The Cynical Cinephiles

April Fool’s Day, perhaps the most significant date in the Christian calendar, celebrating the time when Jesus notoriously pranked Judas by slapping him in the balls in front of the other disciples. Sure, we’ve all been subjected to a humble wind-up, but no one can dupe and humiliate like our friends in the movies. Here’s a list of the best practical jokers, appearing in everything from teen thrillers to thought-provoking dramas about race inequality. No genre is above a whimsical jape! Amelie Poulain – Amelie Don’t let the pixie cut and chocolat eyes fool you, Amelie is a mischievous minx. Whether she’s tampering with timepieces, or tinkering with toothpaste, she’s the unidentified scourge of trickery to the neighbours. Her magnum opus of misconduct comes when, as a child, she interferes with the TV aerial of a neighbour during a big televised football game. S acré bleu! Kevin McCallister – Home Alone Kevin McCallister puts his pranking abilities to practical...

Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, Toby Kebbell, Corey Hawkins Shared universes are all the rage in Hollywood nowadays; Disney's Marvel have fathomed a superhero heavy world where characters such as Iron Man and Captain America throw down one another. Warner Brothers' DC possesses a similar world with their roster of superheroes including Batman, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn, but the studio now adds another shared universe to their collection - monsters . 2014's Godzilla  kicked things off and 2017 sees the arrival of the legendary King Kong, with the plan to eventually unite the iconic monsters. But is this new iteration of the almighty ape worth beating your chest about? AN uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean tickles the curiosity of a group of soldiers, scientists and adventurers, but what they find is bigger and badder than anything they've been trained for. Confronted by Kong a...

Director: James Mangold Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Dafne Keen It's time to say farewell. After a tumultuous but wonderful seventeen years, Hugh Jackman has bid adieu to the franchise that made him famous. Yes, Jackman has feverishly stated time and time again that Logan will be his last outing as the adamanteum-coated mutant before he hangs up the claws for good. With the trailers promising a darker tone and the shedding of more blood and tears,  this depiction of Wolverine is unlike any audiences have seen before. The year is 2029, and mutants are near extinction, with no new mutants born in 25 years. A weary James "Logan" Howlett (Hugh Jackman), whose self-healing powers have considerably waned, cares for his former mentor, an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart). Their goal to search for peace and safety is scuppered when they're confronted by Laura (Dafne Keen), a young mutant with powers identical ...

Director: Theodore Melfi Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae,  Kevin Costner, Mahershala Ali, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons A wealth of films have been produced regarding the 1960's Space Race, but Hidden Figures well and trial puts the "race" into Space Race as it focuses on a group of black female NASA employees who made the at times unimaginable feat a reality. Based on the non-fiction book of the same name, Hidden Figures tells the untold story of Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), three African-American women with revolutionary minds. Their social standing prevents them from progressing in their fields at NASA until the race to send the first man into orbit heats up and they are called to action, crossing lines of gender and race in the process. In a climate where the United States is plagued by flagrant acts of racism and misogynistic overtones, Hidden Figures is a timely...

Director: M. Night Shyamalan Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley If M. Night Shyamalan's career had to be encapsulated in one phrase, it would be; Publicly tumultuous. He entered the ring strong with knockouts such as The Sixth Sense and Signs. However, his performance started to wane with flicks such as The Village and Lady in the Water  until he eventually took some major blows with The Last Airbender and After Earth. But the director wasn't out for the count, delivering the surprise hit  The Visit in 2015 and his latest endeavour, Split,  is reigning over the box-office. Shyamalan is back, folks - and he's not pulling any punches. Three teenage girls, Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) are kidnapped by "Dennis" and kept captive in a basement. However, it soon becomes apparent that "Dennis" alone wasn't responsible for his actions as "Dennis" is just one of 23 personalities ...

Director: Pablo Larrain Cast: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt You know her name: Jackie Kennedy. Wife of the infamous JFK. Arguably one of the most popular and memorable First Ladies in presidential history. Revered for her impeccable sense of fashion that inspired many around the world and continues to do so today. An irrefutable icon - but what do we   know about Jackie Kennedy other than these attached labels? Enter Pablo Larrain's Jackie ; A film that explores the psyche of the First Lady beyond her stylistic choices. After the 1963 assassination of her husband John F. Kennedy, Jackie examines the life of the titular character (Natalie Portman) in the following weeks as she organises his funeral and reconciles her role as a public figure. The saying goes; Behind every great man is a great woman. And Pablo Larrain's first English language feature embodies this sentiment in artistically glorious fashion and pulls back the iconic ...

Director: Ben Affleck Cast: Ben Affleck, Brendan Gleeson, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Chris Cooper, Elle Fanning For want of a better phrase, one may have to settle for the oxymoronic ‘extremely average’ to describe Ben Affleck’s adaption of Dennis Lehane’s prohibition-era gangster novel of the same name. A seemingly auspicious movie from its promising cast and encouraging subject matter, it’s made hollow by consistently underwhelming, chiefly down to Affleck’s lead – a protagonist with total lack of character. Irish-Bostonian Joe Coughlin (Affleck) is besotted with Emma Gould (Miller), the mistress of infamous gangster Albert White. Joe’s police captain father (Gleeson) disapproves, and warns him against the potential slippery slope of crimes and misdemeanours that lingers. This relationship is what entangles Joe in unlawful activity and what ensues is the ‘tragic’ downfall of a man who sincerely believed his life would be in no way that of a wrongdoer. Perhaps a p...