Streaming Picks
Amazon Prime members can now watch The Spectacular Now for free. Last August, we reviewed it, calling it one of the best films of the summer. Read our review of the coming of age tale that explores what maturity really means here.
Can't get enough of X-Men's Michael Fassbender? See a different side of the actor alongside Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre, which gives viewers a different look at the woman in the misty moors. (Our review.)
This week Netflix began streaming every 80s kid's favorite movie Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Be sure to share this one with your own little ones!
If you're looking forward to the newest addition to the Planet of the Apes franchise, be sure to check out the 1968 original Planet of the Apes, now streaming free for Amazon Prime members.
Critics Roundup
Funnywoman Melissa McCarthy's newest comedy Tammy was released this week. PluggedIn's Bob Hoose believes McCarthy is a talented actress, who "can be something of a gift onscreen if given the right material to work with," but Tammy is not that. Hoose callsTammy "a one-dimensional sludge-fest of a film that once again sets up a big, sloppy, foulmouthed and sometimes cruel stereotype (with a soft spot down deep!) for McCarthy to wade into with gregarious middle-finger-flipping glee." And The New York Times' Manohla Dargis agrees. Although Tammy's quick foul-mouthed humor "makes you root for Ms. McCarthy and this movie from the start," it's also her least funny film thus far. As Dargis suggests towards the end of the review, "The jokes about Tammy's eating habits, her appetite for burgers, pies and doughnuts, aren't especially funny and, after a while, register as both tedious and borderline desperate."
"There are films that separate the moviegoers from the cinephiles," begins Crosswalk's Jeffrey Huston, "and The Rover is certainly one of them." Of the post-apocalyptic film from writer/director David Michôd, Huston says, "it's a thrill to watch a film directed with such precise intension and control, and such a gift for genre ambiance." He believes the director's only fault is the emotional distance he keeps between the audience and two main characters portrayed by Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson, admitting that "there's actually very little for us to invest in." A.O. Scott of The New York Times believes there is more than one flaw in the film, stating that Pattison's character "situates The Rover awkwardly between fable and buddy picture," rather than the post-apocalyptic thriller it claims to be. Scott also seems to agree with Huston in regard to the audience's distance from the narrative. Michôd's "minimalism serves as an excuse for an irritating lack of narrative clarity, so that much of what happens seems arbitrary rather than haunting."
Movie News
ABC's Once Upon a Time is hopping on the bandwagon and adding Frozen characters to their storyline. To find out about who's been cast as Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff, read here.
This Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of everybody's favorite New York sitcom about nothing, Seinfeld. For a fun look at the show, read Variety's article on the comedian's famous flings.
Director Bennett Miller teamed up with 22 Jump Street's Channing Tatum to make Foxcatcher. The film received rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival; you can watch the newest trailer and read a bit more about the film here.
Sherlock fans: this week the BBC announced that they will begin filming season 4 of the series next year! Read more about the exciting news on Indiewire.
Larisa Kline is a summer intern with Christianity Today Movies and a student at The King's College in New York City.
