Not sure what is coming out this month? Here is my rundown of my most anticipated films coming out:
10. Fast & Furious (Lin, April 3rd)
Plot: As he is released from prison, Brian O’Conner teams up with Dominic Toretto work with the feds to bring down a heroin importer by infiltrating his operation.
Why You Should See It: I’m actually not sure if this is a film to watch or avoid. The first one was enjoyable and it looks like a return to the original. I’ve heard early buzz that it is a decent popcorn flick.
9. Fighting (Montiel, April 24th)
Plot: In New York City, a young counterfeiter (Tatum) is introduced to the world of underground street fighting by a seasoned scam artist (Howard), who becomes his manager on the bare-knuckling brawling circuit.
Why You Should See It: Dito Montiel. He directed one of my favorite films in 2006, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. He got a good performance out of Channing Tatum then, and I hope he does the same with this film. Adding Terrence Howard to the mix should make a good time.
8. Earth (Fothergill, Linfield, April 24th)
Plot: Feature-length version of the documentary TV series Planet Earth (2006), following the migration paths of four animal families.
Why You Should See It: The trailer used Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros. That should be reason enough.
7. State of Play (Macdonald, April 17th)
Plot: Based on the BBC mini-series of the same title, a team of investigative reporters work alongside a police detective to try to solve the murder of a congressman’s mistress.
Why You Should See It: Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) directs Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe, Jason Bateman, Helen Mirren, Viola Davis, and Jeff Daniels in what looks to be a solid political thriller. I thought the direction in The Last King of Scotland was superb, so I’m looking forward to this.
6. Gigantic (Aselton, April 3rd) (limited)
Plot: Mattress salesman Brian Weathersby (Dano) finds his plan to adopt a Chinese baby augmented by the arrival of a young woman, Happy (Deschanel), who comes into his workplaces, falls asleep on one of the beds, and starts to affect his life upon waking up.
Why You Should See It: Deschanel is completely charming and this indie comedy-drama looks to be pretty clever. I’m interested to see if Dano can hold his own as a lead.
5. The Soloist (Wright, April 24th)
Plot: A Los Angeles Journalist befriends a homeless Julliard trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.
Why You Should See It: After getting pushed back from the ’08 Oscar season, this drama starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx looks like it still has some promise. Joe Wright (Atonement) is an astonishing director so I have a lot of faith. Let’s hope it’s not 100% Oscar bait, like the trailer makes it out to be.
4. Sugar (Boden, Fleck, April 3rd) (limited)
Plot: A player from the Dominican Republic, inspired by the famous movie Field of Dreams, wants to play minor league baseball in Iowa.
Why You Should See It: From the writer/director husband/wife team behind Half-Nelson, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. If it is anywhere near as good as that film this will be one of the best of the year.
3. Adventureland (Mottola, April 3rd)
Plot: During the summer of 1987, recent college grad James Brennan (Eisenberg) takes what he thinks is a going-nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to discover it’s a perfect opportunity to prepare himself for the real world.
Why You Should See It: This was on my March list, but it got moved to this month. Greg Mottola, director of Superbad, is behind the camera and pen for this comedy. Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Bill Hader, and Ryan Reynolds star in what looks like to be one of the funniest films of the year.
2. Crank: High Voltage (Neveldine, Taylor, April 17th)
Plot: Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.
Why You Should See It: It’s Crank. 2. High Voltage.
1. Observe and Report (Hill, April 10th)
Plot: Bi-polar mall security guard Ronnie Barnhardt is called into action to stop a flasher from turning shopper’s paradise into his personal peep show. But when Barnhardt can’t bring the culprit to justice, a surly police detective, is recruited to close the case.
Why You Should See It: Jody Hill: writer, director, producer of last year’s Foot Fist Way and this year’s HBO series Eastbound and Down, is the brains behind this comedy starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, and Ray Liotta. I absolutely love his style of comedy so this is my most anticipated film of the month.
5 Movies to Avoid
Dragonball: Evolution (Wong, April 10th)
Plot: The young warrior Son Goku sets out on a quest, racing against time and the vengeful King Piccolo, to collect a set of seven magical orbs that will grant their wielder unlimited power.
Why You Should Stay Far Away: This movie looks so so bad, but then again it could end up being the ultimate B-movie. Variety gave it a positive review. I’ve never been interested in the franchise and this movie doesn’t look like it will change my mind.
17 Again (Steers, April 24th)
Plot: About a guy whose life didn’t quite turn out how he wanted it to and wishes he could go back to high school and change it. He wakes up one day and is seventeen again and gets the chance to rewrite his life.
Why You Should Stay Far Away: This looks like a really bad ABC Family movie, but somehow it will make millions and millions of dollars. It is directed by the guy that did Igby Goes Down, which was remarkable, but couldn’t he have done a better project?
Obsessed (Shill, April 24th)
Plot: A successful professional man with a beautiful wife finds his idyllic life threatened by a temp in his office who reveals herself as a stalker.
Why You Should Stay Far Away: After watching the trailer, it looks like every element of this film was borrowed from every other film ever made. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, this just looks horrendous.
The Informers (Jordan, April 24th) (limited)
Plot: Published in 1995, the collection of loosely connected short stories captures a week in L.A. in 1983, featuring movie executives, rock stars, a vampire and other morally challenged characters in adventures laced with sex, drugs and violence.
Why You Should Stay Far Away: Sundance reviews of the film have called it unwatchable and a complete mess. For some that could be reason to check it out, but for most I would not get anywhere near this film.
Hannah Montana: The Movie (Chelsom, April 10th)
Plot: As Hannah Montana’s popularity begins to take over her life, Miley Stewart, on the urging from her father takes a trip to her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tennessee to get some perspective on what matters in life the most.
Why You Should Stay Far Away: Just…no.
What do you want to see this month?
– Jordan Raup