Spring has sprung so it’s time to get outdoors! Except that’s where the pollen is, so stay inside and enjoy a variety of entertainments that will take your mind off the fact that Mother Nature’s trying to kill us all once more. Opening up the month is the John Krasinski-directed (and starring) creature feature A Quiet Place and the Kay Cannon teen comedy Blockers, before kicking into gear with the utterly fantastic documentary The Judge from Erika Cohn. On the 20th you have the Dwayne Johnson monster fight flick-inspired by your favorite 1980s arcade game Rampage OR you can see what your favorite juvenile state troopers have going on in Super Troopers 2. While there are many films coming out in April – big and small – there are none so widely anticipated as brothers Anthony and Joe Russo’s ten-years-in-the-making feature Avengers: Infinity War which sees all the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe come together to take on a common foe.
So, really – why deal with the pollen when you could go on an adventure? For more information about these films and more coming out in April, just scroll below.
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April 6th
A Quiet Place
Director: John Krasinski.
Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, and Millicent Simmonds.
In the modern horror thriller “A Quiet Place”, a family of four must navigate their lives in silence after mysterious creatures that hunt by sound threaten their survival. If they hear you, they hunt you. (Official synopsis from the A Quiet Place website.)
Blockers
Director: Kay Cannon.
Cast: Kathryn Newton, Ike Barinholtz, Leslie Man, and John Cena.
When three parents stumble upon their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity at prom, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal. (Official synopsis from the Blockers YouTube channel.)
Lean On Pete
Director: Andrew Haigh.
Cast: Charlie Plummer, Travis Fimmel, Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny, and Steve Zahn.
Fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson (Plummer) arrives in Portland, Oregon with his single father Ray (Fimmel), both of them eager for a fresh start after a series of hard knocks. While Ray descends into personal turmoil, Charley finds acceptance and camaraderie at a local racetrack where he lands a job caring for an aging Quarter Horse named Lean On Pete. The horse’s gruff owner Del Montgomery (Buscemi) and his seasoned jockey Bonnie (Sevigny) help Charley fill the void of his father’s absence—until he discovers that Pete is bound for slaughter, prompting him to take extreme measures to spare his new friend’s life. Charley and Pete head out into the great unknown, embarking on an odyssey across the new American frontier in search of a loving aunt Charley hasn’t seen in years. They experience adventure and heartbreak in equal measure, but never lose their irrepressible hope and resiliency as they pursue their dream of finding a place they can call home. (Official summary from the Lean on Pete A24 website.)
April 13th
The Judge
Director: Erika Cohn.
Cast: Kholoud Al-Faqih.
When she was a young lawyer, Kholoud Al-Faqih walked into the office of Palestine’s Chief Justice and announced she wanted to join the bench. He laughed at her. But just a few years later, Kholoud became the first woman judge to be appointed to the Middle East’s Shari’a (Islamic law) courts. THE JUDGE offers a unique portrait of Judge Kholoud—her brave journey as a lawyer, her tireless fight for justice for women, and her drop-in visits with clients, friends, and family. With unparalleled access to the courts, The Judge presents an unfolding vérité legal drama, with rare insight into both Islamic law and gendered justice. In the process, the film illuminates some of the universal conflicts in the domestic life of Palestine—custody of children, divorce, abuse—while offering an unvarnished look at life for women and Shari’a. (Official summary from The Judge’s website.)
Truth or Dare
Director: Jeff Wadlow.
Cast: Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, and Landon Liboriron.
Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) and Tyler Posey (“Teen Wolf”) lead the cast of Blumhouse’s “Truth or Dare”, a supernatural thriller from Blumhouse Productions (“Happy Death Day”, “Get Out”, “Split”). A harmless game of “Truth or Dare” among friends turns deadly when someone-or something-begins to punish those who tell a lie-or refuse the dare. (Official synopsis from the Truth or Dare YouTube channel.)
Beirut
Director: Brad Anderson.
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Jon Hamm, Shea Whigham, and Dean Norris.
Caught in the crossfire of civil war, CIA operatives (Rosamund Pike) send a former U.S. diplomat (Jon Hamm) to negotiate for the life of a friend he left behind. (Official synopsis from the Beirut website.)
Overboard
Director: Bob Fisher and Rob Greenberg.
Cast: Anna Faris, Eugenio Derbez, Eva Longoria, Swoosie Kurtz, and John Hannah.
In a splashy new twist, “Overboard” focuses on Leonardo (Eugenio Derbez), a selfish, spoiled, rich playboy from Mexico’s richest family and Kate (Anna Faris), a working class single mom of three hired to clean Leonardo’s luxury yacht. After unjustly firing Kate and refusing to pay her, Leonardo falls overboard when partying too hard and wakes up on the Oregon coast with amnesia. Kate shows up at the hospital and, to get payback, convinces Leonardo he is her husband and puts him to work – for the first time in his life. At first miserable and inept, Leonardo slowly settles in. Eventually he earns the respect of his new “family” and co-workers. But, with Leonardo’s billionaire family hot on their trail and the possibility of his memory returning at any moment, will their new family last or will Leonardo finally put the clues together and leave them for good? (Official synopsis from the Overboard website.)
April 20th
Rampage
Director: Brad Peyton.
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Joe Manganiello, Will Yun Lee, Dean Morgan, and Malin Akerman.
Primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson), a man who keeps people at a distance, shares an unshakable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent, silverback gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry mutates this gentle ape into a raging creature of enormous size. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered animals. As these newly created alpha predators tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend. (Official synopsis from the Rampage YouTube channel.)
Super Troopers 2
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar.
Cast: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Erik Stolhanske, Paul Soter, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Marisa Coughlan, Tyler Labine, Brian Cox, Lynda Carter, and Rob Lowe.
Everyone’s favorite law enforcement team is back by popular demand with the long anticipated follow up to the cult comedy classic…”Super Troopers”. When an international border dispute arises between the U.S. and Canada, the Super Troopers- Mac, Thorny, Foster, Rabbit and Farva, are called in to set up a new Highway Patrol station in the disputed area. Unconventional police work follows, and the result is…”Super Troopers 2”. (Official synopsis from the Super Troopers 2 YouTube trailer.)
The Devil and Father Amorth
Director: William Friedkin.
Cast: Gabriele Amorth.
In his latest, William Friedkin returns not only to his documentary roots but to the subject of one of his most towering works, 1973’s “The Exorcist”. Friedkin, a legendary raconteur, leads a tour that moves from the infamous “Exorcist” steps in Georgetown to Italy, where he meets with the 91-year-old Father Gabriele Amorth, official exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, and accompanies Amorth on one of his harrowing house calls. A sprightly, at times gonzo-style, investigation into the long history of demonic lore, and a one-of-a-kind insight into the persistence of medieval belief in the supposedly modern world. (Official synopsis from the The Devil and Father Amorth YouTube trailer.)
April 27th
Avengers: Infinity War
Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo.
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Chadwick Boseman, Letitia Wright, Tessa Thompson, Danai Gurira, Karen Gillan, Josh Brolin, and many, many more.
An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempte to defeat the powerful Thanos (John Brolin) before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe. (Official synopsis from the Avengers: Infinity War website.)
The House of Tomorrow
Director: Peter Livolsi.
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Nick Offerman, Asa Butterfield, Alex Wolff, Maude Apatow, and Michaela Watkins.
16-year-old Sebastian Prendergast (Butterfield) has spent most of his life with his Nana (Burstyn) in their geodesic dome home tourist attraction where she raises him on the futurist teachings of her former mentor Buckminster Fuller in hopes that one day Sebastian will carry Fuller’s torch and make the world a better place. But when a stroke sidelines Nana, Sebastian begins sneaking around with Jared (Wolff), a chain-smoking, punk-obsessed 16-year-old with a heart transplant who lives in the suburbs with his bible-thumping single father Alan and teenage sister Meredith (Apatow). Sebastian and Jared form a band and with his Nana’s dreams, his first real friendship, and a church talent show at stake, Sebastian must decide if he wants to become the next Buckminster Fuller, the next Sid Vicious, or something else entirely. (Official summary courtesy of The House of Tomorrow website.)
I Feel Pretty
Director: Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein.
Cast: Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Rory Scovel, Emily Ratajkowski, Aidy Bryant, Busy Phillips, Tom Hopper, Naomi Campbell, and Lauren Hutton.
In “I Feel Pretty” an ordinary woman who struggles with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy on a daily basis wakes from a fall believing she is suddenly the most beautiful and capable woman on the planet. With this newfound confidence she is empowered to live her life fearlessly and flawlessly, but what will happen when she realizes her appearance never changed? (Official synopsis from the I Feel Pretty YouTube trailer.)
Disobedience
Director: Sebastián Lelio.
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz, and Alessandro Nivola.
From a screenplay by Sebastián Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, and based on Naomi Alderman’s book, the film follows a woman (Rachel Weisz) as she returns to the community that shunned her decades earlier for an attraction to a childhood friend (Rachel McAdams). Once back, their passions reignite as they explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality. (Official synopsis from the Disobedience website.)
Traffik
Director: Deon Taylor.
Cast: Paula Patton, Omar Epps, Missi Pyle, William Fichtner, and Dawn Olivieri.
Brea (Paula Patton) and John (Omar Epps) are off for a romantic weekend in the mountains. Isolated at a remote estate, the couple are surprised by the arrival of two friends, another couple, Darren (Laz Alonso) and Malia (Roselyn Sanchez). Just when the weekend starts to get back on track, a violent biker gang turns up and begins to torment them. The foursome are forced to fight for their lives against the gang who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets. (Official synopsis from the Traffik website.)
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Categories: Coming Soon, Recommendation
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