Ok, you guys–since we know how important at-home-entertainment is for all of us – every Tuesday we’re going to do a little “what’s getting released on DVD/on demand/Netflix this week” round up for you, with nice little excerpts of our past reviews and more. You’ll love it. Trust us. Now–all you need is someone to watch these movies with.

OUT THIS WEEK & PROCEED WITH CAUTION:

Safe House – Here’s what we said in our original review:
“After I left the movie, my friend and I were chatting about what we just endured. He was telling me about a trip to Cape Town, and how his memories of the city looked nothing likeSafe House. He told me, “I remember standing on a peak, overlooking the city, and telling my friend that this is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.” Just like the location, it seems, Espinosa managed to squander his cast, his budget, and his production team. In a winter where Haywire showed us how a spy thriller can be smart and fresh, Safe House is a lazy entry into a genre already crowded by mediocrity.”

OUT THIS WEEK & (MOSTLY) RECOMMENDED:

John Carter - Here’s what we said in our original review:
“To a large extent, John Carter is a creature of the modern era of sci-fi blockbusters: Bloated with visual excess, simplistic in its narrative structure and characterizations, and more or less totally overtaken by galloping action sequences in its third act. On that level, it’s actually not a bad entry in the genre, and is better put together than most. But what really saves John Carter is the way the charm and devil-may-care wit of its source material shines through, especially in the first half.”
Hit So Hard – Here’s what we said in our original review:
“What’s most interesting about the documentary is the lore of Kurt Cobain that looms over its first half. We see Cobain in candid moments with his daughter Frances Bean. In another instance, we see him duet on unreleased, acoustic material with Courtney in the couple’s Maryville, WA home. Hell, even though Courtney Love is borderline-unlikable, she’s charismatic, and has a rightful spot in the grunge canon. Listening to her speak on her relationship with with Kurt and her own persona is captivating. Patty Schemel feels secondary to the first 45 minutes of the documentary, and is a much less compelling subject than those that precede her. So while I can’t point out advertising as a fault of the film itself, it’s definitely misleading. Much more fascinating is when Hits So Hard pierces into a once undisclosed look of Kurt’s finals weeks, his suicide, and its aftermath. You get an intimate, disturbing look at the way it effected his friends and family.”

OUT RECENTLY AND DEFINITELY WORTH YOUR TIME:

How to Live Forever – From Rotten Tomatoes:
“Director Mark Wexler embarks on a worldwide trek to investigate just what it means to grow old and what it could mean to really live forever. But whose advice should he take? Does 94-year-old exercise guru Jack LaLanne have all the answers, or does Buster, a 103-year-old chain-smoking, beer-drinking marathoner? What about futurist Ray Kurzweil, a laughter yoga expert, or an elder porn star? Wexler explores the viewpoints of delightfully unusual characters alongside those of health, fitness and life extension experts in this engaging new documentary, which challenges our notions of youth and aging with comic poignancy. Begun as a study in life-extension, How To Live Forever evolves into a thoughtprovoking examination of what truly gives life meaning.”

INSTANT NETFLIX VIEWING OF THE WEEK:

***In honor of Moonrise Kingdom‘s D.C. theatrical release over the weekend, here’s a quick prep list of the Instantly Watchable films starring MK‘s fantastic cast. These are films you need to see or revisit, all at your fingertips.***

Lost in Translation – Bill Murray.
I Am Love – Tilda Swinton.
Die Hard 2 – Bruce Willis. (Fairly upset The Fifth Element isn’t an Instant Watch option right now.)
The Man Who Wasn’t There – Frances McDormand.
Ghostbusters – Bill Murray. (Twice on the list because he’s Bill Murray, obviously.)