“Battle: Los Angeles, ooh-rah! - AZFamily” plus 1 more

Battle: Los Angeles, ooh-rah! - AZFamily

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"Battle: Los Angeles" captures 3 & ½ Red Vines for being a great war movie with a sci-fi twist.

Okay, as alien invasion films go, not much has changed since the great B-movies of the 50's: invaders land, they want us dead. If you just go with that premise in mind and not anything else, you will not be let down by "Battle: Los Angeles." In fact you just might be mildly surprised.

Much like "District 9" was not about an alien invasion but more of a statement about apartheid and prejudice, "Battle: Los Angeles" is more a statement about war and the brotherhood of soldiers than it is about an alien invasion.

What starts out as a meteor shower quickly turns into a full scale invasion of the world's targeted cities. Like "Restrepo" or "Hurt Locker", "Battle: Los Angeles" follows one Marine unit's deployment. Their mission is to rescue stranded civilians and get them to a safe zone before the military bombs the west coast. All this while the invaders are wiping out everything in their path.

What's going on in the rest of the country and the world is only mildly hinted at in brief news reports. It's interesting but like I said this is one unit's story. With the perennial hand held camera, we are just shell shocked flies on the wall of their fearless, impassioned efforts.

Aaron Eckhart stars as Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, a Marine with one foot out the door until he gets sent in on this mission. He is suffering from the emotional wounds of his last deployment and under a cloud of suspicion because men under his command died. Michelle Rodriguez, the only other really recognizable name or face, stars as TSgt. Elena Santos. Is it any surprise that she plays a tough as nails broad with deadly aim? No, but I was surprised that she wasn't a witch, too. That seems to be par for the course for any character she plays.

As you can tell from these two characters, all of them seem to fall in the 'stock soldier' category. But Rodriquez and most particularly, Eckhart really excelled in their parts.
I totally bought them as soldiers and as people in this unbelievably doomed situation.

That is what impressed me the most about "Battle: Los Angeles." The fight scenes were executed with as much precision as the best war movies to date. Gritty, bloody, with no mercy, they were exciting and made what is basically a re-telling of "War of the Worlds" very real.

I confess I have passed on a lot of movies this year but for me, this has been the most overall satisfying movie of the year. I was hoping I would enjoy this movie and "Battle: Los Angeles" did not disappoint. I loved it!

A preview of this movie was provided to me by the studio but it in no way effects my unbiased review.

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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid"-Inspired Island, "Wimpy Wonderland," Debuts on Poptropica, Virtual World for Kids - Consumer Electronics Net

Posted:

March 15, 2011 --

Boston, MA (PRWEB) March 15, 2011

Fans of the bestselling "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series can now join all their favorite characters on a snow day adventure with today's Early Access launch of Poptropica's new "Wimpy Wonderland Island ." As a special bonus, Poptropica members who log in and play "Wimpy Wonderland" during March will get an exclusive Gold Card, "Paper Boy" or "Paper Girl," which they can use to turn their Poptropican into lined paper like in the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book series. This exclusive members-only item will also allow kids to turn other Poptropicans into lined paper boys or girls.

"I'm thrilled to be bringing the two parts of my life together: Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Poptropica," said Jeff Kinney, author of the bestselling series and Poptropica creator. "For the first time ever, kids will get to interact with Greg Heffley and his family and friends in a virtual world. I've created an original storyline for the island, and I'm hoping fans of the series will enjoy experiencing the characters in a whole new way."

Players who visit "Wimpy Wonderland" will discover a snow day in which everyone's enjoying a day off from school - except for "Wimpy Kid" hero Greg Heffley, whose little brother Manny is missing. As they follow Manny's trail and solve the mystery of his disappearance, players will tussle with the Whirly Street kids, fend off cantankerous senior citizens and even venture within arm's length of Fregley.

"Jeff's 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' is a huge hit in print and on the big screen, and I am confident that Greg will now be at his wimpy best online at Poptropica," said Jess M. Brallier, publisher of Poptropica. "Kids will delight in having Wimpy Kid and Poptropica together in an inventive and surprising experience."

Poptropica Membership gives kids Early Access to new Islands, so they can be among the first to play and complete the newest Islands. Membership also gives kids unlimited use of all costumes and Gold Cards in the Poptropica Store, allowing them to customize their Poptropicans by choosing from their favorite costumes, special abilities and effects - electrifying their Poptropican, creating a meteor shower, spraying silly stream, and much more.

Parents can buy a Poptropica Membership for their kids in one-month, three-month or six-month increments. In addition, prepaid Poptropica Game Cards , redeemable for Membership to the site or Credits to use in the Poptropica Store, can be purchased at select retailers, such as Target and Best Buy.

Late last year, the rapidly growing virtual world for kids ranked Number 5 in the Hot Video Games Category of the 2010 Google Zeitgeist. It was the only kids' gaming site in the top five on the list of the year's most searched-for video games. The robust gaming platform offers countless hours of safe, secure, online fun to as many as 10 million kids each month.

Kids can stay up to date on news about upcoming new Islands and other exciting developments in the world of Poptropica on the official blog at http://blog.poptropica.com/.

About Poptropica (http://www.poptropica.com)
Poptropica is a virtual world in which kids explore and play in complete safety. Every month, millions of kids from around the world are entertained and informed by Poptropica's engaging quests, stories and games. Kids create a "Poptropican" character to travel the many Islands of Poptropica and use gaming literacy to enjoy a narrative that is often rooted in factual history. Problem-solving skills are honed as kids discover and solve mysteries unique to each Island.

There are always new areas to explore in this ever-expanding world where kids can collect objects, read digital books and comics and compete in head-to-head competition. Parents can always trust that their children are playing - and learning - in a safe online environment. Poptropica is published by Family Education Network, a part of Pearson (NYSE: PSO), the education, services and technology company. Pearson's other primary operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

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Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/online-virtual-world/wimpy-wonderland-games/prweb5157554.htm.

Meteor

Tuesday, March 15, 2011