#Middlebury #DVD #Video #Movie
It’s been estimated by me – in a very unscientific manner and not in any way related to real mathematics – that video-game use is up 7,000% during the pandemic. At least, that’s the way it feels when I find my child huddled in a corner talking to her iPad or when the explanation that the young person making a ruckus in the background of a Zoom call is that said young person is “in the middle of a battle.”
I remember when playing video games involved a trip to the mall, a token machine and a certain centipede coming at me through a field of mushrooms. There are some quite nifty games out there since those days, and since there’s nothing Hollywood won’t appropriate, there’s some nifty movies based on those games. Here are a few:
Angelina Jolie in “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (Paramount Pictures photo)
“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” – Adventurer-hottie Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) faces down the Illuminati in an effort to retrieve a powerful artifact that will come alive upon a particular celestial alignment.
“Pokemon Detective Pikachu” – An officer goes missing and his adult son Tim (Justice Smith) goes on the case, aided by his dad’s former partner, a funny, brilliant Pokemon (voiced by Ryan Reynolds).
“Resident Evil” – This game spawned NINE versions, six of which feature Milla Jovovich in the role of Alice, our girl hero. In the classic, she’s set off in the Hive – under bombardment from a biological weapon that turns workers into zombies.
“Assassin’s Creed” – Michael Fassbender leads as Callum Lynch, who is pulled back to live the experiences of his ancestors and indoctrinated into a secret society, the Assassins, who battle the Knights Templar.
“Angry Birds” – On an island full of sublimely happy birds, the anger management crowd turn out to be unlikely heroes when faced with a menacing threat. This is especially true when the voice cast is chock full of “SNL” alum.
“Sonic the Hedgehog” – The bright-blue phenom crashes on Earth, teams up with a human (James Marsden) and the pair go up against a proper villain: Dr. Robotnik, who wants to capture Sonic’s speed and powers for evil doings.
“Mortal Kombat” – Another film franchise with multiple installments, the premise is an alien overlord who forces three earthlings to battle, martial-arts style, against improbable foes in a tournament to decide the fate of the planet.
“Need for Speed” – A mechanic races for his life perilously across country against a former race car driver in a showcase built around a video game about driving cars really fast.
© 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.
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