Streaming Picks
Love sharing your childhood favorites with your kids? Netflix recently released everybody’s favorite crime-fighting cult classic The Karate Kid starring Ralph Macchio. If they love it, you can surprise them with The Karate Kid 2, which is also streaming on Netflix.
Dynamic duo Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn can be spotted on Netflix in our classic streaming pick of the week: Funny Girl.
Fans of Jessica Chastain and Tom Hardy will be happy to know that Netflix recently released the bootleg crime drama Lawless. Read Brett McCracken’s review for Christianity Today here.
Although Orange is the New Black and House of Cards are the most popular Netflix original TV shows, this week the instant streaming site released the entire second season of another original show Hemlock Grove—about a town where everyone has a secret. Not sure if the gore-filled mystery show is for you? Check out a review here.
Critics Roundup
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes “makes clear, through Caesar and Malcolm's actions, that turning from wrath and finding common ground is the only wise choice when dealing with conflict,” says PluggedIn’s Bob Hoose. Although Hoose views this sequel is only the stepping-stone to the end of an epic trilogy, he believes the actions and thoughts of the characters are something a Christian audience can positively reflect upon. Hoose elaborates, “It's clear that man and intelligent ape alike both suffer from an underlying, corrupted, fallen nature that incessantly drives things toward the dark side.” A. O. Scott of the New York Times agrees that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes “is more than a bunch of occasionally thrilling action sequences, emotional gut punches and throwaway jokes arranged in predictable sequence.” Rather than scare its audiences through cinematic technology like rubber masks, this reboot portrays “a less abstract, more hauntingly immediate story,” than its original counterpart by painting a “darker, scarier picture of the future.” Ken Morefield reviews the film for us today.
If you’ve got a Disney channel-watching child or have been anywhere near a TV screen in the past year, you’re aware that the House of Mouse decided to follow up their classic Boy Meets World with a spin-off show that airs this summer. Girl Meets World introduces TV viewers everywhere to Cory and Topanga’s daughter and the world she is just becoming introduced to: middle school, where her father, Cory, is a teacher. Variety’s TV Columnist Brian Lowry says “the show feels like a throwback at every turn” and is “heavily rooted in nostalgia.” Besides the hype of seeing Cory and Topanga’s life after Boy Meets World, Lowry complains it’s far too closely related to “a parade of similarly themed Disney Channel live-action series, built around life on the cusp of puberty, featuring stars slightly older than the girl demo apt to watch.” PluggedIn’s Paul Asay, on the other hand, sees a glimmer of hope for the long awaited sequel show. Seeing beyond its similarities to other shows on the network, Asay stands by the fact that “the series seems to be trying to tell kids that even when you're at an age when you think you have all the answers, the adults in your life may still have some wisdom worth listening to.”
Movie News
Thursday morning left critics and fans alike buzzing about which actors were snubbed and what shows struck a chord with viewers according to this year’s Emmy nominations. Amongst the nominees for best actress in a drama was Lizzy Caplan of Showtime’s Masters of Sex. Check out Ken Morefield’s positive thoughts on the scandalously named show here.
This week, the (super creepy) second teaser trailer for the highly anticipated first part of Mockingjay was released. Watch the book start to come to life here.
According to Jim‘s Jim Belushi has reportedly just signed on to star alongside Keanu Reeves and Renee Zellwegger in the courtroom drama The Whole Truth. Find out more about the Courtney Hunt-directed film here.
The Coen brothers are hunting down the greats to star in their upcoming drama Hail Caesar. Scarlett Johansson, George Clooney, Jonah Hill, Ralph Fiennes, and Tilda Swinton and more are all in talks to join the cast. Find out everything we know here.
Larisa Kline is a summer intern with Christianity Today Movies and a student at The King's College in New York City.
