This Weekend, Watch This
A comparison of the new releases for February 3, 2012
By Curt David
February 3, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com

An axe is sure to rid your house of that supernatural demon....
New movies are released into theaters every weekend. How do you decide which movie to watch? Some people could pick a movie based on the title (Surprisingly, Blade, Blade Runner, and Sling Blade all have different genres). Some people watch trailers (misleading), some people listen to their friends (friends can be idiots), and some people only go to the movies if their Hollywood crush is on the screen (seven weeks until my book-crush The Hunger Games comes to theatres!).

More likely than not, each weekend there is a movie that you have never heard of in the theaters. I'll save you the hassle of researching every movie, by comparing the new releases for each weekend in this column. Then, I'll tell you which movie to watch.

For the weekend of February 3rd, the new movies in wide release are Big Miracle, Chronicle, and The Woman in Black.


Big MiracleChronicle The Woman in Black WINNER (1 point per category)
Clearest TitleSounds inspirational Sounds historical Sounds spooky-ical The Woman in Black is the only title that shows a little bit of clarity. Point.
Best Genre
and Rating		Inspirational:

Rated PG for language. 		Action/Sci-fi (Not historical)

Rated PG-13 for intense action and violence, sexual content, language, and teen drinking. 		Horror/Drama:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material and violence and disturbing images. 		Three different movies, three different points (or actually, three similar 1/3 points)
Cleverest Tagline
(out of 5 stars)		"A family of whales trapped beneath the ice. One unforgettable rescue."

Super long. But clear.

2/5 		"What are you capable of?"

Interesting. And plot related.

3/5 		"What did they see?"

1000X a better tagline when you are looking at the creepy poster.

3/5 		The movies with question marks will split the point.
Best Part of TrailerI love inspirational trailers! Tear up every time. Realistic mockumentary of kids getting super powers. It didn't invoke any emotions in me, but it was good seeing D-Rad again. Big Miracle had a trailer that rivaled The Blind Side's trailer.
Coolest Lead ActorDrew Barrymore from E.T., Charlie's Angels, and Scream. Michael B. Jordan from The Wire and Friday Night Lights. Daniel Radcliffe from the Harry Potter movies. Daniel Radcliffe is my best friend (see below). Point for him.
Best CastJohn Krasinski (The Office), Ted Danson (Cheers), Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars), Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding), and a cameo by Sarah Palin? Other up and coming actors. Ciaran Hinds (most recently from The Debt- lots of movies). This round is a little unfair. Point for the movie with a cast.
Best Street Cred
For the Production		Director Ken Kwapis also directed He's Just Not That Into You and License to Wed. Director Josh Trank also directed a TV show. Director James Watkins was second unit director of The Descent 2. Josh and James are rising up the ranks, but right now Ken is in the lead. Point.


So out of a maximum of 7 points per movie, Big Miracle scores 3 and 1/3 points, The Woman in Black scores 2 and 5/6 points, and Chronicle scores 5/6 point.

You may interpret this column for your own movie preferences. For example, if you like low budget films with clever premises, feel free to watch Chronicle. However, if you are still on the fence, please read the following conclusions from the scientific data gathered in this column.

Conclusion 1: On paper, the best movie to watch this weekend is Big Miracle.
Conclusion 2: He's Just Not That Into You is a decent chick flick.
Conclusion 3: D-Rad is my best friend. Here's why: I went to New York City, he came out of a Broadway show, I asked for his autograph, he gave me one, I said, "Thank you," to which he replied, "You're welcome." Best conversation ever.