The movie season of the year is already full of new adventures from the Mario brothers, a new artist from Steven Soderbergh, and the latest transformation of Charli xcx star. April showers bring a variety of movies to theaters. This month has two different video game changes to Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Exit 8and a series of pop-star dreams and And Mary, An explosionand Michael. If that’s not enough hype, there’s a sequel starring Bob Odenkirk and a new artist directed by Steven Soderbergh. All of this, plus some creepy comedy from Jorma Taccone in our April movie preview.
Let’s go back to the Mushroom Kingdom and more. Super Mario Galaxy Movie it follows 2023 Super Mario Bros. Movie in the vast expanses of the Nintendo cosmos. As returning stars Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black gear up for another adventure, the sequel welcomes Yoshi (Donald Glover) into the fold as Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) got his father out of prison.
Fools are rushing in, once again, in A24’s black-hearted rom-com. Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson) begin their engagement by playing the game “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?” Emma plays along, but her past is more than Charlie has planned. Suddenly, all of Emma’s strange antics, lack of love experience, and obnoxious laughter make Charlie rethink his life choices.
Is he on his journey or trapped in hell? That is the question Exit 8A Japanese horror action thriller based on a video game from Kotake Create. Exit 8 follows the path of the game as the Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) finds himself trapped in a subway. Trying to get out of the station, the Lost Man has to follow the rules as things get worse. If he fails, he goes back to start over.
Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page meet under the Tuscan sun in a rom-com with plenty of plot. Returning to Italy to take advantage of her vacation, Bailey pretends to be her one-night stand (much to the delight of her overjoyed family), before falling for her super hot cousin (Page).
The estranged children (James Corden and Jessica Gunning) of a famous pop singer (Ian McKellen) hire Lori (Michaela Coel), an art expert turned restorer, find and finish his unfinished works, known as The Christophers. But when she finds a project, Lori and Julian bond over their technical and emotional connection to the canvas. To restore after No Emergency Movementwriter Ed Solomon and director Steven Soderbergh return with an artistic heist only they could concoct.
Bob Odenkirk’s latest thriller takes a page from Fargo. Set in the snowy middle town of Normal, Minnesota, Odenkirk plays a new sheriff who is unaware of the town’s violent little secret. But it all comes crashing down after a botched bank heist turns the town into a war zone only a 60-year-old can fix.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (April 17)
The Bad Dead Rise director Lee Cronin returns with a version of Mother crawling into the depths of his twisted mind. It’s a nightmare for two parents (Jack Reynor and Laia Costa), who are finally reunited with their long-lost child, Katie (Natalie Grace), who disappeared years ago. It turns out that he was trapped in a centuries-old sarcophagus and now has a taste for human flesh.
Blue Heron (April 17)
The first feature from Canadian filmmaker Sophy Romvari, Blue Heron is a semi-autobiographical film about his childhood migration. Set in the perspective of the youngest of six, Sasha (Eylul Guven), Back follows his family as they settle into their new home in the early 1990s. Sasha watches as the family dynamic changes due to the promiscuous and erratic behavior of the eldest child, Jeremy (Edik Beddoes).
Charli xcx’s long film pivot continues with Pete Ohs’ to break out. Living in Warsaw with her handsome boyfriend (Will Madden), Bethany (Charli xcx) connects with an old friend (Lena Góra) for a taste of the party life she left behind. The beat is too good to pass up, and his decline makes him rethink his relationship.
Lorne (April 17)
The reigning king of celebrity writing, Morgan Neville turns his attention to one of the most powerful and seductive figures in entertainment: Lorne Michaels. Neville follows Saturday Night Live the producer’s rise from Canadian television to late-night royalty, as he talks to Michaels’ most famous friends, all of whom claim they don’t know him well.
Mile End Kicks (April 17)
Attracting millennials and zoomers crave anything resembling a cool, pre-smartphone cable, Mile End Kicks are the latest since I love Movies manager Chandler Levack. It follows a young music critic (Barbie Ferreira) who moves to Montreal in 2011 to start her career at the center of the indie rock universe. But her journalistic integrity collides with her romantic relationships with various musicians she has to talk about.
And Mary (April 17)
After two years on the shelf, Green Knight manager David Lowery’s And Mary finally sees the light of day this month. Anne Hathaway stars as Mother Mary, who returns to her former lover, spiritual guide, and costume designer Sam (Michaela Coel), for a new outfit for her upcoming tour. But there is more to Sam’s clothes than needle and thread, and so begins a renewed psychosexual process that could be the end of both of them.
Michael (April 24)
Antoine Fuqua’s long-gestating Michael Jackson biopic has been in turmoil since its release. Although it was originally two parts, as it is, Michael represents the entire scene, because the sexual assault trials that plagued Jackson’s later life have not been officially cleared for airing. However, like the Broadway show, Michael focuses on the King of Pop’s perspective—this time his nephew, Jaafar Jackson, who stars with Coleman Domingo as his abusive father Joe Jackson.
The new film from Lonely Islander Jorma Taccone is not much like MacGruber or Popstar: Never Stop Stopping. Jason Segel and Samara Weaving play a couple of killers whose relationship is further fractured when each fails to kill the other. Things quickly get out of hand when several inmates (Keith Jardine and Timothy Olyphant) happen upon their bloodshed.
I swear (April 24)
Tourette’s activist John Davidson received the worst attention when he shouted a racial slur during the BAFTAs last month. But the scandal revealed how little the public knows about his condition. I swearwhich won three awards at the festival, is the film he was there to celebrate. Depending on his health, I swear follows John’s (Robert Aramayo) lifelong struggle for acceptance as he learns about his Tourette syndrome.
