Hopefully, April 18th isn’t causing you too much pain. If you waited until the last minute to file your taxes, I think there might be a chance that the day is causing you more stress than necessary. There’s potentially good news since there are 7 home video releases this week to help you relax. Unfortunately, they all don’t look great. Here’s MHT’s best effort to help find something to buy, rent, stream or skip for April 18, 2017:
Buy It!
The Founder —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: The story of Ray Kroc and how he pulled McDonald’s away from two brothers and expanded it to a billion dollar business.
Why Buy?
There’s at least one reason and that’s Michael Keaton. Keaton is phenomenal as Ray Kroc and how he didn’t find his way into the crop of Best Actor nominees for this year’s Oscars is still a little puzzling. The McDonald’s story is pretty interesting, too.
Rent It!
Split —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: A man with 23 different identities abducts 3 young girls. One of his personalities sits dormant but is about to surface and the lives of the girls are on the line.
Why Rent?
Do you like M. Night Shyamalan movies? If so, this is one of his better films. If not, there’s still James McAvoy’s impressive performance and rising star Anya Taylor-Joy who continues to shine as one of the three abducted girls.
Before the Flood –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: Call it the sequel to An Inconvenient Truth except there’s actually a sequel to An Inconvenient Truth coming this year.
Why Rent?
Leonardo DiCaprio narrates and acts as a guide as the documentary explores the effects of climate change and those who are amongst the climate change deniers which includes corporate lobbyists and U.S. politicians. (Actually, at $8.85 on Amazon, you might want to buy it.)
Stream It!
Ocean Waves –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: Animated Japanese import about a pair of high school friends torn apart by the arrival of a beautiful new transfer student.
Why Stream?
The rarely seen Japanese anime first aired in Japan in 1993. The film was remastered for a theatrical release at the end of last year and is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD. Basically, it’s a classic. How can you not at least stream a classic?
The Watcher –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: Super low-budget horror flick about a young couple who buys their dream house only to find out it comes with a dark past and they might now be in danger.
Why Stream?
This looks awful. So, gather some friends and make fun of it MST3K-style. I thought movies this bad were killed off in the 70s. (Full Disclosure: I didn’t see it so it might not be bad… but trust me, it’s bad!) Guess not!
Skip It!
Bigger Fatter Liar –NO REVIEW–
Super Simple Synopsis: Big Fat Liar, the awful 2002 kids movie featuring Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes gets a sequel… not featuring either Muniz or Bynes.
Why Skip?
We’ve had a run of movies getting sequels 10-15 years after their original release. It made sense with My Big Fat Greek Wedding which took 15 years to get a sequel. Sure, Rings sucked but you couldn’t blame the filmmakers for trying to cash in on a third installment 12 years later. Zoolander 2 thought it could capitalize on the cult following of the original. But a sequel to Big Fat Liar? The original received poor reviews and fell short of $50 million at the box office. What was Universal thinking?
Sleepless —MOVIE HOT TAKE REVIEW—
Super Simple Synopsis: An undercover Vegas cop looks to bring down a group of corrupt cops and some homicidal gangsters.
Why Skip?
It’s awful!