Well this is a bit delayed because I have had the early spring flu and it set me back. We’re finally here, and we have a new sickness in place: It’s a really slow month. There aren’t too many films that have grabbed my attention this month. Not to worry. We will still have a look at what we’ve got, and maybe we will have some surprises thrown our way. For now, here are some films to check out this April!
New Theatrical Releases:
The Jungle Book
Release Date: April 15
Directed By: Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Elf, Chef)
Starring: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o, Ben Kingsly
IMDb Summary: An orphan is raised in the jungle with the help of a pack of wolves, a bear, and a black panther.
Why I Am So Excited: This could be good. This could also not be good. I tend to find most of Favreau’s films to have imagination and heart in them, even when they aren’t too great. That’s the key ingredient to a film about a story as sweet as The Jungle Book. You have a great cast, a menagerie of creatures and hopefully a load of fun. Let’s keep our fingers, paws and hooves crossed here.
Green Room
Release Date: April 15
Directed By: Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin)
Starring: Alie Shawkat, Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots, Anton Yelchin
IMDb Summary: After witnessing a murder, a punk rock band is forced into a vicious fight for survival against a group of maniacal skinheads.
Why I Am So Excited: Saulnier has won over film festivals before with his southern onslaught Blue Ruin. Green Room has made the same amount of noise. It looks inventive, thrilling and downright spooky. It’s special to pinpoint when a new groundbreaking filmmaker will take over the scene, and Saulnier’s Green Room may be that spark.
Watch the Red Band Trailer Here!
Colonia
Release Date: April 15
Directed By: Florian Gallenberger (Shadows of Time)
Starring: Emma Watson, Michael Nyqvist, Daniel Brühl
IMDb Summary: A young woman’s desperate search for her abducted boyfriend that draws her into the infamous Colonia Dignidad, a sect nobody ever escaped from.
Why I Am So Excited: This is one talented cast! The premise seems nerve-wracking, and the strong team on screen have the capability to pull off the emotional twists and the powerful blows this kind of a story needs. The trailer is quite enticing enough. I hope this is the film Watson, Nyqvist and Brühl deserve.
New on Blu-Ray:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Release Date: April 5
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
Directed By: J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Super 8)
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher
IMDb Summary: Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a ragtag group of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance.
Why This Is Worth Getting:
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away,
Star Wars was a rebellious force against the film industry that combined franchise consumerism with cinema magic. Once the prequels left Star Wars on uneven footing, The Force Awakens brought life back to the fight. The planet had their first near-unanimous rejoicing with this revival in theaters, and now the battle can be brought home before the next installments.
The Revenant
Release Date: April 19
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%
Directed By: Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman or [The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance], Biutiful, Babel
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson
IMDb Summary: A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.
Why This Is Worth Getting: Some people adore this movie. Some people were bored by this movie. Either way, you won’t know if you’ll be one of the people that loved The Revenant if you don’t try it. It has some genius directing by Iñárritu, stellar performances by all of its cast (including DiCaprio’s eventual Oscar winning role), and Emmanuel Lubezki’s perfect cinematography. It’s a grueling film that will either leave you in the cold with some things to appreciate about it, or absolutely spellbound and captivated. It’s worth a try, anyways.
Saul Fia (Son of Saul)
Release Date: April 26
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Directed By: László Nemes
Starring: Géza Rhörig, Levente Molnár
IMDb Summary: In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival upon trying to salvage from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son.
Why This Is Worth Getting: Wow. Son of Saul was by far one of the strongest films of 2015. It won the Foreign Language Academy Award for damn good reason. It’s a harrowing tale of grief and sorrow that clings on to the glimmer of light that peaks through the darkness. In a year that had great foreign films, there’s a reason why Son of Saul was the best even above the rest. It’s a hard film to watch, but it will definitely be worth it for its shimmers of beauty amongst all of the hell.
Criterion Release of the Month:
Brief Encounter
Release Date: April 26
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
Directed By: David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai)
Starring: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway
IMDb Summary: Meeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.
Why This Is Worth Getting: David Lean has created some of the greatest films of all time. Brief Encounter is a smaller scaled story, but the scope of its passions are a great precursor to what Lean was capable of. This Criterion release features documentaries on the making of the film and on Lean, as well as a short essay by historian Kevin Brownlow. It’s a testament to Lean’s broad capabilities and a solidly sorrowful film.
