Every month, we’ll tell you what upcoming movies are screening in cinemas islandwide, and which are the ones that you must watch.
Overview of April’s releases
Many Hong Kong films are out this month, mostly comedies and action dramas. There are some other intense dramas out as well, and this month’s superhero centerpiece (seems like there’s one every month now) is Captain America: Civil War.
10 Cloverfield Lane
A young woman wakes up after a terrible accident to find that she’s locked in a cellar with a doomsday prepper, who insists that he saved her life and that the world outside is uninhabitable following an apocalyptic catastrophe. Uncertain what to believe, the woman soon determines that she must escape at any cost.
The horror comes from not knowing what terrors lie outside the room they’re in, and what it is that could be stalking them. It’s this mystery, this intentional obscuring of the terrors that piques my curiosity so much for “10 Cloverfield Lane.”
Eye in the Sky
From the Director of X Men Origins: Wolverine, Eye in the Sky stars Helen Mirren as London-based military intelligence officer Colonel Katherine Powell is remotely commanding a top secret drone operation to capture a group of dangerous terrorists from their safe-house in Nairobi, Kenya.
The mission suddenly escalates from a “capture” to a “kill” operation as Powell realizes that the terrorists are about to embark on a deadly suicide mission. From his base in Nevada, American drone pilot Steve Watts is poised to destroy the safe-house when a nine year old girl enters the kill zone just outside the walls of the house. With unforeseen collateral damage now entering the equation, the impossible decision of when to strike gets passed up the “kill chain” of politicians and lawyers as the seconds tick down.
Although the trailer looks like it gives away most of the plot and resolution, the film still promises an exploration of morality during times of war. It also stars dramatic heavyweights Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman, so you know that every sentence will be laced with subtext and droll sarcasm.
Hardcore Henry
It’s like watching a real-life first person shooter in action! There’s plenty of action, but the trailer also suggests that there’ll be genuine motivation for Henry’s actions in the film. You’ll literally be living vicariously through Henry’s actions, so that really sets you up to root for the mute protagonist.
Where To Invade Next
Director Michael Moore “invades” countries like Finland, Italy, France and Portugal so that America can learn about alternative methods of dealing with social and economic ills from other nations.
Michael Moore documentaries always manage to cut to the heart of the matter and expose unpleasant truths in the most of candid ways. “Where To Invade Next” seems like the next broad evolution of his documentaries, which will show us the underlying reasons for the issues he’s explored in previous films.
Movies opening in April
1 April
Ki & Ka
Genre: Romantic comedy
Stars: Arjun Kapoor, Kareen Kapoor Khan, Amitabh Bachchan
7 April
Eye in the Sky
Genre: Military thriller
Stars: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi
10 Cloverfield Lane
Genre: Science fiction thriller
Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.
Disney’s The Jungle Book
Genre: Fantasy
Stars and voiced by: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyongo’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Neel Sethi, Christopher Walken
The Bodyguard (特工爷爷)
Genre: Crime action drama
Stars: Sammo Hung, Andy Lau, Jacqueline Chan, Jack Feng, Li QinQin, Zhu Yuchen, Tomer Oz, James Lee Guy
Heaven in the Dark (暗色天堂)
Genre: Drama
Stars: Jacky Cheung, Karena Lam, Anthony Wong, Wong He, Law Lan
The Choice
Genre: Romantic drama
Stars: Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Tom Welling, Alexandra Daddario, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Grace
14 April
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
Genre: Fantasy action adventure
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, Nick Frost, Sam Claflin, Rob Brydon, Jessica Chastain
Hardcore Henry
Genre: Science fiction ction adventure
Stars: Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett, Andrey Dementyev, Dasha Charusha, Sveta Ustinova
Demolition
Genre: Drama
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper, Judah Lewis
High Strung
Genre: Musical romantic drama
Stars: Jane Seymour, Sonoya Mizuno, David Lipper, Keenan Kampa
New York New York (纽约纽约)
Genre: Drama
Stars: Ethan Juan, Du Juan, Michael Miu, Cecilia Yip, Yang Xuwen
Chongqing Hotpot (火锅英雄)
Genre: Drama
Stars: Chen Kun, Bai Baihe, Qin Hao, Yu Entai
15 April
Fan
Genre: Thriller
Stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Mariola Jaworska, Joelle Koissi
21 April
Criminal
Genre: Crime action drama
Stars: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Gal Gadot, Ryan Reynolds
Midnight Special
Genre: Science fiction thriller
Stars: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Jaeden Lieberher, Sam Shepard, Bill Camp, Scott Haze, Paul Sparks
The Boss
Genre: Comedy
Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Kathy Bates, Kristen Schaal
Bastille Day
Genre: Action drama
Stars: Idris Elba, Richard Madden, Charlotte Le Bon, Eriq Ebouaney, José Garcia, Kelly Reilly
Buddy Cops (刑警兄弟)
Genre: Comedy
Stars: Bosco Wong, King Kong Lee, Kate Tsui, Charmaine Fong
Miracles from Heaven
Genre: Drama
Stars: Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, Eugenio Derbez, Queen Latifah
Mr Right
Genre: Action romantic comedy
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, Tim Roth, RZA, James Ransone, Anson Mount
28 April
Captain America: Civil War
Genre: Superhero action adventure
Stars: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Frank Grillo, Martin Freeman, William Hurt, Daniel Brühl
Assassination Classroom: Graduation
Genre: Fantasy comedy
Stars: Yamada Ryosuke, Masaki Suda, Ninomiya Kazunari, Kiritani Mirei, Maika Yamamoto, Seika Taketomi
Everybody Wants Some
Genre: Sports dramedy
Stars: Blake Jenner, Temple Baker, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Wyatt Russell, Zoey Deutch
Sing Street
Genre: Musical drama
Stars: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen
Where To Invade Next
Genre: Documentary
Stars: Michael Moore, Krista Kiuru, Tim Walker
MBA Partners (梦想合伙人)
Genre: Comedy
Stars: Yao Chen, Tang Yan, Hao Lei, Aaron Kwok, Li Chen
Leave a Reply