What looks good at the movie theater this weekend?

This weekend's movie choices are better than last weekend, with three major films seeing wide release. Each film is different and each has a specific target audience, so who will come out on top? Last weekend's new movies didn't really excite everyone all that much. In the battle of the deuces, the action flick 2 Guns beat The Smurfs 2, which opened in a dismal third place. This weekend should be a lot more competitive.

I can't say I'm thrilled about the offerings, but I'm not staying home this weekend. We'll see the Neil Blomkamp science fiction thriller Elysium. Blomkamp is the promising young director who brought us District 9 a few years ago, and personally I thought it was one of the more original and interesting sci-fi films I'd seen in years. Reviews for Elysium, starring Matt Damon, are pretty decent, so I suspect this film will win the weekend box office race.

Elysium is facing some major competition in the form of Disney's Cars spin-off, Planes. I really didn't like Cars or Cars 2, so I can't see myself spending time with Planes on a Saturday afternoon. Still, for families, this is an option - though you've got plenty of other great options still in theaters (Despicable Me 2, for instance). Planes is also getting terrible reviews. Be warned, parents: This could be a snoozer for you. Even with the dismal reviews, Planes could snag the top spot over Elysium. Stay tuned.

Two other major movies opened this week: The raunchy R-rated comedy We're the Millers, starring Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston, and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, the second film in the Percy Jackson franchise. Meh. I actually really like Jennifer Aniston in comedy films (Wanderlust, Horrible Bosses) but I'm not sure I'm willing to pay top dollar to see We're the Millers in the theater. And this Percy Jackson movie just looks like a CGI nightmare in previews. I liked the books and I don't want to taint that. Skipping Percy too, most likely.

Now, back to Elysium, because this bears noting: It is officially the last mega-budget (see: $100 million plus) blockbuster to open this summer season. For months we've seen films with ridiculously high budgets tank at the box office, and many are science fiction and/or action movies (After Earth, anyone?). Can Elysium pull off a decent win? Possibly. As I said before, I saw and really liked District 9 so much, I'm willing to take a chance on another Blomkamp movie.

How about you? Anything look particularly exciting? And please, if you've already seen any of these films, let's hear your thoughts in the comments.

Oh, and one last thing: I just checked our local theater's lineup and once again, The To Do List is not playing. Here's a nifty piece where I ask the pointed question: Why, Hollywood? Why are you denying me the chance to see this movie? Ugh!

Photo courtesy of Movieline.com