10 of the best films to watch this April |
Mother Mary to The Drama: 10 of the best films to watch this April
From Anne Hathaway in a gothic drama about a pop superstar to Zendaya and Robert Pattinson in an "excruciatingly awkward" indie black comedy, these are the films to watch at the cinema and stream at home this month.
1. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Video game adaptations are often notorious flops, but 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie is one of the highest grossing films ever made. Unsurprisingly, the sequel is here, featuring the original star-studded voice cast: Chris Pratt and Charlie Day are Mario and Luigi, two plumbers who are zapped into another dimension; Anya Taylor-Joy is Princess Peach, ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom; and Jack Black is a fire-breathing turtle monster, Bowser. The new cast-members include Brie Larson as Rosalina, a princess from outer space – and, appropriately, Larson is a diehard fan of the games. "I threw my first boyfriend out of my house because I was trying to beat the final level in Super Mario Galaxy," Larson said on her official YouTube channel. "He said I was taking it too seriously, so I threw him out."
Released on 1 April internationally
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson star in this indie black comedy as the loved-up Emma and Charlie. A week away from their wedding day, they make the mistake of playing a drunken game of "what's the worst thing you've ever done" with their best friends (Alana Haim and Mamoudou Athie). When Emma's confession shocks Charlie, the subsequent days of writing speeches and posing for photographs are excruciatingly awkward. But the film's studio, A24, has kept quiet about what exactly Emma's misdemeanour was. "We want the audience to go through the same experience as the characters in the movie, where they get to be surprised by something," said writer-director Kristoffer Borgli in The Hollywood Reporter. "So we're trying to hold that reveal… Don't read reviews, don't go online, try to go in with nothing… I think that's the best way to see the movie."
Released internationally on 1 to 3 April
Like Letters to Juliet (2010) and When in Rome (2010), You, Me & Tuscany is one of those American romantic comedies that serve just as well as Italian tourism adverts. Halle Bailey, from the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, plays Anna, an aspiring cook. When her life in New York collapses, she breaks into a villa in the scenic Tuscan countryside, and pretends to be the absent owner's new fiancée. The trouble with this ruse – aside from being immoral and illegal – is that Anna then falls in love with the villa owner's cousin, Regé-Jean Page. No, it's not going to be the year's most hard-hitting film, but You, Me & Tuscany offers sun-drenched escapism galore. "I truly wanted to be a part of this project," said Bailey, "because when I read the script, I was like, 'This is a movie I want to watch with my sister. This is a movie (where) I want to be with my girls on the couch.'"
Released internationally on 9 and 10 April
Timothée Chalamet may be regretting his comments about ballet and opera, but it could have been worse. In Outcome, a dark comedy co-written and directed by Jonah Hill, the world's biggest film star (Keanu Reeves) is recorded saying something terrible. His lawyer (Hill) and crisis-management team scramble to save his reputation, while the star himself has to think about all the people he has upset. Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, and David Spade co-star, and there's a cameo from Martin Scorsese, playing himself. But Hill insists that you don't have to be a Hollywood celebrity to relate to........