Top 5 – Awesome Movies Coming Out in April

We are officially done with the first quarter of the 2017 cinematic year and, surprisingly, it was a pretty solid start to the year, though not without its misses.  Quarter two starts off with a decent month that features one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the year, but really highlights some true indie darlings.  Here are my picks for the best movies coming out in April.

5 – FREE FIRE (Ben Wheatley, April 21)

Free Fire played like gangbusters at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival and I am ecstatic to see it.  Set in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shootout and a game of survival.  This sounds like Reservoir Dogs (1992) with more gun play, which will be awesome, as Reservoir Dogs is one of my favorite movies ever.  The movie also features a star-studded cast of Armie Hammer, Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy, and Sharlto Copley, who is a blast to watch.  I can’t wait for this shoot ’em up thriller.

4 – GIFTED (Marc Webb, April 7)

Marc Webb is back in the director’s chair after getting blackballed for his take on Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2 (2012, 2014), even though they were pretty entertaining.  Webb is going back to his indie roots for this one, as this is a smaller film about a man (Chris Evans) who is struggling to raise his prodigy niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) that leads to a custody battle.  Evans looks great and this could be a dramatic role he could really shine in and elevate his career beyond being Captain America.  Jenny Slate also looks really good as Mary’s teacher, as does Mckenna Grace as Mary and the always reliable Octavia Spencer.  This is going to be one that pulls at the heartstrings and should get Webb back to his (500) Days of Summer ways.

3 – SLEIGHT (J.D. Dillard, April 28)

I was lucky enough to see Sleight at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and it was one of my favorites of the festival.  This is a wildly original and unconventional movie about a young street magician (a star-making turn by Jacob Latimore) who gets caught up with a drug dealer (a stellar, against-type Dulé Hill) and must use his magic and smarts to get out of the game.  You can read my full review right here, but this is for sure one of the coolest movies you will see all year and a film that truly defied convention.

2 – THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS (F. Gary Gray, April 14)

Eight.  There are eight Fast and Furious movies.  The idea of that is almost crazier than some of the stunts they do in these movies.  But we’re here, and this one actually looks pretty awesome.  The gang is back, except this time, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) has turned sides and now works with Cipher (Charlize Theron), a cyber terrorist who is recking house and it is up to Hobbs (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) and the rest of the team to stop her and bring Toretto back.  F. Gary Gray is arguably the best director this franchise as ever had, and I expect him to elevate it to a new level, giving us an epic, stylish film that is made on the biggest scale possible with tons of chase scenes, explosions, and scenes that defy all laws of physics.  Theron looks badass and apparently Helen Mirren is also in the film, which is weirdly exciting.  I have an idea of how this movie could and should play out, but regardless, this is going to be one of the wildest action movies of 2017.

1 – THE CIRCLE  (James Ponsoldt, April 28)

What is The Circle and why is it above The Fate of the Furious?  Because of director James Ponsoldt, that’s why.  Ponsoldt is one of my favorite directors working today, after three sensational films in Smashed (2012), The Spectacular Now (2013), and his finest work to date, The End of the Tour (2015).  He is now making his biggest project to date, about a woman (Emma Watson) who land a job a prestigious tech company called The Circle, only to become suspect of the company’s motivations and the ethics behind what they do.  Ponsoldt is a stellar writer, and he always gets great performances from his actors and The Circle looks no different.  This movie has been on my radar for over a year now and I cannot wait to check it out.

What movies coming out in April are you excited for?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.