Imagine this: Friday rolls around and you decide you want to go to the movies. There’s only one problem. You look up the week’s new releases, and none of them strike your fancy. Feeling disappointed, you open Netflix and scroll endlessly trying to find something that grabs your attention.
Each week, reporter Shane Weinstein takes a look at what major motion pictures are hitting theaters and offers suggestions of alternate films to take in on Netflix. Here are his alternatives for the week of Feb. 27, 2015.
New This Week: “Focus” (Starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie)
Netflix Alternative: “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie)
Will Smith’s latest release, “Focus,” hits theaters this week, pairing the former Fresh Prince star with the upcoming "Suicide Squad" adaptation’s Margot Robbie. The two play a pair of con artists who let their relationship get in the way of their work and must deal with the repercussions of such. If the film’s oddly edited trailers have you on the fence about whether or not to head to the theater this weekend and check the film out, do yourself a favor, stay in, and check out Robbie’s breakout roll in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Last year’s Oscar nominee stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, a stock-broker who indulges himself in a life of lies, drugs and other illegal activities. The film’s serious matter paired with its comedic tone and masterful direction make its nearly three hour running time fly by. Rather than take a risk with your money this weekend, stay in and watch DiCaprio in what could possibly be his best performance of his career.
(Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)New This Week: “The Lazarus Effect” (Starring Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass and Donald Glover)
Netflix Alternative: “Dead Silence” (2007, starring Ryan Kwanten and Amber Valletta)
Also opening this week is Blumhouse Productions’ latest modest budget horror picture. “The Lazarus Effect” follows a group of scientists who discover a way to bring the dead back to life. But of course, things are never as simple as they sound in horror films, and the side effects of the experiments done by the group prove to have fatal consequences. If low budget horror flicks are your thing but you don’t feel like going to the theater to see one, “Saw” director James Wan’s “Dead Silence” is on Netflix for your viewing pleasure. The film stars Ryan Kwanten as a widower who returns to his home town to investigate his wife’s murder, only to find that it may be linked to the death of a local ventriloquist. While it may not be Wan’s best, the film certainly has its moments and makes for an overall enjoyable alternative to a film that may be more miss than hit.
That’s it for this week. Be sure to check back next week when I have alternates for “Chappie,” “Unfinished Business” and “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2.”
Contact this reporter at seweinst@asu.edu or on Twitter: @S_Weinstein95.
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