The month of April comes with a range of different films both new and old at local theaters.
“Hidden Figures” is the story of three brilliant African American women at NASA who serve as the mathematical brains behind one of the greatest operations in history — the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. It was a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. “Hidden Figures” plays April 2 at th Michigan Theater and is free for kids 12 and under.
One of the top independent movies of the nineties, “Big Night,” 1996, plays as part of State Theater’s Cultura d’Italia series on April 6.
Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub star as Primo and Secondo, two brothers who immigrate to America and open an Italian restaurant. Primo is a brilliant chef who won’t compromise his culinary vision to make the kind of sub-par Italian American dishes of their more successful competitor restaurant. Secondo is the business savvy front man who hatches a plan to have a big-time jazz musician play a benefit at their restaurant. Packed with stars like Isabella Rossellini, Mini Driver, Ian Holm, Caroline Aaron, Allison Janney, and Liv Schreiber, “Big Night” is a delight from start to finish.
Michigan Theater’s “Films We Love” series features “Singin’ in the Rain” on April 3, “Beau Travail” April 17 and “Tokyo Story” on April 24. Famously inspired by American director Leo McCarey’s 1937 film “Make Way for Tomorrow,” “Tokyo Story” centers on an elderly couple, Shukishi and Tomi Hirayama, who live in a small coastal village, but their adult children live in big cities and lead busy lives. When the couple travels to visit their children, they are met with little enthusiasm.
Also playing is Wong Kar-Wai’s “In the Mood for Love.” Set in Hong Kong in 1962, “In the Mood for Love” is about two neighbors who form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. Filled with the music of Nat King Cole and stylish cinematography and costumes, “In the Mood for Love,” playing April 10, is a must see on the big screen.
“Suzume” is a modern action-adventure road story about a 17-year-old girl named Suzume who helps a mysterious young man close doors from the other side that are releasing disasters all over Japan. Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, the visionary behind “Your Name.,” the film tackles the trauma behind real-world earthquakes in this fantasy epic recently shown at the Berlin Film Festival. Shinkai’s films resonate with teenagers in Japan where the film has earned more than $100 million since last November. It opens April 14 at the State Theatre.
“A Good Person,” is the latest film from actor director Zach Braff starring indie darling Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, and Molly Shannon. Daniel (Morgan Freeman) is brought together with Allison (Florence Pugh), the once thriving young woman with a bright future who was involved in an unimaginable tragedy that took his daughter’s life. As grief-stricken Daniel navigates raising his teenage granddaughter and Allison seeks redemption, they discover that friendship, forgiveness, and hope can flourish in unlikely places. “A Good Person” opened March 30 at the State Theatre.
At Cinema Detroit
“Enys Men” is an experimental British horror film set in 1973 on an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast. A wildlife volunteer’s daily observations of a rare flower turn into a metaphysical journey that forces her, as well as the viewer, to question what is real and what is nightmare. “Enys Men” opens April 7.
