A nation-wide prank war is a dangerous way to start a month. April is already plagued by bugs, pollen, and slippery, rainy roads—why would we want to add toothpaste-filled Oreos and jump scares to that situation? This April 1, let's avoid giving in to FOMO and joining the legions of April Fool's Day trolls. Instead, we should just pull out our computers and indulge in some good binge-watching, like civilized people. Luckily, Hulu's additions to its streaming catalog this month should keep you busy no matter how long you have to stay in your prank-free bunker. So check under you bed, lock the door, and let the pranksters prank themselves out. You've got binge-ing to do.
Johnny Depp and Al Pacino star in this classic cop/mobster drama. Depp plays FBI Agent Joseph Pistone, who infiltrates a prominent New York City crime family by going undercover as jewel thief Donnie Brasco. Along the way, he befriends a gangster called Lefty (Pacino), and slowly loses touch with straight and narrow. *Donnie Brasco *brings enough grit and realism to be a worthy addition to the (ponderously huge) mob-movie genre, but it's Pacino and Depp's on-screen chemistry that makes this one stand out.
John Hughes' roster of teen characters is as impressive as the Golden State Warriors' bench, but Ferris Bueller is definitely his Steph Curry. Ferris (Matthew Broderick) is an unusually popular high school troublemaker who decides he deserves a day off. There's a cat-and-mouse game with the principal, a joyride in a stolen Ferrari, and string of screwball adventures in and around major Chicago landmarks. Everyone has fun. Everyone learns about life. The cultural legacy of *Ferris Bueller's Day Off *shows no signs of waning, and for good reason: Ferris' irrepressible, rebel-without-a-cause attitude has struck a chord for decades. So chances are you'll still get a kick out of this one, even if you've seen it a dozen times already.
This movie is the only one Stephen King has ever directed, and both he and Maximum Overdrive's star, Emilio Estevez, got Razzie nominations for their performances. Here's the set up: After Earth passes through the tail of a comet, inanimate objects (ATMs, steamrollers, vending machines) come to life and start murdering the crap out of people. Hardly innovative stuff, but AC/DC's *Who Made Who *is the soundtrack. So if you want to watch truck drivers get taken out by their big rigs to the tune of "Hells Bells," this is your movie.
Who doesn't want to watch baby Jason Bateman play a teenage werewolf? Teen Wolf Too is the sequel to Teen Wolf, which stars Michael J. Fox, and the stakes are pretty much the same: Coming of age as a werewolf will turn you into a high school sports star overnight, but at what cost? Possibly, your love interest. But also not really, because this is a silly '80s teen movie. And that's why we like it.
The Internet is pretty committed to the idea that Ryan Gosling is, above all else, a suave-yet-sweet ladies man. But in Lars and the Real Girl, he's certainly sweet, but he's also titanically socially inept and in love with a sex doll named Bianca. Oh, and he thinks she's alive. And his whole town has to play along. But despite the premise, this movie is far more fleecy than crass, which is what makes it worth watching. The writing is great, Gosling is adorkable, and Bianca falls right in the uncanny valley in the best way possible.
This is also a Stephen King adaption, but directed by David Cronenberg and blessed with considerably better reviews than Maximum Overdrive. Christopher Walken stars as a lovelorn school teacher who, after spending five years in a coma, awakens with psychic abilities. Unfortunately, the secrets he learns—glimpses of a person's past or future when he touches them—are all major bummers. Bummer or not, though, it's still an engrossing, well-directed psychological thriller.
Before Louis CK became a comedy kingpin, he wrote and directed a movie called Pootie Tang. It's kind of a riff on an old Chris Rock Show sketch that parodies blaxploitation-era films, but mostly it's just absurd. Pootie Tang is an actor/musician/pop culture icon who goes around beating people with a belt. He also speaks in a largely unintelligible slang throughout the whole movie. It was unanimously panned at the time of its release, but it now has minor cult status, and dumb funny charm.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are two slightly off-the-rails cops trying to track down the people bringing large quantities of ecstasy into Miami. There are sinister Russians and neurotic Cuban drug lords, and people get shot in the butt. Basically, it's a Michael Bay movie, so you pretty much know whether you're going to like it or not.
This series doesn't need much fanfare. It's classic. The Naked Gun 2&1/2: The Smell of Fear is the second installment, in which Lieutenant Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) is pitted against his ex-girlfriend's new lover, who is also trying to kidnap a pro-solar energy scientist. It's funny, and an interesting snapshot of the early '90s: Who would have thought that you could have Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and a big coal vs. solar debate in one cop comedy?
Oh, Chappie. Chappie begins life as a robocop in Johannesburg before being stolen by gangsters and given sentience. It's kind of cool, then it's kind of sad. (Transhumanism, man.)If you ask us, this movie is all visual/conceptual bluster and no real substance. But then again, audiences liked it much better than critics did, so you might enjoy it.
