This Weekend, Watch This
A comparison of the new releases for October 22, 2010
By Curt David
October 22, 2010
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, Pitch Black, Meet Joe Black, and Men in Black 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 (Dear Ms. Emma Stone, I just added The House Bunny to my Netflix queue).
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 October 22nd, the movies in wide release are Paranormal Activity 2 and Hereafter.
| Paranormal Activity 2 | Hereafter | WINNER
(1 point per category) |
| Clearest Title | This sounds like the sequel to Paranormal Activity. The "2" gave it away. | This is a unique word. Although, I personally like to use "henceforth" instead in my speech. | Paranormal Activity 2 scares up the point for this round. (Get it? I said "scared.") |
Best Genre
and Rating | Horror
Rated R for some strong language and brief violent material. | Drama (Fantasy)
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including disturbing disaster and accident images, and for brief strong language. | "Accident Images" is a unique phrase and should win, but horror near Halloween is clutch. I'll scream that both movies will split the point. |
Cleverest Tagline
(out of 5 stars) | N/A
No tagline??? This is crap.
0/5 stars | N/A
NO TAGLINE??? THIS IS DOUBLE CRAP!
0/5 stars | I am angry. First time in This Weekend history that none of the movies had a tagline. No points awarded. This is terror-ble! |
| Best Part of Trailer | It's like the first paranormal activity but this time the family also has babies. | Dramatic. Afterlife. This week's better acted, directed, and written movie. | But I think I'd rather see Paranormal Activity 2.... Zombbodie just gave Paranormal Activity 2 the point! |
| Coolest Lead Actor | Katie Featherson reprises her role as Katie from Paranormal Activity in this prequel. | Matt Damon from the Bourne movies, The Departed, and Good Will Hunting. | Matt Damon is the more accomplished and spectac-ghoul-ar actor. The point is his. |
| Best Cast | I actually can't find any other names of any cast members for this section- another This Weekend first. | Cecile De France (Around the World in 80 Days), Jay Mohr (Jerry Maguire), Richard Kind (Spin City), and Bryce Dallas Howard (Spiderman 3). | Not the most famous cast of all time, but at least a cast. Hereafter makes a killing this round and gets the point. |
Best Street Cred
For the Production | Writer Oren Peli wrote and directed the original Paranormal Activity. | Director and 4 time Oscar winner Clint Eastwood has also directed Invictus, Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, and The Bridges of Madison County. | There may not be anyone on the planet that could beat Clint Eastwood in a Street Cred face-off. He slays all the competition. |
So out of a maximum of 7 points per movie, Hereafter scores 3 1/2 points and Paranormal Activity scores 2 1/2 points, and 1 point wasn't awarded (first time in This Weekend history).
You may interpret this column for your own movie preferences. For example, if you saw the first Paranormal Activity, go see the prequel. 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, Hereafter is the movie to watch this weekend.
Conclusion 2: I am a little distraught at the "2" in the title of Paranormal Activity 2, as the plot seems to take place three months before the first movie. Is this a faux pas? Can prequels have the number 2? Or was the first Paranormal Activity really Paranormal Activity 3, similar to the Star Wars' numbering system?
Conclusion 3: Please don't take away all of my movie cred, but I have never seen any of the 35 movies that Clint Eastwood has directed nor any of the 65 movies that Clint Eastwood has acted in. (Don't judge me, I was born in the '80s.)
For the "This Weekend, Watch This" list of the Top 5 Titles, Trailers, Taglines, and Actors so far in 2010...click here.
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