13 best movies to watch on Netflix, Hulu, Prime before they leave (April 2022)

May is just a hair’s breadth away, which means there’s a swath of movies to stream before they’re shuffled off of your favorite streaming service at the end of the month. You’re still trying to decide what movie you want to watch this week. Don’t worry; we’ve pulled together our list of the best movies to stream by the end of April.

These neonoir thrillers include Mulholland DriveRomantic comedies such as MoonstruckTo cerebral sci-fi movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindClassic action films like Bloodsport The Rock, there’s plenty of great entertainment to choose from.

These are the top 13 movies that you should watch before streaming ends at April’s end.

Bloodsport

Image: Cannon International

Jean-Claude Van Damme is a great example of martial arts films that celebrate bodies moving. Bloodsport. Van Damme is U.S. Army Capt. Frank Dux. He’s a talented martial artist invited to the underground Hong Kong fighting tournament. Dux refuses permission from his superiors and goes anyway. Dux is pursued by two army investigators (including Forest Whitaker), who then follow him to Hong Kong. Dux also falls for Leah Ayres, a journalist, to investigate the tournament. 3) Dux fights a lot.

Based on the supposed apocryphal achievements of Frank Dux the real Frank, Bloodsport is instead best viewed as an effective display of Van Damme’s charisma, screen-fighting ability, and good looks, and for the incredible performance of all-time action baddie Bolo Yeung as the villainous Chong Li. You can expect to see JCVD do the splits in many different situations. —Pete Volk

BloodsportLeaves HBO MaxOn April 30,

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Image: Sony Pictures

When you think of actors who exude the unearthly sex appeal and monstrous inclination one would expect from the iconic Count Dracula, Gary Oldman isn’t exactly the first name that would leap to most folks’ minds. That’s what makes his performance in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 horror fantasy so remarkable, as Oldman’s out-of-character portrayal of the sullen blood-sucking libertine opposite Keanu Reeves’ performance as the heroic Jonathan Harker makes for one of the most memorable incarnations of the Count to ever be put on screen.

Combined with the film’s gorgeous practical set designs, elaborate costumes courtesy of designer Eiko Ishioka, and some notable supporting performances by Anthony Hopkins and Tom Waits, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is one of the most unique films in Coppola’s highly celebrated body of work. —Toussaint Egan

Bram Stoker’s DraculaLeaves NetflixApril 1.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Written by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, I’m Thinking of Ending Things), Michel Gondry’s quirky sci-fi romantic drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindThe film stars Jim Carrey with Kate Winslet as dysfunctional couples who attempt to erase their past memories following a split. The couple meet again inadvertently, unaware of each others past.

When they’re confronted with this revelation, they are forced to face not only the question of what they mean to one another, but also whether it is better to love and know heartache or never to have never known such a love in the first place. Jon Brion composed a lovely score. Eternal SunshineThis is a surreal and whimsical tribute to love’s persistence in spite of the loss of memories and the presence of grieving. —TE

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindLeaves PeacockOn May 1.

Imitate Life

Universal Pictures

Douglas Sirk’s 1959 drama Imitate LifeThe story follows Lora Turner, an actress and single mother. Annie Moore (Black live-in housekeeper) is also a part of the cast. She and their daughters Susie (Lana Turner) are following her journey. Annie is heartbroken over her relationship with her daughter. She struggles with her identity, and she wants to become white as Lora struggles to establish her career. Told over the span of a decade, Sirk’s final film is a poignant and devastating portrait of love and parenthood at the intersection of race, class, and gender and a stirring work of cinematic storytelling. —TE

Imitate LifeLeaves Criterion ChannelOn April 30,

Legend of the Sword: King Arthur

Warner Bros.

A visually distinct Arthurian adaptation, Guy Ritchie’s 2017 film is unlike any other, for better and for worse. Uther (Eric Bana), who defeats the evil mage Mordred during a huge siege, could be called Lord of the Rings: Lord of the Rings: Lord of the Rings with giant war elephants all. However, Vortigern (a continually smirking Jude Law) betrays him leaving the orphaned baby Arthur (Charlie Hunnam playing adult Arthur). Growing up on the streets, Arthur grows into your typical Guy Ritchie tough guy protagonist (Medieval variant), but is haunted by nightmares of his parents’ deaths. When he pulls Excalibur from the stone … well, you know, it’s King Arthur.

This film is not suitable for all audiences. The movie has a distinct identity thanks to its jarring editing, thrilling use of speed-ramping at the crucial action scenes and an electrifying score. The script is a mess, cobbled together from multiple previous unproduced attempts at an Arthur movie, but the film is truly remarkable in the ways it pushes digital filmmaking’s limits, including some of the best montage sequences in recent Hollywood memory. If you’re willing to have a silly time with an overwhelming visual feast, give it a stab. —PV

Legend of the Sword: King ArthurLeaves NetflixApril 25, 2010.

Moonstruck

Image: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Joy is found in the small moments Moonstruck. For her daughter, a mother makes an egg-in -a-hole. A couple of older people exchange barbs before their conversation turns to eternal love. With his five cute dogs, an old man takes in the sun and basks in it.

Cher, a widow believes that her failed first marriage ended in bad fortune after she got married too quickly. She accepts a proposal from Danny Aiello, but she ends up choosing his brother, Nicholas Cage, instead.

With warm sets that feel lived-in, loving depictions of food (the egg-in-a-hole has since been colloquially dubbed “Moonstruck Eggs”) and romance, hilarious family conversations (“Old man, you give another plate of my food to those dogs, I’m going to kick you till you’re dead!”), and complementary lead performances by an assured Cher and an intense Cage, Moonstruck This is a funny, heartwarming romantic comedy about love, superstition and family. —PV

MoonstruckLeaves HBO MaxPublished on April 30th.

Mulholland Drive

Image: The Criterion Channel

David Lynch’s haunting LA masterpiece blends genres, mediums (it was initially intended as a TV show), dreams and nightmares, and even people for a perfect stew of unsettlement. Naomi Watts is a character who moves to Los Angeles in pursuit of her dream to become an actress. Naomi meets Laura Harring, an amnesiac and attempts to solve the mystery behind her memory loss. One of Lynch’s finest movies and an unforgettable cinematic dream, Mulholland Drive will twist and swerve its way through your mind just like the famous street it’s named after. —PV

Mulholland DriveLeaves Criterion ChannelOn April 30,

Mystery Men

Universal Pictures Photo

Funny cape comedy featuring a gaggle of superheroes that must save the day after a Superman substitute (Greg Kinnear), goes missing. Mystery Men It is a sharp and insightful critique of capitalism, superhero culture, with a couple of fart jokes. With a hilarious ensemble cast that includes Ben Stiller, Wes Studi, William H. Macy, and many, many more, the acclaimed commercial director’s one and only feature film is an absolute riot. —PV

Mystery MenLeaves PeacockOn May 1.

Shrek and Shrek 2,

DreamWorks Animation Photo

The impact of the Shrek films on pop culture today is undisputed. It was a strange movie, very cynical, and completely obvious. You will be fucked to the Disney empire that DreamWorks didn’t even really have faith in, yet it played a major role in shifting the tone in Western animation into edgy comedies. And hey, it’s actually deeply funny! The original feels like a very directed jab at Disney, but the second movie, which chooses the glamor and glitz of Hollywood as its target and thus doesn’t seem as … personal, really shines.

Also, no one needs an excuse to watch the “I Need a Hero” scene. —Petrana Radulovic

Shrek and Shrek 2Please leave Netflix HuluPublished on April 30th.

The Rock

Image: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

A classic Michael Bay flick and a classic ’90s action movie, The Rock In an action-thriller set at Alcatraz, stars Sean Connery (Nicholas Cage) and Ed Harris. A group of rebel Marines, led by Harris, steals chemical arms and takes over the famous prison island. The FBI sends Cage (an expert in chemical weapons) and Connery (an ex-MI6 agent) to rescue the day. Like many Bay movies, hidden under the big explosions and tough-guy machismo is a moving story about forgotten people: in this case, Harris’ mostly sympathetic cause to get money for his soldiers and the families for men who died on secret missions the government won’t recognize. Of course, his sympathetic cause is undercut by his extreme methods, but that’s par for the course for this kind of flick. —PV

The RockLeaves Amazon Prime Video On April 30,

The Town

Warner Bros. Pictures

Ben Affleck’s 2010 American crime thriller The TownThis is the story about a group bank robbers in Charlestown (Boston). Following a successful heist, things become complicated for the group’s leader, Doug (Affleck), when he finds himself falling in love with Claire (Rebecca Hall), the assistant manager of the bank, who they had taken hostage and left unscathed. Doug tries to balance his love for Claire and his obligations towards his fellow heist leaders. FBI Special Agent Adam Frawley, Jon Hamm is determined to find Doug and his team justice.

A host of amazing performances, gunfights and dramatic endings. The Town is yet another stunning accomplishment in Affleck’s career as a director. —TE

The TownLeaves NetflixOn May 1.

Twelve monkeys

Bruce Willis stars in Terry Gilliam’s 1995 sci-fi film 12 MonkeysJames Cole is a state prisoner in 2035 who is returned in time to stop a man-made virus from destroying the world. Accidentally transported several years before the virus’s arrival, James is deemed insane by Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and incarcerated at a mental asylum. Escaping the facility, James must uncover the identity of the leader behind the mysterious anarcho-environmentalist group the Army of the Twelve Monkeys before it dooms the planet. Inspired by Chris Marker’s La JetéeThe subject of a famous lawsuit between Universal Pictures & Lebbeus woods architect, 12 MonkeysIt is thrilling, apocalyptic drama. The ending will shock audiences. —TE

12 MonkeysLeaves PeacockOn May 1.