Summer is finally drawing to an end, but there are still quite a few anticipated flicks on the nearby horizon. it is also that time of year that millions of gamers anxiously await the latest incarnation of the biggest sports game franchise ever. No doubt this is a big week in entertainment, so let’s just get right into it.

THEATERS

Its a pretty busy week in theaters with a handful of pretty good releases. Out this week are: District 9, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Bandslam, and The Goods.  Bandslam stars Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) and Lisa Kudrow (TV’s Friends) in a movie about a new kid in town who assembles a band to compete in the town’s huge Battle of the Bands event. The previews look fairly decent, Ms. Hudgens looks really good, and the movie is supposed to have an excellent soundtrack.

The Time Traveller’s Wife stars Eric Bana (Funny People, Hulk) and Rachel Mc Adams (The Notebook, Wedding Crashers), who has become the poster girl for hopeless romantic movies. This movie actually has an interesting and original premise for a romantic drama- boy meets girl but boy has a rare gene that cause him to travel through time uncontrollably. The previews look pretty emotional already so if you’re going to check this out be sure to have some kleenex. Chick flicks are not really my forte, but I’m a fan of both actors and the movie looks very interesting to say the least. Since Van Damme isn’t coming out with another Timecop movie anytime soon, this may be the thing to tide me over.

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is a comedy about a  used-car hustler who is brought in to a struggling dealership to help them sell all of their cars in their big July 4th weekend sale. The film starts Jeremy Piven (Entourage) and features a bunch of appearances from other recognizable comedic actors. While the preivew looks pretty funny, I’m sure the entire movie is packed with hilarity and I’m pretty excited to check this one out.

Finally, we have District 9. I’ve been waiting for this movie for most of the summer.  The cast is full of unknowns and the movie has a first time director, yet the reviews so far have been through the roof. I’ve been avoiding reading any information on this one to avoid spoilers, since from what I’ve heard the plot is excellent. The movie is about a race of aliens who have come to earth years ago and are now quarrantined to living in the ghetto shanty towns of Africa. The movie is produced by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and it looks to have the same attention to detail that he applied to that series.

DVD

New DVDs this week are: 17 again and I love you Man. 17 again is a comedy starring Matthew Perry, who is magically transformed into his 17 year old self (played by Zack Efron). He finds himself attending school with his two teenage kids and trying to help them through their problems.  The movie is pretty funny and the humor is clean enough for the whole family to check out. While nothing groundbreaking, it is definitely entertaining and a good way to kill an hour and a half. I posted a review about I Love you Man, so for more info you can check that one out.

GAMING

Its that time of year again where video game retailers are being hit with the big question- “Have you got the new Madden yet?” Madden 10 is being released on August 14 and promises to be the best Madden yet  (isn’t that what they promise every year??).  Regardless, football fans across the world are just rabid for this title, myself included. It’s crazy that a game with such minimal changes still proves to be such a huge success year after year. I’ve spent some time with the extended demo and while there isn’t too much changed from years past, there are a few noticeable changes. First of all the presentation in this one seems to be a bit slicker. The commentary has definitely gotten better, now featuring Chris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond which is a definite step up from the no name ESPN radio guys they’ve been using the past few years. Gameplay wise, nothing really stood out to be too different, but I did notice the running game is a bit smoother than last year. If you’re a Madden fan I doubt you’re waiting for someone’s review on the game and most likely you’ve already preordered it and have been counting down the days in anticipation.

All in all, its a pretty solid entertainment week with plenty going on to keep everyone busy. Until next time, that’s a wrap.