by Daniel Lucas
April is full of fun days to celebrate, so we thought we
would find you some films to watch this month to do just that!
April Fools Day (1st) – The Return of the Dawn of the War of the Planet of the Apes: The Apenning, Part Nine
Starring Adward Squitlar, Puck Chickle, P. Joshy – 2032 – 4h 2274min 662sec – Dir. Norman Wisdom – PG Tips
The sixth part in the Apes franchise, The Return of the Dawn of the War of the Planet of the Apes: The Apenning, Part Nine, has been described by critics.
Taking place after the fifteenth film in the franchise, and before the sixth episode of series seventy-twelve of the short-lived telenovela of the same name, this film centres on the existential struggles of the young ape Michael Stipe as he loses his religion, setting up the central conflict of the fourth chapter of book two of the accompanying series of children’s books, aptly named Chimpy Goes To Chimp Town: A Chimpmas Miracle. Michael Stipe, or Spewy as he’s more commonly referred to throughout the film, is played by the late Daniel Craig, save for in the flashback scenes where Spewy is played by up-and-coming Hollywood titan Larry Bird. Caught short while leaving the cinema, one viewer said ‘get that microphone out of my face,’ whilst another is quoted as calling the film ‘real’ and ‘incredibly actual and not at all made-up.’
You can find the film for free at the following web address:
bit.ly/3JwwezL
Easter Sunday (17th) – Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory
Starring Gene Wilder – 1971
1h 38min – Dir. Mel Stuart – U – NowTV
Let’s get this out of the way quickly, this is for the Easter Sunday section because it’s about chocolate.
With that out of the way, Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory is a staple of the transitional culture between the 60s and 70s, during which everything was mad and colourful, the haircuts were rubbish, and everyone and their mother had a beard. Featuring Gene Wilder in perhaps his most famous performance, this iteration of the Roald Dahl classic book is one of the most contentious adaptations to date, beaten out only by Joey Essex’s Othello, Sue Pollard’s Of Mice And Men, and Lenny Henry’s Satanic Verses.
Earth Day (22nd)
Wall-E
2008 – 1h 37min
Dir. Andrew Stanton – U – Disney+
Long after humanity has abandoned the Earth and taken to the stars, Wall-E is all that remains to clear up the pollution and make the world habitable again.
When a surprise visitor returns to Earth, coinciding with the discovery of the last surviving plant life, Wall-E is taken on an adventure amongst the cosmos to bring the people of Earth back home.
With characters ripped straight from the Star Wars back catalogue, the villain of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the storyline of one of Al Gore’s nightmares, Wall-E is one of the many films found on a list titled ‘Pixar films that predicted what Britain would be like by 2025,’ along with Inside Out, Ratatouille, and of course A Bug’s Life. Notably, one of the only films to feature a scene in which a cockroach watches a rocket launch, Wall-E looks at the changing climate and pollution of the world through the lens of positive action, compassion, selflessness, courage, and how cool a little robot that cleans up for you would be.
St George’s Day (23rd) – Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Starring Monty Python – 1975
1h 31min
Dir. Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones – 12A – Netflix
Long ago when the land was ruled from the legendary seat of Camelot, and occupied by a not-so-legendary retinue of weirdos and oddballs, mighty King Arthur sets out to populate his round table with a great many knights in the hopes of finding the mythical Holy Grail. Intercepted by the undefeatable Black Knight, thwarted by a castle of strangely-located Frenchmen, and helped along their journey by God himself, the Knights of the Round Table face many imposing and rather bizarre challenges on their quest.
From Castle Anthrax to Castle Aargh, from the shrubbery-mad to the just regular mad, from one silly place to another, the hunt for the Holy Grail never lets up.