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. Still deciding what to knock off your to-watch list this week? Don’t worry; we’ve pulled together our list of the best movies to stream by the end of April.
From horror thrillers like Bram Stoker’s Dracula to classic action movies like Bloodsport and The Rock, there’s plenty of great entertainment to choose from.
Here are the 12 best movies you need to watch before they leave streaming at the end of April.
Image: Cannon International
If martial arts movies are celebrations of bodies in motion, there are few better examples than the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Bloodsport. Van Damme plays U.S. Army Captain Frank Dux, a skilled martial artist who is invited to an underground fighting tournament in Hong Kong. When he is not given permission by his superiors to attend, Dux simply goes anyway, resulting in 1) two army investigators (including Forest Whitaker) pursuing him to Hong Kong; 2) Dux falling for a journalist (Leah Ayres) investigating the tournament; and 3) Dux fighting a lot of dudes.
Purportedly based on the apocryphal accomplishments of the real Frank Dux, 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. Be prepared for many, many impressive instances of JCVD doing the splits. —Pete Volk
Bloodsport leaves HBO Max on April 30.
Image: Universal Pictures
Douglas Sirk’s 1959 drama Imitation of Life follows the story of Lora (Lana Turner), an aspiring actor and single mother, her Black live-in housekeeper Annie (Juanita Moore), and their young daughters Susie and Sarah. As Lora struggles to build her career, Annie finds herself heartbroken by the relationship with her daughter, who struggles with her identity and wants to pass for white. 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
Imitation of Life leaves Criterion Channel on April 30.
Photo: Universal Pictures
A silly cape comedy about a group of minor superheroes who have to save the day when a Superman stand-in (Greg Kinnear) goes missing, Mystery Men is a surprisingly sharp critique of the intersection of capitalism and superhero culture that is also not above a few fart gags. 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 Men leaves Peacock on May 1.
Image: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
A classic Michael Bay flick and a classic ’90s action movie, The Rock stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Ed Harris at their respective over-the-top bests in an Alcatraz-set action thriller. When a group of rogue Marines led by a charismatic general (Harris) steals chemical weapons and takes control of the iconic prison island, the FBI sends its top chemical weapons expert (Cage) and a former MI6 agent (Connery) in to save 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 Rock leaves Amazon Prime Video on April 30.
Bruce Willis stars in Terry Gilliam’s 1995 sci-fi film 12 Monkeys as James Cole, a prisoner of the state in the year 2035, who is sent back in time to prevent a human-made virus from devastating humanity. 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 Jetée and the subject of an infamous lawsuit between Universal Pictures and architect Lebbeus Woods, 12 Monkeys is a thrilling apocalyptic drama with a gut-punch of an ending that will leave audiences reeling. —TE
12 Monkeys leaves Peacock on May 1.
