Spring generally doesn鈥檛 have its own movie season.
April through June is often consigned to marking time and off-loading iffy productions before the summer blockbusters arrive.
But this year is different: the movies of spring 2024 are more than placeholders. Many films are emerging with new release dates following last year鈥檚 epic strikes by actors and writers.听
Here are the 10-plus films I鈥檓 most excited about, some of which I鈥檝e already seen.听
1. Sasquatch Sunset听(April 19)
Easily the weirdest film at Sundance 2024, occasioning both applause and walkouts. David and Nathan Zellner exceed the strangeness of 鈥Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter,鈥 their 2014 riff on Coen Bros. lore, with this wordless satire of a Bigfoot family hiding in plain sight in the American wilderness. Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough, unrecognizable inside designer Steve Newburn鈥檚 awesome ape costumes, lead a quartet of humanoid scroungers who appear to be only slightly more intelligent than the squabbling simians of 鈥2001: A Space Odyssey.鈥 Over four seasons, they forage, fight, masturbate, have sex, tangle with mountain lions and generally act like the rude feral creatures they are. Is there a more potent way of getting back to nature than sniffing a skunk?
2. Humane (April 26)
The Cronenberg dynasty continues. Following the cinematic trail blazed by her father, David, and like-minded brother, Brandon (鈥淧ossessor鈥), photographer Caitlin Cronenberg makes her feature directing debut with an exceedingly dark satire of Earth-hugging philanthropy taken to extremes. When a global environmental collapse prompts world leaders to seek a voluntary 20 per cent population cull, a wealthy retired TV newscaster (Peter Gallagher) invites his four children 鈥 played by Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Sebastian Chacon and Alanna Bale 鈥 to a surprise dinner to announce his civic intentions. What could possibly go wrong听with such a noble gesture, especially with smiling facilitator Bob (Enrico Colantoni) on hand? Is it suicide or is it 鈥淪uccession?鈥
3. The Fall Guy (May 3)
We may have already hit peak Ryan听Gosling hilarity with his 鈥淚鈥檓 Just Ken鈥 number from 鈥淏arbie鈥 at the recent Academy Awards. Or maybe not: the amusing and quotable trailer (鈥淓ngage your core!鈥) for this big-screen rendering of 鈥淭he Fall Guy,鈥 a popular 1980s TV action series, suggests new comic heights for the nonplastic actor. Gosling plays Colt, a fading professional movie stuntman who turns amateur detective. The actor he used to double for (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has vanished, imperilling a film directed by Colt鈥檚 ex-girlfriend (Emily Blunt). Director David Leitch (鈥淛ohn Wick鈥) used to be a stuntman himself, so we might expect some Hollywood realism (is that a contradiction in terms?) amid the mayhem.
4. Back to Black (May 17)
Documentarian Asif Kapadia did such a superlative job with 鈥淎my鈥 in 2015, it鈥檚 tempting to wonder if another film about tragic pop star Amy Winehouse is desired or necessary. Drama can reveal new truths, though, and 鈥淏ack to Black鈥 director Sam Taylor-Johnson鈥檚 facility with rock biopics extends right back to her 2009 debut feature, 鈥淣owhere Boy,鈥 about the early life of John Lennon. But the focus will rightly be on the semi-unknown Marisa Abela, who plays Winehouse, to see whether she can pull off not only the late songbird鈥檚 soulful singing but also her Motown-meets-rockabilly retro look. A supporting cast that includes Eddie Marsan (鈥Fair Play鈥), Lesley Manville (鈥Phantom Thread鈥) and Jack O鈥Connell (鈥Ferrari鈥), plus a promising screenplay by Matt Greenhalgh (鈥Film Stars Don鈥t Die in Liverpool鈥), also help make this musical movie听a must-see.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24)
The madness continues. George Miller鈥s fifth postapocalyptic desert fandango premieres next month at the Cannes Film Festival, just as his fourth film, 鈥Mad Max: Fury Road,鈥 did in 2015. 鈥淔uriosa鈥 prequels 鈥淔ury Road,鈥 starring Anya听Taylor-Joy as the younger version of Charlize Theron鈥s scrapper from that earlier film. Taylor-Joy knows how to play rough in a violent world; her sorceress character in Robert Eggers鈥 Viking thriller 鈥The Northman鈥 defied skeptics. In 鈥淔uriosa,鈥 she plays opposite Chris Hemsworth鈥s warlord character Dementus, who kidnaps her title character as a child and forces her to become part of his Biker Horde gang of motorcycle maniacs. Expect a confrontation with Immortan Joe, the water-hoarding villain from 鈥Fury Road.鈥 Drivers, start your engines and prepare to kick up some dust.
Hit Man (May 24)
鈥All pie is good,鈥 we are told, and Glen Powell is terrific as a Walter Mitty-ish pretend hit man in Richard Linklater鈥s comic thriller, loosely based on a true story. Powell鈥檚 Gary Johnson is a cat-loving and Honda Civic-driving New Orleans philosophy professor who instructs his students to maximize their potential. He takes his own advice when his part-time gig for the local cops playing a fake hit man suddenly turns real. Powell is paired with Adria Arjona, playing an abused wife who desires to become a widow; they鈥re the best movie crime couple since 鈥Mr. & Mrs. Smith.鈥 I saw this at TIFF 2023 and can鈥檛 wait to see it again.
Inside Out 2 (June 14)
Do you miss the days when the Pixar label guaranteed quality animation? I sure do; it鈥檚 been more miss than hit in recent years for the 鈥檛oon titan. But This sequel to the 2015 tour inside a young girl鈥檚 noggin looks like a potential return to greatness. Directed by Kelsey Mann (鈥淥nward鈥) and written by 鈥淚nside Out鈥 writer Meg LeFauve, it takes us deeper into the brain and mindset of protagonist Riley (Kensington Tallman). She鈥檚 now a teenager, with all the fireworks that implies. New cast members (and emotions) include Maya Hawke as Anxiety, Paul Walter Hauser as Embarrassment, Ad猫le Exarchopoulos as Ennui and Ayo Edebiri as Envy. They join returning characters Amy Poehler (Joy), Lewis Black (Anger), Phyllis Smith (Sadness), Liza Lapira (Disgust) and Tony Hale (Fear). I鈥檒l have my own emotion 鈥 Relief 鈥 if this movie lives up to its potential.
Kinds of Kindness (June 21)
Emma Stone won a surprising 鈥 and deserved 鈥 best actress Oscar at the recent Academy Awards for her performance as a libidinous lab experiment in Yorgos Lanthimos鈥檚 riotous 鈥淧oor Things.鈥 What could possibly top that? How about seeing听Stone in another film with Lanthimos? There鈥檚 lots of buzz but not much advance word on this one, although Lanthimos has said it鈥檚 set in the U.S. and plays like three films in one, with the actors assigned to different roles in all three segments. Stone is joined by her fellow 鈥淧oor Things鈥 alumni Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley, along with Joe Alwyn (鈥淭he Favourite鈥), Jesse Plemons, Hunter Schafer and Hong Chau. Lanthimos co-wrote the screenplay with his favourite writing partner, Efthimis Filippou, with whom he penned 鈥淒ogtooth,鈥 鈥淜illing of a Sacred Deer,鈥 鈥淎lps鈥 and Oscar-nominated 鈥淭he Lobster.鈥
“Thelma” (June 21)
A great lead role can take its time coming and June Squibb makes it worth the wait. The 94-year-old character actor, Oscar-nominated for 鈥Nebraska,鈥 enchants in her first marquee-topping film role as the avenging title grandma in Josh Margolin鈥檚 debut feature, which premiered at Sundance. L.A. senior Thelma receives an anonymous call demanding $10,000 to bail out her doofus grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger, 鈥The White Lotus鈥). She dutifully complies, falling for an all-too-real modern scam, but Thelma isn鈥t going to let the thieves get away with it. Inspired by 鈥Mission: Impossible鈥 movies, she conscripts her old pal Ben (late 鈥Shaft鈥 star Richard Roundtree, in his final film role), as they hop aboard his scooter in search of the perps. Danny, his mom (Parker Posey) and dad (Clark Gregg) give chase. There鈥s much love and humour in this most unlikely of action movies.
“A Quiet Place: Day One”听(June 28)
The storm before the calm. Part three of the ingenious sci-fi horror franchise of humanity vs. noise-triggered interplanetary killers departs from John Krasinski鈥檚 original tale and sequel, where silence was golden 鈥 and essential to survival. This听one鈥檚 a prequel, showing how Earthlings first encountered the space invaders, and the trailer makes it look absolutely terrifying. It鈥檚 set largely in Brooklyn, NYC, a noisy shift from the relatively quiet rural settings of the previous films. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong鈥o joins a mostly new cast (we do get the back story of Djimon Hounsou鈥檚 character from 鈥淎 Quiet Place 2鈥) in a world that continues to expand and fascinate. It鈥檚 directed by Michael Sarnoski, who made 鈥淧ig,鈥 the best Nicolas Cage movie in years. My hopes are high and my lips are sealed.
Correction - April 15, 2024
This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the name of the film, “Sasquatch Sunset.”
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