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What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – April 21, 2026 – Send Help, SpongeBob, Primate, Sleepers, Punk’n Heads, Over the Garden Wall, & More!

Mike Spring

By Mike Spring

 on 

What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – April 21, 2026

Whoo, I love a jam-packed week like this! So many great releases, including my favorite graphic novel so far this year, a great creature feature, a few box office hits, and much more! Read on for the full breakdown!

In This Week’s Column:

Send Help (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)

Official Synopsis:

When two business colleagues become stranded on a deserted island as the only survivors of a plane crash, they must overcome past grievances and work together to stay alive. But they’re not in the office anymore, and an unsettling, wryly humorous battle of wills and wits begins in this original, darkly comedic psychological thriller.

The Movie: 

When I first saw the trailer for Send Help, I was pretty excited, because it looked like a fun and twisty survival thriller, the kind of movie I generally love. I was excited, that is, until I saw that it was directed by Sam Raimi. I know that Raimi is kind of a genre demigod thanks to his Evil Dead films and his Spider-Man trilogy, but outside a couple of stand-outs, I find that I generally tend to dislike more of his films than I like. 

And one reason for that is because he always likes to take things too far. Sure, in the case of things like the Evil Dead movies, that excessive gore approach works. But in a movie like Send Help, there are just a couple of scenes where he ups the gore quotient way too high, and it completely took me out of the movie. Like, this is a movie that is clever and interesting and dark and fun and suspenseful… and that’s enough. The action scenes didn’t need to go as far as they did in the way that they did. And I can’t really go into detail, because I don’t want to spoil anything and this is a movie that works better if you don’t know too much about it. 

That all said, I did actually enjoy Send Help quite a bit. Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien are both outstanding, and the film will keep you glued to the screen the entire time. I just wish Raimi had the ability to show some restraint once in a while; if he could have done that, this would have been an A+ film instead of a B+ film. 

The 4K Video/Audio:

Send Help is available on 4K Ultra HD (as well as other formats) and the 4K format works very well for the film. The picture is crisp and clean with razor sharp clarity, and the colors have a nice balance between realism and “pop,” which means that things look vibrant without moving into looking unrealistic. The surround soundtrack also really shines. This is a movie with a lot of ambience as well as action, and it all comes to life here. The sound of the ocean, of the jungle, of wildlife, but then things like the plane crash… they’ll all fill your speakers with nice directionality. The dialogue remains centered and clear, and it’s a very impressive a/v presentation from start to finish.

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: Yes

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants (Blu-ray + Digital)

Official Synopsis:

Desperate to prove themselves, SpongeBob and Patrick sign on to the ghost ship of the fearsome Flying Dutchman, who’s seeking a pure soul to sacrifice and end his eternal cursed voyage. Thing is, the ancient mariner didn’t tell our absorbent adventurer that he filled the sacrificial bill-so Mr. Krabbs, Squidward, and Gary have to mount a rescue! Fourth big-screen blowout from Bikini Bottom features the voices of Tom Kenny, Mark Hamill, George Lopez, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown

The Movie: 

After three previous films, two of which were massive box office successes (one was released during COVID, so it premiered on streaming, but I’m sure it was a numbers hit), a new SpongeBob Squarepants movie was inevitable. 

Now, I’ve always been somewhat SpongeBob-agnostic over the years; my kids loved him, so I sort of got used to him over the years, but I was never a natural SpongeBob fan. I never disliked the show, either, I was just kind of neutral. Some episodes/movies I enjoyed quite a bit, while others felt either “meh” or bordering on kind of stupid. 

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants might be the most narratively cohesive SpongeBob movie yet, and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It’’s crafted fully in CGI this time around, instead of the more traditional hand-drawn style of SpongeBob, which at first I wasn’t sure about. But honestly, the film looks great, and the 3-D CGI style really brings to life the pirate ship and the Underworld and all of the action. After a while it just feels like you’re watching SpongeBob as usual. It’s a lot of fun with a solid story, some great visual gags, clever writing, and a lot of action — of the SpongeBob sort. Maybe there’s a true SpongeBob fan lurking inside of me after all!

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: Yes

Primate (Blu-ray + Digital) 

Official Synopsis:

Lucy’s tropical island homecoming was supposed to be beaches and best friends—not a fight for her life. When her family’s exceptionally clever chimp spirals into a savage rabid frenzy, the night explodes into terrifying chaos. With her father away and no help coming, paradise becomes a prison as Lucy and her friends fight to survive a deadly predator they once trusted. From the director of 47 METERS DOWN.

The Movie: 

I’m not a hard sell for a creature feature movie of any kind. I watch all the giant snake movies and the shark and alligator movies, so obviously I was pretty interested in checking out Primate, which tells the story of a pet chimpanzee contracting rabies and going on the rampage in a family’s remote Hawaiian home.

What I got was even better than I hoped for. Primate is an incredibly fun and suspenseful thriller, with some absolutely incredible animal effects. Honestly, when the movie was over, I had to instantly watch the bonus features to see how they achieved the effects for the monkey because they were so realistic. (It turns out it wasn’t CGI, as I suspected, but rather an elaborate suit combined with a gifted physical performer.) That reality of the interaction between the rabid chimp and the family being terrorized by it gives the film an immediacy and a tangibility that is often lacking in these movies that over-rely on CGI, and I really enjoyed it. As usual, there were a few excessively gory moments that felt shoehorned in and unnecessary, but I’m used to that by now with filmmakers these days.

Primate was a ton of fun and it’s definitely the kind of movie that I can see being added to my list of “I watch these every few years” creature features like Anaconda, Deep Blue Sea, and Eight Legged Freaks. 

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: Yes

Sleepers (4K Ultra HD + Digital)

Official Synopsis:

Four ordinary boys. A harmless prank gone awry. Their childhood innocence forever shattered, they vow to avenge its loss in the haunting drama Sleepers. Sentenced to spend time at a reform school for their reckless behavior, four basically good boys from a bad neighborhood suffer a horrible fate while there. Forced to perform unspeakable acts by the very adults entrusted to watch over them, the young quartet barely survives the ordeal. A decade and a half later, nothing can erase the painful memories. But neighborhood justice, with a little support from a loyal priest, helps even the score.Academy Award-winners Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman team up with international superstars Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt and Jason Patric, along with Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson (Rain Man), in this compelling drama of shocking retribution. Based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra. Own this iconic film on 4K Ultra HD!

The Movie: 

You know how there are those movies that you know about and have always been on your radar, but you’ve never gotten around to watching? Everyone has a handful of those, I’m pretty sure. For me, Sleepers is one of those films. I wanted to see it when it came out, never did, and somehow it’s escaped me seeing it for the past 30 years. Until the new 4K Ultra HD came out from Warner Bros., that is. 

The film tells the story of four young boys in Hell’s Kitchen New York who pull a prank that goes wrong and end up getting sent to reform school, where they’re subjected to torture and sexual abuse by the guards. 15 years later, when two of the now-grown boys encounter the most sadistic of the guards, they murder him in revenge. From there, an elaborate plot is hatched to get them declared not guilty that involves all four of the men as well as the important people in their lives. 

As directed by the great Barry Levinson, Sleepers is an outstanding film. It’s also a very dark film and can be a bit hard to watch at times because the subject matter is so tough, but Levinson does a good job of not sugarcoating things while also not dwelling on the horrible acts that occur. And then there’s the cast. In addition to the names-on-the-poster cast that includes Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Jason Patric, and Dustin Hoffman, the film is also filled with familiar faces such as Minnie Driver, Bruno Kirby, Jeffrey Donavan, Brad Renfro, Billy Crudup, Ron Eldard, Terry Kinney, and Jonathan Tucker. It’s hard to argue with the sheer collection of talent on screen here. 

Sleepers is a powerful movie that’s worth watching, even if it’s not the kind of thing you’re probably going to throw on every Friday night with a big bowl of popcorn. If you’re like me and had never gotten around to seeing it before now, the new 4K release is a great way to rectify that. 

The 4K Video/Audio:

Sleepers is a drama film from 30 years ago, so it’s not like it suddenly looks and sounds brand new, or like it’s a Michael Bay-styled actioner. That said, you will notice more vibrant colors in the brighter scenes — this is a very dark movie, both thematically and visually —  as well as a sharper picture, and good contrasts. There is a relatively active soundtrack (mostly making sure the dialogue is clear and the music sounds good) that also offers up some ambient surround activity to help fill in the soundfield. It’s hard to complain about any of those things.

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: Yes

Die My Love (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Grace, a writer and young mother, is slowly slipping into madness. Locked away in an old house in and around Montana, we see her acting increasingly agitated and erratic, leaving her companion, Jackson, increasingly worried and helpless.

The Movie: 

As somebody who reviews movies (I loathe the term “film critic” and will never use it to describe myself), I’m SUPPOSED to like Die My Love. I’m supposed to rave about it. And, to be fair, there are things in it to rave about. But Die My Love is SO not my kind of movie, and despite all of the talent that went into making it, I can’t say I really liked it. 

Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson play a couple who move out to the country to live in a ramshackle house that Pattinson inherited. They have a baby, and when Pattinson starts to travel for work, Lawrence starts to basically lose her mind. She resents people (including Pattinson and her baby), she speaks honestly in a way that isn’t socially acceptable, she wanders the countryside and sometimes considers violence, and she basically starts breaking down. 

The film is a treatise on postpartum depression, mental health, and the stigma that follows both, and dammit if Lawrence’s performance isn’t absolutely incredible. Pattinson, always underrated as an actor, is no slouch either. But director Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here, We Need to Talk About Kevin) specializes in dark and brooding films with an ethereal quality to them, and her style and my sensibility just don’t mesh. 

Actual film critics have been raving about Die My Love and I can’t say they’re wrong, I can just say that this was not a film for me, despite some incredible talent on screen. 

The 4K Video/Audio:

Die My Love is a pretty standard movie presentation on 4K Ultra HD. We get a good picture and a satisfactory surround soundtrack. Imagery is clear, the print is clean, and everything looks realistic and natural. It’s not the most vibrant color saturation I’ve ever seen, but it seems as if this is how the movie was meant to look to reflect the mundane setting and the action of the film. The soundtrack gives us plenty directional action when needed but focuses mostly on clear dialogue, which is represented well. All in all, a solid effort.

The Bonus Features: 

There are no bonus features on the disc. 

Digital Copy Included: No

Punk’n Heads (Graphic Novel)

Official Synopsis:

This band plays together, lives together…and unfortunately two of them are sleeping together. Whatever, I’m sure it’s fine. Now put on your punk’n mask and let’s rock! Hannah Lipsky isn’t sure what’s happening. She dreamed of becoming a fine art painter, but after breaking up with her girlfriend, she’s suddenly dropped out of art school, moved into a flophouse, and gotten roped into singing in a campy horror-punk band. With costumes. To make things even more complicated, she might be hooking up with her housemate/bandmate/high school crush, Jerry. Wherever this is leading, it’s going to be messy.

Critically acclaimed, Eisner-nominated creators Nicole Goux (Forest Hills Bootleg Society, Pet Peeves) and Dave Baker (Everyone Is Tulip, Mary Tyler MooreHawk) join forces for a raucous and revealing new graphic novel about making music, making mistakes, facing your past, and choosing your future. 

The Book: 

Full disclosure, I’ve become friendly with writer Dave Baker and Nicole Goux through my travels on the comic convention circuit. I mention that because I want to point out that that acquaintance has absolutely no bearing on my next statement: Punk’n Heads is hands-down my favorite graphic novel of 2026 so far!

I absolutely adored this amazing graphic novel. The story is a stylized slice of life comic that follows art school dropout Hannah Lipsky as she reunites with an old friend and joins his band, the Punk’n Heads, a punk rock band that wears customized pumpkin masks as a sort of gimmick. The book dives into Hannah’s psyche and insecurities, as well as focusing on the relationships of her and the people in the band, but also the relationships with people outside of the band. Whether we’re focusing on Hannah and her roommates/bandmates or ancillary characters like Old Bill or the band’s ex-lead singer, Vickie, every character is fascinating and unique. 

The story is told in a fairly straightforward fashion, but there are chapters and flashback scenes that give us some quick history on the characters, plus little visual asides that give you a lot of extra bang for your buck. Writer Dave Baker does a great job of peppering in realistic and endearing character moments like guitarist/songwriter Jerry’s penchant for creative pies and sandwiches and Hannah’s uncle who used to be a matte painting artist, plus bassist Morgan’s obsession with an old comic book (that has a sweet sentimental reason underscoring it.) Add to that Nicole Goux’s incredible artwork, which bridges the gap between a sort of manga-inspired style and traditional indie comic book art. It’s detailed and intricate yet simple and easy-to-follow, and it couldn’t have fit the book more perfectly. 

I was hooked on Punk’n Heads by the third page, and by the end of the book, it had rocketed to the top of my favorite books of the year list. Do yourself a favor and track down this incredible read ASAP. 

The Specs: 

Over the Garden Wall: Will You Take a Peek? (Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Over the Garden Wall is Cartoon Network’s first animated miniseries event that tells the story of two brothers, Wirt and Greg, who find themselves lost in a strange forest. With the help of a bluebird named Beatrice, they must travel across this strange land in hope of finding their way home. Featuring the voices of Elijah Wood, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Isaak, Christopher Lloyd, John Cleese, and many more!

The Movie: 

Over 10 years after Over The Garden Wall premiered on the Cartoon Network (and had a subsequent home video release on DVD), fans are finally treated to a proper Blu-ray release for the network’s first miniseries event. I’m not sure what led to this release coming out now, but since so many Cartoon Network titles were only ever released on DVD and not Blu-ray — despite the fact that most of their shows that have been put out on home video are geared towards adult viewers — it’s a welcome addition to the home video realm.

Over the Garden Wall is an intriguing 10-part miniseries about two young boys, Wirt and Greg, who get lost in a mysterious forest. On their journey to return home, they meet a bird named Beatrice, a horse named Fred, and a whole host of other characters who help them (for the most part.) It’s part fantasy, part fairy tale, and it evokes past works such as Aesop’s Fables, but also things like The Wizard of Oz.

I was always a little bit cold on the Cartoon Network oeuvre of the last few decades. As they got into weirder and more esoteric material, my interest in their output waned. I can’t say I love Over the Garden Wall, but I can’t say I dislike it either. It’s interesting and different, and it features a great voice cast that includes Elijah Wood, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Isaak, Shirley Jones, Christopher Lloyd, John Cleese, and others. Each episode is also only about 10-11 minutes long, so even though it’s not the fastest-paced story in the world, it doesn’t have time to drag things out too much, either. Hard to argue with that!

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: No

My Neighbor Adolf (Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

In 1960, Polish Holocaust survivor Marek Polsky (David Hayman) was more or less resolved to quietly finishing his days in a rural Colombian farmhouse. After the Israelis captured Eichmann, though, he found himself with a swiftly moved-in next-door neighbor-elderly German Hermann Herzog (Udo Kier)-and Polsky’s certitude that the newcomer is actually Adolf Hitler sets him on a seriocomic quest to prove it. Provocative dramedy from Israel co-stars Olivia Silhavy, Kineret Peled.

The Movie: 

Udo Kier might not be a household name, but in cinephile circles he’s a well known character actor. My Neighbor Adolf was his final role before he passed away, and while it may not be his crowning achievement, it’s certainly a worthwhile role he’s playing: maybe Adolf Hitler. 

I say ‘maybe Adolf Hitler’ because that’s the premise of the film: a Polish holocaust survivor living in South Africa some 60 years after World War II becomes convinced that his new neighbor is a still-alive Adolf Hitler. While this sounds like it could be a Boys From Brazil-type thriller, it’s actually a comedy film, as David Hayman’s Polsky faces off in a battle of wits with Udo Kier’s Hermann — who, again, might be Adolf Hitler. 

I liked My Neighbor Adolf, but if I have one complaint, it’s that the humor is just a bit too broad. The film will make you chuckle occasionally or — more often — smile wryly, but it feels like there were opportunities for the comedy to be a bit sharper and the jokes to hit a bit harder. There’s nothing wrong with some nuance, but it’s a bit of a slow burning film and I think a sharper edge might have made it stand out more. That said, it’s still an enjoyable movie with great performances by the two leads. 

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: No

The Forbidden City (Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

From director Gabriele Mainetti, comes the action-packed tale of two strangers seeking truth and vengeance. Mei arrives in Rome looking for her missing sister and, along the way, meets Marcello, desperate to find his father. Together, they fight through the ruthless criminal underworld seeking answers.

The Movie: 

At first glance, The Forbidden City looks like just another action/martial arts film out of Asia. But quickly, it’s revealed that this isn’t just another by-the-numbers Asian action film. Turns out that not only is the movie directed by Italian filmmaker Gabriele Marinetti, but the movie is not even set in Asia, but rather, Rome. 

The plot is a little complicated to try and boil down here (and frankly, a little more complicated than it needs to be), but effectively, a woman named Mei arrives in Rome looking for her missing sister (who has likely fallen into a human trafficking situation) and meets a young Italian man named Marcello and the pair team up to find her sister and, well, wreak havoc. 

For a movie that’s not made by the usual filmmaking crews that populate Asian filmmaking, The Forbidden City is a dazzling action spectacle. The story might not be incredible, but, man, do these action sequences sing. I would have expected this movie to be helmed by someone like a Yuen Woo Ping or Corey Yuen or even Sammy Hung rather than… [checks notes] an Italian guy. It may not be a masterpiece, but if you love a good high-octane martial arts action extravaganza, definitely check out The Forbidden City. 

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: No

Romancing in Thin Air (Blu-ray)

Official Synopsis:

Movie star icon Michael (Louis Koo, Throw Down) sinks into a depression after being publicly dumped at the altar by his former fiancée. After embarking on a drunken bender, he is found in a mountain forest, lost and barely responsive, by Sue (Sammi Cheng, Internal Affairs), who runs the local guesthouse and is still grieving the loss of her husband, who mysteriously disappeared in the woods several years prior. As Sue slowly nurses Michael back to health and the pair learn more about their shared pasts, they embark on a journey to find catharsis in each other. While best known for his crime and action films, legendary director Johnnie To (Election, Drug War) also directed over a dozen romantic melodramas, and Romancing in Thin Air is one of the very best in its genre: a powerful and moving meditation on loss, grief, and the power of cinema itself.

The Movie: 

I’m not sure why it’s taken Romancing in Thin Air 14 years to receive a home entertainment releases in North America, as the film was something of a success in its native China, but here we are finally with a new Blu-ray release from Radiance Films. The movie, a dizzying romance wrapped up with a tragedy and a meta exploration of fame and love and loss, is hard to put into words. But it was helmed by popular director Johnnie To and stars two big name Asian stars in Louis Koo and pop star Sammi Cheng, so it’s surprising it took so long to arrive.

This is a hard film to classify, and an even harder movie to write about. Heck, I’m not even entirely sure how I felt about. There are parts that I liked, and there are parts which felt a little heavy handed or melodramatic. The second half sees things really pick up and start to move faster, but it’s never the kind of movie where things just do what you expect them to do. Which is a good thing, often, of course, but sometimes a little familiarity is a good thing, too. Ultimately, I think arthouse movie fans will find a lot to like here, but more mainstream audiences might find it a bit too esoteric. 

The Bonus Features: 

Digital Copy Included: No

What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – April 21, 2026 – Send Help, SpongeBob, Primate, Sleepers, Punk’n Heads, Over the Garden Wall, & More!
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