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 a group of grown men reliving their drunken nightmares in Thailand, a group of animated animals kicking Kung Fu ass throughout China, and one man taking an epic journey through everywhere ever.
Plus, if you see something you like, you can click on the image and buy it over at Amazon.
KUNG FU HUSTLE (2004)
Double Feature With: KUNG FU PANDA
The Pitch: The easy answer is to watch the original in order to get hyped for the sequel, and that’s a perfectly good idea, but Stephen Chow’s hilarious martial arts madcap flick makes a great match as well.
In fact, screenwriters Jon Aibel and Glenn Berger had just seen Kung Fu Hustle before getting the job to write the original Kung Fu Panda, and the comparisons are pretty easy to make (especially when it comes to tone).
Pop in Shaolin Soccer for the hat trick.
How to See It: Watch Instantly or Buy It
HATED (1994)
Double Feature With: THE HANGOVER PART II
The Pitch: Some might know Todd Phillips from the cult success of Old School and Road Trip which primed him to be the leader of an R-rated comedy revolution that culminated in him writing/directing the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time.
What you should know is his documentary past. Hated is the first film from Todd Phillips, and even beyond doubling his first film with his latest, this makes a fascinating comparison considering that GG Allin makes the Wolf Pack look like a group of Mormon missionaries still afraid to drink something as strong as Kool-Aid. The doc focuses on the Murder Junkies lead singer as he throws feces at fans, announces his own suicide on stage and does it all in a heroin-fueled stupor. There’s no way that The Hangover Part II goes this hard, but it’s welcomed to try.
How to See It: Watch Instantly or Buy It
HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART I
Double Feature With: THE TREE OF LIFE
The Pitch: In The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick takes a stab at eternity by chronicling the entirety of history alongside the very personal history of a young man who grows up to be a character played by Sean Penn.
In History of the World Part I, Mel Brooks does the exact same thing except it’s funny. There is no better double feature match in recorded time.
How to See It: Requires a Rental or Buy It
Come back next Friday for more alternative box office tips
Related Topics: Box Office
