What to Watch This Weekend: May 29, 2020

Home Rental: The High Note
The High Note is a phenomenal feel good musical drama with fantastic characters, a story with plenty of surprises, and a soulful, wonderful soundtrack that will stay in your head long after the credits roll.  For more information, check out our review!

Redbox: The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man is a new take on the classic film, with great, minimalist effects, wonderful tension, and an amazing performance by Elisabeth Moss.  For more information, check out our review!

Digital: Raising Buchanan

Raising Buchanan's dry sense of humor, wonderful cast, and quirky premise will steal your heart as you enjoy this presidential crime caper.  For more information, check out our review!

Digital: I Will Make You Mine
I Will Make You Mine is a beautiful blend of art and music with a bold style, great characters, and an authentic realism to its music that must be heard to believe!  For more information, check out our review!

Streaming (Netflix): Space Force
Space Force has Steve Carell returning to his comedic roots, along with a fantastic cast and plenty of humor in this high flying, hilarious series.  For more information, check out our review!

Streaming (Netflix): Betaal

Betaal is a Hindi zombie series with the production values you expect from Blumhouse, featuring good horror effects, a palatable sense of suspense, and a fantastic cast!  For more information, check out our review!

Streaming (Netflix): Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler's fantastic return to serious roles is a diamond in the rough!  Uncut Gems is complex, with enough facets to allow its fantastic characters to sparkle brightly.  For more information, check out our review!

Streaming (Amazon): After We Leave

After We Leave is a fresh first effort from writer / director Aleem Hossain, with a minimalist style, fresh perspective, and amazing score that elevates this film.  For more information, check out our review!

Streaming (HBO): Happy Death Day 2U
The sequel to the surprisingly good horror / comedy original, Happy Death Day 2U follows the events of the first movie with another killer loop that gets even more ridiculous than the first.  Tree is forced to make some very difficult choices as she tries to stay alive long enough to solve yet another groundhog day death trap.

Streaming (HBO): Ready or Not
Ready or Not tells a twisted tale with plenty of dark humor.  The setting is fantastic, the imagery feels authentic, and the performances give this deadly game a unique charm that will make you want to play again.  For more information, check out our review!

Deal: Digital Movie Deals for April 28, 2020

Here is a collection of digital movie deals to help keep you entertained while you quarantine.  There are some great choices here.  The kids movie bundle has 3 good movies to keep your young (and young at heart) family entertained.  Jojo Rabbit and Uncut Gems were some of the best movies of  last year and the Gentlemen is one of our favorites this year.  The movies listed as Movies Anywhere will port to your linked iTunes, Amazon, Microsoft, Google Play, and VUDU accounts.

Movies Anywhere Movies:

• Detective Pikachu / Lego Movie 2 / Smallfoot Bundle (4K) - $19.99 [apple.com]
• NOTE, this will play in 4K on Apple but transfer to your other services in HD.  
• Jojo Rabbit (4K) - $9.99 [apple.com]

NOT Movies Anywhere Movies:

• The Gentlemen (4K) - $7.99 [vudu.com]
• Uncut Gems (4K) - $7.99 [vudu.com]

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What to Watch This Weekend: March 13, 2020

In Theaters: First Cow

First Cow is an udderly charming film; those hoping for something wonderfully different will enjoy the fantastic characters, writing, and setting, as well as how the film milks each and every shot.  For more information, check out our review!

At Redbox: Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler's fantastic return to serious roles is a diamond in the rough!  Uncut Gems is complex, with enough facets to allow its fantastic characters to sparkle brightly.  For more information, check out our review!

At Redbox: Spies in Disguise

Spies in Disguise should not be pigeon-holed into a second tier animated film.  It is a beautifully animated adventure featuring two leads with great chemistry, some truly impressive animation, and a fantastic soundtrack to entertain both young and old.  For more information, check out our review!

Streaming (HBO): Yesterday 

Yesterday is a film that can be enjoyed even if you are not a Beatles fan!  It has a decent number of funny scenes and solid musical performances by the cast.  For more information, check out our review!

Streaming (Netflix): All The Bright Places

All The Bright Places was recently released on Netflix, and is an emotional film with solid performances by its two stars, Elle Fanning and Justice Smith.

Streaming (Cinemax): The Dead Don't Die
Since it is Friday the 13th, here is a zombie-related movie.  I wanted to love The Dead Don't Die so much more than I did, but now that it is streaming it is a good candidate to enjoy at home.  It has great performances by Bill Murray and Adam Driver, but the story is slow and some of the humor is hit or miss.  

Deal: 29% off at FandangoNOW including 1917 in 4K for $14 Today (2/29) Only

FandangoNOW has a leap day sale featuring 29% off rentals and purchases.  Use the code LEAP29 at checkout for the discount.  Some of these movies are MoviesAnywhere compatible, so they will port to Google Play, iTunes, VUDU, Amazon, and Microsoft if you have them linked.  Some highlights inlclude:

MoviesAnywhere Movies:

• 1917 4K: $14.20
• Don't Let Go 4K: $7.10
• Downton Abbey 4K: $7.10
• Harriet 4K: $10.64
• Parasite 4K: $10.64

NOT MoviesAnywhere (Will Only Play In FandangoNOW) Movies:

• Bombshell 4K: $10.64
• First Love HD: $9.22
• Gemini Man 4K: $10.64
• Knives Out 4K: $14.20
• Moonlight 4K: $5.64
• Uncut Gems 4K: $10.64

Don't forget to enter code LEAP29!

Thanks to Slickdeals for the original deal info!

What to Watch This Weekend: January 3, 2020

In Theaters: Little Women

Little Women will capture your heart with its stellar cast, wonderful story, timeless lessons, and amazing adaptation of the beloved book to the big screen.  For more information, check out our review!

In Theaters: Uncut Gems

Adam Sandler's fantastic return to serious roles is a diamond in the rough!  Uncut Gems is complex, with enough facets to allow its fantastic characters to sparkle brightly.  For more information, check out our review!

At Redbox: Judy

Renee Zellweger takes on the difficult role of portraying the iconic Judy Garland.  Zellweger captures the beloved performer's personality with poise and emotional care.

Streaming (HBO): Detective Pikachu

Detective Pikachu brings the Pokemon universe to life with a live action adaptation of the Pokemon universe.  The movie has cameos from many of your favorite Pokemon, but the real driving force here is the fantastic partnership of Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds.  

Streaming (Amazon): The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Catch up with your Oscar hopefuls by seeing this powerful film that tells the tale of a man dreaming to reclaim his grandfather's victorian home in a rapidly changing city. 

Review: Uncut Gems

Release date: December 25, 2019
Running time: 135 minutes
Starring: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett

Adam Sandler is magnificent in his return to serious roles.  He plays hustling Jewish jewelry merchant Howard Ratner as he tries to close the biggest sale of his career while all his past hustles come back to bite him.  Ratner must juggle his family problems, business problems, friends, and enemies in this complex hustle movie.  

The main draw of this film is the genuinely fantastic acting and characters.  Ratner is a driven, but flawed man, with a need to succeed at any cost and an unhealthy belief in his own abilities.  He also has to juggle his family, mainly his wife played by Idina Menzel, and his girlfriend played by Julia Fox.  And through this he has to deal with many crumbling relationships, both familial, business, and personal in his ever present need to win.  Rounding out the cast is his genuine, but somewhat shady, friend / partner played by LaKeith Stanfield and a potential high profile customer in Kevin Garnett.  All of these characters, and more, intertwine in this complex story.  Their interactions are fun to watch, and the various personas at odds with each other really give this film its sparkle.  

However, if you are not interested in a tense hustle, this might not be for you.  The film is a long one, but that is partly because so much is crumbling around Ratner and it is all explored in various subplots.  There is a lot of dialog and drama, but not a lot of action.  And although there is some comedy, it is not what you would expect from a Sandler film.  There is a lot to enjoy in this movie, but if you are coming to this thinking it will be like otehr films Sandler is known for, you will be disappointed.  Additionally, Ratner makes some pretty ridiculous decisions in his need to succeed, some of which are just bone-headed.  However, the character is consistent and Sandler plays it perfectly. 

Uncut Gems is complex, with enough facets to allow its fantastic characters to sparkle brightly. 

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