Last year Marvel Studios debuted Captain America: The Winter Soldier in early April, going against the long held belief that tentpole movies belonged strictly between May and July. The film had over a $90 million dollar opening weekend and enjoyed much of the month free of heavy competition for ticket sales. Well the formula is being repeated this April as well. With one huge blockbuster, Furious 7, scheduled early in the month and a bunch of smaller, quirky options throughout the weeks that follow. So with no further adieu, let’s jump into it! 

 

 

April 3rd

 

 

 

 
Furious 7

 

Official Synopsis:

Continuing the global exploits in the unstoppable franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of “Fast & Furious 7.” James Wan directs this chapter of the hugely successful series that also welcomes back favorites Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black. They are joined by international action stars new to the franchise including Jason Statham, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey and Kurt Russell. Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel and Michael Fottrell return to produce the film written by Chris Morgan. 

One day there will be a fascinating movie or documentary made about what it took to make Furious 7. Many have claimed that the franchise has officially jumped the shark. Or jumped the plane. Or whatever… I have never been the biggest Fast & Furious fan. But this is undoubtedly the hottest ticket in April, so I will see you there opening weekend.

 

 

April 10th

 

 

 

Kill Me Three Times

 

 

Official Synopsis:

A mercurial assassin (Simon Pegg) discovers he isn’t the only person trying to kill the siren (Alice Braga) of a sun-drenched surfing town. In this darkly comedic thriller, the hitman finds himself unraveling three tales of mayhem, murder, blackmail and revenge.

Simon Pegg’s films can be very hit or miss. He co-wrote and stars in Kill Me Three Times, which should be of interest to Star Trek fans, since he is currently writing Star Trek 3 for a release next year. The trailer isn’t very encouraging, however this does look like the type of movie that can be better than the some of its parts.

 

 

Ex Machina

 

Official Synopsis:

Alex Garland, writer of “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine,” makes his directorial debut with the stylish and cerebral thriller, “Ex Machina.” Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company’s brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac).

Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test—charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan’s latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated––and more deceptive––than the two men could have imagined.

This is the movie that I am actually the most excited for this month. Oscar Isaac is on track to be a huge star, with starring roles in both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and X-Men: Apocalypse, coming within the next year and Ex Machina should be another rung in his ascension. There have been a lot of films dealing with rebelling artificial intelligence and robots recently and this looks to be a haunting new perspective on humanity’s hidden fear. From the looks of the trailer, the movie looks equal parts Age of Ultron and Splice. Looks like a winner to me. 

 

 

April 17th

 

 

 

Child 44

 

Official Synopsis:

A politically-charged serial killer thriller set in 1953 Soviet Russia, “Child 44” chronicles the crisis of conscience for secret police agent Leo Demidov (Tom Hardy), who loses status, power and home when he refuses to denounce his own wife, Raisa (Noomi Rapace), as a traitor. Exiled from Moscow to a grim provincial outpost, Leo and Raisa join forces with General Mikhail Nesterov (Gary Oldman) to track down a serial killer who preys on young boys. Their quest for justice threatens a system-wide cover-up enforced by Leo’s psychopathic rival Vasil (Joel Kinnaman), who insists “There is no crime in Paradise.”

This is an intense collection of actors. Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, and Noomi Rapace, are not known for phoning in performances. While the subject matter looks incredibly dark and bleak, it also looks like the type of film you can’t turn away from once you are in front of it. At the least, it will be fun to see Hardy’s range as he goes from this, to Mad Max: Fury Road in the following month.

 

 

Paul Blart Mall Cop 2

 

Official Synopsis:

After six years of keeping our malls safe, Paul Blart has earned a well-deserved vacation. He heads to Vegas with his teenage daughter before she heads off to college. But safety never takes a holiday and when duty calls, Blart answers.

I can’t…I just can’t…and you shouldn’t either…

 

 

Unfriended

 

Official Synopsis:

Ushering in a new era of horror, Universal Pictures’ “Unfriended” unfolds over a teenager’s computer screen as she and her friends are stalked by an unseen figure who seeks vengeance for a shaming video that led a vicious bully to kill herself a year earlier. 

In case you haven’t noticed, the found footage genre isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Since the Blair Witch Project, filmmakers have found different methods to keep the genre fresh in films ranging from Paranormal Activity to Chronicle. It looks like the creators are attempting to make the first “streaming footage” found film in Unfriended. It also seems like this would be a more terrifying movie to watch on laptop, as opposed to at the theater. It will be interesting to see if this flick makes any noise at the box-office regardless. With the ever-expanding reach of social media, this seems to be a horror film that speaks to the current times.

 

 

 

April 24th

 

 

Misery Loves Comedy 

 

Official Synopsis:

Director Kevin Pollak shares in-depth, candid interviews with some of the most revered comedy greats who each share their unique path and a life devoted to making strangers laugh. With arresting anecdotes and insights from the comedy underbelly that reveal the paradox of a performer’s desire to connect with audiences, Misery Loves Comedy is the definitive master class on the art of humor that details a comedian’s rare ability to help us understand life as only they can.

This looks like an awesome collection of comedians exploring the neurosis and love of comedy on film. What could be better than that for fans of stand-up?

What movies are you looking forward to? Let us know what you think of the upcoming films in the comment boards, , , and !

Source: Coming Soon