Filed Under: Anvil, Black Death, Brink, DVDs, High School Basketball Skills Competition, Juggernaut of Justice, Movies, Priest, video games, Weekender

DVD: Black Death

Sean Bean, of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones fame, keeps up his “cold, crazy, and holding a big sword” routine in Black Death. Rumor has it that a necromancer is bringing people back to life. Trying to learn more about this village that’s magically free of the plague, he instead learns that the village is magically filled with hot witches like Carice Van Houten and Kimberly Nixon. But the town claims innocence. Such things happened in medieval England. Throw in some people being brought back from the dead, an iron maiden or two and a whole lot of conversations that end with swords, and Black Death makes for the best kind of medieval mystery… the kind filled with action and horror, not to mention death and destruction.

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Movie: Priest

It’s about time someone started hunting vampires again instead of letting them walk around shirtless, showing off those six-pack abs. And that’s what happens in Priest. In this alternate world, where humans and vampires don’t really get along, Paul Bettany lives within one of the Church’s walled cities. He becomes fed up with a human/vampire truce when they kidnap his niece (few wouldn’t agree that the insanely hot Lily Collins is worth breaking your vows for). He’s joined by his niece’s boyfriend, the wasteland sheriff, and pursued by the deadly Maggie Q, who wants to bring him back in to the fold. They instead fight hordes of zombies with throwing stars, motorcycles and sheer badassery. And they do it in 3D.

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Music: Anvil – Juggernaut of Justice

If you have memories of being in a band or in any way a metal fan, watch the documentary Anvil: The Story of Anvil. Either a way more sympathetic Some Kind of Monster or a crushingly real version of This is Spinal Tap, the movie follows one of Metal’s early giants in their slow spiral towards obscurity. A couple years later, and over three decades since they started, Anvil has still got something in the tank. Juggernaut of Justice, recorded in Dave Grohl’s studio, is their 14th studio release. Ragers like “Fuken Eh!” stay true to form, and closer “Swing Thing” mixes nasty solos with rapid-fire drums and some surprisingly metal horns.

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Game: Brink

Video games are prone to boasting some crazy numbers, but Brink looks to be one of the most in-depth games ever. Two groups of high-tech soldiers are fighting for resources in a floating city called the Ark. Food and water might be scarce, but high-tech acrobatic killers are luckily in high supply. The game apparently features 16-person multi-player, 4,963 weapon attachment variations, 4,500 different weapon sounds, and a character development system so rich that you can make no less than 102 quadrillion unique character combinations. All we know is that the game has built something called the SMART system for movement, effectively turning every awkward missed jump and slow climb of previous video games into a Parkour-like dream.

Television: High School Basketball Skills Competition

See tomorrow’s basketball stars today. The High School Basketball Skills Competition features eight of the country’s top dunkers and three-point shooters at the prep level.  These top prospects are committed to some of the top collegiate basketball programs. But this event lets them bring their A-game to the rim and the arc after the whistle. Dunking is about creativity; long-range shooting is about precision. This competition is about getting it done.

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