Much like the weather it delivers, the month of April can be
an unpredictable mixed bag of cinema. It is stuck between the dead months of
the year and the kick-off to the Summer Movie Season, and not even studios seem
to know what to do with it. Here are the notable releases for the month…
April roars in with…
COLOSSAL – Director Nacho Vigalondo, who brought us the
horror thrillers OPEN WINDOWS (2014), and V/H/S: VIRAL (2014) helms this
science-fiction/comedy in which a woman returns to her hometown and discovers
she has a connection to a Kaiju monster attack. Stars Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis,
Tim Blake Nelson, and Simon Pegg.
THEIR FINEST – In this WWII-based British comedy based on
the novel of the same name, the British government hires a team to produce a
propaganda film about the Battle of Dunkirk. Stars Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin,
Bill Nighy, and Eddie Marsan.
GIFTED – Chris Evans (CAPTAIN AMERICA) plays an uncle who is
protective of his genius niece. Octavia Spencer co-stars. It is directed by
Marc Webb, who gave us the most excellent 500 DAYS OF SUMMER (2009), and the last
two shitty SPIDER-MAN movies (2012, 2014).
SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE – In this animated reboot of the
series (already?), the Smurfs seek out a hidden village. Stars the voices of
Demi Lovato, Rainn Wilson, Joe Manganiello, Mandy Patinki, Julia Roberts, and
Michelle Rodriguez.
AFTERMATH – He’s back! Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a man who
loses his wife and child in an air-disaster and demands answers. It is based on
the real-life Uberlingen mid-air collision in 2002.
THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS – The eighth (or is it the ninth)
installment of the vehicular-warfare series. Stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson,
Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Kurt Russell, Scott Eastwood,
Charlize Theron, and Helen Mirren.
THE LOST CITY OF Z – Based on the book of the same name,
this auto-biographical adventure tells the true story of Percy Fawcett, who
disappeared in 1925 with his son searching for a lost city in the Amazon. Stars
Charlie Hunnman (TV’s SONS OF ANARCHY), Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, and
Ian McDiarmid. It is directed by James Gray (THE IMMIGRANT).
UNFORGETTABLE – Katherine Heigl and Rosario Dawson are
caught in a love triangle in this romantic thriller.
THE PROMISE – Another love triangle, this one set in the
final years of the Ottoman Empire. Stars Oscar Isaac (THE FORCE AWAKENS),
Christian Bale (THE DARK KNIGHT), and Charlotte Le Bon (THE WALK). It is
directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Terry George.
THE CIRCLE – Emma Watson (HARRY POTTER) plays an
up-and-coming tech worker who discovers that her new company is doing
questionable business. Co-stars Tom Hanks and John Boyega (THE FORCE AWAKENS).
FREE FIRE – This British action-comedy has a packed cast of
Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley, Armie Hammer, Cillian Murphy, and Jack Reynor…with
criminals and IRA members mixing together.
*
In a few weeks, Reel Speak previews the first month of the
Summer Movie Season.
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