Weekend Movie Discussion: Legends of Oz, Mom's Night Out, Neighbors, The Double

New Movie Releases Reviewed in 7 Words Each

Legends of Oz - Great grandchildren always steal your best ideas.

Mom's Night Out - Presumably it's meant to appeal to mothers.

Neighbors - It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

The Double (limited) - Please be playing somewhere nearby to me.

I guess if you're the great grandson of a famous author, and a writer yourself, dipping your quill in your grandpappy's ink is as good an idea as any. I have not read any of Roger Stanton Baum's books cause, why would I? It seems pointless. At any rate I can't speak to whether or not he's a good writer. I know he's been writing his Oz books for a couple of decades. There was even a previous movie made from one of them. What little I've seen by way of preview for Legends of Oz hasn't exactly thrilled me. Really it looks like something that should have gone straight to DVD.

Much as I enjoy seeing Patricia Heaton get tazed, I have the feeling that Mom's Night Out isn't for me. I'm not a mom, let alone a parent, so maybe I'm blinded when I say it looks awful. The premise, seems kind of insulting, to both fathers and mothers. But trailers can be deceiving. On the other hand Trace Adkins is in the film as well, and that just feels like a big WTH. It comes courtesy of people who've made several craptastic Christian films, so there's that. But hey, it's aimed at moms, or more specifically fathers who, unable to decide what to do for Mother's Day, can take the easy way out via theater. Blech.

I've heard a lot of good things about Neighbors. It's supposed to be incredibly funny. Seth Rogen does a lot of half baked films (pun absolutely intended) but he can be really great. Zac Efron has also shown he can be good in the right role. And let's face it, I was sold on it from the first trailer showing Rogen catapulted from his seat. That's just funny, with or without context.

Mind you the film I most want to see this weekend is The Double. Richard Ayoade's doppelganger film is based on a Fyodor Dostoyevsky novella, so pretty much the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup of films currently out. I make no secret of my love for Dostoyevsky. He was a depressing, depressing, man, who told dreaery stories that were also somehow beautiful.  I loved Ayoade's Submarine, which was unfairly painted by critics as a Wes Anderson clone. I've been eagerly anticipating this movie for awhile. With any luck it'll play around me somewhere. 

Trailer for The Double:

Looks awesome yes?

And then came the trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes:

It looks better and better the closer we get to it. It's funny, I was never really a fan of the Apes films, but Rise was so good that Dawn is one of my top anticipated films of the year.

Anyhoo, what do you think of this week's releases?