What's New To Streaming In April
We highlight the best of the new titles added to Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu this month
You’ve probably noticed that streaming services switch up their libraries. At the beginning of each month, they will drop certain titles and add new ones. Don’t ask us how this works (probably something to do with licensing agreements?), we’re just here to tell you what’s worth watching.
Now that April is underway, there have been a bunch of excellent movies added to Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. Here’s a few of the best ones.
Billy recommends…
I Am Legend (streaming on Netflix)
It is about time we recommended a Will Smith movie. He is one of the most bankable movie stars of all time. Up there with the Harrison Ford types. All while throwing in amazing performances throughout. The most notable being Ali, Men In Black, and I Am Legend.
I Am Legend is the most overlooked of them all. Men In Black has stood throughout the years as one of the most fun movies of all-time and Ali is a classic performance that earned Smith his first Oscar nomination. Somehow I Am Legend fits both of those descriptions without nearly the same praise.
Luckily we have the chance for it to be readily accessible this month. Smith is essentially the only actor in this movie and is only out-acted by his trusty canine partner. Before we get into the most important aspect of the movie, the dog, we must acknowledge the brilliance of Smith in I Am Legend. You know a performance is great when an actor can make you look past the poorer aspects of a film. There are, no doubt, weaknesses to this film. The CGI at points is laughable and the choice to have one actor for the majority of the movie leads to some slow parts, but the on screen presence of Smith carries you through.
Smith plays Robert Neville who is a doctor/veteran trying to find a cure to a plague that has killed off most of the people on earth. Such a plot sounds cheesy and if put in the wrong hands it would have been, but director Francis Lawrence guides Smith through the film brilliantly. We are given the emotional connection we need with a beautiful connection to Neville’s family right away, to which the family dog is the only survivor. Most people have a connection to a pet at some point in their life and this one is the best pet relationship in a film ever. I Am Legend is exceptionally entertaining because of one major performance that leaves the audience in awe of the talent of Will Smith.
Beetlejuice (streaming on Amazon Prime)
Beetlejuice has an equally great performance, but the difference here is that this performance is in a movie that has remained a classic, but the actor, Michael Keaton, is constantly overlooked. Keaton is one of our greatest living actors and Beetlejuice may provide his greatest performance. It is eccentric, fun, and truly extraordinary.
While writing over these past 4-5 weeks I have realized that I often profile the performances in a movie rather than the director. Keaton in Beetlejuice gives one of my all-time favorite performances, but the director, Tim Burton, is the star in this one.
Tim Burton is a classic director that unfortunately has missed his mark more times than not since the 2000’s started, but his work from 1985 to 1999 is one of the great stretches of directing in film history. Beetlejuice being my favorite of them all.
Movies that make me scared or make me laugh tend to be ones that become my favorite. Beetlejuice isn’t necessarily scary for us adults, but as a child the production design, the costumes, and practical effects were terrifying. All those terrifying images increase the hilarious aspects of this film. Keaton being the leading one that brings the funny.
It is amazing when an actor can have limited screen time and make such a memorable impact. Burton does such a great job directing him in a way that leaves a lasting impact. The obscure and eccentric nature of this film disguises the mastery of it all. Typically such classics have a formula that clearly works. Beetlejuice may not seem like it fits that mold, but believe me, it is a classic. Don’t miss out on one of the most fun movies of all-time. You won’t regret it.
Drew recommends…
Bonnie and Clyde (streaming on Netflix)
Bonnie and Clyde appearing on Netflix this month likely isn’t an accident, as they just released the Netflix Original movie The Highwaymen, starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson as Texas Rangers who chase down the infamous bank robbers. The Highwaymen has received decent reviews, but it’s the 1967 classic that changed cinema forever.
There had never been a Hollywood movie like Bonnie and Clyde before. Americans have always been fascinated by famous criminals, but no film had been so honest and violent in its portrayal back then. It’s recognized as one of the first films of the New Hollywood era (along with The Graduate, Cool Hand Luke, and others), when a fresh generation of young filmmakers in the late 1960s made their imprint on a previously studio-controlled Hollywood.
Featuring two up-and-coming movie stars in Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway (plus a young Gene Hackman), Bonnie and Clyde was a hit upon release and became massively influential. There has always been controversy around its depiction (and perhaps glorification) of murderous outlaws, but to me, that is one of the things that makes the film so interesting. You’re never sure if it is admiring or condemning these two criminals in love. Without Bonnie and Clyde, we might not have half of the anti-hero movies and shows of the last few decades.
There can be no doubt about the violent and bloody end, however, which was utterly shocking in its day, although it plays a bit more tame now. You don’t have to be a fan of classic film to find Bonnie and Clyde an endlessly entertaining and captivating artifact of 1960s counterculture.
A Quiet Place (streaming on Amazon Prime and Hulu)
In about 10 years, after the release of the awful sequel A Quiet Place 5: Still Quiet, I predict we will look back with immense fondness at the original A Quiet Place. This movie has such a phenomenal premise (basically, you either stay silent or the monsters hunt you) and was so successful last year, that I can’t imagine how Hollywood won’t wring the life out of it with an increasingly inert horror franchise.
John Krasinski’s creature feature is incredibly fun and frightening, but it’s also grounded in his (and his wife Emily Blunt’s) personal parental anxieties that mothers and fathers around the world can relate to. With hardly any dialogue and very little score, all of the actors, and Blunt in particular, are able to emote fear, panic, love, and much more with just their body language and facial expressions. This is such an original achievement that it will no doubt try to be copied endlessly for years to come.
If Beale Street Could Talk (streaming on Hulu)
How do you follow up a modern masterpiece and Best Picture winner? There’s no right answer, but filmmaker Barry Jenkins may have done it better than anyone. Adapting a James Baldwin novel that functions equally well as a love story and social critique, Jenkins continues to refine his storytelling and visual skills even after a historic success like Moonlight. From the lush score to the eye-pleasing colors, this is a drop-dead gorgeous film. It also helps that If Beale Street Could Talk is filled with actors that bring plenty of life. Stephan James and Kiki Layne are utterly convincing as the central couple (you really feel they are meant for each other), while Regina King delivers an Oscar-winning performance as a strong-willed and emotionally wrecked mother. Melancholy has hardly looked so beautiful as it does in this film.
New Netflix Original movies arriving in April
The Perfect Date (available April 12)
Netflix has basically created a modern rom-com star in Noah Centineo. Following the success of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, he’s back in yet another Netflix Original rom-com, this time as a high schooler that creates an app that allows people to pay him to be their date for a night.
The Silence (available April 12)
Between A Quiet Place, Bird Box, and now, The Silence, horror movies where the characters must limit their sound or sight are all the rage now. This one hits Netflix next Friday.
Someone Great (available April 19)
Another Netflix romantic comedy, but this one is aimed more at adults. Gina Rodriguez stars as a woman who breaks up with her longtime boyfriend (Lakeith Stanfield) so she can pursue her dream job across the country.
Streaming TV Corner
What we’re watching this week…
Billy: New Girl (streaming on Netflix)
At this point most friends of mine have given New Girl a chance and this show is plain and simple a crowdpleaser. Zooey Deschanel (Jessica Day), Jake Johnson (Nick Miller), and Max Greenfield (Schmidt) are the stars of New Girl and each stand out in their own way. Each bring their own quirkiness to the show, with Jake Johnson being my favorite. His anger at everything and general impatience leads to some hilarious interactions with the much more positive Jess and Schmidt. New Girl is a perfect show to binge.
Drew: Veep (streaming on HBO Now)
HBO’s hysterical, profanity-laced political satire has returned for its final season. And, surprise, surprise, Selina Meyer is running for president again. If you’ve never seen Veep, you may be wondering how this show stays funny when we are living through such an absurd real-life political moment. The show does this by being as cynical as possible about American politics, by making each character unapologetically narcissistic, craven, and heartless. While you don’t necessarily root for any of these people, Veep is undeniably hilarious, boasting a murderer’s row of comedic performers. At the center of it all, Julia Louis-Dreyfus continues to cement her claim as the greatest TV comedy actress of all-time.
The Office Episode of the Week
Billy: “Grief Counseling” (S3 E4)
In this one we have to deal with the death of Michael’s old boss Ed Truck. After hearing about the death of his old boss Michael wants to give his employees access to grief counseling. Instead of hiring a professional he decides to lead these counseling sessions himself. The obviously under-qualified Michael Scott gives horrible advice that only makes the grieving process harder. Luckily their struggle gives the audience the best grief counseling session: laughter. The biggest laugh coming from my favorite The Office quote of all-time, “I don’t understand. We have a day honoring Martin Luther King, but he didn’t even work here.”
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