Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Tom Holland, Brie Larson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Tessa Thompson, Evangeline Lilly, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Tom Hiddleston (BASICALLY EVERYONE OKAY)

It’s been a long time coming. Through many ups and downs, thick and thin, enthralling storytelling and, er, Thor: The Dark World, here we arrive at the endgame for the infamous Avengers. At least, for the current avenging team as we know them. The MCU has been a huge part of many people’s movie-going lives (and beyond, in many cases), and now that loyalty and patience is being rewarded with a 3 hour and 1-minute epic (including credits) that is sure to blow some minds, for better or worse. And so, which one is it: for better, or for worse?

NOTE: There will be NO SPOILERS for Endgame in this review, however there will likely be spoilers from past films, including Infinity War. Any mentions of anything in Endgame will only be that which has been included in trailers (the trailers themselves only include scenes from the first twenty minutes of the film, apparently). You have been warned.

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Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, Eva Green, Nico Parker, Finley Hobbins

Each time Disney announces a ‘live-action’ remake/reboot of one of their beloved classic animations, everyone winces. Why do they feel the need to mess with that which should not be messed with? Is it all about the money? Quite possibly. But, having said that, they have had some success with Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book, each of which have their own little diversions that could be used to argue in their favour. Dumbo is the latest Disney animation to receive a live-action version – though using the term ‘live-action’ quite loosely – but will it keep us believing an elephant can fly, or has the magic failed to take off at all?

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April seems to be a bit low on the movie release front, with less movies out than perhaps other months will see. However there are one or two highly anticipated movies that are premiering this month that will be sure to see the majority of Aprils’ audiences. There is also quite the range of genres, and a good few kid’s movies to keep them occupied for 90 – 120 minutes during the Easter holidays. Comic/graphic novel-based movies are also a huge feature this month, which you’ll probably know unless you’ve been hiding under a DC and Marvel-free rock for the past year. So what’s going to top the box office this month?

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Director: Jordan Peele
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop

Being the first African-American to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay must bring with it a lot of pressure for future success, high expectations and, one would hope, more freedom to explore. Writer/director Jordan Peele, the 2018 winner of said Oscar for his commercial and critical hit Get Out, has apparently decided to stick to what he knows and create another horror-thriller brimming with social commentary, albeit with a little more focus on the horror this time around. It wouldn’t be far wrong to say there has been a lot of hype surrounding Us since it was announced as Peele’s next project, but is it worth the build-up, and, perhaps more crucially, is it a worthy successor to Get Out?

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Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Lashana Lynch

It’s been eleven years since Iron Man, the first movie within the MCU, was released, and in that time we’ve met many Marvel heroes, mostly male. There have of course been a few kick-ass females, including Black Widow, Scarlet Witch and The Wasp amongst others, the last of which co-headlined her own movie with Ant-Man. But now we finally have a Marvel female superhero fully in the lead role and title of her own movie. In the same way Black Panther brought attention and change in ethnic diversity within the MCU (and riding on the changing tides of cinema in general), Captain Marvel is putting forward an effort from Marvel Studios to encourage gender diversity within its films and the wider industry. As much as a huge step forward as this is in terms of progression, does Captain Marvel still manage to stand on her own two feet, or do Marvel still having something to learn about getting the balance right?

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