They say April showers bring May flowers. This month also unloads a deluge of movies to watch at home.
Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video, Peacock, Max, Apple TV+, Paramount+ and others have a spring fiesta of streaming options for film lovers of all tastes, from breezy romantic comedies to bone-chilling horror. There are recent theatrical releases, like an acclaimed Oscar-nominated Holocaust drama and one of the most Disney-fied Disney movies ever, but also original flicks such as Zack Snyder’s latest sci-fi epic and a Sundance Film Festival documentary about politically savvy teen girls.
Here are 15 notable new movies you can stream right now:
‘Argylle’
In director Matthew Vaughn’s madcap adventure, Bryce Dallas Howard plays a best-selling novelist who discovers that the fictional exploits of her secret-agent character (Henry Cavill) are coming uncannily close to things happening in real life, leading her to partner up with a shaggy actual spy (Sam Rockwell).
Where to watch:Apple TV+
‘Bob Marley: One Love’
So good as Malcolm X in “One Night in Miami,” Kingsley Ben-Adir notches another biopic highlight as reggae superstar Bob Marley. He’s effective at capturing the musician even if the movie meanders with a narrative set during the 1970s, as Marley tries to use his songs to bring together a politically divided Jamaica.
Where to watch: Paramount+
‘You don’t mess with Bob’:How Kingsley Ben-Adir channeled Bob Marley for ‘One Love’ movie
‘Drive-Away Dolls’
Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan co-star in director Ethan Coen’s gonzo crime comedy as lesbian pals needing a change of pace who wind up behind the wheel of a rental car with a mysterious briefcase in the trunk. What unfurls is a noir-spattered road trip full of sex toys, decapitated heads and dimwitted goons.
Where to watch: Peacock
‘Drive-Away Dolls’ review:Talented cast steers a crime comedy with sex toys and absurdity
‘Girls State’
Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’ compelling follow-up to 2020’s “Boys State” centers on teenage Missouri girls placed in competing political parties who create a mock state government. Abortion is a hot-button issue in the proceedings, which include a competitive gubernatorial race and an investigation into Girls State itself.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
‘The Greatest Hits’
The car accident that killed her boyfriend (David Corenswet) left Harriet (Lucy Boynton) with head trauma and the ability to time-travel to a past moment with him when she hears certain songs. But obsessively searching for the right tune to save him in the past might cost her a new chance at romance in the present of this intriguing but overly earnest drama.
Where to watch: Hulu
‘Late Night With the Devil’
David Dastmalchian has a hell of a role in this retro horror flick, starring as a 1970s late-night TV host in desperate need of ratings. For a Halloween special, he brings on a girl supposedly possessed by a demon in a gambit that brings in eyeballs but spirals supernaturally out of control for everyone involved.
‘Lisa Frankenstein’
A horror rom-com about reanimated undead love and body-robbing shenanigans, “Lisa” is a playful and bloody teen-movie reimagining of the “Frankenstein” mythos. Kathryn Newton plays a 1980s goth girl and Cole Sprouse is a Victorian corpse resurrected amid lively characters and clever, sardonic dialogue.
Where to watch: Peacock
‘Frankenstein’ forever:‘Lisa Frankenstein,’ Oscar fave ‘Poor Things’ reclaim Mary Shelley’s feminist mythos
‘Migration’
In the animated comedy, Mack (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani) is the overprotective dad of a duck family who reluctantly agrees to a Jamaican getaway with his wife (Elizabeth Banks) and kids. However, they get sidetracked and wind up in New York City, where they meet a streetwise pigeon (Awkwafina) and a vicious chef.
Where to watch: Peacock
‘Música’
Rudy Mancuso co-writes, directs and stars in this delightfully clever romantic comedy as a creative New Jersey man with synesthesia, experiencing melodies and rhythms around him in extraordinary fashion. It exacerbates problems with an ex (Francesca Reale) yet fascinates a new love interest (Camila Mendes).
Where to watch: Prime Video
‘Night Swim’
Thinking about putting in a pool in the backyard? Well, think again. Wyatt Russell plays an ex-baseball star who moves into a new house with his wife (Oscar nominee Kerry Condon) and kids and feels swimming could be good for their souls, but the outdoor pool contains a dark force that doesn’t have fun in its plans.
Where to watch: Peacock
‘Rebel Moon − Part Two: The Scargiver’
Do you live for slow-motion scenes of people harvesting grain? Then director Zack Snyder has the sci-fi sequel for you. The first “Rebel Moon” was derivative and the second one is just dull, with ex-warrior Kora (Sofia Boutella) leading a band of underdogs and farmers against the invading army of the villainous Imperium.
Where to watch: Netflix
‘The Stranger’
So, yeah, Quibi turned out to be pretty much a streaming disaster. Still, the content was pretty good and is now finding new homes as real movies, not a piecemeal experiment: Director Veena Sud’s thriller ratchets up the suspense with Maika Monroe playing a rideshare driver and Dane DeHaan as the creepiest passenger ever.
Where to watch:Hulu
‘Talk to Me’
The best horror movie of last year was this haunting Australian indie chiller that introduced a new top-tier scream queen, Sophie Wilde, and a memorable scary-movie artifact: a mysterious embalmed hand that teens use to livestream freaky possessions that, of course, go terrifyingly awry.
Where to watch: Paramount+
‘Wish’
A tune-filled, big-hearted storybook fantasy that’s chock-full of Disney references. The animated musical features Ariana DeBose as an idealistic youngster who runs afoul of her kingdom’s narcissistic ruler (Chris Pine) and befriends an energetic star to help rescue her people’s wishes.
Where to watch: Disney+
‘The Zone of Interest’
Director Jonathan Glazer‘s best picture nominee centers on a German family going about their daily business. This banality, though, happens next door to Auschwitz, where gunshots, screams and the industrial sounds of ovens are the unnerving soundtrack that the characters ignore but you simply can’t in this disturbing yet essential Holocaust drama.
Where to watch: Max
The Walt Disney Company announced Wednesday that it would invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in video game maker Epic Games.
The company said that it would create a “new persistent universe” within Epic Games’ Fortnite to integrate the company’s franchises within the gaming monolith.
“Our new relationship with Epic Games will create a transformational games and entertainment universe that integrates Disney’s world‐class storytelling into Epic’s cultural phenomenon,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in the company’s first quarter earnings call. “This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion.”
The investment was announced in the same earnings call that saw Disney announce that it won the streaming rights to “”Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Concert Film” film for Disney+. It also came on the heels of a blockbuster agreement announced Tuesday between Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery for a joint sports streaming platform.
Fortnite has collaborated with Disney, others before
Disney has previously worked with Epic Games to create Fortnite character skins from Disney properties including Marvel, Star Wars and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Epic Games partnered with LEGO to create a crafting mode within Fortnite. The company has also worked with Harmonix, the developers behind Rock Band, to add a musical mode called Fortnite Festival.
“We’re collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities,” Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder, Epic Games said in a press release.
Just under 150,000,000 players play Fortnite worldwide, according to Fortnite Tracker. The earnings call did not provide a valuation for Epic Games.
Disney Stock
When does Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 1 end?
Fortnite Chapter 5 Season ends at 2 a.m. ET March 8 (11 p.m. PT March 7).
Chapter 5 Season 2 is expected to launch March 8, 2024, according to Tech Radar.
