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Hot Take: Another very good Netflix exclusive. Lily Collins is a rising star.

2017’s theatrical lineup has been a disappointment. One big win in the film world is the rash of good to very good Netflix exclusive films that has seemingly grown this year. One of the latest is To The Bone which is based on the real life experiences of writer/director Marti Noxon and deals with the struggle of eating disorders. It’s a film that, on the surface, has an appearance that it could be a little thin on plot (especially considering Keanu Reeves has a rather meaty supporting role in the film) but once inside the film, you realize To The Bone is an excellent character study and even a little bit educational when it comes to the worst issues that come about due to eating disorders.Read More →

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In: 2017, Ranked

On July 20th, Dunkirk became the 75th movie seen and reviewed by MHT released in 2017. While we’re well behind the impressive pace of 2016, the shorter theatrical windows and clear outs for tentpole releases has really hindered viewing some of the deeper cuts this year. Plus, MHT decided to sit out some of the sequels like Smurfs: The Lost Village, Cars 3 and Underworld: Blood Wars. There was finally a 5 star film in the last group of 25 — Baby Driver — and it has a firm grip on the #1 film of 2017 so far. Please check out the previous postings here:

Now that you’re caught up, here’s the next next 25 movies of 2017 and how they graded out:Read More →

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Hot Take: Tense and relentless, Dunkirk is a technical masterpiece that is sometimes overshadowed by its technical prowess. It’s impressive to watch but there’s an emotional intensity that’s missing that prevents Christopher Nolan’s latest from being more than just good.

The sights and sounds of Dunkirk are brilliant. Hats off to director Christopher Nolan for creating a technical tour de force. The slant he brings to a war movie gives this a much different slant than any other war movie like it. We already know war is hell but Nolan immerses us into the true tale of the Battle of Dunkirk that we’re smack in the middle of everything as it unfolds. As expected from Nolan, we have another good movie. However, is it great? Read More →

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Hot Take: Heavy. Maybe… the… most… serious… summer movie… I’ve ever… seen.

When I think summer blockbuster, I think the opposite of what I saw unfold in War for the Planet of the Apes, the third installment of the Planet of the Apes trilogy. Yes, it was a big budget action packed film. Usually, though, these action heavy films provide some level of fun and excitement. With War for the Planet of the Apes, you instead get tension, evolved thinking and a serious debate on morality and humanity. Yes, it has all the elements of a Sci-Fi film. However, the film is closer to Shakespeare, historical allegories to the civil rights movement and slavery or even the Bible than your normal Sci-Fi fare. There is absolutely nothing trivial about this summer sequel in a series that has traditionally been known for raising the bar well above the usual summer offering. However, that being said, it ain’t the fun, popcorn flick you’re used to seeing either.Read More →

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In: 2017, Lists, Ranked

At the halfway point of the 2017 movie season, it’s a good time to check in and see which movies were on the top of their game this year. It’s unlikely we’ll be talking about any of them come Award season but there was plenty of cinematic success to recognize. Here’s the best films and performances according to Movie Hot Take for the first half of 2017:Read More →

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Hot Take: The best Spidey flick yet. The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues their spectacular run.

Full disclosure: I was a comic book fan growing up and Spider-Man was easily my favorite. I like Spider-Man enough that even Spider-Man 3 was enjoyable to watch. (Amazing Spiderman 2? Not so much… sorry Andrew Garfield.) Also, it’s important to note that ever since Spidey’s cameo in Captain America: Civil War, I’ve been pretty stoked about the prospect of another Spider-Man reboot.Read More →

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Hot Take: A much needed successful romantic comedy in a genre desperately lacking anything worth talking about. One of the best movies of the first half of the year. Kumail Nanjiani gives a heartfelt and heartwarming performance as, well, himself.

Every summer, there is a smaller flick that sneaks up on us and “wins” the summer. I put wins in quotations because with the monster box office numbers of some of the summer tentpoles, it obviously doesn’t win as that is reserved for juggernauts usually involving superheroes (See the box office figures for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming). Last year, the best example was Hell or High Water. The early August release with a tiny $12 million budget more than tripled that at the box office and carried a solid summer performance to 4 Academy Award nominations. A similar path could be in store for The Big Sick, the 2017 romantic comedy based on the real life love story of star Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon. It’s already drawing at the box office in limited release and is slated for a monster 2,500+ theater expansion this weekend.Read More →

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Hot Take: There’s always a “take the good with the bad” element of a Will Ferrell movie. Unfortunately, for this one, it’s mostly “take the bad with more of the bad.” This one joke pony is a long shot to make you laugh and often feels like an SNL skit gone on entirely too long.

College tuition is too expensive, being a parent is hard and the government will screw you at every turn. That’s the premise given to the talented comedic cast of The House who is then asked to ad lib their way through a shoddy script and then shown off in the least flattering way possible thanks to some haphazard edited and seemingly directionless and absurdly violent (Violent? Yes, violent!) summer comedy. Despite an 88 minute run time, the movie feels overlong and, at the same time, you feel shortchanged with the lack of laughs you get back for your time invested.Read More →

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Hot Take: Sofia Coppola won Best Director at Cannes for this film and it was well deserved. Don’t overlook some great performances from Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning and Colin Farrell though.

The most impressive feat of The Beguiled, a remake of a 1971 film starring Clint Eastwood of the same name, might be its length. There’s not much of a story in the tale in that it is simplistic. However, there is some complexity to its characters that gets fleshed out in just 93 minutes. The film quickly resolves itself but never feels slight nor does the story feel slighted despite its incredibly short run time. Credit Coppola for altering the source material enough for the film to stand apart from the original and for slimming it down to make every moment throughout the film count which, in this day and age of filmmaking, is a rarity.Read More →

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In: 2017, Ranked, Trailers

The height of summer movie season is usually July. Though this July does not look like one of the strongest in recent history, the box office is guaranteed to light up for Spider-Man: Homecoming and expectations are high for Dunkirk and MHT’s most anticipated release of the month, Atomic Blonde. While Spider-Man: Homecoming checks the re-boot (and superhero) box for the month, War for the Planet of the Apes, Girls Trip and An Inconvenient Sequel check the sequel box, Wish Upon fills the horror quota and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, well, I don’t know what that one does but it’s coming out, too. Here’s the full list of theatrical releases for July accompanied by their theatrical trailer:Read More →