Quantity doesn’t always mean quality. This week is a perfect example as 10 movies find their way to the home video market yet there is a severe lack of selections worth watching. That being said, Movie Hot Take’s #1 movie of the year (so far) is now available so it isn’t all bad. Though we are subjected to a John Travolta flick that skipped theaters and a Corey Feldman movie that was green lighted. Read on and see what Movie Hot Take recommends to buy, rent, stream and skip for the week of July 26th:
Sing Street —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: A coming of age music-filled tale about a young boy, an ’80s alt rock band and the girl of his dreams.
Why Buy?
You love great movies. You’re a fan of coming of age films.
Why Rent?
You dig movies filled with 80s music.
Why Stream?
You’re not too sure this is your type of movie but everyone keeps putting it in their Top 10 for the first half of the year so why not.
Why Skip?
You prefer to get as little enjoyment out of life as possible.
MHT Verdict: Buy it!
Sing Street is an incredibly well done film with great characters, good music and one you’ll likely to become emotionally invested in. This is the best movie of the first 7 months of the year… maybe longer.
Barbershop: The Next Cut —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: Like the two Barbershop films before it.
Why Buy?
You own the first two Barbershop movies.
Why Rent?
You liked the first two Barbershop movies but not enough to purchase them.
Why Stream?
You weren’t completely sold on the first two Barbershop movies but you found them somewhat entertaining.
Why Skip?
You use a Flowbee.
MHT Verdict: Rent it!
The third installment of Barbershop (fourth if you count Beauty Shop) is more of the same but that’s ok. We missed the characters from Calvin’s and were glad to catch up after all these years.
The Boss —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW-–
Super Simple Synopsis: If Donald Trump were a woman and decided to take on the Girl Scouts instead of the Presidency… and had the ability of developing a heart.
Why Buy?
You love Melissa McCarthy. You can’t get enough bra jokes.
Why Rent?
You think Kristen Bell is underrated.
Why Stream?
You love Girl Scout cookies so much you think you’ll enjoy watching a movie about a knock off brand of Girl Scout cookies.
Why Skip?
You only recognize one person as the boss… Tony Danza.
MHT Verdict: Stream it!
The Boss is an uneven movie with enough laughs to make it worth a viewing but nothing worth going out of your way for.
Consumption –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: A group of friends travel to a snowy retreat in Utah. A secret from one person in the group is revealed and an ancient evil appears that threatens their existence.
Why Buy?
You’re a sucker for micro budget horror films that look like they were shot with your iPhone.
Why Rent?
You’re related to a cast member.
Why Stream?
You don’t know why your streaming service is recommending it because all you watch when you stream are cooking shows but you always listen to your streaming service’s recommendations.
Why Skip?
You’re not a horror fan.
MHT Verdict: Skip it!
Low budget, low quality, low brow horror. No thanks.
Criminal —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: They need the memories of a CIA agent so they stick them inside of a death row inmate who now must complete his mission.
Why Buy?
You can’t get enough Kevin Costner, even if it means watching dreck like Criminal.
Why Rent?
You were so excited to see Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman that now you’ll watch anything she’s in.
Why Stream?
You were so surprised to see that Tommy Lee Jones is still making movies, you need to see it to believe.
Why Skip?
You believe the only thing criminal here is making someone suffer through this movie
MHT Verdict: Skip it!
One of the worst movies of 2016 so far. Costner is cast against type and looks like he’s having a lot of fun but he’s the only one. Even Gary Oldman is terrible in this movie.
Grantham & Rose –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: A 17-year old juvenile delinquent takes a road trip with an 81-year old African American woman.
Why Buy?
You heard about this movie 2 years ago and have been waiting to see it ever since.
Why Rent?
You remember Marla Gibbs from 227 and miss her charm.
Why Stream?
You remember Tessa Thompson from Creed and want to see what she was up to before landing that role.
Why Skip?
You stay away from movies that take two years after being completed to be released.
MHT Verdict: Stream it!
As much as there is going against Grantham & Rose, the trailer looks strong enough to make this worth watching.
Hardcore Henry —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: What are you asking me for? You’re the star of this movie!
Why Buy?
You love video games but aren’t very good at it so you figure you can pop this in when friends come over and fake it.
Why Rent?
You missed it in theaters but thought the first person concept was unique and want to see what it’s all about.
Why Stream?
You’re really bored and left your X-Box at your girlfriend’s house.
Why Skip?
You get motion sickness.
MHT Verdict: Skip it!
This unique concept wasn’t all that great in theaters and probably won’t hold up well converting to a smaller screen. Even if that smaller screen is a 65″ HD television.
I Am Wrath –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: A former Black Ops agent is out for revenge as corrupt cops let the prime suspect of his murdered wife walk.
Why Buy?
You looked through the cast list and saw Christopher Meloni’s name and have been craving something other than Law & Order: Special Victims Unit reruns with him in it.
Why Rent?
You like the idea but noticed the star is John Travolta and know Travolta’s track record isn’t great with these types of movies.
Why Stream?
You were going to skip it but noticed Rebecca De Mornay is in the movie and you don’t remember the last time you saw her so now you’re curious.
Why Skip?
You are peace.
MHT Verdict: Stream it!
Reluctantly, let’s say this one deserves a viewing. It’ll probably be a movie you watch and regret watching but if it’s on an all-you-can-eat streaming service, you won’t feel too bad since all you wasted was time.
River –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: In Laos, an American volunteer doctor tries to stop a sexual assault of a young woman. When the man turns up dead, he becomes the suspect.
Why Buy?
You love tense, high stakes thrillers.
Why Rent?
You remember reading about this coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival and have been curious ever since.
Why Stream?
You love xenophobic flicks where Americans on foreign soil have the entire country out to get them. (Seriously, there’s a whole list of these types of films.)
Why Skip?
You can’t swim.
MHT Verdict: Rent it!
The trailer packs enough intrigue to make River worth seeking out. Rossif Sutherland has received accolades for his performance and the movie was recommended by 9 of the 10 critics who reviewed it on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Zombie King –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: I don’t really want to waste your time pretending this movie has a point. It has Corey Feldman in it… need I say more?
Why Buy?
You’re Corey Feldman.
Why Rent?
You’re a sadistic kidnapper and have new victims to torture.
Why Stream?
You’re trying everything you can to get her to break up with you.
Why Skip?
You read the name Corey Feldman.
MHT Verdict: Skip it!
Not only is Corey Feldman in The Zombie King, he plays the god of malevolence. Really? This was released in 2013 in Germany and Japan. It finally made its way across the U.S. border in 2016. Of all the reasons given to close the borders, the release of The Zombie King in the U.S. might be the first legitimate one.
I always thought the lady was the boss. ?
Or Bruce Springsteen.