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Movies: Wanted vs. WALL-E

Last week was all about comedies. This week, we have a little more variety in our theatrical choices. One of our two movies was promoted far less than the other. Unless you’ve been living under a rock in the middle of the Sahara, you've heard of WALL-E.

What you may not have heard about is Wanted. This action flick is based on a graphic novel by Mark Millar, and the story follows an extremely average young man who becomes something extraordinary. When life is an almost unbearable routine and nobody expects him to amount to anything, things change for Wesley Gibson. After his father's murder he meets a woman who recruits him into a secret organization that trains him to carry out death orders issued by fate. Things aren't as they seem though, and before long Wes learns that there is more than meets the eye with his new colleagues.

Like we've already mentioned, it's almost impossible for you to have completely avoided all of the WALL-E promotional material. The new brainchild of Disney/Pixar is the story of the last robot on earth. It's the year 2700 and earth is completely deserted with the exception of WALL-E, a robot whose only purpose is to clean. When an unexpected visitor, in the form of a recon robot named EVE, comes to earth, WALL-E sets out on an adventure across the cosmos to find his new friend. The supporting cast is an overload in cute comedy, including WALL-E's pet cockroach and a motley crew of misfit robots.

The Edge: WALL-E. The movie was written and directed by the Academy Award-winning Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo). Yes, Wanted looks pretty sweet. However, how can you ignore a movie about a cute little robot with a pet cockroach?

DVDs: Charlie Bartlett vs Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs

What do you get when you mix Ferris Bueller's Day Off with The Graduate? The answer is Charlie Bartlett. Now don't get the impression that this movie is as good as either of the other two, but it is still pretty entertaining. The plot is simple. Charlie Bartlett has been kicked out of pretty much every private school in the country, so now he's sent to public school. Before long, Charlie becomes the school's unofficial shrink, dispensing advice and sometimes even medication to the student body. This is a fairly simple DVD as far as special features go. It includes three commentaries as well as a cast and crew confessional feature, where members of the cast and crew vent their frustrations to an off-screen Charlie Bartlett.

Back in November, Futurama returned with Bender's Big Score. This time around, the crew of Planet Express are on a new adventure. They encounter a planet-sized creature that has literally, billions of tentacles. Before long they are in the middle of a disturbing love story. The DVD is packed with special features, so even after the feature-length episode is over, you can keep right on laughing. The disc includes two commentaries, deleted scenes, a storyboard animatic, bloopers of the cast at "work", and a whole lot more. The ones we listed aren't even close to the best stuff, so check it out.

The Edge: Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs. I've personally been waiting for Charlie Bartlett for a while, because Anton Yelchin is awesome in Huff, but Futurama is hilarious. You can't pass this one up, especially with all the awesome special features on the DVD.

Games: Battlefield: Bad Company (Multiple)

It's the slow season for game releases. We really won't see a whole lot in the way of big names until fall hits, but there are still a few worth mentioning. Fans of the Battlefield series get another entry this week with Battlefield: Bad Company. The "sandbox style" first-person shooter drops players behind enemy lines with a group of renegade soldiers on a quest for revenge and money. The single player campaign has reportedly been beefed up from past releases, adding in an adventurous storyline and dark humor. Where the game will really shine, though, is in multiplayer. The usual suite of options is made even juicier by completely destructible environments. If you're looking for a new game to keep you busy until the blockbuster titles hit this fall, you may want to consider Battlefield: Bad Company.