Everyone has been watching this week.
Each week, the most popular streamed movies come down to a few things, including buzz, smart marketing and PR campaigns, star power, and a slow burn, word-of-mouth phenomenon that leads people to finally watch it out of spite. To get a sense of what everyone is watching, we used data from streaming aggregation Reelgood, which gathers those coveted viewership numbers from hundreds of streaming services in the U.S. and UK.
This week, The Batman began streaming on HBO Max. People are going back to the beginning of the Fantastic Beasts series now that The Secrets of Dumbledore is in cinemas.
A lot of people are watching something. Here they are, the 10 most streamed films of the week, where to watch them and what critics thought.
Robert Pattinson's Batman pulls its punches. Credit: Jonathan Olley/™ & © DC Comics
The Batman sees Bruce Wayne going back to his early days as the caped avenger against The Riddler, a serial killer who made the Dark Knight series a success. The cast includes Colin Farrell as The Penguin, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey Wright as Lt. Gordon, and Zo Kravitz as Cat Woman.
We thought it would be a bad idea to tell you The Batman is studded with stars, action, comic book characters, real-world parallels, gorgeous cinematography, and grit-teeth seriousness. It is not exciting or fun. It was not a ride, but a chore. Considering all the stories that might be told with these characters, the truly daring possibilities it scratches at dwarfs the film it actually is.
The Batman is on the streaming service.
Bon voyage. Credit: 20th Century Film Corporation
Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in this adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel of the same name. The story is centred on a death on the Nile. This one has a big cast and lots of twists.
When Death on the Nile is not making amusingly bad choices, it is swimming in bloated sequences or repeating the same point enough to make you sick. I found that this whodunnit isn't hard to figure out. I had it solved before the end of act one, which left me little to do the rest of the movie.
Death on the Nile is now available to watch.
It is not something we would advise against selling at a garage sale, it is the new spy movie with Chris Pine and ThandiweNewton. Pine plays Henry, a man who is investigating his ex-lover for possibly being a double agent. They worked as CIA intelligence officers back in the day and were unable to stop a terrorist attack, and the real truth will be revealed in the most classic of forms: flashbacks.
All the Old Knives can be watched on Amazon Prime Video.
Remember the whole teeth re-edit? Credit: Paramount Pictures
Chances are you will find it if you are watching Sonic the Hedgehog for any other reason than Jim Carrey. Carrey's run as Doctor Robotnik keeps this movie from using up all its lives, and with the sequel hitting theatres now with added actor, it will be even funnier.
If you're a Sonic fan, you'll probably walk away disappointed if you want some deep cut references or something that appeals to your developed tastes and critical thinking. If you are looking for a fun movie full of heart and great characters, you will probably walk away disappointed, because this movie feels empty even if it is pretty.
You can watch Sonic the Hedgehog on Paramount+.
Well? Choose! Credit: CURSR FILMS LIMITED 2022
Iola Evans and Sex Education's Isa Butterfield are going up against a cursed video game that torments its players with some Saw-style scenarios that they have to complete in order to stay alive. It looks like a fun weekend watch, but probably one to avoid if you are squeamish.
Choose or Die is available on the internet.
We called it "The worst Harry Potter movie yet." Eep. Credit: Warner Bros
Fans of the Harry Potter movies have been going back to see what happened in the previous movies after seeing The Secrets of Dumbledore. Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, and Dan Fogler play the same group of characters in The Crimes of Grindelwald as in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them. The reviews of this one are not great.
Crimes of Grindelwald feels half-assed on every level, from the character motivations to the world-building. There is nothing special about this version of Paris; you can find a more magical depiction of the city on a 99-cent postcard. Our returning heroes feel less familiar than they did when they were introduced in the last film, thanks to a rash of baffling decisions.
You can watch Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald on the internet.
Back to the start. Credit: Warner Bros. / Jaap Buitendijk
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them introduces us to Newt Scamander, a magizoologist, in New York in the 1920s, who is trying to get back some magical animals that he accidentally let loose. Expect a lot of twists.
The film pulls off a truly thrilling surprise in the final moments, one that suggests future instalments could be fairly exciting. It can't figure out what it wants to be as a movie. It may be enough for a moderately fun night out for many superhero fans. Fantastic Beasts could have used a bit more magic for Potter fans who are used to getting a little more depth with their thrills.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them can be watched on the internet.
Walker Scobell and Ryan Reynolds in "The Adam Project." Credit: Netflix
Ryan Reynolds is on top of his game in Shawn Levy's The Adam Project, a time-travelling family adventure about a man who is forced to journey back in time, joining forces with his dad and his younger self in a chaotic attempt to avert future catastrophe. The real star of the show is 12-year-old Walker Scobell, who plays young Adam with a perfectly dry sarcasm that makes him an easy sparring partner for his older self.
What we thought: Plot holes and worldbuilding are not important in this neat 100 movie that is worth a watch.
The Adam Project is available on the internet.
People watched "The Passion of the Christ" over Easter. Credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock
It has been Easter weekend so it is not a total surprise that the film is an unexpected entry. Monica Belluci plays Magdalen, Maia Morgenstern plays Mary, and Luca Lionello plays Judas in The Passion of the Christ, a film by Mel Gibson. The film is pretty much what you would expect.
The Passion of the Christ can be watched on Prime Video.
People still can't get enough of "CODA." Credit: Apple TV+
It was the film that took home Best Picture at the Oscars, and it was also the first film to feature a cast of people with deafness. CODA is a film written and directed by Si Heder, who is also the Best Supporting actor winner.
The plot is adapted from the French film La Famille B9lier, which stands for Child of Deaf Adults. Ruby helps her father and brother on their fishing boat in the setting of rural France that CODA trades for Gloucester, Massachusetts. Much of the film's dialogue is in American Sign Language, and she acts as the family's interpreter.
Thanks to excellent performances and Heder's sharp writing and direction, CODA rises above any possibility of triteness to become a moving, heartwarming, and deeply satisfying film.
CODA is available on Apple TV+.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
