After rounding out the first quarter of the year with a couple of blockbusters including John Wick 4 and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, we are heading into a special month of the year. This bunch is the last group of relatively small movies before the summer blockbuster season starts in May, and there are certainly some interesting films to look forward to!
April 5th:
Air recently premiered to high praise at SXSW and is another entry in the collection of Affleck-Damon films. It is directed by Ben Affleck and written by Alex Convery. The film stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, Matthew Maher, Jay Mohr, Julius Tennon, and Viola Davis. Despite being an Amazon Studios movie, it will be released in theaters.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Sebastian Maniscalco. The film is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel. It is produced by Universal Pictures, and the film will also be released in IMAX.
April 7th:
Paint follows the story of artist Carl Nargle who is portrayed by Owen Wilson. The film is written and directed by Brit McAdams and costars Michaela Watkins, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ciara Renée, Luisa Strus, Lucy Freyer, and Stephen Root. It is an IFC films release.
Showing Up is writer and director Kelly Reichardt’s follow up to her beloved film First Cow. Shen is once again partnering with Michelle Williams, along with Hong Chau, André Benjamin (André 3000), Lauren Lakis, Denzel Rodriguez, and Maryann Plunkett. This film is an A24 release.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline stars Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, and Jake Weary. This Neon release is directed by Danny Goldhaber. The writers include director Danny Goldhaber, star Ariela Barer, and Jordan Sjol.
Although the film originally premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Joyland will be making its American debut this week. It will be in limited release. The film stars Alina Khan, Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Sarwat Gilani, Salmaan Peerzada, and Sania Saeed. Joyland was written and directed by Saim Sadiq, along with screenwriter Maggie Briggs. This film was also produced by Riz Ahmed and Malala.
April 14th
Renfield is the long-awaited Dracula movie starring Nicolas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, and Adrian Martinez. This horror-comedy is based on the idea by Robert Kirkman, written by Ryan Ridley, and directed by Chris McKay. The film will be released wide by Universal.
The Pope’s Exorcist is inspired by the actual files of the Chief Exorcist of the Vatican. Russell Crowe stars as Father Gabriele Amorth, along with Alexandra Essoe, Daniel Zovatto, and Franco Nero. The film is directed by Julius Avery and co-written by Chester Hastings, R. Dean McCreary, Evan Spiliotopoulos, and Chuck MacLean. This is a Sony Pictures release.
Sweetwater is written and directed by Martin Guigui. This sports drama will be released wide on the 14th by Briarcliff Entertainment. Everett Osborne stars in the titular role of Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, and costars alongside Kevin Pollak, Cary Elwes, Jeremy Piven, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Ri’chard, and some special cameos.
April 21st
Chevalier is a Searchlight Pictures release that originally premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival. The movie stars Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucy Boynton, Samara Weaving, Marton Csokas, Alex Fitzalan, and Minnie Driver. It is written by Stefani Robinson and directed by Stephen Williams.
Evil Dead Rise is the most recent installment in The Evil Dead franchise. This film is written and directed by Lee Cronin, though Sam Raimi is an executive producer of the film. It stars Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan, Morgan Davies, Nell Fisher, Gabrielle Echols, and Anna-Maree Thomas. Though this was originally supposed to be an HBO Max premier, Warner Bros. decided to give the film a theatrical release after positive test screenings.
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant is the latest film from writer and director Guy Ritchie. It is also written by Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Antony Starr, Alexander Ludwig, Bobby Schofield, Emily Beecham, Johnny Lee Miller, and Jason Wong. This is an MGM release.
Beau is Afraid is the most recent film by acclaimed writer-director Ari Aster. The movie stars Joaquin Phoenix as Beau along with Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Kylie Rogers, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Hayley Squires, Denis Menochet, Parker Posey, and Zoe Lister-Jones. This is an A24 release.
April 28th
Sisu is an action thriller that its trailer promotes as John Wick meets Nazis. This Lionsgate film is a mere 91 minutes long. This movie is written and directed by Jalmari Helander and stars Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo, and Onni Tommila.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is an adaptation of the Judy Blume novel. This Lionsgate film is written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig. The cast includes Rachel McAdams, Abby Ryder Fortson, Elle Graham, Benny Safdie, and Kathy Bates. Also, the movie is produced by James L. Brooks.
Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World is a Sony Pictures film. It stars Khris Davis, Jasmine Matthews, John Magaro, Sullivan Jones, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Sonia Sohn, and Forest Whitaker. It is written by Frank Baldwin and George Tillman Jr., and also directed by George Tillman Jr.
After initially releasing on April 21st, Somewhere in Queens expands wide on the 28th. The film stars Ray Romano, Laurie Metcalf, Jacob Ward, Sadie Stanley, Jennifer Esposito, Dierdre Fiel, Jon Manfrellotti, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Tony Lo Bianco. This is Ray Romano’s writing and directing debut (for a film) and it is also written with Mark Stegemann.
Streaming Releases:
Praise This will be released on Peacock on April 7th. It stars Chloe Bailey, Anjelika Washington, Philip Fornah, Quavo, Tristan Wilds, Jakalyn Carr, Koryn Hawthorn, and Druski. It is written and directed by Tina Gordon and written by Camilla Blackett, Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana, and Jana Savage.
On A Wing and A Prayer will be released on Amazon Prime on April 7th. It is written by Brian Egeston, directed by Sean McNamara, and stars Dennis Quaid, Heather Graham, and Jesse Metcalfe.
Quasi premiers on Hulu on April 20th. The film is written by Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanke, and directed by Kevin Heffernan. The film stars all the writers and also Adrianne Palicki.
Ghosted is releasing on Apple TV+ on April 21st. The film stars Chris Evans, Ana de Aras, Adrien Brody, Mike Moh, Amy Sedaris, Tim Blake Nelson, and Tate Donovan. It is directed by dexter fletcher and written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers.
A Tourist’s Guide to Love releases on Netflix on April 21st. It is directed by Steven K. Tschudia, written by Eirene Donohue, and stars Rachael Leigh Cook, Scott Ly, Missi Pyle, Ben Feldman, Nondumiso Tembe, and Andrew Bath Feldman.
Peter Pan & Wendy premiers on Disney+ on April 28th. It stars Jude Law, Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Yara Shahidi, Alyssa Wapanatâhk, Joshua Pickering, Jacobi Jupe, Molly Parker, Alyn Tudyk, and Jim Gaffigan. It’s written and directed by David Lowrey and written by Toby Halbrooks.
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