This Weekend, Watch This
A comparison of the new releases for December 17, 2010
By Curt David
December 17, 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, Cabin Fever, Fever Pitch, and Saturday Night Fever 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 (I'm actually not sure the next time I'll go to the cinema... when is your next movie coming out, Jennifer Garner?).
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 December 17th, the new movies in wide release are How Do You Know, Tron Legacy, Yogi Bear, and The Fighter (plus Black Swan expands to more theaters).
| The Fighter | Tron Legacy | How Do You Know | Yogi Bear | WINNER
(1 point per category)
|
| Clearest Title | This is a title I understand- the movie is going to have a fighter in it. | This is a title I do not understand- what's a "Tron"? (Don't judge me, I was born in the mid '80s). | This is a title that I can read clearly, but also that I hate... where is the %&*$ question mark???? | This movie is going to be about Yogi Bear! | Please notice my correct punctuation in these sentences. And notice the point for Yogi Bear. |
Best Genre
and Rating | Sport/Drama
Rated R for language throughout, drug content, some violence and sexuality.
| Sci-Fi Action
Rated PG for sequences of sci-fi action violence and brief language.
| Dramedy
Rated PG-13 for sexual content and some language.
| Animated Comedy
Rated PG for some mild rude humor.
| Who gets the point. Do you know@ It's Tron Legacy for the unusual genre for a PG film? |
Cleverest Tagline
(out of 5 stars) | "Based on a true story"
That doesn't count as a tagline
0/5 stars
| "The game has changed"
Cleverish, cause it's a sequel about a computer game.
3/5
| "A new comedy from James L. Brooks"
That is also NOT a tagline
-2 / 5
| "Life's a pic-a-nic"
Not too bad. A nostalgic reference to Yogi Bear's pronunciation of "picnic".
2/5
| Here's a tagline: The second grade education standards state that kids need to put question marks at the end of sentences that begin with "How." Oh, and Tron will win the point. |
| Best Part of Trailer | I was engrossed- forgot I was watching a trailer. And Amy Adams. | It looks stylish. And light-up death frisbees. | The final scene in the trailer was awesome. And there were question marks!!! | There were only two brief moments in the entire trailer that were enjoyable. And Anna Farris. | I may be the only person on the planet not on the Tron bandwagon, which may be one reason why The Fighter gets the point this round. |
| Coolest Lead Actor | Mark Walhberg from Boogie Nights, The Departed, and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. | Jeff Bridges from The Big Lebowski, Tron, Iron Man, and Crazy Heart. | Reese Witherspoon from Cruel Intetions, Legally Blonde, and Walk the Line. | Dan Aykroyd (Yogi's voice) from SNL, The Blues Brothers, and Ghostbusters. | The gentlemen have quite the acting chops, but can't quite beat Reese in this round. Point for the girl. |
| Best Cast | Christian Bale (The Dark Knight), Amy Adams (Enchanted), and Melissa Leo (21 Grams). | Garrett Hedlund (Four Brothers), Olivia Wilde (House), Michael Sheen (The Queen), and Daft Punk. | Paul Rudd (Role Models), Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers), Jack Nicholson (As Good As it Gets), and Tony Shalhoub (Monk). | The voice of Justin Timberlake, Anna Farris (Scary Movie), and Tom Cavanagh (Ed). | How Do You Know wins point for Best Cast. (Please forgive me, Amy Adams. Please don't hurt me, Christian Bale). |
Best Street Cred
For the Production | Director David O. Russell has also directed Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees. | Writer Edward Kitsis has also written episodes for tv shows, like Lost. | Directer and Writer James L. Brooks has also directed As Good as it Gets and has wrote for The Simpsons, Taxi, and Mary Tyler Moore. | Director Eric Brevig has also directed Journey to the Center of the Earth and Xena: Warrior Princess. | James L. Brooks, despite forgetting about question marks, easily wins this round. |
So out of a maximum of 7 points per movie, How Do You Know scores 3 points, Tron Legacy scores 2 points, The Fighter scores 1 point, and Yogi Bear scores 1 point.
You may interpret this column for your own movie preferences. For example, if you want to see future Best Actress Oscar nominees, feel free to watch Black Swan. 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, How Do You Know is the best movie to watch this weekend.
Conclusion 2: Interestingly, How Do You Know solely won based on the star power of the actors, actress, and director. Yet, it is being released against an Oscar-hopeful-true story-sports drama, a much-hyped 3D-sci-fi-sequel, and a children's-3D-film based on a popular character. It'll be interesting to find out about the box office this weekend. (Good thing you read this website).
Conclusion 3: With only one more weekend left, the Top 5 chart is starting to finalize.
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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