Streaming Picks
Want to re-watch an oldie, but a goodie? Hulu Plus members can now stream the cult classic favorite Ghostbusters for free.
Zombie-thriller lovers: the bestselling-book-turned-movie World War Z starring Brad Pitt is now on Netflix.
Looking for a streaming show that we've covered to share with your kids? Netflix is now streaming Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. Check out Jack Cuidon's review.
If you want to watch something different, check out Travelling Salesman. Now streaming on Amazon Prime, this movie follows what happens when four mathematicians are asked to solve the toughest equation in computer science history.
Critics Roundup
Can Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction make up for Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon? PluggedIn's Bob Hoose gives thumbs up to the father-daughter relationship depicted in this latest film, but says Bay didn't bring anything new to the table. Although a few robots receive upgrades, Hoose comments that the fourth installment in the Transformers franchise "feels remarkably unaltered. As in: static, unable to bend or move, decrepit." The New York Times' A. O. Scott agrees that Age of Extinction is stuck in the past. Most notably, Scott points out the depiction of women "who are on screen mainly to be ogled, shamed and rescued. The few action-type things that the female characters are allowed to do—throw a punch, drive a car, fasten a cable to a big piece of metal—feel like grudging concessions to changing norms."
Crosswalk's Christian Hamaker believes that Clint Eastwood's latest film Jersey Boys is truly a joy to watch. In spite of its boring camerawork and bad makeup choices, he says, it "offers an alternative for adult audiences looking for grown-up entertainment." But be warned, "Viewers who struggle with harsh language might be better off skipping the film and listening to recordings of Valli and the Four Seasons without the supplemental story offered by the movie." Variety's Andrew Barker agrees that the movie is enjoyable, but points out its faults. Barker comments that Eastwood was unable to pick a genre, seeing as the movie embraces "neither the fizzy energy of a Vegas-ready tuner, nor the grit of a warts-and-all biopic." Clintwood's focus on the film isn't on the music, Barker says, but rather the drama. "He opens not with a song," notes Barker, "but rather a thoroughly Scorsesean scene inside a Belleville, N.J., barbershop in the 1950s."
Movie News
Hunger Games fans: only a few more months until the first installment of the Mockingjay movies is released. In case you missed the first teaser trailer this week, check it out on here.
Today marks the release date of Lexlie Zemeckis' newest documentary. Bound by Flesh tells the story of conjoined twins who travelled the 1930s vaudeville circuit. Find out more about the story and documentarian here.
Beloved film and stage actor Eli Wallach has passed away this week. Read more about the life and legacy of the ninety-eight year old in The New York Times.
Benjamin Pratt is set to join Ice Cube and Kevin Hart in a sequel to Ride Along. To find out the few details we know about Ride Along 2, read here.
Larisa Kline is a summer intern with Christianity Today Movies and a student at The King's College in New York City.
