Wednesday, April 1, 2015

A Reel Preview: The Year in Film 2015, Episode IV




The temperature outside may not reflect it, but the Summer Movie Season is fast approaching. But between now and then, we have one more month of filler material to deal with…although this April is giving us a few interesting choices. Here are the notable films for April. 

It all revs up with…

FURIOUS 7 – The seventh (or maybe the eighth) installment of the long-running car-chase franchise. Stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodridguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Lucas Black, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Djimon Hounsou, and the late Paul Walker. James Wan (SAW ) directs. 

WOMAN IN GOLD – Based on the true story of an elderly Holocaust survivor who goes searching for a family heirloom; a portrait of her aunt. Stars Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Bruhl (RUSH), Katie Holmes, and Charles Dance. Directed by Simon Curtis (MY WEEK WITH MARILYN). 

LAST KNIGHTS – In one of the oddest looking films of the month, this medieval adventure has Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman as knights seeking to avenge the loss of their master. 

BOYCHOIR – In what feels like another shot at last year’s acclaimed WHIPLASH, Dustin Hoffman plays a choir master who takes in a troubled youth. Co-stars Kathy Bates and Debra Winger. 

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA – This arthouse drama has received acclaim and awards from the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. Juliette Binoche (THE ENGLISH PATIENT) plays an aging actress who agrees to take part in a revival of the play that had launched her career 20 years earlier. Co-stars Kristen Stewart (TWILIGHT), and Chloe Grace Moretz (KICK-ASS). 

THE LONGEST RIDE – Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name, Scott Eastwood (Son of Clint) plays a former champion bull rider. Co-stars Britt Robertson, Jack Huston, and Alan Alda. Directed by George Tillman Jr. (MEN OF HONOR). 

EX MACHINA – In this sci-fi thriller, Domhnall Gleeson (FRANK) plays a young computer programmer who spends a week with a reclusive genius who has just invented a revolutionary android, named Ava. Oscar Isaac (INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS) plays the genius, and Alicia Vikander plays Ava. 

PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 – Kevin James returns for another round of watch-the-fat-guy-fall-down comedy

UNFRIENDED – A supernatural teen horror film which all takes place on six teens’ laptops during a group chat. 

CHILD 44 – This mystery thriller takes place during Stalin’s Soviet Union rule, in which a disgraced agent is tasked with investigating a string of strange and brutal child murders. The all-star cast includes Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman, Jason Clarke, and Vincent Cassel. 

THE WATER DIVINER – The directorial debut of Russell Crowe (GLADIATOR). Crowe also stars in this post-WWI tale about a farmer who goes looking for his three sons who had gone missing after the war. He is joined by Olga Kurylenko (QUANTUM OF SOLACE), and the human doorknob, Jai Courtney. 

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Next month, things begin to heat up as Reel Speak previews the month of May. 



2 comments:

  1. Is Child 44 a sort of remake of a William Hurt movie from the 80s, I think called Gorsky Park?

    ReplyDelete

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