20 Best Movies New to Streaming in April: ‘The Batman,’ ‘Her’ and More

Warner Bros. has not yet officially announced what exact date Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” will show up on HBO Max, but most fans are pointing to April 19 as that aligns with the studio’s 45-day theatrical window. The studio would not confirm a date when asked by Variety, but it did offer up the 45-day window for guidance on when “The Batman” will start streaming. The comic book tentpole, starring Robert Pattinson in the title role, has earned over $330 million in the U.S. and over $675 million at the worldwide box office. Variety film critic Peter Debruge raved about the film, writing, “This grounded, frequently brutal and nearly three-hour film noir registers among the best of the genre, even if — or more aptly, because — what makes the film so great is its willingness to dismantle and interrogate the very concept of superheroes.”

Richard Linklater returns to the dazzling rotoscope animation style of “A Scanner Darkly” and “Waking Life” in “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood,” a fantastical coming-of-age story about the first kid to walk on the moon. From Variety’s review: “‘Apollo 10 1/2′ is above all a nostalgia trip for Americans who sat glued to their televisions as the country made one of its greatest scientific achievements. (Depending on just how autobiographical it is, the film suggests that Linklater spent the afternoon at the nearby AstroWorld amusement park, only to fall asleep in front of the TV while Armstrong made his moon walk.) But it’s also a teleportation device for those who weren’t there, loaded with everyday details about what life was like — the kind of observations that made the director’s ‘Boyhood’ resonate so strongly with millennial audiences.”

Oliver Stone’s 1999 sports drama “Any Given Sunday” follows the ups and downs of a once-great American football dynasty from the perspectives of the head coach, the players, the executives and the agents. The ensemble cast includes Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx, James Woods, LL Cool J and more. Variety called “Any Given Sunday” a “rambunctious, hyperkinetic, testosterone-and-adrenaline-drenched look at that American obsession known as professional football… Deftly combining brain and brawn in the film’s use of the modern gladiatorial arena as a staging area for various bigger dynamics operating in contemporary  society and business life, Oliver Stone mixes right-minded takes on innumerable issues with his recently developed helter-skelter style on his way to making his most accessible and purely enjoyable film in years.”

“Spike Jonze’s fourth feature offers a singular, wryly funny and subtly profound consideration of our relationship to technology,” reads Variety’s review of “Her.” Joaquin Phoenix stars as a man in near-future Los Angeles who begins a relationship with an artificially intelligent virtual assistant, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. “Her” was nominated for five Oscars, including best picture, and Jonze won the Academy Award for original screenplay. The review adds: “A truly 21st-century love story, Jonze’s fourth directorial feature (and first made from his own original screenplay) may not be Middle America’s idea of prime date-night viewing, but its funky, deeply romantic charms prove irresistible as the film embraces the hipness of Jonze’s earlier work with some cross-pollination to the sci-fi/fantasy crowd.”

Christopher Nolan’s cerebral blockbuster “Inception” returns to Netflix this month. Leonardo DiCaprio leads the cast as a grieving widower tasked with infiltrating the subconscious of a billionaire to perform a dream heist. From Variety’s review: “If movies are shared dreams, then Christopher Nolan is surely one of Hollywood’s most inventive dreamers, given the evidence of his commandingly clever ‘Inception.’ Applying a vivid sense of procedural detail to a fiendishly intricate yarn set in the labyrinth of the subconscious, the writer-director has devised a heist thriller for surrealists, a Jungian’s ‘Rififi,’ that challenges viewers to sift through multiple layers of (un)reality. As such, it’s a conceptual tour de force.” The film is also streaming on HBO Max.

DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” is easily one of the most exhilarating family movies of the 2010s. Jay Baruchel voices a Viking teenager who befriends the kind-hearted dragon that he’s supposed to slay in order to be accepted into his Viking tribe. Variety critic Peter Debruge raved about the film upon release, praising its “dazzling use of animation” and thrilling action sequences. Debruge added, “Equally noteworthy is the look of the film, which features lighting unlike that of any other CG-animated toon, courtesy of visual consultant Roger Deakins, whose aesthetic favors heavy shadows and live-action-style effects created by virtual bonfire and torchlight.”

Steven Spielberg’s World War II drama “Saving Private Ryan” is regarded as one of the greatest war movies of all time. Nominated for 11 Oscars and winning five prizes, including best director, the film stars Tom Hanks as a United States Army Rangers Captain who leads a squad through Europe in search of a paratrooper who is the last surviving brother of four. “A searingly visceral combat picture, Steven Spielberg’s third World War II drama is arguably second to none as a vivid, realistic and bloody portrait of armed conflict, as well as a generally effective intimate drama about a handful of soldiers,” Variety’s review reads. “Whatever else there is to say about the picture, what remains in the mind is the transforming fear, the sound of ammunition ripping into flesh and metal, the sight of bodies being blown apart, the relentlessness of the pressure and tension, the immense suffering, the feeling of always being on the brink.”

Jeremiah Zagar’s sensitive coming-of-age drama “We the Animals” is one of the most overlooked indie gems of the last decade. Based on the novel by Justin Torres, the film is grounded in the perspective of a young boy growing up in upstate New York as he uses his imagination to make sense of his developing masculinity. From Variety’s rave review: “Jeremiah Zagar’s sensitive and richly evocative cinematic reimagining of Justin Torres’ poetic novel plays like a puertorriqueño ‘Moonlight.’ Zagar doesn’t invent a form so much as reverse-engineer what has emerged in recent years as a new kind of poetic norm. Picture the gritty, 16mm texture of David Gordon Green’s ‘George Washington,’ the woozy, fragmentary glimpses of idealized youth seen in Terrence Malick’s ‘The Tree of Life,’ and the ecstatic swell of music and occasional touches of magic realism borrowed from Benh Zeitlin’s ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild.’”

Dan Gilroy’s “Nightcrawler” features one of Jake Gyllenhaal’s greatest performances. The actor stars as Louis Bloom, a seedy freelance journalist who gains attention from a local Los Angeles news network after he starts recording violent events late at night. But not everything about Louis’ methods are ethical. From Variety’s review: “As a gonzo freelance news cameraman prowling for the goriest, grizzliest scoops he can find, Jake Gyllenhaal gives such a buggy, twitchy performance that — with his sunken cheeks, bulging eyes and greasy hair — he resembles some Cronenbergian mutant in an intermediate stage of transformation. He’s the main attraction in ‘Nightcrawler,’ a cynical, sick-soul-of-Los-Angeles movie that announces itself as a ‘Medium Cool’ or ‘Network’ for the TMZ era.”

Before Rian Johnson became a franchise director with “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “Knives Out” and its upcoming sequel, he directed the hard-hitting action thriller “Looper.” The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an assassin who must confront the future version of himself (Bruce Willis) who’s been sent into the past to kill his younger self. As Variety critic Peter Debruge wrote in his review, “A time-travel twister that pits a ruthless hit man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) against his future self (Bruce Willis), ‘Looper’ marks a huge leap forward for Rian Johnson. His grandly conceived, impressively mounted third feature shows a giddy, geeky interest in science-fiction, then forces it into the back seat and lets the multidimensional characters drive. In a genre infamous for loose ends, this thinking man’s thriller marshals action, romance and a dose of very dark comedy toward a stunning payoff.”

“‘Eyes Wide Shut’ may have trouble living up to all the extreme and diverse expectations viewers may have for it. But after all the curiosity and attendant hype wash away, what one is left with is a riveting, thematically probing, richly atmospheric and just occasionally troublesome work,” reads Variety’s review of Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 erotic psychological drama, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as a married couple come undone by the revelation of the wife’s affair. “The film represents an arresting mixture of imposing stateliness with a sometimes breathtaking intimacy. Kubrick’s trademark tracks and Steadicam shots and magisterial use of music coexist with deliberately (and beautifully) grainy images, often backed by flared source lights, that sometimes recall the Dogma 95 look of a film such as ‘The Celebration.’”

Tomas Alfredson’s “Let the Right One In” is a slow-burn horror movie about a bullied 12-year-old boy in 1980s Stockholm who develops a friendship with a mysterious young girl who just happens to be a vampire. From Variety’s review: “Calling to mind the work of Anne Rice and Stephen King, this atmospheric adaptation of Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist’s bestseller is well directed by his countryman Tomas Alfredson. Although plot centers on two 12-year-old outcasts who become soulmates, it’s definitely not for kids. The project’s distinctive mix of horrific and heartwarming,  along with haunting production design, make it a singular entry in the vampire movie canon.”

Craig Zobel’s nerve-shredding psychological thriller “Compliance” is based on the true story of a man who posed as a police officer over the phone and convinced a restaurant manager to carry out unlawful procedures on an employee. Ann Dowd delivers one of her greatest performances as the manager come undone in the pressure cooker of this psychological mind game. From Variety’s review: “In taut, gripping and deeply disturbing fashion, writer-director Craig Zobel measures the depths to which rational individuals will sink to obey a self-anointed authority figure in ‘Compliance.’ Based on a series of real-life prank calls reported at fast-food restaurants nationwide, this stealth psychological horror film is at once tough to turn away from and, by design, extremely difficult to watch as it grimly assesses the human capacity for sheep-like naivete under duress.”

Wes Anderson’s coming-of-age comedy “Rushmore” served as his directorial breakthrough in 1998. Jason Schwartzman plays an eccentric 15-year-old who befriends a rich industrialist (Bill Murray, in his first of many collaborations with Anderson). The two share a deep love for the same woman: an elementary school teacher named Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). From Variety’s review: “A wickedly funny high school comedy for most of its running time, ‘Rushmore’ is a bracingly fresh and original work from Wes Anderson. This tart tale of an audaciously clever prep school kid going over the edge because of an infatuation with a beautiful teacher has all the makings of a cult hit…its somewhat brainy humor and serious take on the implications of its characters’ malicious activities set it apart from standard-issue teen comedies.”

David Gelb’s 2011 documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” is the story of Jiro Ono, an elderly sushi master who is the owner of the Michelin three-star restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro. The establishment is a 10-seat restaurant in a Tokyo subway station, and yet Jiro built it into one of the world’s most revered sushi hot spots. From Variety’s review: “An appetizing portrait of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, the oldest chef to win three Michelin stars, the is as clean and tasteful as one of its subject’s creations….it’s frequently, perhaps too often, punctuated by mouthwatering closeups of Jiro’s creations, which they lay on a plate for diners one by one, like jewelers laying out engagement rings on velvet, making the film an agony to watch on an empty stomach.”

With Nicolas Cage’s meta-comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” opening in theaters this month, it could not be a better time for “Con Air” to hit streaming. The 1997 action movie stars Cage as a paroled former Army Ranger who works with authorities to retake the eponymous airplane after a prison break occurs onboard. From Variety’s review: “Apart from not knowing to quit while it’s ahead, ‘Con Air’ provides quite an exciting flight. Cooly written and cast, and shrewdly positioned dramatically to exploit both the allure of lawlessness and the appeal of virtue, this first official solo effort by producer Jerry Bruckheimer is a sure-fire commercial hit.”

As rumors continue to swirl that Tim Burton and Michael Keaton will reunite for a second “Beetlejuice” movie, the original comes to streaming this month on HBO Max. The 1998 supernatural comedy classic stars Keaton as a bio-exorcist boogeyman who helps a ghost couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) menace the human tenants who have moved into their home. From Keaton’s larger-than-life performance in the title role to Winona Ryder sulking it up as the emo human daughter Lydia, “Beetlejuice” is jam-packed with many of the qualities that Burton fans love most. The spectacular and eye-popping creature make-up is alone one of the crowning achievements in Burton’s filmography.

Harry Sanborn (a devilish and disheveled Jack Nicholson) is a record label executive whose predilection for younger women precedes him. Harry’s current relationship with the beautiful auctioneer Marin (Amanda Peet) is thrown into comedic disarray after he meets and falls for her playwright mother, played in an Oscar-nominated performance by Diane Keaton. As always is the case in Nancy Meyers movies, shenanigans ensue when Harry and Marin escape to her family’s Hamptons home only to be greeted by Keaton’s Erica and her sister (Frances McDormand), who are already staying at the house. Meyers might pack on a little too many easy jokes about impotence, menopause and other middle-aged maladies, but she’s got star power in Nicholson and Keaton that’s impossible to resist.

Looking for one of the most exhilarating and visceral action movies ever made? Luckily Gareth Evans’ “The Raid: Redemption” is now streaming on HBO Max. Martial artist Iko Uwais plays a rookie member of an elite squad tasked with infiltrating a high-rise building to take down a ruthless drug lord. The film’s isolated setting clashes with its expansive and bracing action sequences in a way that makes “The Raid: Redemption” constantly surprising and endlessly energized from start to finish. From Variety’s review: “The film manages to create the sensation of a kind of live-action ride, where Evans as conductor modulates the rise and fall of action, and alternates pace and volume, with selected interludes of story to catch one’s breath. The effect is exhilarating for viewers open to the sheer visceral sensation of the physical experience, regardless of one’s predilection toward fight movies.”

Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman hailed “The Survivor” as Barry Levinson’s “best film in years.” Ben Foster stars in the true story drama as Harry Haft, a Holocaust survivor who boxed fellow inmates to survive his days at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Gleiberman’s review adds: “‘The Survivor’ is a Holocaust drama, a boxing movie, a character study and a meditation on guilt. You feel the fervor of Levinson’s commitment. It’s a tougher film than you expect — it maintains the integrity of its journey — and Foster’s simmering performance, at once athletic and anguished, turns Harry into something more ambiguous than a plaster Jewish saint who knows how to use his fists. He’s a pensive bruiser trying to fight his way out of purgatory.”