February: The Month In Preview

We are always looking for new ways to engage with our audience here at We Got This Covered, and if we take our name literally, that means delivering more content that helps our readers navigate the increasingly vast world of entertainment. Thus, I am happy to announce the first in a series of new monthly features: The Month in Preview. Starting now, with February 2013, each new month will begin with a column exploring all the upcoming movies, Blu-Rays, video games, and TV shows for the next four weeks that we believe may interest our audience. Arranged by week, the feature includes release dates, brief bits of information and commentary, and links to news and reviews that pertain to the given titles. February seems to be an uncommonly busy month this early in the year, with lots of interesting content coming your way before March. We will be there to cover it all when it arrives, of course, but for now, take a look at the month in preview… Begin reading on the next page… Week 1: February 1st – 7th February kicks off today with three major movie releases, the first of which – Stand Up Guys – has already been reviewed by yours truly. The film may sound promising, given that it teams up Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin, and while the acting is excellent, an absolutely terrible script makes this film one worth overlooking. Walter Hill’s Bullet to the Head also stars a beloved older actor in Sylvester Stallone, and while the majority of reviews have not been kind to this eighties action throwback – and it was not screened for many critics – I may have to check it out myself just in case the film achieves something more than raw nostalgia. Warm Bodies has been getting a fair amount of positive press, including a fresh review aggregate over at Rotten Tomatoes. The film, written and directed by Jonathan Levine, is a fresh spin on the popular zombie genre, wherein an undead boy falls in love with a human girl. Necrophiliacs everywhere rejoice! On the home video front, Robert Zemeckis’ Flight arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray this Tuesday, February 5th, and is absolutely worth checking out if you missed it in theatres (you can read my original review here). Disney’s Peter Pan receives the Blu-Ray ‘Diamond Edition’ treatment the same day, a pleasing proposition to animation fans everywhere. Gamers have some choice titles to look forward to this week as well. Fire Emblem Awakening arrives for the Nintendo 3DS this Monday, February 4th, bringing with it loads of anticipation and positive reception. The revered tactical RPG series has not had a new title see the light of day in the United States for some time, and word is that Awakening may be one of the best reasons to own Nintendo’s handheld. The next day, Dead Space 3 arrives for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC. One of year’s most anticipated releases, the third entry in the respected survival horror series arrives with high expectations, and is set to resolve major plot threads from throughout the series. We are definitely looking forward to this one, and you can look for our full review in the coming days. If Dead Space is not your cup of tea, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time arrives on the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita the same day, and is the latest of Sony’s ‘Cross-Buy’ titles. Buying the console edition will get you a digital copy of the Vita version for free, which is an enticing proposition for fans of the popular stealth platformer franchise. Finally, I want to note that the beloved cult comedy Community returns to NBC on Thursday, February 7th. The verdict is still out on whether or not the show can recapture the magic without creator Dan Harmon, but I will at least be tuning in to give it a try. At its best, this is one of the greatest comedies on television. Continue reading on the next page… Week 2: February 8th – 13th This week kicks off with the latest and possibly penultimate film from Steven Soderbergh, who has announced plans to retire following his next feature. I would be excited for Side Effects no matter what – Soderbergh is always interesting, even when not on the top of his game, and stars Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, and Catherine Zeta-Jones are reliably worth a trip to the theatre – but the chance that this could be one of the director’s final features makes it a can’t-miss event. I am extremely excited to lay eyes on it. Opening the same day is Identity Thief, a new comedy from King of Kong and Horrible Bosses director Seth Gordon. With his involvement and stars Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy onboard, I think we can expect at least solid entertainment from this one – possibly more if all the pedigree involved live up to their fullest potential. Sunday night, meanwhile, sees the return of The Walking Dead to AMC for the second half of its acclaimed third season. We will have weekly recaps for you as always, so be sure to check in after the show for our thoughts on the episode. On the following Tuesday, February 12th, several of 2012’s best films arrive on home video. Skyfall, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, and Bully are all hitting DVD and Blu-Ray that day, and each is a must-see. Skyfall and Perks in particular made my year-end Top Ten list, and I am excited to revisit both. The only notable video game release this week is Aliens: Colonial Marines, a first-person shooter based on the Alien franchise developed by Gearbox Software. The title has been in development for some time now, and we shall see whether the game was worth the effort when it launches on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and Windows PC. Continue reading on the next page… Week 3: February 14th – 21st I am starting this week off a day early, taking my cue from the movie studios. Four major titles are hitting theatres on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, starting with the less-than-apropos A Good Day to Die Hard. The fifth feature in the beloved action series sees John McClane (Bruce Willis) travelling to Russia to save his son (Jai Courtney). He also apparently travels back in time, to an era where the Russians are our enemies. Hmm. Well, no one ever accused the Die Hard series of being prescient, I suppose. The original Die Hard is one of my favorite movies, I really enjoy the sequels, and if this fifth film can provide some solid action, character work, and one-liners, it will hopefully justify its existence. Look for my review February 13th. In a very different vein, Warner Bros looks to kick off the next young-adult cinematic sensation with Beautiful Creatures, a supernatural romance story based on the novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I don’t see much appeal in the story pitched by the film’s trailers, but the cast – which includes Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum, and Emma Thompson – is more than promising, and the film appears to have some interesting visual ideas. I look forward to giving it a look. Audiences can find a romantic alternative in Safe Haven, the newest Nicholas Sparks-based film, starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel. I assume we have all seen this basic archetypical film ten to twenty times before in the last few years, so why not experience it one more time? Kids, meanwhile, can look forward to Escape from Planet Earth…or not, because it looks awful. My intuition tells me that parents should probably find something else for their young ones to watch, but only time will tell. On home video, February 19th sees Game of Thrones: Season 2 arriving on DVD and Blu-Ray, giving viewers a solid month and a half to catch up before the show returns to HBO in late March. This is an excellent season of television, and comes highly recommended. Likely Best Picture winner Argo also arrives this week just in time for the Oscars, alongside Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina. But most exciting, from my point-of-view, is the release of a remastered Terminator Blu-Ray. The disc came out in England months ago – our own Jeremy Lebens reviewed that release – and apparently offers a revelatory viewing experience for fans of the film. I cannot wait to check it out. Also on February 19th, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance arrives on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The radical new gameplay style, which takes a more action-based approach than its predecessors, has riled Metal Gear fans, but as someone who has never quite warmed to the series before, I am actually extremely interested in this experimental change of pace. Crysis 3, meanwhile, launches the same day for Xbox 360, PS3, and Windows PCs, and looks to offer series and first-person shooter fans a robust experience. Continue reading on the next page… Week 4: February 22nd – 28th Not much on the movie front this week. Snitch, the latest action film starring Dwayne Johnson, arrives without much hype, and though I know little about it, I admittedly find it hard to get excited about anything Johnson-related when G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Fast Six are only a few months away. This one seems like a more minor-key effort. Horror film Dark Skies arrives the same day, appearing to be a fairly rote and customary genre effort. Of course, the big movie event this week is the Academy Awards Telecast, which airs Sunday, February 24th. This is one of the less predictable Oscars seasons in recent memory, and while I am not a fan of host Seth MacFarlane, I am, for once, interested in tuning in to this year’s show. The following Tuesday sees a fairly divergent crop of home video releases, with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 hitting DVD and Blu-Ray alongside Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master. Hmm. I wonder how many people will be buying both. The real gem this week, however, is Leos Carax’s acclaimed Holy Motors, a spectacularly surreal and creative work of art worth a blind buy. If the film did not come to your local movie theatre, now is the perfect time to check it out. Video games are pretty light this week, with the most notable release being Rayman Legends for the Wii U. It arrives February 27th, and is the direct sequel to Rayman Origins from two years ago. Ironically, this is the only Wii U game I have played anything of, as it is the sole demo available at my local Best Buy. And for fans of more obscure fare, the Japanese dungeon-crawling RPG Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan arrives on the Nintendo 3DS the same day. That’s it for February! What movies, Blu-Rays, or video games are you most looking forward to? Do you like this preview format? What would you like us to offer more off in upcoming preview columns? Sound off in the comments and let us know!