater, where you’ll find spring-breaking cave dwellers, a multitude of magicians casting spells, Gerard Butler capturing terrorists and Channing Tatum checking out of the blockbuster beat.

From seaside days to starry nights, may a dream-inspired weekend stuffed with laughter and imagination be within your reach and just beyond the star-filled pines…

April has nearly arrived, and with it a month’s worth of entertaining, spring-worthy films. This month, Hollywood heads aren’t leaving much “To The Wonder” and imagination of the audience. They’re betting “The Company You Keep” will find “42” reasons and then some to spend all their free time inside a cozy cinematic abode “At Any Price.” Once inside, we’ll meet the “Evil Dead”, who have loads of wicked personality despite their apparent lack of life. We’ll feel no “Pain & Gain” hours worth of fabulous storytelling fun as we move closer to long, sunny days (and big summer blockbusters). Winter has finally faded into that great “Oblivion” as indicated by “The Numbers Station,” the fancy Hollywood calculator that consistently keeps box office scores and movie release dates.  Movie lovers of the romantic comedy kind will be welcomed guests at “The Big Wedding” (big presents not necessary) with a reception featuring the debut of “Scary Movie 5” immediately following the love fest designed for the scare seekers on the party list. As we travel “Into the Great White” of an entertaining night from the comfort and safety of our cushy, movie-theater chairs, we know April’s showers will usher in a month of movies bursting with brilliant star light…

Leo Tolstoy once declared, “Spring is the time of plans and projects.” What are your movie plans this first full week in spring? Taking an animated road trip? Filling out college admission forms? Visitng the White House? Luckily, your local multiplex has got you covered with its creative film roster.

“Oz the Great and Powerful” continues his travels along the yellow brick road, which has lost a bit of its luster with the archaic arrival of “The Croods” who, in all their3D glory, have crashed the modern-day party, “road-tripping” all the way to U.S. and Canadian box offices #1 spot with $44.7 million. New in town, “Olympus has Fallen” but quickly risen to the impressive location of #2 with $30.5 million. Oz, meanwhile, is enjoying the box-office view at #3 with $22 million.

Audiences are still heeding “The Call” for thrilling female films, finding the number just right at fourth place and adding an additional $8.7 million to the box-office bill. The “Admission” fee proved to be a bit lacking for moviegoers, who sent the comedy to its #5 home with $6.4 million.

With the family-friendly Croods leading the way along the yellow brick road, audiences arrive at the White House doors, where Olympus may have fallen but can still hear “The Call” for a spring break from “Admission” forms, rules and regulations and just enjoy the show!

From seaside days to starry nights, may your plans for the week ahead be filled with animated, entertaining delight!

Is the great and powerful glow emanating from a yellow brick road the ultimate scene stealer? Or is the view getting better from the top of a beanstalk, where giants of the movie-manufactured kind reside? As Hollywood executives (and heartfelt writers) ask these questions,  “Oz the Great and Powerful” continues to prove nothing beats a fabled road filled with mythical creatures where the man behind the iron curtain has emerged to do great and powerful box-office business. “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” struggles to be heard above “The Call” for quality female films as the “Spring Breakers” care only about fun in the sun. Following in their sunny path, a host of films open this weekend intent on eclipsing that money-making ball of light. Will they be worth the price of “Admission?”

For the hopeless romantics, “Love and “Honor” requests the loving honor of your presence at your local multiplex. “The Croods” prepare to take you on a prehistoric road trip to modern times, promising to produce honorable box office results. Can their archaic, animated ways lead all the way to #1? Just for fun, let’s throw a bit of politics and peril into the entertainment mix, where “Olympus has Fallen” but, fear not, wrestles to rise above the impressive competition.

How will the new guys compete with old-timer Oz?

From seaside days to starry nights, may your weekend rise to the entertaining occasion…

After answering “The Call” last week from “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” who tried but failed to steal the magic from “Oz the Great and Powerful,” we’re left to wonder what scintillating spring days at our local movie theater will bring. Moviegoers, luckily, will find the “Admission” fee well worth it, as our favorite comedic councilor, in the form of comedic queen Tina Fey, deals with college rules, family drama and the invasion of those troublesome “Spring Breakers.” Speaking of families, “The Croods” add a little prehistoric animation to the big screen as the displaced household searches for a new dwelling in a strange land. Fortunately, they quickly find a home in Hollywood, where they’re always welcoming to odd tourists with unique talents. The cartoonish clan will blend in nicely among the colorful Tinseltown residents, who learn “Olympus Has Fallen” but remains well protected thanks to a fallen presidential guard who rises to the occasion to defend all movie characters, big and small. A rejected young soldier in Vietnam is determined to regain the affection of his girlfriend back home while doing his part to carry “Love and Honor” to the world of movies.

Following in the glow still inhabiting last week’s movie road paved in brick and gold, our week ahead is looking promising! There’s a road trip, spring break, wars of the political kind as well as the heart occurring on the home front and foreign lands, animation and admission for everyone!

What’s on your cinematic road map?

Johann Wolfgang van Goethe once said, “After fifteen minutes, nobody looks at a rainbow.” He clearly had never visited the rainbow- laden land of “Oz The Great and Powerful,” unlike the moviegoers who traveled to that wizard-wonderland by way of that infamous yellow brick road, which coincidentally led way up high at the U.S. box office with $42.2 million.  “The Call” for a thrilling, female-driven film, meanwhile, was answered at #2 with $17.1 million. “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” contained little credibility to cast a spell on audiences but managed to arrive at a magical place known as #3 with $10.3 million. The big-budget “Jack the Giant Slayer” hasn’t made as giant a killing at the box office as its producers had hoped but still managed to produce $6.2 million while creating a home at #4. The “Identity Thief” continues to steal money and motion picture moments as she hides out at #5 with $4.5 million.

Can magic continue to captivate moviegoers? Will the scenery continue to shine brighter from the beginning of a golden brick road as opposed to the bottom of a beanstalk?

More importantly, what will next week bring? (I see more animation and an “Admission” fee in our future).

From seaside days to starry nights, may the week ahead lead you to the most colorful, cinematic light…

“May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold, and at the end of all your rainbows may you find your pot of gold!” Irish Blessing

Will “Oz the Great and Powerful” continue to rule our movie court this week or will “The Call” from The “Incredible Burt Wonderstone” end his enchanting, moneymaking reign? Who will be crowned movie king, Franco, Carrey or Carell? Lest we forget, the “Spring Breakers” are in town to usher in a softer climate while having some cinematic fun in the spring sun. The man behind the curtain, however, along with his fabled cohorts, seems poised to continue waving his magic wand over movie audiences, magically transforming their black and white world into brilliant Technicolor. Will there be a pot of gold (and box-office bucks) somewhere over his rainbow?

While these Great and Powerful, not to mention Incredible characters search for color and magic in their oftentimes lackluster life, the spring-breaking boys and girls speak to the rebels among us looking for a party-hardy reality break. In the end, the audience speaks the loudest. What will they have to say?

From seaside days to starry nights, may your weekend meet with happiness, luck and a rainbow to call your own…