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.
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