This Week In New Releases [Week Of 12th March 2012]

 

We all need a gentle reminder from time to time. This Week In New Releases from New Rising Media aims to do just that – remind you of the biggest, best and hottest new media releases to look out for this week. From the latest big screen blockbusters, to this week's most anticipated Blu-Ray discs, via details of the next big triple-A videogame to reach consoles. This isn't a total run-down of everything new this week, though, these are carefully hand-picked for your viewing/playing pleasure entirely by us, enjoy.

Pick Of The Week - FIFA Street (Xbox 360, PS3) Developer: EA Canada

Out Friday

As much as EA might like to convince consumers otherwise, FIFA Street out Friday is in fact the fourth in the FIFA Street series, a spin-off that has so far failed to emerge out of its progenitors’ acclaimed shadow and make a name for itself like the countless licensed footballers it boasts in its TV marketing campaign. Sharing the currently in-vogue trend of hacking off the number and returning to its original title in order to signify a rebooting of the series, FIFA Street gets rid of the cartoonish look of its predecessors and instead favours a more ‘real’ look already triumphed by EA’s central FIFA series.

The move signals more than just upping the authenticity on show, it gives the sense that EA is approaching the grimy, street-savvy FIFA entry with more respect than previous entries. Built on FIFA’s engine by the same development team behind the main series, the game’s leads have insisted the game is imbued with much more tactical depth than those that have come before it, while the emphasis on mind-boggling skills and insane tricks is still there, ensuring a good mix of level-headed tactical awareness and straight tekkers for players. What’s more, it is said to feature twice as many tricks as FIFA 12 and 50 more than FIFA Street 3 in comparison.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (12) Dir: Bill Condon

Out Now (DVD, Blu-Ray)

Premature inter-species wedding ceremonies, fiery honeymoons, rampant vamp sex and malignant pregnancies... The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 finally sees the Twilight saga mature beyond its years as the beginning of the end of the mega-franchise draws to a close. With Part 2 due out later this year, Part 1 acts as the bridge between Bella's (Kristen Stewart) human life and her transformation into a blood-sucking vampire bestowed upon herself in order to share eternal life with the soulless Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). 

If the matrimonial ceremonies and romancing of the first half of the fourth chapter seems tiresome and vacuous (some would argue the series beat that drum some time ago) then consider that it sets up the latter half of Stephenie Meyers' novel succinctly. Much like Warner Bros. achieved splitting The Deathly Hallows into two parts, resulting in a non-stop barrage of intense action and triumphant ending to the Harry Potter films, Summit Entertainment will hope to achieve the same here, wrapping up the tween-friendly series in the most faithful way possible. Twi-hards rejoice! 

21 Jump Street (15) Dir: Phil Lord, Chris Miller

In Cinemas Friday

Based on the late TV series of the same name by Stephen J. Cannell (first aired in 1989, and the show which essentially kick-started the career of one Johnny Depp – heard of him?), 21 Jump Street stars the ever-reliable Channing Tatum and the slimmed-down stature of Judd Apatow and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 TV spot fave Jonah Hill as two underachieving cops who take on a police job which sees them going back to high school as undercover students in order to bust a drugs ring at the heart of the school.

Though Channing Tatum might at first seem an odd match for the comedy chops of Jonah Hill (there are some who'd question what 'chops' they are), he appears to be, at least from the trailer, every match for Superbad's sex-crazed virgin, bringing the muscle and action film style to a film that could so easily be yet another dumb cop buddy movie (Kevin Smith's Cop Out comes to mind – Cop Out in name, cop out in nature). It looks far from clever, but we have a feeling 21 Jump Street will be one to watch. Oh, and look out for a surprise cameo from Mr Depp himself – how's that for endorsement!?

Other Notable Releases:

We Bought A Zoo (PG) [In Cinemas Friday]

Matt Damon pulls the 'family-friendly' card in a film from Cameron Crowe (Vanilla Sky, Jerry Maguire) about a family man who moves his family to the countryside to help restore and re-open a struggling zoo. A roaring success? 

Contraband (15) [In Cinemas Friday]

Mark Wahlberg stars as an international smuggler out on one last job to smuggle millions in counterfeit dollars in order to save the life of his brother at the hands of his drug kingpin boss after a drug deal goes awry.