April showers not only bring May flowers, but a bunch of new movies into the theater lineup. Which are, admittedly, the prettier result.
Some people may say that cinema is dying and that nothing will ever be the same post-A Minecraft Movie, but that’s just because they don’t know what’s coming next! Just in April and May, there are several movies across a wide range of genres sure to appeal to a ton of people when they come out, yet barely anybody is talking about them. Why? All the marketing space is being taken up by the freakin’ Minecraft movie!
So I’m here to showcase some releases coming to a movie theater near you very soon, because outside of the trailers that play before A Minecraft Movie starts, you’d probably never find out these exist.
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photo credit: 20th Century Studios
Academy Award-winner Rami Malek is hanging up his Freddie Mercury ‘stache and going full John Wick. No longer is he belting “Bohemian Rhapsody” at Live AID; Malek is now portraying the (fictional) smartest man in the CIA: Charlie Heller. In The Amateur, Heller’s wife is murdered during a terrorist attack in London. Angry that the CIA is not taking action, Heller uses his incredible intellect to his advantage to hunt down his wife’s killers himself and enact his revenge. Aided by Lawrence Fishburne, who is playing a mentor character not dissimilar to his Morpheus in The Matrix, Charlie is taught how to be a cold-blooded killer.
The Amateur’s critic reviews are coming back from early screenings, and they indicate a “generally favorable” score (according to a 3.2/5 average score on Letterboxd), so this is well worth your while to check out in theaters. Some critics are calling it the new Jason Bourne and the reincarnation of John Wick, but not yet — he just needs a little more time to become a bit more seasoned, because, after all, he is just an…Amateur (ba-bing).
The Ballad of Wallis Island — APRIL 11
photo credit: Focus Features
Imagine being a Beatles fan in 1970, right when they broke up. If all four Beatles members suddenly appeared on your doorstep, would you try to get the band back together? There’s only one right answer, FYI, and it’s a resounding “yes.”
The Ballad of Wallis Island centers around British folk musician Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden), who is paid a very extravagant fee to travel to a tiny, sparsely inhabited island to play for eccentric lottery winner Charles (Tim Key). Unbeknownst to him, his former bandmate (and ex-girlfriend) Nell Mortimer (Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan) was also set up by Charles to play on that same island, which fits right into superfan Charles’s plan: to get the classic folk duo McGwyer Mortimer back together again.
If you’re looking for a feel-good movie with a great emotional core to see this spring, look no further than The Ballad of Wallis Island. If the 3.8/5 average rating on Letterboxd tells you anything, it’s probably that it’s a good flick! Then again, Carey Mulligan makes any movie good, no matter the quality. So even if you end up hating everything else in Wallis Island, Mulligan will keep your peepers glued to that screen.
photo credit: Warner Bros.
Even though I’ve seen the same trailer for Sinners easily five times already, I still cannot fully decipher what it’s about. But Sinners appears to be one of those horror movies that is a million times better if you go in knowing nothing, so I’m now trying to dodge everything I can about it. Plus, one of the unspoken (and often changing) 12 Commandments of being a film critic is to “never doubt Ryan Coogler, because he made Black Panther.” I’d blindly put my faith into a horror flick any day as long as Coogler’s at the helm.
The big talk surrounding this movie isn’t about its director, however; it’s about the star(s). Michael B. Jordan (who, fun fact, has had a role in every single one of Coogler’s movies) plays a set of twins: one more grisly, named Smoke, and one more buttoned-up, named Stack. Smoke…and Stack. Smoke. Stack — oh, I get it now! But anyhoo, the twins return to their hometown to reconnect with their roots, but find themselves caught in a web of horrific evils that are waiting to welcome them back.
Sinners looks terrifying, but I will make sure that it does not go down in history as “the one movie everybody saw and loved and Lucas missed out on.” Not having another The Zone of Interest! Not this time, fellas! Take my money, Ryan Coogler! Take it!
photo credit: Disney
After a year-long hiatus (mostly spent reevaluating their quality control), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is back and (hopefully) better than ever with the releases of the freshest installments in their ever-expanding superhero world. First, it was Captain America: Brave New World back in February, and now it’s Thunderbolts* time, baby!
Taking place mainly after the events of Black Widow, Thunderbolts* revolves around characters from that movie and disillusioned superhumans from around the globe being forced by the government to save the world from an Avengers-level threat. It’s pretty much the MCU’s undertaking of DC’s Suicide Squad concept, except here there’s no Will Smith or Margot Robbie. I’m sure Oscar-nominee Florence Pugh and Emmy-nominee David Harbour will be just as capable of saving humanity as the Suicide Squad is, though, because if the stupid Jared Leto Joker can do it, then anybody can!
I’m really excited for this one, to be quite honest. From what I’ve seen already, the action scenes look great, the writing seems sharp and Thunderbolts* is, as of this moment, the first MCU movie to come out post-2022 to have an actual color palette. Now that gets you sold-out theaters, Marvel!
photo credit: A24
“There’s a new Marvel out that’s supposed to be nuts. We should go see that.”
It’s official: Tim Robinson is a comedy genius. First the “Pay it Forward” sketch, and now this. The stakes are high.
A24’s Friendship brings us back to simpler times: the times of Grown-Ups and Tag, in which movies could have a palpable message about male friendships that makes any middle-aged adult man point at the screen and go, “That’s me! That’s me!” Friendship is simply another movie to place in that subgenre, and I couldn’t be happier for its grand (albeit in a way slightly quirkier than I imagined) return.
It’s just a movie about an unnamed Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave) guy becoming friends with his neighbor, unnamed Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) guy, and subsequently getting ousted from the friend group after a couple of hangouts. Because of this sudden development, Tim Robinson guy goes feral and does everything he possibly can to get back into the group of guys he was just invited into and booted from. Not only is it painting an accurate portrait of male friendships, but it’s friggin’ hilarious.
This trailer alone already has some all-timers in there. “I can see the future. It’s full of pals.” Heck yeah, it is! I’m so into Friendship!
photo credit: Lionsgate
Sorry, Weeknd fans: the Weeknd’s movie is not coming out on a weekend. Disheartening, I know.
Coinciding with the release of his hot-off-the-presses album “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” Abel “the Weeknd” Tesfaye is cautiously dipping his toes into the mud puddle that is Hollywood by releasing a film of the same name this spring. While I haven’t listened to his newest album yet, I’m sure I can sidestep it simply by watching the movie, giving a whole new meaning to “the ___ was better.” How many movies can you say that the album was better than?
And to put to rest any negative comparisons like that, Tesfaye garnered the vision of Waves director Trey Edward Shults to make his movie companion: a man who certainly knows a thing or two about indie cinema. In a script written by the Weeknd himself, Hurry Up Tomorrow stars Tesfaye as a fictionalized version of his Weeknd persona on the verge of a mental breakdown, and runs into a mysterious stranger with whom he goes on an existential quest.
For one of the most exciting cinematic prospects of the Spring, it seems odd to me that nobody’s talking about this! Hurry Up Tomorrow is one of those newfangled “original ideas” that some movie critics claim aren’t made anymore, and people are brushing it off. There’s a reason why more “brand” movies are being made nowadays, and it’s because audiences aren’t seeing movies like this! Go see it and experience new ideas, folks.
photo credit: Disney
Almost any other film critic would utilize this Lilo & Stitch slot to mouth off at every one of the Disney live-action remakes, but not Lucas DeLuca! Unlike the rest of my filmic brethren, I am incredibly optimistic about this movie. I mean, how can you not even try to love Lilo & Stitch? He’s just so cute!
Being the newest installment in Disney’s campaign of live-action remakes of classic animated IPs, Lilo & Stitch aims to prove to its audience it can teach an old dog new tricks while still keeping in mind its killer party tricks: sit and stay. Marketing tells us it has the same basic plot as the original Lilo & Stitch: Mischievous alien Stitch crash-lands in Hawaii, befriends a little girl named Lilo, and gets into a pickle when his creators come to Earth to get him back. But fresh jokes, moments, Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover), Billy Magnussen (Into The Woods) and the film debut of Maia Kealoha as Lilo make this a more-than-new experience.
And we can’t forget about the director, Dean Fleischer Camp, who made the Oscar-nominated Marcel the Shell with Shoes On just three years ago. If I can trust him with my trusty, adorable seashell friend, then I can trust him with my slightly scary, furry alien buddy.
