This Weekend, Watch This
A comparison for the new releases for February 26 - March 1, 2015
By Curt David
February 26, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Olivia WIlde or River Tam? You be the judge.
New movies are released into theaters every weekend. How do you decide which movie to watch? 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 weekend of February 27th, the new movies in wide release are Focus and The Lazarus Effect.



FocusThe Lazarus EffectWINNER
(1 point per category)
Clearest TitleThanks, one-word title, for not telling me anything,If my Biblical knowledge serves me well, someone’s coming back from the dead in this movie.The Lazarus Effect winst his point.
Best Genre
and Rating		Crime Dramedy
Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief violence		Horror
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of horror violence, terror and some sexual references 		I like the weeks with different genres and ratings! 1/2 point each.
Best Plot
(in haiku form)		Guy is a smooth thief
Girl works for him, helps with job
Who is playing who?		Girl nurse dies in lab
Friends bring her back from the dead
She brought hell back, too		The Lazarus Effect has the better plot. Point.
Best TrailerPROS: Looks like a well-shot movie with fun actors to watch
CONS: You’ll be paying the price for a movie for a plot that could be found on TV		PROS: Not a bad premise: bring someone unnaturally back from the dead and bad stuff happens
CONS: The main scary feature is a man’s hoarse voice coming from girl’s mouth		Hmm, I guess Focus wins the best trailer, but it was pretty close.
Coolest Lead ActorWill Smith from Independence Day, Men in Black, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.Olivia Wilde from House M.D. and Rush.Will Smith wins this point, for now.
Best CastMargot Robbie (Wolf on Wall Street) and Rodrigo Santoro (300)Donald Glover (Community) and Mark Duplass (Safety Not Guaranteed) The casts can split the point.
Best Street Cred
For the Production		Co-writers and co-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa also co-wrote and directed I Love You Phillip Morris.Director David Gelb also directed short films and documentaries. The directing duo can win this point.


So out of a maximum of 7 points per movie, Focus scores 4 points and The Lazarus Effect scores 3 points.

You may interpret this column for your own movie preferences. For example, if you are itching for a horror movie, feel free to watch The Lazarus Effect. 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, Focus is the best movie to watch this weekend.
Conclusion 2: Each week I give a gold star to the movie with the best tagline, which I guess goes to Lazarus’ “Evil will rise,” instead of Focus’ “Never lose.”
Conclusion 3: Rodrigo Santoro may be best known in the USA for playing Xerxes in 300, but he also has some serious street cred for being an awesome actor in foreign films. Check him out.
Conclusion 4: Or is the correct grammar, “Who is playing whom?”