The 13 Best Movies Coming to Netflix in April 2020

Another month, another part of the year beholden to the whims of a methodical, unwavering virus. With theaters closed and many people around the world all but literally trapped in their own homes, Netflix and its ilk are seeing unprecedented demand. In true Netflix form, the company is dumping dozens of movies—new and old—on its platform. Here are the 13 best new movies debuting in April you should watch.

13. Angel Has Fallen

OK, don’t just run away from this list because we’re starting out with Angel Has Fallen, the third in the Gerard Butler/Morgan Freeman Olympus Has Fallen franchise. It’s not a great movie, but it is an enjoyable, B-grade action film that works best when you’re trapped at home and have nothing better to do.

12. Can’t Hardly Wait

While hardly essential cinema, this teen comedy from 1998 is a good reminder as to why guys loved Jennifer Love Hewitt back in the day. Funny or at least amusing, and packed with an ensemble cast of recognizable faces, Can’t Hardly Wait is a nice reminder of simpler times.

11. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

At the time of its 2012 release, I said this Stephen Chbosky drama-comedy would be unfortunately “overlooked and underappreciated by general audiences.” And it was. Perks is a highly relatable, sharply written, and superbly acted coming-of-age film starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson.

10. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

If you’re like me, it’s been a long time since you’ve sat down to enjoy this Clint Eastwood classic. Or, maybe you’ve heard of it but never watched it. What better time? It takes a little time to ramp up, but once you fall in sync with its dusty rhythm, you see exactly why Eastwood was the western start of his generation.

9. Deep Impact

Everybody still remembers Armageddon, but few talk about that other meteor-destroys-the-world film released just a few months earlier. More grounded and dramatic in nature, Deep Impact stars Elijah Wood and a slew of other recognizable faces (Morgan Freeman again!) as they prepare for what seems to be the inevitable: the near decimation of the human race.

8. The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Certainly not for everyone, but oddly one of Yorgos Lanthimos’ more accessible films, this utterly dark and offbeat thriller has a family (parented by Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman) terrorized—but not in the way you think—by a weird teenager (Barry Keoghan).

7. Road to Perdition

From director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, 1917), this seemingly forgotten film has Tom Hanks playing a mob assassin (yes, and convincingly) who goes on the run—but also on the warpath—to protect his innocent son.

6. The Hangover

A group of friends—oh, and Zack Galifianakis, remember him?—lose their friend in Vegas during a bachelor party and crazy shit ensues. You know the story and you know it’s funny as hell, but how long has it been since you last watched it?

5. The Social Network

David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin join forces to deliver this scathing yet endearing character study of Mark Zuckerberg (played perfectly by Jesse Eisenberg) as he creates Facebook and turns it into the ethically conflicted behemoth it is today. The movie won three Oscars, and likely deserved more.

4. Taxi Driver

This classic Martin Scorsese/Robert De Niro tale of a mentally unhinged taxi driver is well known, but given that it is nearly 45 years old, it’s safe to say a decent percentage of the population has never seen it. Many called last year’s hit film Joker as a “poor man’s Taxi Driver, to put things in perspective.

3. Lethal Weapon 2

All four Lethal Weapon movies, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, land on Netflix on April 1, and all four are worth checking out (random fact: I saw #4 before the previous three). Most would agree Lethal Weapon (the most serious of the bunch) and Lethal Weapon 2 (my personal favorite) are the best of the bunch.

2. The Matrix

Twenty+ years later, The Matrix still stands as one of the best sci-fi/action films of all time, and for good reasons. With a new sequel allegedly coming to theaters in 2021, now’s the time to revisit this instant classic—and, if you dare, its less desirable sequels, which also arrive on Netflix.

1. Minority Report

Back in 2002, director Steven Spielberg released two movies: Catch Me If You Can and Minority Report, arguably the last two, great movies he’s made. Minority Report, which has Tom Cruise on the run in a future where the police can detect murders before they happen, is simply an incredible film—smart, exciting, and incredibly detailed in its depiction of a future where everything you do is monitored.

For more digital & streaming release dates, go here.

By Erik Samdahl
Related categories: Movies

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