For those who want a change from raiding Netflix’s ample reservoirs and want to see the newest titles available, there’s always Redbox, which provides new DVDs and games for rent much in the way that your local video store did before they learned what it was to be unloved. Anyway, while a simple vending machine can’t match the selection of a Blockbuster, there’s plenty to sort through. And to narrow it down, here a few Redbox movies that are worth your time and available to rent for October, ranging from Disney classics, raunchy comedies, and stress-inducing science fiction.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Already having cemented itself as one of 2015’s best films while simultaneously helping reimagine the action adventure genre, George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road is a hypnotic and rage-fueled ride from start to finish. Tom Hardy grunts his way through the movie as the film’s titular character, while it’s Charlize Theron who delivers the real, meaty role as Imperator Furiosa who’s trying to save women from Immortan Joe’s imprisonment. Feminist themes persist throughout as the wives reclaim their agency, and Furiosa takes on the hero’s mantle. Driving at breakneck speed for the entirety of the film with practical stunts and some of the most beautiful shots we’ll see this year (the sand storm at the start being the most obvious example) Mad Max: Fury Road is the film to see.
Cinderella
It’s been a tough road for the Disney machine when it comes to reimagining their classic animated tales into live action juggernauts. There was the charmless Alice in Wonderland and then the dull Snow White and the Huntsman, so there was little reason to believe that Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella would fare any better. However, Cinderella managed to do what the other two mentioned didn’t: realize it was a children’s film and make sure that every big moment was enchanting and imbued with the original’s sense of wonder. Lily James is winning as the titular Cinderella, and Richard Madden equally so as her Prince Charming, both stars sharing a sweet chemistry. With lavish costumes, elaborate set designs, and a wicked Cate Blanchett as the evil step-mother, Cinderella excelled in delivering a tale to rival the classic animated film.
The Overnight
Sex, drugs and parenting are all explored in the raunchy and unsettling film The Overnight, which first premiered at Sundance this year. Adam Scott and Taylor Schilling star in Patrick Brice’s film about a couple just recently moved to L.A. with their son and are finding it difficult to find friends. They meet the worldly Kurt (Jason Schwartzman), who invites them all over to dinner with his wife and son. Once the kids go to bed, the four begin on a smoke-hazed night of fun, boundary pushing, and self-reflection.
Ex Machina
Oscar Isaac’s dancing should be enough of an incentive to watch this film. This was the first film directed by Alex Garland, best known for writing some of the best scripts of the science fiction genre (28 Days Later, Never Let Me Go, Sunshine). A young computer tech is invited to an eccentric billionaire’s mansion, where he’s put to work using the Turing test on Ava, an A.I. he’s created. Starring three of the most up and coming actors of the year with Isaac, Alicia Vikander, and Domhnall Gleeson, the film builds on tension throughout its three acts, leaving you on the edge of your seat by its climax. Surprisingly funny and beautifully shot, Ex Machina is a great, understated sci-fi thriller.
What We Do In The Shadows
Underseen and undervalued, What We Do in the Shadows is the one of the funniest comedies of the year so far. A mockumentary about vampires who are also roommates, the film takes conventional tropes about vampire films and flips them on their head, making them goofy rather than frightening. Directed by and starring Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, the film is ludicrous fun as they go out to clubs, fight with werewolves, and determine whose turn it is to do the dishes.
‘71
Jack O’Connell is on his way to becoming one of the most talked about actors around, and the breathtaking thriller/drama ‘71 proves just that. Taking place over a single night, O’Connell’s British soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to communicate with any of his fellow officers, O’Connell is caught in a web of lies where young men are used to fight the older generations wars. As he fights to stay alive, the film becomes an increasingly taut and stress-inducing ride.
The Double
Following his debut film Submarine, Richard Ayoade had already developed a good reputation in the independent cinema world, and went on to blow minds with The Double. Jesse Eisenberg gives his best performance to date as both Simon and James, who may be each other’s physical doubles, but their personalities are opposite. Where Simon is timid and shy, James is confident and well-spoken. Simon loses more and more of himself as the film progresses, and Ayoade shows a keen eye for interesting and discombobulating shots. As James continues to take over Simon’s life, Ayoade visualizes Simon’s anger and confusion, shooting sequences in flurries of color and spinning shots.
Boulevard
Delivering one of his best and final performances in Dito Montiel’s Boulevard, Robin Williams plays a man who has gone through most of his life hiding his true self. This all ends one night when he meets a young man, Leo (Roberto Aguire). He pulls away from his wife as he begins to explore his sense of identity and his sexuality, realizing that it’s never too late to learn about himself and choose the life he’s always wanted to lead.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
While it didn’t quite recreate the magic of its predecessor, Joss Whedon’s follow-up to the 2012 smash hit was still worth a watch for the world-building it continued and the excellently drawn heroes. After Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) creates Ultron (James Spader), a malgamanic A.I. who believes the world would be safer without humans, the Avengers must band together once again to take out earth’s newest threat. With some fantastic newcomers in Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlett Witch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Quicksilver, and Paul Bettany’s Vision, the film added enough new players to avoid feeling stale, while also focusing enough on our regulars as to make sure they’re not forgotten. Working largely as a bridge to the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, the film is an action packed and exciting ride.
