According to: Cat
20 – Kill Your Friends (4/1)
Tag Line: Lies. Betrayal. Murder. Just another day at
the office.
Production Company: Unigram, AI-Film, Altitude Film
Entertainment
Director: Owen Harris
Writer: John Niven
Actors: Nicholas Hoult, James Corden, Georgia King,
Ed Skrein, Craig Roberts, Rosanna Hoult
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Rated: Unrated
This movie is based on
a book that apparently did rather well. While I haven’t read it, the trailer
intrigued me with this story. Depending on how I actually like the movie, I
might just add it to my list to see what morsels of detail couldn’t be fit onto
the screen.
Be that as it may, I
am a sucker for British comedies. This one seems wonderfully snarky, dark, and
the music interesting. I’ve read that this 90’s BritPop satire is being
compared to American Psycho (2000),
and am wildly curious if this depiction of slashing your way up the corporate
ladder really hits that mark (or anywhere near it).
This is also Nicholas
Hoult (Clash of the Titans, Dark Places,
Equals). I have enjoyed his work so far, and am glad that this is something
a bit different than what we’ve seen before in his roles. They’ve also got Ed
Skrein (Game of Thrones, The Transporter
Refueled, Deadpool) in there somewhere – have you ever noticed how they
resemble each other a bit?
19 – Dead 7 (4/1)
Tag Line: Larger than life!
Production Company: The Asylum, Kaotic Productions
Director: Danny Roew
Writer: Nick Carter, Sawyer Perry (screenplay)
Actors: Nick Carter, Carrie Keagan, Joey Fatone,
A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Lauren Kitt Carter, Chris Kirkpatrick, Jeff
Timmons, Erik-Michael Estrada, Frenchie Davis
Genre: Horror, Western
Rated: Unrated
Zombies. Done!
April fools!
We love our zombie
movies, and we’re also suckers for B-Movies that just might fall into the
‘horribly good’ category. The Asylum (Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark, Hansel vs.
Gretel, Wuthering High School) also pulls us in every time. You never know
what you’re going to get. They’ve made some hilariously amazing cult classics
like Sharknado (2013); but they’ve
also put out some real stinkers like our recently reviewed 3-Headed Shark Attack (2015).
What’s the premise of
this one? Resurrected boy band members fighting zombies. Okay! I know I’ll be
tuning in to The Syfy Channel.
18 – Everybody Wants Some!! (4/8)
Tag Line: Here for a Good Time Not a Long Time
Production Company: Annapurna Pictures, Detour Filmproduction
Director: Richard Linklater
Writer: Richard Linklater
Actors: Blake Jenner, Tyler Hoechlin, Ryan Guzman,
Juston Street, Wyatt Russell, Glen Powell, Temple Baker, J. Quinton Johnson,
Will Brittain, Zoey Deutch
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R
This movie is being
billed as “the spiritual sequel to Dazed
and Confused [1993].”
I recognize and enjoy
the work of some of the actors involved in this movie, and am intrigued by the
premise of a college take on the 1993 classic. Of course, it’s been made clear
this isn’t a true sequel but it runs in the same vein as the first.
Honestly, I don’t
expect it to be a whole lot different than other college ‘finding yourself’
comedies. There’s going to be some crude humor, sex, drinking, and parties. So
many worn-in tropes are pretty much guaranteed to be present in this movie.
Yet, I can’t help but wonder if it could stand up on its own to the original
its being compared to – and stand out in the crowd of movies like it.
I’m also a sucker for
80’s music – guess what year this is set in.
17 – Collide (4/20)
Tag Line: None.
Production Company: 42, Automatik Entertainment, DMG
Entertainment, Hands-on Producers, Silver Pictures, Open Road Films
Director: Eran Creevy
Writer: Eran Creevy (screenplay), F. Scott Frazier
Actors: Nicholas Hoult, Felicity Jones, Anthony
Hopkins, Ben Kingsley
Genre: Action, Thriller
Rated: PG-13
Given the lack of
general marketing for this movie in the U.S. so far, I’m not 100% sure that
this will really be released on the date promised. (Considering all of the
movie posters that I have seen still have the movie’s original title of
“Autobahn” on them and the foreign language script in the only trailer
available remains untranslated as yet; it’s a dicey prospect.)
However, I really want
to see this movie.
It’s Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies, Young Ones, Equals) as an
action lead and Sir Anthony Hopkins (Hitchcock,
Solace, Misconduct) is the bad guy! I’m sold.
I’ll be crossing my
fingers on the 20th, and hoping that it’s not some belated April
Fools prank.
16 – The Girl in the Photographs (4/1)
Tag Line: A picture is worth a thousand screams.
Production Company: Alghanim Entertainment
Director: Nick Simon
Writer: Robert Morast, Osgood Perkins, Nick Simon
Actors: Christy Carlson Romano, Katharine Isabelle,
Claudia Lee, Kal Penn, Mitch Pileggi, Kenny Wormald, Eva Bourne, Toby Hemingway
Genre: Crime, Horror, Thriller
Rated: R
The trailer for this
film is a little odd in places but the movie looks really creepy. Stalker
themes, done well, really give me the heebie jeebies.
That being said, this
movie is worth a watch all on its own due to the fact that it was the final
project that horror master Wes Craven (The
People Under the Stairs, Scream, My Soul to Take) was working on as
Executive Producer before he died of brain cancer.
There’s a quote in the
publicity that the film is something he would be proud of. I just have to watch
it to find out for myself.
15 – Holidays (4/22)
Tag Line: Every one has a dark side.
Production Company: ArtCastle Productions (in association with),
Distant Corners Entertainment Group Inc., XYZ Films
Director: Anthony Scott Burns, Matt Johnson, Kevin
Kolsch, Nicholas McCarthy, Adam Egypt Mortimer, Gary Shore, Kevin Smith, Sarah Adina Smith, Scott Stewart,
Dennis Widmyer
Writer: Anthony Scott Burns, Matt Johnson, Kevin
Kolsch, Nicholas McCarthy, Gary Shore,
Kevin Smith, Sarah Adina Smith, Scott Stewart, Dennis Widmyer
Actors: Kevin Smith, Lorenza Izzo, Seth Green, Clare
Grant, Ruth Bradley, Michael Gross
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Rated: Unrated
This anthology project
was spearheaded by none other than the mad genius of Kevin Smith (Hiatus, Cop Out, Tusk). That really is
enough of a reason to see this movie all by itself.
However, I’m always
fascinated when people take different spins on beloved topics – such as fairy
tales and, in this case, the concept of widely celebrated holidays.
It’s especially
interesting when such concepts can be twisted to a more sinister side. It’s
even better when there is some dark humor involved.
This film might be
unrated as yet; however, I would strongly urge audiences to consider it at the
very least an R when planning whether or not to bring the kiddos along.
14 – Papa: Hemingway in Cuba (4/29)
Tag Line: Hemingway's Untold Story
Production Company: Sunstone Film Productions, Yari Film Group
Director: Bob Yari
Writer: Denne Bart Petitclerc
Actors: Minka Kelly, Giovanni Ribisi, James Remar,
Adrian Sparks, Joely Richardson, Shaun Toub
Genre: Biography, Drama
Rated: R
Hemingway is a name
that resonates. This biographical drama takes a peek into a portion of the late
great author’s life that is little talked about in most circles. It also looks
to be a wonderful opportunity to live vicariously through a fan that gets to
meet, befriend, and spend considerable time with one of their heroes.
As an added endorsement
for the film, Hemingway’s granddaughter, Mariel Hemingway (Nanking, The Golden
Boys, Rise of the Zombies), has a cameo in the film as a guest.
13 – Bill (4/11)
Tag Line: None
Production Company: BBC Films, Cowboy Films, Punk Cinema
Director: Richard Bracewell
Writer: Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond
Actors: Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha
Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, Helen McCrory, Damian Lewis, David
Crow
Genre: Family, Comedy
Rated: Unrated
This film was made in
order to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. A
little morbid, perhaps, but it’s also the first motion picture by the Horrible Histories (2009-2015) team.
Their specialty is taking bits of history and shining light on aspects that
just aren’t taught in school.
This is a little
unusual to be on the list, considering this is a one-night-only release in
selected theaters. It just couldn’t be passed up, though.
When I saw the review
quote at the beginning of the trailer; that was it for me. The Independent said
"Imagine Shakespeare In Love
(1998) with Monty Python."
Hopefully, as this is
billed as a family movie, it’s not quite
as raunchy in humor as the Python boys tend to go – but the cheekiness in the
previewed scenes seems right on par with expectations.
I really hope that
this doesn’t let me down in that respect.
12 – Friend Request (4/22)
Tag Line: Be careful who you click with.
Production Company: Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion, Seven
Pictures, Two Oceans Production
Director: Simon Verhoeven
Writer: Matthew Ballen, Philip Koch, Simon Verhoeven
Actors: Alycia Debnam-Carey, William Moseley, Connor
Paolo, Brit Morgan
Genre: Thriller
Rated: Unrated
This movie seems to be
similar to, but shouldn’t be confused with the film Unfriended (2015). In fact, this movie apparently underwent a title
change so that it specifically wouldn’t get confused with the other film –
especially in Germany.
The theme of
supernatural stalking via social media is along the same lines, though the
scope isn’t limited to individual computer screens the way the 2015 film was.
I think it looks super
creepy.
11 – Criminal (4/15)
Tag Line: The mission is in the memories.
Production Company: BenderSpink, Campbell Grobman Films,
Lionsgate, Millennium Films
Director: Ariel Vromen
Writer: Douglas Cook, David Weisberg
Actors: Gal Gadot, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Costner,
Alice Eve, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Antje Traue, Michael Pitt, Natalie
Burn, Jordi Mollà , Amaury Nolasco
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Rated: R
The cast in this movie
is just insane. There’s also a lot of six-degrees action going on among the
heavy hitters that star in this movie. It’s just too much to get into here –
but go check it out in IMDb’s trivia, if you’re curious! I find little things like
that fascinating.
Moving on.
I think we’ve
established that we’ll watch just about anything with Ryan Reynolds (Turbo, The Captive, Woman in Gold) in
it, right? This isn’t his first movie where personalities and bodies get
switched. Though, this seems to be a reversal from Self/less (2015); where he got someone else’s personality stuck
into his body. This time around, it appears that the personality and memories
of his character are being stuck into the sociopathic criminal played by Kevin
Costner (Open Range, The Company Men,
Draft Day).
10 – Bastille Day (4/22)
Tag Line: With law comes disorder.
Production Company: StudioCanal, Amazon Prime Instant Video,
Anonymous Content. Anton Capital Entertainment, Canal+, TF1 Films Production,
TF1, Vendome Pictures
Director: James Watkins
Writer: Andrew Baldwin
Actors: Idris Elba, Richard Madden, Kelly Reilly
Genre: Action
Rated: R
This looks like a
solid action movie. Sure the ‘I’ve been framed’ trope has been used quite a bit
– but I like the sleight of hand pickpocket spin. The trailer also gives the
idea that there’s also a bit of a comedic element to the film. Sounds like a
winning combination to me!
I hope the pickpocket lives. I'm still scarred by what happened to that actor in the Red Wedding.
9 – Hush (4/8)
Tag Line: Silence can
be killer.
Production Company: Intrepid Pictures, Blumhouse Productions
Director: Mike Flanagan
Writer: Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel
Actors: John Gallagher Jr., Kate Siegel, Michael
Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, Emma Graves
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rated: R
The situation depicted
in this movie just strikes me as utterly terrifying in concept alone. The deaf
and mute woman terrorized by some psychopath – what does she do to get help?? It’s
certainly something that seems like it would amp up the intensity factor.
I have some serious
research that I feel I need to do in order to brush up on exactly how a person
in such a situation would be able to communicate a 9-1-1 plea for help.
I digress.
This movie may not be
for everyone. There isn’t going to be a constant stream of dialogue – in fact,
it’s said that there is less than 15 minutes of actual dialogue in the whole
hour and a half long movie. I imagine that was one of the reasons they were
able to get the film shot in 18 days.
It’s going to be a big
challenge to carry an entire movie without the speaking – it will heavily rely
on the lead actress’ skills with body language, etc. I hope she’s up for the
task!
8 – The Driftless Area (4/26)
Tag Line:
Destiny can lead to dangerous places.
Production Company: Unified Pictures, Bron Studios
Director: Zachary Sluser
Writer: Tom Drury, Zachary Sluser (screenplay)
Actors: Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel, John Hawkes,
Frank Langella, Ciarán Hinds, Aubrey Plaza
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Rated: R
This movie is based on
the 2006 Tom Drury (Hunts in Dreams,
Pacific, The End of Vandalism) book by the same name.
The trailer was
interesting and drew me in to the story fairly quickly, though it seems to give
away a pretty big spoiler – so if you don’t like that sort of thing, don’t watch
it. (Or fast forward through the part where Zooey Deschanel (The Good Life, Your Highness, Rock the
Kasbah) is about to make a confession.)
I love Zooey
Deschanel. Her roles are always quirky and interesting and tend to have layers
and depth to them – partly because she’s awesome; but I believe also it’s in
the roles themselves. Her on-screen chemistry with her co-star Anton Yelchin (Odd Thomas, Star Trek Into Darkness,
Cymbeline) is believable and a bit adorable.
I want to find out how
this mystery unravels.
7 – Green Room (4/15)
Tag Line: Now. Whatever you saw or did. Is no longer
my concern. But let's be clear. It won't end well.
Production Company: Broad Green Pictures, Film Science
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Writer: Jeremy Saulnier
Actors: Alia Shawkat, Imogen Poots, Anton Yelchin,
Sir Patrick Stewart
Genre: Crime, Horror, Thriller
Rated: R
This punky movie looks
like it’s quite the intense ride. I am really geeking out over the fact that a
scruffy-faced Patrick Stewart (Match,
Christmas Eve, Blunt Talk) is the big bad in this film, as well.
Do I really need any
more of a reason to want to watch this one?
6 – High Strung (4/8)
Tag Line: See the music. Hear the dance.
Production Company: Riviera Films, Sforzando Productions, Castel
Film Studio
Director: Michael Damian
Writer: Janeen Damian, Michael Damian
Actors: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Jane
Seymour, Comfort Fedoke, Dave Scott
Genre: Drama, Music, Romance
Rated: PG
This looks like it’s
going to be an inspirational and sweet movie. Sure, the dance competition theme
has been done so many times – but this seems to put a slightly new spin on it
with the addition of the hip-hop-violinist.
Even if it was a rinse
and repeat of things that have come before – I think I’d still watch it, just because
I love dance movies. One of my favorite shows is the So You Think You Can Dance [SYTYCD] (2005-) competition series. One
of the former competitors as well as one of the choreographers featured on
SYTYCD are actually in this movie.
5 – Mr. Right (4/8)
Tag Line: They make a killer couple.
Production Company: Amasia Entertainment, 3311 Productions,
Circle of Confusion
Director: Paco Cabezas
Writer: Max Landis
Actors: Anna Kendrick, Tim Roth, Sam Rockwell, Anson
Mount, RZA
Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance
Rated: R
This movie looks like
it takes rom-com to the next level. It seems like a hilariously wild ride.
I’ll have to give it
to them that the anti-hitman hitman is a new twist on the action shooter genre
as well. I can’t wait!
4 – Harcore Henry (4/8)
Tag Line: First they
made him dangerous. Then they made him mad.
Production Company: Bazelevs Production, Versus Pictures
Director: Ilya Naishuller
Writer: Ilya Naishuller (screenwriter), Will Stewart
(additional writing by)
Actors: Sharlto Copley, Tim Roth, Haley Bennett
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rated: R
This movie looks
absolutely amazing. Nearly the entire thing was shot with GoPro cameras for the
first-person perspective. Considering you are seeing through the main character’s
eyes – rather than seeing the actual character; this must have been a true
acting challenge to pull off the nuances that would make an audience member
feel like THEY are Henry.
For a directorial
debut, this movie is making a big splash. I can’t tell you the number of times that
I’ve seen this trailer played on TV alone. Pretty impressive for a movie that
caused a studio bidding war for distribution rights when it played at the
Toronto International Film Festival in 2015.
The only downside I
can see to this film is the motion sensations that will come from first-person
perspective. It’s not just a shaky-cam issue. People that get carsick or
experience vertigo easily should probably skip this one – or wait to watch it
at home from a safe environment where fast-forward or pause might be useful. If
you’re one of those, or just aren’t sure – please please don’t go see this in
IMAX. The people that don’t want to get thrown up on thank you.
3 – Ratchet & Clank (4/29)
Tag Line: Kick some asteroid!
Production Company: Blockade Entertainment, CNHK Media,
Insomniac Games, Rainmaker Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Director: Kevin Munroe, Jericca Cleland
Writer: T.J. Fixman, Kevin Munroe, Gerry Swallow
Actors: James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, Jim Ward,
Rosario Dawson, Sylvester Stallone, Bella Thorne, John Goodman, Paul Giamatti,
Armin Shimerman
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
Rated: PG
This movie is
reportedly based on the story of the first Ratchet
and Clank game (2002). Though, it’s said that the next release in the
series for PS4 will be following up on this film.
The characters are
adorable and I’m really excited that this was brought to the big screen. I love
video games, but haven’t always been able to afford or have access to a
console. I’ve always wanted to play this one, but have never had a chance. Now,
those of us in a similar position will get to watch the story unfold!
A fun note for you –
the actors that voice the main characters in all but the first game are the
same actors in this movie. A little bit of irony, considering which one this is
based off of.
2 – The Jungle Book (4/15)
Tag Line: The legend will never be the same.
Production Company: Fairview Entertainment, Moving Picture
Company, Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Justin Marks (screenplay), Rudyard Kipling
(book)
Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba, Bill Murray,
Neel Sethi, Lupita Nyong'o, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito, Ben
Kingsley
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family
Rated: PG
I was a bit skeptical,
at first, regarding this live action version of the classic Disney Movie.
Though, once I saw the trailers, I’m satisfied that they’re paying significant
homage to the original as well as the original author’s work. I hope it’s as
good as it seems! This will be a great movie for family fun.
1 – The Huntsman: Winter's War (4/22)
Tag Line: None
Production Company: Roth Films, Universal Pictures
Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
Writer: Evan Spiliotopoulos, Craig Mazin, Evan
Daugherty
Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Charlize
Theron, Emily Blunt, Sam Claflin, Ralph Ineson
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Rated: PG-13
Is it really any
wonder that this film is at the top of the list for this month? If nothing else,
this prequel will be visually stunning and worth some really good laughs. I’m
hoping for an excellent story, as well. There’s so much from the realm of fairy
tales that could be pulled from to enmesh into the telling. I am excited to see
what they did with it (and to learn the back story of the Huntsman character we
saw in the first movie).
Movies to Look out For
According to: Selina
Dead 7 .20
High Strung .19
Rio, I Love You .18
Miles Ahead .17
Papa: Hemingway in Cuba .16
Demolition .15
The Driftless Area .14
Friend Request .13
Keanu .12
Pandemic .11
The Girl in the Photographs .10
Bill .9
Sold .8
The Jungle Book .7
Ratchet & Clank 6
Mr. Right .5
Hardcore Henry .4
The Huntsman: Winter’s War .3
Green Room .2
Holidays .1
