Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Every week, we’re going to recommend the latest movies available to purchase or rent on-demand. More and more, movies are being made available both in theaters and at home on VOD, and we’re here to make sure that those don’t slip through the cracks. We’ll also be alerting you to the week’s major releases on second-run VOD. All so you can have a better weekend!
VOD Picks of the Week
Hey, remember that there was a Zoolander 2? You wouldn’t think it was possible for a Frat Pack sequel to be there and gone even more quickly than Anchorman 2 was, but Zoolander 2 managed it. But did we all brush it off too quickly? Sure, in many ways it feels like a relic; 2001 was a long time ago, and Ben Stiller’s Derek Zoolander really only had one or two jokes to begin with. The original Zoolander made it on charm and goofiness, and maybe 15 years of “yougoogly” quotes distracted from the fact that it’s just a fun, dumb movie at heart. The sequel offers the original trio of Stiller, Owen Wilson as Hansel (probably not so hot right now), plus bonus Kristen Wiig and Penelope Cruz. Almost any movie would be improved by the addition of Kristen Wiig and Penelope Cruz.
[You can rent Zoolander 2 on Amazon Video or iTunes.]
Elsewhere this weekend, you can watch a pair of Hollywood satires from some master filmmakers. The Coen Brothers’ Hail Caesar! was well-received when it premiered in February but probably deserved even better notices than it got. It’s a messy, shaggy ol’ movie whose component parts vary wildly in quality (George Clooney doesn’t fare all that well in a living room full of Communists), but the stuff that works works incredibly well. Josh Brolin plays a fixer for a fictional studio (though Brolin shares a name with real-life Hollywood fixer Eddie Mannix), and his palpable love for Hollywood as a concept really pulls the movie together.
But the reason to see Hail Caesar! if you haven’t already (and to see it again if you have) is the performance of young Alden Ehrenreich as young Hollywood star Hobie Doyle. A simple star of cowboy pictures tasked with making the leap to comedies of manners, Hobie is the picture of sweet, goofy sincerity, and Ehrenreich delivers one particular scene opposite Ralph Fiennes that is bar none the best thing that’s been on a movie screen all year. And it’s worth seeing without being spoiled. Whatever you do, WATCH THE MOVIE BEFORE YOU WATCH THE BELOW CLIP. You’ll thank me later.
Ehrenreich has since been cast as young Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars spinoff film, and it was almost entirely on the back of this Hail Caesar performance. It’s that good. And I haven’t even gotten into the Channing Tatum musical number!
[You can purchase Hail Caesar! on Amazon Video or iTunes.]
Meanwhile, one of the best Hollywood satires of all time is Robert Altman’s 1992 L.A. noir The Player, starring Tim Robbins. Robbins plays a Hollywood exec who gets embroiled in a murder plot that intertwines itself deep into the heart of the moviemaking business. Packed with celebrity cameos and endless in-jokes about the entertainment industry, it’s one of Altman’s best films. And now it’s available on VOD. Make a weekend out of the Hollywood studio system!
[You can rent or purchase The Player on Amazon Video or purchase it on iTunes.]
