Underrated / Overrated

UNDERRATED

‘Hot Coffee’: Ostensibly about a 1994 court case in which millions in damages were awarded to a woman who spilled McDonald’s coffee in her lap, this HBO documentary transcends the one-liners from the time and explores the case’s ultimate fallout. Revealing the harrowing, human story behind that case and closing with an examination of an escalating climate of shrinking legal culpability for corporations, this film should get you hot under the collar.

Spotify: Finally available in the U.S. after more delays than the upcoming “Hobbit” adaptation, the Swedish streaming service lives up to the hype in its early stages, if only for a jaw-dropping, 15 million-song library that ranges from “Abacab” to John Zorn. If this sort of “cloud” listening ends up replacing physical purchases, the financial implications for musicians range from fuzzy to troubling, but there’s no denying that Spotify is already making its mark.

OVERRATED

Body-swapping on film: Anyone who weathered the inexplicable wave of these movies back in the ‘80s should view the upcoming “The Change-Up” with Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds like a warning light on the horizon. While Hollywood has never been shy about recycling ideas, if this movie hits, it could lead to a harrowing mini-revival with inevitable remakes of 1984’s “All of Me” or 1987’s “Like Father, Like Son.” Approach with caution.

Netflix: Has everyone calmed down about the rental-turned-streaming service jacking up its prices? If not, don’t be fooled into thinking there are no alternatives in this town. If you’re still wedded to physical on-demand DVDs, smartly curated (and quite resilient) local shops such as Vidiots, Cinefile and Videotheque offer movie rentals free of little lost envelopes, “long wait” statuses and the feeling you’re just a bigger profit margin waiting to happen.

— Chris Barton