This April I delved into so many different genres – horrors, musicals, romantic comedies and thrillers to name a few. My absolute favourites were La La Land (shockingly my first time watching it), Uptown Girls, Barbarian and Scrapper.
But, as you will see, I rated so many of April’s films very highly – aside from Wine Country, which I hope no one else has the displeasure of watching. My grand total of hours spent watching films in 2024 is now in the 200s (221 hours to be exact)!
Here is every film I watched in April:
01/04/24: Thanksgiving ★★★☆☆
All in all this was actually a pretty good slasher. I didn’t really expect much from a film featuring Addison Rae but the acting didn’t strike me as terrible. The plot, while predictable, was fun.
02/04/24: Portrait of a Lady on Fire ★★★★☆
I am pretty much always going to love a well made romantic film (and sometimes even a poorly made one). This was such a pretty film.
03/04/24: La La Land ★★★★☆
When this film first started streaming I tried to watch it and was so bored that I did not make it past the first ten minutes. I do not know what I was thinking, because this was literally one of the best musicals I have ever seen and is possibly a new comfort film. Thank you social media for never shutting up about La La Land and peer pressuring me into watching it.
04/04/24: Licorice Pizza ★★★☆☆
In theory, this is exactly the sort of film I would enjoy – a girl just figuring out life. Licorice Pizza, though, was so clearly directed and written by a man. The main character Alana is just a male fantasy of a young woman and is completely unbelievable as a real person. I did still vaguely enjoy the film but it definitely was not at all what I hoped it would be.
05/04/24: Morgiana ★★★★☆
Very melodramatic and entertaining – plus there’s a cat!
06/04/24: Rough Night ★★★☆☆
People who don’t like fun silly films do not understand cinema. If you enjoyed Bridesmaids you should definitely watch Rough Night.
07/04/24: Set It Up ★★★☆☆
Truly a perfect romantic comedy. I would say that they don’t make them like this anymore but Romcom Glen Powell finally returned in Anyone But You.
08/04/24: Buffalo ‘66 ★★★☆☆
This was my first time watching Buffalo ‘66 and, like other first time watchers, I spent most of the film wrapped up in how insufferable the main character Billy was. Towards the end I had almost grown to like the character, though not quite.
09/04/24: Adventureland ★★★★☆
This is maybe the most 2009 film in existence. Despite giving it a high four star rating I will admit that it’s not really a stand out film. However, I did really enjoy watching it, mostly because it made me feel so nostalgic, and I will be watching again.
10/04/24: Theater Camp ★★★☆☆
Loved every single scene Ayo Edebiri appeared in. Theater Camp as a whole, though, was a little flat and felt like it was missing something.
11/04/24: Wicked Little Letters ★★★★☆
Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley!! This was such a fun film.
12/04/24: Uptown Girls ★★★★☆
I cried so much during this film. Truly such a pure and sweet film, maybe a new comfort film for me.
13/04/24: Something Borrowed ★★★☆☆
Messiest romantic comedy. Literally so much drama within every scene, it was almost impossible to keep track of all the lies being told.
14/04/24: The Greatest Hits ★★★★☆
A very interesting concept that was surprisingly well done. In Greatest Hits Harriet uses music to transport herself into the past and relive moments with her now dead boyfriend. Obviously there are some plot holes, but the heartwarming sentiment of the story definitely won me over.
15/04/24: Easy A ★★★★☆
Has Emma Stone ever been in a bad film? After watching her in La La Land, I was reminded of this Emma Stone classic.
16/04/24: Black Bear ★★★★☆
I do not want to say much about Black Bear because I would highly recommend going in blind. I will say that it’s Aubrey Plaza’s best performance I have seen and that I really enjoyed watching it.
17/04/24: Palm Springs ★★★☆☆
Generally I do not watch groundhog day style films – I find the genre to be rather worn out and tired. However, Palm Springs was the complete opposite of worn out or tiring. Instead it was filled with silliness and kept me very entertained for an hour and a half.
18/04/24: The Big Short ★★★☆☆
Choosing to make a comedic account of the 2008 financial crisis is a really bold move that somehow paid off I think. The cast performed really well and the economic talk was easy to understand as someone with no background in it.
19/04/24: Barbarian ★★★★★
Again, like Black Bear, I am not going to say much about this film because I want you guys to be as terrified as me when you watch it. Barbarian is probably the scariest horror movie I have watched in a long time – while watching I got out of bed to close my wardrobe door and look under my bed. Seriously, go watch it if you haven’t before.
20/04/24: Good Will Hunting ★★★☆☆
I had to try my absolute hardest to hold the tears in so everyone else on my train did not think I was having some kind of breakdown. Going into Good Will Hunting I did not know what to expect, I spent most of my life thinking it was a film about hunting, but I was actually really impressed (especially by the Elliott Smith soundtrack).
21/04/24: Unfortunately I had no time to watch a film but, don’t worry – I do catch up later in the month.
22/04/24: Little Women ★★★★☆
I have watched Little Women a few times now and it never fails to fill me with warmth and joy. It is such a beautiful representation of sisterhood. I feel like every girl with a sister watching Little Women felt themselves relating to either Meg, Jo, Beth or Amy – or perhaps a combination of a few of them.
23/04/24: Self Reliance ★★★☆☆
As a New Girl fan I follow along with a lot of the casts’ later work. This particular film was written, directed and acted by cast member Jake Johnson. I was sadly a bit disappointed with Self Reliance. Jake acted the story well, along with the rest of the cast, but the writing felt quite poor – the whole film felt like it was building up to something that never happened. Still, though, it made me laugh and I did mostly enjoy Self Reliance.
21 Jump Street ★★★☆☆
Second film of the day! Can you believe I had never seen 21 Jump Street before? This was a really solid comedy and there was amazing chemistry in the cast.
24/04/24: Donnie Darko ★★★★☆
I will admit that I did not understand the science this film proposed around time travel. Thankfully, my lack of understanding did not ruin the film in the slightest. I found Donnie Darko to be a really interesting and engaging film.
25/04/24: 22 Jump Street ★★★☆☆
I think the most impressive thing about 22 Jump Street is that it managed to succeed where most sequels fail – it actually maintained all the good aspects of the original.
26/04/24: Wine Country ★★☆☆☆
Wine Country appeared similar in premise to Rough Night – a group of women who have begun to grow apart get really drunk. My hopes were high and I was let down. This was a really rubbish film (not the good kind), saved only by Jason Schwartzman.
27/04/24: The Lost City ★★★☆☆
None of the jokes really landed and the writing was terrible. Yet, somehow, The Lost City was actually quite fun. I am not sure how it was magically almost good – maybe the actors or the scenery – but it was.
28/04/24: Just Like Heaven ★★★★☆
The premise of this romantic comedy is actually hilarious. Just Like Heaven is about a man who falls in love with a ghost living in his apartment. I was hesitant to believe this would make for a charming romance but I was so pleasantly surprised that this strange premise could be so heartwarming.
29/04/24: Scrapper ★★★★☆
Scrapper was upbeat and full of life whilst also being devastatingly sad. I can’t wait to watch more from director Charlotte Regan.
30/04/24: The Talented Mr. Ripley ★★★★☆
The backdrop of Italy and the gorgeous summer outfits make this the perfect film to see in the sunny weather we are finally having. And of course, the drama and deceit are frightfully entertaining.