Whether you’re trying to avoid the releases this week or augment them with even more movies, your alternate box office offers some options for movies that would play perfectly alongside of (or instead of) the stuff studios are shoving into the megaplex this weekend.
This week features Adam Sandler getting sand in his career, a couple of gnomes only Shakespeare could love, a desperate search for a piece of metal, and an immoral ambulance chaser growing a heart three sizes larger.
SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
Watch Instead Of: Just Go With It
The Pitch: The tropical setting, the lying, and the ridiculous romantic entanglement. Rob Hunter claims that Just Go With It “isn’t as bad as he thought it would be,” but the Billy Wilder-directed classic featuring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon is a sure thing (unlike the sure thing in The Sure Thing). It’s the perfect absurd romance for the few out there that still think of Valentine’s Day as a legitimate holiday.
How to See It: Requires a rental
ROMEO + JULIET (1996)
Double Feature With: Gnomeo and Juliet
The Pitch: I know. I couldn’t have gone for a more obvious movie. Gnomeo and Juliet is a strange twist on the classic Shakespeare story by placing it on an animated lawn, and Romeo + Juliet is a strange twist on the classic Shakespeare by placing it in mid-90s Los Angeles. Bring me my long sword, ho! If you’re feeling indie-r, check out Scotland, PA instead for your Old Bill fix.
How to See It: Watch Instantly
CENTURION (2010)
Watch Instead Of: The Eagle
The Pitch: Why watch a bland movie about one guy and his slave searching for a hunk of metal (even one that is Rome), when you can watch the not-as-bland-but-still-only-slightly-better-than-good movie about the Ninth that lost the piece of metal in the first place? Michael Fassbender leads the expedition into Celt territory here and the result may not have a lot of character, but it has a lot of violence. Plus, if you want to shoot for better than good, Spartacus is always hanging around ready to be watched again.
How to See It: Watch Instantly
LION’S DEN (2008)
Double Feature With: Carancho
The Pitch: Instead of another sleazy lawyer drama, here’s a chance to check out another one of director Pablo Trapero’s movies where Martina Gusman plays the lead. Both films are drama, so if you actually double feature, be ready for the somber tone haunting you for the rest of the day. Lion’s Den is a beautiful film about a woman trying to raise her son while she’s in prison for the murder of his father. It’s heady, but gorgeously shot and heart-crushingly shared.
How to See It: Requires a rental
Come back next week for more alternative box office tips
Related Topics: Box Office
