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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: One of the most secretive films in years works because, well, it’s such a secret. Watch 10 Cloverfield Lane and you’ll have fun getting there… you may not like where it takes you but the trip sure is fun.

Every once in a while, you see someone walking around in a ridiculous outfit but for some reason — maybe it’s their confidence or just the way they walk — it looks right on them but you know it wouldn’t look right on anyone else. 10 Cloverfield Lane is that someone. Shrouded in complete mystery (okay, there’s a trailer so maybe it’s only 95% mystery), J.J. Abrams’ “spiritual successor” to Cloverfield is a very different movie than it’s sibling. Actually, it’s a very different movie than most movies. And that’s a good thing.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: Our guess is there will be a lot of common descriptions of London Has Fallen amongst critics: Unnecessary, cliché, bloodthirsty, callous, predictable, simplistic, xenophobic, jingoistic. At MHT, we think we have a better description: Shitty!

It looks like 2016 will be the year of the unnecessary sequel. London Has Fallen joins Ride Along 2 and Zoolander 2 in the category of “Who thought this was a good idea?” To be fair, no one should have expected more from this sequel to the 2013 hit Olympus Has Fallen. Unlike Whiskey Tango Foxtrot which totally misrepresented itself in trailers, London Has Fallen led with the tagline, “Shit’s about to get stabby” in one TV spot.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT! If you can’t figure out what happens in this movie and are surprised by anything written from this point on, you might want to see more movies but we do have an obligation to tell you key plot points will be given away if you continue to read about how shitty London Has Fallen is.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: For the longest time, I’ve been telling myself maybe Tina Fey just isn’t getting the right vehicles for her to be amazing in. After Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, I realized maybe I don’t care for Tina Fey all that much and maybe she’s not going to have a right vehicle for her to be amazing in.

Maybe it’s too harsh to blame Tina Fey directly for the complete unevenness of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Thanks to some terrible marketing which portrayed the film in a much more comedic light, it took some adjustment to the more serious tone of the film. Based on such a misrepresentation, it was unsurprising to see a few people walk out of the showing. This in no way is the reason the film was uneven but it’s easily the reason it was so noticeable.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: My 8-year-old self would love Zootopia. The thing is, so would my 16-year-old self… probably as much as my adult self did. Disney’s latest is one of the best films to ever come from the studio. Ever.

Historically, Disney has made an effort to include children and adults in their animated features. Often, it is done within the humor as there are jokes designed to make the kids laugh and then others with references that only adults will get and kids will laugh along with because their parents are laughing. Zootopia makes an effort to include children and adults in a much different way. There are no inappropriate jokes designed to go over the heads of the younger audience. Rather, Zootopia gives you a multi-layered plot with a very kid-friendly “you can be anything” message but, at the same time, explores a deeper, more adult dialogue on racial and gender equality and the danger of fear and hysteria in civilized society.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take, Trailers

Anticipation (Before Trailer): 85/100

Anticipation (After Trailer): 90/100

The new Ghostbusters does it’s job well. 32 years after the original is plenty of time for a by-the-numbers reboot if they wanted to. At least this reboot gives us a new twist on things with the four scientists busting ghosts in NYC being women (played by Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones). The film has a lot of familiar elements for any Ghostbusters fan and the usually over-the-top McCarthy is very subdued which is unexpected.

The film itself drops July 15th, 2016, so expect one or two more trailers before then plus a ton of merchandise to go along with the film wouldn’t be surprising, either.

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: My 14-year-old self would love Eddie the Eagle. My adult self wasn’t nearly as thrilled but it’s definitely a feel good, inspiring tale.

What if someone took the true story of Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards, ripped off the Cool Runnings narrative and combined them into a film? Enter Eddie the Eagle. While inspired by a true story, much of the story portrayed in Eddie the Eagle is embellished. The real eventual Olympic novelty didn’t have a mentor, wasn’t completely inexperienced in ski jumping, didn’t train in Germany and was already a known novelty when he arrived in Calgary for the ’88 Olympics (there was a fan club waiting upon his arrival at the airport). Other than that, the remaining 10% of the movie is completely accurate.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: Although it was most fun I’ve had watching a terrible movie in quite some time, how the hell does this movie get a green light?

Early on, it was pointed out by the narrator that Gods of Egypt took place before history began. This should have been a tip-off the typical rules would not apply to this prehistoric whitewashing of Egyptian mythology. However, even if it was, the ridiculousness of Gods of Egypt has to go down in cinematic history as one of the worst films with a budget greater than $100 million. Yet, despite it’s racial insensitivity, pointlessness and overall terribleness, there’s something highly watchable about Gods of Egypt. I guess it’s not farfetched to compare it to when you slow down as you drive past a horrific wreck on the highway. Sure, you have somewhere better to be and you don’t really want to see the carnage but you can’t help but gaze upon the wreck.Read More →

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In: 2015, Hot Take

Hot Take: The best film of 2015.

Tonight is Oscar night and at this point, all signs point to The Revenant winning Best Picture. If another film pulls off the upset it will likely be Spotlight, Mad Max: Fury Road or The Big Short. The rest of the nominees don’t stand much of a chance. This includes the year’s best film: Room.Read More →

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In: 2015, Hot Take

Hot Take: The most depressing film of 2015 might also be the Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Oscars. Son of Saul is as gripping as it is sad and as hard as it is to watch, Geza Rohrig (who plays Saul) and a well executed script won’t let you turn away.

It’s been about a month since I’ve seen Son of Saul and the ghastly images of Auschwitz and the brutality of the Holocaust are burned into my brain to the point where the mention of the film instantly fills me with sadness and disgust. Holocaust cinema is a genre typically associated with Oscar bait and sometimes tiresome and repetitive. Son of Saul brings a fresh, dark, disturbing perspective that is truly an accomplishment in the genre as it is unlike any other Holocaust film I’ve seen. Furthermore, this is a directorial début for Laszlo Nemes which speaks volumes to the achievement of the film as this isn’t typical of first time efforts.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: If Dr. Frankenstein were a filmmaker and he had Igor steal the brains of every corrupt cop and heist thriller of the last two decades. Triple 9 is corrupt cop/heist karaoke.

Depending on your mood, Triple 9 could be deliciously entertaining trash or disdainfully uneven dreck. On a good day, it’ll be a glorified B-movie oozing machismo and corruption. On a bad day, it’ll be a gratuitously violent copycat of much better films and television shows of the past. It would be surprising if watching Triple 9 reminds you of Heat, Training Day, Reservoir Dogs, The Departed, Sicario and The Wire just to name a few of the films and shows it seemed to be influenced by.Read More →