Emily Blunt scares in 'A Quiet Place,' Michelle Pfeiffer returns in 'Where Is Kyra?' and Dwayne Johnson tries his hand at another franchise.
As if Marvel wasn't already a juggernaut demolishing everything in its path -- just like the third act in most superhero movies -- the year has barely begun and the studio is already following Black Panther, officially the highest-grossing superhero movie domestically, with another, potentially bigger release: the 10-years-in-the-making Avengers: Infinity War, which will see the power of Marvel's three Chrises (Evans, Hemsworth and Pratt) finally united onscreen, along with, like, a bajillion other heroes.
There are plenty of smaller movies to check out first, though, including an unofficial 15th inclusion to the list: The gorgeous, sprawling Lean on Pete, which was on this list last month before it moved to an April 6 release date. (And if you end up loving Lean on Pete as much as I did, here is a 16th film: The Rider, out April 16, which stars real-life rodeo rider-turned-actor Brady Jandreau.) Anyway, on to the official list:
1. A Quiet Place (April 6)
Yes, this is the movie where everyone's favorite couple, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, finally co-star together. But can we take a moment to recognize Krasinski's range? The last film he directed was a dysfunctional family dram-com, while this is a hold-your-breath, edge-of-your-seat horror flick about monsters that use a heightened sense of sound to hunt and kill.
Watch the trailer:
2. Blockers (April 6)
The titular "blockers" -- as in c*ck blockers, but since you can't have c*ck in a studio movie title, they just lobbed it off and said, "Good enough!" -- are parents who will stop at nothing to stop their daughters from having sex on prom night. See it for Pitch Perfect writer Kay Cannon's directorial debut, or because Leslie Mann is fantastic in everything, or to support the burgeoning career of thespian John Cena.
Watch the trailer:
3. Chappaquiddick (April 6)
There have been plenty of movies made about the Kennedys and their supposed curse, though most have been focused on Bobby and JFK and Jackie. This shines a light on Ted (Jason Clarke), attempting to answer questions long hidden in the darkness as the film tracks the events of the night of a 1969 car accident that claimed the life of a campaign worker, Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara).
Watch the trailer:
4. The Endless (April 6)
This easily could become an indie you don't know anything about so you don't bother knowing anything about it, but I implore you to watch the trailer. Because it looks f**king insane!!!! It's about two brothers (writer-directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead) who make a visit to the community they grew up in: a doomsday UFO death cult.
Watch the trailer:
5. 6 Balloons (April 6 on Netflix)
If I told you that Abbi Jacobson of Broad City is starring in a Netflix movie with Dave Franco, you probably have an idea of what that movie is, right? A gritty drama in which Jacobson plays the enabling sister of Franco's heroin-addicted single father, right? Say what you will about the streaming service's approach to filmmaking, but they take risks and this one in particular has me intrigued.
Watch the trailer:
6. Where Is Kyra? (April 6)
The Pfeifferenaissance is upon us. If you didn't get your Michelle Pfeiffer fix from her short but wickedly sweet turn in mother! or her iconic wig reveal in Murder on the Orient Express, she is front and center in this little drama about a middle-aged woman struggling to stay afloat. (And then, in a few short months, she will be back again, playing a superhero in July's Ant-Man and the Wasp.)
Watch the trailer:
7. You Were Never Really Here (April 6)
Gosh, I'm curious to see how people will react to this movie. It's from director Lynne Ramsay (Ratcatcher, We Need to Talk About Kevin) and stars Joaquin Phoenix as a man who liberates young girls from pedophile rings by any means necessary. It's as disturbing and brutal as it sounds, and, man, it's heavy. Let me know what you think!
Watch the trailer:
8. Blumhouse's Truth or Dare (April 13)
Blumhouse hitching their name to this title seems appropriate, as it's another offering from the fear factory that takes an ingeniously simple concept (what if truth or dare, but everyone dies) and adds their own gimmicky spin: This time, a terrifyingly demented smile that appears on the face of all your favorite TV teens -- Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey -- after they become possessed by the game.
Watch the trailer:
9. Rampage (April 13)
Dwayne Johnson has never met a franchise he didn't like, for better or for Baywatch. This one is based off the old 8-bit video game and sees Johnson playing primatologist to a highly intelligent gorilla, who is then secretly experimented on and, naturally, transforms into a giant Kong-like beast who wreaks havoc with a giant mutant alligator and a giant flying wolf. And yes, Johnson gets to say the line, "Let's go save the world."
Watch the trailer:
10. I Feel Pretty (April 20)
Amy Schumer is the main draw for this one -- and she's great in it -- but it's the directing duo of Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein you should note: They are the writers behind He's Just Not That Into You, The Vow and one of my all-time favorite romantic comedies, Never Been Kissed. So come for Schumer, stay for Kohn and Silverstein and never forget Michelle Williams' Barbie on helium accent. (It is incredible.)
Watch the trailer:
11. Kodachrome (April 20 on Netflix)
A movie about an adult son taking a road trip with his estranged but dying father likely won't reinvent the wheel. (Betcha by the end of the movie they reconnect and learn to love again.) Still, it's about the journey, not the destination, as the saying goes, and with a cast like this -- Jason Sudeikis, Ed Harris and Elizabeth Olsen -- I'm willing to tag along for the ride.
Watch the trailer:
12. Super Troopers 2 (April 20)
In what has to be the least surprising but absolutely most fitting release date ever, this is out on 4/20. Over a decade and a half after the troopers first became super, the sequel gets the whole Broken Lizard gang (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske) back together to take on Canadian sensibilities and Rob Lowe.
Watch the trailer:
13. Avengers: Infinity War (April 27)
If you hear someone say that it feels like just yesterday that an eye-patched Samuel L. Jackson enlisted Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark into the Avengers Initiative, they clearly haven't spent the last 10 years analyzing, theorizing and otherwise obsessing over Marvel's cinematic universe. This is the culmination of 18 movies before it, as the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and Black Panther face their biggest big bad yet, Thanos the Mad Titan (played via purple CGI glory by Josh Brolin).
Watch the trailer:
14. Disobedience (April 27)
If there is a movie that is perhaps the exact opposite of Avengers: Infinity War, it's Disobedience, a contemplative chamber piece about childhood friends (Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz) who must keep a love affair secret from their Orthodox Jewish community. Stick around through the credits and maybe McAdams will recruit Weisz for Doctor Strange 2.
Watch the trailer:
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