[ad_1]
The best new movies to watch on streaming this week include some overlooked gems from 2024 as well as some of the best-reviewed movies to come out so far this year. Movies from all types of genres are available on streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Peacock, and Paramount+, with titles that will appeal to audiences of all ages and tastes.
Jude Law leads a thrilling crime movie with The Order which will hopefully find the streaming audience it deserves after being largely ignored in theaters. After its Hulu release date was suddenly pulled, Cillian Murphy’s latest movie Small Things Like These is finally available as well. This week also sees some bigger 2025 releases with the acclaimed and entertaining sci-fi movie Companion as well as the horror movie Wolf Man. With many more titles, including a remastered classic, it is a great week for streaming.
10
The Abyss (1989)
Available April 13 On Disney+
8/10
- Release Date
-
August 9, 1989
- Runtime
-
140 minutes
-
Michael Biehn
Tage Vibenius
-
Leo Burmeister
Frigga Vibenius
While far from a new movie, James Cameron’s The Abyss is coming to streaming in a new way that allows audiences to see it like never before. The Abyss stars Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as members of a civilian diving team who are recruited by the military to help recover a sunken nuclear submarine. However, when the team goes deep into the ocean, they discover unexpected dangers and a lifeform humanity never knew existed.
The Abyss‘ visually dazzling presentation gets an epic upgrade with the 4K remastered edition of the movie coming to streaming. While the film is often seen as one of Cameron’s most overlooked works, it continues to fan new fans every year who praise it as an underrated sci-fi gem that once again showcases Cameron as one of the best spectacle filmmakers of all time.
9
Wolf Man (2025)
Available April 18 On Peacock
The latest attempt to bring one of the classic Universal Monsters to modern movies has arrived. After the success of The Invisible Man, Leigh Whannell took on an even more iconic horror figure with Wolf Man. Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner star as a husband and wife who find themselves trying to protect their child from a vicious wolf, only for the threat to become much closer than they expected.
Whannell is a terrific horror filmmaker, staging strong sequences while the movie is elevated by the committed performances of Abbott and Garner.
Wolf Man doesn’t quite have the impact of The Invisible Man, with its story lacking the social commentary and the scares not quite as intense. However, Whannell is a terrific horror filmmaker, staging strong sequences while the movie is elevated by the committed performances of Abbott and Garner. It is also an interesting update on the classic Wolf Man design, making it a must-watch for die-hard horror fans.
8
Behind The Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow (2025)
Available April 15 On Netflix
Fans are still anxiously awaiting the return of Stranger Things for its final season on Netflix, but a new documentary can allow them to reconnect with the franchise in an entirely different way. Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a documentary looking behind the scenes of the stage play that serves as a spinoff/prequel story to the original Stranger Things series, exploring the origins of Victor Creel and the Upside Down.
While the play has already been performed in front of live audiences in the West End and on Broadway, this documentary gives a look at how it all came together and the rather ambitious production that was on hand. It is also a thrill to see the world of Stranger Things being recreated in a new form and the early days of Hawkins coming together with actors taking on some of the beloved characters from the franchise.
7
Grand Tour (2024)
Available April 18 On MUBI
- Release Date
-
November 27, 2024
- Runtime
-
129 minutes
- Director
-
Miguel Gomes
-
Gonçalo Waddington
Edward
-
-
Cláudio da Silva
Timothy Sanders
-
A new international title arrives on streaming with a very unique perspective and melding of filmmaking styles. Grand Tour is a Portuguese film from director Miguel Gomes set in 1918 in Myanmar. It follows a French woman named Molly who is abandoned by her fiancé on the eve of their wedding. As he makes a global trek running away from this daunting commitment, Molly follows his trail, visiting different cities and communities around the world.
While the premise might sound like a globe-trotting adventure, it is a much more unique experience than that as it mixes in documentary filmmaking and modern settings to help complete its cinematic celebration of the world and its people. However, the narrative is also charming, with Molly not at all the jilted woman you might expect, but rather a spirited and open-minded woman who excitedly takes on this adventure.
6
The Room Next Door (2024)
Available April 19 On Netflix
One of the most acclaimed international filmmakers working today is back with his English-language debut and a pair of Oscar-winning actors to lead the story. The Room Next Door is the latest from Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton as two old friends who reunite years later after one of them is given a short time to live following a cancer diagnosis.
The movie is essentially a two-hander between the two characters as they share conversations about life and death. Swinton gives a powerful performance as the woman facing death with a sense of philosophy, acceptance, and anxiety that feels authentic. While it feels at times like it could have been staged as a play, Almodóvar’s distinct and vibrant visual style is showcased in some effective ways. It makes for an engrossing and oddly uplifting story of death.
5
The Dark Money Game (2025)
Available April 15 On Max
A new documentary has landed that deals with a topic that has stealthily become one of the most important aspects of American politics in the last couple of decades. The Dark Money Game explores the dark and corrupt world of campaign donations in the wake of the 2010 Supreme Court decision that enabled corporations to give unlimited donations to political candidates from hidden sources.
While the combination of finances and politics might sound a little too dull for some viewers, The Dark Money Game is a fascinating and engrossing look at the modern political world that has been shaped by this decision. The movie looks at how both sides of the political spectrum have become corrupted by the influence a small number of billionaires are able to hold and how it has directly brought about the current state of the White House.
4
Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror (2025)
Available April 18 On Netflix
A new true-crime documentary from Netflix arrives, exploring one of the most notorious attacks in American history. Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror explores the 1995 domestic terrorist bombing that was carried out on the federal building in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh. It explores the incident through archival footage of news reports of the time as well as interviews with some of the people who experienced it first-hand.
The documentary is a gripping revisiting of a harrowing time in American history with some stunning insight from the survivors of the attack who describe their memories of the event. It also deals with the aftermath of the bombing and the FBI investigation that brought McVeigh to justice. It is a moment in American history that a lot of people may be familiar with, but this documentary is sure to offer some eye-opening new information.
3
Small Things Like These (2024)
Available April 15 On Hulu
After his Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy stars in his follow-up movie, a much smaller project that further cements him as a modern acting titan. Small Things Like These is a period drama set in 1980s Ireland in a small village where the Catholic Church is the biggest authority in the community. Murphy stars as a family man and working man who finds himself questioning some of the church’s practices.
Based on the novel by Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These is a powerful look at how people can turn a blind eye to injustice over fear of keeping the status quo. In that sense, Murphy makes for a grounded and compelling hero figure as he gradually pushes back against the silence. It is a reserved and internal performance that is captivating to watch and carries the movie. Though initially meant to be released early this month, Hulu pushed the streaming release date back, with it finally becoming available on April 15.
2
Companion (2025)
Available April 18 On Max
Companion is one of those movies that is best experienced with as little knowledge as possible going into it, so suffice to say it is a hugely entertaining ride with plenty of twists and turns. Keeping things as vague as possible, Sophie Thatcher stars in the movie as Iris, a devoted girlfriend who joins her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) on a getaway with his friends, only for a random act of violence to expose Iris to a dark truth.
Thatcher is terrific in the complicated and fun lead role while Quaid continues his hot streak, coming off of Novocaine.
With horror elements, dark comedy, and some clever sci-fi ideas, Companion is an effective genre blend that stands on its own as a great popcorn movie. Thatcher is terrific in the complicated and fun lead role while Quaid continues his hot streak, coming off of Novocaine. Companion is not just a great sci-fi film, it is one of 2025’s best movies so far.
1
The Order (2024)
Available April 18 On Hulu
8/10
- Release Date
-
December 5, 2024
- Runtime
-
120 Minutes
- Director
-
Justin Kurzel
-
-
George Tchortov
Gary Yarbrough
Many people might have missed the true-crime thriller The Order when it hit theaters late last year, but it is a must-see choice on streaming now. Jude Law stars in the movie as a grizzled FBI agent who relocates to a smaller and quieter community in Idaho to work at the local office. However, he soon finds that the new location is filled with its own complex criminality as he begins to suspect that a string of local bank robberies is actually tied to a group of white supremacist domestic terrorists.
The Order is a gritty throwback to 70s-era crime thrillers with its 80s setting helping to enhance that feel. While Law has been an extremely versatile actor for decades, he gives one of his best performances here as the obsessive cop. Nicolas Hoult also delivers a standout performance as the equally determined leader of the white supremacist group, bringing a chilling, grounded quality to the role.
[ad_2]
Source link