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SEGA Teams with MARVEL for Iron Man Video Game (Concept Art)

Marvel teams up with Sega to bring the next-generation Gaming Systems. Check out the first two pieces of Iron Man video game concept art, courtesy of the mad geniuses at Sega!

 

Marvel’s First Self-Financed Film is Making the Leap to Next-Gen Gaming Platforms

 

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (November 6, 2006) - SEGA® of America Inc., SEGA® Europe Ltd. and Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: MVL) announced today that they have entered into a worldwide licensing agreement whereby SEGA has secured the exclusive rights to develop and distribute video game titles for all platforms based on Marvel’s renowned Iron Man property. Under the multi-year agreement, SEGA has been granted the exclusive interactive rights to develop and distribute games based on both Marvel’s Iron Man feature films and the classic comic book iterations of the character. The Iron Man agreement represents the first step in a strategic partnership between Marvel and SEGA to bring at least one additional Marvel Super Hero property to next-gen platforms.

The first Iron Man project produced under the license agreement will be based on Marvel Studios’ highly-anticipated Iron Man feature film starring Academy Award® Nominees Robert Downey Jr. and Terrence Howard, and directed by Jon Favreau. This project, the first feature film to be produced independently by Marvel Entertainment, will blast into theaters May 2, 2008. “Marvel is recognized as one of the world’s leaders in the entertainment industry and Sega is excited to be publishing the next-gen interactive entertainment based on Iron Man, the first Marvel Studios project being brought to the widescreen,” said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America, Inc. “The Iron Man history is filled with compelling and intriguing characters and stories and with the power of the next-gen systems, SEGA will be bringing these characters to life like never before.”

 

David Maisel, Executive Vice President, Office of the Chief Executive of Marvel Entertainment, added, “SEGA is an excellent partner to bring our Iron Man franchise to the next generation consoles. SEGA is a powerful force in the video game space and has always been on the cutting edge of the industry. We are very excited to be bringing Iron Man to theaters in 2008 and to team with a great partner to simultaneously introduce Iron Man to the video game world.”

 

Source: www.ironmanthegame.com , www.Sega.com

Vantage Point Movie

 

Story

Vantage Point gives us just that--a birds-eyed view of an assassination/terrorist attack on the U.S. president. In Spain, at a landmark outdoor summit on the global war on terror, President Ashton (William Hurt) is shot and a bomb explodes, killing hundreds of people. For the rest of the film, we see the same 15 minutes over and over but from different points of view: There’s a CNN-like news producer (Sigourney Weaver), who is the first to witness the events; the Secret Service agents (Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox) assigned to protect the president; an American tourist (Forest Whitaker) videotaping the historic event; a Spanish cop (Eduardo Noriega) who suspects what’s going down by the surreptitious actions of his girlfriend (Ayelet Zurer) at the rally; and most importantly, the head terrorist (Said Taghmaoui), who orchestrates it all. Through each of these individual perspectives, we learn the truth behind the assassination attempt--and as far-fetched as it is, it still isn’t pretty.

 

Acting

This is an all-out action thriller, folks--quiet, subtle performances are not required. Quaid goes full blast as the veteran Secret Service agent, who has already taken a bullet for the president once before and is still a bit skittish about it. But his loyalty to the president never wavers, and it’s through his determination to find out what happened that propels the story forward. Fox also plays it to the hilt, much like he does as Jack on TV’s Lost, but the actor has a certain movie-star quality to him; he could easily transition from TV to film. Whitaker unfortunately has to play the big schlub with a heart--which, at this point, seems a tad beneath the Oscar-winner--but he still gives it his all. Hurt’s Head of State is another one of those dream presidents we wish we had. Taghmaoui (The Kite Runner) and Zurer (28 Weeks Later) are adequately cold-hearted as the terrorists, while Edgar Ramirez (Domino) effectively emotes as a reluctant member of the terrorist cell, forced to do their bidding while his brother is being held captive. Did we mention that the terrorists were cold-hearted? Right.

 

Direction

Vantage Point’s trio of film editors (Stuart Baird, Sigvaldi J. Karason, Valdis Oskarsdottir) must have either thought they’d died and gone to heaven or hell, depending on how much of a pain it was to cut the film. Whatever the scenario, together with newbie director Peter Travis, they keep the action taut and suspenseful. Each character’s POV lends itself to more information as the plot unfolds piece by piece, culminating with a whopper of a car-chase scene that should leave you clenching your teeth. The use of electronic devices in the attack is also noteworthy, as the main terrorist basically accesses his PDA to 1) shoot the president, 2) explode bombs, and 3) send the pictures of the destruction to all his friends. OK, he actually doesn’t do that last part, but he certainly could with that handy device of his. The only drawback to the whole scenario is the implausibility of it all--and the lack of back story. Suspending disbelief we can do, but in Vantage Point’s case, a little explaining would have helped.

 

Step Up 2 the Streets

Story

Don’t worry if you haven’t seen the first Step Up; you won’t feel lost. The dance movies these days mostly rely on the hot soundtrack and even hotter bodies flipping around. Having a coherent story is just a bonus, and while the two movies are similar in theme--kid from the streets goes to a prestigious arts academy--and the original’s Channing Tatum makes a cameo to tie it all together, the two films can stand alone as they are. In this case, the kid is a 16-year-old orphan named Andie (Briana Evigan), who grew up in the same Baltimore neighborhood as Tatum’s Tyler. She’s a fierce dancer whose “crew” is the reigning champ in street dancing. But Andie also gets into trouble a lot and as an ultimatum from her guardian, she is forced to attend the Maryland School of the Arts or be shipped away. Soon fish-out-of-water Andie ends up meeting other MSA students who dare to be different and who want to break away from the snooty confines of the school--including resident hottie Chase (Robert Hoffman)--and so, they form their own crew to compete on the streets. In the rain, no less.

 

Acting

Although it’s hard to say if there is going to a breakout star such as Channing Tatum, Step Up 2’s cast of mostly unknown actors/dancers still makes the film more visceral. Evigan (daughter to TV star Greg Evigan) is a fresh face, with a refreshingly normal-looking body, especially for a dancer, and a raspy Kathleen Turner voice. While she naturally handles the shimmies and shakes with aplomb, she’s also fairly convincing in the more dramatic moments, as her Andie is torn between her street crew and her new friends at MSA. Hoffman (She's the Man) also does a fine job as Chase, playing him with an easygoing charm and killer smile. Still, the two of them unfortunately don’t create the same kind of heat Tatum and Jenna Dewan did in the original Step Up, and the sequel suffers from it a bit. Then there’s the crew of MSA misfits, all just about as different looking as you can get but who can all MOVE like it’s nobody’s business, including the nerdy Moose (Adam G. Sevani) and hip-hopping Japanese exchange student Jenny (Mari Koda)--and a guy with bad teeth (LaJon Dantzler)! There’s also R&B recording star Cassie Ventura making her film debut as Chase’s ex-girlfriend, Sophie, a singer/actor/dancer who seems MSA old-school but kicks it to the streets when it counts. Thank goodness.

 

Direction

But of course, Step Up 2 all boils down to the dance sequences, montages, and the final showdown on the rain-drenched streets. If those don’t work, then the movie is going to fall flat on its face. Luckily, USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate Jon Chu, making his directorial debut with Step Up 2, shows off some of those skills he learned in school. The choreographed set pieces are done well, culminating with the MSA crew showing off their stuff as the rain pours down on them. The dancing in Step Up 2 isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but still, for those of us who only wish we could move like that, it’s fun to watch. Of course, having a rap-pounding soundtrack--which includes tracks from T-Pain, Missy Elliott, Flo Rida, Cassie, Kevin Michael featuring Wyclef, and more--helps as well. All these elements make Step Up 2 a worthy sequel--and its soundtrack a worthy download on iTunes.

Date: 13 March 2008, Thursday
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