And we are back with another BSR! Weekend Movie Previews. This one is for the weekend of May 9, 2014.
Before we get started, a quick disclaimer: I have not seen any of these movies, nor have I researched any of them. This is an exercise in really low effort content creation. All of the film information presented here, including the plot summary, has been pulled from the Opening This Week page of IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/nowplaying/). This week we are previewing “Neighbors”, “God’s Pocket“, “Chef” and more.
Please hold your comments and trollish remarks for the end.
Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (2013)
PG 88 min – Animation | Family | Musical
Directors: Will Finn | Dan St. Pierre
Stars: Lea Michele, Kelsey Grammer, Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi
Summary: Dorothy wakes up in post-tornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz to try to save her old friends the Scarecrow, the Lion, the Tin Man and Glinda from a devious new villain, the Jester. Wiser the owl, Marshal Mallow, China Princess and Tugg the tugboat join Dorothy on her latest magical journey through the colorful landscape of Oz to restore order and happiness to Emerald City.
Thoughts: Seriously? This looks horrible. Just bordering on execrable. Is this where animation is going? A feature length film with B-Level Voice Talent, animated in the style of “Veggie Tales”? Please don’t let your children watch this. There is no telling the damage that it can do. Damage that won’t become apparent until they are grown and selling drugs or dancing for tips in the industrial section of town.
Fed Up (2014) – [Limited]
PG 92 min – Documentary
Director: Stephanie Soechtig
Stars: Michele Simon
Summary: Upending the conventional wisdom of why we gain weight and how to lose it, Fed Up unearths a dirty secret of the American food industry-far more of us get sick from what we eat than anyone has previously realized. Filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig and TV journalist Katie Couric lead us through this potent exposé that uncovers why-despite media attention, the public’s fascination with appearance, and government policies to combat childhood obesity-generations of American children will now live shorter lives than their parents did.
Thoughts: Apocalyptic Documentaries are fun.
Palo Alto (2013) – [Limited]
R 100 min – Drama
Director: Gia Coppola
Stars: Emma Roberts, James Franco, Jack Kilmer, Zoe Levin
Summary: Shy, sensitive April is the class virgin, torn between an illicit flirtation with her soccer coach Mr. B and an unrequited crush on sweet stoner Teddy. Emily, meanwhile, offers sexual favors to every boy to cross her path – including both Teddy and his best friend Fred, a live wire without filters or boundaries. As one high school party bleeds into the next – and April and Teddy struggle to admit their mutual affection – Fred’s escalating recklessness starts to spiral into chaos.
Thoughts: Man, James Franco is on a kind of roll with these slimey older guys hooking up with High School girl roles. Between “Spring Breakers” and this, you might think his Instagram hijinks were just research for his films. This is apparently based on some short stories by him, and is a who’s who of Hollywood nepotism. The Writer/Director, Gia Coppola, is the granddaughter of the illustrious Francis Ford Coppola. She is also the cousin of Jason Schwartzman and Nicholas Cage, and the niece of Sofia Coppola. It also features Jack Kilmer who is the son of “Real Genius” Val. It stars Emma Roberts who is the daughter of the “Best of the Best” Eric Roberts and niece of Julia Roberts. Anyway, it looks like a very indie, low budget Sofia Coppola movie, which isn’t a bad thing at all.
The Double (2013) – [Limited]
R 93 min – Drama | Thriller
Director: Richard Ayoade
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Noah Taylor
Summary: A clerk in a government agency finds his unenviable life takes a turn for the horrific with the arrival of a new co-worker who is both his exact physical double and his opposite – confident, charismatic and seductive with women.
Thoughts: In the early 2000’s I would’ve been all over this movie, eagerly awaiting its release, already determined that it was going to be the best film of the year. But in 2014 I am mildly intrigued but fairly certain it will fall apart in the third act.
God’s Pocket (2014)
88 min – Drama
Director: John Slattery
Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christina Hendricks, Richard Jenkins, John Turturro
Summary: When Mickey’s crazy stepson Leon is killed in a construction ‘accident’, nobody in the working class neighborhood of God’s Pocket is sorry he’s gone. Mickey tries to bury the bad news with the body, but when the boy’s mother demands the truth, Mickey finds himself stuck in a life and death struggle between a body he can’t bury, a wife he can’t please and a debt he can’t pay.
Thoughts: Watching the trailer and seeing Hoffman married to Christina Hendricks, it kinda reminded me of the Ted Bundy film “Deliberate Stranger”, in which all of the detectives trying to track down Mark Harmon were old out of shape dudes married to young super model types (I am not implying that Hendricks is a young super model type, she is much better than that). It just couldn’t register. Having said that, I like John Slattery, and I say that without having watched a single episode of “Mad Men”, and the whole cast is freaking fantastic. And it was Hoffman’s last completed role. Looks like it is worth a watch, whether that is at the theaters or repeatedly on Starzz in a couple of months is up to you.
Moms’ Night Out (2014)
PG 98 min – Comedy
Directors: Andrew Erwin | Jon Erwin
Stars: Sarah Drew, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, Trace Adkins
Summary: All Allyson and her friends want is a peaceful, grown-up evening of dinner and fun – a long-needed moms’ night out. But in order to enjoy high heels, adult conversation, and food not served in a bag, they need their husbands to watch the kids for a few hours … what could go wrong?
Thoughts: I only recognize Sean Astin and Patricia Heaton from the cast, not that that is necessarily a bad thing or anything. Also, Sean Astin and his wife (Sarah Drew) have a bit of that same “Deliberate Stranger” vibe that I was mentioning before. The movie itself, based on the trailer, looks like a poorly thought out sequel to “Adventures in Babysitting”. It seems to be hitting some of the same plot points, though maybe with less stylishly dressed performers. Totally an Encore watch. In multiple little segments, over many, many days.
Chef (2014)
R 115 min – Comedy
Director: Jon Favreau
Stars: Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman
Summary: A chef who loses his restaurant job starts up a food truck in an effort to reclaim his creative promise, while piecing back together his estranged family.
Thoughts: I really like Favreau as film maker, but more so his little indie films. With the exception of the first “Iron Man”, his big budget output hasn’t matched up craft-wise to his smaller efforts. “Swingers”, “Made”, even “Elf” I would put in that smaller category. But his big budget stuff always suffers from a poor marriage of his more improv/loose approach to directing actors and the more rigorous needs of big budget action films to always be moving from one big set piece to another. Hopefully, at some point he will get it figured out. Having said that, “Chef” looks like a lot of fun.
Neighbors (2014)
R 96 min – Comedy
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Stars: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Lisa Kudrow
Summary: A couple with a newborn baby face unexpected difficulties after they are forced to live next to a fraternity house.
Thoughts: Okay, right up front, I am not a fan of Seth Rogen in the least. However, I have to admit, there is always something in his films that make me laugh. And “This Is The End” is pretty much a marvel of meta comedy. “Super Bad” was basically me and my HS friends, except without all of the porn, profanity and hope of dating female classmates. And, while we are being honest, let’s face the facts, Rose Byrne is endlessly darling. So, for a movie with someone that I don’t care for at all, I guess, based on the trailer, that this is a pretty high recommendation.
If you have seen any of these movies, let us know your thoughts in the comments.