According to: Selina
20 – Penguins (4/17)
Tag Line: For
Steve, his adventure isn’t all black and white.
Production Company:
Disneynature
Director: Alastair
Fothergill, Jeff Wilson
Writer: David
Fowler
Actors: Roy
Conli, Alastair Fothergill, Daniel Rasmussen, Keith Scholey, Jeff Wilson
Genre: Documentary
Rated: G
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: The story of Steve, an Adélie penguin, on a quest
to find a life partner and start a family. When Steve meets with Wuzzo the
emperor penguin they become friends. But nothing comes easy in the icy
Antarctic.
We all know I’m not much of a documentary kind of person. Trust
the Dice is about entertainment. I just don’t see much of an entertaining
quality in most documentaries. That said, I happen to love penguins. I think
they are fascinating creatures – and adorable.
From the trailer, I think that Disney is going to take an
entertaining look at the lives of penguins. They probably won’t go into the
darker aspects of their existence, however, seeing as it has a G rating. I
imagine this documentary will be geared more toward the cuter facts of penguin
life, more for the kiddos.
That is especially with Ed Helms (Tag, The Hangover III, The Office) narrating. I expect there’ll be
a lot of laughter.
In reality, I’ll probably always want to see whatever
penguin documentary comes out. We all have that one thing we love for no damn
reason, this is just mine.
19 – Storm Boy (4/5)
Tag Line: Let your heart soar.
Production Company:
Ambience Entertainment, Best FX Adelaide
Director: Shawn
Seet
Writer: Justin
Monjo, Colin Whiele
Actors: Jai
Courtney, Geoffrey Rush, David Gulpilil, Erik Thomson, Finn Little, Morgana
Davies, Thibul Nettle, Luca Asta Sardelis, Chantal Contouri, Simone Annan,Paul
Blackwell, Trevor Jamieson, David John Clark, Brendan Cooney, Michelle
Nightingale, Miraede Bhatia-Williams, Rory Walker, Tim Whibley, Martha Lott,
Bradley Trent Williams
Genre: Adventure,
Drama, Family
Rated: PG
Length: 99
minutes
IMDb Blurb: A beautiful and contemporary retelling of Colin
Thiele's classic Australian tale. 'Storm Boy' has grown up to be Michael
Kingley, a successful retired businessman and grandfather. When Kingley starts
to see images from his past that he can't explain, he is forced to remember his
long-forgotten childhood, growing up on an isolated coastline with his father.
He recounts to his grand-daughter the story of how, as a boy, he rescued and
raised an extraordinary orphaned pelican, Mr Percival. Their remarkable
adventures and very special bond has a profound effect on all their lives.
Based on the beloved book, Storm Boy is a timeless story of an unusual and
unconditional friendship.
Storm Boy just
looks like a solid inspirational movie. A little predictable, a little emotionally
manipulative, but with an interesting and heartwarming story.
I’m not overly fond of pelicans, but watching the scenes
between the boy and the birds was cute.
The trailer essentially did what it was supposed it, it made
me want to know more.
Although the trailer indicates that the release date is in
January, that’s only the release date for Australia. April 19th is the release
date for the USA.
18 – Mia and the
White Lion (4/12)
Tag Line: Friendship
is the wildest adventure of all.
Production Company:
Galatée Films, Outside Films, Film Afrika Worldwide, StudioCanal, Pandora Films,
M6 Films, Canal+, Ciné+, M6, W9, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
Director: Gilles
de Maistre
Writer: Prune de
Maistre, William Davies, Giles de Maistre, Jean-Paul Husson
Actors: Daniah De
Villiers, Mélanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood, Ryan Mac Lennan, Lionel Newton,
Lillian Dube, Brandon Auret, Paul Davies, Ashleigh Harvey, Tessa Jubber, Noko ‘Flow’
Mabitsela
Genre: Adventure,
Drama, Family
Rated: PG
Length: 93
minutes
IMDb Blurb: A young girl from London moves to Africa with her
parents where she befriends a lion cub.
I was looking at my list and going through the trailers for
a second time when I realized… this film is born from the same recipe as Storm Boy. That’s not to say that both
movies will be the same, it’s more that both will probably leave their audience
with the same feelings.
You’ve got a human positively influenced by an animal – and the
relationship is mutual. Either the animal will be harmed by that relationship
or they will be released to the wild – I’m 100% sure of that one. There will be
a bettering of the human’s life in the end. Maybe a final shot of the human
staring off into the distance thinking of – or watching – their animal buddy go
off into the wild.
So, why did both of the films make my list this month? I’m a
sucker for animals. I just am. I love them. Whether they’re fuzzy or cute doesn’t
matter. I wanted to be a vet when I was younger, but I’m deathly allergic to
cats so it just wasn’t an option. I make up for it by enjoying these
recipe-based animal movies that really don’t add much to the general cinematic
landscape.
Don’t judge. Just skip to the next one if these films aren’t
your cup of tea.
17 – The Wind (4/5)
Tag Line: It
never stops.
Production Company:
Soapbox Films, Divide/Conquer, Mind Hive Films
Director: Emma
Tammi
Writer: Teresa
Sutherland
Actors: Miles
Anderson, Caitlin Gerard, Julia Goldani Telles, Dylan McTee, Martin C.
Patterson, Ashley Zukerman
Genre: Horror,
Western
Rated: R
Length: 86
minutes
IMDb Blurb: A supernatural thriller set in the Western frontier
of the late 1800s, The Wind stars Caitlin Gerard (INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY) as a
plains-woman driven mad by the harshness and isolation of the untamed land. The
film is directed by Emma Tammi, written by Teresa Sutherland and stars Gerard,
Ashley Zukerman, and Julia Goldani Telles. It was produced by Soapbox Films and
Divide/Conquer.
Although westerns are some of my least favorite films, this
one is much more a horror than anything else. The ‘western’ aspect barely even
seems like a backdrop, so I’m less concerned with it.
As horror goes, The
Wind seems a little more subtle than a lot of the stuff we get now-a-days.
It looks like it’s going to rely more on psychology than jump scares. Although
I believe there is a time and a place for jump scares, I do prefer a more
dreadful psychological jolt in my horrors.
I’m not familiar with pretty much anyone in the credits. The
only person I know anything about is Jennifer M. Quinteros (Independence Day: Resurgence, Ninja
Apocalypse, Totem), a member of the makeup department. She worked on
Mystique in X-Men: First Class (2011).
The only thing that really tells us is that make-up is going to be on point.
The quality of pretty much everything else is up in the air.
The people who worked on the film could be brilliant, awful, or anywhere in
between. I actually like that in films. It allows you to walk into it with
absolutely no expectations.
16 – Little (4/12)
Tag Line: Little
secret, big problem.
Production Company:
Khalabo Ink Society, Legendary Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Will Packer
Productions
Director: Tina
Gordon
Writer: Tracy
Oliver, Tina Gordon
Actors: Regina Hall,
Marsai Martin, Issa Rae, Justin Hartley, Tone Bell, JD McCrary, Mikey Day, Luke
James, Caleb Emery, Noree Victoria, Kausar Mohammed, Abbie Gayle, Jonathon
Watson, Kayte Giralt, Katelyn Farrugia, Hannah Westerfield, Blair Jasin, Palmer
Williams Jr., Thalia Tran, Chelsea Hayes, Tucker Meek, Karon Riley, Nicole
Marie Johnson, Marley Taylor, Cecelia Specht, Marc Hawes, Jade Fernandez,
Kendra L. Franklin, Eva Carlton, Ella Madison, Andrew Nicolas Starr, Kayla
Trinity Peltier
Genre: Comedy,
Fantasy
Rated: PG-13
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: A woman is transformed into her younger self at a
point in her life when the pressures of adulthood become too much to bear.
Ok, Little’s been
done before. About a hundred times. Like every recipe in creation, sometimes it
comes out great and other times… not so much.
In this case, I have reason to be confident. Regina Hall (The Hate U Give, Girls Trip, When the Bough
Breaks) and Issa Rae (Insecure, The
Hate U Give, The Number) are both great actors that have decent comedic
timing. Considering these are the adult actors that Marsai Martin (Black-ish, Goldie and Bear, Fun Mom Dinner)
has to look up to as she plays the young version of Hall’s character, I have to
imagine that she is going to knock it out of the park, too.
Now, there are numerous ways this movie could flop. I have
to admit that. I still think it may be worth a watch through. At least once.
15 – Bright Ones
(4/22)
Tag Line: Tell
your story. Change the world.
Production Company:
Bethel Music
Director: David
Norona, Fred Vassallo
Writer: David
Norona, Fred Vassallo
Actors: Peyton
Allen, Josie Buchanan, Chloé Elizabeth Vassallo, Asher Hansow, Christian Allen,
Sydney Allen, Dominique Coq Vassallo, Fabiano Altamura, Dann Farrelly, Abigail
Rheem, Marion McAuley, Francesco Sideli, Seth Dahl, Claire Riddle, Tiffany
Williams, Ben Day, Cru Buchanan, John Paul Vargas, Jay Miller, Garrett Viggers,
Kristene DiMarco, Donta Nelson, Fred Vassallo
Genre: Musical
Rated: PG
Length: 82
minutes
IMDb Blurb: What happens when a group of talented kids from a
performing arts school are faced with an impossible challenge - to create a
showcase that teaches the world how they were created to shine? From the
creative minds of award-winning Bethel Music and writer/directors, Fred
Vassallo and David Noroña, comes this high energy and heartfelt story that
combines incredible dance with powerful songs to reveal that even kids can
change the world when they find their voice and tell their story. In the veins
of High School Musical, Bright Ones is an uplifting and moving film that will
inspire the whole family.
At first glance, Bright
Ones looks pretty typical. There seems to be no difference between this one
and every other performance movie in existence. It was only on second look that
I saw anything special.
The majority of these films teach the very important lesson
that dreams take work, but if you work at them, you can get what you want.
Every kid needs to know that. That said, this one seems to touch on another lesson,
as well. A lesson that most of these movies ignore. In fact, the only one that
touches on it in my memory – in any kind of significant way – is Center Stage (2000).
That second lesson is that you don’t have to stick with
something that you don’t love.
It’s so important for kids to figure out what they love
because there does come a point in people’s lives where they no longer have a
choice. They can get stuck. They have to provide for families, pay bills, and
their options can easily be taken away.
We have a society of people who are stuck in jobs they hate
because no one ever told them that it was ok to stop when they were young
enough for it to matter. The lesson was always ‘keep at it’, ‘keep working’,
‘work harder’ – but that advice rarely ever came after the question, ‘do you
want to be doing it?’ Even my mother always told me that you finish what you
start. You never give up. But if you start something and legitimately hate it, what
then?
Bright Ones seems
like it touches on both – equally important – lessons. In my opinion, that
elevates it above the others.
14 – Pet Sematary (4/5)
Tag Line: Sometimes
dead is better.
Production Company:
Alphaville Films, Paramount Pictures
Director: Kevin Kölsch,
Dennis Widmyer
Writer: Stephen
King, Matt Greenberg, Jeff Buhler
Actors: Jason
Clarke, John Lithgow, Amy Seimetz, Jeté Laurence, Naomi Frenette, Alyssa Brooke
Levine, Maria Herrera, Obssa Ahmed, Hugo Lavoie, Sonia Maria Chirila, Locas
Lavoie
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Rated: R
Length: 101
minutes
IMDb Blurb: Louis Creed, his wife Rachel, and their two
children Gage and Ellie move to a rural home where they are welcomed and
enlightened about the eerie 'Pet Sematary' located nearby. After the tragedy of
their cat being killed by a truck, Louis resorts to burying it in the
mysterious pet cemetery, which is definitely not as it seems, as it proves to
the Creeds that sometimes, dead is better.
I know a lot of people are looking forward to this one, but
I’m not really. I didn’t particularly like the original.
The story, as a horror, is amazing. It’s psychological with
a lot of actual creep factor in there. It’s Stephen King (Castle Rock, Carrie, Gerald’s Game) through and through. I might
even read the book at some point, but seeing it on the screen hurt my stomach. It’s
too much for me, personally. As a result, I likely won’t see the remake unless
it comes up for the blog.
That said, I do think it will benefit from a remake. The
acting and script of the original is dated. It just doesn’t make sense any more
for our time, it doesn’t hold up. Fresh new actors, a new script, and a more
modern setting will bring Pet Sematary to
a whole new generation.
Just because I don’t see this film as something for me,
doesn’t mean that it’s not one to look out for. Keep your expectations in
check, though. I hear they changed the ended and some people are a bit enraged
about it.
Then again, aren’t people always enraged with change?
13 – The Curse of
La Llorona (4/19)
Tag Line: She
wants your children.
Production Company:
Atomic Monster, New Line Cinema
Director: Michael
Chaves
Writer: Mikki
Daughtry, Tobias Iaconis
Actors: Linda
Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, Marisol Ramirez, Patricia Velasquez, Sean Patrick
Thomas, Roman Christou, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, Tony Amendola, Irene Keng, Oliver
Alexander, Aiden Lewandowski, Paul Rodriguez, John Marshall Jones, Ricardo
Mamood-Vega, Jaydan Valdivia, Andrew Tinpo Lee, Madeleine McGraw, DeLaRosa
Rivera, Sophia Santi
Genre: Horror,
Mystery, Thriller
Rated: R
Length: 93
minutes
IMDb Blurb: Ignoring the eerie warning of a troubled mother
suspected of child endangerment, a social worker and her own small kids are
soon drawn into a frightening supernatural realm.
It feels like we get at least one of these ghost-type
horrors per month. Sometimes they look like little more than a jump
scare-fueled attempt at being the next big paranormal horror series start.
Other times, you get something like this.
Sure, you can see influences from some of the big-name
horrors out there and there are definitely going to be a lot of jump scares offered.
However, watching the trailer gives the impression that there’s also going to
be a ton of psychological terror as well.
It’s a product of the times. Jump scares became big in
horror and that’s where the trend is lingering. You’re not really going to get
many horrors without them, but you can demand that they be surrounded by quality.
I have to admit, part of why this film sticks out to me is
because the director, Michael Chaves (Worst
Date Ever, Regen, Chase Champion), also directed the music video Bury a Friend (2019) by Billie Eilish. I’ve
been mildly obsessed with that project since it came out. I’m more than willing
to give him a shot in his first full-length feature film direction.
12 – The Man Who
Killed Don Quixote (4/10)
Tag Line: Today’s
a marvelous day for adventures!
Production Company:
Alacran Pictures, Tornasol Films, Entre Chien et Loup, Ukbar Filmes, El Hombre
Que Mato a Don Quijote AIE, Carisco Producciones AIE, Recorded Picture Company
(RPC), Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), Movistar+, Wallimage, Proximus, Fonds
Eurimages du Conseil de l'Europe, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes
Audiovisuales (ICAA)
Director: Terry
Gilliam
Writer: Terry
Gilliam, Tony Grisoni
Actors: José Luis
Ferrer, Ismael Fritschi, Juan López-Tagle, Adam Driver, William Miller, Will
Keen, Jason Watkins, Paloma Bloyd, Óscar Jaenada, Sonia Franco, José Aser
Giménez, José Antonio Fernández, Viveka Rytzner, Alberto Jo Lee, Bruno Sevilla,
Stellan Skarsgård, Olga Kurylenko, Jordi Mollà, Jonathan Pryce, Joana Ribeiro,
Jorge Calvo, Hovik Keuchkerian, Mario Tardón, Antonio de la Cruz, Matilde
Fluixá
Genre: Adventure,
Comedy, Drama
Rated: NR
Length: 132 minutes
IMDb Blurb: Toby, a disillusioned film director, becomes pulled
into a world of time-jumping fantasy when a Spanish cobbler believes him to be
Sancho Panza. He gradually becomes unable to tell dreams from reality.
I spent a lot of this trailer grinning. It looks like a
decent comedy. Quite frankly, it looks like how I expect being around a method
actor might feel. (No offense to any method actors out there.)
It’s got a great cast, and some clearly amusing scenes.
The crowning reason it’s on my list? Terry Gilliam’s (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Meaning of Life) involvement. He’s one
of the creators of Monty Python. The
trailer could have shown nothing of any interest at all and this film would
still be on my list for no other reason than this man’s involvement.
11 – Mary
Magdalene (4/12)
Tag Line: His
story will be told.
Production Company:
See-Saw Films, Porchlight Films, Universal Pictures International Production
(UPIP), Film4
Director: Garth
Davis
Writer: Helen
Edmundson, Philippa Goslett
Actors: Rooney
Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tahar Rahim, Ariane Labed, Denis Ménochet,
Lubna Azabal, Tchéky Karyo, Charles Babalola, Tawfeek Barhom, Ryan Corr, Uri
Gavriel, Shira Haas, Tsahi Halevi, Michael Moshonov, David Schofield, irit
Sheleg, Jules Sitruk, Zohar Shtrauss, Lior Raz, Hadas Yaron
Genre: Drama
Rated: R
Length: 120
minutes
IMDb Blurb: The story of Mary Magdalene.
I flip-flop on this one.
It looks like Mary
Magdalene will be a huge, well-done film. It’s possible that we’ll get to
see the story of Mary Magdalene in a way that will speak to everyone, not just
people of the faith. I know this, because my family is Jewish – I’m more along
the lines of agnostic – and It still looks pretty epic to me.
I would have this movie much higher, except I’m left knowing
that there’s also the possibility that it could go the way of The Passion of the Christ (2004). It’s
really only a small possibility, though. If you look through the cast of this
movie, you’ll find yourself more confident that it’s just meant to be a good
film in general.
Regardless of faith, the story of Mary Magdalene is a
fascinating one. To me, that means it’s worth giving this movie a shot.
10 – Breakthrough
(4/17)
Tag Line: Based
on the impossible true story.
Production Company:
Fox 2000 Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox
Director: Roxann
Dawson
Writer: Grant
Nieporte
Actors: Topher
Grace, Chrissy Metz, Sam Trammell, Josh Lucas, Marcel Ruiz, Dennis Haysbert,
Rebecca Staab, Mike Colter, Ali Skovbye, Lisa Durupt, Victor Zinck Jr., Kristen
Harris, Nancy Sorel, Stephanie Czajkowski, Isaac Kragten, Taylor Mosby, Maddy
Martin, Nikolas Dukic, Chuck Shamata, Stephanie Sy, Callie Lane, Alicia
Johnston, Travis Bryant, Lauren Cochrane, Scott Johnson, Kate Yacula, Geoff
Banjavich, Lecrae, Erik Athavale, Logan Creran, Annelise Pollmann, Karl
Thordarson, Saul Elias, Phil Hepner, Jemma Griffith
Genre: Biography,
Drama
Rated: PG
Length: 116
minutes
IMDb Blurb: When her 14-year-old son drowns in a lake, a
faithful mother prays for him to come back from the brink of death and be
healed.
This is another spiritual film.
It’s one thing for a faith-based movie to speak to people of
the faith that it’s representing. That’s easy. It’s when that film speaks to people
outside the faith that you have something special.
As I mentioned earlier, I’m agnostic with a Jewish family.
Still, watching this trailer gave me chills.
In movies like this, faith is shown as a conduit of hope.
The family is getting the child all the help they possibly can – they’re just
also praying that it works. Watching a community get together to help one child
or family will always get me. I’ve never seen that kind of human kindness in
real life and it’s fascinating that there are places where it actually seems to
exist.
Watch the trailer. It’s got all the makings of a heart-wrenching
drama: tragedy, love, and hope.
Besides, I’m super pissed that they canceled Luke Cage (2016-2018) and I will
literally watch Mike Colter (Skin, Before
You Know It, Extinction) in anything he does.
9 – Hellboy (4/12)
Tag Line: Legendary
AF
Production Company:
Nu Boyana FX, Campbell Grobman Films, Dark Horse Entertainment, Lawrence Gordon
Productions, Millennium Films
Director: Neil Marshall
Writer: Andrew Cosby,
Mike Mignola
Actors: David
Harbour, Ian McShane, Milla Jovovich, Daniel Dae Kim, Penelope Mitchell, Sasha
Lane, Thomas Haden Church, Sophie Okonedo, Brian Gleeson, Kristina Klebe,
Alistair Petrie, Ashley Edner, Douglas Tait, Vanessa Eichholz, Mario de la Rosa
Genre: Action,
Adventure, Fantasy
Rated: R
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: Based on the graphic novels by Mike Mignola,
Hellboy, caught between the worlds of the supernatural and human, battles an
ancient sorceress bent on revenge.
Unlike Pet Sematary,
I loved the original Hellboy films.
I will absolutely admit that the trailer looks great. Based
on the trailer alone, it should probably be higher on this list. That said, I cannot
let go of the idea of Ron Perlman (Sons
of Anarchy, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Bad Ass) not being a
part of it. As heroes go, Hugh Jackman (Logan,
The Greatest Showman, Happy Feet) will always be Wolverine, Chris Evans (Avengers: Infinity War, Before We Go,
Snowpiercer) will always be Steve Rogers, Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers: Infinity War, The Judge, Sherlock
Holmes) will always be Tony Stark, and Ron Perlman will always be Hellboy.
No super hero has been as perfectly cast as those four.
David Harbour (Stranger
Things, State of Affairs, Sleepless) has some big-ass shoes to fill, and I’m
skeptical.
He’s a great actor, don’t get me wrong. If ANYONE can follow
Perlman in this role, it’d be him.
The saving grace, in my eyes, is that this version of Hellboy is rated R. There’s talk that
the film will hold closer to the horror aspects of the comic. That means we’ll
get to see Hellboy in all his glory.
It’s easier to give this film a real chance when it seems like
it’ll hold truer to the source material.
8 – Someone Great
(4/19)
Tag Line: Getting
it. Together.
Production Company:
Feigco Entertainment, I Can & I Will Productions, Likely Story
Director: Jennifer
Kaytin Robinson
Writer: Jennifer Kaytin
Robinson
Actors: Rosario
Dawson, Brittany Snow, Gina Rodriguez, LaKeith Stanfield, Faith Logan, DeWanda
Wise, Peter Vack, Thomas Kopache, Salvatore DiSanto, Ben Sidell, David
Granados, Kenneth De Abrew, Sam Moko
Genre: Comedy,
Romance
Rated: R
Length: 92
minutes
IMDb Blurb: After a devastating break up on the eve of her
cross-country move, Jenny enjoys one last NYC adventure with her two best pals.
Someone Great is a romantic comedy about love, loss, growth and the everlasting
bond of female friendship.
I love this trailer. I just do. It’s a girls-night-out movie
with a fantastic cast based in NY.
In fact, I think I relate so much to this one because I’m
going to be leaving Brooklyn soon. Moving outside of my comfort zone. I still
love this place, but it’s best for my family to be elsewhere. So, aside from the
main character’s break-up, I feel like I get where her head is.
The trailer looks like fun. It looks like something a LOT of
people could relate to and it has the kind of people involved that really make
you want to give it a shot.
7 – Under the
Silver Lake (4/19)
Tag Line: What
are they hiding.
Production Company:
Vendian Entertainment, Stay Gold Features, Good Fear Film + Management, Michael
De Luca Productions, PASTEL, UnLTD Productions, Salem Street Entertainment, Boo
Pictures, P2 Films
Director: David
Robert Mitchell
Writer: David
Robert Mitchell
Actors: Andrew
Garfield, Wendy Vanden Heuvel, Deborah Geffner, Riley Keough, Riki Lindhome,
Chris Gann, Callie Hernandez, Jessica Makinson, Reese Hartwig, Izzie Coffey,
Kayla DiVenere, Tucker Meek, Zosia Mamet, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Laura-Leigh
Claire, Jimmi Simpson, Patrick Fischler
Genre: Comedy,
Crime, Drama
Rated: R
Length: 139
minutes
IMDb Blurb: Sam, intelligent but without purpose, finds a
mysterious woman swimming in his apartment's pool one night. The next morning,
she disappears. Sam sets off across LA to find her, and along the way he
uncovers a conspiracy far more bizarre.
Who doesn’t love a good mind-fuck movie?
That’s exactly what this looks like. Under the Silver Lake will probably be a mystery/conspiracy film
with a twist ending. On top of that, it seems like it will have both serious
and humorous parts. If there’s a good balance of all of it, that will be a
recipe for a hell of a movie.
The trailer is fast-paced and highlights Andrew Garfield’s (Hacksaw Ridge, The Amazing Spider-Man, The
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) quirky nature without answering any
questions about other characters in the film. Normally – I would see this as a
misstep. I have a different opinion here, though.
Because this movie is likely to have more than just one
twist at the end, it’s possible that none of the characters are what they seem –
and the ones that are, you’re supposed to question. Taking their actions out of
context, or inserting the wrong scene for a character could probably wind up
giving story-ruining spoilers. So, in this kind of situation, I appreciate the
narrow focus of the trailer. Flash some faces at me, show me the main character’s
state of mind, let me know the feel of the film, and then let me see the rest
for myself.
There’s very little I hate more in a trailer than spoilers.
Anytime the editing reveals the ending or a huge plot twist I get grumpy. I don’t
think that will be an issue here.
6 – Red Joan (4/19
UK)
Tag Line: How far
would you go to protect everything you love?
Production Company:
Trademark Films
Director: Trevor
Nunn
Writer: Lindsay
Shapero
Actors: Judi
Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Boxer, Stephen Campbell Moore, Kevin Fuller,
Freddie Gaminara, Tom Hughes, Ben Miles, Ciarán Owens, Robin Soans, Laurence
Spellman, Tereza Srbova, Stuart Whelan
Genre: Biography,
Drama, Romance
Rated: R
Length: 101 minutes
IMDb Blurb: The story of Joan Stanley, who was exposed as the
KGB's longest-serving British spy.
This biography also feels like it’s going to dip into the
spy drama area. Sure, most of that might be in flashbacks… but I’m here for it.
I do enjoy a good spy story. Even if it’s unintentional.
I’ll admit, I know nothing about the woman this film is about.
Joan Stanley doesn’t feel like a name I ever heard of before – not even in
school. So, I was fresh to the story when I watched the trailer for the first
time. Originally, Red Joan was much
lower on my list.
Upon the second and third watch-throughs, though, I became
more invested. I was curious about the whole story.
Now, I’m really looking forward to it. I have no idea how
close to the true story it is. Of course, you have to expect some deviation.
Besides, they couldn’t really have gotten a better leading
lady team for the film. Judi Dench (Tulip
Fever, Philomena, Skyfall) and Sophie Cookson (Gypsy, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Ashes in the Snow) are bound
to be a giant win together.
5 – High Life (4/5)
Tag Line: Oblivion
awaits.
Production Company:
Alcatraz Films, Andrew Lauren Productions (ALP), Arte France Cinéma, BFI Film
Fund, Canal+, Ciné+, Madants, Pandora Filmproduktion, Polski Instytut Sztuki
Filmowej, The Apocalypse Films Company, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)
Director: Claire
Denis
Writer: Claire
Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau, Geoff Cox, Nick Laird
Actors: Robert
Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin, Mia Goth, Lars Eidinger, Agata
Buzek, Claire Tran, Ewan Mitchell, Gloria Obianyo, Scarlett Lindsey, Jessie
Ross, Victor Banerjee, Juliette Picollot, John Kimani Njeri, Mikolaj Gruss,
Lukasz Osik, Weronika Wachowska, Mikolaj Zeman
Genre: Adventure,
Drama, Horror
Rated: R
Length: 110
minutes
IMDb Blurb: A father and his daughter struggle to survive in
deep space where they live in isolation.
When you have a claustrophobic film like this, the horror can
easily be amped up to a thousand. In this case, that claustrophobia is achieved
by not only sticking people into an isolated setting – but by sticking them
into an isolated setting in space.
That ‘in space’ part is a big deal. It means that they’re
not likely to randomly find a survivor wandering. No human is going to knock on
the door and be like “surprise, bitch!” Unless they’ve been lied to and they’re
really being held on Earth. I suppose that’s an option, but I am keeping my
hopes high that they won’t be using that tired trope here.
The point is, anything coming to the door is not likely to
be friendly. Whatever the core of the horror is will be bolstered by that fear
of the unknown that humanity is prone to.
On another note, Robert Pattinson (Remember Me, Good Time, The Childhood of a Leader) has come a LONG
way. When I see him in a film, I no longer picture that awkward character he
played in the movies that shall not be named. Instead, I immediately think of
all the great indie films he’s been bringing to the landscape. He’s pretty much
the new juggernaut of the indie scene, and I’m all for it.
On a release date note: Although the movie is said to be
from 2018, it was just making its rounds in the film festivals at that time.
The date noted above is for the main limited release in the US.
Further research has indicated that there are some severely
disturbing scenes in this film. I’m going to issue a trigger warning, though I
don’t know exactly what those scenes are. I’m fairly certain they are based on
a sexual topic. Keep that in mind.
4 – Drunk Parents
(4/19)
Tag Line: Hung over
and tapped out.
Production Company:
BRON Studios, Creative Wealth Media Finance, Fortitude International
Director: Fred
Wolf
Writer: Fred
Wolf, Peter Gaulke
Actors: Salma
Hayek, Joe Manganiello, Bridget Moynahan, Alec Baldwin, Treat Williams, Ben
Platt, Sasha Mitchell, Aimee Mullins, Jim Gaffigan, Dan Soder, Olivia Luccardi,
Kelly AuCoin, Aasif Mandvi, Natalia Cigliuti, Michelle Veintimilla, Kid Cudi,
Stephen Gevedon, Eddie Schweighardt, Patrick M. Walsh, Brian Donahue, Lean M.
Clark, JoJo Kushner, Gibson Frazier, Jeremy Shinder, Frank Anello, Laura
Jordan, Daniel Hayek, Matthew Porter, Time Rose
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R
Length: 97
minutes
IMDb Blurb: Two drunk parents attempt to hide their ever
increasing financial difficulties from their daughter and social circle through
elaborate neighborhood schemes.
I have no fucking idea what’s happening in this trailer, but
it’s hilarious and I want to see it.
The entire trailer is just pure chaos. You get the basic gist,
though. The main characters are affluent people who lose all their money and
are trying to keep their lifestyle through any means necessary.
Then you spend the rest of the 2 minutes seeing flashes of what
‘any means necessary’ means… with no context. For a comedy film like this one, I
think that was an appropriate way to market the story.
The people involved had something to do with the placement. Fred
Wolf (Without a Paddle, Grown Ups, Saturday
Night Live) and Peter Gaulke (Ice
Age: Meltdown, Saturday Night Live, Black Knight) are great creators in general.
When you then team them up with actors like Alec Baldwin (Before You Know It, BlacKkKlansman, 30 Rock), Salma Hayek (The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Sausage Party,
Muppets Most Wanted), Joe Manganiello (True
Blood, Magic Mike, Justice League) and Jim Gaffigan (Super Troopers 2, Chappaquiddick, Chuck), you get a team that’s
pretty hard to beat for a comedy.
3 – Shazam! (4/5)
Tag Line: Just
say the word.
Production Company:
Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, DC Comics, New Line Cinema, Seven Bucks
Productions, The Safran Company
Director: David
F. Sandberg
Writer: Henry
Gayden, Darren Lemke, Bill Parker, C.C. Beck
Actors: Zachary
Levi, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Borth, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam
Brody, Meagan Good, Asher Angel, Marta Milans, Ross Butler, Grace Fulton, John
Glover, Stephannie Hawkins, Cooper Andrews, Natalia Safran, D.J. Cotrona, Evan
Marsh, Ava Preston, Andi Osho, Ian Chen, Faithe Herman, Caroline Palmer, Lotta
Losten, Carson MacCormac, Jovan Armand, Sarah Bennani, Ethan Pugiotto, Krystal
Kiran, David Kohlsmith, Ali Badshah, David J. MacNeil, Tabitha Tao, Manuel
Rodriguez-Saenz, Jillian Rees-Brown, Pamela Matthews
Genre: Action,
Adventure, Comedy
Rated: PG-13
Length: 132
minutes
IMDb Blurb: We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a
bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's case, by shouting out one word
- SHAZAM! - this streetwise fourteen-year-old foster kid can turn into the
adult superhero Shazam.
You know I’m a fan girl. I love comics. I love comic book
movies. In fact, I really like the story of Shazam in the comics, as well.
The trailers look great. I even got a real laugh out as I watched.
The only problem I have is that I don’t trust DC movies anymore. They’ve let me
down one time too many.
Working around my DC trust issues, if they did Shazam right, I think it could be a
game changer for them. Let me explain why.
DC films are known – at almost a parody level – for being
DARK. They tried to lighten things up with the Suicide Squad (2016) film, but that was a mistake since the Suicide Squad comics are too dark for
that. They seem to be trying to feel like the MCU in order to obtain the same
kind of success, but they’re missing the whole point of what Marvel does.
Although the Stan Lee (Avengers:
Endgame, Luke Cage, Black Panther) cameo-infused films are often woven with
comedy and the general sass of the characters – even in darker stories like Infinity War – the creators never deviate
the feel of the stories. Sure, they don’t hit every aspect of the comics.
Scenes are missing or changed. Characters are left out or brought in when they
were original used in a different way – or not at all. But, whatever they do,
Marvel sticks to the basic FEEL of the original story. You had a lot of humor
in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), but
you damn well better believe that the sense of loss and tragedy silenced the
entire movie theater in the end.
DC doesn’t get that. They lightened the entire story of the Suicide Squad, instead of just playing
with the contrast of dark and light. In the end, it felt like they were
fighting the comics instead of working within them.
Here’s where Shazam
comes in. Even in the comics, Shazam is
kind of a silly character. He’s a kid that says the word and then transforms
into an adult superhero. How could it not be at least a little silly?
If DC wants to play with the tone of their films, this is when
to do it. Shazam can feel like a lighter
movie without losing the base feel of the hero. If it works out, they can
transplant the character into future crossovers to give a thread of comedy to
an otherwise dark story and work on that balance that has so far eluded them.
That’s why I think Shazam
could be a game changer. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. If it flops,
they’re still stuck at the drawing board.
2 – The Best of
Enemies (4/5)
Tag Line: Change
is worth fighting for.
Production Company:
Astute Films, Material Pictures
Director: Robin
Bissell
Writer: Robin
Bissell, Osha Gray Davidson
Actors: Sam
Rockwell, Taraji P. Henson, Wes Bentley, Anne Heche, Alyssa Mari Stilwell, John
Gallagher Jr. Bruce McGill, Nicholas Logan, Caitlin Mehner, Nick Searcy, Babou
Ceesay, Cranston Johnson, Jessica Miesel, Rhoda Griffis, Ned Vaughn, Gilbert
Glenn Brown, Carson Holmes, Sope Aluko, Nadej K. Bailey, MxKenzie Applegate,
Kendall Ryan Sanders, Chris Cavalier, Susan Williams, Brody Rose, Rae Olivier,
Time Ware, Chanté Bowser, Jeanette Branch, Arin Logan, Morgan Brown, Joy
Johnson Coleman, Wes McGee, Kevin Iannucci, Elizabeth Thorp
Genre: Biography,
Drama, History
Rated: PG-13
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: Civil rights activist Ann Atwater faces off against
C.P. Ellis, Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1971 Durham, North Carolina
over the issue of school integration.
There’s nothing I don’t find interesting about this trailer.
ANY other month, it would have likely come in at number one.
As important as I find the subject matter and the history
lesson shown in The Best of Enemies,
the first thing to catch my eye wasn’t that. It wasn’t the weight of the
situation shown in the film. It wasn’t even the knowledge of the kind of
tragedies that would be shown. It wasn’t even the fact that it is based on a
true story. As heart breaking and essential as The Best of Enemies will likely be, there was only one aspect that
caught my attention immediately upon watching the trailer.
Taraji P. Henson (Empire,
Proud Mary, Hidden Figures).
Henson is on FIRE in this trailer. She’s impossible to look
away from. I don’t know too much about the true story this movie is based on,
but I imagine a person in Henson’s character’s shoes would be just as much a commanding
personality, and whirlwind of change, as the trailer portrays her. She’s seen
as an avenging angel of her community and Henson just embodies that.
For Taraji P. Henson alone, this film is worth watching. For
the lessons The Best of Enemies is
bound to share, it’s worth being high on any list of films to look out for in
April.
1 – Avengers:
Endgame (4/26)
Tag Line: Avenge
the fallen.
Production Company:
Marvel Studios
Director: Anthony
Russo, Joe Russo
Writer: Christopher
Markus, Stephen McFeely, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Jim Starlin
Actors: Brie
Larson, Scarlett Johansson, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Chris Hemsworth,
Tessa Thompson, Winston Duke, Chris Evans, Josh Brolin, Evangeline Lilly,
Robert Downey Jr., Pom Klementieff, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd,
Dave Bautista, Danai Gurira, Sebastian Stan, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeremy Renner,
Jon Favreau, Katherine Langford, Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tilda Swinton,
Chadwick Boseman, Frank Grillo, Kerry Condon, Ty Simpkins, Letitia Wright, Sean
Gunn, Don Cheadle, Emma Fuhrmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Penelope Kathryn Golden,
Benedict Wong, Terry Notary,
Genre: Action,
Adventure, Fantasy
Rated: PG-13
Length: 182
minutes
IMDb Blurb: After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the
universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble
once more in order to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe.
I can’t wait. I’m not going to be able to see it opening
night (I’m a mom now, I don’t have the time). Still, I’ll be seeing it very
soon after it’s release. Hopefully the same weekend, since I’ll have to avoid
the hell out of social media until I do.
I’m dying to see how the story ends.
Now, I’ll be honest here, I’ve read the comics. Infinity War is one of my favorite arcs.
That said, the movie and comics don’t line up 100%. That means that what I think
I know may not be what is. I love that feeling when I’m watching a film based
on a book. It’s why I don’t get too hung up on changes to the story if the
feeling is the same.
The trailers for End
Game give me chills. Likely because they rely on exploiting the feelings
people had when they first witnessed the snap. There are black and white clips
from past films, Tony Stark just flat out talking to Pepper on a recording… it’s
impossible not to FEEL the trailers for this one. And the movie posters are all
along the same track. They just released a bunch of them with the people who
survived in color and the people who got dusted (or otherwise died) in black
and white.
It’s appropriate.
Infinity War was a
risky and amazing journey for a production studio to take. I think they did phenomenal
with it and I just can’t wait to see what they leave the story with.
I wish Stan Lee was here to see it.
We’ll all be thinking of him.
Movies to Look out For
According to: Cat
Mary Magdalene .20
Body at Brighton Rock .19
Missing Link .18
The Curse of La Llorona
.17
Her Smell .16
After .15
The Best of Enemies .14
High Life .13
Little .12
Penguins .11
Storm Boy .10
Mia and the White Lion .9
Teen Spirit .8
The Man Who Killed Don
Quixote .7
The White Crow .6
Drunk Parents .5
Shazam! .4
Hellboy .3
Pet Sematary .2
Avengers: Endgame .1
FAQ:
