What’s Streaming This Week (4/20 - 4/27)
Welcome to When To Stream’s Weekly Preview! Every week, we take a closer look at the major film streaming releases scheduled to launch in the next 7 days. As always, release dates are subject to change.
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Here are next week’s highlights:
Monday, April 21st, 2025
PANGOLIN: KULU’S JOURNEY - Netflix
Synopsis: Rescued from poachers, an endangered baby pangolin embarks on a journey back to the wild with help from a devoted human guardian in this documentary.
What we like:
Pippa Ehrlich, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Netflix’s My Octopus Teacher, returns with another heartwarming documentary.
The film follows a man who finds new purpose when he helps rescue a baby pangolin, Kulu, in a sting operation in South Africa.
These Pangolins, Kulu included, look incredibly cute.
What we don’t like:
Pangolins, found in Asia and Africa, may look unassuming, but they’re among the most poached and trafficked animals on the planet. There’s no shortage of evil in the world, but poachers are near the top of our list. Just the worst.
THE RETURN - Paramount+ w/Showtime
Synopsis: After twenty years away, Odysseus washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The king has finally returned home, but much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan war.
What we like:
It’s an English Patient reunion! Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche co-star for the first time since that Oscar-winning triumph, and it's in another handsomely mounted period piece.
Filmmaker Uberto Pasolini has quite the background. He is an Italian count and the nephew of legendary director Luchino Visconti. He conceived the idea for The Full Monty and produced the film, garnering an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. He was married to Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman. Interesting guy.
The film has received pretty strong reviews, with many critics citing the powerful performances of Fiennes and Binoche.
What we don’t like:
Whether it was the generic title, or the lack of interest in an ancient epic poem (it’s based on the concluding chapters of Homer's "The Odyssey"), audiences just didn’t show up to see this in theaters. It looks amazing, we hope it finds an audience now that it’s hitting Paramount+ w/Showtime.
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025
ASH - $24.99 Sale / $19.99 Rental
Synopsis: A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events.
What we like:
Record producer, rapper, DJ and filmmaker Flying Lotus delivers a stylish head-trip in this sci-fi spectacle. FlyLo (as he is sometimes known, not our nickname for him) directed the ‘Ozzy’s Dungeon’ segment in Shudder’s V/H/S/99.
Although he’ll always be Jesse Pinkman to us, it’s great to see Aaron Paul get another lead role in a feature.
We also love Eiza González, who can be seen in next month’s Guy Ritchie action-adventure Fountain of Youth.
What we don’t like:
Though the film received decent reviews, it didn’t attract much business in theaters, earning just over $1M domestically.
HELL OF A SUMMER - $19.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: When 24-year-old Jason Hochberg arrives for counsellor weekend at his beloved Camp Pineway, his biggest problem is feeling out of touch with his teenage co-workers. Little does he know; a masked killer has murdered camp owners John and Kathy and is preparing to strike again.
What we like:
In 2019, Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk met on the set of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and quickly realized they shared a similar sense of humor. Eager to write a film, Wolfhard experimented with different ideas until they both settled on a slasher concept.
The film world premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, where it was named second runner-up for the People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness.
After Thelma, Nickel Boys, and Gladiator II, we’re definitely jumping on the Fred Hechinger bandwagon. Can’t wait to see him in this.
What we don’t like:
We understand you gotta get the stars on the poster, but we wish these fantastic alternate posters, inspired by the 80s slashers Prom Night and Happy Birthday to Me, were more front and center in the film’s campaign:
LOCKED - $24.99 Sale / $19.99
Synopsis: When Eddie breaks into a luxury SUV, he steps into a deadly trap set by William, a self-proclaimed vigilante delivering his own brand of twisted justice. With no means of escape, Eddie must fight to survive in a ride where escape is an illusion, survival is a nightmare, and justice shifts into high gear.
What we like:
David Yarovesky’s English language remake of the 2019 Argentinian action film 4x4. Glen Powell was originally attached to star alongside Anthony Hopkins, but was replaced by Nosferatu.
The star vehicle in the film is a "Dolus", a custom-built Land Rover Defender-based SUV. It was designed and built especially for the film and is now on display at the Volo Museum outside of Chicago.
What we don’t like:
We hate to sound like a broken record…but there is an epidemic of terrible titles for movies. Locked is a generic, unexciting title that evokes nothing. Just a complete lack of imagination.
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025
BULLET TRAIN EXPLOSION - Netflix
Synopsis: When panic erupts on a Tokyo-bound bullet train that will explode if it slows below 100 kph, authorities race against time to save everyone on board.
What we like:
Now that’s a title! We’re not asking for poetry…just give us something that makes us nod our heads and say ‘Yes…we would like to see that bullet train explode.’
The film is a remake of the 1975 Japanese film The Bullet Train, which loosely inspired the 1994 film Speed.
Unlike the original film, production for Bullet Train Explosion received support from the East Japan Railway Company, which provided actual Shinkansen units and railway facilities for filming.
What we don’t like:
We’re irritated by the constant reminder that the US is unable to get its act together and build an efficient bullet trail railway system of its own. Would the US have bullet train explosions? Almost certainly. That we can do.
Friday, April 25th, 2025
BABYGIRL - Max
Synopsis: A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern.
What we like:
Halina Reijn’s erotic thriller made a big splash when it world premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival, winning Nicole Kidman the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.
Kidman went on to win Best Actress from the National Board of Review, who also named the film one of the top 10 of 2024.
After starting slow at the Christmas box-office (probably not the first choice for many families), the film quietly chugged along and grossed over $28M in the US and $63M worldwide. Not a blockbuster, but certainly respectable.
What we don’t like:
The film’s awards prospects petered out pretty quickly. Kidman snagged a Golden Globe nomination, but missed out on SAG and Oscar nods. Not her year.
Kidman's beloved AMC promo, a mainstay in theaters since its debut in 2021, was reportedly removed from the reel played before screenings of the film, possibly to avoid brand association with the film's graphic opening scene. Lame. AMC should be ashamed.
FREAKY TALES - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: In 1987 Oakland, a mysterious force guides The Town's underdogs in four interconnected tales: teen punks defend their turf against Nazi skinheads, a rap duo battles for hip-hop immortality, a weary henchman gets a shot at redemption, and an NBA All-Star settles the score.
What we like:
Talented filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck deliver an ambitious film with four interconnected stories, each taking place at real locations and during real historical events in 1987 Oakland, California.
The film’s stacked cast includes Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Marshawn Lynch, Tom Hanks, and the singer Normani, who makes her film debut.
What we don’t like:
This is the last film released in theaters featuring Angus Cloud, who died in July 2023. The film is dedicated to him.
FRÉWAKA - Shudder
Synopsis: Care worker Shoo, who is haunted by a personal tragedy, is sent to a remote village to care for an agoraphobic woman, who fears both her neighbors and the Na Sídhe – sinister folkloric entities she believes abducted her decades before.
What we like:
Aislinn Clarke wrote and directed this Irish folk horror chiller, which world premiered at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival. Reviews are terrific.
The film title is a phonetic spelling of the Irish Language word 'fréamhach,' which means 'roots.'
The film’s score is composed by an Irish musician who goes by DIE HEXEN, who from the looks of their website, was born to make music for horror films.
What we don’t like:
Yes, we won’t shut up about titles. This is the monkey’s paw coming home to roost. FRÉWAKA is a terrific title we’ll never know if we’re pronouncing correctly.
HAVOC - Netflix
Synopsis: When a drug heist swerves lethally out of control, a jaded cop fights his way through a corrupt city's criminal underworld to save a politician's son.
What we like:
Action director Gareth Evans (The Raid, Apostle) is back for his first feature in eight years.
Tom Hardy is back in smoldering action mode (our favorite), and he’s supported by a terrific cast that includes Forest Whitaker, Timothy Olyphant, Luis Guzmán, and Jessie Mei Lei.
What we don’t like:
Havoc wrapped filming in 2021 and is now just coming out four years later. The film went through multiple reshoots, which makes us nervous. But early word is encouraging!
LAST BREATH - Peacock
Synopsis: A true story about seasoned deep-sea divers who battle the raging elements to rescue their crewmate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface.
What we like:
A feature film remake of the 2019 same-named documentary that Alex Parkinson co-directed with Richard da Costa, which follows a group of deep-sea divers who race to rescue a stranded teammate after an accident.
The film received mostly positive reviews and features a terrific cast, including Woody Harrelson, Cliff Curtis, and Finn Cole.
We’ll shout out our beloved Focus Features again. The division of Universal continues to churn out a steady stream of quality, mid-budget films. Yes, their theatrical windows are short, but at least they’re providing theaters a variety of good stuff.
What we don’t like:
Between sharing a title with the documentary that inspired it, and the similarly titled 2024 shark thriller The Last Breath, maybe a different title would have helped the film stand out a bit more.
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: When a mentally ill young man thinks he witnesses an abduction and the police refuse to believe him, he reluctantly turns to his next door neighbor—a bitter, retired security guard—to help him find the missing woman.
What we like:
Director Duncan Skiles’ follows up his 2018 debut The Clovehitch Killer with this crime thriller.
Jack Quaid tests his leading man skills again, this time teaming up with The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan and kick-ass character actress Malin Akerman.
What we don’t like:
IMDB lists 30 executive producers and producers for the film, which seems like a lot. The more, the merrier!
WILLIAM TELL - $19.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: The narrative unfolds in the 14th Century, when the European nations vie for supremacy within the Holy Roman Empire. The ambitious Austrian Empire, desiring more land, invades neighboring Switzerland, a serene and pastoral nation. Protagonist William Tell, a formerly peaceful hunter, finds himself forced to take action as his family and homeland come under threat from the oppressive Austrian King and his ruthless warlords.
What we like:
Danish actor Claes Bangs takes on the titular role, and we’ve enjoyed him in everything from Ruben Östlund’s The Square to his role as the jerk husband in the Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters.
This handsomely mounted production features a deep bench of acting talent, including Jonathan Pryce, Ben Kingsley, Emily Beecham, and Rafe Spall.
What we don’t like:
After the critical and commercial success of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers films, it feels like this film was cut from the same cloth. But reviews were pretty bad, and the William Tell story just doesn’t have the same swashbuckling appeal.
WINTER SPRING SUMMER OR FALL - $14.99 Sale / TBD Rental
Synopsis: Remi and Barnes, two very different teenagers, meet by chance in the winter of their senior year, then spend four days together over the course of a year that will change their lives forever.
What we like:
This Jenna Ortega romantic drama world premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, and the film reunites her with her Wednesday co-star Percy Hynes White.
Tiffany Paulson makes her feature directorial debut after much success as a screenwriter. Among other things, she co-wrote the script for the 2007 Emma Roberts feature Nancy Drew.
What we don’t like:
Critics were not impressed with the film, as it currently sits at 36% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Most reviews praise the performances, so if you’re an Ortega completist, you won’t want to miss it.
Happy Streaming Everyone!
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