Each week in BuRStS, if you haven’t caught on, the lead is the movie we’d recommend buying and then everything else. So, while we’re leading with Miles Ahead, the movie everyone will be interested in (not necessarily buying though) is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice which packs in 30 more minutes to a movie about half the people didn’t care for in its original form. So, maybe it’ll be… better? Yeah because they always leave out the good parts of a two and a half hour movie and save them for the DVD. There’s other stuff coming out this week, too. Don’t believe me? Read on and see MHT’s recommendations on what to buy, rent, stream and skip for the week of July 19th:
Miles Ahead —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: Miles Davis reimagined (as a gun toting gangsterish type.)
Why Buy?
You think Don Cheadle is an amazing actor and can’t wait to see what he does with the essence of Miles Davis.
Why Rent?
You’re a fan of biopics but not sure how you feel about a partly fictional tale being interspersed with the real story of Miles Davis.
Why Stream?
You just finished binge watching House of Lies (which is an amazing show) and want to gorge on Don Cheadle features.
Why Skip?
You’re lame.
MHT Verdict: Buy it!
Cheadle’s directorial début feels like a labor of love and his always on point acting and portrayal of Miles Davis is one to behold. The twists of fantasy and reality make for an interesting ride, too.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: The son of Krypton vs. the bat of Gotham… for about 10 minutes. Then there’s this whole other movie which, honestly, is weak.
Why Buy?
You are a DC fan boy.
Why Rent?
You love Batman in any shape, size or Affleck. You love Superman, even when he’s portrayed as Jesus.
Why Stream?
You aren’t that thrilled about Batman or Superman but damn if you’re going to miss the debut of Wonder Woman!
Why Skip?
You are a Marvel guy or gal through and through.
MHT Verdict: Rent it!
It would have been stream it but that extra 30 minutes of footage turns up the level of curiosity high enough to make it worthy of a rental.
Elvis & Nixon —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: Elvis & Nixon together again… for the first time. Well, not really the first time. It’s just a retelling of the first time. And it’s mostly made up. We think. Maybe.
Why Buy?
You hear Michael Shannon as Elvis and Kevin Spacey as Nixon and immediately wonder where do you sign.
Why Rent?
You’ve seen the trailer and can’t imagine it being a little bit funny.
Why Stream?
You’ve seen the trailer and can’t imagine it being a little bit funny… and then you remember K-Pax.
Why Skip?
You’ve left the building.
MHT Verdict: Stream it!
It was entertaining to watch even though it wasn’t great.
Kill Zone 2 –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: Dirty cops, prison riots and black market organ transplants.
Why Buy?
You are a big fan of Kill Zone.
Why Rent?
You’ve seen Kill Zone and it was good enough to make you want to see a sequel (which apparently is more of a spiritual sequel.).
Why Stream?
You’ve heard of Kill Zone.
Why Skip?
You said, “There was a Kill Zone?” when you saw there was a Kill Zone 2.
MHT Verdict: Skip it!
We’ve lived this long without seeing Kill Zone, it won’t kill us to skip Kill Zone 2.
My Best Friend –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: A girl and a horse. Wait, wasn’t there one of these movies released two weeks ago?
Why Buy?
You love horses.
Why Rent?
You are super excited to see a movie about a girl and a horse which doesn’t feature a bit role for Joey Lawrence.
Why Stream?
You are super excited to see they still have roles for the original Daisy Duke.
Why Skip?
You never look a film horse in the mouth. (Yeah! I recycled the same lame joke. They recycled the same lame storyline for a movie. Blame them!)
MHT Verdict: Skip it!
No matter how many times you release a movie about a girl and her horse, we’re probably going to recommend skipping it.
Outatime –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: A documentary about the original DeLorean Time Machine featured in Back to the Future. Really! I can’t make this shit up.
Why Buy?
You’re so insanely into Back to the Future, this sounds interested.
Why Rent?
You dig documentaries more than the average person.
Why Stream?
You think the idea is odd but it’s late and you’ve already finished binging Orange Is the New Black so why not.
Why Skip?
You are going to make like a tree and get out of here.
MHT Verdict: Stream it!
You have to give it a little bit of time to see if it catches your interest, right?
A Perfect Day –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: A day in the life of a group of badass war zone rescue workers.
Why Buy?
You are all about Benicio del Toro.
Why Rent?
You are a fan of movies that are popular with critics but not as well received by audiences.
Why Stream?
You love to stream artsy flicks.
Why Skip?
You’re a night person.
MHT Verdict: Stream it!
From most accounts, the scenes featuring del Toro and Robbins are strong enough to carry the viewer through.
The Perfect Match —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: A playboy meets a girl who makes him want to settle down but then finds out she’s settling down with someone else and he’s her one last fling.
Why Buy?
You love low budget Afrocentric dramas.
Why Rent?
You like a flimsy plot wrapped around some pretty steamy scenes between the two co-stars.
Why Stream?
You remember that one guy from Clueless and Scrubs and think he’s kind of funny.
Why Skip?
You’re too busy with your own playboy lifestyle.
MHT Verdict: Stream it!
While it was nothing to write home about, on a day lacking entertainment, The Perfect Match would be a perfect fit.
Rio, I Love You –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: 10 short love stories based in Rio.
Why Buy?
You enjoy anthology films and was a fan of the previous two films in the series based in Paris and New York.
Why Rent?
You’re a sucker for a good love story so why not 10!
Why Stream?
You need entertainment and this one has 10 chances to entertain you.
Why Skip?
You have enough trouble concentrating on one story so how can you be expected to concentrate on 10?
MHT Verdict: Skip it!
All set to put this one on the viewing side of things, after a quick review of the film on Rotten Tomatoes where it currently holds a 9% Tomatometer and a 9% audience score, it might be best to pass on this one completely.
Underdogs –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: A foosball player must learn to play soccer to save his village and the foosball pieces come to life to help him. Oh, it’s animated, too!
Why Buy?
You have children and they won’t stop watching whatever their favorite movie to watch right now is and maybe this will spare you a viewing or two of the other.
Why Rent?
You’ve always hoped the pieces from one of the games you played as a kid would come to life so this looks pretty neat.
Why Stream?
You are in the mood for an animated movie you’ve never seen.
Why Skip?
You don’t give Underdogs a shot in hell to entertain you.
MHT Verdict: Stream it!
If you’re into animated movies, it might be ok… I guess.