Tag Archives: Denzel Washington

Entertainment Wrap #14

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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concept may have been cutting edge at the time of the original, the idea of taking a train full of hostages seems a bit outdated to me with all the technology we have today.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.

Entertainment Wrap #2

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New in theaters this week are three pretty high profile releases: Taken, New in Town, and The Uninvited.  Taken is a thriller starring the always great Liam Neeson as a former spy whose daughter is abducted.  He then goes on a bloody rampage trying to get her back. At least judging from what the previews have led me to believe, that is what I am hoping goes down.   The movie looks like it has the same type of raw intensity as another abduction film, 2004′s Man on Fire starring Denzel Washington.  So far the movie has received mixed reviews but I’m still looking forward to checking it out.

New in Town is a romantic comedy starring Renee Zellwegger. Judging from the previews, she moves to a small town from the city. She doesn’t fit in with the townspeople. She meets a guy she’s attracted to. Hilarity may or may not ensue (my money is on “not”). The two of them wind up together in the end. I’m not really a fan of cookie cutter romantic comedies in general but there are a few that manage to bring elements that are new or hilarious that I have enjoyed quite a bit. Sadly, this does not look like one of them. Hopefully I wind up being forced to watch this movie and it surprises me by being far better than expected. Until that time, it’s not worth risking the $8.50.

The Uninvited is a remake of a Korean horror film about two sisters who must cope with not only a new stepmother but supernatural occurrences that are suddenly plaguing the family. This remake has big shoes to fill as the original is the highest grossing Korean horror film to date. Luckily this means that unless Hollywood has seriously screwed up the plot, the story should be quite good as millions of Korean moviegoers can’t be wrong.  Supposedly the film remains faithful to the original with a few minor tweaks. While I am interested in seeing this movie, the hit or miss rate for Hollywood asian horror remakes has been low lately so I will wait for video or a dead box office week to check this one out.

VIDEOS

New DVDs coming out this week are: Lakeview Terrace, Pride and Glory, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Rock and Rollah.  For more info on Lakeview Terrace or Pride and Glory, check the site as I have posted reviews for both films.  Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a Woody Allen romantic comedy about two women vacationing in Spain who fall for the same man, a local artist. Things become even more complicated when the man’s ex wife reenters the picture.  The film has a great cast with Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson playing the vacationing young women. the ex-wife is played by the stunning Penelope Cruz. Finally, the role of the artist is played by Javier Bardem of “No Country for Old Men” fame. I for one am interested to see whether he uses his infamous coin flip as a method of getting women to go out with him. All jokes aside, the movie has gotten great reviews and I’m interested in checking it out.

Of all the DVD releases this week, perhaps the one with the most potential IMHO is the Guy Ritchie directed RockNRollah.  I am a huge fan of Guy Ritchie’s work. Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch are two of my favorite movies.  He seemed to fall off a bit with Swept Away and Revolver, but buzz about this film is that is a true return to form for Ritchie, which is great news. RockNRollah is a tale of a scam gone wrong, leaving millions up for grabs, attracting every criminal and scumbag in London’s underworld attempting to get the prize. Perhaps Ritchie’s greatest strength is that he brilliantly captures the voice and feel of the London underworld like no other.  As evident in Revolver, despite the movie’s confusing and convoluted plot, you couldn’t help but admire the style and presentation in which the story was told.  Another major plus for RockNRolla is that it stars Gerard Butler, Leonidas from 300, in the title role.  While Butler’s post 300 work has been mainly limited to chick flicks and kiddie movies, it will be nice to see him get back to true ass kicking form.  Look for a review of this film as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

GAMING

There is nothing coming out for a few weeks for any platform right now.  Worth noting for Xbox360 owners is the long awaited release of the demo of Resident Evil 5.  Having spent a bit of time with the demo, I can honestly say the game looks amazing. The graphics showcase some of the most detailed zombie models ever. The gameplay is farily fast paced for a resident Evil title and the controls are quite smooth once you get used to them.  The game also features a co-op mode which is a blast to pick up and play with a friend. The demo is definitely worth checking out as it is free and if you don’t like it, simply delete it.  Not much else going on gaming wise, but I expect it to start ramping up in the next few weeks with some high profile releases on the horizon for February and March.

Mixed Martial Arts

This weekend is the much anticipated rematch between UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre and UFC Lightweight champ BJ “The Prodigy” Penn. You’d be hard pressed to find an MMA fan that isn’t looking forward to this rematch.  St. Pierre won a controversial split decision in their first meeting and now both fighters are looking to win decisively this time to clear up any previous doubts.  This has the potential to be one of, if not the, greatest MMA showdowns ever. For those of you who aren’t ordering this one from pay per view, I suggest you get to your nearest computer on fight night and find someone uploading a feed of the fight. You won’t be disappointed.

SPORTS

There is also another minor sporting event this weekend that may have slipped under everyone’s radar. A little game called the Superbowl. For fans of football AND MMA this is truly a great weekend. The Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet at Superbowl XLIII on Sunday to determine who will be this year’s championship team.  Steelers are the favorites to win based on their bone crushing defense and well balanced offense.  However don’t count out the Cards who are red hot behind the amazing play of receiver Larry Fitzgerald and veteran quarterback Kurt Warner. Personally, I think the Steelers will win but I would like for the Cardinals to take this. Like most people, my team was already eliminated in the playoffs (Ravens, R.I.P.) and I am more excited to see a close and exciting game than to see a particular team win.  Regardless, the Superbowl is always a good time no matter who is playing and I can’t wait for kickoff.  No matter what your plans are for the big game, have fun and stay safe out there.

There’s the week in entertainment so until next week- that’s a wrap!

American Gangster (Theaters)

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american_gangster_ver3When you have a film produced by Ridley Scott combined with two Academy Award winning actors, its only natural to assume that the film’s success would be guaranteed.

American Gangster certainly did not disappoint me. Although it would be unreasonable to compare this film to classics such as The Godfather or Scarface, I thought it was well executed film, and that both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe put on Oscar winning type performances.

There were some flaws in the film and parts that could have been omitted to make the movie a bit shorter (the custody battle was one example), but overall the pace of the film was good as was its character development. Personally, I thought it lacked some intensity and action, but I’m guessing that more action would mean less realism, which ultimately may have taken away from the film’s accuracy of the life of Frank Lucas.

Synopsis:

Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas, the quiet driver to one of the inner city’s leading black crime bosses. But when his boss suddenly dies, Frank exploits the opening in the power structure to build his own empire and create his own version of the American Dream. Through ingenuity and a strict business ethic, he comes to rule the inner-city drug trade, flooding the streets with a purer product at a better price. Lucas outplays all of the leading crime syndicates and becomes not only one of the city’s mainline corrupters, but part of its circle of legit civic superstars.

Richie Roberts is an outcast cop close enough to the streets to feel a shift of control in the drug underworld. Roberts believes someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and starts to suspect that a black power player has come from nowhere to dominate the scene. Both Lucas and Roberts share a rigorous ethical code that sets them apart from their own colleagues, making them lone figures on opposite sides of the law. The destinies of these two men will become intertwined as they approach a confrontation where only one of them can come out on top.