Monthly Movie Preview: April 2015

April brings warmer weather, and with the promise of summer also comes summer blockbusters. March had some solid independents and the taste of some sci-fi/action movies, but April is going to spice things up, as well.

April 3 – Furious7

Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, The Rock, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Ronda Roussey

The seventh installment of the racing movie franchise, or 7Fast 7Furious as we like to call it, has returned for another run. Get ready for terrible acting, beautiful women, ever more beautiful settings, and over-the-top stunts. Somehow, this movie has managed to one-up itself each time, and with the untimely death of Paul Walker, they will be looking to make this as big of a spectacle as possible. I think it will hit the mark for long-time fans of the franchise, but don’t go in expecting to be blown away by the plot. – Sherif

April 3 – Last Knights

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Clive Owen

This movie has a 12% on Rotten Tomatoes. That did not detour me from checking out the trailer, though! And typically, I like just about everything I see. I don’t know if it is Morgan Freeman being a bad guy, or his Fu Manchu beard, but I was thrown off from the beginning of the trailer. Then I hear that Clive Owen’s character is named Raiden. Raiden?! As in the God of Thunder and protector of the Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat?! And this is the very British Clive Owen’s character name, huh? That’s when an idea popped in my head; if this movie was made in Japan and subtitled in America, it would be the best movie of April. Alas, it is not. – Adrian

April 3 – Woman in Gold

Starring: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Katie Holmes

If you know me, and because you are reading this online the chances are you don’t (but that’s ok), you know that I will watch anything with Ryan Reynolds. So of course I wanted preview Woman in Gold. Despite Ryan Reynolds, this movie looks really good. Helen Mirren is absolutely hilarious as Maria Altmann, the niece of Adele Bloch-Bauer, subject of Gustav Klimt’s painting Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. Reynolds plays her lawyer and together they sue the Austrian government for the ownership of the painting. Pairing the film with flashbacks, this looks like a great modern account of an old story. – Adrian

April 3 – Effie Gray

Starring: Emma Thompson, Dakota Fanning

Effie Gray was the teenage bride of famous British Art Critic John Ruskin. She became involved his protégé John Everette Millais. Does this sound like a book you read in your senior year high school class? After seeing the preview, I immediately thought, “This is Jane Eyre meets Ethan Frome meets The Awakening!” That all could because I like classic literature, but upon further investigation of the true story, Effie Gray fits right in with all these works. If you are uninterested in this movie, just think Unfaithful, but with better costumes. – Adrian

April 7 – Beyond the World of Interstellar

Starring: Chris & Jonathan Nolan, Kip Thorne, Hans Zimmer

Interstellar may not have racked up as many Academy Awards as it deserved, but it blew the minds of nerds all over. This was the best space movie of the decade, and there was actual science-based… science in there. Well, for one night only, AMC is bringing you Beyond the World of Interstellar and into the minds of the three creators who put it all together: Hans Zimmer on the sounds, Kip Thorne on the science, and Christopher Nolan on the storyline. While this feature is incredibly insightful, it takes an incredibly hardcore fan to pay money to go to a theater to watch it. I will just confine myself to the hours of bonus Blu-Ray footage. – Sherif

April 10 – Lost River

Starring: Christina Hendricks, Iain De Caestecker (Fitz from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Saoirse Ronan, Matt Smith, Eva Mendes, written/directed by Ryan Gosling

This film is written and directed by Ryan Gosling, so right off the bat you know there’s some weird stylistic decisions. It reminds a bit of A Place Beyond the Pines, and even reminiscent of Drive a bit, in tone. Nearby where the main characters live, there is a river of lost cities. That’s about all I gathered from the trailer. I’m sure artsy-fartsy people will have a field day with this movie, either defending or justifying its embarrassingly-low reviews. I, however, am almost convinced of the potential of the film just by the cast. Matt Smith channels his inner Edward Furlong from American History X here and De Caestecker is just as charismatic as in S.H.I.E.L.D. Feeling like a gamble? Go for it. – Sherif

April 10 – Kill Me Three Times

Starring: Simon Pegg, Teresa Palmer, Sullivan Stapleton, Alice Braga

You had me at “Simon Pegg,” but “Simon Pegg with a handlebar mustache” is just too good to pass up. This one’s got a little bit more edge to it than cult favorites like Hot Fuzz, but the same dry humor is there. A man hires Wolfe (Pegg) to murder his wife, but it turns out that several people are already tasked with killing her. It reminds me a lot of Smoking Aces but with more emphasis on comedy and story than action. It was released internationally last year and has gotten crappy reviews, but who cares about critical acclaim when you’re watching a Simon Pegg movie? – Sherif

April 10 – Ex Machina

Starring: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac

Artificial intelligence is not a game, okay?? And, dear God, why do these mad scientists always create these sexually-arousing FemBots?? They always become their own undoing… What starts out as an innocent and fascinating journey into the possibility of A.I. turns into a nightmare when the developer manipulates the program – and the tester. Lesson I got from the trailer: never trust the bearded guy with glasses. This marks the director debut of Alex Garland, whose work on 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Dredd and DmC: Devil May Cry proves that we knows a thing or two about sci-fi thrillers. – Sherif

April 17 – Child 44

Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace (Swedish Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Joel Kinnaman (2014’s Robocop), Gary Oldman

Holy Moly! I think this movie looks fantastic. I am fascinated by Russian culture — I think it is one that Americans tend to sweep under the rug because of our history and The Cold War. Child 44 takes place in the 50’s, exactly during The Cold War. When a rash of child murders begins to happen, the police try to cover them up, saying that murder is a capitalist crime. Starring Tom Hardy, this movie looks part Thriller, part Mystery, and part really sad. I can’t wait! – Adrian

April 17 – Paul Blart Mall Cop 2

Starring: Kevin James, Neal McDonough, Daniella Alonso, Loni Love, D.B. Woodside

Somewhere far, far at the bottom of my list of movies that need or warrant a sequel… nope, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is not on that list. And that’s a list that includes Hitch and Hotel Transylvania (the latter of which, oddly enough, is getting a sequel). I really like Kevin James, and I think that King of Queens was the bee’s knees, but the first Mall Cop movie was barely palatable. Can we please send Hollywood a message and not go see this movie? I’m tired of the same crap over and over. I’ll hold my breath til Pixels comes out for a comedy worth my time (yeah, Ted 2, I see right through you, too). On a positive note, this move does have DB Woodside (Robin Wood from Buffy). – Sherif

April 17 – True Story

Starring: Jonah Hill, James Franco, Felicity Jones,

I never thought I would want so badly to see a serious film with James Franco and Jonah Hill. This terrifying thriller follows an ex New York Times reporter (Hill) who ends up involved in the life of a convicted killer (Franco). The killer seriously f***s with the reporter’s life and terror ensues. I don’t really know what else to day other than I wish I could watch it right now and that Sundance really liked it, too. – Adrian

April 20 – Friday: 20th Anniversary

Starring: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, John Witherspoon

Oh, isn’t that quaint? The weed movie that started them all is coming back to theaters for a 20th anniversary showing. Bring plenty of munchies, because Friday isn’t just a stoner’s classic; it’s fun for the whole family. Invite your little brother, who was probably just a baby when the movie came out, and introduce him to the gateway drug of black comedies. Seriously, though, just watch it at home. It’s gotta be for free on YouTube somewhere (oh, there it is, but it won’t last long). I can’t say I’d enjoy watching this in theaters with a bunch of people who are ready to spark up, but it’s a classic movie worth your time. – Sherif

April 22 – Disney’s Monkey Kingdom

Starring: uh… monkeys?, narrated by Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi)

Monkeys! They are so cute! They look like us! I’m gushing! This Earth Day, Disney is releasing their newest adventure with real life animals. This time, we follow Mia and her son Kip on their move from one home to another. The filming looks absolutely incredible, the story heart-warming and probably tear-jerking, but most importantly, monkeys are adorable! Actually, most importantly, if you go see the movie the first week, Disney will donate money to Conservation International [http://www.conservation.org/Pages/default.aspx]. – Adrian

April 24 – Little Boy

Starring: Jacob Salvati, David Henrie, Kevin James, Emily Watson, Michael Rapaport, Tom Wilkinson

If this were 1995, Little Boy would be a HUGE hit. I don’t know how well it will do today, but I know that I would have loved this movie when I was a kid. Little Boy follows a boy who doesn’t grow, but he can make miracles happen, even after his dad is sent off to war. This is a period piece, so I don’t know how much it will resonate with modern kids, but for 20-somethings, this has Matilda written all over it. This may be a good movie to rent when the whole family is home. – Adrian

April 24 – The Age of Adaline

Starring: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford, Kathy Baker

Blake Lively never gets older! And she falls in love but then they do get older! It’s like a vampire movie without the gore, but isn’t the vampire gore concept what makes never aging interesting? Overall, I think this movie looks meh. While Lively is undoubtedly gorgeous, her acting has never grasped enough to go see a movie just for her. The writing looks a little too sappy, but I do imagine that the costumes from all the different periods would be fun to see from a design standpoint. – Adrian

April 24 – The Forger

Starring: John Travolta, Christopher Plummer, Abigail Spencer

I never thought a movie about forging a painting would look so cool! John Travolta plays a convict who with his father and son, plan a heist to forge and then steal a Monet. There looks to be sex, violence, and lots a crime. A dash of art and family values and this could be the first Travolta movie I will see since 2010. – Adrian

April 24 – Brotherly Love

Starring: John Travolta, Christopher Plummer, Abigail Spencer

Brotherly Love looks like Coach Carter, if Coach Carter never came to the school. That doesn’t mean this move looks bad! A group of young high school students get caught up in the game in Philly. There is no other way to describe it, but that storyline is very popular and won’t be going out of style anytime soon. Because this centers on a group of high schoolers, it is doubtful something too terrible, but someone is sure to die, and the rest of the kids will learn something because of it. – Adrian