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In: 2017, Ranked, Trailers

The month of March might be the best month for movies in 2017. There are 15 movies — led by Beauty and the Beast, Logan and Kong: Skull Island — that are on the definitely want to see list and another 4 that are on the maybe list. The bottom of the list includes some duds that for some reason — Power Rangers (Nostalgia), The Shack (Octavia Spencer), The Baby Boss (Alec Baldwin) — still feel novel enough to be seen. So, here’s the list of movies headed to theaters in March, ranked by anticipation:Read More →

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In: 2017, BuRStS

With 10 movies to be released on February 28th including this year’s Best Picture nominee winner, Moonlight, it’s a big week in terms of quantity. However, there’s plenty to wait to stream or just plain skip this week with less than half of the releases making the rent or buy list. Here’s what you should buy, rent, stream and skip for the week of February 28th:Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: Actually works better as satire and comedy which is no surprise with Jordan Peele directing. And how often is a horror thriller a crowd pleaser?

Get Out is a well structured, satirical horror flick from half of the dynamic duo that brought us Key & Peele for so many years. It’s great to see both Keegan-Michael Key (who has nothing to do with this project unless you count an uncredited appearance in a photo you’re probably not going to catch) and Jordan Peele (Get Out’s writer and director) flourishing in their post-Key & Peele life. By the time I saw Get Out, it was already a box office phenomenon with an estimated opening weekend of $30+ million. That’s more than 6 times its $4.5 million budget and easily the box office winner for the week.Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: A wreck.

While watching Collide, I couldn’t stop asking myself random questions. Is it over yet? Weren’t they supposed to get completely naked? Why is Nicholas Hoult putting his clothes on if he lost the bet? What won’t Ben Kingsley do for money? Why is Anthony Hopkins yelling at me? Is Hoult not allowed to be in a good movie? How come bad guys with endless streams of capital never hire minions with better marksmanship? Can I still review the movie if I walk out? Will they give me my money back? If I’m the only one here on opening night, how poorly will this perform at the box office? Is Felicity Jones required to have a different hair color/style for every film? Could Grand Theft Auto claim plagiarism? How come an usher hasn’t checked on this theater? How long would it take someone to find me if I passed out from boredom?  Read More →

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In: 2016, Lists, Weigh In

On Sunday, the Oscar winners will be announced. In January, we took a stab at predicting the Oscar nominees and the results were good including predicting 100% of the Best Picture nominees for the second straight year! Last year, we also predicted the winners and nailed 15 of 24 which isn’t terrible, either. Here are this year’s nominees, who will win and who should win:

Best Picture (Predicted 9/9 Nominees)

  • Arrival
  • Fences
  • Hacksaw Ridge
  • Hell or High Water
  • Hidden Figures
  • La La Land
  • Lion
  • Manchester by the Sea
  • Moonlight

Who Will Win?

La La LandRead More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: You’re in and out so quickly, you might not even mind how below average this comedy ends up being. We’re pretty sure Betsy DeVos thinks Fist Fight is a documentary, though.

If Fist Fight proves anything, partnering a funny cast with a generally unfunny script will not achieve high marks. Proven comic actors Charlie Day, Ice Cube (Yes, he’s versatile enough to call him a comic actor… don’t believe me? Watch Friday), Jillian Bell, Tracy Morgan, Kumail Nanjiani, Christina Hendricks and Dean Norris try to carry a one-trick pony (21st century schools are out of control!) to the finish line in this excessively vulgar 91 minute dick joke. Okay, maybe the whole thing isn’t a dick joke but holy shit, there are a lot of dick jokes in this movie.Read More →

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In: BuRStS

The return of BuRStS with a slightly different format. We’ll still list every movie released on home video this week but the format has slightly changed. Now, we’ll start with what you should do and then list the film. Here’s what you should buy, rent, stream and skip for the week of February 21, 2017:

Buy It!

Manchester by the Sea —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—

Super Simple Synopsis: Why Casey Affleck should win Best Actor at this weekend’s Academy Awards.

Why Buy?

It’s a well written drama with enough dry humor to keep you from completely falling into infinite sadness with incredible performances from Affleck, Michelle Williams and Lucas Hedges. Plus, it has the most gutwrenching scene in recent memory. No, not that one. THAT ONE!

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: They made The Great Wall. It’s a huge disappointment… and the audience is going to pay for it.

If you choose to see The Great Wall, realize you are in for an absurd spectacle. Realize this isn’t based on any reality as the scrolling narrative explains at the top of the movie. Realize Matt Damon is the star and he can’t quite decide which accent he’s using from scene to scene. Realize the movie tries to be funny and is funny but rarely when it tries to be. Realize director Zhang Yimou makes spectacular visuals with a flair for the outrageous but couldn’t care less if the story works. Realize the story is the least important aspect of the movie. Realize all of that, lower your expectations accordingly and you should only be slightly disappointed in The Great Wall.Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: Ambition doesn’t necessarily result in good. I’m talking about both the plot and the movie here… I think.

A Cure for Wellness has an enemy. Itself. This movie has a lot of potential. It has an impressive look and feel. There are a few interesting, oddball characters every gothic horror film needs. Wait… Should I call it gothic horror? I’m not sure. Well, that’s problem number one. I guess that’s the best description of the category A Cure for Wellness can be boxed into. Read More →

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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: The sex in The Space Between Us between two adults masquerading as 17 year olds was hotter. Hopefully, this series only has one more movie in its future.

Unless it is a movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, credits signal the right time to get up and go. With Fifty Shades Darker, the end credits song — “I Don’t Wanna Live” featuring Taylor Swift and Zayn Malik — was worth hanging around for. To be honest, the one thing these horrible Fifty Shades of Softcore Porn movies get right are soundtracks. Unfortunately, as the song finished, the credits were interrupted by a scene right out of a horror movie: The promise of yet another Fifty Shades film in 2018 (Fifty Shades Freed). They stuck a damn teaser trailer in the end credits for a movie that inexplicably will make millions.Read More →