Sony can do something good

It's time for me to give some credit where credit is due. It turns out that Sony can do some fairly badass marketing when they actually want to, as evidenced by these two ads I have posted below. I do have to say that if I was just some casual gamer who didn't read all the bad shit on the internet about Sony, these would definitely make me interested in getting a PS3:





Of course, in the midst of salivating over the Wii and basically condemning the PS3, I've virtually ignored what the 360 has to counter for this holiday. And part of the reason is they don't really have much. But what they lack for in quantity they may definitely make up in quality, namely Gears of War, the next big shooter. How big is it? Big enough that David Fincher (Fight Club) made a fairly cool (albeit way too short) trailer for it:


Now onto this weekend's "offerings". Easily the biggest movie opening this weekend is Saw 3, which is truly sad. I'll admit the original had some interesting ideas, even though it featured some of the worst acting I have ever been witness to. The second actually made the first look like a best picture nominee. And the third will probably be even worse. I'm all fore new and disgusting ways to brutalize, but this franchise lost its steam as soon as the credits rolled on the original (even though plans for a 4th are already in the works). Now it's strictly a cheap cash cow that stupid teens will probably keep going for years to come.

But not all is gloom this weekend. Catch a Fire is also opening, and it looks like one of those rare political thrillers that doesn't suck. Granted, a movie about the problematic African government is hardly anything new, but Derek Luke & Tim Robbins usually put on a good show. I'll probably check it out this weekend.

And finally there's also Babel, with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, which does seem like a ridiculously overblown political thriller. The circumstances from the previews already seem so far fetched (so, the wife gets sick or shot or something, and then they tell the maid back in America to watch the kids, and she decides to take them to her relatives' wedding in Mexico, and they end up having to flee for the border. Riighhht. It might be in limited release for now as it doesn't seem to be playing anywhere in Seattle, but maybe I'll check it out on DVD if the reviews hold up.

FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Demonic Touch and Go