In the past I’ve defended the irrepressible absurdity of the “Fast & Furious” franchise but when I saw the eighth installment last month, I left the theater with little enthusiasm for future sequels. These movies have never been particularly airtight in their conceits, but the sheer stupidity of “The Fate of the Furious” was beyond the pale. Many of the players in the ever expanding cast continue to be entertaining, but any joy they managed to get on screen was practically extinguished by the humorless, charisma-free egomania of Vin Diesel. I never need to see him in another movie again.

Thankfully, I managed to watch eleven other movies in April too, none of which starred Mr. Diesel. Here is the full list:

• “Trainspotting” Pretty sure it’s not just nostalgia that makes this seem still incredibly alive today.
• “Blue Is the Warmest Color” An impressive, mesmerizing ride, but ultimately did not leave much of an impression.
• “The Fate of the Furious”
• “Five Came Back” Illuminating history lesson, but not for everyone.
• “The Last Seduction” Crackerjack.
• “T2 Trainspotting” Not entirely successful but a valiant attempt.
• “Perfect Friday” A tidy little romp.
• “The Shallows” Yeah actually not bad at all.
• “Louis C.K. 2017”
• “Love & Friendship” Re-watched this and enjoyed every minute of it.
• “Elle” I’m not smart enough to understand why this was so widely praised.
• “Straight Outta Compton” Plasticized and unconvincing.

If you’re interested, here is what I watched in March, in February and in January, as well as my full list of everything I watched in 2016. You can also follow along with my film diary over at letterboxd.com.