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Movies & TV

9 films you can watch online right now to escape reality

TOMORROWLAND is an adventure movie of remarkable visual flair and invention, with maybe one idea too many. That’s the worst thing I can say about it – and is that really so bad? Which would you prefer, a movie with too much in its head or not enough? Ostensibly based on the venerable Disney theme park attractions that celebrate Jet Age futurism with catchy songs and nifty gadgetry, the film’s real roots are in the company’s live-action adventure movies of the 60s and 70s.  (See full Tomorrowland review). 

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Where to watch: iTunes, Netflix 


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Chewy! Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets a free ­outdoor screening in Liberty Village, August 26.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS has all of the strengths of the original trilogy and none of the weaknesses of the prequels. It continues the epic tale of the fight for freedom in a galaxy far, far away by telling the stories of a handful of people who get caught up in the fight, just as Luke Skywalker did, and have to choose sides. Taking the story forward – picking up some 30 years after Return Of The Jedi – was the only move, really. It lets Abrams (and his co-writer, Lawrence Kasdan, a veteran of both Jedi and The Empire Strikes Back) introduce a host of new characters whose stories are at least as engaging as the ones we’ve known for four decades. (See full Star Wars: The Force Awakens review). 

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Where to watch: Netflix 


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BIG GAME follows as the U.S. president (Samuel L. Jackson, if only) crash-lands on a mountaintop in northern Finland, where he’s forced to rely on a 13-year-old boy (Rare Exports star Onni Tommila, Helander’s real-life son) to help him evade the terrorists who’ve shot down Air Force One. (See full Big Game review). 

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Where to watch: iTunes, Netflix 


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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION is a globe-hopping action adventure that demonstrates that Cruise is basically the smartest, shrewdest and most capable human being in the world – or, as another character describes him, “the physical manifestation of destiny.” Also once again, the villain of a M:I movie is an enemy within – in this case, a literal Rogue Nation called the Syndicate, which operates inside the world’s governments and espionage agencies, working to shape geopolitical realities while good men and women are distracted. (See full Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation review). 

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Where to watch: iTunes, Netflix 


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EDDIE THE EAGLE in narrative terms is basically Rudy: a sports figure whose accomplishment was just getting to play. Like Rudy, Edwards resonated with people because they saw themselves in his dogged determination and middling skill. But where the film about Ruettiger practically canonized his pure heart and monomaniacal soul, this film is a little more cynical about the whole thing. Director Dexter Fletcher is more than happy to follow the standard sports biopic formula, framing Edwards as a noble hero pushing aside every challenge to follow his dream. But Fletcher’s also aware that the formula is kinda tired and could use a bit of a reality check. (see full Eddie The Eagle review).  

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Where to watch: Netflix 


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 MR. RIGHT is the best date movie ever. Anna Kendrick is Martha, a freshly dumped New Orleans paleontologist who falls for Sam Rockwell’s Francis – a loose, charming, perfectly wonderful fellow who’s secretly a former top-tier assassin with a price on his head. Comparisons will be made to George Armitage’s post-Tarantino classic Grosse Pointe Blank, and those comparisons will not be unreasonable, but screenwriter Max Landis is in fact reworking last summer’s American Ultra from a different character’s perspective, and it really lands. (See full Mr. Right review). 

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Where to watch: Netflix 


Inherent Vice

INHERENT VICE is set in 1970, and sometime detective Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) is nudged out of a dope fog by an ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterston) trying to keep a real-estate mogul boyfriend out of trouble. That’s just the start of a long and twisted road for Doc, who fumbles further and further onwards, uncovering an elaborate (and frankly insane) conspiracy. (See full Inherent Vice review). 

Rating: NNNN

Where to watch: Netflix 


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SPY is more or less what you’d expect when the director of Bridesmaids and his breakout star decide to tackle an action movie. It’s funny and smart, and even legitimately exciting at a couple of points.

McCarthy stars as Susan Cooper, a CIA handler who goes into the field when the high-level agents are compromised. While the people around her don’t take her seriously, the movie does: she’s smart and capable enough to hold her own in a fight, but a decade behind a desk has also given her a strategic savvy that her more reckless colleagues (among them a perfectly pissy Jason Statham) are missing. (See full Spy review). 

Rating: NNNN 

Where to watch: iTunes, Netflix


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THE OVERNIGHT‘s Adam Scott and Taylor Schilling play a couple newly arrived in Los Angeles and looking to make new friends. So naturally, they’re delighted to be invited to dinner by the parents (Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche) of their son’s playmate… only to discover these hipster sophisticates have some very odd expectations for the evening. (See full The Overnight review). 

Rating: NNNN

Where to watch: iTunes, Netflix

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