Top Movies of April 2026 Ranked and Reviewed

With another month done, it is time to share my thoughts and ranking of the new April 2026 releases that I saw. April is usually when the big movie season starts to take off with big releases like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Michael, but there were also a couple of smaller films in The Drama and Over Your Dead Body. I thought that this was a pretty good month for movies, as I managed to see five new releases, though there was one, Fuze, that just didn't release here, so I didn't get to see it. I was also too creeped out by The Mummy trailer to watch that movie. With all that said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the five new releases that I saw.

5. Apex

Apex was the worst movie I saw this month, but it was still entertaining. Apex is about a mountain climber who goes on a trip to Australia for isolation. Soon, she finds herself in a deadly game where she is being hunted. This felt like a typical Netflix film, as it is easy to watch and follow, and has an interesting hook. I liked all of the outdoorsy stuff, like the climbing and kayaking in the rivers, which added excitement to the story. In particular, I thought Taron Edgerton was great as this psycho killer, and he is just the right amount of crazy for a film like this. Additionally, the whole cat-and-mouse hunting aspect was pretty well done, with Taron Edgerton chasing Charlize Theron across the wilderness. All the intense hiking and such she has to do to get away adds suspense. However, my big complaint was that there just wasn't enough of the good stuff, since the movie is only 90 minutes and takes 30 minutes to get going. Once it finally gets going, the actual hunting part—which is what the whole movie is marketed around—is only about 20 minutes. I wanted a whole movie of Charlize being chased through the wilderness and just didn't get that. Instead, I wasn't happy with where it decided to go in the last 40 minutes of the movie. In the end, while entirely watchable, this film just didn't have the right amount of the actual chase, which is the entire reason for this movie.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

4. The Drama

The Drama was one that I was a bit mixed on this month. I thought that the movie did a great job of capturing the chaos of wedding planning and the drama that goes along with it. It also tackles the idea of whether you really know the person you are marrying. The story here feels like one of those stories you read about weddings on Reddit, with how disastrous some things get. I also thought the comedy was pretty well done. It isn't like the comedy in a normal rom-com, but it definitely has a dark comedy streak to it. The biggest issue I had was that the main source of conflict was massively overdone. I get that it was a big deal, but it was also from fifteen years in the past, and Zendaya's character shouldn't be treated so harshly because of it. After this reveal, Robert Pattinson and the Maid of Honor character become insufferable. I get that Robert Pattinson would have some things to process, but still. Overall, I've read that a lot of other people seem to really appreciate this movie, and there are a lot of things that work about it, but it is just not my thing, and I just can't get on board with how overblown things get.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

3. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

From a quality standpoint, The Drama is a better film than The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. However, I had too much fun with this movie to put it any lower on the list. This movie just put a big grin on my face from start to finish. I like how we get to see the world of Mario expanded into space with other planets and characters. Bowser Jr. and Yoshi were fun additions to the story, and it was great to see Fox get a supporting role in this film. This movie takes everything that was great about the first Mario movie and just does more of it while also doubling down on the things that were less successful. The movie is full of easter eggs and references that will make any adult Nintendo fan happy. This movie has enough to keep both kids and adults happy. Now I can acknowledge that this movie is a bit creatively bankrupt as it is more focused on references and easter eggs than on telling a cohesive story. It feels like it is just jumping from sequence to sequence to squeeze as much in as it can. I understand why some people are negative about the movie and agree with all of the criticism. However, in the end, I just remember the good stuff.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

2. Michael

Michael is a bit of a middle-ground musician biopic. There are a lot of positives here. For example, Jaafar Jackson is fantastic as Michael Jackson; he both looks and sounds like Michael Jackson and captures his energy and stage presence. As with any biopic, there is a novelty to seeing an artist write and perform some of their most popular songs, and this movie is no exception. We get to see at least a snippet of all of Michael Jackson's best songs. In addition to the musical highlights, I thought the movie did a good job of portraying Michael as an underdog, even though he was the most popular person in the world, as we worked through his separation from his father and his search for his own voice. Superficially, it is entirely watchable, but it feels more like a highlight reel than a throughline story. Every 10 minutes jumps to another major event in his life. Instead of going deep into Michael's persona, everything feels surface-level, just moving to the next thing. Part of it is that there is so much to cover and not enough time to cover it. The movie could have easily been over 2.5 hours and been better for it. Ultimately, this movie was a fun experience with a great lead performance. It feels more like a celebration of Michael's career than a deep dive into his life.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

1. Over Your Dead Body

Over Your Dead Body was a surprise movie for me and ended up being my favorite movie of the month. This is a movie that I didn't hear about until a couple of weeks ago, and it is about a married couple, Jason Segel and Samara Weaving, as they try to kill each other. This movie was a lot of fun to watch. It has a great mix of dark comedy and ultra-violence. Every 20 minutes, the movie changes its perspective and causes the events to go in a new direction, which helps the initial premise from becoming stale. Jason Segel and Samara Weaving are both a lot of fun in this movie. Both bring a good amount of crazy into their performances, but each one's crazy is different. The first part of the movie, with them actively trying to kill each other, gives me Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibes. While it has the over-the-top violence and action, at its core, it is about a couple struggling to maintain the life and spark in their marriage, which I think it conveys very well. You see a huge change in their relationship from the beginning of the movie to the end. Overall, this movie was a lot of fun with great high-energy performances from the leads. I want to see more original movies like this.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+