This Weekend, Watch This
A comparison for the new releases for October 31 - November 2, 2014
By Curt David
October 31, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Did you even see any advertising for our movie?
New movies are released into theaters every weekend. How do you decide which movie to watch? Some movies sound awesome (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), but then do not do too well commercially. Other movies star your celebrity crush (Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars), but then do not get much love critically. Still other movies are recommended by friends (but friends can be idiots). And if you are like 27%* of people, you are not even aware of which movies are being released, yet alone which movies you should pay your hard earned money on.

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 you should watch in the theaters.

For the Halloween weekend, the new movies in wide release are Nightcrawler and Before I Go To Sleep (and a re-release of the movie Saw).


Nightcrawler Before I Go To SleepWINNER
(1 point per category)
Clearest TitlePlease, please, please be an X-Men filmProbably a Halloween type movieEh...1/2 point each.
Best Genre
and Rating		Thriller
Rated R for violence including graphic images, and for language		Horror
Rated PG-13 for disturbing violent content, frightening horror images, and thematic material 		Sure… 1/2 point each.
Best Plot
(in haiku form)		Ambulance Chaser
To get best stories for news
Breaks laws. Films big crimes. 		Girl daily forgets
Like movie 50 First Dates
The scary version 		Why not… 1/2 point each.
Best TrailerPROS: An engaging trailer with good actors, suspenseful because the guy is in thrilling situations.
CONS: I’m not sure if I care if something good or bad happens to the main character.		PROS: That’s how you make a thriller! Not just a woman finding out about her past, but every day she forgets her memory! That’s good.
CONS: None I could tell from the trailer.		Hands down, 100%, Before I Go To Sleep. (I also liked the movies 50 First Dates and Premonition. This movie is their baby).
Coolest Lead ActorJake Gyllenhaal from October Sky, Donnie Darko, and Brokeback Mountain.Nicole Kidman from Moulin Rouge!, The Others, and The Hours.Nicole Kidman is going to win this point.
Best CastBill Paxton (Apollo 13) and Rene Russo (Ransom)Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) Let’s get round numbers for the totals… 1/2 point each.
Best Street Cred
For the Production		Writer and Director Dan Gilroy also wrote The Bourne Legacy. Writer and director Rowan Joffe also wrote 28 Weeks Later. Aw dang, forget the round numbers...these two new-ish director/writers will split the point.


So out of a maximum of 7 points per movie, Before I Go To Sleep scores 4 and 1/2 points and Nightcrawler scores 2 and 1/2 points.

You may interpret this column for your own movie preferences. For example, if you are a J.Gyl fan, feel free to watch Nightcrawler. 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, Before I Go To Sleep is the best movie to watch this weekend.
Conclusion 2: Each week I give a gold star to the movie with the best tagline. This week I’m not going to reward any gold stars for the random superlative of Nightcrawler’s “The City Shines Brightest at Night” nor for the must-have-been-done-before Before I Go To Sleep’s “Who Do You Trust?”
Conclusion 3: Three weeks until the next Hunger Games movie! I’m saving my movie money until then.

*Statistic is completely made up.