Series and movies to watch in April
Your Friends and Neighbours Season 2 (April 3, Apple TV+)
Jon Hamm returns as Coop, the wealthy financier who lives in an upscale neighbourhood in New York and sees his whole world turned upside down when he gets divorced and loses his job. A surprising new avenue of activity presents itself, though, when he decides to simply steal things from his friends’ and neighbours’ homes. Being wealthy, Coop assumes they won’t miss any of it, and thus begins his descent into a world of crime.
In Season 2, Coop is still living off his neighbours – literally – and is intrigued when a new ultra-wealthy neighbour (played by James Marsden) moves in. Things take a turn for the worse, though, when the new addition learns about Coop’s nighttime activities and decides to take advantage of him.
The Boys Season 5 (Prime Video)
It feels like only yesterday we clicked on a trailer and saw Jack Quaid holding the two severed arms of his girlfriend, drenched in blood, having just witnessed her accidental murder by a superhero who could not care less. The Boys rewrote the modern superhero genre, and after five seasons, it’s time to drop the curtain.
Season 5 begins with Homelander at the height of his power. He has subdued the US, declared martial law, and is committed to eradicating anyone who opposes him. Next up? Becoming immortal.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles (April 15, Apple TV+)
Elle Fanning stars as a young single mother who, faced with mounting expenses, decides to make money through OnlyFans. Along for the ride are her mother Shyanne, a former Hooters waitress (Michelle Pfeiffer), and her ex-pro wrestler father Jinx (played by Nick Offerman).
Rounding out the cast is Nicole Kidman, who plays a mediator between Fanning and her college professor, who is trying to get custody of their child.
From Season 4 (April 19, Prime Video)
The jury is still out on this series. The premise is amazing: a town in the middle of nowhere is suddenly cut off from the world, as residents do not dare venture outside at night because monsters attack them.
The first three seasons are looking great so far, but as this series comes from some of the people behind Lost, I remain wary. Famously, they admitted they made things up as they went along, which is of course no way to write a series. Anyway, I’m still willing to give them a chance and can’t wait to watch the new season.
Apex (April 24, Netflix)
The ‘cute, pretty woman is actually a secret badass’ trope is quickly becoming one of the most tiresome clichés in modern filmmaking. But if there is one actress who can 100 per cent convince people she’s the real deal, it’s Charlize Theron.
In Apex, Theron plays an adventurer who sets out into the Australian wilderness but finds herself the prey of a deranged survivalist, played by Taron Egerton. It’s action movie nonsense at its finest, powered by two people who could quite arguably murder you.
Window’s Bay (April 29, Apple TV)
I’m a simple man: if Matthew Rhys is in it, I’m watching it. Sprinkle in some Lovecraftian horror and a little bit of Stephen King and you’ve got Window’s Bay.
Window’s Bay is a sleepy New England town that, much like its elderly residents, is slowly dying. Matthew Rhys plays the town mayor, who wants to put the place on the tourist map and breathe new life into it. Besides geographical seclusion, the mayor also has to deal with the locals, who keep insisting that the town is cursed. When he succeeds and people start pouring in, the mayor realises the locals were right.
Man on Fire (April 30, Netflix)
Starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Man on Fire tells the story of John Creasy long before he became a bodyguard for a cute little girl in Mexico City. Creasy is a former Special Forces mercenary suffering from severe PTSD thanks to his violent past.
Before he can fully rebuild himself, Creasy is dragged back into the kind of brutal world he was trying to escape.