I didn’t get quite back in the hang of my more usual viewing habits for April, though I watched slightly more movies this past month than I did in March, including several re-watches. A good portion of the month was dedicated to William Holden, who was TCM’s Star of the Month in honor of his centennial, which included revisiting a couple of old favorites: The Bridge on the River Kwai and Stalag 17. This will be another brief wrap-up post, so for my favorite discoveries of the month, I’m just highlighting my favorite theater experiences for a couple of new releases.

New-to-Me: 19

Re-Watched: 7

New-to-Me Films by Decade:

• 1920s – 0
• 1930s – 1
• 1940s – 4
• 1950s – 6
• 1960s – 1
• 1970s – 1
• 1980s – 2
• 1990s – 0
• 2000s – 0
• 2010s – 4

List of New-to-Me Films:

1. Quo Vadis (1951)
2. Atlantic City (1980)
3. The Great Sinner (1949)
4. A Quiet Place (2018)
5. Invisible Stripes (1939)
6. Local Hero (1983)
7. The Conformist (1970)
8. Cinema Through the Eye of Magnum (2017)
9. Force of Arms (1951)
10. Boots Malone (1952)
11. Toward the Unknown (1956)
12. The World of Suzie Wong (1960)
13. Father Is a Bachelor (1950)
14. Isle of Dogs (2018)
15. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
16. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
17. Arizona (1940)
18. The Man from Colorado (1948)
19. Rachel and the Stranger (1948)

A Few Favorite Discoveries:

A Quiet Place (2018), directed by John Krasinski

This is most likely the most stressed I’ve ever been watching a movie in the theater. With the characters in A Quiet Place needing to stay as silent as possible for their survival, every sudden sound that’s heard makes the audience more and more anxious. I didn’t realize just how tense I was watching the movie until I came out of the theater and could breathe normally! Director John Krasinski, who’s much more known for his comedic work as an actor, does a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat. He also helps bring out great performances from his wife Emily Blunt, and Millicent Simmonds, who I really liked in Wonderstruck last year, so I’m glad to see her turning out more good work. And the sound design in this is excellent, especially for a movie that’s predominantly quiet.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018), directed by Joe Russo, Anthony Russo

I’m a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Avengers: Infinity War is a movie I’ve been long anticipating. While the previous team-up installment, Avengers: Age of Ultron, is one of my least-favorites from the MCU, I was hopeful for the latest film, as I thought the Russo brothers did a really solid job with the last two Captain America movies. They do a good job here too taking on a seemingly impossible task, having to balance between so many different characters across multiple plotlines. Though I really enjoyed this movie (seeing it opening night with a ton of fans made it all especially fun), I will say it’s not Marvel’s best, even in this year alone with Black Panther. Still, I’m super excited to see what will happen to the heroes in next year’s movie!