New films and TV series in April: from suspenseful thrillers to touching dramas, from light comedies to science fiction.
The First Omen
A young American woman arrives in Rome to dedicate her life to serving the church. At the same time, she will try to expose a criminal conspiracy that will lead to the birth of the Antichrist.
Prequel to the original horror trilogy about the rise of the Antichrist on Earth. The first part of the 1976 film, directed by Richard Donner, was a true example of old-school horror, where the lack of special effects was compensated by an oppressive atmosphere and dialogues that inspired real terror. The final scene with the smiling antichrist named Damien remains in the memory to this day. The 1978 sequel was worse than the original, but overall it was a decent development of the series that set the stage for an epic finale that never happened. Unfortunately, the threequel, which was released in 1981, although it completed the story, the potential was completely lost. When you hear about the coming of the Antichrist, you expect a larger scale of confrontation than the one the authors demonstrated. The ending was weak, and the victory over Damien is too easy for the son of the devil.
The First Omen will tell us about the emergence of the Antichrist and lead us to the events of the first part. If you were interested in this or are a sincere horror fan, you can go to the movies and watch this project. Personally, I’m not a big fan of this series of films, so for me, the release adds to the “next horror movie of the month” section.
The premiere in Ukraine is on April 4.
Us, our pets and the war
When the full-scale invasion began, many Ukrainians fled their homes to save their lives. Often, they fled without having time to take the most necessary things, but with their pets. But some were sure they were leaving for a few days, so they left their pets at home. Dogs chained up, cats locked in empty apartments, and zoo animals locked in secure cages. They all wanted to live and needed people’s help.
Anton Ptushkin’s first documentary that will not be released on YouTube. Before the war, he was one of the best travel bloggers in Ukraine, and it was hard to imagine how much the subject matter of his work would change after February 24. We will see a story about the rescue of our little brothers who found themselves in a difficult situation at the beginning of the invasion.
You will be able to watch the movie on big screens on April 4.
Damaged
Chicago police detective Dan Lawson notices similarities between the murders he investigated five years ago and a series of murders that recently took place in Scotland. The coincidences in the details of the crimes haunt him, so he decides to travel abroad. In Scotland, he wants to help Glen Boyd, who is in charge of the case. The search for the killer is a personal matter for Lawson, as one of the serial killer’s first victims was his girlfriend. In anticipation of the criminal returning for new blood, the two detectives pay attention to every detail.
The thriller with the duo of two cool actors Vincent Cassel and Samuel L. Jackson looks interesting. This is actually the debut in the big movies of director Terry McDonough, who previously directed episodes of the TV series Breaking Bad and The Expanse. Let’s hope he can withstand the tension and that this movie will become a worthy representative of the thriller genre. Still, the presence of such powerful actors should guarantee a certain level of quality for the project.
The premiere will take place on April 11.
Monkey Man
A recently released ex-convict living in India struggles to adjust to a world of corporate greed and eroding spiritual values. The young man embarks on a campaign of revenge against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systematically persecute the poor and disenfranchised.
Dev Patel, the protagonist of Slumdog Millionaire, suddenly grew up and decided to become the Indian version of John Wick by directing and starring in the movie Mankind. And this comparison is more than fair, because Dev even looks like Keanu Reeves in the movie, not to mention the costume. I don’t see anything wrong with that, the formula of John Wick movies works very well, and for some reason there are very few good imitators. I can’t even think of anyone besides Charlize Theron’s Atomic Blonde.
Dev Patel himself is a professional athlete and martial artist, so we can expect good action. The setting of the movie is interesting, as it is not often that movies about India are made with a big budget. The biggest joy for me personally was the presence of the South African actor Sharlto Copley in the film, whom you may know from his roles in Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 and Elysium. He’s a very good actor, but he hasn’t appeared in big movies in recent years, so it will be nice to see him again.
Monkey Man looks dynamic, we are waiting for the action on April 11.
Abigail
Abigail, the daughter of an influential criminal, is fond of ballet. One day, her father’s rivals kidnap her. They can get a good ransom for her, and teach her father a lesson. It is decided to hide the child during the auction in a remote, empty estate. But it turns out that Abigail is actually a vampire monster.
The plot is reminiscent of the 2016 film Don’t Breathe, which also used the “I’m not the one who was locked in with you, you’re the one who was locked in with me” scheme, as the robbers were chased by a blind war veteran in his own home. “Abigail”, in turn, locks the unlucky bandits in a room with a girl who turns out to be a vampire and wants blood. I’m still not sure how scary the project will be, I laughed more while watching the trailer because the situation itself looks comical. Overall, it looks quite intriguing, even for someone who doesn’t really like horror movies.
The premiere in Ukraine is on April 18.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
The storyline of the film, partly based on real historical events, tells the story of Special Operation, a secret British organization during World War II, formed in 1940 on the initiative of Prime Minister Winston Churchill to conduct espionage and sabotage in Nazi-occupied Europe.
A new film from one of the most iconic British directors of our time, Guy Ritchie. Although his latest films, including The Wrath of Man and Operation Fortune: The Art of the Deal, were not hits, but they are pretty good action movies for their genre. This time, we are going to see the brutal Henry Cavill during the Second World War, who will kill Nazis in a spectacular way. In general, the trailers look stylish and intriguing, let’s hope it will be something similar to Agents of U.N.C.L.E., only in a different setting.
The premiere will take place on April 19.
The Fall Guy
Jodie Moreno is making her first movie as a director. She is trying very hard and is nervous. It’s good to have someone on the set to cheer her up. Colt is a stuntman. He and Jodie used to date, but now they just work together and support each other. Colt doubles for the actor who plays the main role. One day, this actor disappears without a trace. No one can find him, which means that Jodie won’t be able to finish shooting her debut project and it will ruin her career. Colt really doesn’t want this to happen, so he agrees to become a detective for a while and track down the actor who has disappeared.
Ryan Gosling stars in the title role and is directed by David Leitch, who previously directed the first part of John Wick and High Speed Train, it’s just a bomb! Even if the plot is not the best, which is actually typical for representatives of this genre, the technical part of the project should definitely impress the audience, based on the authors’ previous experience.
Emily Blunt and Aaron-Taylor Johnson, who is finally making his full return to big movies, play supporting roles in the film.
We are waiting for the premiere on March 25.
***
TV series fans will also get a lot of interesting premieres this month that are definitely worth watching.
Ripley
A fraudster takes a unique job in Italy and enters the privileged world of luxury. But on the way to the life he wants, he will have to create a web of lies.
A psychological thriller based on the crime novel by Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr. Ripley. The project looks great, it’s shot in black and white, which should add to the atmosphere, as it’s set in 1960s America. The director of all episodes, producer and scriptwriter of the series is Stephen Zaillian, the author of the script for Gangs of New York and The Irishman. Thanks to this creative control, Ripley’s will feel like a single movie divided into 8 parts, an approach that is not often seen these days. The lead role is played by Andrew Scott, whom you may know from his role as Moriarty from the TV series Sherlock.
All eight episodes will premiere on April 4 on Netflix.
Sugar
Private investigator John Sugar investigates the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the granddaughter of a legendary Hollywood producer.
The detective series from Apple, starring Colin Farrell, promises viewers a “new take on the private eye story.” I don’t know what this “new look” is about, but the trailer looks stylish and dynamic, and the main character will be actively involved in the action. Good series actors were also chosen for the supporting cast, including: Anna Gunn, Amy Ryan, Dennis Bucicaris, James Cromwell and others.
The first two episodes out of eight will premiere on April 5 on Apple TV+.
Parasyte: The Grey
When unknown parasites take over human bodies and gain power, humanity must rise up to fight an imminent threat.
Adaptation of the cult manga by Iwaaki Hitoshi. The original told the story of how parasites began to fall from the sky one day, taking over the bodies of many people and feeding on others. This was accompanied by very bizarre transformations, which in terms of body horror will give Junji Ito (another famous author of body horror manga) a run for his money.
One of the aliens penetrated the right arm of a guy named Shinichi Izumi, but he crushed his limb with headphones, which is why the parasite remained in it, otherwise he risked death. In the protagonist’s hand, there was actually a dangerous parasite named Right Hand (because it infected his right hand), which could partially transform his body and could sense others like him. The problem is that the enemies also began to sense Shinichi and periodically came to kill him. This forced the guy to constantly fight against people who were fully infected, to suffer heavy losses throughout the story, and in the end he became a completely different person. Pravitsa changed along with him, and he reconsidered his attitude towards humanity.
The Korean version takes place in the same universe, but has its own plot that does not overlap with the manga story. The action takes place in South Korea, and the main character has managed to overcome the parasite in her brain, and now the two of them share the same body. It’s strange, because in the original, the aliens ate the brain right away, so maybe this will be explained logically in the series itself. As for the special effects, the transformations of human bodies look good, but sometimes too cartoonish, the finished version may have a better result, because scary changed human bodies are one of the features of the original.
You will have the opportunity to compare whether the adaptation of the cult Japanese manga has been successful on April 5 on Netflix.
Fallout
The show depicts the aftermath of an apocalyptic nuclear attack in an alternate history of the Earth, where technological advances since World War II have led to the emergence of a retrofuturistic society and a subsequent war for resources. The survivors have taken refuge in bunkers known as the Shelters, built to preserve humanity in the event of nuclear annihilation. 219 years later, a young woman leaves the Sanctuary, the only life she has ever known, to venture into the dangerously violent, hostile, wild, and unforgiving Wasteland of devastated Los Angeles in the post-apocalyptic United States.
The series is based on the mega-popular game series of the same name about a post-apocalyptic universe after a nuclear war. We loved the original games for their atmosphere, excellent role-playing system, a lot of adventures and interesting situations that the game world kindly created for us, as well as their signature black humor. Not to mention the original style, which makes Fallout recognizable even to people who know nothing about it.
There is a “curse of computer game adaptations” in the film industry, because 95% of works based on electronic entertainment are usually very poor and only cause anger among fans. Last year’s Super Mario and, to a certain extent, The Last of Us seemed to change the game a bit, because it became obvious that it is possible to create a good and successful product in the movie segment with respect to the original source.
Amazon’s Fallout has every chance of becoming a worthy movie adaptation. Games have always attracted people mainly because of the setting in which almost any events can take place, so it will be easier for authors to come up with something of their own and it will organically fit into this world without any problems. Christopher Nolan’s brother Jonathan is also involved in the production of the Fallout series, he is one of the producers and director of the first three episodes. The trailers are filled with small details, iconic characters, and mutants. One of the main characters will be a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, with his own storyline. The protagonist’s companion will be a gul, played by Walton Goggins (you may remember him from The Hateful Eight), who intends to show her that life outside the Warehouse is much more complicated than she imagined.
I hope the series doesn’t drown in fanservice, because while watching it, you can’t help but start Fallout: New Vegas or Fallout 2 in general.
The premiere will take place on April 11 on Amazon Prime.
Franklin
Franklin depicts the eight years that Benjamin Franklin spent in France to convince the country to support American democracy.
The biographical series is about the founding father of the United States and one of the most influential intellectuals of his time, Benjamin Franklin, played by the legendary Michael Douglas. If you are interested in learning more about this powerful historical figure, it is definitely worth watching. The series is directed by Tim Van Patten, the director of The Sopranos and Underground Empire, so you don’t have to worry about the visuals.
The premiere will take place on April 12 on Apple TV+.
The Sympathizer
The series is based on the story of a captain. At the end of the Vietnam War, he is forced to flee to the United States with his general. Living in a community of refugees from South Vietnam, he continues to secretly spy and report back to the Viet Cong, struggling between his original loyalties and his new life.
The series was created by Park Chang-wook, the author of Oldboy. The role of the antagonist (several roles) was played by Robert Downey Jr. There have been a lot of films about the Vietnam War, but the idea of a refugee who wants to start a new life but is loyal to his country looks quite fresh. We will find out how well this topic was covered on April 14 on HBO Max.
Under the Bridge
Rina Virk, a fourteen-year-old girl, went to a party with friends and never returned home. Seven teenage girls and a boy were accused of her brutal murder.
The upcoming miniseries is based on the book of the same name by Rebecca Godfrey. The main roles are played by Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone, who shone in The Full Moon Killers last year. For those who like to watch programs about creepy murders before going to bed, it is recommended!
The first two episodes will premiere on Hulu on April 17.
Loading comments …