Entertainment Wrap #14

Another week brings about another crop of new releases and UFC 99. You’ve got to love summer and all the entertainment goodness it brings! Let’s get right into it…

THEATERS

It’s a pretty chillax week in terms of new movies. Out this week are: Imagine That, Taking of Pelham 123, and Moon.  Imagine That is the latest family movie from Eddie Murphy about a man who’s daughter whose imagination has the power to make things come true. The movie seems awfully similar to Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories, which is actually a pretty good flick. Seeing how Eddie hasn’t been in anything remotely funny for a while, I have my doubts about this film.  Those who have seen every kid movie out right now may want to check this out, or maybe just play it safe and rewatch some of the great films already out.

Taking of Pelham 123 is a remake starring Denzel Washington as a subway dispatcher who must negotiate with hostage taker John Travolta who has hijacked a subway car and is demanding a ransom.  I have not seen the original movie, but I’ve heard it is excellent, making acceptance of yet another Hollywood remake all the more difficult.  While the concept may have been cutting edge at the time of the original, the idea of taking a train full of hostages seems a bit outdated to me with all the technology we have today. The movie does have some good things going for it in the form of Denzel Washington, who always brings an intensity to his roles.  Travolta can also be a plus, provided he doesn’t go too over the top with his performance as he has done with some of his past villain portrayals.  Perhaps the biggest thing this movie has going on is director Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Domino, the Last Boy Scout) whose directing style is almost custom made for action films.

This brings us to Moon, which is probably my personal most anticipated movie this week. Moon is a sci fi film set in the future where humans have started to mine moon rocks in order to solve the planet’s natural fuel resources shortage.  The plot follows an astronaut (Sam Rockwell) who is contracted to go out and man the mining station with the help of the ship’s computerized robot AI Gerty (think Hal from 2001).  Even cooler is the fact that GERTY is voiced by Kevin Spacey, who has one of the calmest yet most sinister voices around. Of course, things don’t all go according to plan and there are some unforseen complications on the moon. Early reviews for this film are excellent.  While this movie is relatively low key, but hopefully it will have a widespread release so I can check it out at the theater.

DVD

New DVDs this week are : Grand Torino, Fired Up, and The International.  Grand Torino is a film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as an aging, racist, Korean war veteran.  It’s an excellent movie and there is a review up here somewhere about it. Definitely worth a rental. Fired Up is a comedy about a couple of football players who ditch their summer workouts to go to the girls cheerleading camp. The movie looks pretty formulaic, but it may wind up being good for some laughs. Finally, the International stars Clive Owen as an interpol agent trying to take down a corrupt worldwide bank.  I’ve heard mixed reviews about this movie, but Owen is usually rock solid as an action star so this should at least be worth a rental.

GAMING

It’s a pretty good week in gaming. Out for the PS3 and Xbox360 is Prototype.  Manhattan is overrun by a mysterious virus that turns humans into killing zombies. You wake up to find that you have shape shifting powers enabling you to transform your body into various weapons of destruction. The game features a ton of gore and violence as you cause widespread death and destruction in search of answers to what is going on. 

The old school Sega games of the past have made their way to xbox live arcade this week. Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Altered Beast, Shinobi, and Phantasy Star II will all be available to relive the glorious Genesis days of gaming goodness. Also releasing this week is Map Pack 2 for Call of Duty:WAW. I haven’t played any of the maps yet, but graphically they are really impressive. These maps are a welcome addition to COD’s already excellent map rotation, which is sure to add countless hours of replayability to one of the best multiplayer games around.

MMA

UFC 99 will feature the ultimate realization bout to a question people have been wondering for a while. What would happen if the former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin went toe to toe with former Pride middleweight champ Wanderlei Silva? While both fighters have suffered a few losses since they held their titles, this is still an exciting matchup and it is the main event of UFC 99.

I’ve been a big Wanderlei fan for a long time, despite his brutal losses of late, he is still one of my favorite fighters.  Franklin also brings a well rounded skill set to the fight, as he’s shown his proficiency on all levels. It is a bit of a tough call, but I’m going with Wanderlei. As skilled as Franklin is, he doesn’t have the devastating power that Wanderlei has. 

Prediction: Silva via KO round 2

This event features some less publicized but still exciting matchups.  Cain Velasquez will fight Chieck Kongo in a heavyweight matchup. Both fighters have power. Velasquez is a bit more devastating, but Kongo is just huge.  I think Kongo’s size will keep Velasquez on the outside and prevent him from doing any serious damage, but all Velasquez needs is a good punch to end it all. This should be a solid fight.

Prediction: Velasquez by TKO in round 3

Another good matchup is between TUF alumni Ben Saunders and Mike Swick.  The two fighters are pretty evenly matched with very similar styles. This fight has all the makings of a slug fest and I have a feeling it will be won decisively. No decisions here.

Prediction: Swick via KO round 2

The card also features standouts such as: Spencer Fisher, Marcus Davis, Terry Etim, Caol Uno, and the return of Mirko Cro-Cop. I really hope that the Cro-Cop that shows up is the vicious Mirko from the Pride fighting days and not the neutered UFC version.  Cro-Cop has a lot to prove with his return so hopefully he comes out banging.

That’s the week in entertainment and that’s a wrap.