April film preview: Super Mario levels up as Michael moonwalks into theaters

The Christophers ‌(April 10)

The estranged children (James Corden and Jessica Gunning) of a once-renowned pop artist (Ian McKellen) hire Lori (Michaela Coel), an art-forger-turned-restorationist, to find and complete his unfinished works, known as The Christophers. But when he finds out the plan, Lori and Julian connect over their technical and emotional relationship with the canvas. Reteaming after No Sudden Move, writer Ed Solomon and director Steven Soderbergh return with an art heist only they could concoct.

Normal (April 17)

Bob Odenkirk’s latest over-the-hill actioner takes a page from Fargo. Set in the snowy midwestern town of Normal, Minnesota, Odenkirk plays a new sheriff who’s unaware of the town’s violent little secret. But it all comes pouring out after a botched bank heist led that turns the town into a warzone only an ornery 60-year-old can fix.

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy ‌(April 17)

Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin returns with a version of The Mummy crawling deep from his twisted mind. It’s a nightmare come true for two parents (Jack Reynor and Laia Costa), who are finally reunited with their long-lost child, Katie (Natalie Grace), who went missing years earlier. Turns out, she was trapped in a centuries-old sarcophagus and now has a taste for human flesh.

Blue Heron (April 17)

The feature debut from Canadian filmmaker Sophy Romvari, Blue Heron is a “semi-autobiographical” film about her childhood move. Set from the perspective of the youngest child of six, Sasha (Eylul Guven), Heron follows her family as they settle into their new house in the early ’90s. Sasha watches as the family’s dynamics shift due to the increasingly violent and erratic behavior of the oldest child, Jeremy (Edik Beddoes).

Erupcja (April 17)

Charli xcx’s long pivot to film continues with Pete Ohs’ ‌Erupcja. Stranded in Warsaw with her very nice boyfriend (Will Madden), Bethany (Charli xcx) links up with an old friend (Lena Góra) for a taste of the party life she left behind. The beat is too good to quit, and her regression causes her to rethink her relationship.

Lorne ‌(April 17)

The reigning king of celebrity documentaries, Morgan Neville turns his eye toward one of entertainment’s most powerful and beguiling figures: Lorne Michaels. Neville tracks the Saturday Night Live creator’s ascent from Canadian television to late-night royalty, while speaking to Michaels’ very famous friends, all of whom claim not to know him very well.

Mile End Kicks ‌(April 17)

Enticing aging millennials and zoomers desperate for anything that resembles a cool, pre-smartphone hang, Mile End Kicks is the latest from I Like Movies director Chandler Levack. It follows a young music critic (Barbie Ferreira) who heads to Montreal in 2011 to jumpstart her career at the center of the indie rock universe. But her journalistic integrity clashes with her romantic entanglements with the various musicians she’s supposed to be covering.

Mother Mary (April 17)

After two years on the shelf, The Green Knight director David Lowery’s Mother Mary finally sees the light of day this month. Anne Hathaway stars as the pop star Mother Mary, who returns to her former lover, spiritual guide, and dressmaker Sam (Michaela Coel), for a new ensemble for her upcoming tour. But there’s more to Sam’s dresses than needle and thread, and so begins a renewed psychosexual fling that could be the end of them both.

Michael ‌(April 24)

Antoine Fuqua’s long-in-the-works Michael Jackson biopic has been mired in controversy since it was announced. Though originally a two-parter, as it stands, Michael represents the whole vision, because the sex-abuse trials that plagued Jackson’s later life are not legally cleared for dramatization. However, much like the Broadway show, Michael centers on an impression of the King Of Pop—this time by his nephew, Jaafar Jackson, who appears alongside Coleman Domingo as his abusive father Joe Jackson.

Over Your Dead Body ‌(April 24)

The new film from Lonely Islander Jorma Taccone bears little resemblance to MacGruber or Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Jason Segel and Samara Weaving play a murderous married couple who make their fractured relationship even worse when each fails to kill the other. Things quickly spiral out of control when a couple of escaped convicts (Keith Jardine and Timothy Olyphant) happen upon their bloody abode.

I Swear ‌(April 24)

Tourette’s activist John Davidson garnered the worst kind of attention when he shouted a racial slur during the BAFTAs last month. But the scandal revealed just how little the public knows about his condition. I Swear, which took home three awards at the ceremony, is the movie he was there to celebrate. Based on his life, I Swear tracks John’s (Robert Aramayo) lifelong struggle for acceptance as he learns about his Tourette syndrome.

More April premieres:

April 10

Faces Of Death

Hamlet

April 15

Balls Up

April 17

Everyone Is Lying To You For Money

April 24

Apex

April 27

Fuze