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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: If your idea of entertainment is listening to a silent crowd of teenage girls sobbing, Me Before You is can’t miss! If not, it’s still pretty good. Emilia Clarke = Pure Delight.

Admittedly, I’m only vaguely familiar with Emilia Clarke. I barely remember Terminator: Genisys (other than her poor chemistry with Jai Courtney) and have never seen an episode of Game of Thrones. After seeing the Me Before You trailer back in February, I was tempted to binge watch the show just to see if Clarke was as magnificent as she appeared in the original trailer for this film but I didn’t want to set my already unrealistic expectations for this movie any higher.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: With quick wit and masterful timing (and Kate Beckinsale’s best performance of her career), Love & Friendship is one of the funnier films of 2016.

“I’m not going to like this,” I thought during the opening moments of Love & Friendship. The pace of Whit Stillman’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s epistolary novel Lady Susan is unexpected and catches you off guard. It’s like waking up in a car going 70 miles per hour after falling asleep poolside on a lazy afternoon. Thrust right into the story, we’re bombarded with characters who will provide depth throughout the film but are introduced with such rapid fire succession (and through title cards), your head starts to spin. Don’t worry. The feeling passes. Eventually.Read More →

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In: To See or Not To See

Roughly half of the weeks this year have seen the box office crown worn by a sequel. With the arrival of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, the heroes in a halfshell are likely to continue the trend and even if a miracle happened and TMNT didn’t remain at the top, X-Men: Apocalypse would be likely to repeat. Also arriving is Me Before You and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Here’s MHT’s recommendations on what to see and not see this weekend:Read More →

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In: 2016, Ranked, Trailers

Expect Disney to continue to dominate at the box office with Finding Dory in June but there’s other movies we’re more excited about than Finding Dory. There are 19 movies set to hit theaters in June and here are the trailers for all of them, ranked by anticipation:

1. Free State of Jones (June 24th)
Free State of Jones doesn’t have much of a summer feel but it does have Matthew McConaughey! During a period of the year where movies are typically at their most vapid, Free State of Jones will be a refreshing change of pace. Four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross writes and directs.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: Bloated. Overstuffed. There’s a lot of wasted time in this 2 and 1/2 hour superhero flick. Two or three great scenes can’t make up for a movie we’ve already seen in some way, shape or form already.

Bryan Singer is an excellent director. He’s done incredible things with the X-Men franchise. However, after seeing X-Men: Apocalypse, it’s hard to not wonder if he really has anything new to say. Maybe it’s writer Simon Kinberg who has had a sporadic history with writing X-Men films. (He also wrote Fantastic Four so it’s tempting to cast aspersions on him.)  There’s not a ton of originality in X-Men: Apocalypse and with two seasoned X-Men vets at the helm, pointing the finger in their direction isn’t a ridiculous conclusion, is it?Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: This was the Mother’s Day film that should have made $10 million plus at the box office.

Each month, Movie Hot Take ranks the most anticipated movies of the month. In April, The Meddler ranked 21st of 25 releases. When The Meddler was the only first run film left in theaters to see, the only thing I was looking forward to was overpriced popcorn. Despite the reservations and the total lack of excitement in anticipation of seeing this film, The Meddler ended up being a surprisingly worthwhile and enjoyable movie with well-written, very real characters and a cast — headlined by Susan Sarandon as Marnie — that does an excellent job bringing them to life.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take, Trailers

Anticipation (Before Trailer): 70/100

Anticipation (After Trailer): 85/100

The Infiltrator is due in theaters on July 13, 2016 and the trailer looks very good. Although the film doesn’t exactly feel like a summer movie, it’s a nice change from the normal summer offerings. Bryan Cranston’s role feels closer to his role in Breaking Bad than last year’s Trumbo and John Leguizamo consistently delivers strong performances in these roles. Benjamin Bratt is starting to feel typecast as it’s hard to see much of a difference between his few scenes in the trailer and his role earlier this year in Ride Along 2. Despite the minor reservation, this one will be high on the list to see in July.

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In: 2017, Hot Take, Trailers

Anticipation (Before Trailer): 80/100

Anticipation (After Trailer): 90/100

Disney is on fire right now. The trailer for the live action version of Beauty and the Beast hits every note. Emma Watson is a great choice to play Belle and the trailer gives just enough of a taste to whet the appetite for a movie we won’t see for 10 months.

The money tree blooms for Disney with Beauty and the Beast on March 17, 2017.