The 7 Best and the 5 Worst Streaming and DVD Releases of the Month


By Dustin Rowles | Trade News | September 26, 2012 | Comments ()


The 7 Best

7. Five Year Engagement -- I still maintain that this wasn't a bad movie; it just wasn't what I was hoping for from an amazing cast front-lined by Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, and directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall). It is, however, a perfectly acceptable Saturday afternoon rom-com diversion. From my open letter to the movie: "But in the end, you know the speech: It's not you, it's me. Well, actually, it's you, too. You brought a lot of the tone and sweetness from my last romantic encounter with you guys, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but you didn't bring very much humor along with you. Let's be honest: There was a full 45 minutes in the middle of our relationship that just didn't work. At all. But I loved the big romantic gesture in the end; that was something I haven't seen before, and I appreciate the hell out of that. But ultimately, it was too little, too late.

snow-white-huntsman-movie-image-chris-hemsworth-1.jpeg6. Snow White and the Huntsman -- Another not bad, but not great movie that makes a nice afternoon diversion, thanks mostly to Charlize Theron's fun and over-the-top performance and, of course, Chris Hemsworth flashing bicep all over the place. Joanna agrees in her review, "For all these problems. Was I not entertained? Oh I surely was. I only complain because this movie could have been truly great and was, instead, gorgeous and fun and, ultimately, just fine. First time director Rupert Sanders seems to have wanted to make a fairy tale-action-romance by way of the art house. The style is elegant (cinematographer Greig Fraser employed some of the same swinging out of focus close-ups that worked so brilliantly in Bright Star) but ultimately at odds with the blatant melodrama of the Queen's tantrums and the efforts of our embattled heroes."

5. Hysteria -- "A delightful distraction," sums up Prisco's thoughts on the film. "Hysteria is an incredible short comedy about the invention of the personal private massager wink wink buried in a ninety minute suffragette piece. It yearns to be extremely feminist promoting, all the while insinuating that the vibrator was invented because lady handjobs TAKE. FOREVER. It's why movie theater foolin' around involves mostly pleasuring the dudes. Because films only last 90 minutes. Plus, it takes men to save day in Hysteria. It's a delightful little distraction that's not going to change your life."

4. The Do-Deca Pentathalon -- This wasn't my favorite mumblecore film -- another from the Duplass Brothers -- but it was perfectly entertaining and enjoyable through and through (and very short, as most Duplass Brothers films are). Prisco was over-the-moon for it: "The Duplass Brothers, Mark and Jay, understand relationships, and are mining indie gold with ruminations on mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, wives and kids. The Do-Deca-Pentathlon continues the trend of thirty-somethings living in suspended funimation, but with spectacular fireworks. It so perfectly captures the dynamic between two insanely competitive brothers, with all the love and hatred that sharing an old wombpartment can engender."

best-exotic-marigold-hotel7.jpeg3. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel -- This is one of those films that somehow just kind of fell through the cracks here at Pajiba, and we never actually reviewed the film despite the fact that I've seen it twice (if I see a movie twice, it always means that I loved it enough to introduce it to the wife, who rarely attends movies in theaters). It's a little slight, and somewhat predictable, but an all-star cast of brilliant geriatrics made this one of the most charming and heartfelt movies of the summer. I was completely smitten by it.

2. Cabin in the Woods -- Easily the best horror movie of the year, and running even with The Avengers as the best movie of the first half of the year. Both Joss Whedon efforts knocked the nylon out of my socks, and I can't possibly decide which is the better of the two, although maybe a slight edge to The Avengers for the Hulk. Seth's review of Cabin was basically: Try to know as little as possible going in so as to maximize the film's awesome. "The Cabin in the Woods is a self-aware horror film that seeks to give you a good ride while examining and maybe even reworking the genre. It succeeds in a way that is fast, fun and furious."



The 5 Worst

Babymakers -- Our newest critic Amanda, -- like Sarah -- has a big old crush on Paul Schneider but it wasn't enough to win her over to the Babymakers, although she appreciated his effort. "The worst part about the script is that it's simply not funny. At all. Recycled jokes and depressingly stupid scenarios. Olivia Munn makes an effort with the script, but there's not much even she can do to save this so she mostly grimaces and makes sad little faces that indicate she's fully aware of the nightmare transpiring around her. The cast of supporting characters act out in various stupid ways, Jay Chandrasekhar directs and stars and his commitment to the project, as well as Paul Schneider's, is kind of astonishing. Schneider never lets on that the script is terrible, he's in it to win it and gives it his all. I have to admire that, even if it's wrong."

7da52__54a939de75542bf6bd9a88fa53583f0d.jpegSalvation Boulevard -- I'm not sure why this movie is just now coming out on DVD as I'm pretty sure I saw it at Sundance last year, which Seth's review confirms: "Salvation Boulevard, an intended satirical look at Evangelical Christianity, has an excellent cast: Pierce Brosnan, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Marisa Tomei, and Jim Gaffigan. And in light of this cast, Salvation Boulevard has to be the most disappointing film of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival because how do you not make a good film with this batch?"

What to Expect When You're Expecting -- Though I reviewed it just a few months ago, I barely remember this movie except for how angry I was at the depiction of the fathers: "There's also the clueless husbands, because of course they are. What the fuck do men know, right? We just provide the semen and then stand back, say dumb things, and occasionally get in the way when our pregnant women are hormonal. Don't stand too close, fellas! Your pregnant lady might piss on you."

tumblr_lxin2sfbTp1qzozj1.jpegThe Devil Inside -- Terrible movie with a ending so bad that, once word got out how bad it was, the movie -- which opened with $33 million -- had one of the steepest second-weekend drops in movie history, a 76 percent fall off to $8 million. It's not even worth revisiting the review. Just don't.

Piranha 3DD -- Even if you loved the first Piranha 3D -- as many of us did -- you'll still hate Piranha 3DD, so writes Prisco: Piranha 3DD is awful, soulless and sleazy. It fishes with dynamite. Sure, you'll catch some fish, but they're all ripped apart and everything stinks like smoke and blood and dead flat fish. None of the charm remains from the first film. It's the difference between ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue and "Girls Gone Wild." For most people, both things are just "WOOO! BOOOBIES!" and that'll be enough. But for people who have all their chromosomes, it's the difference between artistry and pulling off their tops."

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Comments Are Welcome, Bigots and Trolls Are Not

  • valerie

    Thoughtful post! I really appreciate that you take the time to give some thoughts on each film in addition to the original review. Nicely done!

  • Alice

    I really enjoyed What to Expect When You're Expecting. I think it depicted a bunch of good fathers and fathers-to-be. Plus, the point was to explore pregnancy and adoption from the view of the moms, too. I am pregnant and a hot mess. I laughed and cried and could relate to both the feelings of empowerment and defeat that many pregnant women feel, sometimes simultaneously.

  • Aisha

    Snow White and Huntsman could have been a great film, but Kristen Stewart's character was so bland. I think she had a dozen lines and one speech in the entire movie. They should have made a movie about the Evil Queen. Her backstory was interesting: little girl's mother uses magic to protect her, but she gets used and thrown away by a King, little grows up abusing magic and becoming evil. Similiar to "Wicked", but have the Queen still be evil.

  • Strand

    Chris Hemsworth Appreciation Month!

  • gerry

    honestly, I really didn't see the fuss about cabin in the woods. I didn't find it scary or intense in any way and I most certainly didn't care about any of the characters living or dying. The plot was interesting on paper but everything got patched together in a mess of CGI heavy sequences that became very forgettable. I'm not one to bash movies but I can't understand how so many people loved this film. What was the great offering of Cabin in the woods? I felt similar to this when The Black Swan was getting all kinds of accolades. Just can't see it.

  • Idle Primate

    piranha 3DD was awful. and i was indeed someone who loved the first unabashedly. it wasn't that it was a similar film that had lost its charm, either. it was just godawfully done with no relationship to the wit and talent of the first.

  • Milly

    The Five Year Engagement would have been bad if it wasn't for Segel and Blunt. They have such good chemistry and play the roles as being believable (in so far as characters in a filum can be believable).

    Yes, it was a bit long, and yes Alison Brie's generic southern English accent was jarring (but fair play to her for giving it a crack), but Chris Pratt, Segel and Blunt made the filum better than it should have been.

  • Aaron Anthony

    The wife insisted we get What to Expect. I got a few chuckles and at least it showed the range pf pregnancies (her 2nd is completely different form the first and they are what you see on TV where everything is always perfect and you have tons of energy). Other than that...I...seriously why? Is that how dads are really seen? As a dad myself I'm offended. I'm pretty sure my parenting beats that of some women (at least the dregs on Teen Mom and what not but I guess thats not saying much). Is the bumbling buffoon husband/father the next trope that needs to be tackled?

  • Devin McMusters

    Don't worry, October brings Iron Sky to those of us deprived of it during it's big screen run.

  • space_oddity

    Cannot wait.

  • TheOriginalMRod

    The boyfriend brought home the Avengers yesterday, I think it was played at least three times before we went to bed. There is SO much that we missed in the theater, it really does merit being watched over and over again.

  • Mr. E

    "Detachment" definitely needs to be on this list unless, once again, Netflix doesn't have access to one of the best films of the year.

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