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In: 1981, Hot Take

Hot Take: Very good, fun, action-packed original with a compelling central character. Iconic. Not great though.

When I was 5, Raiders of the Lost Ark was amazing. It was released the day before my 5th birthday and while I don’t remember when I saw it first, I know it was in theaters and my recollection is having the highest praise a 5-year-old could have for it. I loved the movie and couldn’t wait for more. When I was 15, it was still fun but Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was a better movie and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade had a better story. Still, it was the first and nothing can take that away. In my early 30s, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out and really made me respect what we had with the first three films. Now, with a planned Indiana Jones 5 and an opportunity to see Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen again, I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity. (That and my only new first run feature to see was Kung Fun Panda 3.)Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take, Ranked, Trailers

Now that we’ve moved on from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, what is there to look forward to seeing this April? There are at least 25 24 films slated for release in the month of April and here’s the trailer for all of them, ranked by anticipation:

1. The Jungle Book (April 15th)

The original animated version of The Jungle Book had an estimated budget of $4 million. The live action version in 1994 cost $27 million. This bundle of CGI goodness was shot in downtown LA and none of the film was shot on location so even though there’s no released budget information, another increase of 7 times the ’94 budget wouldn’t be surprising.

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In: BuRStS

In the 8th edition of BuRStS, we will be recommending to buy one, rent two, stream two and skip one. Will it be the 8th from Quentin Tarantino, a remake of a cult Keanu Reeves hit, the random film Reeves is in himself, an Academy Award nominated documentary, a biopic of the man who took on the NFL’s lack of effort to combat head injuries or the Sutherlands in a Western that we’ll be recommending?

Keep reading and find out about the new DVD releases for March 29th:Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: A lesson in knowing your audience and delivering a safe, satisfying sequel. If you were on the fence or didn’t like the original, you’ll probably completely tune out here. It’s nostalgic, warm and fuzzy.

It’s doubtful anyone was waiting patiently for a sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Yet the premise of the sequel and it’s timing make complete sense within the storyline. Unlike Zoolander 2 which was stuck in development hell for years and then crammed the delay into the plot, the gap between original and sequel was deliberate in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (probably a lesson learned from the horrible television spin-off) and worked out well within the story.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: Love parts, hated parts… but really, what were you expecting?

We should have seen the negative critical reaction and subsequent fanboy backlash toward critics after reviews landed with a thud (did you say “thud” or “dud”?) on Wednesday and Thursday for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. After seeing the movie, the overriding thought toward both sides is “what did you expect?”Read More →

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In: To See or Not To See

Can Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice fight off early bad reviews to past $153 million and become the biggest March opening of all time? Is it too late for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 to capture the box office magic of the original? Plus, two musician biopic platform releases to discuss and our fearless box office forecast in the March 25th edition of To See or Not To See:Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: I’d call this feckless sequel a dumpster fire but at least a dumpster fire has a little bit of life to it.

The Divergent Series already had a major problem coming into it’s third film as the YA dystopian landscape is packed with options and, unfortunately, The Divergent Series hasn’t done a great job of differentiating itself from the other YA dystopian offerings. There are too many similarities between The Divergent Series and The Hunger Games and while Shailene Woodley is an adequate heroine, her Tris pales in comparison to Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss. And while the series has more depth than The Maze Runner series, the action and dystopian landscape of The Maze Runner blow away anything The Divergent Series has to offer.Read More →