The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy to Watch This Week
After a quiet release schedule last week, things are picking up again, as more movies hit theatres and shows arrive on streaming platforms. There’s a sleeper hit from last year, and two of the really big winners right now: video game adaptations.
A Minecraft Movie
In theatres April 4
There aren’t many games that have a bigger following than Minecraft. This sandbox game allows you to build pretty much anything you want, a challenge some fans have really taken to heart, going so far as to recreate epic locations from movies like the ‘Lord of the Rings’.
Well now that game has its own movie, titled ‘A Minecraft Movie’, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa. The movie should be a good time for families, but the decision to make it live-action seems to be one of the strangest. It’s a game that’s made for animation, and the stylization needed to bring these blocky characters to life has led to some creepy looking results, second only to the dwarfs in the recent live-action ‘Snow White’ movie.
Death Of A Unicorn
In theaters now
A24 is really growing as a studio, and while I’m not sure this movie is going to be much elp to them in that regard, it’s certainly an interesting release.
The story follows a rich family who accidentally run over a unicorn, and discover that its horn can cure cancer. But there are some secrets surrounding these mysterious creatures, and maybe they aren’t as magical and beautiful as people think.
A weird mash-up of gory horror, comedy, and fantasy, that doesn’t quite hit the mark, if reviews and box office are anything to go by, but at least it’s original!
Mufasa: The Lion King
Now streaming on Disney+
A surprise hit of 2024, ‘Mufasa’ had a slow start at the box office just before Christmas, but held out well over the following weeks, eventually bringing in over $700 million.
It’s a sequel to the 2019 movie ‘The Lion King’, which was itself a live-action remake of the 1994 animated movie, or at least appeared to be live-action, though the entire movie was created using CGI to make photo-real lions.
Now, you can watch it at home, as the movie has hit Disney+, following in the footsteps of the second big Disney hit of last year ‘Moana 2’, so if you missed it in theatres, or want to watch it again, go check it out there.
Devil May Cry
Streaming on Netflix from April 5
Video game adaptations are a big thing now, which is why we’re getting two in one week: one is the ‘Minecraft Movie’, and the other is ‘Devil May Cry’, an anime based on the video game series of the same name.
The show follows Dante, a demon hunter for hire, who holds the fate of the world in his hands, and looks like it will be an action-packed series.
That’s all for another week, but there will be plenty more movies and shows coming out in April, including more video game adaptations, so be sure to check in next week for another round up of the best sci-fi and fantasy on offer.
