This Weekend, Watch This
A comparison for the new releases for November 16-18, 2012
By Curt David
November 16, 2012
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, Monster’s Ball, Monster, and Monsters, Inc. 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 (My alphabetical actress crush list... S is for Sandra Bullock).
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 November 16th, the new movies in wide release are The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and Lincoln.
| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
| Lincoln | Winner
(One point per category)
|
| Clearest Title |
This sounds like the fourth Twilight movie. | This sounds like our 16th president. | While both are clear titles, Breaking Dawn’s title will be more popular this weekend. Point.
|
Best Genre
and Rating | Adventure/Fantasy
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality, and partial nudity. | Drama
Rated PG-13 for an intense scene of war violence, some images of carnage, and brief strong language. | Two very different movies. Two very similar 1/2 points earned. |
Cleverest Tagline
(out of 5 stars) | “The epic finale that will live forever”
4/5 - Actually clever! Because we’re talking about vampires. | N/A
0/5 - That’s okay, a tagline about Lincoln probably couldn’t have beaten a vampire tagline anyway. | Oh! Oh! Oh! Should have said, “On November SIXTEENTH, Meet our SIXTEENTH.” President that is. Point for the vampires, though. |
| Best Part of Trailer | Seems climatic, all the vampires in the world fighting each other. | Seems Oscar worthy. | Interestingly enough, Lincoln only barely wins the best trailer round. Point.
|
| Coolest Lead Actor | Kristen Stewart from Snow White and the Huntsman, Panic Room, and Adventureland. | Daniel Day-Lewis from Last of the Mohicans, There Will Be Blood, and The Crucible.
| Daniel Day-Lewis is quite the actor.
|
| Best Cast | Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) Taylor Lautner (Abduction), and Dakota Fanning (I am Sam) | Sally Field (Mrs. Doubtfire), Tommy Lee Jones (Men in Black), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises) | So is Sally Field. Point goes to her.
|
Best Street Cred
For the Production | Director Bill Condon has also directed Dreamgirls.
| Director Stephen Spielberg has also directed Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones, The Color Purple, and Hook. | And Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, The Terminal, and Catch Me If You Can. Point for Spielberg. |
So out of a maximum of 7 points per movie, Lincoln scores 4 and 1/2 points and Breaking Dawn: Part 2 scores 2 and 1/2 points.
You may interpret this column for your own movie preferences. For example, if you watched the other Twilight films, you probably already have plans to see this one. 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, Lincoln is the best movie to watch this weekend.
Conclusion 2: Hmm, I wonder what would happen if we combined these two movies together? Perhaps the film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which was released earlier this year.
Conclusion 3: Sally Field. I respect you. And I almost put your name at the top of the column this week as one of my actress crushes.
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