April’s must-see movies
Next month’s movie lineup offers plenty of choice for Kiwi cinemagoers. There are blockbusting action movies (April 4’s Shazam), animated movies for the school holidays (April 11’s Wonder Park and April 18’s Missing Link) and documentaries on everything from the Royal New Zealand Ballet (April 4’s The Heart Dances) to nuns farming cannabis (April 25’s Breaking Habits).
Horror fans are catered for via The Curse of the Weeping Woman (April 18), while there’s also a limited release for one of the most controversial films of the past year – Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built (April 4).
However, after studying the upcoming schedules, Stuff has come up with this list of six movies you need to see as the weather starts to get a bit chillier.
Avengers: Endgame (April 24)
How will our heroes get out of this jam? Last year’s Infinity War ended with half the universe’s inhabitants obliterated and the likes of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner and Steve Rogers left with the awful job of picking up the pieces and trying to find a way to reverse all that Thanos had wrought.
Expect to see the return of Hawkeye and Ant-Man to the fold (and the arrival of Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel) to lend a hand. Hellboy (April 11)
Everybody’s favourite halfdemon gets the reboot treatment.
Gone is the wise-cracking Ron Perlman from the 2004 and 2008 movies, replaced by Stranger Things’ David Harbour. He’s joined by Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim and Thomas Haden Church for this R-rated tale which sees our red-skinned paranormal investigator battling an ancient sorceress hell-bent on revenge.
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (April 11)
In this sequel to the blockbusting 2014 animated adventure, it’s been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens of Bricksburg are facing a huge, new threat.
Duplo invaders from outer space have arrived and are wrecking everything faster than the locals can rebuild. Joining the vocal cast this time are Tiffany Haddish and Margot Robbie.
Pet Sematary (April 4)
Seeking to erase the memory of the schlocky 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s 1983 horror novel, this new version features an impressive cast that includes Jason Clarke and John Lithgow.
What hasn’t changed is that it is still the tale of a big city doctor whose rural relocation goes a bit south when he discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near his family’s new home.
Red Joan (April 18)
Dame Judi Dench headlines this British spy drama inspired by the life of British civil servant Melita Norwood (renamed Joan Stanley here), the KGB’s longestserving British spy.
Writing for The Hollywood Reporter after the film’s debut at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Deborah Young described it as ‘‘a taut old-school thriller with a modern heroine’’. Vai (April 4)
From the producers of 2017’s critically acclaimed portmanteau drama Waru, this is the story of one woman’s life – as shaped by her connection to the many lands of the South Pacific.
As with Waru, it’s also told in a unique, bold way, as eight vignettes created by nine female Pasifika film-makers. Eight different women portray the main character, Vai, at different points in her life.