The Film Fix: Reviews, Previews of Top Films in April both in Theaters, Streaming
By JONATHAN W. HICKMAN, Special to The Paper
Below are reviews and capsules of various films this month in theaters and/or streaming.
Review rating … A “Fix” is recommended with a rating between 6 and 10. A “No Fix” is not recommended with a rating between 1 to 5.
In Theaters
Death of a Unicorn (now playing) – Fix Rating 6/10 – An amusing setup and talented cast only yields middling results in A24’s high concept “Death of a Unicorn.”
The story has precocious teen Ridley (Jenna Ortega) joining her corporate lawyer father, Elliot (Paul Rudd), on a company weekend retreat. They fly to a remote location in the Canadian Rockies (the film was shot in Hungary, doubling for Canada). After picking up a rental car, they plow into the title beast along a desolate, narrow mountain highway. Naturally, the beast ain’t dead, and some vicious horned friends come calling.
Comic violence and random nonsense prevail as “Death of a Unicorn” quickly devolves into a run-chase-die narrative reminiscent of a lesser “Jurassic Park” installment (the unicorns evoke raptor feels). The pity is that writer/director Alex Scharfman’s screenplay isn’t ambitious enough. Provocative ideas like the unicorns’ origin, mythology, and how we might live harmoniously with them are pushed aside in favor of obligatory action set-pieces.
Freaky Tales (now playing) – Fix Rating 7/10 – “Freaky Tales” is the very definition of a guilty pleasure, a late-night cult movie in the making. The film features four interconnected stories set in 1987 Oakland, California, following punk rock kids battling nasty Nazis, a Salt-N-Pepa-inspired female rap duo, a leg-breaking debt collector, and a professional basketball player with a unique set of martial arts skills. The cast, including Pedro Pascal and Ben Mendelsohn, is impressive. “Freaky Tales” is directed by the talented twosome Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (see 2019’s “Captain Marvel” and their underrated “Mississippi Grind”).
Streaming Selects
NETFLIX
Black Mirror (Season 7, April 10) – Season 7 features six new tales that explore our sometimes bizarre connection to technology. One of the episodes takes us back to the USS Callister featured in season 4. This Star Trek-inspired setting has the crew of the title spaceship facing new challenges within the digital domain. Another installment, “Plaything,” revisits characters from the “Bandersnatch” interactive “Black Mirror” film. Will Poulter once again plays video game developer Colin Ritman in that episode.
APPLE TV+
Your Friends & Neighbors (April 11) – Fix Rating 6/10 – John Hamm plays a down-on-his-luck hedge fund manager named Andrew “Coop” Cooper in this throwback comedy drama. When Coop loses his job, he turns to burglary to fund his lifestyle. But Coop’s bumbling robberies of his ultra-wealthy neighbors begin to weigh on him, which slows the show’s momentum. Hamm is always worth watching (see his excellent turn in season 5 of FX’s “Fargo”), and the rest of the cast is strong, with Amanda Peet and Olivia Munn, among others. But this series has a hard time feeling fresh with its somewhat dated 1990s sensibilities transplanted into modern times.
MAX
Hacks (season 4, April 10) – In the new season, Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) return to explore their dysfunctional professional and personal relationship. We left this twosome as they begrudgingly agreed to work together after Ava blackmailed Deborah (she had it coming) to make Ava the head writer on her late-night talk show. Season three won three major Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Smart, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the episode “Bulletproof.”
DISNEY+/HULU
Andor (season 2, April 22) – The fantastic first season of “Andor” seemed to make right, so much that was wrong in the Force since Disney took over the property. Diego Luna returns to play Cassian Andor, a thief turned rebel (first introduced in the excellent “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” feature film). Season two will continue to explore the events leading up to “Rogue One,” as Cassian becomes more involved with the Rebel Alliance against the rising control of the Galactic Empire.
THEATRICAL TEASERS
A Minecraft Movie (April 4) – The popular computer game gets blockbuster treatment with the likes of Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and others. The story has four misfits pulled into a cubic wonderland where they must play by the game’s rules to earn their way home. “Napoleon Dynamite” director Jared Hess is at the helm.
Drop (April 11) – This is the third Blumhouse offering to hit screens so far this year. “Drop” comes from director Christopher Landon (a producer on February’s slasher “Heart Eyes” and the director of “Happy Death Day” and “Freaky”). The story is about a widowed mother (played by Jillian Jacobs) going on a date at a fancy high-rise restaurant, only to be trapped by a mysterious caller. The title appears to be related to photo and video drops and the possibility that she and others may tumble from the skyscraper they inhabit. Blumhouse has four other films to be released in ’25, including “M3GAN 2.0.”
Warfare (April 11) – Filmmaker Alex Garland (see last year’s “Civil War”) and former US Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza co-direct this real-time narrative that will follow a platoon of SEALs as they take refuge in the home of an Iraqi family during a military operation. The effort here is to recreate actual boots-on-the-ground combat realistically.
Sinners (April 18) – This period-set horror entry looks interesting as it reunites director Ryan Coogler with his “Creed” and “Black Panther” star Michael B. Jordan (note that their relationship on-screen includes 2013’s excellent “Fruitville Station”). The story has twin brothers (played by Jordan) returning to their hometown to start a business, only to discover some greater evil might stand in their way. The trailers promise bloody vampire action.
The Accountant 2 (April 26) – Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal return to the math-centered world of the accountant, where they play mercenary brothers. Director Gavin O’Connor is back in charge of this sequel to his underrated 2016 thriller about an accounting savant (played by Affleck) who moonlights as a hitman. The first film (available on the Max streaming platform) is highly recommended. Affleck and Bernthal make a good match, as their backstory in the first movie involved a tumultuous upbringing that added depth to their conflicting relationship.
Jonathan W. Hickman is an entertainment attorney, filmmaker, college professor, and novelist. More about Jonathan can be found by visiting: filmproductionlaw.com.
