(Photo by Sarah Shatz/©Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection)
In these days of six-feet-apart distancing, the idea of throwing/attending/completely humiliating yourself at a wild party is out of the question – no matter how much you might currently be fantasizing about doing just that. We here at Rotten Tomatoes have been feeling the itch for company of late too, and with that in mind decided to help bring the party home to you – with the help of some of the most out-of-control gatherings ever committed to screen. Start streaming one of the films below and – voila – you’ll be surrounded by booze, music, and friends. (Bonus: Your friends might include Kirsten Dunst, Seth Rogen, and Dave Chappelle.)
There’s something for everyone here: a ton of house parties for those looking for a Solo cup vibe; decadent bacchanals for those who want to live fancy (Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby, Marie Antoinette); office parties for those missing their colleagues (The Apartment, Office Christmas Party); and a sci-fi rave (The Matrix: Reloaded), a period ball (Pride and Prejudice), and some kink (Eyes Wide Shut) for good measure. (Note: We decided to leave some epic parties out, because, well, we didn’t like how the ended – looking at you Carrie and Scream.)
With that said, it’s now time to do our hair, grab something from mom’s liquor cabinet, and call an Uber – er, we mean, plonk ourselves on the couch. Party’s about to start and you don’t want to be unfashionably late.
Let us know your favorite movie party in the comments – and which movie characters you’d have on your party guest list. To see where to stream each movie, click into the title for more details.
(Photo by Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection)
Like Paul Rudd or Jennifer Aniston who would follow, Leonardo DiCaprio got his start in the business befitting all future megastars: Starring in a godawful horror movie. 1991’s Critters 3 was DiCaprio’s rite of passage, followed by a bit part in Poison Ivy the next year — and that about ended his association with the genre. By 1993, DiCaprio was applying his striking cherubic looks to dramatic features like This Boy’s Life and breakthrough What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, in which he shared the screen with already-established heartthrob Johnny Depp. Romeo + Juliet made Bill Shakespeare palatable for the mid-’90s teenybopper set, which set the stage for world-storming Titanic, which won all the awards, made all the money, and fashioned DiCaprio as a legend in his own time.
Not to rest on his laurels like on a haphazard dresser floating in the ocean, DiCaprio spent the immediate post-Titanic years seeking only to work with the best directors on edgy material, even as they were in their creative doldrums: Woody Allen with Celebrity, and Danny Boyle with The Beach. The viscerally negative reaction to Beach was enough to get DiCaprio to seemingly pull a disappearing act for what seemed like ages in the pre-Internet world. In reality, not even three years had passed when he re-appeared in Gangs of New York, igniting a rich De Niro-esque relationship with Martin Scorsese that would pay dividends with The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Beyond his conservation efforts (resulting in documentaries like Ice on Fire and Before the Flood), which have kept him from acting, DiCaprio maintains his brand and allure by making each screen performance a major event, going years between narrative films and working only with the biggest-name directors out there: Clint Eastwood (J. Edgar), Christopher Nolan (Inception), Alejandro González Iñárritu (Best Actor and Best Picture-winning The Revenant), and, most recently, Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
Read on to see Leonardo DiCaprio’s best movies (and his worst) by Tomatometer!
This weekend, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now the number one film all time domestically, The Revenant expanded nationwide to explosive results while Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight crumbled in its second week of wide release.
In a mere 20 days, Star Wars: The Force Awakens managed to overtake Avatar and become the highest grossing film of all time domestically. In its 4th weekend (which would be 24 days), The Force Awakens racked up another $41.6M, according to estimates, raising its record to $812M. Internationally it made another $146M (including a record-breaking $52.6M two-day opening in China) bringing its cume to $921M for a worldwide total of $1.73B, overtaking Jurassic World for number three all-time. This leaves only Titanic ($2.1865B worldwide) and Avatar ($2.788B) left in its path. Will it be able to make another billion dollars? That might be difficult but never say never with this film. Perhaps if one person wins this week’s $1.3B Powerball jackpot in the U.S., they’ll spend all their money on Star Wars tickets?
In what turned out to be a close race, Leonardo DiCaprio’s best chance yet at Oscar glory The Revenant exploded in wide release taking in an estimated $38M from 3,375 theaters for a per screen average of $11,259, best in the top 10. If the estimates hold, it’ll be the fifth highest opening weekend in January, slipping right in between 2015’s Taken 3 ($39M) and 2014’s Lone Survivor ($37.8M). The last three years have seen five of the top six January openings. For DiCaprio, it’s his fourth biggest opening behind Shutter Island ($41M in 2010), The Great Gatsby ($50M in 2013) and Inception ($62.8M in 2010). Finally, we have a prestige pic that does well in its nationwide expansion, which should bode well for its Oscar chances.
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s Daddy’s Home continued it’s impressive run with an estimated $15M in its third weekend, a drop of 48% from last weekend’s holiday infused grosses. Its total now stands at $116M for Paramount, a studio always in desperate need of a hit.
Debuting in fourth was the horror film The Forest which made $13.1M, according to estimates, from 2,451 theaters for a per screen average of $5,340. January has always been kind to horror films and anytime you can make back your budget in a single weekend, you’re on the right path. Between this and The Revenant, audiences spent a lot of money on films that take place in between the trees.
Also continuing a strong run was the tag team of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler with Sisters taking in an estimated $7.2M this weekend, bringing its cume after four weekends to $75M. Collapsing in sixth place was the eighth film from Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight which fell 60% from last weekend despite adding over 450 theaters. It took in an estimated $6.35M this weekend bringing its total up to $41.5M. So let’s kindly forget my thoughts from last week where I said it had a shot at hitting $100M, shall we?
Holding on in seventh place with the smallest drop in the top 10 (30%) was The Big Short which made an estimated $6.3M bringing its total up to $42.8M for Paramount. A couple of Fox films took the next two spots with Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip bringing in an estimated $5.5M lifting its total to $75M and awards-hopeful Joy taking in an estimated $4.5M bringing its cume up to $46M. And rounding out the top 10 was Concussion which became much more relevant after the vicious hit taken by Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers last night left him with a concussion. The Will Smith starrer took in $3M, according to estimates, bringing its total up to $31M.
Outside of the top 10 Anomalisa added 13 theaters but saw its per screen average drop from $35,000 to $13,000 with its total now at $490K.
The top ten films grossed $140.6M which was up 34% from last year when Taken 3 debuted at number one with $39M; and up 25% from 2014 when Lone Survivor jumped into the top spot in its first weekend of wide release with $37.8M.
Rating: PG, for mild language.
There is nothing even vaguely shocking or inappropriate in this extended infomercial about the British boy-band sensation. No groupies, no partying, no infighting. There’s nothing terribly insightful, either. Director Morgan Spurlock made his name with documentaries like Super Size Me, which examined the power of corporate culture; here, he’s a cog in that very machinery. His film follows the pre-fab five — Harry, Zayn, Niall, Liam and Louis — on stage and behind the scenes of their world tour. Spurlock has said he intended this as his version of A Hard Day’s Night, and while it does feature the lads enjoying some mildly wacky antics, these are no Beatles. They barely even have distinguishable personalities. Totally suitable for fans of any age, and tolerable for the parents who are forced to drive them to the theater.
Rating: PG-13, for intense action, violence and mayhem throughout, some rude gestures, and language.
An insane number of cars gets demolished in the name of mindless summer entertainment. Innocent bystanders get mowed down, property is destroyed and general mayhem rules the streets. In the center of it all, causing this damage on command in hopes that he’ll be able to save his kidnapped wife, is Ethan Hawke. As the awesomely named Brent Magna, Hawke plays a washed-up racecar driver who’s stuck in a stolen, souped-up car following the cruel and arbitrary instructions of a disembodied voice (Jon Voight) who has orchestrated his wife’s abduction. Then Selena Gomez shows up as the car’s owner and becomes his hostage, then his unwitting partner. The two trade stilted, profane banter.
Rating: PG-13, for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language.
Decadent partying permeates this film, which should come as no surprise to anyone who read the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel that inspired it in 10th-grade English class. Reclusive, nouveau-riche Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) tries to win back his lost love, the dazzling socialite Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), by staging a series of elaborate soirees that he hopes will catch her attention. Much cigarette smoking and swilling of champagne ensues. Everyone eventually goes home, though, leaving Gatsby to his violent, tragic fate. Director Baz Luhrmann depicts it all lavishly – and in 3-D, no less. But he doesn’t seem to get the melancholy soul of the novel: the loneliness, and the crumbling of the American dream. Totally fine for tweens and high-school kids.
This week on home video, our list is headlined by Baz Luhrmann’s extravagant adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel and Michael Bay’s action comedy. Then, Mira Nair offers up an ambitious post-9/11 tale, and we get an acclaimed historical adventure from Norway, followed by a couple of indie dramas that flew under the radar and a few notable reissues. Read on for the full list:
Baz Luhrmann’s films are known for their lavish style and high production value, so on some level, it seemed appropriate that he would take on the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation The Great Gatsby, what with its period detail and sumptuous high society shindigs. Unfortunately, lots of folks thought Luhrmann focused a bit too much on the visuals, and not enough on the source material. Narrated by Tobey Maguire’s Nick Carraway, Gatsby recounts his experiences with the titular figure, a mysterious and wealthy businessman (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) who pines for Nick’s cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), and whose reckless passions ultimately lead to tragedy. The film split critics nearly right down the middle, with most agreeing that Luhrmann’s intentions were ambitious and that his trademark style was on display gloriously, but also that he may have missed the point of the source material. At 49% on the Tomatometer, The Great Gatsby is certainly pretty to look at, but it may not pack the same punch as Fitzgerald’s words.
You know that guy who directs all the explosive, mega-blockbuster Transformers movies? He decided to do a little “based-on-true-events” crime comedy about a bunch of bodybuilders in Florida who come up with the bright idea to kidnap a rich guy and extort money out of him. The trio of gym rats who band together to commit the crime sport a few foibles of their own, and they’re not the sharpest guys around, so things inevitably go south for them in a hurry. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Anthony Mackie as the scheming personal trainers and rounded out by a supporting cast that includes Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris, Ken Jeong, Rebel Wilson, Rob Corddry, and more, Pain & Gain surprised a handful of critics who found it to be Michael Bay’s most thoughtful work yet. Of course, that isn’t a particularly high bar to surpass, and most who saw the film also admitted its few intriguing satirical jabs are rendered moot by an inevitable descent into violence and typical action tropes. At 46%, Pain & Gain has its moments, but in the end, Bay just can’t help himself.
While we’re talking about true stories, here’s one that’s a little bit older and perhaps more familiar: Back in 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl embarked on an expedition from South America to the Polynesian Islands in order to prove that ancient peoples were capable of making the same trip and populating those islands in prehistoric times. Heyerdahl named the raft he built — strictly from materials that would have been available centuries ago — “Kon Tiki.” Pal Sverre Valheim stars as the famous explorer in this Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee, which charts the perilous journey Heyerdahl made on the balsawood raft with just five other men. Though it follows the basic blueprint of other films like it, Kon Tiki impressed critics to the tune of a Certified Fresh 83%, offering the kind of old-fashioned epic adventure we don’t see a whole lot of any more, and doing it with verve and excitement.
Accomplished director Mira Nair’s last big film, the 2009 biopic Amelia, landed with a bit of a thud, but she’s mined much more thought-provoking territory before, and with The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Nair tackled some heady social issues. Based on the 2007 novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a Pakistani-American college professor (Riz Ahmed) whose seemingly perfect life unravels amid racial profiling and cultural schisms following the tragedies of 9/11. Nair is no slouch, and Fundamentalist showcases her technical prowess and unflinching ambition, but critics felt the film was too heavy-handed to deliver its delicate message effectively. At 54% on the Tomatometer, it features some solid acting and proficient cinematography, but some may find its execution too severe to empathize with it.
This week in streaming video, we’ve got Baz Luhrmann’s lush but uneven adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald classic and a Mark Wahlberg/Dwayne Johnson team-up based on a strange but true story, as well as some choice picks newly available on Netflix. Read on to find out what’s available to watch right now.
48%
Yale grad and World War I vet Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is drawn into the orbit of Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a mysterious millionaire who throws extravagant parties and flaunts the trappings of affluence in an effort to win the heart of Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), who’s married to a rich jerk.
50%
Based on a bizarre true story, Pain & Gain stars Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the tale of three bodybuilders who concoct a scheme to kidnap a wealthy businessman and wrest control of his riches. However, the plan quickly goes awry, with violent repercussions.
73%
In this documentary, one of the residents of the infamous house tells his story.
Available now on: Netflix
80%
Julia Stiles, David Cross, and America Ferrera star in this comedy about a group of couples whose brunch is interrupted by an attack on their city.
Available now on: Netflix
This week at the movies, we’ve got an enigmatic millionaire (The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan) and a tense family gathering (Peeples, starring Craig Robinson and Kerry Washington). What do the critics have to say?
Since its publication in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has beckoned filmmakers like a green light at the end of a pier. Unfortunately, their efforts have tended to be the cinematic equivalent of winning Daisy Buchanan’s heart — lavish exercises in futility. Critics say Baz Luhrmann‘s opulent take on Gatsby continues the trend — it looks fantastic and features a fine lead performance from Leonardo DiCaprio, but it misses the nuanced, melancholy spirit of the novel. In case you slept through English class in high school, here’s the plot: Yale grad and World War I vet Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is drawn into the orbit of Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio), a mysterious millionaire who throws extravagant parties and flaunts the trappings of affluence in an effort to win the heart of Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), who’s married to a rich jerk. The pundits say The Great Gatsby never lacks for spectacle, but what’s missing is the heart beneath the glitz. (Check out this week’s 24 Frames for a gallery of films based on classic books.)
If you’re going to attempt a Meet the Parents-style comedy, you have to work hard to distinguish yourself. Unfortunately, critics say Peeples is a warm, amiable farce that offers a few chuckles but mostly falls back on predictable plotting and an overwrought message. Grace (Kerry Washington) joins her well-to-do family for a reunion in the Hamptons. Her fiancé, an aspiring musician named Wade (Craig Robinson), crashes the party to announce their impending nuptials and embarrasses himself in an attempt to fit in with the family. The pundits say Robinson and Washington are appealing as always, but there’s only so much they can do with the film’s clichéd script. (Check out this week’s Total Recall for a countdown of the best-reviewed directorial work of Peeples producer Tyler Perry, as well as our video interviews with the cast.)
Stories We Tell, director Sarah Polley‘s documentary portrait of her family and its secrets, is at 93 percent.
Sightseers, a comedy about a couple who go on a road trip to see various landmarks and inadvertently initiate a killing spree, is Certified Fresh at 83 percent.
The Painting, a French animated feature about groups of painted characters who go on a journey to understand the origin of their creation, is at 83 percent.
Venus And Serena, a documentary about the relationship between the tennis-star sisters, is at 80 percent.
The Source Family, a doc about the rock-‘n’-rollin’ new religious movement, is at 78 percent.
One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das, a doc about an aspiring rock singer who ditched his possessions and moved to India in search of enlightenment, is at 67 percent.
Aftershock, produced by and starring Eli Roth in a horror film about a group of clubgoers trapped underground after a massive earthquake, is at 42 percent (watch our interview with Roth here).
No One Lives, starring Luke Evans in a horror film about a man who turns the tables on a ruthless gang of kidnappers, is at 22 percent
And Now A Word From Our Sponsor, starring Bruce Greenwood and Parker Posey in a comedy about the head of an advertising agency who speaks only in commercial slogans after suffering a nervous breakdown, is at zero percent.
Java Heat, starring Mickey Rourke and Kellan Lutz in an action thriller about the hunt for a terrorist in Indonesia, is at zero percent.
This week, Baz Luhrmann’s jazzy, stylized adaptation of The Great Gatsby hits theaters, giving families a golden opportunity to compare and contrast the differences between the film and the book. Plus, the action-packed Tom Cruise vehicle Jack Reacher and the romantic drama Safe Haven head to DVD shelves. Read on to find out what’s appropriate for family viewing.
What’s it about? Yale grad and World War I vet Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is drawn into the orbit of Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a mysterious millionaire who throws lavish parties and flaunts the trappings of affluence in an effort to win the heart of Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), who’s married to a rich jerk.
Who’s it for? It’s rated PG-13 “for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language.” It’s certainly safe for young teens, particularly those who would like a visual companion to their English homework.
Is it any good? Critics say Baz Luhrmann’s take on The Great Gatsby is visually stylish, and features a strong performance from DiCaprio, but overall it misses the spirit and the emotional weight of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel.
What’s it about? Tom Cruise stars as the title character, a former Army M.P. who is called upon to investigate a mass shooting and uncovers a web of intrigue.
Who’s it for? It’s rated PG-13 for “for violence, language and some drug material.” Given that it’s a story about a sniper, Jack Reacher might be a tough sell to some parents after the recent shooting in Newtown, but it’s probably safe for teens.
Is it any good? Critics say that while Jack Reacher doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it’s an above-average crime thriller with a charismatic performance from Cruise.
What’s it about? Katie (Julianne Hough) arrives in town haunted by a dark secret from her past. Eventually, she falls for widowed single dad Alex (Josh Duhamel). But will the aforementioned dark secret intrude on her new life?
Who’s it for? It’s rated PG-13 for “for thematic material involving threatening behavior, and for violence and sexuality.” Safe Haven is based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, so expect it to get all kissy-kissy.
Is it any good? Critics say Safe Haven is schmaltzy, conventional, and fluffily romatic. In other words, it’s like most other movies based on Nicholas Sparks novels.
With summer knocking at our door, Beki Lane talks to folks at Regal Cinemas LA Live Stadium 14 about what movies they’re most excited for. You may find their most-anticipated films surprising…
